Leonard Florence Center Interview on NPR’s All Things Considered!
The Leonard Florence Center for Living was prominently featured on National Public Radio’s (NPR) popular “All Things Considered” talk show. The show’s host Lisa Mullins and producer Lynn Jolicoeur spent an entire day at the Center interviewing Steve Saling and Barry Berman. Both were stars! The journalists were so impressed by the amazing residents, staff and design of the Center.
“All Things Considered” is heard by an estimated 15 million people around the country!
All Things Considered
People With ALS Living Longer, More Independent Lives At High-Tech Chelsea Home
Just outside Boston, there’s a place where people who’ve been diagnosed with one of the most cruel and debilitating diseases are living longer and more meaningful lives than ever thought possible.
The disease is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. And the place is the Leonard Florence Center for Living. It’s a contemporary brick building along a hillside in Chelsea.
Inside, something revolutionary is happening. And it’s all thanks to two men who make an unlikely pair.
A Mission To Give People ‘A Better Quality Of Life’
First, there’s Barry Berman. He’s a gentle, avuncular 64 year old, who works in a sweater and tie and loves what he does. He runs the center — a skilled nursing facility.
“I think I have the best job in the world, because I go to work every day and my mission is just to try to make people have a better quality of life,” Berman says.
The other half of the pair is 49-year-old Steve Saling. He’s a self-proclaimed rebel, with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair and a penchant for T-shirts and Birkenstock sandals. He has ALS and lives at the center.
“I was told my life expectancy was three to five years. I’ve always had a problem with authority. I don’t like to accept what makes no sense to me,” Saling said, speaking through a computer.
To read the the full article, click here http://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2018/05/03/als-chelsea-leonard-florence-center or to listen click on the red play button to the left of the headline.
