Amuse

39 Elm Street, Westfield. Phone: 908.317.2640

Open for lunch Monday through Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. and Sundays for brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner, Monday through Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m. BYOB.

Dress ranges from smart casual to festive. Prices: Soups and appetizers: $8 to $24. Entrees: $20 to $42. Desserts: $8. Major credit cards accepted.

Roasted bone marrow doesn’t need to shout. Its slithery texture, its unabashed tout of fat, its sturdy boat of a bone as conduit is so dominant a presence on a plate and on a menu that, without a word spoken, “French bistro” is conveyed.

Amuse, a spanking new French bistro in downtown Westfield, has bone marrow on the list of starters on its menu and it pops out at diners. Even before you see foie gras, steak tartare, escargot and frisee, your eyes light on “roasted bone marrow (with) sea salt, red onion marmalade, toast.” It’s so proper, it’s so right.

It’s also not surprising, for Amuse is the down-to-earth confection of Chez Catherine veteran C.J. Reycraft. A casual counterpart to the formality of Westfield’s longtime French fine-dining fortress, Amuse is new-school bistro, cheerfully decked in blond wood tables and chairs, with a handful of booths lining a rear wall and a modern “chandelier” that serves as a playful spoof to dripping candelabra.

Photo credit: Manny Carabel/MTC Photography

Amuse is Reycraft’s personal statement, a way of saying “bon appetit” without sounding haughty. It’s French bistro with an American look—clean-cut white tableware and linens, paned doors that serve as windows opening out onto the street, artwork in small doses. It’s a look that’s spare and calm, no frills, no ruffles, no fuss.

The food doesn’t appear fussed over, but it is carefully prepared. That bone marrow, stately and imposing with a pair of bones pitched in a cross formation on a stark white plate, comes with a riveting red onion marmalade that, rich and succulent as it is, actually serves to tame the silky marrow. Slather both atop the toast, then sprinkle with sea salt and understand why classics come to be: Some things are just too delicious to go out of style.

The frisee salad, topped by a perfectly poached duck egg, smoky-meaty lardons and crisp croutons, was spot-on. Poke open the yolk of the egg to let it ooze atop the bitter greens and lardons, then toss the lot into the Champagne vinaigrette. Super-size that salad and call it lunch. Or a post-theater midnight supper.

Reycraft’s foie gras is seared and served with brioche and a vanilla-licked pear compote that didn’t even approach sweet. The pear, just shy of ripe, was astringent enough to dial down the inherent hyper-richness of the fattened liver, and a flash of almonds brought crunch to every bite. Texture, in the right places and in the right doses, is something a smart chef understands.

Cashews brought that same touch to the mild ricotta-stuffed ravioli dressed in brown butter. The happy surprise here was a hint of tart-sweetness coming from a quick spray of chopped cranberries. I love dining out for such ah-ha moments: Why not just a touch, the barest touch of dried fruit with that pocket of cheese-filled pasta? It made the dish taste finished, complete and, ultimately, special.

A dining companion was tickled to find beech mushrooms perched on the plate of duck confit and butternut squash puree with a sprinkling of dried cherries. She loved seeing these creamy-tasting wild mushrooms she’s acquainted with from her native Japanese cookery, while I was just as happy to find them a yin to the yang of the preserved duck leg and thigh’s crackling skin that yielded to tender and intensely flavored meat. Too often, residual salt mars duck confit, but not here at Amuse.

The seared sea scallops, however, were seriously oversalted, as if someone in the kitchen had generously salted them and then another chef had unknowingly salted them a second time. The promising accents—hazelnuts and raisins, capers and browned butter—were obscured by the salt. We lapped up the sides of buttery pureed parsnip and Brussels sprouts as a cleanse.

The steak frites triumphed. Hard-fought simplicity is what this classic of beef-and-fries is about and Amuse’s take—employing a chewy, deeply beefy skirt steak, a hip-yet-comforting choron sauce and, for a kick, kohlrabi—is plain old cooked-to-a-T fun.

If you’re all about high-art desserts presented as high-wire acts that demand surgical tools to merely approach, Amuse’s finales may disappoint. I loved them, particularly a banana pudding so custardy that it made me wonder just what the ratio of bananas to eggs was in this pudding. Factor in a chocolate cookie crumble of a crust and you’ve got a very grand finale. A pair of tarts can’t be considered also-rans: The chocolate tart, lined with caramel and finished with a layer of dark ganache, came with a dollop of passionfruit ice cream that reined in the richness of the confection. The lemon tart, with a textbook-true lemon curd at its core, was paired with a snappy raspberry sorbet. Again, balance. Again, impressive.

Amuse charms with its unassuming style, devotion to classics that deserve the title and sophisticated home-spun character. Too often, chefs who lack experience and confidence feel the need to riff on classics in a way that deprives them of their soul. Chef Reycraft takes liberties, but only in ways that elevate the dishes. That’s a chef with a clear vision and the chops to see it through from concept to kitchen to table.

Wine Times

Amuse, very much a French bistro, is a BYOB. This means you should not tote along mass-manufactured bottles from the New World. Save Barefoot, Yellowtail and Cupcake for another time. (Though, frankly, I wouldn’t wish another time of that kind on anyone.) Amuse deserves a wine not so much from the trophy zones of Burgundy and Bordeaux, but rather the Languedoc, the Loire and the southern Rhone Valley of France. Since rose season is upon us, spring for a Provencal rosé—or, for typically less cost, one from Nimes. What you want is a true bistro wine that goes with a good variety of dishes. Carignan, anyone? Yes, if it’s from a good producer in the Languedoc. A Grenache blanc blend? Now you’ve got the right idea.

“Makeda ups the ante for restaurants that aim to do right by other than animal products.”

338 George St., New Brunswick. Phone: 732.545.5115

Hours: Lunch, Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Dinner, Monday through Thursday from 4 to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4 to midnight and Sunday from noon to 10:30 p.m. The bar is open until 1 a.m. on weeknights and until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. It’s open until midnight on Sundays. There is live music on Friday and Saturday nights. Reservations are accepted, as are all major credit cards. Prices: Appetizers and salads, $7.50 to $15.50. Entrees: $24 to $37. Vegetarian entrees are $15 to $25.50.

I wasn’t surprised when a professor pal of mine at Rutgers suggested Makeda as our lunch spot: We both love learning, adventure at the table, and foods that take us away from anything resembling an edible routine.

Makeda, the first Ethiopian restaurant to make a fine-dining statement in New Jersey, is a natural for New Brunswick, a college town that plays home to both mainstream and ethnic restaurants, lavishing equal affection on well-played versions of the normal and the novel. My friend and I were in complete agreement: Why grab a sandwich billed on a thousand menus when we could gab over fare rarely offered elsewhere? Makeda it was.

It’s a restaurant that pops into my mind whenever I want to veer from anything standard-issue. It tends to delight newcomers even as it defies expectations, for the menu is a trip to a land of new ingredients and new juxtapositions of familiar foods.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

The eating itself flies in the face of American tradition. The conduit of food between platter and mouth is Ethiopia’s beloved injera bread, a spongy, grainy number that’s something like a thick, large crepe in appearance, but tastes engagingly sour and is used to scoop up pretty much everything served at Makeda. That mild lemony flavor clicks on all cylinders with a variety of headliners, including lamb, chicken, seafood, beef and vegetables. Every time I’m at Makeda and wrap strips of faintly sweet lamb with vigorously seasoned onions in a torn-off piece of injera and warm to the scheme of everything-in-one-bite, I wonder why more contemporary chefs don’t steal from Ethiopia’s culinary playbook.

That’s exactly what friends who went with me one recent night to sample around Makeda’s menu thought. And if they were hesitant about diving into the communal platters concocted by the kitchen so we could better share the diverse dishes we’d ordered, they certainly didn’t act a smidgen shy.

Minchetabesh, ground sirloin infused with cardamom, garlic and ginger, and liberally doused with white pepper, is pan-seared with sliced onions to make it ready for rolling in the tangy injera. Though the concept may have you thinking hamburger, the finished dish is high-toned and beguiling. It offers the same attitude as the zil-zil, those strips of lamb marinated in Ethiopian honey wine with onions and garlic, then fried in butter which makes the meat crusty, but locks in the seasonings and juices. Cosseted in the injera, it’s something my dining companions can’t stop eating.

We can’t stop talking about how plain old delicious the doro wat is, a classic Ethiopian entrée of bone-in chicken parts that have done time in a lemon marinade before being briskly sautéed with the reigning triumvirate of fenugreek, ginger and garlic. The dish is finished with a dash or three of berbere, a feisty spice mixture that’s heavy on the ground chilies but tamed by baking spices – nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. We slice the hard-boiled egg served with our chicken and tuck every component of the dish into the foamy bread. My pals have gotten the hang of what, only a short time earlier, was newfangled finger food.

Ethiopian food is vegetable- and pulse-centric, and Makeda ups the ante for restaurants that aim to do right by other than animal products. Take the mesir wat, lentils and onions slow-cooked with garlic and ginger in a berbere that’s calmer than the chilies-rich mixture used in the doro wat. It’s both comforting and cunning, a stew that’s decidedly rustic, but sophisticated in its layering of multiple warming seasonings. If you want more vigorously spiced lentils, go for the mesir azefah, which plays green lentils off a hotter backdrop of accents that include jalapenos, mustard seeds and white pepper. Served cold, it’s something you might want to share as a starter.

Speaking of which, appetizers aren’t part of a typical meal in Ethiopia. So the kitchen crew here, guided by owner Ogbe Guobadia, borrows from cuisines in North Africa, most notably Morocco, for its starters and even throws in a salad or two. Skip the salads, which truly do seem out of place, and kick off dinner with loubia, a sauté of string beans in lots of parsley given a lift from cumin, ginger and garlic. They’re pleasingly soft, as many vegetables are in the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, and work in tandem with the zaalouk, a perky chop of eggplant pan-fried with the same accents, then sprayed with fresh lemon juice before hitting the plate.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

I usually snag the kefta when dining at Makeda, finding those Moroccan meatballs powered by crushed red pepper irresistible, but this time out I ordered a accented opener of shrimp simmered in peppery orange juice, then served with wedges of orange juice and tomatoes. The shrimp were overcooked and the orange not integrated into the shellfish. Next time, I’ll stick with the meatballs.

I wish Makeda wouldn’t stick to its all-American desserts. The folks here can do better than carrot cake that’s done too much time poorly covered in the fridge. Even if it’s something very simple—again borrowing from Morocco—such as cookies studded with nigella seeds or oranges in orange flower water, it would do more in keeping with the mission of Makeda. Right now, there are no grand finales at a restaurant that deserves a rousing finish.

Makeda, born in 1996, is a fixture in New Brunswick. People who live in the city, those who work at or attend Rutgers, are proud to show it off to visitors: It’s unlike anything else in the state, it sports a lively scene—especially on Friday and Saturday nights when live bands take center stage—and it proves restaurants in New Jersey aren’t always focused on Italian-American standards. Give Makeda an “A” for inspiration.

Editor’s Note: Andy Clurfeld is a former editor of Zagat New Jersey. The longtime food critic for the Asbury Park Press also has been published in Gourmet, Saveur and Town & Country, and on epicurious.com. Her post-Sandy stories for NBCNewYork.com rank among the finest media reporting on the superstorm’s aftermath and recovery.

Exotic Collegiate

If you ever went to Tumulty’s in the old days, Makeda may strike you as a brave new century in college town dining. It’s got the requisite large and happy bar and a space that, if the ceilings weren’t so high, could be called cavernous. But comparisons to a typical collegiate hangout stop there.

Makeda sports African artwork through its dining spaces, both in the private rooms and the main dining areas. A long banquette fronted by tables for two (or four) is upholstered in colorful fabric that avoids stereotype but feels vividly African. The wood and glass that define the spaces are angular and striking. It’s a scene that melds modern times with Ethiopian/African traditions.

How to turn your second home into a third one. And fourth one. And fifth one… 

By J.M. Stewart

There is a new kind of “key party” happening out there. Chances are, you already know someone who’s doing it. Hold on—it’s not what you think. The only things being swapped are the keys themselves. The Home Exchange industry has taken off in recent years, thanks to a combination of factors that have convinced thousands of vacationers to look at their vacation dollars in a completely different way.  

Technically, home swapping is nothing new. It has been around for a while. The basic idea is  trading vacation time in your home for vacation time in someone else’s. This can be done in a few different ways with different types of properties. In most cases, however, owners of second homes are bartering unused time in their vacation properties for unused time in other people’s second homes. Who wouldn’t want to trade that sparsely used month at the Jersey Shore for a Paris apartment or a hilltop mansion overlooking the Caribbean? 

More than 20 home exchange companies have sprung up in the last two decades, which tells you some-thing about which way this industry is headed. Not coincidentally, during that same time the timeshare industry has cratered. A major reason for the rapid growth of home exchange clubs is the Internet, which enables home-swappers to peruse vacation properties, read personal reviews, and upload comments and photos of their own after each stay.  

According to Steve Zacks, a principal at 3rd Home, a leader in the luxury segment that features over 1,700 residences with an average value of $2.25 million, “There is complete transparency in the program.” The company’s web site features comprehensive listings on each home, and guests are encouraged to write a review after each stay—which is then featured unedited on the property page and in the testimonials section.

There are three basic types of home exchanges:

1. Hospitality Exchange You stay in someone’s home while the host is there. This might be in a spare bedroom—bed-and-breakfast style—or perhaps a guesthouse. It is an interesting budget option.
2. Simultaneous Exchange This is when you literally switch homes—you’re in their home, and they’re in your home at the same time. Companies like IVHE Vacation Home Exchange, in England, function as facilitators. People who like this option find it interesting to vacation in a home filled with someone else’s personal belongings.
3. Non-Simultaneous/Non-Direct Exchange You “pool” your vacation home availability with like-minded individuals and then pick the property you want to visit, at a time when you want to travel. It is not your responsibility to find someone who wants to trade with you. This type of service is offered by the elite-level home exchange companies. The vacation properties in pooled exchanges can be valued from $500,000 into the millions, and have club rules, regulations and controls in place to promote a consistent luxury experience.

SO, WHO’S STAYING IN MY HOME?

Good question. Luxury companies vet potential members through referrals and social networking. Every member must comply with the terms and conditions set forth in a company’s guidelines. Non-compliance can result in expulsion. But according to Zacks, “Members pay it forward. It is a private club. Our members, all of whom have their vacation homes in the program, treat each property they visit as if it were their own. Many have created new friends in the process

In less-exclusive simultaneous exchange situations, it is up to the homeowners to work things out. This involves a fair amount of personal contact—and also being comfortable with strangers occupying your primary residence. It’s not for everyone, but for some this is part of the adventure. As one happy swapper says, “When I talk to my exchange partners either on the phone or over the Internet, I just use my gut to get a sense of them. And, I take common-sense precautions, like putting our valuables in an off-limits room when people stay here. My family and I have been doing this for years now, and we’ve never had a problem.” 

3rd Home is representative of the high-end home exchange companies in that it only handles second (or third, or fourth) homes. Love Home Swap, by contrast, will work with primary homes, which can involve some tricky logistics. Many companies do a little of both, including IVHE out of England. Others still, like Air B&B, can arrange a room swap. Needless to say, however you go, it is an economical way to travel because you are paying a tiny percentage of typical resort charges or house-rental fees

THINKING LOCAL

There is an ancillary benefit of home exchange to surrounding economies: An empty home generates no revenue for nearby businesses, while a home occupied for a couple of weeks by a family that has saved a bundle in rental fees will be a big win for the local shops, restaurants and other tourism-reliant enterprises. 

Business is booming in the non-simultaneous exchange sector. Among the many reasons for this growth is that a lot of people built or purchased second homes as investment properties during the real estate boom of the last decade, and now find themselves unable to resell, rent or use the homes as frequently as they had originally anticipated. Or perhaps they have had many years of enjoyment and now are ready for new experiences. Filling those homes with like-minded vacationers—while racking up credits for your own vacation adventures—makes sense. On the flipside, as the person doing the vacationing, you save thousands of dollars in a single trip, and can bring the entire family (and even a couple of friends) to boot. Indeed, in many parts of the world, you might be amazed to find vacation homes with between 5 and 10 bedrooms. 

Depending on the company, the cost of vacationing in a fabulous home in an exotic locale averages between 5 to 10 percent of the rental cost were you to go through a local realtor on a short-term stay. In addition, all companies charge some sort of membership fee to be part of the program 

POINT TAKEN

Trade to Travel and 3rd Home run on point systems. You get out of the program what you put in. For example, Trade To Travel requires a one-time-only initiation fee of$2,500, but if you make your home available right away (within the first six months of joining), this fee is waived. The more weeks you offer up your house—and the more often your home is used—the more points you accrue. These points are then “cashed in” for a trip. 3rd Home employs a similar kind of credit system that takes into account the value and location of your home, as well as the time of year the home is made available. A high season like Spring Break will garner more credits than a less in-demand time of year. One of the more appealing aspects of this arrangement is that homeowners begin racking up credits the moment unused blocks are deposited into the system, and thus can book their own vacations right away. It’s an economy unto itself.

Timing is everything, of course. If you are considering a home swap, it’s best to plan a trip to, say, Europe at least 3 or 4 months in advance, just to allow yourself the opportunity to pick from a greater variety of locations. Some of the choicest properties come off the board a year in advance. Remember that many of these homes are listed as vacation rentals with local realtors, and the owners of these homes still use them for their own vacation time, so it’s not just home-swappers vying for them. Most companies accept a one-week minimum visit to a home. One home exchange company reported a stay that lasted 6 months. Now, that’s a vacation!

When it comes to luxury properties, there are basically two distinct tastes among travelers. Some want the total residence-club experience, while the more adventurous prefer to go native and fly solo. No problem, several companies cater to both of these personalities. If you’re in the mood for a little pampering, but still want to live like a local, many vacation homes include a staff to cook and/or clean for you. And every home has some sort of local contact or caretaker to answer questions and deal with emergencies. Also, homeowners typically provide a long list of instructions and recommendations for their guests. For those who prefer the top-flight amenities a hotel offers, the higher-end companies have affiliate relationships with residence clubs and developments.

Special thanks to
3rd Home for supplying
the images for this story.

NOT FOR EVERYONE

As appealing as home exchanges sound, they are not for everyone. If you are the kind of person who needs to adhere to a strict timeline with a very specific locale, home exchange programs might not be for you. If you neurose over other people using your things—even if they’re just your “vacation things”—then, again, home exchange may not be a good fit.

However, if you are flexible in your schedule or location, you can go to top-notch destination spots with great frequency for a fraction of the price. 

3rd Home, for example, is affiliated with Trump International and includes Trump International Hotel and Towers in New York, the Reefs Club in Bermuda and The Residences at the Chateaux in Deer Valley. 

Thanks to home exchanges, enjoying the carefree life of travel and staying in some tremendous properties has never been easier. Pick a club t

o join, list your home, and then start looking for your next vacation destination. Not only will you save buckets of money but, as one homeowner put it, “It feels great to put my empty vacation home to work for me…instead of vice-versa.” 

The last line of defense at the Super Bowl is not what you think. 

By Alison Hemstitch

You wouldn’t believe the things a “house doctor” sees at a football game. So says Dr. Kevin Lukenda, Chairman of the Family Medicine Department at TRMC. Dr. Lukenda has been working two to three events a month at the Meadowlands Sports Complex for a dozen years.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

MetLife stadium holds 85,000 people including employees. When the stadium sells out a football game, concert or soccer match, it is essentially a small city with the same potential for 911 calls and problems that a city would encounter on any given day. The Meadowlands Sports Complex has its own EMS, Fire, Safety Services and Maintenance Departments, among others. The physician on duty for an event handles everyone’s medical problems—from colds to falls to life threatening situations such as heart attacks, strokes and diabetic emergencies. The staff also sees its share of stadium-exclusive issues, like moths dive bombing into the ear canals of guests sitting in the upper level near the lights.

So what does Dr. Lukenda consider a normal day at a New Jersey sporting event?

“Respiratory and cardiac issues are the normal fare,” he says. “Essentially our fans bring a full complement of their chronic illnesses with them to events at the Sports Complex, some of which are exacerbated by the weather, walking a distance into the buildings, or the food and beverage they consume at the tailgate parties they attend. Tailgate parties can be quite elaborate, fully catered affairs.”

The Meadowlands Sports Complex, which is owned by the state and managed by the New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Authority, is the only sports venue in the state that has its own Medical Team of physicians, nurses, EMTs and ambulances that are managed by a Medical Director, EMS Director and EMS Coordinator, who plans the EMS coverage for all the events.

For the Super Bowl, Dr. Lukenda was one of eight physicians stationed in various medical rooms throughout the stadium. This job required the physicians and staff to have in-service training prior to each NFL game this season to prepare them for anything that might be thrown at them come the Super Bowl game.

Normally, Dr. Lukenda’s job is to administer to fans and employees, but after rock concerts, he is occasionally called upon to treat a performer. “Some of those guys leave it all out on the stage and come back to their dressing room spent or dehydrated,” he says (but won’t say who). “These acts go on tour and depending on how long they have been touring, they start to get ill from the long hours and the demands of the road. We are their on-the-road, so to speak, physicians. What a rush when you first get to treat a celebrity.”

Kevin Lukenda, DO Chairman, Family Medicine Department, TRMC 908.925.9309

Dr. Lukenda says, “I love working at the Sports Complex. It is a totally different feeling than the office and hospital. You get a bit of an adrenalin rush being so close to the action.”

CHAMPS IN CAREGIVING

Dr. Edna Bacarro, Certified Nurse Midwife Marietta Jones, and RNs Danielle Passafiume and Cecilia Amaro display the hardware they brought home from the 2nd annual SimWARS at the Regional Perinatal Simulation Center at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. The Trinitas OB/GYN team members finished in first place, surpassing the competition in teamwork, communication, and clinical decision-making abilities in a patient care setting that used high-fidelity simulated patients.

KING FOR A DAY

Friend of EDGE Ron Shovlin shows off his newly named Shovlin Mattress Factory. The company is located in Fanwood and has been producing mattresses—right here in Jersey—for over 30 years.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP

HealthcareIT News, published by Health Information Management and Systems Society, recently announced that in its 3rd Annual “Where to Work” Best Hospital IT Departments Program, the Information Technology (IT) Department of Trinitas topped its list of  10 Best Hospital IT Departments nationwide among medium-sized hospitals having 26 – 75 members. This bested the Trinitas IT department’s previous ranking in the 2012 Top 10 list.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Trinitas’ own Lucy Esralew, PhD, administrator of the S-COPE (Statewide Clinical Outreach Program for the Elderly), will assist the Felician College External Advisory Board for the Institute for Gerontology as it examines its role in addressing the needs of the aged. As developer of S-COPE, Dr. Esralew established the state-wide network of clinicians who help nursing homes and assisted living facilities respond to senior mental health needs.

GRANT EQUALS HELP

The Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) at Trinitas now reduces cases of hospital-acquired delirium among the senior population. A multi-disciplinary team of healthcare professionals has successfully reached more than 550 patients since March 2013. The Hospital-Acquired Delirium Project was made possible by a$100,000 grant from the Healthcare Foundation of NJ.

HELP Intervention Assistant Diana Noboa and HELP volunteers Adriana Dominguez and Rosa Alexandra spend time with patient Armande Samanamud.

MOONLIGHTING

Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi celebrates publication of her new book, New Brunswick in the Civil War: The Brunswick Boys and The Great Rebellion at the Towne Book Store in Westfield. Rajoppi is flanked by two new fans, Paula Long of Westfield and Christine Bennett of Summit.

CODES RULE

Have you ever suffered a bite from an animal, crustacean or another person? Thankfully, there are numbers assigned to the more than 60,000 new codes of the World Health Organization’s latest version of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD). As information management meets patient care and safety, here’s hoping that Trinitas won’t be treating anyone suffering from ICD-10 W52.0…a human bite inflicted during a stampede!

MORE THAN A BAND AID

New Jersey hospitals serve 18 million patients each year, regardless of their ability to pay. According to the New Jersey Hospital Association’s (NJHA) 2013 NJ Hospitals Economic Report, the state’s hospitals contributed a record $20.4 billion to the Garden State economy in 2012.  As a safety net hospital, Trinitas provided in excess of $46,000,000 in charity care, $2,000,000 more than the federal and state allotments it receives to meet the needs of the uninsured and underinsured.

It’s March 1st…Do you know where your kid’s ‘camping’ this summer?

By Diane Alter

As competition for summer sleepaway camp dollars becomes more extreme, so too does the range of camp experiences. While you may not want to send your kid to Ninja Camp or Explosives Camp (yes, they do exist) a growing number of parents are picking places that push the envelope and promise to explore the limits of their child’s body and/or intellect in new and imaginative ways. Indeed, more and more parents are packing up their troubles—er—pride and joy, and sending them off to exciting, out-of-the-box summer camps. Some run for a week or two, while others go for a month or more. One interesting trend is the mix-and-match approach, where you cobble together a summer of fun from two, three or four of the shorter-duration camps.

From Culinary Camp in Vermont to Spy Camp in D.C. to Stunt Camp in California to Fiji Shark Camp, today’s camps go beyond classic fun. And unlike back in the day, when mattresses were lumpy, mosquitoes pesky and food tolerable at best, many of today’s niche camps rival the best resorts.

In these pages are some interesting options to use as a starting point. Whether you pick upscale, thrilling, educational, a little of everything or something in between, remember that long after tans fade and badges of honor are shelved, your child’s camp memories endure.

Step Right Up • Camp Winnarainbow

Situated in the picturesque foothills of Mendocino County in Northern California, this 35-year-old camp lets kids ages 7-14 learn every aspect of circus life, from stilt walking to juggling to clowning to riding a unicycle. Kids can also swing on a trapeze, walk a tightrope, learn magic and sharpen their comedic timing. Winnarainbow also features sleeping tipis (teepees) and restaurant-worthy meals. On pick-up day of every two-week session, the campers perform a final show for parents and friends.

Camp Winnarainbow • campwinnarainbow.org

+ Games • Teen Extreme Youth Camp

Teen Extreme Youth Camp in Florida is one of many places around the country that blends spiritual development (in this case, Christian) with non-stop activities. Using the Sports Center facilities on the Pensacola Christian College campus, the camp boasts one of the largest indoor rock climbing walls in the U.S., an inline skating track, indoor water park with surfing and water slides, and paintball competition. Other activities include ice skating, bowling, racquetball, basketball and swimming. Music competitions are also available, as are programs in computer science, art, drama, volleyball, nursing, pre-med, science and history. It’s open to ’tweens and teens grades 7 to 12.

Teen Extreme Youth Camp • teenextremecamp.org

Photo credit: New York Film Academy

And…Action! • Film Academy Camp

So, your kid’s the next Spielberg. Or Denzel. Or Cronkite. Whether a child aspires to a career in acting, filmmaking, musical theater, video design or broadcast journalism, this camp may well be the most intensive, hands-on and authentic in the world. Campuses include Harvard and Yale Universities, Universal Studios Hollywood, and Disney Studios in Florida, Paris, Florence, London and Australia. Camp classes inspire creativity and provide invaluable insider industry insight and experience for students ages 14 to 17. Dazzled by Hollywood guest speakers, campers also attend TV tapings and movie premieres. Bunkmates include the offspring of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Lodgings include college dorms and apartments situated across the street from site locations, as well as hotels.

Film Academy Camp • nyfa.edu/summer_camp/

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Dig This • JurrasiCamp

Forget the plastic dinosaurs and playground sandboxes, JurrasiCamp in Florida encourages kids to get dirty in a quest to unearth genuine dinosaur bones. Campers learn about these legendary creatures and are introduced to them to paleontology—while actively working on digs. Kids even get to take home authentic fossils they excavate from specially designed dig boxes. Other activities include swimming, bowling, and field trips. Open to children aged 5-14, JurassiCamp has been in business as a day camp for 25 years in Miami, Boca Raton and Vero Beach.

JurrasiCamp • funcamps.com

Ups & Downs • Roller Coaster Camp

The only one of its kind in the U.S., this camp takes kids ages 12 to 16 all over the country to ride some of America’s most amazing scream machines. Celebrating 10 years in operation, the Woodbridge (NJ) head-quartered Thrill Coaster Tours offers five-, six- and eight-day roller coaster tours to various parts of the USA. Each day brings a different park and a different stomach-dropping experience of twists, turns, ascents and plunges on diverse roller coaster tracks. Closely supervised groups of six arrive at parks early and stay late. “We do take the kids for a nice dinner somewhere outside of the park to regroup and get them out of the sun before returning for more nightly fun,” Ira Gordon, Thrill Coaster President says. “We’re parents’ answer to a kid’s summer dream of visiting a plethora of amusement parks.” Additional activities include jet-boating, laser tag, rock climbing and more. Stays are at cushy Marriott hotels.

Roller Coaster Camp • thrillcoastertours.com

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Think Global • West Coast Connection

One of the largest student travel companies in North America, West Coast Connection has been treating teens to summer travel adventures for 32 years. Programs run the gamut from traditional Teen Tours to Community Service Trips to Language Immersion Journeys to Pre-College Enrichment Adventures. North American programs include surfing in San Diego and exploring in National Parks. European programs offer Italian cooking-school lessons, skiing or snowboarding in the Swiss Alps, a gondola ride in Venice, a play at a

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

London theater and swimming the grottos of Capri. Australian adventures include snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Programs in Israel offer the opportunity to float in the Dead Sea and a visit to the Western Wall.

West Coast Connection Student Travel • westcoastconnection.com

Photo credit: Guard Up, Inc

Dead On • Zombie Summer Camp

It’s never too early or imprudent to prepare for the zombie apocalypse, right? Campers at this Massachusetts locale prepare for such a scenario by learning survival skills, basic first aid (invaluable after a zombie scratch), solving life-threatening mysteries, defending their fragile land, foraging for supplies, navigating a maze and fighting off the walking dead using NERF-type weapons. Day camps are offered for kids ages 7 and up, while overnight zombie camps are available for kids aged 10 and over. Kids who prefer not to engage in battle can opt out, and levels of scariness vary.

Zombie Summer Camp •zombiesummercamp.com

SMOOTH JAZZ STYLINGS

More than 150 jazz lovers gathered on November 9th at NJPAC for a one-night only concert of Grammy-winning artists for the 2nd Annual Jazz Celebration. Generous supporters, including renew-ing event sponsors Crothall & Morrison, ensured the event netted approximately $45,000 for the Trinitas Health Foundation.

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION RAISED $14,000 ON GIVING TUESDAY

All Funds Support Pediatric Patients

On December 3, 2013, $14,000 was raised on GivingTuesday. It may seem a little surprising, but no one before designated a specific day to help launch the holiday charitable giving season until last year. All GivingTuesday contributions were directed to the Trinitas Pediatric Health Center. Annually, more than 20,000 children visit Trinitas, their community hospital, to seek care and these numbers only continue to grow.

Every child should have a healthy start to life and Trinitas is there to provide children from birth through adolescence with immuniza-tions, preventive, well-child, sick-child and follow-up care through two pediatricians and a bi-lingual staff. “All gifts magically doubled due to the generosity of Foundation trustees Edward Dee, Grant Hobson, Gary Horan, Thomas Kachelriess, Kevin McCloskey, Jan Margolis and Paul Napoli,” said Nadine Brechner, Vice President, Chief Development Officer of Trinitas Health Foundation.

Because of you, Trinitas gives children access to vital health serv-ices ensuring their physical well-being. Thank You for supporting GivingTuesday!

THE CLARA & SOL KRAMER WING DEDICATION

Family and friends were welcomed to The Clara & Sol Kramer Wing – TRMC’s first-ever wing naming. All joined together to recognize and reflect on the generosity and dedication of the Kramer Family to Trinitas, their community hospital. Almost 90 generous benefactors contributed $500,000 to make The Clara & Sol Kramer Wing a reality.

Is wine storage in your home renovation budget?

By Hank Zona

Come on over for a glass of wine. It’s an invitation we hear more and more often in our vernacular. Small wonder—the United States is now the largest overall consumer of wine in the world, and here in New Jersey, wine drinking is well ahead of national trends. We rank comfortably in the top ten among states in total and per capita wine consumption and, not coincidentally, we are third in median household income. This is all more clearly reflected inside our homes, where the new “space race” is all about finding the safest, smartest, most convenient way to house our growing wine collections.

Photo Courtesy of Clawson Architects

Collectors have always sought to have showcase wine rooms and storage areas for bottles numbering in the hundreds, even thousands. They purchase fine glass-ware, often unique to different styles of wine, and the latest in gadgets and supplies, too. Most consumers, though, do not fall into the collector category. Yet many still desire some of the high-end trappings to better enjoy their own pursuits of the vine. It is this group’s purchasing interests that are greatly influencing the home remodeling market now.

Marvin and Rene Clawson, the husband-and-wife team behind Clawson Architects—a full-service architectural and interior design firm in Maplewood—confirm that accessibility to wine is a design request they hear a lot, as kitchens need to allow families to do more and more multi-tasking. “Ninety percent of all the kitchen designs we do now include a wine refrigerator in or adjacent to the kitchen,” says Rene Clawson.

Photo Courtesy of Susanne and Karl Rudiger

That refrigerator may be built somewhere into the kitchen design or as part of a separate beverage center, in the area that in the past was usually populated by a pantry. The cost of the unit itself—EuroCave makes several popular models—can run from the hundreds to the many thousands, not including carpentry, electrical, installation, etc. These modern conveniences are not just for new construction, but often they are retro-fitted and integrated into historic homes.

“We also help create efficiencies in larger homes for busy families”, adds Marvin Clawson. “In those homes, we are encouraging clients to include a beverage center on the second floor and, when the primary wine collection is a greater distance away, wine refrigerators in the master bedroom suite.”

Another trend in the home remodeling marketplace is transforming basement space into deluxe wine cellars. Not every homeowner, it seems, opts for a rec room or man cave. In most cases, a basement actually makes an ideal location for efficiently storing and enjoying a wine collection—subterranean basements work particularly well—and rates as a huge plus if and when the home goes on the market.

Depending on how homeowners plan to use the space (just storage…or perhaps something more ambitious, like a tasting area), a project like this can range from four figures to six figures. Work in a designer’s fee, as this is a renovation you definitely want to get right the first time.

Photo Courtesy of Clawson Architect

Enthused

Wine Enthusiast Companies, based across the river in Mt. Kisco, is the biggest wine storage and accessories company in the United States, shipping out over a half million products this past year. For over 30 years, they have been at the forefront of the market, selling everything from simple corkscrews to elaborate wine storage systems. Because of their Westchester location, the northern and central New Jersey markets are strong for them. Jacki Strum, the Director of Communications and Social Media at The Wine Enthusiast, says the company sells everything to do with wine but wine.

“We have a production development team that is focused on assessing the interests of our customers and then developing new products or identifying top-quality products made elsewhere,” she explains. Not surprisingly, they are a leader in wine storage sales. Demand for wine preservation (items and systems) and wine gadgets is on the rise, too.

Marshall Tilden III is a sales manager at The Wine Enthusiast who oversees a team of storage consultants that fields over one million calls and emails annually. “We ascertain our customers’ future wine purchasing goals, their storage needs and drinking habits and work within their budgets,” he explains. “Our customers often start off with us as apartment-dwellers and when they move to the suburbs, we help them to adjust their wine storage needs for bigger living space and bigger collections.”

What’s Cooking at Retail?

“In the cooking gadgetry world, wine is definitely a trend,” says Ben Salmon, proprietor of the South Orange kitchenware and home entertaining jewel box, Kitchen a la Mode. “We’re seeing tons of new gadgets to keep wine chilled after it leaves the fridge, both in the bottle and in the glass. Aeration is another wine gadget category that continues to be robust. Many more people are using gadgets to help their wines breathe as they’re being poured rather than using the traditional decanter method.”

Photo Courtesy of Susanne and Karl Rudiger

Elaborate wine openers are sometimes installed as part of a kitchen or wine room design, but as a rule consumers seem to be favoring simple openers that are made well with high-quality materials. As for glassware, customers are rethinking “a different glass for every wine” and picking one or two shapes that are versatile in highlighting a variety of wines. “People tend to be buying higher quantities of one or two types of glass than lower numbers of a variety of shapes,” Salmon reports. “I also see consumers moving away from the very inexpensive glasses that are not sturdy and have that horrible beaded rim, but also moving away from the very expensive glasses that can be too delicate for the price. I’m seeing sales surge in high-quality restaurant supply glasses—well-made glasses that drink nicely and don’t cost a fortune.”

Gifting of wine-themed items has seen significant growth according to both Tilden and Salmon, who also note the increasing popularity in the “upcycling” of old wine barrels and bottles for cheese boards, candleholders, tables, and wine storage. The boom in wine-themed products at trade shows is a good indication that more variety will be coming to market.

Editor’s Note: Hank Zona is a wine educator with a loyal following in New Jersey. You can read more of Hank’s work and peruse his event schedule at thegrapesunwrapped.com.

Picking the perfect summer camp has never been easier…which is why you need to start NOW.

By Christine Gibbs

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

How nice it is, in a world that moves at fiber-optic speed, that some things never change. Summer sleepaway camp has been a rite of passage for countless young Americans, stretching back generations in some families. In fact, 2012 marked the 150th anniversary of worldwide camping.

There’s just one thing. Replicating the summer camp experience we enjoyed for our own children (or in some cases grandchildren) isn’t the no-brainer it used to be, especially if you want to build a young person’s mind and body. In this age of specialization, we must assume the exhausting responsibility of matching our children’s interests, likes and dislikes—and perhaps their budding talents—to the camp that offers the greatest chance to learn, to grow and to thrive. All for the pleasure of writing out a large check and then fighting back the tears as they roll away for two to ten weeks of parentally unsupervised fun.

Pick the wrong camp, and not only won’t you ever hear the end of it, your kid will probably find some clever way to work it into your eulogy. Pick the right camp, and at the end of the session your child may grant you a grunt of approval when you ask how it was.

The pressure to get into that “right” camp may not be quite as intense as getting into the right college, but given the ever-expanding choices on top of variables on top of more choices, the process may be even more daunting. That is especially true for a small group of elite camps, such as the by-invitation-only program at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, which is rigorously selective based on standardized test scores. Really? Yes, really.

Camping in the 21st Century

For those families with mere mortal offspring, the first order of business is deciding between the two types of summer sleepaway camps. There are the old-school Hello, Muddah, Hello, Faddah operations, which feature time-honored and universally shared activities (from hiking and canoeing to complaining about the grub and torturing the counselors). And then there are the specialty camps, which cater to almost every conceivable skill and interest. Is your daughter interested in robotics? Is your son’s golf swing in need of a tune-up? There are several camps within a couple of hours drive that can handle that. Are you arguing with your child about which camp is the right camp? You might consider a debate camp. Really? Again, yes, really.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

In days past, dating all the way back to the early 1900s, the vast majority of summer sleepaway camps were of the traditional variety: scouting-, religious- or sports-oriented. Today there is a camp for practically every special interest, not to mention many that target special needs ranging from weight loss to autism to terminal illnesses. There are language and travel camps, both domestic and international. There are camps for all of the arts—fine art, music, writing and performing.  There are science, environmental and technical camps galore. Stevens Institute in Hoboken offers its ECOES program (Exploring Career Options in Engineering and Science) and even Apple opens some of its stores to offer free fun summer programs focusing on its own brand of electronic devices.

Sports camps have become an industry unto themselves. They specialize in activities such as golf, soccer, tennis, field hockey, competitive swimming, scuba, sailing and even rock climbing. There are numerous camps whose primary focus is to fast-track budding athletes (some as young as 8 or 9) toward some future Olympics. Others aim at building the skills necessary to secure a college scholarship in sports ranging from softball to sculling. There are football camps for quarterbacks only…which begs the question, who are they throwing and handing-off to? These camps offer fun and games with a serious side; they separate the wheat from the chaff by offering an atmosphere of competition, achievement and success.

Serious, success-driven camps are hardly limited to sports. Future Stars Camp in Warminster, PA, the Superkidz Kamp in Montclair, NJ and Stagedoor Manor—a 26-year old theatrical training camp in the Catskills which counts Natalie Portman, Mandy Moore and Robert Downey, Jr. among its alumnae—are hardcore performing arts boot camps.

And yes, there are actual boot camps now. Often geared toward working with troubled teenagers, they push kids to learn teamwork and also self-reliance in a quasi-military/wilderness environment. They tend to temper their intense work schedules with more traditional recreational camp-type activities such as swimming, hiking and just plain horsing around.

Fortunately, there are plenty of summer camps at the other end of the seriousness spectrum. The Quaker-run Dark Waters Camp in Medford, NJ encourages a non-competitive philosophy with a wide array of arts, crafts and outdoor activities. Similarly, a more balanced agenda is offered at the Stokes Forest Music Camp, where the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University counterbalances serious music sessions with environmental studies and recreational activities. Statistics compiled by the American Camp Association (acacamps.org), indicate that 57% of their accredited camp membership focuses on team-building and more than half provide opportunities for community service, such as area cleanups, recycling, and volunteerism at nursing homes and hospitals.

Dollars and Sense

According to industry statistics compiled by the National Camp Association, U.S. camps rake in an annual $11 billion in business.  More than 11 million American children last summer were tearfully bused or otherwise delivered by their parents to the 12,000 camps spread throughout the nation. Of these, about 60% are of the sleepover variety, two-thirds are run by non-profit organizations, and the remaining third are privately owned for-profit businesses. About one in five camps receive American Camp Association accreditation, which means they have met 300 health and safety standards.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

This is worth thinking about when narrowing down your choices. Parents are often surprised to learn that, unlike pre-school, there is no government agency that monitors camp conditions and standards. And although most camps are small businesses, they employ more than 1.2 million adults in various capacities such as camp counselors, activity leaders, program directors and support services personnel, so it is something more than a cottage industry.

Not surprisingly, recent economic conditions have impacted consumer spending on summer camps. The good news is that the vast majority have been able to maintain their high standards, with some actually stepping up their games and becoming more competitive. The general consensus about the tangible and intangible benefits of the sleepaway camp experience has kept the industry going. This combination of forces has also benefitted day camps, which are less expensive and often more specialized than sleepaway camps.

Sleepover fees can vary from about $200 to upwards of$800 per week per child. Many camps offer financial assistance of one kind or another—including scholarships (aka “camperships”)—so if you need it, don’t be shy about asking what programs are available.

At the higher end of the scale are camps such as Camp Robindel for girls, located in Moultonboro, NH. At just under $11,000 for the summer, it offers yoga, horseback riding, paddle boarding, surfing, and knee boarding as well as bi-weekly themed meals that are a far cry from the unappetizing camp fare of yesteryear. For boys, a fee of$10,750 for Camp Skylemar in Naples, ME covers a five-hole golf course, eight tennis courts, and three indoor-and-outdoor basketball courts—plus all that nature has to offer. Yet even at the lower end of the scale, there are plenty of specialty sleepaway camps that will match your child’s passions and interests. Their offerings range from computers and technology to fashion and fitness, to the culinary or performing arts.

As much as we want our children to go to the best possible camp, we also want to negotiate lower fees and expenses. There are nearly $40 million in scholarships out there, but beyond these programs, you can explore other ways ways to make fees fit a leaner pocketbook, including no-interest installment payments, sibling deals, early bird sign-up discounts and playing two competing camps off each other. You’ll find some other ideas at campparents.org and camppage.com. Something that many parents are unaware of is the credit the IRS gives for summer camp costs. The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit can cover 20% to 35% of childcare up to$3,000 for each child. In most cases, the IRS considers summer camp as an allowable form of childcare expense if it is necessary for parents to be able to continue to work through the summer.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Keeping the Campfires Burning

The folks who own and operate summer camps are seasoned professionals who take on the myriad responsibilities associated with providing the most rewarding, enjoyable and safe overall summer experience for all resident campers. Their business depends on positive word-of-mouth from parents and, of course, happy campers. With the growth of social media and web sites over the last generation, the quality-control bar has been raised to new heights. One bad review, easily Googled, can put a dent in even the best camp’s bottom line.

Sheryl Kirschenbaum, Director of Surprise Lake camp in Cold Spring, NY is a good example of hands-on camp administration. When asked about the focus of this Jewish-faith summer camp (which dates back to 1902), she thoughtfully sums it all up. “It’s about intangibles,” she explains. “We let kids be kids. We provide a safe place away from some of the daily insanity that surrounds them. Our focus is always on warm and welcoming…but no cell phones allowed!”

Can Kirschenbaum describe the perfect camper for Surprise Lake? “There is none. Camp is magical in different ways for different children. They’re all perfect in some ways or other.”

“However,” she adds, “I am always searching for the perfect counselor!”

A striking example of a successful family-run camp is Camp Jeanne d’Arc, nestled in the rolling hills of Merrick, NY. The Director, Jehanne McIntyre Edwards is the granddaughter of feminist Ruth Israel McIntyre, who began working with the Girl Scouts in her Philadelphia parish early in the 20th century and moved on to work with the Girl Guides in France during WWI. That French connection was the inspiration behind naming the camp and fulfilling her vision for young women everywhere. Edwards is a believer in the advantages of a girls-only traditional camp. “Girls tend to more easily integrate into a close community environment,” she maintains. “The older campers often become ‘big sisters’ to the younger ones, which can be very helpful in overcoming some inevitable homesickness.”

A totally flexible summer schedule offers 2- (for the younger “newbies”) to 7-week sessions for a fortunate 130 young girls from 8-16. The main focus, according to Edwards, is to foster intercultural growth through a diverse body of campers. The goal is to encourage individual skills and strengths over time to build confidence and self-worth. “We believe that small goals will lead to great success,” she says. Although the camp encourages some friendly competition, it definitely is not one of the high-intensity special-interest camps.

Vetting a Camp

The quality of a summer camp can be measured in many ways, however the one that speaks most clearly may be the percentage of campers in the oldest group who started in the youngest. A healthy population of “lifers” is a good sign. At the best of the best, those graduated campers continue to come back, as junior counselors and then as full-fledged counselors. When evaluating your choices, this is something that definitely needs to be on your checklist of questions.

What else should be on that list? Ask about the safety and security measures that are in place, and what medical resources are available in case of emergency. Ask about the food—what is the typical daily/weekly menu? Is there a nutritionist on staff, or are there at least some basic nutritional guidelines being followed? What kind of training and experience are required of the counselors and directors—are they subjected to background checks?

What is the ratio of campers to counselors? There is no “right” number, but it is a useful statistic for comparison purposes. It is also prudent to ask a camp to elaborate on its discipline policies. If you have an unruly child or if you are afraid you child might be picked on, find out how a camp handles these situations.

References are crucial. Even if you have been pointed to a particular camp by a trusted friend or neighbor, ask if you can communicate with other parents. Finally, trust your instincts and your own eyes. If the camp is within a couple of hours, you might even consider visiting while it is in session.

Always remember that you as parents are in the driver’s seat when it comes to final decision-making. You are undertaking a significant investment in your child’s overall summer experience, so don’t be shy about asking some tough questions.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

WHY CAMP?

In times past, there were some parents who looked upon camp as a “dumping ground” that freed up their own summers for adult recreation. Today, parents are more involved in a rigorous camp selection process. According to the American Camp Association, the three most frequently cited reasons why parents send their children to camp are to:

• build self-confidence and self-esteem;
• provide a safe environment;
• build social skills and make friends.

News, views and insights on maintaining a healthy edge.

Bariatric Surgery: A “Miracle Moment”

A recent study of diet and nutrition disorders looked at attitudes of the morbidly obese toward obesity and obesity treatment. Researchers found that the majority of study subjects thought of obesity as an unalterable hereditary trait. Although they recognized that personal eating behavior contributes to and exacerbates their condition, they feel that altering this behavior is difficult to change or control. The same study also showed that food is often used as a coping strategy, which makes following a healthier diet plan a “huge sacrifice.” The findings support the idea that, for the morbidly obese, bariatric surgery represents a “miracle moment” that will change their lives without requiring an active role or participation. Researchers concluded that it is important to empower patients before and after bariatric surgery, and to promote a new awareness of the weight-loss process.

Heads Up On Facial Fractures

With all the publicity about the long-term damage associated with concussions, the medical community has become hyper-vigilant when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of major head injuries. A new study out of Victoria Hospital in Canada suggests that doctors may be overlooking one type of injury—facial fractures. Patients suffering this type of injury show evidence of minor brain injury. Unlike a typical concussion, where the brain is “sloshed” by heavy force, facial fractures appear to injure the brain because impact forces are transmitted through the head. The same dynamic can also cause neck problems. The study, conducted by craniofacial surgeons, showed that facial fractures cause major brain injury 29% of the time—but in the remaining 71% of cases, more than half showed evidence of minor brain injury, which can easily go unnoticed and untreated.

Crazy Time for Cannabis

On the heels of news that marijuana use has been legalized in Washington State, recent research has added to the growing amount of data that suggests that heavy cannabis exposure during adolescence increases the future risk of developing schizophrenia. In addition, legalization for medical use elsewhere in the country exposes an entirely new group of users to pot, many of whom may have other types of psychosis risks. Many healthcare professionals and scientists are now urging for a test that might help predict the risk for developing cannabis psychosis—something that doctors, for instance, could administer before prescribing marijuana to a patient. Genetic researchers at the King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry recently carried out a case control study to investigate variation in the AKT1 gene and cannabis use in increasing the risk of psychosis. AKT1 is involved in dopamine signaling, which is known to be abnormal in psychosis. The study found that cannabis users who carry a particular variant in the AKT1 gene have a two-fold increased probability of a psychotic disorder; this increases up to seven-fold if they smoked or ingested marijuana daily. The results are not conclusive in and of themselves that AKT1 is the key to a genetic test, but according to Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, it “does show that this source of psychosis risk has a genetic underpinning.”

Link Between Sleep Disorders and Cancer Deaths

Sleep apnea sufferers have one more bit of bad news to add to their growing list. A study conducted in 2012 suggest that sleep-disorder breathing is associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality. This on top of increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and depression. Patients with severe sleep apnea had an incidence of cancer deaths five times higher than those without serious sleep-disorder breathing. “We are a long way from proving that sleep apnea causes cancer or contributes to its growth,” says Dr. F. Javier Nieto of the Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health—the lead scientist on the study and a sleep epidemiology expert. “But animal studies have shown that the intermittent hypoxia [an inadequate supply of oxygen] that characterizes sleep apnea promotes angiogenesis-increased vascular growth-and tumor growth. Our results suggest that SDB is also associated with an increased risk of cancer mortality in humans.”

Environmental Factors Trigger Allergies in Newborns

The idea that smoking while pregnant—or significant exposure to second-hand smoke—can trigger any number of problems in a newborn is widely accepted. In the case of allergies, now we know why. Two Iranian scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research recently released findings that show smoking affects the development of peripheral allergy-relevant stem cells in the blood. Their report, published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy, shows that one-year-olds with skin problems, such as dermatitis or cradle cap, had elevated levels of eosinophil progenitors in their blood. This establishes a relationship between the genetic predisposition for a disease and environmental influences. The conclusion the scientists drew is that, just because allergies run in a family, it doesn’t mean a child will suffer from those same allergies. The stem-cell findings prove that environmental and lifestyle factors actually determine whether a genetic predisposition is in fact realized or not.

Holiday Baking: Shoulda Woulda Coulda

Don’t you love it when you hear how unhealthy holiday eating can be? Hopefully, your guilt has worn off and you’ve dropped an unwanted pound or two.  But just in case, Utah State University has some tips for healthier baking. 1) Lower fat content by using plain yogurt instead of shortening or butter. 2) Replace icing with sifted confectioner’s sugar. 3) Add fiber to recipes by using a 50-50 mix of hard white wheat flour with regular flour. 4) Cut the amount of salt called for in baking by a third or half—it’s important from a taste and chemistry standpoint, so you can’t leave it out entirely. 5) Cut the sugar in recipes by 25%—you’ll barely notice the difference. Don’t think of these tips as “too little, too late.” Think of them as a recipe for success in 2013, and implement one every other month. By next December, you will be happier, healthier and guilt-free when the baked goods start rolling out of your oven.

New Findings on Gluten-Free Foods

Back in December, the good folks at Guinness added a new entry in their Book of World Records: the largest gluten-free pizza. It covered more than a third of an acre and weighed more that 50,000 pounds. Given the recent proliferation of gluten-free foods on supermarket shelves, some have questioned whether there is actually a need for this type of product, or whether it’s just some new dietary fad. After all, fewer than 1% of people in the U.S. suffer from Celiac Disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine triggered by exposure to gliadin, a protein found in wheat. So is wheat sensitivity among non-Celiac individuals real or imagined? A recent study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology confirms what many in the field long suspected: non-Celiac wheat sensitivity not only exists as a distinct clinical condition, it shows up in people who already exhibit food hypersensitivity, as well as those who do not. “These findings are very important, and I hope to see more research in this area,” says Dr. Samiappan Muthusamy of the Center for Digestive Diseases. “For our patients with non-Celaic sprue gluten sensitivity disorder, we suggest they continue a gluten-free diet.”

Raisin D’Etre

New data presented at the last American College of Cardiology scientific session suggest that a handful of raisins (not an apple) a day could keep the doctor away for those with mildly increased blood pressure or hypertension. Raisins contain a high amount of potassium—which is known to lower blood pressure—and are a good source of antioxidants, which have been shown to have a good effect on blood vessels. The study may lead to more ambitious trials on the positive impact of raisins on blood pressure. Until then, researchers suggest consuming 60 a day (about a handful). P.S. If you have a dog, please no sharing; vets haven’t figured out exactly why yet, but raisins (and grapes) appear to be toxic to canines.

What’s the ‘real’ cost of obesity?

By Lisa Milbrand

The line between social acceptance and social unacceptability can be a surprisingly fine one. Consider the smoker, once ubiquitous, who now encounters hostility whenever he or she lights up.

It’s one thing, after all, to ruin your own health. But as soon as the collateral damage of secondhand smoke was recognized—to our lungs and our pocketbooks—smokers were dead ducks.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Are the overweight next?

Laboring through the day with an extra 50 pounds is a chore. Absorbing the glances of pity or disgust each time a French fry crosses the lips is no fun, either. But what happens when the “real” costs of obesity are made clear to the American public?

There’s no question that obesity is on the rise here in the U.S. Currently, 60 percent of American adults are considered overweight. “And 30 percent are considered obese, where it causes a real medical problem,” adds Jim Dunleavy, PT, the Administrative Director of the Trinitas Health & Fitness Center. It’s not just our problem—the World Health Organization recently proclaimed that it now considers obesity a greater threat to humankind than hunger.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Furthermore, the impact of obesity goes beyond the health issues with which we are all too familiar, including skyrocketing rates of type-2 diabetes, coronary problems and other chronic and fatal diseases. Experts outside the world of medicine are now beginning to assess the cost of obesity in ways that impact everyone’s bottom line. Everything is on the table, from loss of productivity and increased risk of going on permanent disability, to the need to retrofit hospitals and build trains, planes and automobiles with wider seats, to an entirely new level of wheelchair accessibility in public and private spaces.

IT’S PUBLIC

Many inside the world of medicine feel that this is a discussion that needs to happen, if for no other reason than to create a more sophisticated level of public awareness.

“They’ve done a good job of showing the dangers of smoking, but obesity has to be the next thing they tackle,” says Gregory Charko, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Orthopedic Physicians and Surgeons, P.C., in Union. “Everybody pays the cost for this; all health insurance premiums go up to cover the sickest people in the population. There’s a huge cost to the whole society when obese people are disabled prematurely and can’t participate in society, pay taxes and contribute.”

Some researchers have actually tried to put a number on the cost of obesity. They’re finding that about 20 percent of our annual health-care spending—or about$190 billion each year—goes toward treating obesity-related medical conditions. Yet that may be the tip of the iceberg. There are subtler ways we all pay—for instance, in our plane tickets, as airlines’ fuel costs have increased to account for the millions of gallons of extra fuel needed to transport the extra weight, and through governmental or hospital spending to retrofit public transportation and hospitals to accommodate the obese with extra-large seats, toilets that can withstand the excess weight and other accommodations.

We may also have to work harder as a result. “Obese people miss work more, so they cost employers more,” points out Penny Cappuccino, a registered dietitian at Trinitas. Some researchers peg that annual cost to employers at up to $30 billion per year.

IT’S PRIVATE

No one should be surprised if the public cost of obesity finds its way into the headlines more and more over the next few years. Hopefully, that won’t obscure the highest cost of America’s weight problem: the personal one. Almost every study shows that obese people shed years off their lives, and have much poorer health in their later lives than people with normal weight.

Much of this relates to the damage that excess weight can create on every system of the body, from the lungs to the legs. “Obese people are at very high risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, as their throat narrows during sleep, causing oxygen levels to drop,” says Vipin Garg, MD, the Medical Director of Trinitas Sleep Disorders Center. “Low oxygen levels to the brain mean a person cannot get to deep sleep, and it affects all the other organs as well. It makes them more susceptible to heart disease, strokes, seizures and things of that nature.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

And abdominal obesity moves the diaphragm up and stiffens the chest wall with fat around the ribcage, so the lungs aren’t able to fill with air as they would if the person wasn’t obese—that can lead to shortness of breath.”

“Obesity is also the top cause of knee replacement,” says Dr. Charko. “The force across your knee is three to five times your body weight, and if you’re morbidly obese, it just wears that joint down. If you’re over 300 pounds, you’re just carrying too much load for your skeleton, and it’s wearing out because of that increased load. Also, obese people are more prone to lower back degeneration, because of poor abdominal muscle tone.”

Chronic health conditions such as these can actually contribute to further weight gain and impairment of your health. “It’s a vicious cycle,” says Dr. Garg. “Once you’re obese, the one thing you’re supposed to do is exercise, and if you get short of breath with exertion, or have pain, you’ll exercise less—and you’ll get even more obese.”

Because of these chronic health conditions, many obese people become disabled and leave the workforce early. “They spend more of their lives disabled, their quality of life is diminished,” Dr. Charko says, “and they won’t be able to afford to do the things they want to do.”

IT’S PERSONAL

Beyond the social and financial costs of obesity are the ones that are sometimes hardest of all to fix—the psychological ones. “Obese kids may be ridiculed and bullied, and studies show that obese people may have fewer job opportunities and may be less likely to be given jobs,” says Cappuccino. Indeed, John Cawley, a heath economist at Cornell University, found that obese individuals are regularly paid less than their healthy-weight counterparts—to the tune of about 11 percent of their annual income.

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

No matter how you look at it, we’re all losing due to society’s weight gain.

“We’re losing in terms of their health and the quality of life, but we’re losing in terms of how productive that person is and the number of working years they have,” says Dr. Garg. “It’s a big cost to society, when people are spending more time dependent than they are working.”

b When Lisa Milbrand’s not writing about health and wellness for EDGE, she is sharing advice on everything from wedding planning to child rearing as a magazine writer and blogger. If you know a couple haggling over baby names, send them to her In Name Only blog on parents.com.

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So you finally decided to bite the bullet and invest in a generator. Three experts weigh in on the questions you need to ask yourself before you buy.

By Mike Kennedy

When Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Jersey Shore last October, Brian Difiore was prepared. Unlike the vast majority of his neighbors, five years ago he outfitted his house with a 17-kilowatt generator, a unit large enough to keep everything running in his home, including televisions and computers. “Our area was without power for nine days,” Difiore says. “I have three kids, a four-year- old, a two-year-old and a one-year-old. My wife would have gone crazy without the generator.”

Those neighbors should have taken notice of the work going on at the Difiore home. He lives at the business end of the Shrewsbury River, where storm surges can snap utility poles like matchsticks, and hurricanes such as Irene and Sandy can (and do) leave entire towns powerless. Oh, and he’s also the President of Mid-State Heating and Cooling, one of the larger electrical contractors in central New Jersey. Difiore’s father started the company back in 1968. His grandfather operated a similar business in the northern part of the state in the 1940s and 50s.

Steve Fortier, General Manager for Weltman Home Services, takes a similar view. Sandy left his neighborhood in High Bridge without power for a week. This wasn’t the first time he and his family had experienced a prolonged outage. In fact, the freak snowstorm that pummeled the northern half of New Jersey in 2011 helped convince him to get a portable generator, which made life after Sandy much more bearable.

“We ran it in six-hour increments,” says Fortier. “We used it for our fridge, heat, and hot water, and to keep our cell phones and laptops charged.”

Gary Marmo, Manager of Market Development for Elizabethtown Gas, doesn’t have a generator at his home. Sandy left his family without power for a few days. “We were lucky,” he says. “There was no real damage to the house.”

Marmo still isn’t sure he needs a generator. “It’s a personal choice,” he says. “It’s sort of like buying health insurance or life insurance. How secure do you want to feel?”

More and more New Jersey residents are asking that question since Sandy. In fact, Difiore believes the storm may have permanently altered the state’s housing market. “It used to be that air conditioning was not part of the basic package in new home construction,” he says. “Now it’s a standard feature. In the very near future, I think the same thing will happen with generators, especially in more affluent areas.”

Marmo agrees. “After Irene, we saw a significant increase in calls from customers in terms of home house generators,” he says. “Requests have been on the rise again since Sandy.”

For companies like Weltman and Mid-State, this has been a busy winter. Mid-State is a certified dealer for Generac, the brand of generator that Difiore uses at his home. Sales have been brisk, and so have installation and maintenance calls. “The market has taken off like a rocket,” says Difiore.

Weltman, which also carries Generac products, has also seen a spike in the generator marketplace. “It has been crazy,” says Fortier. “Everybody is looking into generators. They have lots of questions.”

Answers to those questions vary depending on multiple factors. We asked Difiore, Fortier and Marmo to put together a checklist of things to consider. They agreed that a consumer should consider five primary issues.

1. How much power do I want?

According to Difiore, this is the first question that consumers should ask. Generators, he explains, range in size from portable units to the 17-kilowatt, whole-house model that powered his home after Sandy. “Do you want access to just the essentials?” he says. “Or do you want full integration where everything in your home is powered?”

Fortier says that portable units have drawbacks that whole-house units don’t. “They require gas to operate,” he explains. “Ours needed about 15 gallons to run for 15 or 16 hours. That can be a real problem when you have gas shortages like we experienced after Sandy.”

Fortier adds that there are ways to maximize your power supply. “A proper transfer switch can ensure that,” he says.

2. How much do I want to spend?

Marmo points out that the decision to purchase a generator typically boils down to economics. “A small, portable unit from Home Depot or Lowes will probably be in the range of $500 to $1,000,” he says. “You can buy these right off the shelf. You see them on construction sites all the time. A full home house unit can be $10,000 to $20,000, which includes installation and permits. These sit outside your home and look very similar to a home air conditioning unit.”

Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Weltman typically walks its customers through the three primary decisions affecting the cost of a hard-wired generator: the size of the unit, the location of the unit and the number of circuits desired. “In general, the larger the generator and the more circuits you want,” Fortier explains, “the more expensive installation will be. Installing a unit farther from your home will increase the cost, too.”

3. Where should I locate my generator?

Most people want a generator installed near their house, but that’s not always possible. “For example,” says Fortier, “you might have a deck or patio that makes that problematic. We’ve put generators up to 30 feet away from a home. That requires a lot more labor and supplies.”

Additionally, the location of a generator may be subject to zoning codes and electrical requirements. “Many towns are now re-evaluating the code process,” says Fortier. “Currently, the average time it takes to get the proper permits is four weeks.”

That has increased since Sandy, he adds.

4. How handy am I?

First, it’s important to note that any generator—whether it’s portable or a whole-house unit—should be installed by a licensed contractor, and all towns require some sort of permit before work can begin. That being said, a generator also needs regular maintenance. “It is absolutely necessary,” says Marmo. “A generator is an engine just like in your car.”

Fortier echoes those thoughts. “Remember that a generator of any size is not built to run 24/7 seven days a week,” he says. “Any generator will break down faster if it’s operated continually.”

According to Difiore, Generac units reboot on a weekly basis and run for 12 minutes to charge the battery. That short period of usage alone makes maintenance essential. Difiore says the oil should be changed after 60 hours of operation and the fuel and oil filters should be replaced after 120 hours of operation. “But just doing the basics isn’t enough,” he adds. “These are engines that burn oil.”

That’s why Fortier and Difiore advise consumers to buy their generators from a licensed dealer who will also provide a service agreement. “We see a lot of people who buy their generators over the Internet, because that’s the cheapest way to get one,” Difiore says. “They may even do the installation themselves. Then a storm hits, and we get a call because the generator doesn’t work. We offer a full-service program that includes your first 90-day oil change.”

Fortier agrees with the need for regular maintenance. “You never know what you might find,” he says. “Maybe a chipmunk or squirrel is living in your generator.”

5. How much noise can I tolerate?

Every generator is noisy; they average about 65 decibels. One of the advantages of larger units, offers Marmo, is they often run more quietly. “Noise isn’t as much of a factor because they come in a sound-proof enclosure,” he says.

Of course, a noisy generator will likely be the least of your worries the next time a catastrophic storm slams into New Jersey. Fortier was grateful to have a portable unit after Sandy and would like to upgrade to a whole-house generator. “We’re in the middle of a kitchen remodel, so it’s not in the cards right now,” he says. “But at a minimum, I advise people to get a portable unit.”

Editor’s Note: Mike Kennedy is EDGE’s Business Editor. He was born and raised in Ridgewood. Mike also edits the sports business website LicensingOutlook.com.

You think your boss stinks now? Just wait.

By Mark Stewart

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

One in 75 home businesses will generate $1 million or more in 2013. The likelihood of a home business showing a profit over a 3-to-5 year period is double that of a traditional brick- and-mortar business. A recent poll of working-age Americans showed that roughly 7 in 10 would prefer to be self-employed. It seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, all I can say is be careful what you wish for.

As someone who has worked primarily out of a home office full-time for two decades, I have come to a couple of important conclusions. First, I am forever doomed to be one of the 74 people who isn’t bringing in a million a year. Second, I do know what I’m doing. I am successful in my field (publishing), my mortgage gets paid on time, the cupboards are full and I can’t recall the last time I had “nothing to do.” When my spouse or children invite guests over, they do not try to hide me, even unshaven, on my worst hair day. I guess the fact that I still have a wife and kids should count for something, too. I almost never get sick because my human contact is limited. And I don’t have a huge number of friends, probably for the same reason.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

It’s a life I thoroughly enjoy…however, not one I recommend to just anyone.

Invariably and somewhat regularly, I am asked by friends, acquaintances, business contacts and just random people for advice on starting or managing a home-based business. I may not be the brightest business person (my accountant is constantly reminding me of this) but as far as these folks are concerned, I have acquired enough experience to be of some use to them. Consequently, I feel comfortable answering questions, sharing anecdotes and insights, and encouraging them to be honest and introspective about whether they truly are cut out to work from home.

Over the years, I have  developed a very personal and totally unscientific list of Do’s and Don’t’s for people considering a home-based business. Some are common sense, while others are the result of trial, error, experience, and additional error. So without further adieu, I present the full-time home-based business Gospel According to Me:

HABIT FORMING

•             Wake up each day with a battle plan. No, make that Wake up each day prepared to go to war. This is the single greatest piece of advice I can offer, so why save it until last? The world owes you nothing; your home business is not guaranteed to survive. To succeed, you need to look back at the end of each day and be able to say, “I did everything I possibly could today to move my business forward.” It starts with an attitude, and includes intense focus, self-examination and discipline. It means making lists and crossing things off. It means using your time intelligently. It means not getting careless and shooting yourself in the foot. Like a soldier, you wake up every day prepared to go over the top and enter enemy territory. And like a soldier, when the sun goes down, you’re happy if you’ve gained a little ground and have lived to fight another day.

•             If you wake up, get up. When you run a home-based-business, there is no official start to the workday. If you are able to sleep to 9:30, kudos to you. But if your eyes are wide open at 6:30 and you’re already thinking of new ideas, get out of bed and ease into the day.

•             Dress before 10:00 a.m. It’s fine to start the day in your underwear, but at some point you will pass in front of a mirror and realize you look like a hobo. Getting dressed is a way of telling yourself it’s time to get serious.

•             Make lists. Make a new list each morning, prioritize the items that absolutely must be accomplished that day, and cross them off as quickly as you can. The feeling of accomplishment comes when you start crossing off things below the must-do’s. As you think of new items, add them. If new tasks or opportunities arise during the day, add them, too. Even if you don’t get to them, they will be there in writing for you when you make your new list tomorrow.

•             Shower or bathe at the end of each working day. Your significant other, offspring and pets will love you for it. More important, it helps wash away the working part of your day. It can happen at 4:30 or 7:00 or midnight—just don’t be tempted back to work after you’ve toweled off.

•             Learn how to power down. This is the second-most important piece of advice I can offer. A high percentage of the people I know who failed to make a go of a home business (this includes a lot of freelance writers and editors) tell me that the thing they simply could not do was shut their brain off at night. When you work in a traditional place of business, you leave it physically and return home. Yes, some people take their jobs home with them, but there is a physical separation that gives them an opportunity to recharge and be mentally ready for the coming day. When your business is in your home, it’s harder to empty your head before it hits the pillow. If you toss and turn worrying about a client who owes you money, or whether an important phone call went well, or how you can tweak your social media presence, then you will crash into a wall the next day, accomplish less than you want, and toss and turn even more the next night. And there is only so much Ambien you can take.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

THE WORKSPACE

•             Set up a clearly defined work area. It doesn’t have to be sealed off from the rest of the house, and it doesn’t have to be immaculate. But it must be a legitimate workspace. It tells you and everyone else that you are serious about getting things done when you are sitting or standing there.

•             Set up a clearly defined storage area. You need a place to put things that are important to your business, but which you don’t need to access every day. Invest the time required to organize, label, alphabetize—whatever it takes so you don’t waste time retrieving these items.

•             Establish boundaries. As the operator of a home-based business, accept the fact that you will never achieve church-and-state balance between home and business. There will always be spillover, especial if another family member is involved in your company. Nevertheless, explain openly and clearly to those who share your domicile that your home sometimes must adhere to basic rules of business, and that no one should take it personally if they feel ignored or underappreciated in some way. Also, your business workspace must be respected; it is not for them to use or disturb.

•             Clear your line of sight. When you chose a primary workspace—the place where your attention cannot wander—remove family photos and other items that will tempt you to daydream or lose focus. You should never have a window directly in front of you, even if there is a computer screen between you and the window. It’s okay to keep these things near to you, just not right in front of you. By the way, having a clutter • Sound off. You do not need a soundtrack for your life. Eliminate any noise that distracts you, breaks your concentration, or diminishes your ability to be productive. Recognize that your iPod, stereo, radio and television could be your worst enemies. Silence is literally golden. If you are working hard, you won’t notice the lack of music or news chatter. I feel the same should be true of the noises that alert you to new emails, texts, tweets or Facebook entries. They create too many temptations. Keep your phone ringer on, that’s it.

•             Choose a comfortable chair. A desk chair is like a pair of shoes. It’s worth spending a little time and money to find the right fit. Many a carpal tunnel case began with the wrong desk chair. The puffy leather reclining model at Staples may look good and feel great, but that doesn’t mean it’s the one you want. Start out with something that’s already around the house until you develop a sense of which features might enhance the way you interact with your workspace. In my case, I sit in a wooden armchair. Wheels and padding didn’t work for me. To each his own.

•             Backup everything. Invest $100 in a computer backup device and learn how to use it properly. If a database is compromised or you lose a month’s worth of emails, the impact could cripple your business. I speak from experience.

•             Get your phone situation straightened out. Designate at least one line and one physical phone to your business. If that phone rings, it’s business. If another phone rings, it’s not. You cannot imagine how this will reduce the anxiety and stress level in your home. If you have landlines, this is especially important. But even if you are an all-cell household, it enables you to “close your business” and devote yourself to family and personal matters when you need to.

•             Don’t use the phone for business when the little ones are around. A business professional does noted workspace is no crime. Some people simply function better that way.

interact with others while toddlers are screaming in the background. The same goes for babies, teenagers, significant others, dogs and birds. Plan your phone time for when you have quiet time.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

BODY & SOUL

•             Obtain insurance. Boring but important. If you do not have insurance coverage through another job or through a spouse, make this a priority. The peace of mind alone is worth it. Sadly, the cost of a half-decent health insurance plan in New Jersey for a small, independent home business is absolutely vulgar—$300 to $500 a week for a family of four. I am not a religious person, but in my 20 years of paying usurious, ever-escalating premiums, I have developed a belief system based on the idea that everyone in the health insurance industry will find themselves at the bottom of a fiery hole after they die. If I find out otherwise, I will be really disappointed. Did I mention that I’m not fond of health insurance companies?

•             Watch what you eat. And how you eat. I have gone 10 hours without eating or drinking anything because I was so absorbed in my work. Other times I have consumed five full meals in a day out of sheer boredom. It’s a good idea to have a general plan when it comes to breakfast, lunch and dinner. That has helped me stay within 10 pounds or so—up or down—of the same weight for the past 20 years. If you tend toward unconscious or binge eating, recognize that your new workplace is attached to a kitchen, and that no one is there to watch in horror as you down a tub of ice cream at 11 in the morning. Self-control, please!

•             Get regular exercise. This has always been a challenge for me. I don’t swim unless I’m drowning and I don’t run unless an animal is chasing me. I don’t like sports without a score and I have purchased at least three gym memberships in my life without ever actually having set foot in a gym. My solution was to set up an office in the attic of our house, and to take any opportunity I could think of to go to the basement or first floor, and then back up again. On an average day I’ll bet I go up and down 300 steps. My legs are like hardened steel (my belly is more molten). I have never had to blow $1,000 on a stairclimber. I am in pretty decent shape. That being said, I know someone who was so consciencious about regular exercise that she could not begin her day until she had completed the ritual of hitting the gym, showering, and eating a low-calorie breakfast. This was an admirable routine, except for one thing: These were her most alert and productive hours of the day. At 3:30 she was out of gas and worthless for anything other than menial tasks. Use your best judgment here.

•             Don’t drink. There are many ways to reward yourself, and many ways to decompress. None of these ways should involve alcohol. At least one person I know has lost a business (and more) because he started drinking alone when he should have been working. I strongly suspect a couple of others I know stumbled down the same path. Once you are done for the day, cheers, go for it. It’s your life and it’s a free country. Yes, we all know Hemingway did his best work with a bottle next to the typewriter, but his own story didn’t end very well, did it?

TIME MANAGEMENT

•             Stay off the Internet. It’s a tool. Use it intelligently. If you are not pursuing a goal relevant to your home business, leave the Overstock.com browsing, eBay bidding, eNews-reading, Facebooking and other stuff we won’t mention until you have officially called it quits for the day.

•             Identify your most productive hours. On a good day, the human brain probably can muster about six hours of optimum performance. And like any other business, a home-based business can really wear you out. So do yourself a huge favor and recognize the times of day when you are “locked-in” and then plan your schedule accordingly. My mental engine starts firing on all cylinders around 10:30 in the morning and keeps going until 3:30 or so. Then sometime after 6:00 or 7:00 I get a second wind and can work right into the night. The key for me is to assign myself the most important tasks at those optimum hours, and to have dumb-dumb work to do before and in between. What’s dumb-dumb work? Putting things back where they belong. Doing basic research on the Internet. Compiling information on the marketplace or checking out the competition. Going to the post office or the bank.

•             Make personal business into breaks. Everyone needs to take short breaks during the day. Avoid falling into the trap of turning on the TV or surfing the web aimlessly. You will lose too much valuable time. Instead, devote 10 or 15 minutes to taking care of personal business—throw a load in the wash, tighten the hinge on that cabinet, take out the garbage, floss.

•             Use downtime to plan ahead. When you’re not busy, or you’re tired, or you just need to switch gears, use these moments to broaden the foundation of your home-based business. If you have made a business plan, it should include where you’d like to be in 6 months or a year or 18 months—along with the steps needed to get you there. Downtime is the right time to chip away at the tasks required to move you closer to your goals. This has been incredibly important to my business. There’s nothing worse than finishing one job and going, “Um, what do I do next?” I know what I’ll be doing two years from now—which is rare in my business. Trust me, it didn’t happen overnight!

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Home Business by the Numbers

There are more than 15 million home-based businesses in the U.S., and more than 10 percent of American homes are used in some way as a place of business. Women appear to make up a majority of the home-business “workforce.” Start-up costs for most home-based businesses are under $10,000. Many begin with less than $1,000. Some start with the shirt on their backs. Although much of the income generated by home businesses goes unreported, estimates of the amount of money made by people working from home are typically upwards of $400 billion a year. Fewer than 5% of successful home businesses leave the home and move into office or retail space.

Home Office Feng Shui

The Feng Shui of a home office is practical and should mimic that of most business offices. The office should set the scene for your transformation from relaxed resident to reliable and focused professional. When you walk in, you should feel as though you are entering a different world, so that your mind shifts from home-related matters to help you concentrate on work.  Here are some Feng Shui do’s and don’t’s to create a positive work environment in your home office:

Do…

create a “professional” décor.  Hang positive business mementoes on walls, in full view, to reinforce your identity as a successful and skilled worker.

Don’t…

have the room double as a multiuse venue, or it will be difficult to seriously concentrate on your work.

Do…

set up your desk so that all intruders—big or small, human or animal—can be seen, and thus you won’t be startled and distracted from your tasks. Similarly, the computer should sit so the user can easily see the door or room divider.

Don’t….

underestimate the value of bright lighting.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Do…

hang a mirror so that you can see the view from your home-office window.

Don’t…

go overboard on organization. Yes, feng shui tenets stress the wisdom of a clean, efficient office, but this writer ascribes to the sage words: “Out of chaos, comes creativity.”

—Sarah Rossbach, author of Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement and Interior Design with Feng Shui.

Editor’s Note: Mark Stewart has managed the EDGE editorial team since 2009. He also writes books for the school and library market, and runs a successful sports web site. He wrote this article in his wooden desk chair, at a computer set up against a wall with a blue abstract painting, surrounded by clutter, with no music playing.

24 North Ave. East, Cranford HOme • 908.276.3664

Reservations recommended.

Hours: Monday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. All major credit cards accepted. Dress ranges from neat-casual to festive. Prices: Salads: $8 to $10.

Tapas: $6 to $14, with a mixed selection of tapas at $24. Cocas (mini pizzas): $8 to $10. Paellas and entrees: $18 to $26. Side dishes: $6. Desserts: $7.

In the end, the matter of the Red Velvet cake was the cherry on top of a sweet evening. Cervantes, a Portuguese-Spanish restaurant in Cranford known more formally as Cervantes of Spain, is the real deal –an Iberian destination that tips to approachable authenticity. Its menu bursts with the key foods of the peninsula, from pulpo (octopus) to piquillos (the sweetest roasted red peppers on the planet) to pimenton (smoky, sometimes hot paprika) to potatoes in all forms (mashed and shaped into croquettes, fried like chips, cubed and tossed with jazzed-up aioli). It’s got a near-arm’s-length list of tapas familiar to anyone who has traveled in either Portugal or Spain or been to a big-city Iberian spot; a couple of Mediterranean-style pizzas; more than a half-dozen cauldrons of paella on tap; and a lineup of mild-mannered entrees that gently guide those schooled primarily in Italian or French cuisines into a related realm.

My Portuguese friend is enchanted. My Yankee/Joisey pals are too busy snatching seconds and thirds of the tapas to speak. As the table is re-set for entrees, they gulp and say, “You mean we have to eat more?”

Well, we did skip the Red Velvet Cake – yes, all-American Red Velvet Cake – but let’s talk about the really good stuff first.

Properly conceived and executed tapas, the small plates of Iberia, are more substantial, less precious than many modern American appetizers. Thoughtfully ordered, eight tapas can be a satisfying supper for a party of four. Here at Cervantes, where the bountiful plates of tapas range in price from $6 to $14, you get value and variety on top of roundly flavorful, easy-eating small plates.

Photo credit: iStockphot/Thinkstock

Take that octopus—and don’t be put off by the thought of an eight-armed sea creature. As prepared at Cervantes, it’s quite like all that calamari you’ve inhaled. Only its larger chunks of soft meat aren’t fried, but slowly stewed with Yukon Gold potatoes in olive oil and that smoky, sensuous pimenton. A fan of the classic Italian dish of scampi? Well, here, shrimp are similarly sautéed, perhaps with a more buttery olive oil than the often bitter ones from Italy and an extra teaspoon or two of minced garlic. With hunks of bread to sop up the sauce, you’re golden.

I was feeling mighty sunny myself as I poked through the poached egg sitting atop the dish of duck confit and potato hash and let the runny yolk ooze throughout the dish. Poached egg atop any meat is pure Portuguese, and knowing Cervantes served this riff on a classic was one of the reasons I’d called this dinner to order. Have this, learn from it and make it at home for company from, for the most part, prepared ingredients.

Photo credit: iStockphot/Thinkstock

Cervantes’ chorizo is what Iberians call their very own: It’s not stoked with heat, like some Mexican and American chorizo, but dense, rather than crumbly, deeply meaty rather highly seasoned. It’s served in a rich Rioja reduction that demands bread, or fried potatoes, and it’s yet another tapa that, combined with a vegetable, could do nicely as supper.

Whatever you do, don’t miss the patatas bravas at Cervantes. Think warmed potato salad dressed in a pimenton-licked aioli, a smoother, eggier take on mayonnaise. Six bucks! Heck, after you’ve tried it, you’ll want to buy it in bulk and put it on the menu for Fourth of July. The only miss on the tapas list were the two types of potato croquettes we tried, and not because the mashed spuds weren’t warm and fuzzy fun: The promised chicken in one, and the serrano ham in the other, were MIA in most of the gently fried balls delivered to us.

It’s hard to top good-eating tapas even in Spain and Portugal. My times on the tapas trails rarely were followed by entrees even half as memorable. But do check out Cervantes’ slow-roasted suckling pig, all gussied up in a chic tian of a presentation, a molded round of layered garlicky potatoes topped by carefully assembled meat that tasted like mild pulled pork. There’s a hint of orange in it, a tout to the Valencias so prevalent in the homeland, and that’s the dominant seasoning. Nicely cooked chicken breasts, with just a quick hit of lemon and a deft glaze of Rioja, were light on garlic and olive oil—and rightly so.

Pass on the traditional paella, plumped with chorizo, chicken, shellfish and vegetables: Like far too many paellas, it had overcooked clams, shrimp and lobster and dried-out rice. At $26, it’s also one of the higher-priced items on the menu. We took a chance on the daily fish special, sole in a standard-issue lemon-caper sauce. No need for you to do the same.

If luck is on your side, you’ll get our server, the gent from Lyon (yes, the one in France), who will shake off your request for Red Velvet Cake like a pitcher on the mound rejecting the catcher’s call. I had to ask: Why Red Velvet Cake on an authentic Portuguese-Spanish menu?M. Lyon shook his head. Come on, I beg, whose idea was this? Another shake of the head. Who is the chef?A very talented fellow from Mexico, M. Lyon said, though he didn’t know his name. OK, I say, I want to try this Red Velvet Cake. An even more violent shake of the head ensued.

We locked eyes.

“No, Miss,” M. Lyon said to me. “Not here.”

I was happy M. Lyon wasn’t a complete company man. Frankly, I don’t want to eat Red Velvet Cake in an Iberian restaurant any more than I want to eat patatas bravas at a catfish fry in Mississippi.

So we enjoyed a crunchy-crusted, orange-scented crème brulée (yes, my Portuguese pal said, crème brulée is served over there) and one of the few understated tres leches cakes (hey, our world is one big table these days) I’ve ever eaten.

And all the way home, we plotted our next round of tapas at Cervantes.

Cervantes is located in a modest brick structure astride the train station in Cranford. (Come after 6 p.m., we were advised, and parking is free in the train station lot.) It’s part bar/lounge, where there’s often a lively happy hour, and part dining room. When the weather’s amenable, there’s a patio for outdoor dining. Imagine sipping cava, Spain’s sparkling wine, on that patio this summer as a prelude to a round of tapas.

Problem is, on the night of our visit, only one cava was offered on the wine list. (And the producer’s name wasn’t even given.) Bringing in bubblies that are so right with a diverse selection of tapas would not only do justice to the food, but better serve diners’ needs.

Editor’s Note: Andy Clurfeld is a former editor of Zagat New Jersey. The longtime food critic for the Asbury Park Press also has been published in Gourmet, Saveur and Town & Country, and on epicurious.com. Her post-Sandy stories for NBCNewYork.com rank among the finest media reporting on the superstorm’s aftermath and recovery.

News, views and insights on maintaining a healthy edge.

Good News for Popeye

In the world of healthy eating, spinach and other salad greens are the heroes. In the world of food poisoning, they have often played the role of villains. Over the last decade, no fewer than 18 nationwide food-poisoning outbreaks have been traced back to leafy greens. In 99% of the cases, the problem originates in the way they were washed, which sometimes fails to eliminate bacteria such as E. coli.

William Farrer, MD
Chief of Infectious Diseases Trinitas Regional Medical Center 908.994.5455

Dr. William Farrer, Chief of Infectious Diseases at Trinitas, points out that an outbreak in Europe in 2011 with a toxin-producing E. coli strain linked to sprouts sickened 852 people and killed 32. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million Americans fall ill to food-related illnesses each year and about 3,000 people die each year from food poisoning. “Our modern food distribution system means that outbreaks linked to leafy vegetables can involve people in multiple states,” observes Dr. Farrer. The good news is that, at the last meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston, a group of scientists presented a new, simple-to-implement parallel-plate flow chamber system that keeps bacteria from attaching to the outer layer of leaves. This method helps disinfecting rinses get to all parts of leaf surfaces equally; only 85% percent of surfaces on average get properly cleaned now. The USDA has already started funding the project.  Dr. Farrer is encouraged by the government response: “Any process that can improve the washing of vegetables can potentially decrease the likelihood of these infections and make our food supply safer.”

I Can’t Believe It’s Not Healthy

Distressing news for all of us raised on the eat-margarine-not-butter ethos: That thinking may be dead wrong. A survey of 1 million people in 50 recent studies by McMaster University in Canada has concluded that saturated fats from animal products do not appear to increase the risk of death from heart disease, diabetes or stroke.

Michelle Ali, RD
Director, Food and Nutrition, Trinitas Regional Medical Center 908.994.5396

Michelle Ali, Director of Food and Nutrition at Trinitas, explains that “the carbon chain of saturated fats consists of fatty acid ‘saturated’ with hydrogen. Trans fats are created by an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils. This addition of hydrogen makes these fats more solid at room temperature and gives them qualities that are similar to shortening or lard. Given that change in consistency, we’ve known for some time that trans fat has been linked to heart disease.” The Canadian researchers concluded that commercially produced trans fats found in snack foods, packaged baked goods and, yes, margarine, raised the risk of premature death by more than 30 percent. The research team was quick to add that this does not mean people should increase their intake of animal fats, which can lead to unhealthy weight gain. We should focus more on eating healthy including more whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats, Ali suggests. “In general, we should reduce our intake of saturated fat and, of course, avoid foods that are known to contain trans fat.”

Nickel for Your Thoughts

If you had a nickel for every time you developed a weird skin rash…Well, in some instances, dietary nickel could actually be the culprit. Perhaps counter-intuitively, it’s a common cause of contact dermatitis. If a rash develops on your hands or elbows—or elsewhere after coming into contact with a zipper, belt buckle or other nickel-containing object—you may be mildly allergic to nickel. And the origin of that allergy could be foods such as wheat, rye, nuts, seeds and even chocolate, which are high in nickel. Other causes of nickel allergies can include medical devices containing the metal, including dental and orthopedic implants.

Mouth to Mouth

Anthropologists don’t often make their way into the pages of What’s Up, Doc?, but a study by a joint team from Indiana University and the University of Nevada caught our attention. The anthropologists looked at attitudes toward kissing around the world. Although affectionate pecks on the cheek are common across most cultures, especially for babies and children, in most parts of the world romantic kissing kind of creeps people out. Indeed, in the 168 societies studied, only 46 percent see erotic value in the locking of lips. In fact, among cultures in the Amazon, New Guinea and sub-Saharan Africa, romantic kissing is practically unknown. According to

Rodger Goddard, PhD
Chief Psychologist, Trinitas Regional Medical Center Director of Wellness Management Services 908.994.7334

Dr. Rodger Goddard, Chief Psychologist at Trinitas and Director of Wellness Management Services, kissing spans the spectrum from a dangerous, unhygienic transmission of disease to the most intimate and caring exchange of love. And there are health benefits to kissing, too. Dr. Goddard notes that intimacy and positive relationships—whether sealed by a kiss or an old-fashioned hug—have been shown to improve one’s health and longevity. “Theories about the origins and reasons for kissing are varied, including evaluation of another’s most intimate biological, hormonal information to a reinforcement of trust, intimacy, closeness and sexual attraction to another,” he says, adding that, in a recent article by Dr. Noam Shpancer, men and women were found to differ on their views of kissing. “Half of men say they would have sex with a partner without the need for kissing, while only 14% of women would. Women were found to heavily weigh the overall quality of a kiss in their decision for commitment to someone.”  Some Pacific island cultures practice a “kiss” where a couple’s lips pass a couple of centimeters apart without actually touching. Is the swapping of saliva such a health risk in these places that kissing never evolved? The Nevada study author couldn’t say. However, he did offer an alternative hypothesis: In many of these non-kissing cultures, people don’t brush their teeth.

Now You See Me

The concept of a bionic eye has intrigued us since The Six Million Dollar Man, but until recently the gulf between concept and execution seemed unbridgeable. That looks to be changing. Over the summer, a Florida woman who had been blind for 16 years (as a result of retinitis pigmentosa) held a press conference to announce that she has regained much of her sight thanks to the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System, which she had implanted about a year ago. Carmen Torres was the 70th person in the world to receive the Argus II, which is currently the only FDA-approved system of its kind. Needless to say, the procedure is far from simple. More than 30 professionals were involved—from initial evaluation to implantation to post-operative training. The system features a photosensitive array of electrodes that is implanted directly on the retina, and eyeglasses that contain a tiny camera that transmits video to a pocket-sized computer. The computer then sends the signal to the implant, which emits pulses of electricity that bypass damaged photoreceptors in the eye and stimulate the retina’s remaining cells. Very cool.

Weighty Issues

A study published recently on the website of The Journal of Pediatrics found that hospitals could do a much better job in the fight against childhood obesity. Of 300 clinically overweight/obese children admitted to Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah, only 4 percent had their condition directly addressed by physicians (or their medical student trainees).

Yelena Samofalov, MD Trinitas Pediatric Health Center 908.994.5750

Dr. Yelena Samofalov, MD, of the Trinitas Pediatric Health Center, explains why this may occur:  “Discussing a child’s weight issues with parents can be challenging. The health care provider should express concern and also offer a plan of action. This is especially important since health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, and joint pain, have their roots in early childhood.” In the Utah study, Body Mass Index calculations of children were seldom performed and weight issues rarely included in discharge diagnoses. The study authors pointed out that this is true for most—but not all—US hospitals. Trinitas, for example, is proactive in fighting childhood obesity. “We take every opportunity to discuss healthy nutrition with our little patients and their parents,” says Dr. Samofalov. “We launched Eat Right Today!, a bilingual interactive educational program for parents and their children, to help them make healthy nutritional choices. Thanks to the program, kids and parents have shown great interest in the benefits of developing healthy eating habits.”

Red Hot News on Chili Peppers

Can eating spicy foods help you live longer? An international team of researchers led by the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences says Yes. A five-year study involving nearly half a million participants aged 30 to 79 found that people who ate spicy meals once or twice a week had a 10% reduced risk of death compared to people consuming non-spicy diets. Individuals eating spicy food 3 to 7 times a week saw that risk drop to 14%. The correlation between spicy food and a reduction in cancer and heart and respiratory disease was greater for women, and also among those who did not consume alcohol. Fried and dried chili peppers were the most common ingredient in the spicy meals; they contain Capsaicin, vitamin C and other nutrients. Those who consumed fresh chilies also appeared to have a lower occurrence of diabetes. However, researchers stopped short of saying there is a direct link between capsaicin specifically and a lower risk of disease and death.

News, views and insights on maintaining a healthy edge.

Movers & (Salt) Shakers

Remember the row over Michael Bloomberg’s ban on super-sized sodas? Well, the Big Apple is now taking aim on sodium. New York’s Department of Health proposed that chain restaurants operating in the five boroughs add a salt-shaker icon to menu items that contain more than the recommended daily limit of 2,300 milligrams (roughly a teaspoon). “Studies show that those of us who consume higher amounts of sodium are more likely to develop hypertension, and those who already have high blood pressure are likely to develop heart problems and stroke as a result of higher sodium intake,” says

Michelle Ali, RD
Director, Food and Nutrition, Trinitas Regional Medical Center 908.994.5396

Michelle Ali, RD, Director of Food and Nutrition at Trinitas. You may not want to hear this (or you may know it already and don’t care) but every major chain has at least one delicious-sounding entrée that pushes past 3,000 mg of salt. And they aren’t always the obvious ones. Ali points out that, while most fruits and vegetables are naturally low in sodium, when they are prepared, sodium/salt is sometimes added to improve flavor. “Nutrition information is a tool that can guide consumers to make better food choices,” she says. “If a dish exceeds the recommended amount of sodium, move on to another food choice with less. Do portion control; take a portion home. Finally, add a salad, limit the dressing, and finish off with fresh fruit for dessert.” A final vote on the sodium “warning” should occur this September and the little shakers may be popping up on menus in time for the holiday season.

Bum Deal for New Yorkers

What are those folks across the river up to these days? Not much, according to a study by NYU’s School of Medicine. According to findings published in the latest issue of Preventing Chronic Disease, the average New Yorker sits more than seven hours a day. The study involved 3,600 subjects who wore devices that monitored whether they were moving or sedentary during waking hours. The seven hours broke down to four during the day and three in the evening. Manhattanites actually logged eight hours on their fannies. The stats for men and women were equal. Trinitas Endovascular Surgeon

Ajay Dhadwal, MD RPVI
Endovascular Surgeon, Trinitas Regional Medical Center (Assistant Professor, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School) 973.972.9371

Ajay Dhadwal, MD RPVI, observes that the ill effects of a sedentary lifestyle influence almost every aspect of one’s health, from vascular disease in the blood vessels supplying the brain and the legs, to joint pains and obesity, to heart disease. “Endovascular surgeons often see conditions which, at their worst, can lead to stroke and eventual amputation of the legs,” he says. “Even a minimal increase in activity level can help reduce future risk, especially for those who smoke. For certain patients, regular walking can be as beneficial in the long term as stenting blood vessels of the leg in improving the distance they can walk. To see an overall positive impact, take the stairs more often or walk 20 minutes a day.”

$150 Up in Smoke

The Holy Grail for anti-tobacco groups is an idiot-proof way to stop smoking. Patches, gums and hypnotherapy are effective in some cases but not in others. A recent study of 2,500 smokers took a different approach and yielded some breathtaking results. The key ingredient was bribery. Subjects were divided into four groups and offered different types of financial incentives. Two groups were offered financial rewards for quitting. Two had to put their own cash on the line. Smokers who had to make a $150 deposit and stop smoking to get it back had a success rate twice as high as the first two groups. More revealing is that the $150 group had a success rate five times that of smokers who undergo traditional cessation programs.

Nothing Rotten in the State of Denmark

Allergy awareness in grade schools has been growing for a good two decades now. In some schools, the presence of a single peanut is enough to trigger a lockdown. But do school lunches actually have the potential to positively impact childhood allergies? A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition this summer attempted to answer this question. Nine Danish schools gave 3rd and 4th Graders their typical pre-packed lunches for three months, and then meals rich in fish, vegetables and fiber for another three months. At the end of each period, parents were asked to evaluate the status of their children’s asthma and/or allergies. The difference? None. Although undoubtedly healthier, the nutritionally balanced school lunches did not “perform” any better than the usual items the kids were eating when it came to allergies. Research on childhood allergies is critical, says

Kevin Lukenda, DO
Chairman, Family Medicine Department
908.925.9309

Dr. Lukenda, DO, Chairman of the Trinitas Family Medicine Department, even when the results are not headline-grabbing. “A child who experiences a full blown anaphylactic response to a food allergen can experience lifelong effects and anxieties,” he says. “This research doesn’t change the fact that having a peanut-free table or classroom can have a tremendous upside benefit for the student and their family, as it allows them to focus on school and not worry about a potentially life-threatening situation.”

Link Between Heartburn & Heart Attacks

Back in June, acid reflux drugs were in the news after a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University and Houston Methodist Hospital showed a link between their use and an increased risk of heart attacks. The drugs in question are proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are among the most widely used and prescribed in the United States and are marketed under names such as Prilosec, Prevacid and Nexium. The researchers scanned the medical records of 2.9 million patients for key words like “heart attack” and found that they occurred at a rate 15 to 20 percent higher with people who used PPIs. The same correlation did not exist with patients who treated their acid reflux with H2 blockers, including Tagamet and Zantac. It’s worth noting that this is a highly unconventional approach to big data, and although the media grabbed it and ran, the medical community looks at the methodology with natural skepticism. This type of conclusion is typically the result of a randomized control trial, where PPIs would be compared to a placebo to see if the drug did actually produce the specific effect. On the other hand, the fact that H2 blockers did not show a heart attack link supports the idea that more research on PPIs is probably warranted. Until that happens, patients taking PPIs—whether prescribed or over the counter—should talk to their doctors before their next trip to the pharmacy.

CBT Helping Insomniacs Hit the Snooze Button

Recent findings published in Annals of Internal Medicine show that people with severe sleep issues can benefit from Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). This conclusion was the result of an evidence review of 20 separate studies, and showed that insomniacs (individuals who have trouble sleeping for at least a month) who underwent CBT fell asleep 20 minutes faster and reduced the time they were awake once they fell asleep by a half hour. The data was generated by comparisons between groups that took sleeping pills and groups that underwent short sessions with therapists. The CBT group learned new strategies for falling asleep and staying asleep. A major component of CBT is stimulus control, which involves meditative exercises and relaxation techniques.

One interesting item that emerged is that getting out of bed and “hitting the reset button” is better than endless tossing and turning.

Anwar Y. Ghali, MD, MPA Chairman, Psychiatry 908.994.7454

Dr. Anwar Y. Ghali, MD, MPA, Chairman of Psychiatry at Trinitas, agrees that this strategy can help. “Patients who wake up in the middle of the night should not stay awake in bed for longer than about 30 minutes,” he says. “They should avoid keeping an eye on a watch or a clock, since that may interfere with the ability to go back to sleep. Leave the bed and engage in other activities until you feel sleepy again, then go back to bed. Don’t go to the refrigerator for a midnight snack. You may end up perpetuating the habit of getting up in the middle of the night for that trip to the refrigerator.”

Vipin Garg, MD
Director, Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center 908.994.8880

Dr. Vipin Garg, MD, Medical Director of the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center, agrees that getting to sleep and staying asleep can become a matter of habit. “Many times, specialists in sleep medicine like me recommend sleep restriction technique for insomnia,” he says. “Patients are advised to get into the habit of a certain number of hours of sleep and maintain a certain bedtime and wake-up time. Once they are in this pattern, patients are advised to refrain from going to bed earlier than their normal time, even if they feel sleepy. Often, those who suffer from insomnia are shocked to hear this, since the common belief is that the more time you spend in bed, the more sleep you get. Sleep restriction therapy consolidates fragmented sleep to continuous and deeper sleep.”

For less severe cases of insomnia, there are a number of websites that can help (including calm.com), and the occasional intake of Rozerem or Silenor. However, given that insomnia has been linked to a wide range of health issues—including weight gain, depression, anxiety, heart disease and diabetes—and that sleeping pills aren’t a good long-term solution, chances are you’ll be hearing more and more about CBT and other sleep-related therapies.

CARE-FULLY READY

75 women and 13 men in the January Class of Trinitas School of Nursing completed their nursing and Associate in Science program earlier this year. With graduates from Central and Northern New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York City, and Staten Island, the class was 8 shy of the school’s record-breaking class of 96 in January 2013.

VISIONARY HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR LEAVES IMPRESSIVE LEGACY

Trinitas mourns the passing earlier this year of George F. Billington, former president and CEO of Elizabeth General Medical Center (1963-1991). Billington (seated) is pictured with his successor, David A. Fletcher, who served in that role at EGMC from 1991-2000. Fletcher then became the first President/CEO of Trinitas from 2000-2001. The steps leading up to the creation of Trinitas in 2000 were set in motion one decade earlier when Billington accomplished EGMC’s acquisition of Alexian Brothers Hospital which now serves as the Trinitas New Point Campus.

PAGE TURNERS

Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Springfield has set children on a lifetime of reading enjoyment through its role in the Reach Out and Read (ROAR) program at Trinitas’ Pediatric Health Center. Book donations have reached children like 14-month old Ashley of Elizabeth, shown with Theresa Andrews, Clinical Coordinator of the Pediatric Health Center; her mother Maria Alfaro, and Veronica Vargas, Community Business Development Manager at Barnes & Noble.

SHARED VISION

The Trinitas Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Center hosted a world hunger awareness event to support World Vision humanitarian efforts in Haiti. The event was dedicated to the memory of WIC staff member Erva Williams, an advocate of families and children who WIC serves.

HITTING THE PAVEMENT

Walkers from Trinitas, the City of Elizabeth’s Health and Human Services Department, and the Eastern Union County YMCA enjoyed National Walking Day under sunny skies earlier this year. All enjoyed the brisk walk along the Elizabeth River Trail to promote walking as part of a healthy lifestyle. Trinitas employees at the New Point Campus in Elizabeth and the Finance offices in Cranford also participated.

LIFE SAVING MESSAGE

As guests on Mayor J. Christian Bollwage’s weekly cable show “Our City,” Debbie Durand, Clinical Coordinator, Trinitas Intensive Care Unit (left), and Jackie Lue Raia, Ass’t. Dir. of Resource Development at the NJ Sharing Network (center), discussed the importance of patients and their families giving serious thought to organ donation as a life-saving/life enhancing gift. Both women described the activities of Trinitas and the NJ Sharing Network that promote organ and tissue donation and advocate for those on organ transplant lists.

HEAD OF  THE CLASS

Rose Santee, Associate Dean of the Trinitas School of Nurs-ing, is serving a three-year term through 2017 as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the National League for Nursing’s (NLN) Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA).

Rose was one of the first educators nationally to obtain the certified nurse educator credential (CNE) from the National League for Nursing (NLN) in 2005. With more than 30 years experience in nursing education as a faculty member and as an educational administrator, Rose has been instrumental in advocating excellence in nursing education.

PAYING IT FORWARD

Roselle Park resident Mary Jo Daniel and Maritza Pineda of Elizabeth share a common bond as cancer survivors. In appreciation of the caring staff at the Center, Daniel paid it forward and gifted a “31” brand bag filled with comforting items to Pineda. It proved to be a small gesture with huge impact.