OUR CHARITY HEALTHCARE SERVICES

We provide exceptional, compassionate healthcare to families in need regardless of insurance status, immigration status, or ability to pay. Every year, we provide 10x more charity care than the typical U.S. nonprofit hospital—ensuring that families who can’t afford to pay don’t have to.

FOR THE FLOATING HOSPITAL, HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT – NOT A POLITICAL SLOGAN.

We have been at the forefront of unfettered healthcare since our inception in 1866 when we started our mission by serving child laborers, tenement families and the waves of immigrants who would eventually build this country into what it is today. We have always sought out those who need us most.

Our focus now is on those families who live in homeless shelters, motels, doubled-up with friends and family, and domestic violence safe houses. They are the “hidden” homeless among us — thousands of families with nothing but a room or two at best, and our charity care acts as one of the few remaining safety nets for these vulnerable New Yorkers.

Through the generosity of our supporters, The Floating Hospital offers physical and emotional well-being to these families. We break down barriers to care by providing families with free roundtrip transportation to their healthcare appointments. We offer free health education for all ages–in school and at our clinic. We give families urgently needed food, clothing and necessities such as diapers and hygiene products, and supply kids with toys, books and backpacks stocked for school. We help families navigate the housing and healthcare systems and other bureaucracies, ensuring they meet the protocols to receive benefits, education and housing. Our summer camp experience, Camp Rise Up, changes children’s life trajectories with classroom curricula and recreational activities that expand horizons and build esteem, skills, knowledge and healthy relationships.

We do whatever it takes to keep our families afloat.

Our staff and Board, many of whom were patients of The Floating Hospital or live in the communities we serve, understand our families and take the time to hear about their lives, challenges, and aspirations. Acting as a team with our patients at the center, The Floating Hospital supports them at every stage of their lives. We tailor our treatment and recommendations to their lifestyles. We care. And we do.

FOR THE FLOATING HOSPITAL, HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT – NOT A POLITICAL SLOGAN.

We have been at the forefront of unfettered healthcare since our inception in 1866 when we started our mission by serving child laborers, tenement families and the waves of immigrants who would eventually build this country into what it is today. We have always sought out those who need us most.

Our focus now is on those families who live in homeless shelters, motels, doubled-up with friends and family, and domestic violence safe houses. They are the “hidden” homeless among us — thousands of families with nothing but a room or two at best, and our charity care acts as one of the few remaining safety nets for these vulnerable New Yorkers.

Through the generosity of our supporters, The Floating Hospital offers physical and emotional well-being to these families. We break down barriers to care by providing families with free roundtrip transportation to their healthcare appointments. We offer free health education for all ages–in school and at our clinic. We give families urgently needed food, clothing and necessities such as diapers and hygiene products, and supply kids with toys, books and backpacks stocked for school. We help families navigate the housing and healthcare systems and other bureaucracies, ensuring they meet the protocols to receive benefits, education and housing. Our summer camp experience, Camp Rise Up, changes children’s life trajectories with classroom curricula and recreational activities that expand horizons and build esteem, skills, knowledge and healthy relationships.

We do whatever it takes to keep our families afloat.

Our staff and Board, many of whom were patients of The Floating Hospital or live in the communities we serve, understand our families and take the time to hear about their lives, challenges, and aspirations. Acting as a team with our patients at the center, The Floating Hospital supports them at every stage of their lives. We tailor our treatment and recommendations to their lifestyles. We care. And we do.

THE GOOD HEALTH SHUTTLE

It’s one of our founding principles: eliminating barriers to healthcare is as vital as providing the care. With homeless families increasingly isolated in unfamiliar and underserved locations, getting to a clinic is a formidable challenge. In response, The Floating Hospital provides free, round-trip vehicle transportation to patients residing in family homeless shelters or domestic violence safe houses throughout the five boroughs, and public housing developments in Northwest Queens. We provide MetroCards to qualifying patients who prefer to use public transit. Every year, our vehicles travel to hundreds of locations city-wide—and accumulate enough mileage to circle the globe 4.5 times.

The Floating Hospital Provides Modern, Compassionate Healthcare, Now, and for the Long-Term.

Our charity services are extensive. These services include the full range of primary medical, dental and behavioral healthcare. We offer specialty medical care, including infectious disease services and podiatry. Our optometry clinic is scheduled to open soon.

Nearly 160 years of service to New York City have taught us that primary healthcare can only go so far in helping our families. We must do more. So we provide information and strategies to ensure our families can stick with their treatments despite limited financial resources, poor access to quality food, and few neighborhood support networks.

The Floating Hospital’s safety net support system does all it can to help New York City’s most vulnerable families – at no cost to them- through the generosity of an army of supporters who feel that everyone deserves the best care they can receive.

Through them, we keep families afloat.

The Floating Hospital Provides Modern, Compassionate Healthcare, Now, and for the Long-Term.

Our charity services are extensive. These services include the full range of primary medical, dental and mental health care. We have specialists from cardiologists to child psychiatrists to podiatrists. In our new space we plan on additional specialties like optometry, ophthalmology, and dermatology.

More than 150 years of service to New York City have taught us that primary healthcare can only go so far in helping our families. We must do more. So we provide information and strategies to ensure that our families can stick with their treatments despite limited financial resources, poor access to quality food and few neighborhood support networks.

The Floating Hospital’s safety net support system does all that it can to help New York City’s most vulnerable families – at no cost to them, and does so through the generosity of an army of supporters, who feel that everyone deserves the best care that they can receive.

Through them, we keep families afloat.

HEALTH EDUCATION AT THE FLOATING HOSPITAL

Our team of trained Health Educators ensures that our families have the tools they need to set and keep healthy life goals. We offer group workshops and one-on-one counseling for all ages, covering a wide range of topics:

  • Nutrition
  • Fitness and exercise
  • Life skills training (conflict management, communications, and more)
  • Self-esteem and bullying
  • Hygiene
  • Managing health conditions (asthma, diabetes, etc.)
  • Sexual and reproductive health
  • Stress management and self care

Children are offered tutoring in the morning followed by a Health Education workshop. Workshops are followed by relevant activities, such as dancing and crafting – working freely with art materials to draw, sculpt, and create. They are encouraged to talk about their creations with other children and adult educators. For children with few creative outlets, these workshops foster a process of discovering who they are – and a chance to learn new things.

Health Education also coordinates our distribution of essential items to families in need, including healthy snacks and meals, books for children, hygiene products, clothes and outer wear, and much more.

CAMP RISE UP

Imagine a summer camp that excites and empowers urban teens and kids living in temporary housing to build healthy life skills. The Floating Hospital’s Camp Rise Up does just that. Experiences promote healthy relationships with body, mind, and other people, and enables decision-making based on increased knowledge and confidence. The camp is located in beautiful Rhinebeck, NY, a perfect setting for campers to explore the natural world…and themselves in the process. Consider donating or fundraising for Camp Rise Up and give a kid an unforgettable life experience.

$25

Provides a healthy lunch for a family of four

$100

Provides one tank of gas for our Good Health Shuttle that transports people to their medical appointments

$250

$250 enables a woman to receive the screenings and physical exams needed for employment or school.

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