Mitchell Schwartz, co-historian of Flower Hill and the newest trustee for the Roslyn Landmark Society, has written this history of St. Francis Hospital.

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History of St. Francis Hospital

By Mitchell Schwartz

As crazy as it may seem, St. Francis Hospital – one of the leading heart health care centers in New York and in the entire United States – owes its existence to “the carousing of drunken men” and a friendship.

Shipping executive Carlos W. Munson, Flower Hill’s founding father, moved to Flower Hill with his wife, Mabel, around 1900. After moving in, they took a walk to an old spring which used to be located near Flower Hill Village Hall, adjacent to Port Washington Boulevard. When they arrived, they were horrified by “the tumble-down buildings and the carousing of drunken men” in the area, which became impoverished after the soil dried up at the local farms. Mabel asked Carlos to do something in order to get rid of the drunks, which resulted in Carlos buying large portions of land to eradicate the drunks.

Then, one day, a couple of nuns with the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary approached the Munson home to try and sell handmade embroideries for charity. The Munsons quickly formed a bond with the nuns and soon offered them 15 acres, to which the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary accepted, and in 1922 the St. Francis Home had opened its doors to poor children from New York City during the summertime.

The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary converted St. Francis into a children’s cardiac sanitarium in 1937 after learning the 2% of children in Brooklyn who suffered from rheumatic heart conditions needed charitable healthcare assistance, and in 1954, St. Francis began treating adults, as well.

Since then, the hospital has grown significantly, along with the services offered, and it is now regarded as one of the best heart healthcare centers in the United States.

Additional facts:

-St. Francis was one of several hospitals on Long Island to treat passengers who were onboard Avianca Flight 52, which crashed in Cove Neck in the northeastern part of Nassau County in 1990.

-Although geographically located within the service areas of the Port Washington and Manhasset Union Free School Districts, St. Francis Hospital uses a Roslyn, New York 11576 mailing address. This is because of how Carlos Munson’s estate (part of which is now Nassau County’s Elderfields Preserve) used a Roslyn mailing address. That is also why many historic newspapers refer to Munson as a Roslynian when referencing him.

-Carlos often visited St. Francis to read to the children after Mabel died. He also bequeathed $50,000 of his fortune to St. Francis upon his death in July 1940.

Sources:

-Becker, Rhoda H. Personal interviews.

-Brasley, Patrick. “Expanded Hospital Put Through Paces.” Newsday. December 10, 1973. Page 15.

-“Children's Home Dedicated .” The New York Times. October 20, 1937. Page 21.

-“C.W. MUNSON LEFT $50,000 TO A HOME: HEAD OF SHIP LINE BEQUEATHED THE SUM TO FRANCISCAN MISSION AT ROSLYN.” The New York Times. July 20, 1940. Page 26.

-Flower Hill Meeting Minutes, 1931-2021.

-Glass, Judy. “Hospital Began as Children's Camp.” The New York Times. August 2, 1987. Page LI4.

-Greenspan, Walter. “Mail Says Roslyn, But Hospital Isn’t.” The New York Times. June 21, 1992. Page LI17.

-Brennan, Eileen. “Heritage Carefully Cultivated.” Newsday. December 13, 1986. Page B22.

-Munson, Carlos W. “A Talk About Flower Hill.” Ca. 1937-1940.

-Nagourney, Eric. “Slow Healing: 2 Dozen Survivors Still in Hospital, Many Facing More Than a Year of Therapy or Extra Surgery.” Newsday. March 10, 1990. Pages 1, 5, & 11.

-“St. Francis Sanitorium.” Newsday. January 30, 1941. Page 14.

-St. Francis Hospital.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

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Nancy Reagan visits St. Francis Hospital in 1983 from "North Hempstead" by Howard Kroplick

During a trip to South Korea in November 1983, President Ronald Regan and First Lady Nancy Regan brought back seven-year-old Ah Ji Sook and four-year-old Lee Kil Woo for open-heart surgery. The trip and surgery was arranged by the Gift of Life program initiated by the Manhasset Rotary Club. First Lady Regan was seen here at a press conference at St. Francis Hospital on December 15, 1983. Photo courtesy of the Town North Hempstead Archives.