Kirsch Family Foundation funded addition to benefit Brooklyn families
Brooklyn, NY, February 22, 2024 — Maimonides Children’s Hospital this month opened its new sensory room, which will benefit patients and families with features that promote play and stress relief through visual, tactile, and mobile stimulation.
The therapeutic space is designed to meet the needs of children and families enduring the difficulties of illness and hospitalization, emphasizing safety, reducing anxiety, and improving patient outcomes.
The room was funded by a $90,000 donation to Maimonides Child Life Services from the Kirsch Family Foundation. The Foundation was created by Hyman Kirsch, who founded Kirsch Beverages in Brooklyn in the early 20th century after immigrating from Crimea in 1903. After the family sold Kirsch Beverages in 1980, the Kirsch Family Foundation continued to support numerous organizations until 2022, when the Kirsch family generously donated the remainder of its funds to Maimonides Children’s Hospital to benefit families in Brooklyn. This major gift made the new Sensory Room possible, along with upgrades to other inpatient areas in the Children’s Hospital Pediatrics Unit.
The Kirsch family, including Robin, Jesse, and Beth Kirsch, visited Maimonides’ Pediatrics Unit in February to see the new addition, where a plaque on the wall honors the family’s legacy, including an illustration of a Kirsch soda bottle.
“We are so grateful to the Kirsch Family Foundation for their generous gift,” said Jeffrey Avner, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at Maimonides Children’s Hospital. “We have a common mission to help and uplift children and families here in our Brooklyn community, and they were instrumental in making the Child Life Team’s vision of a sensory room in our Pediatric Unit a reality. The family celebrates a longstanding tradition of giving back to the Brooklyn community, and their legacy will persist here at Maimonides in the cheerful and inviting environment they have helped us to create.”
“The Kirsch family is delighted that patients and staff can benefit from the new additions to the Pediatric Unit at Maimonides Medical Center,” said Robin Kirsch. “It’s wonderful to see our great grandfather’s legacy of compassion continue. We appreciate the dedication and expertise of all of the professionals who care so much about their patients and families.”
Maimonides’ Child Life, Creative Arts, and Education Program offers a variety of services to support the emotional, social, and developmental needs of children experiencing stress due to hospitalization, and help children, adolescents, and families cope with the difficulties of serious illness and inpatient treatment.
For photos of the Sensory Room and the Kirsch family’s visit, click here. To download photos, use download PIN 7833.
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About Maimonides Children’s Hospital
Maimonides Children’s Hospital is the only Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn, caring for children 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our staff is comprised of an outstanding team of board-certified pediatric physicians, surgeons, nurses, and nurse practitioners who dedicate their lives to the health and well-being of children. Our team of board-certified pediatric specialists collaborate with the team to ensure each child receives the expertise and best care possible in an environment created and designed for their comfort. For additional information, please visit maimo.org/treatments-care/childrens-hospital/.
About Maimonides Health
Maimonides Health is Brooklyn’s largest healthcare system, serving over 320,000 patients each year through the system’s 3 hospitals, 1,700+ physicians and more than 80 community-based practices and outpatient centers. The system is anchored by Maimonides Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest independent teaching hospitals and home to centers of excellence in numerous specialties and Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital), a 130-bed adult medical-surgical hospital; and Maimonides Children’s Hospital, Brooklyn’s only children’s hospital and only pediatric trauma center.
Maimonides’ clinical programs rank among the best in the country for patient outcomes, including its Heart and Vascular Institute, Neurosciences Institute, Bone and Joint Center, and Cancer Center. Maimonides is an affiliate of Northwell Health and a major clinical training site for SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. For additional information, please visit maimo.org.