NYC Health + Hospitals Unveils New Community Mural at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst

The Community Mural Project is believed to be the country's largest public hospital mural program since the 1930s

Jan 13, 2026

New York, NY - NYC Health + Hospitals today unveiled a new mural as part of the Community Mural Project run by the health system's Arts in Medicine department. The mural, Our Stories, is located in the outdoor area of the Adolescent Inpatient Behavioral Health unit at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, and artist Emma Daisy Gertel developed the mural in collaboration with the patients and staff of the unit. Today's mural is one of 49 murals that have been created at NYC Health + Hospitals since 2019. The first wave of the Community Mural Project is featured in a book, Healing Walls: New York City Health + Hospitals Community Mural Project 2019-2021. This and other murals at NYC Health + Hospitals can be viewed on Bloomberg Connects. Our Stories is made possible through the support of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund and the enCourage Kids Foundation. A video featuring the artist is available here.

Developed in collaboration with youth participants through workshops, the design of Our Stories centers on the affirmation "Tell Your Story" - a phrase chosen collectively to reflect acceptance, belonging, and self-expression. Each flower in the mural was selected by the patients, who explored the symbolism of blooms to find those that resonated with their experiences and aspirations: yarrow for healing, nasturtium for victory, gladiolus for integrity, black-eyed Susan for encouragement, snowdrop for hope, chrysanthemum for truth, geranium for comfort, borage for courage, and rose for love. These symbols come together to form a shared visual language - a garden of stories that honors individuality while celebrating growth and transformation. Installed on the unit's private outdoor recreation area, the mural creates a space of reflection and encouragement. Every flower carries a story and together, they form a garden of lived experiences, a place where voices and stories matter.

"Our Stories is a beautiful reminder of what happens when young people are given the space to express themselves and to be heard," said Laurie Tisch, founder and president of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. "In a setting where vulnerability can feel especially difficult, these adolescents worked with Emma Daisy Gertel to create a mural that reflects hope, courage, and the power of community. The Community Mural Project shows how art can support healing and help young people see their own strength. We are proud to partner with NYC Health + Hospitals and enCourage Kids Foundation to bring projects like this to life."

"In the Adolescent Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at Elmhurst Hospital, artist Emma Daisy Gertel's co-designed mural reflects the resilience of our patients and the strength of the Elmhurst community," said NYC Health + Hospitals Assistant Vice President of Arts in Medicine Larissa Trinder. "By engaging patients, staff, and neighbors, the Community Mural Project creates a space of compassion, hope, and healing. It's a powerful reminder that art and collaboration play a vital role in supporting mental health and recovery."

"Our Stories is emblematic of how we at Elmhurst empower our staff, patients, and community to be their truest selves," said Milenko Milinic, MS, Interim Chief Executive Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst. "Art is a vital component of mental healthcare, because care is not only what we prescribe, but what we create together as a community. By fostering collaboration and helping many people to share their voices, the Community Mural Project brings depth to the experience of healing at Elmhurst Hospital."

"The Our Stories mural is a vibrant reflection of the courage, creativity, and resilience of the young people in our care," said Vladimir Gasca, MD, Director of Behavioral Health at Elmhurst Hospital. "Through this collaborative project, our patients transformed their experiences into art that speaks to healing and hope. Each flower, each color, and each story represents a step toward recovery and self-expression. This mural is more than art, it's a testament to the power of community and the belief that every voice matters."

"At enCourage Kids Foundation, we believe that creativity and self-expression are powerful forms of healing. The Our Stories mural beautifully captures the voices of young people who are learning to find strength and hope through art," said Jean Butler, President & CEO of the enCourage Kids Foundation. "Each flower tells a story of courage, resilience, and transformation-values that reflect not only this project, but the spirit of every child we serve. We are proud to support NYC Health + Hospitals and the Arts in Medicine program in creating spaces where healing truly begins from the inside out."

"It was an honor to design and paint Our Stories for Elmhurst's Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit," said artist Emma Daisy Gertel. "Designing the mural was about translating the voices that emerged through the patient workshops into a visual language of color, symbolism, and collaboration. I was deeply inspired by the care and intention that guided the process, and wanted the mural to reflect that spirit of resilience and connection - a garden of belonging where every story has a place."

Emma Daisy Gertel (@emmadaisy) is a Milwaukee-based multidisciplinary artist known for bold, colorful large-scale murals that transform spaces into sites of connection and joy. A Korean American adoptee raised in the Midwest, her practice explores identity, belonging, and cultural "in-between" spaces. With a background in fashion design and community arts, she served for many years as an arts facilitator, creative director, and co-executive director of Express Yourself Milwaukee, a youth arts nonprofit. Presently, she works full-time in her studio, while consulting with Dallas-based agency, Artist Uprising, on corporate art curation and placemaking projects.

The Community Mural Project is believed to be the country's largest public hospital mural program since the 1930s, when the depression-era Works Progress Administration (WPA) commissioned murals in public buildings, including virtually every hospital in New York City's public healthcare system. The WPA murals were the start of NYC Health + Hospitals art collection, which now is the city's largest public art collection and includes more than 7,000 pieces of art of multiple disciplines. The art collection is used to enhance the healthcare environment, inspire creativity, promote wellness, increase access to the arts, and engage staff.

The Community Mural Project creates opportunities for hospital staff to collaborate with each other and with neighbors, relieve stress, and enhance the physical environment of the facilities. Healthcare worker burnout is a national health crisis, and the continuing COVID-19 pandemic has created mental health challenges across New York City, especially in low-income, immigrant and historically excluded communities, which are significant patient populations for NYC Health + Hospitals.

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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst
NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, part of the NYC Health + Hospitals health care system, is the major tertiary care provider in the borough of Queens. The 545-bed hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, an Emergency Heart Care Station, a Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Receiving Center, a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Center of Excellence, and a 911-Receiving Hospital. It is a premiere health care institution offering exceptional services across a wide range of specialties, including surgery, cardiology, women's health, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine, renal services, and mental health care. In the past year alone, the hospital received nearly one million ambulatory care visits and over 140,000 emergency room visits, reflecting its essential role in the community. NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst has been nationally ranked and recognized as a "Best Regional Hospital" by U.S. News & World Report in critical areas such as Heart Failure, Heart Attack, Stroke, Hip Fracture, Maternity, Kidney Failure, Orthopedics, Pneumonia, and COPD.

About NYC Health + Hospitals' Arts in Medicine DepartmentThe Arts in Medicine department at NYC Health + Hospitals seeks to foster the emotional well-being and promote healing and wellness for all patients and their families, employees, and the greater community by utilizing the arts, including literary, visual, and performing arts throughout the health care system. In addition to managing the system's significant visual arts collection, the Arts in Medicine department encourages evidenced based practices and provides technical assistance to all of the system's health care facilities and clinics. This is accomplished by combining artistic innovation and education into a comprehensive health care continuum that supports the healing benefits of the arts. For more information, visit https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/artsinmedicine/.

About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city's five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system's trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlus health plan-all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination FundThe Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund is a New York City-based foundation that aims to improve access and opportunity for all New Yorkers and foster healthy and vibrant communities. In 2018, the Illumination Fund launched Arts in Health, a multi-year initiative to support organizations utilizing the arts as a tool for healing and building understanding in communities across New York City. The initiative's areas of focus are stigma, trauma and aging-related diseases as well as supporting organizations addressing mental health in communities disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019 the Illumination Fund supported the creation of NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department, expanding programs serving health care staff, patients, and communities in sites across the City. For more information, visit https://www.lmtif.org or follow @LMTischFund on Twitter.

About enCourage Kids FoundationSince 1985, the enCourage Kids Foundation (EKF) has been dedicated to humanizing healthcare for children and their families by funding impactful pediatric programs and supporting the Child Life Community. Serving over one million children annually, EKF continues its mission to make hospitals a better place to get better-bringing relief, joy, resilience, and healing to young patients facing medical challenges. https://www.encourage-kids.org