The Brigantine Kennedys Welcome a Baby Daughter

South Jersey's resident member of the Kennedy family, Patrick, and his wife Amy welcomed a new baby daughter to the family on Sunday.

Patrick Kennedy, a former U.S.congressman, is the youngest son of longtime Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. He moved to Brigantine after meeting and marrying his wife, who is a local schoolteacher.

Here's more information from the AtlantiCare press release concerning the birth.

Former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) and his wife, Amy Kennedy, introduced their new daughter, Nell Elizabeth Kennedy, at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Campus, a member of Geisinger Health system, on December 1. They were accompanied by Nell’s big brother, three-year-old Owen Patrick; and big sisters two-year-old Nora Kara and seven-year-old Harper Gray.

Nell was born November 29 at 4:31 a.m., weighing 6 pounds and measuring 19 inches long, at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona.

The Kennedys stated that they are grateful to have welcomed their new daughter during Thanksgiving weekend.

Patrick Kennedy served 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Rhode Island’s First Congressional District. He now lives in Brigantine with his wife Amy and their four children. Amy Kennedy was born and raised in Absecon.

She married Patrick J. Kennedy on July 15, 2011. The daughter of two teachers, Amy has a daughter, Harper Gray, from a previous marriage, and she and Patrick are also parents to daughters Nell Elizabeth and Nora Kara, and son Owen Patrick.

In Congress, Patrick Kennedy was a vocal champion of efforts to increase understanding and treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In 2008, he co-authored and was the lead sponsor of the Mental Health Parity & Addiction Equity Act along with his late father Senator Edward Kennedy. The legislation, signed into law in 2008, provides tens of millions of Americans who were previously denied care with access to mental health treatment.

After leaving Congress, Kennedy co-founded One Mind for Research dedicated to dramatic enhancements in funding and collaboration in research across all brain disorders. In October 2013 he launched The Kennedy Forum to unite the community of mental health and urge today’s policy makers to seize the moment on behalf of those with mental illness, intellectual disabilities and addictions.