New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation
09/22/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/22/2026 11:22
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Launches BRAVO Program to Bring Arts, Recreation, and Health Education to Patient Bedsides
NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Launches BRAVO Program to Bring Arts, Recreation, and Health Education to Patient Bedsides
The program includes hands-on art projects - such as watercolors, origami, and faux flower arrangements - as well as games, puzzles, and supportive bedside interaction
Sep 22, 2026
Celebrating the new BRAVO program at South Brooklyn Health. From left to right: Wilfredo Yap, Chief Nursing Officer; Diahann Singh, Chief Quality Officer; Arielle Archibald, MD, Stroke Coordinator; Theresa Scavo, CAB Chair; Julianne Rich, Director of Volunteer Services; Mary Maldonado, Chief Human Resources Officer; Selwena Brewster, MD, Chief Medical Officer; and Riana Freedman, BRAVO Program Director.
New York, NY - NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health has launched an innovative volunteer initiative to enhance the patient experience. The new Bedside Recreation and Arts Volunteer (BRAVO) Program sends trained volunteers to inpatient medical and surgical units to offer creative arts, recreational activities, and interactive bedside health education to patients. These volunteers provide patients and their visitors with hands-on art projects - such as watercolors, origami, and faux flower arrangements - as well as games, puzzles, and supportive bedside interaction. In addition, the BRAVO Program introduces an innovative educational component created in collaboration with South Brooklyn Health's Office of Patient Experience, Stroke Center, Cardiac Catheterization Lab, and Pharmacy. Through custom interactive games and activities, volunteers help connect patients and their visitors with vital, vetted health knowledge, including stroke and heart attack symptom recognition and the importance of taking medications as prescribed.
Julianne Rich, Director of Volunteer Services, and Riana Freedman, BRAVO Program Director, conduct a bedside visit with patient Leo Durocher."The BRAVO Program reflects our ongoing commitment to providing compassionate, patient-centered care that honors the total well-being of the people we serve," said CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health Manjinder Kaur, DNP, FACHE. "By engaging patients and their visitors in creative expression, recreation, and health education at the bedside, our volunteers are helping transform the hospital environment into a place of warmth, connection, and empowerment."
Building upon South Brooklyn Health's existing volunteer framework, the BRAVO Program relies on trained community volunteers working closely under the guidance of nursing staff. Initial volunteer cohorts are supported by recruitment across local colleges and community organizations. The BRAVO program is funded through the generosity of the South Brooklyn Health Auxiliary. Members of the South Brooklyn community interested in joining the BRAVO Program volunteer team or learning more about volunteer opportunities at NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health can contact the Volunteer Services Office at [email protected].
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Contact: Public Affairs Department,NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health [email protected]
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn HealthA member of NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health is a major health care provider in the borough of Brooklyn. Its foremost mission is to provide quality, comprehensive care to all members of the public regardless of their ability to pay. South Brooklyn Health's modern campus features the new Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital and full Ambulatory Care Services. Its range of services, include emergency care, surgery, maternity, and specialized outpatient care, and holds designations for its stroke and maternal care centers. NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health is a joint commission accredited thrombectomy stroke center, providing immediate access to the highest level of stroke care. South Brooklyn Health is also a certified Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Center, providing the highest level of neurology and cardiology care. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/southbrooklynhealth.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation published this content on September 22, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 22, 2026 at 17:22 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]