Meet our new recruits

Posted on February 22, 2012 by dlevine

Fred Okun helps unload donations brought by Gloria Radlmann of Tewksbury.

When Fred and Nancy Okun of Basking Ridge, NJ, attended Full Circle, the annual celebration of Matheny’s Arts Access Program, this past November, they didn’t know they were going to be recruited as volunteers at the Second Chance Shop, a thrift shop run by Matheny’s auxiliary group, The Friends of Matheny. But they happened to bump into Linda Horton, a friend from Peapack who is on Matheny’s Board of Trustees and also manages the shop. The rest is history.

Nancy Okun now volunteers as a salesperson one Thursday a month, and, since Monday is the only day of the week that the shop accepts merchandise donations, Fred Okun comes to the shop every Monday to help collect and unload the clothing, books and knicknacks that local residents drop off.

Nancy Okun is a retired pharmacist, “but my repressed desire,” she admits, “was always to have an antiques store. So, maybe this is good training.” Fred Okun is also retired, from a career at GE Healthcare. Helping out at the shop, he says, “gives you a good feeling.”

The Friends of Matheny has raised more than $3 million since its formation in 1983. Last year, the Second Chance Shop earned more than $88,000.

Nancy Okun is ready to welcome her first customer.

 

 

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Hitting the switches

Posted on February 21, 2012 by dlevine

Five-year-old student Jack Harter hits a switch in response to a question from speech-language pathologist Christine Mayercik.

Speech-language pathologists search tirelessly for ways in which non-verbal children can communicate. Thanks to a donation from The Friends of Matheny, Matheny’s auxiliary group, the Matheny School has been provided with a brand new supply of augmentative communication switches, which can be used by younger students to express themselves.

In a recent classroom session, senior speech-language pathologist Christine Mayercik showed how they work. She combined images on a DynaVox speech-generating device with the preschool game Uno Moo to help students match animal figures and colors and answer questions about both. “If we put a blue sheep on a blue farmer, what are we matching, animals or colors?” she asked. The students would hit one switch for animals and another switch for colors.

The additional switches have had a positive impact on the students’ ability to communicate, and the hope is that this ability will continue to improve and expand. The inability to communicate is particularly frustrating for those students who understand what is going on around them but lack the ability to express themselves.

As part of a collaborative team, speech-language pathologists such as Mayercik provide complete assessments of speech and language and develop and implement programs to meet each student’s individual needs.

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Ride on!

Posted on February 17, 2012 by dlevine

Cyclists will have new routes this year.

The five cycling routes at the 15th annual Miles for Matheny will have a new look. After three years with the same routes, Lee Brush, a resident of Annandale and former president of the Bedminster Flyers cycling club, felt it was time for a change. The 12-mile route is now 10 miles, the 23-mile route is now 25 miles and the 32-mile ride is now 35 miles. The 50 miles and Hills of Attrition rides will remain the same.

The 10-mile distance is the “family friendly” route. In the past, it hadn’t been so friendly because there were some difficult hills and the route crossed a highway.

All cycling rides will use the Whitehouse Station branch of our cycling sponsor, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, as a rest stop, reducing our rest stop locations from four to one. This will make delivery and pickup of supplies easier and should be more interesting for the riders and volunteers at the stop.

Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 22, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack, NJ. The 50-mile and Hills of Attrition rides take off at 10 a.m.; 25 and 35-mile rides start at 10:45 a.m.; and the 10-mile ride leaves at 11:45 a.m.

Miles for Matheny also includes a Kids Fun Run at 11:30 a.m.; a 5K race at 12:15 p.m.; and the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at 1 p.m. All funds raised help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to children and adults with disabilities in the community.

For more information, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

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Mask madness

Posted on February 16, 2012 by dlevine

Arts Access facilitation manager Keith Garletts shows off his mask.

When you come to our Fat Tuesday Fundraiser to benefit Matheny next week, we hope you walk away with a new mask.

Hosted by the Verve Bistro Bar Lounge, the Mardi Gras-Carnivale Party features a mask auction—a key component of the fundraising activities made possible by members of Matheny’s Arts Access staff.  In Arts Access, people with disabilities are able to create fine art, assisted by professional artist-facilitators.  The Mardi Gras event is an opportunity for the facilitators to tap their own creative juices to benefit Matheny.

On February 21, 10% of all proceeds will be donated to Matheny, and anyone making a reservation on February 17 or 18 and mentioning Matheny will automatically redirect 10% of the bill to Matheny as well.

Verve is located at 18 East Main St. in Somerville. To make reservations for the Mardi Gras celebration, call 908 707-8655 and mention Matheny.

Studio coordinator Andrew Edge behind his mask.

 

 

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Our pharmacy is open for business

Posted on February 15, 2012 by dlevine

Celebrating the official opening of the Matheny in-house pharmacy are, from left: Cathy Church, RN, director of nursing services; Denise Bettinger, Certified Pharmacy technician (CPht); Donna Mustillo, RPh; Steve Proctor, Matheny president; Robert Wysocki, pharmacy director; and David Wong, Doctorate of Pharmacy (PharmD).

Matheny dispenses between 62,000 and 65,000 doses of medication a month to our 101 inpatients, so the need for an in-house pharmacy has been apparent for some time. That goal has finally been accomplished, under the leadership of the pharmacy’s director, Robert Wysocki. The main advantage to having a pharmacy in-house, he points out, is “the clinical interaction between us and the doctors and nurses. Now, if there’s an issue, we can just walk down the hall.”

Many of the children and adults who live at Matheny, in addition to their primary diagnoses, have a long list of associated clinical conditions such as seizure disorders and dysphagia, with resulting aspiration problems. Because of these medically complex conditions, the proper medications are critical to their well-being.

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Improving computer skills

Posted on February 14, 2012 by dlevine

Computer access is a vital tool in helping improve the quality of life for Matheny students and patients.

Matheny has received a Quality of Life grant of $7,431 from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in the Assistive Technology Initiative category. The grant will enable Matheny to acquire eye tracking equipment and scanning software “for kids that can’t use their hands to operate a computer but have good visual skills,” says Christine Mayercik, senior speech-language pathologist. “We’re hoping this will be a way to motivate them.”

At Matheny, technology is at the forefront of efforts to broaden our patients’ and students’ ability to live as normal a life as possible. Speech-language pathologists continually explore various ways to accomplish this.

The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation regularly awards grants to non-profit organizations that provide services to individuals with paralysis. Quality of Life grants are awarded to programs or projects that improve these individuals’ daily lives. Joseph Canose, a senior vice president at the Foundation, said the competition for funds this year was “extremely fierce.”

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Put on your dancin’ shoes—for a good cause

Posted on February 13, 2012 by dlevine

Ryan O'Connor.

If you like to dance, want to help Matheny—or better yet, both—save Friday, April 20. That’s the date for the Dance-A-Thon at Immaculate Conception School in Annandale, NJ, which this year will benefit Matheny.

Debbie O’Connor, whose eight-year-old son Ryan is a student at the Matheny School, is the Social Concerns chair of Immaculate Conception’s Home and School Association. She suggested Matheny as this year’s beneficiary, saying, “Matheny tries to provide these children with every opportunity to experience life at the highest quality possible. They set no boundaries for any of these children but allow them to thrive in a safe medical environment.”

Sharing her own experience, she said, “We were told there was no chance Ryan would ever walk. On Christmas Day 2008, at the age of almost six, Ryan stood up and walked, completely unassisted for an extended period of time. This would never have been possible if he were not in the hands of the staff at Matheny.”

For more information, contact Debbie O’Connor at djoconnor6@comcast.net.

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Gov. Christie praises NJ hospitals

Posted on February 10, 2012 by dlevine

Gov. Christie at the NJHA annual meeting.

New Jersey hospitals are “an indispensable asset in so many ways – not just in the most obvious way in terms of the care they provide, but also as an extraordinary economic engine.”

So said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who praised New Jersey hospitals and the New Jersey Hospital Association at the NJHA’s recent annual meeting. Matheny is a member of NJHA, which is a not-for-profit trade organization committed to helping New Jersey hospitals and health systems provide quality, accessible and affordable care to their communities.

Gov. Christie recognized the financial pressures confronting hospitals in the state but said the government cannot “continue to buttress up [struggling] hospitals. That’s not the way to sustain a viable and vibrant health system in the state.” The Governor commended New Jersey hospitals for managing to serve their communities and patients through difficult times, adding, “I appreciate what you’ve done – how you’ve hung in there.”

 

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Matheny’s court appeal

Posted on February 9, 2012 by dlevine

Matheny has filed an appeal in New Jersey Superior Court to overturn the Peapack-Gladstone Land Use Board’s decision that Matheny is not a “permitted use” in its current location. The Land Use Board made this decision even though Matheny has existed in its current location since the 1950s and has received many land use approvals for various projects over the years.

The appeal also seeks to overturn the Board’s decision to deny Matheny’s expansion plans. The long period of time that elapsed during the Land Use proceedings has exacerbated what was already a criticial situation — the number of children with medically complex developmental disabilities who need a residential facility.

Matheny is proud to be a member of the Peapack-Gladstone community and appreciates the support of the majority of its residents.

 

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WANTED: smiling volunteers

Posted on February 8, 2012 by dlevine

A happy crew at the end of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk in 2011.

We are looking for volunteers to help make the 15th Miles for Matheny fundraiser and community event the best ever. We need people to assist with set up, registration, tee shirt distribution, rest stops and lots more!

Face painters, strolling musicians and magicians and wheelchair pushers are also needed. Opportunities for groups and individuals are available. Be a part of a great day!

Want details? Ready to sign up now? Contact Gail Cunningham at 908-234-0011, ext. 282 or email volunteers@matheny.org.

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