Tribute to Hank Carter of Wheelchair Charities – Goldwater Hospital’s Personal Angel

Over the short period I have lived on Roosevelt Island I have come to admire the efforts of two men who have made a difference. Jim Luce of Orphan’s International Worldwide, which is based here on Roosevelt Island, is one and due to that organization’s efforts many children in far off lands are better off today. The other is Hank Carter of Wheelchair Charities for the work he and his organization have done to benefit many individuals much closer to home, specifically here on this Island.



The following video was loaded on YouTube (by digicisco - direct link) a short week ago and deserves greater coverage as most residents of Roosevelt Island have never stepped foot into Goldwater Hospital and should know of this man’s work on behalf of our neighbors in this facility.




I think the following text taken from United States Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney’s website only begins to summarize this one man’s contributions to humanity, specifically the patients at Roosevelt Island’s Goldwater Hospital:

“Roosevelt Island is home to Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility, which is a national leader in long-term and sub-acute care with centers of excellence in areas such as: geriatrics, rehabilitation and ventilator dependence. In fact, Coler-Goldwater maintains the maintains the highest number of ventilator beds in the United States. One of the forces behind Coler-Goldwater’s success is the determination of one man – Hank Carter – who has single-handedly transformed the Rehabilitative Medicine Department of Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility into one of the best-equipped facilities of its kind, giving more wheelchairs to patients than any other facility in the nation.

Mr. Carter formed Wheelchair Charities, which raises money to give state-of-the-art wheelchairs, speech-rehab equipment, suction machines, imaging chairs, TVs, VCRs and many, many more life-enhancing medical devices to patients. He has given the lame mobility, the mute a voice, and the severely compromised the opportunity to engage in a fuller and richer life. To date, Mr. Carter and Wheelchair Charities have raised more funds than any charity for any public hospital. That is why I joined other elected officials in calling on the City and the Health and Hospitals Corporation to recognize his remarkable work by renaming the Department in his name. At the dedication of the Hank Carter Rehabilitation Center in 2004, Mr. Carter was presented with an Extension of Remarks that I placed in the Congressional Record celebrating his achievements.”