http://www.nypost.com/seven/10182006/ne ... panile.htm

3 CITY HOSPS STAKE CLAIM ON BEING BIRTHPLACE OF MILESTONE AMERICAN TOT

By CARL CAMPANILE

October 18, 2006 -- Three city hospitals yesterday claimed to be the birthplace of the 300 millionth American - by delivering babies precisely at 7:46 a.m.

It's a real New York tale.

The race was on after the U.S. Census Department reported this month that, based on its calculations, the 300 millionth American would be born at precisely that time.

Elmhurst Hospital in Queens was first out of the box - announcing the birth of Emanuel Plata after her mother delivered at 7:46 a.m.

Emanuel - whose parents hail from Mexico - was delivered via Caesarian section. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches.

Shortly thereafter, New York-Presbyterian-Cornell Hospital in Manhattan reported that Zoe Emille Hudson was born at 7:46.

Zoe's mom, Maria Diaz, was scheduled for a C-section tomorrow, but went into labor early yesterday.

Zoe is the daughter of a mother of Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry from The Bronx. Her father is banker Garvin Hudson, whose parents immigrated from Jamaica.

"Zoe is Dominican, Puerto Rican, Jamaican and American. You do the math," the proud papa quipped.

Zoe weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and measured 20 inches.

Meanwhile, Flushing Medical Center in Queens claimed it delivered the 300th million American - Joana Palaguachi - through natural childbirth. Her mom, Maria, recently moved here from Ecuador.

"I'm very happy with the thought of possibly having the 300 millionth child born," she said

Elmhurst is one of the city's 11 public hospitals operated by the Health and Hospitals Corp. And Mayor Bloomberg's top hospital officials were well prepared for the occasion.

Baby Emanuel was covered in a blanket welcoming him as the "300 millionth American baby." And mom wore a "300 million" blanket with an HHC logo.

HHC President Alan Aviles presented mama Gricelda with a framed "300 million baby" certificate.

"We deliver close to 25,000 babies a year. We thought there was a good chance about a 7:46 a.m. delivery," said Aviles.


"I'm very emotional about the whole thing," said Gricelda, 22.

Emanuel's father, Armando, was thrilled that citizen number 300 million happened to be a Latino - and it was his son.

For other hospitals, it was close but no cigar.

Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn delivered a baby girl, Mystique, at 7:50 a.m.

And Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn - which delivers more babies than any other in the city - had three boys born, at 7:21, 7:56 and 8:02 a.m.

carl.campanile@nypost.com