Roosevelt Island Volunteers And Donations Needed For Angelica Patient Assistant Program At Coler Goldwater Hospital - NYC HHC July 11 Public Meeting On Goldwater Closing

The Angelica Patient Assistant Program (Angelica) is a volunteer organization dedicated to helping the residents of Roosevelt Island's Coler-Goldwater Hospital. According to Angelica's Jacqueline Gallant:

We're a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that works to enhance the lives of economically disadvantaged, long-term medical patients and support long-term medical care facilities. We are presently focused on improving the lives of residents at Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility (CGSHNF) on Roosevelt Island in New York City. We develop and implement recreational, cultural, educational and social programs to engage and stimulate the patients and residents with the ultimate goal of improving their overall quality of life. Such programs include Spa & Beauty Days, the Karaoke program, Coler Art Studio,

Image of Goldwater Patients Sketching At Metropolitan Museum From Angelica

Healthy Starts nutritional program and horticultural therapy. Most of the patients we seek to serve are seriously disabled and reside in either of the two long-term care facilities for extended periods of time, in most cases the rest of their lives.

We need volunteers for our special events, including Spa & Beauty Days,

 Image of Goldwater Patients Spa Day From Angelica

 the Sweetheart Ball,

Image of Goldwater Patients Sweetheart Ball From Angelica

and more, but particularly for program development. We're trying to organize a donation drive for things the patients need, like clothing, DVDs, art supplies, headphones, etc., with which we need help. We're also trying to organize a program that would allow for regular food delivery to the patients. Additionally, we need help finding sources of funding so that we could renovate the patients' common spaces and start other recreational/therapeutic programs, including a therapy dog program.

We're also looking for in-kind donations of new or gently used clothing, DVDs, headphones, CDs, games, and art supplies.

Please visit our website and Facebook page.

Please contact us at angelicafoundation@gmail.com

More on Angelica from earlier posts.

As previously reported, Goldwater Hospital will be closed later this year to make way for Cornell NYC Tech campus and:

... more than 300 patients will be relocated to new facility at North General Hospital in East Harlem at the end of October 2013 and other patients will be transferred to Coler campus on Roosevelt Island at the same time. There will also be 175 mobility impaired affordable apartments for Coler Hospital patients in a new facility being built on 99th street across from Metropolitan Hospital scheduled to open in the spring/summer of 2015....

NYC Health and Hospital Corp (HHC) representatives discussed the closing of Goldwater Hospital at an April 16 Community Board 8 meeting. Here's video of that meeting.

HHC is holding a Public Hearing on July 11

regarding the closing of Goldwater Hospital.