After losing their nine-day-old daughter Rebecca in 2006, New York parents Phyllis and Andrew Rabinowitz founded R Baby Foundation to improve pediatric emergency care. Two decades later, the nonprofit says it has trained more than 6,500 physicians, while a joint New York gala has raised nearly $2 million.
Rebecca Rabinowitz’s Death Inspired a New Mission
Rebecca was born four weeks early on July 13, 2006. Following five days in neonatal intensive care, she went home, but soon developed congestion, difficulty feeding and breathing problems. According to her parents, medical visits repeatedly ended with a diagnosis of a common cold.
Rebecca died on July 21, just nine days after her birth. The family later learned she had an enteroviral infection, which can be dangerous for newborns. Her parents established R Baby Foundation to improve emergency care for children.
R Baby Foundation Trains 6,500 Doctors
The foundation says it has raised more than $18 million since 2006 and trained over 6,500 physicians at more than 1,000 hospitals. Its pediatric ER training, research and equipment programmes aim to help medical teams recognise critical symptoms and respond quickly.
The group works with institutions including Yale, Columbia, Johns Hopkins and Mount Sinai, and says its partnerships benefit more than one million children annually. It also helped develop INSPIRE, a pediatric simulation research network.
Campaign for Better Emergency Care Standards
R Baby Foundation is urging stronger hospital readiness rules. It says 83% of US emergency departments are not fully prepared for pediatric emergencies and cites around 2,100 annual child deaths in inadequately prepared emergency rooms.
These are the foundation's estimates. Its advocacy has contributed to state measures in Texas, Florida and Utah, while it supports the proposed Babies’ and Children’s Emergency Care Act to improve preparedness nationally.
COPE Foundation Gala Raises Nearly $2 Million
On October 21, 2026, around 500 guests attended the Cirquetacular charity gala at Capitale in New York City. Co-hosted with COPE Foundation, the evening raised nearly $2 million for child emergency-care programmes and grief support. Founded by Lillian Julien after her daughter Michelle died in 1992,
COPE provides support groups and other services for bereaved families. The gala brought together two missions: preventing avoidable medical emergencies and helping families cope with loss.
