Senator Johnson Helps Good Sam Make Hospital Stays Brighter

State Senator Owen H. Johnson (4th Senate District, Babylon), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, recently visited Good Samaritan Hospital's Emergency Room where he and Stephanie Joyce Kahn presented the hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department with a custom-made cart complete with audio tapes and cassette players to entertain children and their parents as part of the Listening Therapy Program.

The Listening Therapy Program began at Good Samaritan Hospital in 2004 when Senator Johnson and the Stephanie Joyce Kahn Foundation presented the hospital with two Listening Carts -- one suited for children and the other for adults. The money to start the program at Good Sam was made possible through a state grant Senator Johnson secured for the Foundation. The program’s popularity and success prompted Senator Johnson to secure an additional grant in the amount of $30,000 to further support SJK’s Listening Therapy Program.

"I am so pleased to support this excellent program which makes patients’ hospital stays a bit brighter and no doubt helps in the recovery process," said Senator Johnson. "Patients at Good Samaritan have benefited tremendously from this program, and it’s very exciting to see it expand to benefit even more patients."

Stephanie Joyce Kahn, who lost her sight as the result of an automobile accident in 1972 started the nationally acclaimed Listening Therapy Program for hospitalized patients in hospitals. The goal is to entertain patients, make their stay more enjoyable and to help them make a speedy recovery. The listening library includes books, magazines, old time radio shows, inspirational materials and music, as well as a variety of material for children.

Good Samaritan is one of only a few hospitals in Suffolk County to offer this therapeutic program.