The Angelica Patient Assistance Program

Description

The Angelica Patient Assistance Program is a nonprofit 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 patients and residents at Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility (CGSHNF) on Roosevelt Island in New York City. We develop and implement recreational, cultural, education and social programs to engage and stimulate the patients and residents with the ultimate goal of improving their overall quality of life. Most of the patients we seek to serve are seriously disabled and reside in long-term care facilities for extended periods of time, in most cases the rest of their lives. The patients residing the two facilities receive treatment for various medical conditions and traumas, including strokes, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and accidental injuries; many of the patients are paraplegic or quadriplegic. Moreover, the patients typically have limited economic resources and few, if any, regular visitors. The Angelica Program’s activities and programs provide the patients with opportunities to interact with other people, learn, be entertained and distracted from the monotony of their daily routine. The Angelica Program provides the tools for the improvement of the long-term patients’ quality of life, the opportunities for which would be otherwise limited.