A Day of Care, Comfort, and Connection
For women living in family homeless shelters, self-care is rarely a priority and is often difficult to access. Between work, managing childcare, and navigating shelter systems, a mother’s health can easily fall to the bottom of her priorities list.
Last month, that changed for many of our patients during The Floating Hospital’s spring Women’s Wellness Day. While mammograms were performed free of charge in a mobile unit provided and staffed by the American-Italian Cancer Foundation outside our Long Island City entrance, we welcomed patients inside to a clinic transformed into an oasis for their self-care. Massages followed the mammograms and other health screenings along with henna tattoos, women’s health workshops, breakfast and lunch, plus a free shopping experience for new clothing, lingerie, and personal care items.
Your Support Made This Possible
Every element of Women's Wellness Day — the screenings, the spa services, the food, the gifts — exists because donors like you believe that the women we serve deserve the same quality of care as anyone else.
When you give to The Floating Hospital, you give a mother in a shelter the chance to find out — possibly for the first time in years — that she has a clean bill of health or discovered an issue early enough to treat. In addition, you’ve provided a few moments of respite during a hectic week. That matters more than we can say.
What Women’s Wellness Day Delivered
Women's Wellness Day reaches medically underserved women confronting structural barriers to preventive care. March's event delivered:
Mammograms for women ages 40–75, provided by the American-Italian Cancer Foundation's mobile unit — at no cost to patients
Screenings for cervical cancer, fibroids, HPV, and STIs
Massages from Primp Events
Health education workshops on topics including menopause, led by Floating Hospital staff
Wraparound services including nutrition (via Rethink Food and Rescuing Leftover Cuisine), wellness support, and a chance to “shop” for free clothing and personal care products
Volunteers in steadily climbing numbers, and we look forward to them fully staffing Women’s Wellness Day’s support needs soon.
The program runs in the spring and fall with a pop-up event at some additional point during the year. We are happy to share outcome data and patient feedback upon request.
Reducing Barriers to Care
Women's Wellness Day is one example of how The Floating Hospital reaches families that traditional health systems routinely miss. Our female patients—mostly living in family homeless shelters throughout the city—face structural barriers to care as well as housing instability, transportation challenges, childcare demands, and a limited sense of their healthcare needs.
By delivering preventive screenings, behavioral health education, and social support in an accessible and welcoming environment, The Floating Hospital helps reduce the burden on emergency services while improving overall health outcomes. This event aligns with public health goals of reducing preventable disease in underserved populations.
Made Possible Through Partnership
None of this is possible without partnership. We are grateful to the sponsors and organizations that made this year's Women's Wellness Day possible:
American-Italian Cancer Foundation — mobile mammography for medically underserved women across NYC
Mediterranean Shipping Company — event sponsor
Primp Events — mobile spa and chair massage services
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine — food redistribution supporting over 18 million meals served since 2013
Rethink Food — restaurant partnerships feeding communities in need across six cities
Sumaiya Akther, Medical Assistant, The Floating Hospital — henna tattoo services
Berenny Garcia and our dedicated volunteers, clinic staff, and wishlist donors
Women's Wellness Day takes place each spring and fall with an additional pop-up event during the year. To learn more about sponsorship or supporting this program, contact us.
