Coler

&

Carter

Coler Rehabilitation & Nursing Care Center is an 800-bed rehabilitation and nursing facility on Roosevelt Island that provides rehabilitative and long-term services to residents of New York City and the surrounding communities. Patients typically admitted to this center suffer from everything from spinal cord injuries, stroke and cerebral palsy to Muscular Dystrophy, AIDS, and domestic violence.

Carter Specialty Hospital & Nursing Facility is a 200-bed hospital in Harlem that provides medical, sub-acute, rehabilitative and skilled nursing home care. The hospital serves New Yorkers with disabilities, such as paraplegics and quadriplegics, and the medically fragile, stroke and heart attack patients who need specialized rehabilitation services.

Both facilities are operated by the New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation. The patients and residents are a very diverse group made up of various races, ages and religions; however, nearly all are economically disadvantaged with limited resources. Many reside in these facilities for an extended period of time – in the majority of cases for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, most immobile and compromised patients have limited opportunities to interact with others, learn or be entertained or distracted from the monotony of their daily routine. As these are all publicly funded facilities, they have limited funds for recreational, cultural, social and educational programs, and budget cuts in recent years continue to strain hospital resources.