Holiday greetings

Gunnery Sergeant Mario Monaco and Matheny adult patient Shaleena Tomassini.

For more than eight years, members of the L/CPL Robert J. Slattery Detachment 206, Marine Corps League, based in Whippany, NJ, have been making monthly visits to the wounded warriors and their families at the Walter Reed National Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. They bring needed items such as polo shirts, crossword puzzle books and playing cards. They also bring welcome conversation and camaraderie.

Last month, students in Matheny’s adult services program coordinated a drive among Matheny employees to collect items for “virtual” baby showers for the wives of wounded warriors who are at Walter Reed. When the students made holiday cards to be sent to U.S. servicemen and women, they felt there was no better place to send them than to the Marines Care Foundation at the L/CPL Robert J. Slattery Detachment. Gunnery Sergeant Mario Monaco, who had been at Matheny previously to pick up the baby shower items, made a return visit to pick up the holiday cards. He brought personalized certificates of appreciation for each of the Matheny adults, and he spent time regaling them with stories about some of his adventures in the Marines.

“Mitzvah” is Hebrew for “good deed,” and Courtney Ober, a resident of Wanaque, NJ, recently did a mitzvah for Matheny. Ober needed to fulfill a charitable giving requirement for her Bat Mitzvah at the Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, NJ. The eighth grader at the Morristown-Beard School in Morristown, NJ, had been volunteering at Matheny since sixth grade, and so it was only natural that she thought of Matheny as a beneficiary.

Courtney Ober, left, and her sister Jordan with the Mitzvah clothing collection.

“When I sent out my invitations,” she said, “I included a request for everyone to bring a new article of clothing to the temple service with them. The day of my service I was amazed at how many clothes people donated! There was a huge box stuffed with goodies.”

The Monday after her November Bat Mitzvah, Courtney and her sister Jordan, a 10th grader at Morristown-Beard, went to Matheny to volunteer as usual, and their mother met them there with the box of clothes. “It really felt good,” she said, “to give these nice clothes to people that mean so much to me.”

The Ober sisters are part of a group of Morristown-Beard students who visit Matheny every Monday to help out with recreation therapy activities and interact socially with students and patients. For more information about volunteering, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282, or email volunteers@matheny.org.

Friends of Matheny volunteer Lisa Turovlin helps student Benjamin Deffenbaugh pick out some holiday presents.

One of the many holiday traditions at Matheny is the annual Holiday Boutique, held for the students and patients by The Friends of Matheny, our auxiliary group. The boutique is an opportunity for those who live and go to school at Matheny to do holiday shopping for their families without having to venture out to the mall. People throughout the community donate items, and The Friends volunteers price them very reasonably so the students and patients can afford to buy gifts for their loved ones.

This year’s Holiday Boutique was held on December 2 and coordinated by Friends board member and Matheny parent Edana Desatnick, who called it “a truly magical day.”

From left, Melissa Chill, choir member Amanda Kochell and music therapy intern Molly Wilkerson.

The song “True Colors” has been recorded by both Cyndi Lauper and Phil Collins, but no one has performed it with more feeling and sincerity than Melissa Chill, a Red Bank, NJ-based singer/songwriter who volunteers with Holiday Express, an organization that presents 60 performances between Thanksgiving and Christmas at places where they believe people need an extra dose of cheer.

Chill sang “True Colors” with members of the Matheny choir during the Holiday Express Christmas Spectacular benefit concert on December 11 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark (NJPAC). The band had performed at Matheny on Sunday, December 8, and founder and leader Tim McLoone extended his annual invitation for Matheny Choir members to join the festivities at NJPAC. (The choir is part of Matheny’s music therapy program.)

The choir sang “Let it Snow” and “Joy to the World” to standing ovations before Chill took the stage to lead them in “True Colors.”  “Melissa Chill,” said McLoone, “is one of those amazing performers who can be all rockin’ and bluesy one minute and rip your heart out the next.”

An additional highlight of the Matheny Choir participation in the benefit concert has been a special rapport developed with the Holiday Express dancers, a group of young women from the Red Bank, NJ-based Kathryn Barnett School of Dance Traveling Troupe. Some members of the dance group attended the Matheny Prom last spring and indicated they will be back again next spring.

The Holiday Express dancers with choir member Tony Santia.

From left, adult patient Dion Alston, Salvation Army Morristown CO Walter Droz, adult patient T.J. Christian, adult services instructors Deanna Willard and Claire Torsiello and adult patient Cindy Shanks.

The Salvation Army has been providing social and spiritual services to communities throughout the world since 1886, and it’s particularly known for its food drives. The adult patients at Matheny decided to collect nonperishable food items from Matheny staff members for the Salvation Army New Jersey Division in Morristown’s fall food drive, and Walter Droz, the commanding officer, picked up the donations in late November.

Matheny employees were extremely generous, and the donated food will help many families in Morris County, N.J., enjoy the holiday season. The Morristown Salvation Army office serves 17 communities in Morris and Sussex counties including Mendham, Morris Plains and East Hanover.

Jameir Warren-Treadwell on the drums during the performance of “Some Nights.”

ArtWorks is an organization that serves children and young adults suffering from chronic and life-threatening illnesses. It gives them and their siblings access to creative and performing arts programs that encourage the use of the creative process as a vehicle for healing, communication, self-expression and personal development.

Every November, ArtWorks holds an event called Express Yourself, an exhibition of fine and performing arts. It’s a unique, safe and supportive environment where children share their stories of strength, courage, hope, loss and survival through art, music, song, dance and poetry.

As part of a musical presentation on November 17, a group of Matheny students and patients, who call themselves the Matheny Muses, performed “Some Nights” by the indie pop group Fun for all the children and families gathered for the event, held at the Montclair Art Museum. The Muses are participants in Matheny’s music therapy program, which uses various types of music to help develop students’ and patients’ cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills.

Tim McLoone and group home resident Missy Barrett.

Few events are as eagerly anticipated at Matheny as the annual holiday concert presented by Holiday Express, the all-volunteer band that delivers music, food, gifts and friendship to those in need during the holiday season. Holiday Express has been coming to Matheny since 2001, and several of the volunteer musicians are like old friends, just stopping by for a visit.

Tim McLoone, the leader and founder of Holiday Express, dedicated this year’s concert, held on December 8 in the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center, to “all the volunteers, social workers, therapists, all the staff members. You are so amazing for what you do for all of these wonderful people.”

From the Holiday Express theme song, “Nobody Ought to be Alone on Christmas” to the rollicking, interactive “12 Days of Christmas,” the afternoon translated into two hours of pure joy and happiness.

Thank you, Holiday Express. All the wonderful musicians who give so freely of their time truly make this a season of joy. Matheny is but one of 60 venues the group visits between mid-November and Christmas Eve.

From left, Holiday Express singer Doris Jackson, Cathy Wild of Bedminster, NJ, and her son James, a Matheny student.

From left, Eileen Murray, director of Arts Access; Jane Kurek; and Steve Proctor, Matheny president.

The Provident Bank Foundation was established in 2003 with the intent of supporting not-for-profit groups, schools and other organizations that provide valuable services to the New Jersey communities served by The Provident Bank.

With that in mind, the Foundation was a Gold Patron of Full Circle 2013 Reflections, the 20th anniversary of Matheny’s Arts Access Program.  Jane Kurek, executive director of The Provident Bank Foundation, recently visited Matheny and was given a tour of both the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center and the hospital and school. PBF is committed to strengthening and sustaining its relationship with communities in its marketplace. Matheny values that relationship and hopes it will be a long-term partnership.

Judith Marino, her mother Ursula and Matheny gynecologist Judith Hersh, MD.

If the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry didn’t exist, Ursula Marino of Sayreville, NJ, would have to take her daughter Judith to private doctors all over the state. Instead, Judith, who was born with brain damage, can receive primary medical care, women’s health care, dental care and seating and mobility assistance all in one place.

“It’s worth the trip,” says Ursula Marino. “You go somewhere else, and they don’t know what to do. Here, they’re very patient, and they know Judith by name. Everybody is very thorough. They don’t let things slide.”  The Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry specializes in health care for people with mild to severe developmental and intellectual disabilities in an outpatient setting.

Adult women with disabilities are just as susceptible to breast cancer, cervical cancer and menstrual and menopausal problems as women without disabilities. As a result, Matheny maintains a gynecologist on staff. Women with disabilities may or may not be verbal, so their doctors must be extremely patient and understanding, often taking a pediatric approach.

In Matheny’s seating and mobility clinic, occupational and physical therapists collaborate with rehabilitation technicians to optimize function and minimize discomfort for individuals in wheelchairs. Seating and mobility staff members are certified as assistive technology practitioners and suppliers by the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA).

“Here, she fits in,” says Ursula Marino. She feels comfortable.”

Insurance covers less than 50% of the cost of care in the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry. Your contributions to the #GivingTuesday campaign will make certain that those with the greatest need continue to get the support and services they deserve.

Click here to DONATE NOW.

From left, Tom, Bobby and Carol Hopkins.

Some mornings, without warning, something will break in Bobby Hopkins’ wheelchair. “I just put Bobby in our van and take him to the seating and mobility clinic at Matheny,” says Bridgewater, NJ, resident Tom Hopkins, his father. “They’ve saved the day for us more than once.”

“Everything’s under one roof,” adds his wife Carol, “so you’re talking to the therapists and the technicians at the same time. They confer so they can see what actually can be done. I think what I could say more than anything about Matheny is that the people there understand Bobby.”

Bobby Hopkins, now 42, was born with a seizure disorder exhibiting many of the same symptoms as cerebral palsy. He comes to the Center of Medicine and Dentistry for primary care in addition to his visits to the seating and mobility clinic. The Hopkins have been bringing Bobby to the Matheny Medical and Educational Center for outpatient services for about 20 years, even though the outpatient clinic, the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, wasn’t built until 2003.

“One of the things I like,” adds Tom, “is how other people are treated—with respect and care.” His wife concurs. “So many places lose sight of the individual. The secretaries, the nurses, the people walking by when we’re in the waiting room—they all say ‘hello.’ They’re pleasant to the other people they’re dealing with. It’s just a calming, pleasant, capable place. It puts you at ease. Plus they don’t have unrealistic expectations, and they keep our expectations realistic.”

The Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry specializes in healthcare for people with a wide range of disabilities – from cerebral palsy to autism. We provide general medical services and specialty care, a full range of dental services and customized seating and mobility devices.

Insurance covers less than 50% of the cost of care at the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry. Your contributions to the #GivingTuesday campaign will make certain that those with the greatest need continue to get the support and services they deserve.

Click here to DONATE NOW.

From left, Amanda, Sam and Daniel Anastasia.

When Amanda Anastasia was about eight years old, she needed a new power wheelchair. “At the time,” her mother Sam recalls, “she had been driving her wheelchair with a scanner. It was a very slow process. The therapists at the Children’s Center for Therapy, where she was going to school, recommended that we visit the seating and mobility clinic at Matheny. They tested her, using head array, and she did fantastic. She learned to drive with her head. What a difference it made!”

Amanda, now 20, and her brother, Daniel, 15, live in Hopatcong, NJ, and have a condition called Aicardi-Goutieres, a syndrome that affects all of their motor functions. They have been in wheelchairs virtually their entire lives, but since that visit about 12 years ago, all of their wheelchair and equipment needs have been managed by Matheny.

“When Amanda got her first power wheelchair,” her mother recalls, “I didn’t feel the salesperson had good knowledge of the product. She just suggested a chair and that’s kind of what we went with. At Matheny, they have expert knowledge about products and seating positioning. Because of the population living at Matheny, they have so much real life experience.” Her children, she points out, “live in their chairs.” The Matheny therapists, she says, “know their movements, their tone. If there’s a problem, they find a way to solve it. They have creative ideas; they think outside the box.”

The transition from a manual to a power wheelchair, she emphasizes, is critically important. “A power chair,” she says, “gives them some independence. They can drive from room to room. The chairs elevate, they tilt, they recline. So, they can change their position themselves. They don’t have to wait for somebody or try to explain to somebody where they want to move.”

The seating and mobility clinic at Matheny is part of the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry. Our clinic team of therapists and rehabilitation technicians strives to meet the needs of each individual by providing the perfect match of assistive technology services and products to provide the highest level of health, function and quality of life. For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 722.

Insurance covers less than 50% of the cost of care in the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry. Your contributions to the #GivingTuesday campaign will make certain that those with the greatest need continue to get the support and services they deserve.

Click here to DONATE NOW.