Calvary Hospital marked a milestone in its mission of compassionate end-of-life care on May 16, 2026, with the dedication of a newly renovated lobby and family care center at its Morris Park campus in the Bronx. 

The redesigned space, which replaces a dated cafeteria area, features an open, light-filled lobby, a family lounge with a 317-gallon aquarium, a family meeting room, and a private room for quiet reflection and social work support. Art selected by staff and board members is displayed throughout. 

“The cosmetic is obvious, it’s open, it’s bright, everything is done to make you feel welcome when you come in,” Jeffrey Menkes, chairman of Calvary Hospital’s board of directors, told The Good Newsroom. “But we’re dealing with a very unique resource in Calvary. We’re the only acute care hospital that deals exclusively with end-of-life. We’re kind of like Switzerland to all the big health systems in the New York area.” 

The project was made possible through the support of ArchCare, the post-acute healthcare ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, of which Calvary is a part. 

A space built around the family 

“Calvary provides the opportunity to help people at that final phase of life, whether it’s hospice at home or here in the hospital itself,” Scott LaRue, CEO of ArchCare, said in an interview. “Families say so many good things about the care and compassion they receive here.” 

The blessing of the new space was offered by Father Chris Devron, S.J., president of Regis High School, who invoked Pope Francis’ image of the Church as a field hospital, a model he said Calvary embodies more fully than almost any other institution. 

Calvary is the country’s only fully accredited acute care specialty hospital, exclusively providing palliative care for adult patients with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Calvary provides around-the-clock access for families, making facilities like the new family care center not an amenity, but a direct expression of its mission.