Matheny Executive Earns Top Healthcare Management Credential

March 9, 2021, Peapack, NJ — Vincent Barba, MD, FACHE, Vice President of Patient Care & Safety and Chief Medical Officer of Matheny Medical and Educational Center, recently earned Board Certification in Healthcare Management and was named Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders.

Dr. Barba joined Matheny in 2015 and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. He leads all clinical services for Matheny including the Special Hospital and Outpatient Center for Medicine and Dentistry. He also holds an academic appointment at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine.

“The healthcare management field plays a vital role in providing high-quality care to the people in our communities, which makes having a standard of excellence promoted by a professional organization critically important,” says Deborah J. Bowen, FACHE, CAE, president and CEO of ACHE. Ms. Bowen continued, “By becoming an ACHE Fellow and earning the distinction of board certification from ACHE, healthcare leaders demonstrate a commitment to excellence in serving their patients and the community.”

According to the ACHE, Fellow status represents achievement of the highest standard of professional development. In fact, only 8,866 healthcare executives hold this distinction. To obtain Fellow status, candidates must fulfill multiple requirements, including meeting academic and experiential criteria, earning continuing education hours, demonstrating professional/community involvement and passing a comprehensive examination. Fellows also are committed to ongoing professional development and undergo recertification every three years. The ACHE is an international professional society of more than 48,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. ACHE’s mission is to advance our members and healthcare management excellence. ACHE offers its prestigious FACHE® credential, signifying board certification in healthcare management.

Dr. Kendell Sprott, President and CEO of Matheny said, “I congratulate Dr. Barba for this significant accomplishment. I’ve worked with Dr. Barba for many years and he is an excellent physician and an exemplary leader. Matheny is lucky to have him as part of the Matheny family.”

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About Matheny – Matheny’s mission is to provide exceptional care and an optimal quality of life for children and adults with special needs and medically complex developmental disabilities. Matheny is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and is headquartered in Somerset County.  It was founded in 1946 after Walter and Marguerite Matheny’s son, Chuck, was born with cerebral palsy (CP) into a world ill-equipped to care for children with special needs. Matheny patients have a diverse range of medical conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND) and a wide range of rare diseases. Matheny is comprised of a fully accredited special hospital, five community group homes, an adult day center, a non-profit private special school, and outpatient clinics serving the community. To learn more about Matheny, visit us at http://www.matheny.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram: @mathenymedical.

On Tuesday, February 9th, 2021, Matheny was honored to be visited by Governor Phil Murphy, Commissioner Persichelli, Commissioner Adelman, Congressman Malinowski, IDD Ombudsman Paul Aronsohn, and Mayor Greg Skinner!

Since the start of the pandemic, Governor Murphy has worked tirelessly to protect public health across the state of New Jersey. We are especially grateful for his efforts to ensure that vulnerable groups – including individuals with disabilities and front line healthcare workers – have access to COVID-19 vaccinations.

You can find the live video of the Governor’s visit here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agGeftDLOJ0

Matheny received doses of the Moderna vaccine on Monday, January 11th. As you can see from the photo gallery below, our community members are eager and enthusiastic to take this step to protect themselves, the Matheny community, their loved ones, their neighbors, and more.

If you have questions or concerns about the vaccine and are interested in learning more, we highly recommend registering for these events from the New Jersey Department of Health:

Over the last several months, we have all been challenged to come up with ways to keep ourselves and our families engaged at home.

Virtual tours and field trips can be great tools for online learning and exploration. Many incredible institutions – museums, planetariums, zoos, and more – are offering exciting online resources! Check out some below. Do you have any other favorites to recommend?

We got many of these suggestions from ASAH, an association of private special education schools and agencies in New Jersey. We’re so grateful for their support and resources.

Virtual Planetarium Sky Tour – All About the Orion Constellation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbIGZ0cgmHE

When we wrote our “Best of 2019” post around this time last year, we had no idea what we were in for in the coming months. Needless to say, this year at Matheny has been very different from years past – plans changed, events were adapted or cancelled, social distancing and other safety precautions became our new normal.

However, thanks to our stellar community of patients, residents, staff, families, and supporters, Matheny still accomplished a lot in 2020. Some of the highlights are below.

Thank you for facing this unusual year with us. If we can achieve so much under these unique circumstances, we cannot wait to see what awaits us in 2021! The challenges of the pandemic may continue for some time, but we are prepared. No matter what happens, the safety, care, and happiness of our patients and residents will always come first.

All of us at Matheny wish you and your loved ones a new year filled with good health, peace and joy.

1. The year started off strong with our receipt of the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^®for Hospital Accreditation in January. Matheny is proud of our focus on patient safety and careful compliance with performance standards.
2. In February, we were thrilled to receive a generous grant from the Delta Dental Foundation, which will help ensure that our Dental Clinic continues to have the equipment, resources, and expertise to provide comprehensive, high-quality dental care to individuals with complex developmental disabilities. We are committed to providing each patient with a comfortable and enjoyable experience!
3. Later in February, before the COVID-19 restrictions began, our Arts Access program was proud to participate in the Access-ABILITY Exhibit at Morris Museum for the third time. Work from 15 talented Matheny artists was shown alongside work from Center for Enhancing Abilities in a pop-up exhibit at the museum. This ended up being the only in-person event for the Arts Access program in 2020, making it all the more meaningful.
4. At the beginning of March, our Adults Services program got a visit from the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities. We were honored to receive a proclamation from the Governor in honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness month!
5. Throughout the most difficult months of spring and summer, we learned just how supportive and enthusiastic our community members can be. Led by the Friends of Matheny, our local community (including neighborhood police and firefighters) organized multiple “hero salutes” where they would circle Matheny’s driveway in their cars, honking horns and waving homemade signs with encouraging and uplifting messages. These were true moments of unity and happiness during a difficult time for our staff.
6. When we needed them most, our community of supporters was there for us! We were gifted numerous donations of food and personal protective equipment (PPE) from individuals, families, and business in the wider community. We can’t thank them enough!
7. We are always blown away by the talent of our Arts Access artists, and they didn’t let quarantine or social distancing disrupt their creativity! During late spring, Arts Access was able to adapt the facilitation process in order to continue serving artists from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
8. We successfully launched a Virtual Miles for Matheny! While staff and participants did a Wheelchair Walk and posed for photos on the Peapack campus, supporters participated and raised money from a distance, riding their bikes or running near their homes and at their own convenience. While we missed seeing one another in person, we proved that nothing can stop us from celebrating the abilities of Matheny’s students and residents!
9. Arts Access participated in the highly-anticipated Annual NJMS Collaborative ARTS Exhibit – the 10^th anniversary of this special collaboration. With hard work, imagination, and flexibility, the Arts Access program found ways to adapt the exhibition for a virtual space. Over the summer, they showcased the redesigned virtual exhibit and held a virtual artists reception over Zoom. Our talented artists were thrilled to show off their creativity!
10. August 2020 marked the start of an exciting new collaboration between Matheny and Children’s Specialized Hospital! This strategic partnership will allow two organizations with shared missions and values to expand their expertise, experience, and resources in order to provide the highest possible quality clinical care and education for individuals with disabilities throughout the state.
11. On Tuesday, August 11^th, Matheny was visited by the wonderful folks at Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes, who distributed 6,500 pieces of free personal protective equipment to Matheny’s hardworking employees. CRT4H distributes essential equipment directly to NYC organizations, communities, and individuals most in need – hospital, homeless shelter and nursing home workers, veterans, and public housing residents. At that point, Matheny was the second hospital in NJ to benefit from their generosity.
12. In early October, we were able to host our annual Golf Outing for the Matheny School! Our golfers adapted to additional safety measures, including masks and distancing, and generously contributed over $25,000 to benefit our wonderful students!
13. After several months of closure, our Adult Day Program in Hillsborough reopened in October – and the event was made all the better by a visit from John Elliot of CBS 2 NY! John interviewed several Matheny patients and staff, all of whom were thrilled to be back. What a great way to return!
14. We have spent the last several months in awe of the compassion, determination of professionalism of our frontline healthcare heroes. Matheny’s doctors, nurses, therapists, personal care and community resident assistants, and all other clinical staff are simply the best. We’re so lucky to have them on our team and cannot thank them enough.

And finally, we ask everyone to take a moment to remember the precious lives we lost this year.  Matheny’s residents, students, and employees who are now resting in peace – their memories will remain alive in our hearts and minds forever.

In the end, we learned to cherish and appreciate family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors more. We are grateful for the experiences had and the lessons learned. We look forward to a happier and healthier 2021.

All of us at Matheny wish a Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating this week!

Want to learn more about the meaning of the celebration? Check out this explanation from Matheny staff member Sharon.

The Matheny Adult Day Center had a special visitor in early October!

John Elliott, the famous weatherman from CBS 2 New York, spent a morning with us in Hillsborough interviewing clients and staff during the first day of in-person program since March.

We’re so grateful to John for his time! Everyone had a great time speaking with him. Check out photos from the day below.

Matheny has had to make many changes to keep our staff, patients, and residents safe over the last few months. We’ve had to make significant adjustments to many of our usual events. But Fall is always a busy time at Matheny, and we’re determined to have fun, even as we take precautions.

Check out photos from our special Trunk or Treat event on Red Zone! Things may be different this year, but we’re keeping up the Halloween spirit!

It’s been a very difficult few months for all of us. So Lynn Coyle and her students from the Matheny Music Therapy Department decided to put something together to cheer everyone up and express how much they miss the parents, staff, volunteers, and friends in the wider Matheny community.

Check out the video below – we hope you enjoy it!

On Tuesday, August 11th, Matheny was visited by a great group of volunteers from Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes. They distributed 6,500 pieces of free personal protective equipment (PPE) to Matheny employees.

Founded by Rhonda Roland Shearer and launched in April, Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes distributes PPE directly to organizations, communities, and individuals most in need – hospital, homeless shelter and nursing home workers, veterans, and public housing residents. So far, they’ve handed out more than 725,000 items of PPE.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Rhonda and Cut Red Tape 4 Heroes for their time and generosity! You can learn more about their wonderful work here and on their Facebook page.

Learn more about the event at Matheny here.

Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, and Matheny School and Hospital, Inc. have announced plans to enter into a strategic collaboration. This agreement will allow CSH and Matheny to share expertise, experience and resources in an effort to improve access to high quality clinical care and education for those with disabilities throughout New Jersey.

The organizations’ missions are parallel – to provide the programs and services necessary for those with special health care needs to live a life full of opportunity and potential. Matheny is a residential special hospital and school for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities. Matheny offers comprehensive and compassionate care to people with disabilities throughout the state of New Jersey. CSH is the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children and young adults from birth to 21 years of age facing special health care challenges. These include chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities like brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues like autism and mental health.

“I am confident that our collaboration with Matheny will prove beneficial not only for our two organizations but most importantly for the special needs community throughout New Jersey and beyond,” said Warren E. Moore, FACHE, President and CEO, Children’s Specialized Hospital and Senior Vice President, Pediatric Services, RWJBarnabas Health. “I am looking forward to working together to create a system of care for the patients and families we serve throughout their lifespan.”

“Through this collaboration, we will be able to serve more people with special needs, offer more services, and therefore increase access to care which is currently a challenge for this population,” said Kendell R. Sprott, MD, JD, President and CEO, Matheny School and Hospital. “I want to thank everyone who made this collaboration possible. We are proud to be associated with Children’s Specialized.”

About Children’s Specialized Hospital

Children’s Specialized Hospital is the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children and young adults from birth to 21 years of age facing special healthcare challenges – from chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities like brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues like autism and mental health. At 13 different New Jersey locations, our pediatric specialists partner with families to make our many innovative therapies and medical treatments more personalized and effective so each child can reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.childrens-specialized.org.

About Matheny School and Hospital

Matheny’s mission is to provide exceptional care and an optimal quality of life for children and adults with special needs and medically complex developmental disabilities. Matheny is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Somerset County. It was founded in 1946 and today offers comprehensive quality care through its fully accredited special hospital; outpatient medical and dental clinics; adult day center; private nonprofit school; five adult group homes; and the award-winning fine arts program – Arts Access. Matheny patients live with multiple medical conditions such as Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND) and a wide range of other rare disease including Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Cornelia De Lange syndrome, Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and 4Q Deletion syndrome. For more information, visit www.matheny.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram: @mathenymedical. 

Virtual Miles for Matheny 2020 was a blast! 

We officially kicked off our special, virtual Miles on Friday, June 12th at our Peapack campus with modified Wheelchair Walks on our three residential zones and three community group homes.

As the week went on, we were excited to receive photos and videos from the wider Matheny community telling us how they celebrated Miles!

If you want to check out great event photos, check out our album below, or follow our Facebook and Instagram pages!

Thank you for your support and participation! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Have you heard about our incredible friends and partners, the Friends of Matheny?

For over 30 years, they have raised close to $4 million to support Matheny’s programs. Thanks to the Friends, Matheny’s physical space and programs have been expanded, and our students, residents, and staff have enjoyed special trips and events. From volunteer work at the Second Chance Thrift Shop to offering the Breakfast of Champions at Miles for Matheny each year, the Friends give us so much, and we couldn’t be more grateful for them.

The Friends recently offered another financial contribution of $100,000! In these difficult and uncertain times, we are thrilled to have the generous and passionate Friends as part of our Matheny family!