For nearly 50 years, members of the Committee of Auto Racing Supporters (CARS) have been bringing holiday cheer to the children and adults at 
Matheny. Each year, CARS volunteers purchase gifts for residents and host a holiday party. During the 2019 holiday season, the dining rooms at Matheny were filled with volunteers, presents and an overwhelming feeling of holiday spirit.
Matheny is looking for great people like you! If you are looking for a rewarding career with great pay and benefits, Matheny is the place to be. Join us on Saturday, November 16, 2019 for our Open Interview Day. If you are interested, please send your resume with subject line, “Open Interview Day” to: jobs@matheny.org.
We can’t wait to see you on Sunday at Miles for Matheny!
Rutgers Biomedical Engineering has developed a special partnership with Matheny Medical and Educational Center – creating medical devices to assist Matheny residents with disabilities. Check out how Rutgers seniors are taking their skills out of the classroom and into the real world to help others.
Matheny will be exhibiting at the New Jersey Convention Center this coming weekend! Come and join us there! Say hello and receive a special discount coupon for “Miles for Matheny”
Our exhibit will be displayed at 539 and you can look on the map here
Message from the President of Matheny:
From time to time we have giants in the midst of our Matheny community. These giants are not always the loudest, tallest, or demand the most attention, but quietly move behind the scenes steering through others.
Larry Thornton was one of those giants. We feel privileged to have known Larry, who always seemed to push us and others to do more work on behalf of the students and patients that we serve. Thanks to Larry we have LAR (The Learning Accessibility Robot), The Lowe’s Community Garden, a repaved nature trail, Home Depot planting boxes, a hydroponics station, and much more. Larry developed and fostered a relationship between Matheny and Rutgers bio-engineering school which will develop new forms of assistive technology to help people worldwide. Larry also brought in different Knights of Columbus Councils to Matheny to assist in fundraising. Until recent health concerns prevented his participation Larry kept a regiment of volunteering three times a week in the school and also served on both the Matheny School Board Committee and the Board of Trustees. Larry loved the children, the staff, and the spirit of Matheny.
2019 Miles for Matheny registration is now open!
We are excited to bring back the Miles for Matheny 5K this year among other highlights. The event has moved to the Malcolm Belcher fairgrounds in Far Hills and all parking will be on site! No shuttles! We have 5 cycling rides with updated starting points, a 5K with USATF sanction pending, wheelchair walk, kids fun run all on premisis. Entertainment, food, fun!
Dear Matheny Friends and Family:
It is with great sadness that we have to inform you of the passing of Matheny School’s first student and the face of the Matheny community, Mr. Charles H. Matheny. Charles was the inspiration and the catalyst for the origins of the school, which has become so many things to many different people, including a hospital, a clinic, a fine arts program, adult program, and group homes. Mr. Matheny was and is a beacon of possibility and a model of excellence to which all our students, residents, patients, and clients can aspire to be. During his lifetime, Mr. Matheny finished high school, learned to drive, mowed all the lawns of Matheny’s main campus, and ran the soda machines.
Mr. Matheny was far more than the sum of his accomplishments. He developed close relationships with all the staff and was interested in improving the lives of everyone within the Matheny Community. He loved to attend Matheny fundraisers and Friends of Matheny events, conversing with people from all walks of life, and he took a very real interest in the students who resided in the school that bore his family name. He attended back-to-school nights, graduations, plays, choir concerts, and museum coffee houses. In fact, anything Matheny — he was all in. Mr. Matheny was kind, humorous, and compassionate. Per his family: “Chuck lived an incredibly rich and meaningful life — a testament to the love and care that is cultivated and shared at Matheny. We are so grateful to the many friends, coworkers, and caregivers who have crossed his path and enriched his life.”
We will all miss Mr. Matheny, yet we shall carry on embodying the undeniable spirit of Charles H. Matheny.
Kendell R. Sprott, MD, JD
President and CEO
Matheny Medical and Educational Center
December 14, 2017
The world outside our walls is just as important to patient well-being as our facility itself.
If you could go anywhere on a community outing of your choice, where would you go?
For our patients, the answers are as individual as they are.
For Chris, whose passions include baseball and meeting new people, he would accept more shifts at his job as a vendor at TDBank Ballpark, home of the Somerset Patriots.
For Jessica, who enjoys shopping, she would engage in a bit of retail therapy at the Bridgewater Mall.
For Melvin, a foodie, he would savor a meal at one of the hot new restaurants on the local culinary scene.
At Matheny, our commitment to our patients goes beyond providing high quality medical care and education. We also seek to enrich lives through making recreational opportunities and community outings as accessible as possible. While group outings are the norm, rarely do patients get to choose and embark upon personal outings most important to them due to lack of individualized transportation options.
The addition of a wheel chair accessible van would change that. No longer would patients be limited to large vehicles operated by commercially licensed drivers. Patients and their Recreation Therapists could together plan more frequent, meaningful community trips specific to patients’ needs that would delight and empower them, increase their visibility and role within the community, perhaps even unlock their potential.
In a hospital that also serves as their home, many opportunities are available for group activities and trips into the community with fellow patients. But how often do patients get the opportunity to take an individualized trip?
“The reality is, that doesn’t happen very often,” says Sean Bielefeldt, Director of Recreation Therapy & Adult Day Health Services. “But the addition of a wheel chair accessible minivan would mean such opportunities, both recreational and practical, would flourish for our patients.”
Take Chris, for instance. It had long been Chris’s dream to work in or around baseball, and one of his greatest pleasures is his job at TD Bank Ballpark, home to the Somerset Patriots. For __ years he has worked as a vendor serving refreshments. Amidst sounds like the crack of the bat and roar of the crowd and the smell of freshly popped popcorn, Chris enjoys interacting with fans who share his abiding love of the game. Most of all, he relishes the freedom and inclusiveness of being an active member of his community, and the pride of earning a wage for an honest day’s work.
While his family can sometimes provide a ride to work, this is not a permanent solution. For him and others like him, the addition of a wheel chair accessible minivan would make a huge difference in the quality of their lives through increasing access to the community, which would create unprecedented opportunities for personal and therapeutic advancement.
For many patients at Matheny, residing there is not a life-long prospect. “The goal for our patients is to live in the community,” explains Sean. “How better to prepare those individuals than to work with them within the community itself to develop skills and independence such as navigating curb cut outs, crossing the streets, utilizing public transportation, or making a bank deposit?” In this way, a wheel chair accessible van is not just another vehicle, but an invaluable tool for therapists to create opportunities for patient development, growth, and eventual independence.
The world outside our walls is just as important to patient well-being as our facility itself.
Whether it’s the opportunity to see their favorite band in concert, take in a movie they’ve been anticipating, get to work at their dream job, or find their place within our community, a wheel chair accessible mini-van will open up a world of possibilities for our patients.
Please join us this #Giving Tuesday to make those possibilities a reality for those we serve. Click below to help us give the perfect gift:
Several retired professional football players will be golfing and socializing at The Matheny School’s “Par-Tee on the Links” golf tournament being held on Tuesday, September 27, at the Oak Hill Golf Club in Milford, NJ. The appearance of the former NFL players was coordinated by Dave Szott, director of player development for the New York Jets, who was an offensive lineman for the Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, and Washington Redskins. Szott is also the father of Matheny resident, Shane Szott, and a member of Matheny’s Board of Trustees.
Other past players who will be in attendance are: Tony Richardson, fullback for several NFL teams and former New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers center Bart Oates.
Funds raised at the golf tournament will support technology for Matheny’s students — children with multiple disabilities. The tournament will begin at 11 a.m. with registration and a shotgun start. Cost is $175 per person, or $650 for a foursome. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information or to register, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 239, or email mathenyschool@matheny.org. the Oak Hill Golf Club is located at 15 Fernwood Road in Milford.
Evaluations | Therapies | Consulting
908-234-0011 x1237 for more information
