NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler Receives State-of-the-Art Equipment Upgrade from Wheelchair Charities Inc. to Expand Access to Rehabilitative Care
New parallel bars and standing frames offer support to bariatric patients
May 21, 2025
New York, NY — NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler announced today a state-of-the-art equipment donation to its rehabilitation gym from long-time benefactor and founder of Wheelchair Charities, Inc., Henry J. ‘Hank’ Carter. The equipment allows for broader resident access to rehabilitative care, improving physical function, mobility, and the strength needed to perform daily activities, independently. These new additions include:
- Bariatric Standing Frames – assist residents with significant mobility limitation to help stand and bear weight on lower extremities in preparation for transferring and walking.
- Bariatric Parallel Bars – provide stable and adjustable support aimed at improving mobility, balance and strength in preparation for ambulation.
- Training Stairs – supports residents in regaining mobility and safely learning to navigate stairs after an injury.
- Sci-fit Steppers – promotes full-body strengthening with low-impact exercise.
- Omni Cycle – assists residents in regaining strength, coordination, and endurance especially for those experiencing difficulty with traditional exercise.
- PhysioGait – provides a controlled, dynamic environment that allows residents to practice walking with different degrees of support.
- Lingraphica – a communication device that allows residents to communicate when they are unable to speak or communicate clearly.
“I give God the credit for all that Wheelchair Charities has achieved over the years. I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the incredible care teams at NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler, who continue to do remarkable things for the residents,” said Wheelchair Charities CEO Henry (Hank) J. Carter. “I am grateful for the compassionate care Coler provides, the warmth it fosters, and the opportunity I have to support and enhance the quality of life for its residents.”
“Wheelchair Charities’ generous donation of state-of-the art rehabilitation therapy equipment helps our residents recover strength, balance, and mobility more effectively, promotes their independence in performing daily activities, enhances resident safety, facilitates person-centered therapy, and makes rehabilitation more interesting and engaging,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Chief Executive Officer Stephen J. Catullo, LNHA, MBA. “The donation of this equipment helps make Coler a place of recovery and vitality, giving our residents a better chance at staying active, happy, and independent for as long as possible.”
“Throughout the years Wheelchair Charities has made numerous donations to the Rehabilitation Department. This includes motorized wheelchairs, exercise equipment and communication devices,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler Director of Rehabilitation Services Yonnette Ramlochan, OTR/L. “These contributions are more than just equipment, they are an investment in the health, mobility and overall well-being and quality of the life for our residents at Coler. As a result, our residents have greater opportunity to stay active, mobile and regain a level of functional ads social independence to live their fullest lives.”
“With the support of Mr. Carter and Wheelchair Charities, Coler has become the best nursing home in the country providing us with wheelchairs, beds, rehabilitation equipment, a computer lab and so much more,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler Resident Theresa Awoonerwilliams.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Rafael Dominguez, Rafael.Dominguez@nychhc.org, (646) 988-3599
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler
NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler is an 815-bed skilled nursing facility located in Roosevelt Island, providing comprehensive skilled nursing, medical and rehabilitative care for more than 70 years. NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler is committed to serving New York City and the surrounding communities, while setting an example as a leader in memory care programming and rehabilitation; it is the first long-term care facility in the United States to receive a Silver Beacon Award for Memory Care by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN); and is recognized among 11% of nursing homes nationally as an LGBTQ+ Long-Term Care Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign and Sage. Rated as a “Best Nursing Home in 2025” by Newsweek, with a ranking of 9th best in New York State, the facility earned a Five-Star CMS rating which designates them among the top 10 percent of skilled nursing facilities in the country. The facility also ranks in the top 1st quintile in the New York State Department of Health Nursing Home Quality Pool. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/locations/coler/.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 43,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
About Henry J. Carter & Wheelchair Charities Inc.
Henry J. “Hank” Carter grew up in the Queensbridge Projects, Long Island City, New York. He was educated in the public school system and attended Baruch College. Mr. Carter served in Vietnam, and was awarded the Army’s Good Conduct Medal, a Bronze Star, and other military honors. Upon his return to New York, he began a successful career in the banking industry. Nearly 40 years ago, Mr. Carter visited a friend at Coler-Goldwater Hospital on Roosevelt Island who had been paralyzed by a gun shot. He was touched by the special needs of the patients and residents there, and inspired by their perseverance in the face of extraordinary challenges.
To help alleviate suffering and provide independence and hope, Mr. Carter created Wheelchair Charities, Inc. Through Wheelchair Charities, Hank Carter has donated more than $25 million to NYC Health + Hospitals for a variety of equipment and programs for patients and residents with profound disabilities. This includes thousands of manual and motorized wheelchairs, specially equipped buses, pressure sensitivity beds, therapeutic equipment, and more than 1,000 state-of-the-art computers that feature voice recognition, zoom-text, and a pointer device to facilitate use by quadriplegic individuals. Many devices are the most technologically sophisticated available and can be operated by the movement of a patient’s eye.
