It was the feel-good event of the year!
Hundreds of local ladies partied at New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope on April 7 at the medical center’s annual Thrive event — a shindig that pampers women while offering them health screenings and information.
Women tend to be the primary carers in their families and often forget to take care of their own needs, said an organizer, so the bash is a chance for them to focus on their own wellbeing while letting their hair down.
“Women often leave themselves out of the equation — they take care of everyone else first,” said Loren Avellino, the hospital’s director of community outreach. “So the purpose is to bring focus back on them in a fun format, sort of like a girls’ night out.”
Around 250 women, mostly in their 40s and above, came to the shindig where they enjoyed massages, acupuncture treatments, raffles, a photo booth, and goodie bags filled with local food, Avellino said.
Between the good times, hospital workers offered health screenings and talks on health-related topics.
The ladies also tore up the dance floor as a disc jockey named DJ Chef — who literally spins vinyl with one hand while manning a frying pan with the other — served up disco classics and dessert, Avellino said.
Many of the guests were return attendees, she said. In fact, Thrive — now in its third year — has developed such a great reputation as a fun night out, many healthcare workers attend in their time off, she said.
“We’ve generated a lot of buzz around the event,” she said. “Some are people who come back, but there were also a lot of new faces — they say, ‘I’ve been hearing about the event and I’m so glad I came!’ ”
