Couple who met in the ER welcome their first baby by naming him after the hospital

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 16, 2023. It has since been updated.

For the couple who met in an emergency room, finding the name of their first baby was an easy decision. Emily Salerno McDavitt, 35 and Adam McDavitt, 40, found true love in the most unexpected of places - a hospital emergency department in New Jersey. This Valentine's Day marks their first as a family of three, following the birth of their son, who was fittingly named after the hospital where the couple met.

The two first met in 2015 when Emily, a registered nurse at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, applied to work in the emergency department. At the peer review, Adam was quite serious, having a full assignment of patients on top of the interview. Despite that, he was immediately taken by Emily. There was a mutual attraction, even some flirting. However, Adam had a strict rule against dating people he worked with, so the two did not pursue anything further. Fortunately, fate had other plans when Adam left the hospital in 2016 to become a police officer.

A few months later, Emily and Adam were reunited in the emergency room. The spark was still there and Emily decided to give Adam an extra incentive to attend the hospital's famous ER Christmas party, by flirtingly promising to wear an "inappropriate-for-work" dress. Adam accepted the invitation and the rest is history. Since the start of their relationship, the couple enjoyed a very trusting and loving courtship, thankfully with no hiccups. Emily still does not know the password to Adam's phone, highlighting the level of trust they have shared since the beginning.

Adam and Emily's love story began in 2020 when Adam was ready to propose. He thought of a surefire way to surprise Emily, so he had his dispatcher call him and pretend he was being ordered into work. Emily was initially "a little mad" while Adam returned home to get 800 battery-operated candles and put her engagement ring in a treasure chest to nod to their love of gaming.

On July 23, 2021, the couple said, "I do" and hopped on a party bus to the hospital where they first met. That April, the couple found out they were expecting their first child. After going in for a scan one day, they ended up catching up with a friend, who remarked that they should name the baby Cooper since they met there.

Emily and Adam knew it was perfect, and soon everyone in the department called the baby Cooper. On January 9, 2023, baby Cooper was born at the same hospital where his parents met and Emily was born there too. As new parents, Adam and Emily say they plan to have a quiet Valentine's Day with a nice dinner and presents from each other, their beloved son Cooper and their dog Chester. Emily hopes her son grows up to know that his parents met in a place that provided a lot of good to the world and to the community and they will be thrilled if he follows in their footsteps to give back.