Terri Schiavo was subjected to a painful 13-day starvation and dehydration death by her former husband who refused to provide her with proper medical care and rehabilitative treatment.
Not wanting to see other patients endure the same ordeal, the foundation Terri’s family started to help disabled people receive proper care announced today it is supporting the New Beginnings Community Center of Medford, New York that will help people in similar situations.
The Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network told LifeNews that New Beginnings is a state-of-the-art outpatient rehabilitative facility for Veteran’s, Traumatic Brain Injury Survivors and other cognitively and physically disabled persons. It is designed to provide rehabilitation, management and recovery services in an exceptional, stimulating and safe environment.
The center reached out to the family to dedicate the building to the memory of Terri and her family agreed to do so.
Bobby Schindler, Terri’s brother and the director of the foundation, told LifeNews.com: “We are truly blessed by the vision of New Beginnings Community Center. We believe that this grand opening will set an example for health care facilities across the country to begin to fully understand that just because someone experiences a cognitive disability, and their physical appearance may change, their human dignity does not.
“We are dedicating New Beginnings Community Center in Terri Schindler Schiavo’s memory,” Allyson Scerri, New Beginnings Founder and President, added.. “This is our way of honoring Terri’s memory, her battle for proper treatment as a cognitively disabled person, and all others who did not have the chance for rehabilitation.”
One of the goals at the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network is to partner with care centers that provide assistance for brain injured individuals and support for their families. [related]
Suzanne Vitadamo, another foundation director who is Terri’s sister, said, “This is a very special event for our family and our network. We are delighted to know that New Beginnings will be a great resource and safe haven for those that have experienced a brain injury. The underlying message is that there always remains hope for these patients and their families.”
“We remain optimistic that this will be the first of many extended health care facilities to embrace a ‘safe haven’ concept of care which will not deny any treatment or therapy to the cognitively disabled and traumatic brain injury survivors,” Vitadamo added.
The family of Terri Schiavo will be participating in this special dedication, at the grand opening on Sunday, April 17. To learn more about New Beginnings Community Center, visit their website www.nbli.org.
