By Jean Cambareri
Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains on May 30 opened the Marsal Caregiver Center, the first such facility located in a rehabilitation hospital in the nation.
The purpose of the center is to help both caregivers and the people they are assisting reach the fullest recovery possible.
Made possible by a donation from former Burke patient Bryan Marsal and his wife, Kathleen, the Marsal Caregiver Center will provide a space where family members can rest, relax and recharge. Complete with a kitchenette for snack and beverages, a workspace, a tranquility room and a place to receive professional care, “this center ensures that caregivers are receiving the help they need in order to be there in the best way possible for their loved ones,” according to a press release.
Although Marsal is the first caregiver center at a rehabilitation hospital in the United States, it is the fifth within the Montefiore Health System, which consists of 11 hospitals, including Burke. Steven Safyer, president and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, said that he hopes to create caregiver centers at every hospital within their system.
At the press conference during the opening of the center, Westchester County Executive George Latimer recalled his recent visit to Burke and explained how it opened his eyes to how necessary an environment like this is in hospitals.
“As we toured through I ran into an individual that I know fairly well and he was here because his wife had a stroke, and you realize the emotion and the humanity that”™s involved in something like that. To have at least around him the professionals, the equipment, and the knowledge to help make something like that moment as easy as possible becomes very important, and that is what you”™re doing in this institution.”
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