by MAURA YATES
The hospital can be a scary place for anyone, but especially for the youngest patients. A new child-friendly play room planned for Staten Island University Hospital's Ocean Breeze campus and inspired by New York's Bravest will help kids find comfort, and the courage to get through their hospital stays. A large red fire truck will take up an entire wall of The Firehouse Club play room, which will be filled with seating areas, toys, and video games. It's the fun place in the hospital, where the children can go and be children, and get away from their hospital rooms, said Child Life Specialist Vivian Alesta. Renovations to the play room, which will begin early next year, have been made possible by donations from the Joseph Maffeo Foundation and Councilman Andrew Lanza (R-South Shore). Named in honor of Firefighter Joseph Maffeo, who was killed on Sept. 11, 2001, Maffeo's sister, Linda, and her husband, Keith Manfredi, of the Maffeo Foundation, presented a $50,000 check to University Hospital's President and CEO Anthony Ferreri yesterday. Lanza has pledged $100,000. Ferreri expressed his gratitude and stressed the importance of philanthropy in a time when many hospitals are struggling. The new play room, designed by Rhona Hershkowitz, is phase one of the foundation's efforts to benefit the hospital's Joseph Maffeo Children's Program. Next, a new parent lounge will be created, to allow parents to continue working or keeping up with other family responsibilities while their child is receiving care. Finally, the nurses' station and patient rooms will get an overhaul. Creating a family-centered, child-friendly environment makes hospital stays seem less scary, and has a positive impact on the recuperation process for kids, said Dr. Philip Roth, chairman of pediatrics at the hospital. Lanza said he hopes the new play room will introduce fun into what is not a fun experience, and help distract kids from what may be uncomfortable or scary treatments. The works of the foundation are not done solely in Maffeo's name, Manfredi said, but rather in the name of all the firefighters killed on Sept. 11, as a way to honor their spirit of goodness and decency, and complete the work they would have done if they were here today. He was always someone who gave, and he's still giving, Jean Maffeo said of her son. Her husband, Louis, added, It couldn't have been done for a better cause.
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