The newly opened Stein Family Center for Well-Being enables vent-dependent residents to live as independently as possible in a “real” home, where they receive exceptional skilled nursing and compassionate care, and are treated with dignity and respect. It is a revolutionary way to live for ventilator-dependent individuals.
Operated by nonprofit Chelsea Jewish Lifecare, the Stein Family Center for Well-Being in the Leonard Florence Center is the only Green House® ventilator program in the country. Offering state-of-the-art portable ventilators in a Green House® model of care, specialized care residents have access to a completely new way of living. These multi-function ventilators are the first and only ones of their kind on the market. They provide a unified respiratory system that makes it easy to switch and customize therapies, creating a simple system to use and manage. Most importantly, these ventilators offer greater mobility, enhancing the quality of life for residents.
Honoring long-time friends and supporters Bill and Sharon Stein and their family, the Stein Family Center for Well-Being features 20 private rooms with baths, each equipped with revolutionary technology and state-of-the-art equipment to enable individuals on a ventilator to live as independently as possible. The Leonard Florence Center, overlooking scenic Boston Harbor, was the first urban Green House® in the country.
“We are eternally grateful to Bill and Sharon Stein for their compassion, their generosity and their unwavering commitment to the residents at the Leonard Florence Center for Living,” said Barry Berman, Chelsea Jewish Lifecare CEO. “They truly understand that life on a ventilator in a Green House is a life-changing experience.”
The Leonard Florence Center team has been delivering exceptional vent care for over 10 years and, as a result, is highly proficient in executing the essentials. The homes are staffed round-the-clock, 24 hours a day, by caring and compassionate professionals. Consisting of 10 7,000-square-foot condo-style “homes” on six floors, the residence offers both short-term rehabilitation and long-term care with every modern convenience and amenity.
The extreme isolation typically affecting people on vents is eliminated at the Center. Instead, residents actively socialize and interact with other residents, staff and visitors. Recreational outings are organized by the staff to accommodate a wide variety of interests, including trips to Disney World, sporting events, movies, restaurants and more. Without a doubt, the extensive degree of independence vastly improves the quality of life for the residents.
“We are so proud to be involved with the Leonard Florence Center for Living,” said Bill Stein. “To witness this revolutionary model of care while getting to know these extraordinary residents has been a remarkable experience.”
Patrick O’Brien has been a ventilator-dependent resident at the Leonard Florence Center since 2010. After moving in, he directed and produced “Transfatty Lives,” an extraordinary documentary that won the Audience Award at the Tribeca and Milano Film Festivals. Prior to living at the Center, Patrick was in a nursing home that did not have the staff or capabilities for Patrick to even get out of bed. Kennedy O’Brien, Patrick’s father, notes, “The Leonard Florence Center for Living is a place where miracles happen every day. It is genuinely a Center for Living.”
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