Bristol Hospital Cancer Patients Have Been Receiving Donated Quilts

By Justin Muszynski, The Bristol Press

May 20, 2022

Bristol Hospital cancer patients have been receiving donated quilts from a Waterbury-based company for a decade.

“I think our mission says it all. We’re wrapping cancer patients and their families in comfort and hope, one quilt at a time,” said Deborah Van Steenbergen, founder of Quilts That Care. “We are celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. During that time we’ve made over 5,000 quilts.”

Bristol Hospital officials this week said their patients have been the recipient of nearly 500 quilts made by Quilts That Care over the past decade. The Waterbury-based company celebrated its 10-year milestone on Monday with its latest delivery of quilts to Bristol Hospital.

“Our patients appreciate these quilts so much,” Bristol Hospital Cancer Care Center social worker Kathryn Woodhouse said. “The quilts bring them so much joy and comfort. They truly cherish them and we are so thankful for the gift of these quilts. They mean so much.”

Quilts That Care, according to its website, was founded by Van Steenbergen and a handful of friends in April 2012. Van Steenbergen began accompanying her husband, Robert, to The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center in Waterbury in early 2012, as he underwent cancer treatment.

She was disheartened to see so many patients going to and coming from treatment alone. She wanted to help bring comfort – even just a little – to those going through so much, the website states. So she combined her passion for quilting with her drive to help and soon after Quilts That Care was born.

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.