The public is invited to a special, free screening of the powerful, award-winning documentary "The American Nurse" at the Margaretville Central School auditorium, 415 Main St. in Margaretville, at 7 p.m. Nov. 30.
The screening, sponsored by Mountainside Residential Care Center, operated by HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), will be shown at the request of Mountainside resident Terry Cohen, who said the only present she wanted for her 100th birthday this month was a free community screening of the film.
"Mountainside's nurses take wonderful care of me," Cohen said. "I want to honor them and pay tribute to the nursing profession."
"Terry is an amazingly vibrant, forward-thinking and active community member who said she really wanted to share this movie as a gift to the community," said Heather Greene, LCSW, Mountainside's Director of Resident and Family Services.
Greene also expressed Mountainside's gratitude to the Margaretville Central School for making its auditorium available and to Carolyn Jones Productions for letting Mountainside screen the documentary at no charge.
"We'd especially like to thank Carolyn Jones, the film's writer-director and executive producer, and Lisa Frank, its producer, who said they'd never had anyone make such a touching request of them," Greene said. "They said they'd be honored to let us show their film for Terry's 100th birthday."
The film offers a moving, in-depth portrait of five registered nurses whose empathy and selflessness lead them to serve those dealing with a miscarriage, old age, war, poverty and prison life.
It has received rave reviews, with a perfect 100 percent score on the Rotten Tomatoes review-aggregation website – meaning every critic who reviewed the film liked it.
One critic called the movie "One of the best films you'll see this year, documentary or otherwise." Another said the movie would "make you love nurses even more." A third said, "Encourage your children, spouse or partner, friends and patients to share in this tribute to nursing."
The Margaretville screening will include free refreshments and a moderated discussion afterward.
The 2014 film – which won as a best feature film in the 2015 Christopher Awards, which salutes media that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit" – runs 1 hour 21 minutes.
Its trailer is available
here.
Mountainside is an 82-bed skilled nursing facility, with 115 clinical, administrative and service staff members. It has received a five-star rating – the highest possible – for nine consecutive years from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. News & World Report's five-star "high performance overall" quality rating as one of the country's Best Nursing Homes, recognition as a Participant facility in the Human Rights Campaign's LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Index, and the American College of Health Care Administrators' highest leadership honor, the Eli Pick Facility Leadership Award, "for achieving excellence well beyond the five-star rating system."
To learn more about the screening of "The American Nurse" and to reserve a spot, call Jennifer Grant at Mountainside at 845-586-1800, ext. 3314.
Under the watchful eye of Mountainside and Margaretville Hospital Director of Rehabilitation Carly Jones, a doctor of physical therapy, 100-year-old Terry Cohen smiles as she sees her progress while exercising on a recumbent exercise bike in the Mountainside therapy room.
Mountainside Residential Care Center will sponsor a free public screening of the award-winning documentary "The American Nurse" at Margaretville Central School at 7 p.m. Nov. 30. The screening is to honor Mountainside resident Terry Cohen, who said the only present she wanted for her 100th birthday this month was a free community screening of the film.