About Us

Who We Are

Elizabeth Seton Children’s is a pioneering provider of care, education and hope for children with some of the most challenging medical conditions any person can face. Featuring the largest residential medical center of its kind in the United States, we change lives, one child at a time.

With more than 30 years of success, we are a national leader in serving children with deeply complex medical conditions because we provide the entire around-the-clock continuum of medical, educational and therapeutic services. This means these children can do more than survive – they thrive and can pursue a full life. They have the right to safely become adults.

Elizabeth Seton Children’s serves more than 4,000 children each year across our united organizations. We also help their families with travel, places to gather and peace of mind. We create possibilities like no other place. And we are forever inspired by the children we serve.

What We Do

Elizabeth Seton Children’s encompasses Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center, the largest and most proficient non-profit, long-term care center for children with severe medical complexity; Elizabeth Seton Children’s School, which provides individualized educational experiences in both our residential center and in community settings for children with medically complex conditions; and Elizabeth Seton Children’s Rehabilitation Center, which offers physical, occupational and speech therapies along with medical specialties and care coordination services. Philanthropic support for the entire network of Elizabeth Seton Children’s organizations is driven by Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation.

Based north of New York City with campuses in both Yonkers and White Plains, NY, Elizabeth Seton Children’s is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity Ministry Network and named after St. Elizabeth Seton, the first American-born saint, whose legacy of love and compassion guides us. Elizabeth Seton Children’s is open to children of all faiths, as nearly a dozen religions are celebrated at the children’s center. In our care, all are welcome.

Who We Help

The infants, children and teens of Elizabeth Seton Children’s have multiple challenges that require them to have an extensive array of medical, emotional and rehabilitative services each day.

Children with medical complexity need help with the most basic daily functions. Virtually all are unable to walk and many require feeding tubes, ventilators and devices to help them communicate. Broadly speaking, the conditions these children have can include genetic disorders, traumatic brain injuries and childhood diseases.

We understand the reality of our children’s conditions, but we do not focus on their limits. We give them a chance to learn, grow, change, laugh, be joyful and experience a child’s life.

Most of our children and families are economically disadvantaged (99 percent qualify for Medicaid assistance at the children’s center and 98 percent at the rehabilitation center). Most of the children we serve come from New York City, with the rest from Westchester, the Hudson Valley and Long Island.

How We Are Different

Elizabeth Seton Children’s is a pioneer in pediatric health care in America. Our scale, success and approach to helping children with medical complexity make us like no other organization.

The distinctiveness begins with the children we serve, who may be severely limited in their abilities, but not in their grace, courage and spirit. We stand out by providing the full continuum of care: teaching, rehabilitation, medical care, social services, daily activities and a true sense of home at the largest center of its kind in the United States.

Yet what also makes Elizabeth Seton Children’s different is how we help. Our school is tailored to the needs of our children, a place of teaching and Early Intervention that is regularly honored for its excellence. In our long-term medical center, children live in bright and colorful “neighborhoods,” not units, with play, fun and social interaction built into each day. They have easy access to fresh air, playgrounds, gardens, art, music, a pool and even a space voyage room. They have traditions – from spring proms to holiday parties – to celebrate their role in the community. Our residents deserve to experience life as children. Our singular purpose is to help them to do that, with dignity.

Our devotion extends to the families. They are our partners in addressing the emotional, spiritual and educational needs of the children. And they experience our caring sense of place. As one child’s mother put it: “It’s the feeling that we’re in a home, not a hospital.”

Our Foundress: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Our inspiration and solidifying force is our foundress, St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton. Elizabeth Seton was a devoted wife and mother, and later, an impoverished widow and struggling single mother. The founder of the Sisters of Charity, the Catholic School System and many other institutions, Elizabeth Seton was the first American-born saint. By the time of her death on January 4, 1821, Elizabeth had founded no less than 50 Catholic institutions, including orphanages, schools and hospitals such as St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City.

Mother Seton’s traits of adaptation, belonging, compassionate love and devotion are felt in the spirit of our corridors and her ministry is seen in the loving and healing interactions between children, families and staff. Her commitment was unsurpassed as exemplified by her spirit of “Hazard Yet Forward,” the Seton Family motto that inspired her to proceed on God’s path regardless of the personal sacrifice in doing so and obstacles that appeared insurmountable.

The way she lived her life inspires us today. Our goal of producing transformational outcomes for medically complex children requires the fortitude and faith demonstrated by our foundress and is the bar that we have set for ourselves at Elizabeth Seton Children’s.

Mission Statement

Creating possibilities for children with medical complexities and their families, inspired by the love of St. Elizabeth Seton.

Vision Statement

Pursuing leadership and excellence by advancing innovative, loving care with transformational outcomes for children with medical complexities and their families.

Core Values

Respect & Embrace Diversity

Loving Relationships

Excellence

Evolution, Growth & Change

Collaboration

Innovation

Our History

Elizabeth Seton Children’s has a long legacy of serving the children and families of New York – both in health care and education. Our history is rooted in the story of the Sisters of Charity Ministry Network, our sponsors, who began their work over 200 years ago in 1817, and in The New York Foundling, whose doors were opened in 1869 by three Sisters of Charity in an effort to save babies being abandoned on the streets of New York.

It was those children, with the greatest medical needs, who became the genesis for Elizabeth Seton Children’s as it commenced its evolution from a program of The Foundling to what it is today: a nationally recognized champion of medically complex children needing specialized medical, nursing, rehabilitative and educational services both living in residence and in the community.

For over 30 years we have been inspired to serve children and their families with loving care and transformational outcomes. Our journey continues today.

Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center (now Elizabeth Seton Children's Center) originated at 590 Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan as a program affiliate of the The New York Foundling to care for 136 medically complex children with multiple physical and neurological conditions and increasing medical acuity; this included babies with AIDS and suffering from the effects of drug-addicted mothers

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center became fully independent from the programs of The New York Foundling with separate governance and remained a sponsored work or the Sisters of Charity Ministry Network.

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center assumed operating responsibility from The New York Foundling for the John A. Coleman School in New York City (now Elizabeth Seton Children's School).

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center expanded operations by opening Elizabeth Seton Children's School at 317 North Street in white Plains.

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center develops the first long-term care program in New York State for ventilator-dependent children.

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center assumed operating responsibility for the Children's Rehabilitation Center (now Elizabeth Seton Children's Rehabilitation Center) at 317 North Street in White Plains.

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center and School relocated from New York City to a newly constructed 165,000-square-foot, LEED Gold certified "green" building on 6.5 acres in Yonkers for 137 medically complex children.

Elizabeth Seton Children's Center welcomed 32 additional medically complex and technology-dependent children with a three story expansion. With 169 children, the Center is now the largest provider of pediatric post-acute care nationwide.

Elizabeth Seton Children's celebrates 30 years of service.

Our Leadership

Elizabeth Seton Children’s Board of Directors

Michael Hegarty, Chairperson
Sr. Carol A. Barnes, SC, Vice Chairperson
Gregory Mancini, Treasurer
Peter T. McKeever, Secretary

Rachel Amar
John F. Caruso
Michael J. Daly, III
Dwayne Doherty
Israel Franco, MD, FAAP, FACS
Catherine Franzetti
Michael F. Gallagher, Esq.
Fr. Francis J. Gasparik, OFM, Cap.
William P. Harrington, Esq.

David G. Ingber
Dennis J. Kenny, Esq.
Steven R. Korf
John Morgan
Sr. Marie Morris, SC
Sr. Margaret O’Brien, SC
Frank A. Oswald, Esq.
Sr. Dominica Rocchio, SC
James Sinkoff
Vito R. Verni
Bishop Gerald T. Walsh

Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation Board of Directors

Sr. Dorothy Metz, SC, Chairperson
Peter T. McKeever, Vice Chairperson
Michael Hegarty, Treasurer
Sr. Carol A. Barnes, SC, Secretary

Benny Caiola
William P. Harrington, Esq.
Frank A. Oswald, Esq.
Michael Van De Loo
Vito R. Verni

Elizabeth Seton Children's
Leadership Team

Pat Tursi, Chief Executive Officer

Carla Perruccio, Chief Financial Officer

Florin Berevoescu, Chief Information Officer

Brian Harrington, Senior Vice President of Advancement

Paul Mackey, Vice President of Engineering and Facilities

Adriene Rosell, Vice President of Operations

Carolyn Ryan, Vice President of Quality

Frances Sequeira, Vice President of Talent Management

Dorian Samuels, Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center Chief Nursing Officer

Carmela Senese, Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center Chief Rehabilitation Officer

Dr. Peter Tesler, Elizabeth Seton Children’s Chief Medical Officer

Maureen Tomkiel, Elizabeth Seton Children’s School Executive Director

Dr. Maria Pici, Elizabeth Seton Children’s Rehabilitation Center Chief Medical Officer

About Pat Tursi

Pat Tursi joined Elizabeth Seton Children’s as CEO in 2001. Through Pat’s vision and leadership, the mission-driven Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center, Elizabeth Seton Children’s School and Elizabeth Seton Children’s Rehabilitation Center serve more than 4,000 children with medical complexity annually and comprise a $132 million health care system.

Pat’s work, and her entire career, has been driven by her passion to make a difference. Pat strives to better the lives of the individuals and their families she cares for, to inspire a work culture that is committed to excellence in caregiving and to advocate for those who do not have a voice of their own. Pat works to set the standard for how health care should be delivered in New York State and beyond.

Pat is a licensed nursing home administrator with over 30 years of health care experience. Before joining the Elizabeth Seton Children’s, she was Vice President and chiefly responsible for the strategic planning and operations of Beth Abraham’s Management Solutions (which is now part of CenterLight). Prior to this role, she served as the Administrator of The Osborn for six years during its building expansion project.

Pat holds a master’s in Public Health Administration and an All-University Gerontology Certificate from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She has taught at Syracuse University and the New York Medical College/Fordham University Graduate School of Health Sciences and served on numerous State, regional and community Boards of Directors including the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition (CCLC), where she was co-chair of the Special Populations Committee, LeadingAge, the Foundation for Long Term Care, the Governor’s Advisory Task Force on Adult Day Health Care, the Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the Senior Companion Program and the Governor’s Medically Fragile Children’s Work Group.

Currently, Pat serves as a Board Member on LeadingAge’s national Board (since 2016) and served as Secretary on the LeadingAge New York Board from 2017 to 2019 and was on their Board of Directors from 2013 to 2019. Pat received the prestigious Thomas Clarke Memorial Award from LeadingAge NY in 1996, the Excellence in Leadership Award from LeadingAge in 2008, the Above and Beyond Award from the Yonkers Chamber of Commerce in 2016, was named a “Healthcare Hero” by Westchester Magazine in 2016 and, in June 2019, she was honored with the Latino Center on Aging’s Humanitarian Golden Age Award.

Do you have any questions?
Please contact us at 1 (833) 63-SETON