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Mended Hearts is an international organization that has held a support group at Putnam Hospital Center for people who have or have had heart disease, open heart surgery or a cardiac event.
The support group was started in 2008 after Putnam County resident Eileen Pezzo, a registered nurse, identified a need in the community for cardiac support following her husband’s post-operative difficulties. The group is now launching a visiting program at the hospital where volunteers who have survived heart disease will spend time with a patient and their families, listening to their concerns, sharing their experiences and instilling hope. The program is a pillar of Mended Hearts whose motto is “It’s great to be alive – and to help others.” “I think it’s one of the greatest programs I’ve ever been involved in,” said Shirley Johnston, a senior member who has volunteered at the Vassar Brothers Medical Center Visiting Program in Poughkeepsie. “A lot of heart patients get depressed. We go in and talk to them and listen to their concerns. They are grateful.” The Mended Hearts Visiting Program at Putnam Hospital Center includes eight volunteers and is scheduled to begin Sept. 8. The Mended Hearts support group meets the first Tuesday of every month at 12:30 p.m., Putnam Hospital Center, 670 Stoneleigh Ave., and the third Sunday of every month at 2 p.m., Visiting Nurse Services, 979 Route 22, Brewster. For more information, call Shirley Johnston at 845-345-9190, Cathy Ahern at 845-279-5711 ext. 5620 or Eileen Pezzo at 914-419-1170.
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