The Floating Hospital’s most recent collaboration with another charity is also one of its most synergistic. In May, Good+Foundation gave us significant donations of essential items for the families we serve, making a profound impact on their lives. At the same time, it has shared our behavioral health program as a resource for its network of grantees, further extending our reach and influence.

The Good+ introduction came from Bank of America, a generous funder to both organizations, which has provided significant and generous support to the hospital since the Covid pandemic. Touring the Long Island City clinic with Floating Hospital staffers Dr. Meghan Miller and Svetlana Stanarevic, representatives of the bank saw our need for baby supplies such as formula and wipes and offered to make an introduction to Good+.

Mairin Riley, the national program director for Good+, then met with Miller and Stanarevic and arranged the first donation: an entire minibus full of baby formula, wipes, swaddles and floor gyms, as well as clothing for adults and other essential items. A few weeks later, Joe DeFerrari, senior program impact coordinator at Good+, facilitated a contribution of more formula, wipes, floor gyms and adult clothing, as well as children’s bath products and bedding.

According to Stanarevic, “Both donations addressed a critical gap in our ability to provide baby items and clothing, a need that has grown substantially due to the recent influx of migrants.”

The hospital, through efforts like its life skills program and its Mens Health Initiative, also addresses the role of the father in the family unit. And like Good+, our assistance extends far beyond our core mission of medical treatment—to food and personal items, dental care, education, behavioral health and so much more.

The Floating Hospital and Good+ share a commitment to the same ends. Dr. Laurel Parker West noted, “Our organizations both believe in the power of pairing essential goods with innovative services to create an upward trajectory for under-resourced families—emphasizing the shared commitment of Good+ and The Floating Hospital to enhancing the lives of NYC families.”

And while the Floating Hospital’s patients gain from the Good+ donations, Good+ saw the collaboration working both ways, with the hospital’s services benefiting the network it serves. From their perspective, they found that the hospital’s behavioral health program offers accessible and convenient services, regardless of patients’ ability to pay or insurance status, and “is also culturally relevant to a diverse range of participants,” according to West. “This makes it an invaluable resource that Good+ has confidently shared with its grantee partner network.”