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Saint Barnabas Medical Center Partners with Freedom Calls Foundation to Enable Marine in Iraq to Meet His Newborn Daughter and Congratulate New Mom Via Video Conference Event Date: Wednesday, November 22, 2006, 2 PM Marine Lance Corporal Cresenzo Terranova is stationed on the front lines in Iraq, but he will be seeing and interacting with his newborn daughter on Wednesday, November 22nd at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center thanks to the Freedom Calls Foundation. LCpl Terranova will be present at the hospital to meet his daughter and congratulate his wife hours after birth via video conference over Freedom Calls satellite network from the Freedom Calls facility at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq. LCpl Terranova will see and interact with the new mom, Natalie Paz from a large screen monitor set up at the hospital. Isabella Nicole, the couple’s first child was born at 5:43 pm on November 21, 2006. According to the new mom, “We’re so grateful to Freedom Calls Foundation and Saint Barnabas Medical Center for making this possible. This is a dream come true that Cresenzo is able to share in Isbella’s birth from 5,000 miles away on the front lines.” “The Saint Barnabas Medical Center would like to thank the Freedom Calls Foundation for making this connection. We appreciate how uniquely special and significant the birth of a baby is in the lives of parents, and so we were delighted to make these arrangements. We believe health is broadly defined to include the mind, body and spirit. The Saint Barnabas Medical Center hopes this videoconference will help provide Natalie with an additional boost of emotional and mental support” stated John F. Bonamo, M.D., M.S., Executive Director at the Saint Barnabas Medical Center. John Harlow, Executive Director of the Freedom Calls Foundation, stated that “the foundation is transforming a long-standing family communication paradigm in time of war by enabling soldiers in the war zone to attend and participate in milestone family events like weddings, 1st communions and new births, etc. Soldiers may now keep their commitments to their families at the same time they keep their commitment to their country. The long-term vision of the Freedom Calls Foundation is that our war fighters will be able to come home from a day on the battlefield and spend virtual time with their families every night using state-of-the-art technology. The contribution of resources by community citizens like the Saint Barnabas Medical Center enables the foundation to fulfill its mission.” LCpl Terranova will attend the conference over the satellite network that Freedom Calls has built in cooperation with the army and marines to serves U.S. deployed military personnel and their families 24 hours per day free of charge. ABOUT FREEDOM CALLS FOUNDATION: The Freedom Calls Foundation is a Public Charity building a communications network dedicated to providing state-of-the-art video conferencing, telephone and internet services to enable our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep in touch with their families and loved ones at home, free of charge. The Foundation provides services to more than 30,000 soldiers and Marines free of charge 24 hours per day and the Army has requested that the foundation install eight additional facilities in Iraq and two in Afghanistan in the coming months. The Foundation is authorized by the Secretary of the Army to provide communications services to the troops and their families and recently received a Commendation from the Army and a perduaghteral letter of appreciation from SSG GEN Taguba.The Freedom Calls Foundation is supported by donations of corporations and the American people on the foundation’s website www.freedomcalls.org. Date: November 21, 2006 [ top ] |
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