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Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, NY
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Fuji Film Performance Stage
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Maria Fareri Children's Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY is one of the few U.S. hospitals named after a child. It is designed to fulfill a special dream Maria expressed shortly before she passed away from rabies when she was an 8th grader ten years ago. She once wrote she wished for "the health and well-being of all the children in the world." Guided by their daughter's dream, John and Brenda Fareri spearheaded a campaign to create this unique family-centered healthcare facility, one that doesn't feel, look or even smell like a hospital. Their work in this regard continues to this very day and recently they received a big helping hand. They joined forces with New York piano retailer Frank & Camille's Keyboard Centers and donated a Yamaha Disklavier® DC3A piano to the facility, which adds a therapeutic and artistic ambiance to the hospital's visually stimulating lobby.
"Something wonderful is always happening in the lobby," says Jan Mittan, Executive Director of the Children's Hospital Foundation. "The piano is located near the Fuji Film Performance Stage under the 'rainbow bridge' ("Satinstein," a piece of artwork originally displayed in Sotheby's lobby and created by Rachel Feinstein). In front of the stage, there's a 6,000-gallon aquarium filled with tropical fish. Cameras mounted in the lobby allow children who are too sick to come out of their rooms to watch on 37" LCD panels located in each room."
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Standing L to R: Sam Varon of Frank & Camille's, Jan Mittan and Mei-Ting; seated L - R: Nini and Alice Burla
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The Disklavier is featured during live entertainment by the Westchester Youth Orchestra, theater groups, and other performers, and also plays music for the children to enjoy. It will also be used for its SmartKey™ feature by the hospital's music therapist for active participation between patient and piano. On June 2nd, Yamaha artist and 2005 National Chopin Competition winner Mei-Ting Sun and piano prodigy and youngest student to enter the pre-college curriculum at The Juilliard School of Music, Alice Burla, visited Nini, a 17-year-old classically trained oncology patient whose talents inspired the gift of the Disklavier. Both entertained patients and Sun showed Nini how to use the Disklavier's record/playback function to hone her skills while hospitalized. "Nini spends hours playing when she comes for treatments," says Mittan. "She knows the power of music in a healing environment, and plans to give concerts here once she is feeling better." In addition, Eric Johnson of Frank & Camille's donated his time to show music therapist Lori Park the features of the piano that would be most useful to her music therapy program.
"It's very powerful to see how Maria's wish has impacted so many others," says Dr. Michael Gewitz, Physician-In-Chief at the hospital. "We believe our facility sets the standard for children's hospitals around the world and one of the reasons is we have such great supporters like Frank & Camille's Keyboard Centers."
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The Yamaha DC3A in the lobby
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The $147 million facility was built with the support of 20,000 local residents and 100 schools. Special exhibits and donations were contributed by former Yankee and Met great David Cone and NHL superstar Pat LaFontaine. A real fire truck, helicopter, diesel locomotive, sailing salon, and a 400-room dollhouse are among other kid-friendly exhibits.
This hospital is the only specialized acute care children's hospital in the Hudson Valley. Each year, over 20,000 children benefit from advanced-level services provided by over 150 pediatric specialists and subspecialists that represent 18 medical specialties. Additional information about the hospital can be found at http://mariafarerichildrenshospital.wcmc.com.
