ABOVE: Jeffrey Errol Snow, the first baby born at Bethesda Memorial Hospital, yawns while his mother, Mrs. George Bernard Snow, receives an engraved sterling cup presented by Mrs. O.R. Tergesen, president of the hospital auxiliary.
By Paula Detwiller
Jeffery Errol Snow of Boca Raton became an instant celebrity the minute he emerged from his mother’s womb on Feb. 16, 1959. He was the first baby born at brand-spanking-new Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach.
“That’s my claim to fame. I haven’t been able to top it,” Snow says.
Flashbulbs illuminated his first days of life as the hospital shared the good news with the community. It was the beginning of a new era. Until then, many expectant mothers in southeast Palm Beach County relied on midwives to deliver their babies. Now they could relax in the knowledge that licensed obstetricians and a clean, safe birthing facility were close at hand — not miles away in West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale.
Snow, who will be 53 this month, doesn’t remember his welcoming ceremony, of course. But he remembers getting his wrist rebuilt at Bethesda when, at age 18, he jumped off the third floor of a building. “I was a bit of a daredevil,” he explains.
His next visit was in 1993, when his own child, first-born daughter Savanna, was delivered at Bethesda. Reflecting on the hospital foundation’s 65th anniversary, Snow mentions the people who are “still working to make that hospital the valuable asset it is.”
“It’s impressive how Bethesda cares for the indigent as well as those who can pay for the best care in the world,” Snow says. “That’s my love for the hospital: They’ve accepted the challenge of taking care of everyone.”
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