Nursing challenge

Standing, from left, nursing students Bret Tokash, Jerome Bautista, Kathleen Duncil, David Hummer, Kelly Richard. In front, from left, Matheny students Jameir Warren-Treadwell and Shane Szott.

“We learn how to administer medications and communicate with non-verbal patients. It’s a challenge, but it’s been a really good experience coming here.” That comment by Bret Tokash of Stockton, NJ, was typical of the reaction of his fellow Raritan Valley Community College classmates, all nursing students who visit Matheny regularly as part of our sponsored nursing school program.

Affiliations with nursing schools such as RVCC’s have created a greater nursing community for the special care that Matheny’s population requires. And the nursing students are a source of recruitment for Matheny’s nursing department. Because of the diverse needs of Matheny’s patients, nurses have to be knowledgeable and competent in a broad spectrum of practice applications.

Some of the many masks that were auctioned off.

The bar and dining room at Verve Bistro in Somerville, NJ, was packed on February 18, Fat Tuesday, for the kickoff of the restaurant’s Mardi Gras With Matheny celebration, which continued for four more days, from February 19 thru February 22. The festivities included a mask auction, which began with silent bids on Fat Tuesday and culminated on the final day, along with a gumbo cook-off. There were also plenty of flashy decorations and trinkets, along with the traditional Mardi Gras beads.

Mask sales on Sunday, February 22, totaled $1,200. That, combined with partial proceeds from all five days resulted in Verve making a $2,500 donation to Matheny. Matheny staff and students contributed to the effort by making most of the masks that were hanging for sale in the bar area. Verve owner Rick St. Pierre is well known as someone who gives back to the community. In fact, in 2011, he was Somerset County’s citizen of the year. Thank you, Rick!

Some of the Matheny mask makers, clockwise, from left: Donna Sykes, Center of Medicine and Dentistry clinic manager; Haeree Park, Arts Access project and event coordinator; Eileen Murray, Arts Access director; Burt Brooks, Arts Access performing arts coordinator; and Jodi Miguel, adult services instructor.

Dental hygienist Christine Benato talks about the importance of brushing regularly.

The number one childhood disease is tooth decay, and the American Dental Association is working to combat it. Every February, the ADA launches a special promotional effort called “Give Kids a Smile,” which is designed to educate children and their families about dental hygiene.

On February 10, the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry dental staff supported this effort by devising games and other fun activities to educate students in The Matheny School about good dental care. There was a Dental Bingo game, special props and a video featuring Captain Supertooth.

The MCMD specializes in healthcare in an outpatient setting for people with mild to severe developmental and intellectual disabilities. Dental services and treatments include X-rays, cleanings, cavity fillings, extractions, restorative dentistry, oral surgery and root canals. Services are provided in partnership with the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine.

Matheny student Sara Hoffman and her nurse, Nancy Winder, play Dental Bingo.

Matheny resident Jessica Evans and volunteer Selma Ahmed.

“When you guys come here, you make my day brighter.” That’s how Matheny adult resident Jessica Evans greeted members of the eighth grade class at the Bedminster, NJ, School, when they visited on a recent Wednesday afternoon. For as long as anyone can remember, eighth graders from the school have been volunteering at Matheny once a week.

“It’s great to interact with the Matheny residents,” said student Selma Ahmed. “We all have fun.” On this visit, the Bedminster students started work on a banner they will carry in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk during Miles for Matheny, the fundraiser and community event scheduled for Sunday, May 31. Ahmed also found time to help Evans polish her nails.

The group from Bedminster is just one of several school groups who visit Matheny patients and students regularly. For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282, or email volunteers@matheny.org.

Ariana Myers, left, and Jasmine Campos work on the Miles for Matheny banner.

Long Valley Middle School wrestlers with honorary captains, Shane Szott, left, and Jameir Warren-Treadwell.

A group of Matheny residents served as honorary captains at the January 22 Grade School League wrestling match between the Long Valley, NJ, Middle School and Watchung Hills Middle School. Long Valley defeated Watchung Hills, 46-42, and the impetus to win might have been indirectly provided by the visitors from Matheny.

Several members of the LV wrestling team, along with some other LVMS students, have been volunteering at Matheny as part of the “Include Me” program; and they have developed close personal friendships with Matheny residents. About 14 Long Valley Middle School students visited Matheny weekly during this past summer; and they have continued their visits during the school year, although not as frequently.

Volunteers are needed at Matheny days, evenings and weekends. Individuals or groups can serve as recreation assistants, classroom aides, tutors or just friendly visitors. For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 282, or email volunteers@matheny.org.

Long Valley volunteer Ricky DeFrance with Matheny resident Jameir Warren-Treadwell.

Misty Hockenbury celebrates her gold medal win.

Matheny athletes brought home four gold medals and three silver medals from the Somerset County Special Olympics bowling tournament held Saturday, January 17, at Strike ’N Spare Lanes in Green Brook. The gold medal winners were: Jessica Evans, Misty Hockenbury, Lee Lubin and Yasin Reddick. Silver medals were won by Mike Cornely, Chris Saglimbene and Cindy Shanks.

The Somerset County Special Olympics provides year-round training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with disabilities. Participation in Special Olympics is an important part of Matheny’s recreation therapy program, which provides a range of recreation choices to improve physical, emotional, cognitive and social well-being.

Matheny ceramics display at recent Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Fall Arts Festival

Matheny’s ceramics program continues to grow. Twelve pieces created by Matheny adults were displayed as part of the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Fall Arts Festival in Newark, which ended on January 7. And the ceramics program will have its second exhibition at the Bridgewater, NJ, Public Library in June. A reception will be held June 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Matheny’s adult education programs are designed to instill a sense of self-respect and provide an opportunity for self-expression for adult residents and adult day health services participants. The ceramics program teaches them the fundamentals of working in clay, incorporating the elements of design and the principles of art.

The pottery and sculptural works are created through hand building techniques of pinching, coiling and slab building. Students also produce works thrown on the wheel with use of adaptive equipment. Working processes also include communication books and hand-over-hand methods. The program is coordinated by Jodi Miguel, a Matheny adult services instructor.

Stefanie Wolff holds one of many boxes of art supplies she donated to Matheny. At left is her mother, Susan Wolff; at right is Janice Kriegman, Matheny development officer.

Stefanie Wolff, a seventh grader at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School in Marlboro, NJ, learned about Matheny when she visited her cousin, Jenna Polyeff, a Matheny resident. As a result, Stefanie volunteered at Matheny, participating in music and storytelling events.

Recently, as her bat mitzvah project at Temple Beth Ahm in Aberdeen, NJ, Stefanie spoke about her volunteering experience and collected art supplies, which she then donated to Matheny. Stefanie had also attended Jenna’s bat mitzvah, which was held last May in Matheny’s Robert Schonhorn Arts Center.

Dawn Williams with Joshua Rincon at the Peapack-Gladstone firehouse.

Dawn Williams, preschool teacher at The Matheny School, has been selected as one of the “Teachers Who Rock, Class of 2015” by radio stations WDHA 105.5 FM and WMTR 1250 AM. These Greater Media stations recognize 24 outstanding New Jersey teachers every year for their important contributions to society. Each Friday two winners are announced on the air, and their stories are read on both stations’ morning shows. Williams’ name was announced on Friday, January 9. She and the other 23 honorees will be feted at an awards banquet in April.

According to Annie Rodriguez, Greater Media New Jersey regional events coordinator, the judges loved Williams’ “creativity and willingness to have fun with her students. She really deserves the honor.” Williams believes the best teachers “are those who inspire us, who believe in us until we believe in ourselves, who push us, open up our minds, show us different worlds, help us understand, help us break barriers and truly bring out the best in us.”

Sean Murphy, Matheny School principal, says Williams is “a very patient and compassionate individual who takes each student’s unique goals, needs and interests into account every day.” Hillsborough, NJ, resident Jairo Rincon-Galeano, whose son, Joshua, is in Williams’ class, describes her as “caring and loving. We are so glad she is our son’s teacher and his caregiver. She rocks!”

Dawn Williams with student Kimberly Alarcon at the Matheny Prom.

Rick St. Pierre with customer Frances Fago of Raritan, NJ, at last year’s Mardi Gras celebration.

Every year, the Verve Bistro in Somerville, NJ, raises money for Matheny as part of its annual Mardi Gras celebration. This year there will be a twist.

Usually the Verve Mardi Gras festivities begin on the Thursday preceding Fat Tuesday and finish with a mask auction on the evening before Ash Wednesday. This year, however, the Saturday before Fat Tuesday is Valentine’s Day, so Rick St. Pierre, Verve’s owner, has decided to start the Mardi Gras celebration on Fat Tuesday and have a special Matheny Mardi Gras party afterward, concluding on Sunday, February 22, with a gumbo cookout.

A portion of the proceeds, including funds raised from the mask auction, will go to Matheny. Many of the masks on display will be made by Matheny students, patients and staff members. Anyone wishing to donate a mask, however, should drop it off by February 14 at Verve, 18 Main St., in Somerville.

Last year, Verve raised $2,219 for Matheny. Since the restaurant’s opening in the late 1990s, St. Pierre has given back to the community. He was named Somerville’s Citizen of the Year in 2011 and was presented with the Somerset County Business Partnership’s Economic Vitality Award in 2008.

To make reservations during the Mardi Gras celebration, February 17–22, call (908) 707-8655 and be sure to mention Matheny.

The Delbarton basketball team and Matheny staff members. In front, from left, Matheny students Shane Szott, Jamil Jones and James Wild.

The Delbarton Green Wave basketball team came to Matheny on December 22 for its annual visit, which included a variety of basketball contests, to the delight of Matheny students and patients. This is an event eagerly anticipated every year, and the 2014 edition did not disappoint.

The Delbarton players took part in several skill competitions with Matheny staff members and helped students and patients compete in adapted versions of the sport. They also tossed Delbarton T-shirts into the seats, arena-style.

Sports are a major activity at Matheny. Students and adults participate in a variety of adapted sports, compete in Special Olympics and often attend high school, college and professional games. The Delbarton School is an independent Roman Catholic learning center in Morristown, NJ, for young men in grades 7–12.

Sharanya delivers a check to Chris King, Matheny vice president, operations and administrative services.

When Pingry School student Sharanya Pulapura gave her classical Indian dance graduation performance, the Bharatanatyam Arangetram, at the Watchung Hills Performing Arts Center in Watchung, NJ, she decided to dedicate the program to Matheny. The printed program pointed out that 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. All donations are voluntary.” Pulapura, a resident of Bridgewater, raised more than $2,000.

Bharatanatyam is the term for a style of dance that originated in the temples of south India thousands of years ago. The style incorporates precise hand gestures, facial expressions and sophisticated body and foot movements. Arangetram means “ascending the stage.” Pulapura danced for three hours accompanied by live music from a south Indian classical music vocalist, drummer, flutist and her guru/teacher, Renuka Srinivasan, who operates the Tala Shruti School of Dance in Fords, NJ.