DANBURY — Tom Ryan has been in and out of Danbury Hospital since the summer, juggling work with his wife’s liver disease and longing for a chance to catch his breath in the chaos.
He found relief with the recent creation of the Gold-stone Caregiver Center, a space off to the side of the hospital’s main entrance designed to support families, friends and medical professionals caring for someone with an illness. It offers support through programs and by providing a space caregivers can go. It was created using a $1 million donation from Liz and Steven Goldstone, of Ridgefield. This center is an evolution of the hospital’s holistic approach the Goldstones started several years ago.
“I said, ‘This is finally something for us,’” Ryan said. “It’s a port in the storm.”
He said he sometimes needed a place other than the coffee room to reflect, and appreciates being around other caregivers, as well as having someone listen to him.
The center looks more like a hotel than a hospital. Shades of greens, browns and reds fill the space, which is dimly lit and provides an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity. It features a computer space, kitchenette, cafe corner, social worker’s office, conference room, lounge and two quiet rooms.
“There’s nothing in here to remind you it’s a hospital,” Ryan said. “That’s the best part.”
The center also offers services, resources and educational programs for caregivers, as well as a licensed social worker and spiritual leader. Volunteer coaches are also trained to help the caregivers in the center and in the hospital rooms.
Julie Ryan said she loves the space her husband and sons can visit while seeing her.
“It’s nice knowing that they’ve got a place they can come to relax,” she said.
The Ryans are just some of the 350 people already served by the center this month. The center officially opened Sept. 18, but staff and services have been available since May.
“You see people come down and come back, which shows the need is being served,” said Miranda Dold, the center’s manager and a licensed clinical social worker.
“You see people come down and come back, which shows the need is being served. You see some of the stress just melt away.”
Miranda Dold, Goldstone Caregiver Center manager and licensed clinical social worker
“You see some of the stress just melt away.”
Anyone is welcome to use the facility and services for free, not just loved ones of patients in the hospital. Dold said that is important because caregivers already have a lot of expenses.
Lynn Crager, the center’s director and a chaplain, said it’s emotional to be a caregiver. She said caregivers often feel isolation or stress, but this place will help.
“The patient is well taken care of, but the forgotten part is the caregiver and their needs,” she said.
Caregivers cope in different ways, and the center is equipped to support them as a quiet area, so they can take a moment to relax or work; as a place where they can express concerns; a community space to connect with others experiencing similar things; and as a distraction.
“Caregiving can be all-consuming,” said Crager, who has also served as a caregiver. “They can come here for a little bit and reclaim their lives.”
The Goldstones decided to start the center after the executive director of the Goldstone Family Foundation began taking care of her parents and visited a caregiver center at another hospital.
The Goldstones shared her excitement about the idea after visiting the hospital and brought it to Danbury, where it was accepted with open arms, Steven Goldstone said.
He said he hopes family and staff embrace the program so it can become a vital tool.
He credits Dold and Crager’s expertise and compassion with the future success.
“I think that intimacy and that protection from the hustle and bustle of the bustle makes it nice,” Gold-stone said.
Peggy O’Shea, the hospital’s clinical leader of complementary medicine, said she was thrilled to have the center because she now had a place to refer families and friends of the seriously ill patients.
“I see the hardships these caregivers are going through on a daily basis,” she said. “We’ve done a good job in helping them to a point, but we needed to do more.”
Carger said the facility was providing an essential service.
“A caregiver can’t continue to do what they’re doing without support,” she said. “It’s not a sign of weakness.”
