BY GABE HERMAN | Mt. Sinai Health System is adding to its Downtown presence by expanding its Martha Stewart Center for Living, which treats older patients, to Union Square.
The new facility, which opened in mid-June at 10 Union Square, between E. 14th and 15th Sts., comes after a “significant leadership gift” from Stewart, according to a Mt. Sinai announcement.
The center’s first location, opened 12 years ago, is on the Upper East Side, at 1440 Madison Ave., at E. 99th St.
The aim is for the new Union Square facility to be a holistic center for patients and their caregivers. The new health hub offers primary care and specialists from more than 20 fields, including cardiology, gastroenterology, cancer, orthopedics, dermatology and rheumatology, plus radiology and physical-therapy services. The center also has yoga, tai chi, music therapy, nutrition planning, and fall prevention programs.
Lifestyle icon Martha Stewart said the new Union Square center will offer “world-class care” and is needed now more than ever.
“My partnership with the Mt. Sinai Health System continues to evolve as we expand services of the Martha Stewart Center for Living to Downtown Manhattan, where the needs of older adults are currently underserved,” Stewart said. “When we opened the first Martha Stewart Center for Living in 2007 at the Mt. Sinai Hospital in Upper Manhattan, we introduced the nation to an innovative model of comprehensive care for older adults.
“From now until 2030, 10,000 baby boomers will turn 65 each day,” she added. “This is the perfect time for leading academic medical centers and philanthropists to partner in improving care for this population and their parents. The new Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mt. Sinai-Union Square will be a destination for the unprecedented numbers of aging Americans to receive world-class care.”
Stewart’s gift for the first center, in 2007, was inspired by her mother, Martha Kostyra, who led an active life until age 93. The Upper East Side location also provides holistic care for older people, with the focus on giving them the best possibly quality of life. Patients at that facility have had half as many emergency-room visits as other seniors, according to Mt. Sinai, along with shorter hospital stays and 50 percent fewer hospital readmissions.
A geriatrician by training, Dr. Jeremy Boal is president of Mt. Sinai Downtown and also executive vice president and chief clinical officer of Mt. Sinai Health System.
“By placing the facility in Union Square,” Boal said, “we’re creating a one-of-a-kind resource for older adults and their loved ones in the area, ensuring access to the full spectrum of services designed for these individuals. It’s a model we know works, decreasing unwanted emergency-room visits and improving wellness, as seen in our Uptown Center for Living. I am grateful to Martha for her commitment and proud to offer this new facility to our communities.”
