Children who come along while a parent is treated for cancer at Northwell's R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center in New Hyde Park now have somewhere to go other than a waiting room. The Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Room opened on Monday, Nov. 2, named for the mother of Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer.

Jennifer Schaefer died in February 2024 after two years with breast cancer. Her son, the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, was a teenager at the time. The room grew out of his conversations with Northwell staff, and the Islanders Children's Foundation paid for it with a $150,000 gift announced in May.

What is in the room

The space is built around the Islanders. According to the team, it has a mini video board and several TVs on the walls for video games and shows, three lockers modeled on the ones in the Islanders' own locker room with jerseys, a helmet and gloves hanging in them, and a bubble hockey table along one wall. Signed pucks, Schaefer jerseys, family photographs and other memorabilia are displayed throughout.

Children who use the room make Islanders bracelets as one of its activities. Each one holds a small ladybug, a symbol the Schaefer family uses to remember Jennifer.

Who staffs it

The room is not a play area left to run itself. Dr. Richard Barakat, physician-in-chief and executive director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, said it will be staffed by a trained child life specialist who supports the children emotionally while their parents are in treatment. When the gift was announced in May, the team and Northwell said the room would also have a private space where grief counseling is available.

The idea is twofold: children get a place built for them, and a parent in treatment can focus on their own care knowing the kids are looked after.

The first game on the table

Schaefer toured the room on Monday with his father, Todd, and his older brother, Johnny. Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky, team president of business operations Kelly Cheeseman, Dr. Barakat and Northwell president and CEO Dr. John D'Angelo also attended.

So did Tenika Isaacs, a Northwell patient who was diagnosed with breast cancer in the winter of 2025, went through chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, and finished her last radiation treatment on Oct. 30. She is now in remission. Her son, LJ, received the room's first bracelet and then played Schaefer in the first game on the bubble hockey table. LJ won, 1-0, and Schaefer has said he plans to come back to improve his record. He is expected to visit the room regularly through the season.

Where the room is

The Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Room is inside the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, Northwell's outpatient cancer center in New Hyde Park. It is meant for the children of patients being treated there. Families with questions about the room or child life services can ask their care team at the center, or reach the Northwell Health Cancer Institute through its website.

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