Dr. Adriana Suarez walks the walk…and talks the talk. 

By Yolanda Navarra Fleming

When a doctor and a patient literally don’t speak the same language, building a relationship based on trust and under-standing poses a challenge that, at times, can be impossible to overcome. As a native Spanish speaker, Dr. Adriana I. Suarez-Ligon offers patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center the most current and accurate breast health care in two languages.     

“There is a large language barrier that exists between the Latino community and the healthcare system,” says Dr. Suarez, who recently joined the Surgical Department at Trinitas as a breast surgeon—and is also an Instructor of Surgery at Rutgers University–New Jersey Medical School in the Division of Surgical Oncology. “Enough is lost in translation when doctors do speak the same language as their patients. I am excited to bridge the gap between the Dr. Adriana Suarez-Ligon (left) pictured with Veronica Vasquez (right), MHA, CN-BA, Breast Patient Navigator, within the Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center. local Hispanic community and the healthcare system.”

Born in the Bronx to Cuban parents, Dr. Suarez received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey–New Jersey Medical School in 2009, and completed her general surgery residency at Rutgers in 2015. 

“Medicine and surgery are complicated,” she says. “Breast cancer is complicated. Even speaking the same language, medical terminology is a language on its own. Just think, we doctors go to medical school for four years before we even complete a specialty training program, which is oftenup to a decade of training before we go out into practice our given specialty. We have all that time to understand the disease processes that we treat and the treatments we offer. Patients generally don’t have that background and now we have to explain their disease to them in an office visit that may not last more than one hour. At least doing so in their native language is a start.”

Dr. Suarez, who doesn’t remember a time that she didn’t want to be a doctor, has followed in the footsteps of her father and aunt, both OBGYNs. However, medical school intrigued her with the prospect of not only being able to care for patients, but also to remove their disease. 

“I really loved the idea of being able to care for female patients with the perspective of being female myself,” she says. “As a breast surgeon, I am able to take care of the female patient with a surgeon’s hands.”

With every new patient a partnership is formed, Dr. Suarez explains. The human being is her top priority, not just the case.  She interacts with mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, wives and husbands and oftentimes, she says, she sees herself in a patient. 

“Each patient is different and at different stages in their lives,” Dr. Suarez explains. “They’ve had vastly different life experiences that make them the unique people they are. These unique experiences also shape how they respond to their diagnosis, whether benign or malignant, and how they approach the treatment plan. I very strongly believe in giving patients all the information they need to make informed decisions for themselves. That said, not all patients want all the information [these patients are rare, she maintains] and want me to make the decision for them; I am okay with this, too.”

And just as no two patients are alike, no two breast cancers are created equal. Indeed, Dr. Suarez takes a special interest in breast cancer disparities, especially among Hispanic women, young breast cancer patients, and high-risk patients. 

“Each breast cancer is as unique as the patient that has the disease,” she explains. “It is very important for doctors to approach each patient with breast cancer on a very individual basis. Similarly, patients need to acknowledge that the stories that they hear and the information that they read may not apply to them. With the accessibility of the internet, there is a lot of information floating around that is not all validated. Be careful and ask a lot of questions.” 

As comfortable as Dr. Suarez is interacting with patients and their families, it is in the operating room where it all comes together. The OR, she says, is a place of Zen and extreme concentration. 

“Operating on my patients is a privilege,” she explains. “One I am very grateful to have. In the OR, my patients relinquish control over their body and trust me to provide them with the highest level of care. I leave everything behind when I enter the OR with a patient and focus solely on them.” 

“I truly believe that my patients and I are partners in their healthcare process. I am the one trained to provide them with their surgical care, but together we make the decisions”

Editor’s Note: Dr. Adriana I. Suarez-Ligon is a frequent lecturer on a wide variety of topics related to breast cancer. She is trained in the spectrum of benign and malignant breast diseases, and is an expert in the vast spectrum of breast pathology. For benign disease, she performs excisional breast biopsies. For malignant disease, she offers breast conservation surgery, oncoplastics, skin and nipple sparing mastectomies, as well as axillary staging procedures. Earlier in 2016, Dr. Suarez completed a Society for Surgical Oncology Accredited Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. She and her husband, a coach for Nike, have two children.

 

Extreme Gifting: Home Edition

By Christine Gibbs

‘Tis the season synonymous with giving and receiving. Gifting rituals extend around the globe and back through history. Greek and Roman mythology celebrated heroic figures such as Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods and presented it to mankind, and Dionysus, who was the first to bring a bottle of wine to an orgy. All major religions honor the tradition of gift giving, in many different ways. Christianity annually reveres the gifts of the three wise men in Bethlehem. Channukah extends the gifting ritual to eight days. Kwanzaa focuses on the seventh day. In Islam, giving gifts is one of the beneficent acts recommended by the Prophet Mohammed.   

Gift giving may be universal, but it tends to be culturally unique. Thank you cards are not expected in Israel, but birthday breakfast in bed is expected in Sweden, while a gift should be wrapped in red for good luck in China. Of course, here and in Western Europe, the mere mention of Christmas to children of all ages conjures up some iteration of Santa Claus—aka Kris Kringle, Father Christmas, Père Noel, or St. Nicholas, to mention a few.

While gift giving is more or less obligatory in North American culture (holiday, birthday, housewarming, wedding, baby shower, etc.), there are no hard-and-fast rules about how much to spend or, more to the point, how “personal” a gift should be. What might strike one person as being thoughtful could very well appear presumptuous to another. Then are those who take the act of giving to a whole new level…something I like to call extreme gift giving. I use that word the way millennial athletes use it when they talk about “extreme sports”—as an all or nothing, death-defying, adrenaline-pumping pastime. 

We’re not talking about an expensive bottle of wine or a fancy orchid; we’re going way outside the (gift) box. In these pages are ideas, examples and how-to’s for splurging on a lifestyle-altering gift for a friend, family member or colleague. Welcome to Extreme Gifting: Home Edition. 

UNDER $1,000 

TABLE TOPPER

Hand-blown decanters from the cross-discipline studio of Anna Karlin add a whimsical touch to the dinner table. They’re topped with a delicate matte rose-quartz stopper. $320 at annakarlin.com.

INTO LEATHER

Elvis & Kresse uses reclaimed remnants of fine leather along with recycled fire hose and silk parachutes to make a unique, earth-friendly leather rug.

$300 at ahalife.com. 

BE SEATED

The Dress Chair from the ThisLexik design studio applies a thermosetting technique using epoxy resin to transform a pair of recycled jeans into whimsical yet surprisingly durable furniture.$450 at thislexik.com.

$1,000 to $5,000

 

 

BUY GEORG

You might go broke collecting Georg Jensen, but as an extreme gift-giver you’ll never go wrong. The less-is-more company makes an ultra-contemporary five-piece flatware service for 12 in an understated matte stainless steel finish. $1,250 at 1stdibs.com.  

 

SHELF LIFE

Muller Van Severen’s multi-marbled shelf is perhaps the ultimate outside-the-box home décor gift. $3,165 at mullervanseveren.be.  

FRONT AND CENTER

For the tech-obsessed family that stores its life in the cloud, the Richard Clarkson Studio has come up with the Smart Cloud, which mimics the look and sound of a thunderstorm whenever someone enters the room. $3,360 at richardclarkson.com. 

SMELL OF SUCCESS

Marie-Helene de Tallac’s blue chalcedony incense burner is trimmed in 22k gold. It’s a tribute to financial acumen and the ongoing pursuit of relaxation and tranquility.$3,500 at modaoperandi.com. 

BED TIME

Frette’s Mia throw blanket is exquisitely crafted in soft cashmere and trimmed with coordinating Rex fur for unsurpassed warmth and luxury. $3,500.00 at harrods.com.

 

OUT OF THIS WORLD Secondome’s hand-blown glass and gold-tone brass

Mod.Sky stellar-map globe is part of an interactive behavioral experiment called the COEXIST Project. It’s designed by Italian artist Gio Tirotto. $4,000 at barneys.com. 

SKY’S (NOT) THE LIMIT

It may not be a gift that keeps giving (although it may give your financial adviser a permanent ulcer), but if you want to take this extreme-giving exercise outdoors, a trip to the stratosphere in a Bloon is hard to top. The Bloon rises 22 miles using a non-combustible fuel for a gentle, noiseless voyage with no impact on the environment. We won’t give away the price, but if you’re curious, log onto inbloon.com.

Editor’s Note: Chris Gibbs has been EDGE’s “It’s A Gift” editor since 2009. 

 

A Pitch for Perennials 

By Sarah Rossbach

When I moved into our present home, we had no garden—and two small children. I hired a sympathetic landscaper who, seeing me juggle (not literally) my baby and toddler, designed a small, manageable garden. She planted perennial flowers that reminded me of special people and places in my life: peonies for China, my area of study, camellia bushes for my Southern mother, and agapanthus for the South of France.  My children are all grown and the garden has evolved. Every year, the camellias and (now prize-winning) peonies re-bloomed with no help from me, while the agapanthus, unaccustomed to cold New Jersey winters, behaved as an annual, never to reappear. Which may lead one to wonder: Why purchase and plant annual flowers each year, when perennials—as their name suggests—are a “forever” investment in time, toil and money?

As plants die and lie fallow, fall and winter are excellent times to plan gardening improvements to make in the spring. In fact, you can start planting late into the fall. For example, deer-resistant daffodil bulbs are available at your local plant nursery or in flower catalogues and, once planted, will delight you this spring and future springs with their colorful, fragrant blooms. The best way to learn about perennials is to peruse perennial books, visit your local plant nursery or locate a nearby garden club. When planning my first front yard garden, my landscaper and I first selected some evergreen bushes to create the bones of the garden. That way there was color all year round.

According to Liz Richart, the perennial expert at The Farm at Green Village in Morris County, there are several basic considerations when planning a perennial garden. How much sun does the planting area receive and is it morning, afternoon, or all-day sun? Can the area be irrigated? Are there deer in your neighborhood? How much maintenance time will you be able to devote to your garden? She recommends checking out reliable, unbiased websites for local (Zones 5 and 6) botanical gardens and research universities. 

“Bulbs can extend the bloom time of the garden,” Richart says. “Snow drops bloom very early in the year and can emerge through light snow cover. Other reliable spring bulbs include squill and daffodils. Plant spring bulbs in November in clumps with the pointed end up for beautiful spring flowers. They usually require well-drained soil and full sun during their growing season. The depth of the bulbs should be about three times the length of the bulb.” 

I was relieved when she didn’t suggest tulips. From my tortured experience, the tulip bulbs that hungry squirrels don’t abscond with right after I plant them survive only to be early spring morsels devoured by deer just before they fully bloom. I can vouch for daffodils’ fortitude and longevity, as they re-bloom and proliferate every spring. I have ordered mine online from various catalogues.

Richart adds that perennial gardeners also should cultivate patience to fully enjoy the fruits of their labors. “Plants can take two to three years to fully reach their stride,” she maintains. “There is an old garden adage referring to establishing plants in the garden: Sleep, Creep, Leap is basically what a gardener can expect in the first few years.”  In terms of fertilizing the plants, amending the garden soil is a key to helping them mature to full capacity. Adding a planting mix of compost and peat moss will greatly improve the performance of perennials. “The roots need a good base to fully develop in order to grow a fully mature and healthy plant,” Richart explains. 

Dave Williams of Williams Nursery in Westfield advises using a base of established plants—such as rhododendrons, evergreen azaleas and boxwoods—as a backdrop for planting perennials. Selecting the plants then becomes all the fun.

For early interest, he recommends planting hellebores. “They bloom in February and last for months,” Williams says. “They have the huge advantage of being deer-resistant and now come in a large variety of colors—white, pink and reds.” 

Thinking about easy-to-care-for perennials, Williams suggests mountain pinks phlox. “They are no-brainers,” he says. “No one ever kills them. You can plant them as three-to four-inch ground cover and they grow; you can just forget about it.” 

Williams also says a recently introduced type of lavender called Phenomenal grows amazingly well with little upkeep, and you can cut the flowers to provide a lovely scent and visual interest. While any nursery owner could go on forever about flowers, two other perennials he mentioned as not only easy to grow, but which help pollinators (such as birds, bees and butterflies that help plants reproduce) were coneflowers and milkweed. 

Williams, whose hobby is salsa dancing, recommends the Sombrero Series of coneflower. “Salsa Red in the Sombrero Series is a compact coneflower that attracts butterflies like crazy,” he says. “And milkweed is getting a lot of press. Before I planted milkweed, I had limited monarch butterflies, which are endangered. With milkweed this year, I had monarchs in the garden daily for three weeks.”

A final note on this plug for perennials, aka the gift(s) that keep giving. I am by no means dissing annuals. A landscape designer friend, who gives an August cocktail party themed around her stunning Casa Blanca white lilies, always fills in the visual holes in her beautiful garden by planting huge pots of impatiens. Annuals such as stock, zinnias, angelonia, sunflowers and sweet pea create great cutting gardens that provide beautiful material for floral arrangements all summer long. 

Alas, that’s a story for another day. 

PERENNIAL PRO

While most perennial planting is (or can be) a do-it-yourself project, some things are best left to the professionals. According to Paul Martoccia of Martoccia Landscape Services in Watchung, once you get into trees and shrubs, that’s a good time to bring in a pro. 

“Something that’s very important to understand when you get into more significant plantings is the role a landscape professional can play,” he says. “A lot of people are tempted to buy cheap plants in big box stores, and are unhappy down the road with the results. We only deal with long-established wholesale nurseries that have quality material. I’ll actually hand-select the plants, especially with specimen plants, and even bring the client along with me.”

Martoccia says that people thinking about perennials often overlook shrubs with all-year interest, which extend the garden’s appeal through the winter. For instance, ornamental grasses such as miscanthus (below) grow to four feet tall and four feet wide in a season or two. Martoccia also likes red twig and yellow twig dogwood: “Their colorful stems get brighter in late winter going into spring.”

“Crepe myrtle offer exceptional bang for the buck,” he adds. “They come in many different varieties and colors, and bloom into fall. They offer a lot of winter interest and the overall structure of the plant is great to look at all year.”

BANG FOR THE BUCK

These perennials deliver great color and interest year in and year out:

• Salvia
• Coneflowers
• Sedum
• Daylilly
• Shasta Daisy
• Hosta
• Heuchera
• Coreopsis
• Hellebore
• Catmint
• Knock Out Rose
• Drift Rose

 

EDGE takes you inside the area’s most creative kitchens.

Paragon Tap & Table • Chicken with Wild Mushroom Ravioli 

77 Central Ave. • CLARK

(732) 931-1776 • paragonnj.com

This light combination, created for the summer menu, features chicken served with wild mushroom ravioli and truffled mushroom sauté, finished with a red wine demi. We always offer fun, new combinations that showcase locally sourced ingredients.

— Eric B. LeVine, Chef/Partner

BoulevardFive72 • Grilled “Chermoula” Organic Salmon

572 Boulevard • KENILWORTH

(908) 709-1200 • boulevardfive72.com

This Mediterranean-inspired, signature dish is served with fingerling potatoes, roasted golden-beet purée and a whole grain mustard sauce. The salmon is sourced from the North Atlantic’s Faroese Island Fiords by Boulevard’s own seafood company. 

— Scott Snyder, Chef/Owner

Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse • Wasabi Crusted Filet Mignon 

1230 Route 22 West • MOUNTAINSIDE

(908) 518-9733 • partyonthegrill.com

We prepare a crusted 8-ounce filet mignon served with gingered spinach, shitake mushrooms, and a tempura onion ring. 

Daimatsu • Crab Avocado Salad

860 Mountain Ave. • MOUNTAINSIDE

(908) 233-7888 • daimatsusushibar.com

One of my favorite creations—I prepare something different every week—Crab Avocado Salad features snow crab, chipotle jelly, avocado, cilantro, lime soy dressing with yuzu citrus foam and caviar on top. 

— Momo, Chef

Publick House •   Crispy French Cut Chicken 

899 Mountain Ave. • MOUNTAINSIDE

(908) 233-2355 • publickhousenj.com

Our crispy french cut chicken is brined overnight, then seared to give it perfectly crisp skin. It is beautifully paired with earthy shiitakes and creamy polenta. The flavor is deepened by the addition of roasted shallots, capers, and white wine. An update on a comfort food classic, the french cut chicken is perfect any night of the week.

Luciano’s Ristorante & Lounge • Warm Goat Cheese Salad

1579 Main Street • RAHWAY

(732) 815-1200 • lucianosristorante.com

The warm goat cheese salad with tender greens and a mulled cabernet dressing and toasted pine nuts is a signature appetizer at Luciano’s, where fresh ingredients and personable service in a beautiful Tuscan décor create a fine dining experience. Our menus are seasonally influenced to feature the best of what’s available in the market.  

— Joseph Mastrella, Executive Chef/Partner

Morris Tap & Grill • Pan Seared Sea Bass

500 Route 10 West • RANDOLPH

(973) 891-1776 • morristapandgrill.com

This light dish, which incorporates heirloom tomatoes, exemplifies how we showcase local produce. Pan-seared sea bass is served with tomato confit and tomato broth, and served over corn and sweat pea risotto.

— Eric B LeVine, Chef/Partner

Boulevard Seafood Company • Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes 

49 West Main Street • SOMERVILLE

(908) 722-0600 • boulevardseafoodcompany.com

Hand-made cakes using the freshest jumbo lump crab from our own market, seared and served atop a “succotash” featuring Jersey fresh corn, finished with a decadent caper-basil butter sauce. They can also be purchased to cook and serve at home from our retail market, open during restaurant hours! 

— Scott Snyder, Chef/Owner

Spirit: Social Eatery and Bar • Double Cheddar Infused Burger

250 Morris Ave. • SPRINGFIELD

(973) 258-1600 • mclynns.com

It doesn’t get better then a double cheddar infused burger from the new Spirit: Social Eatery and Bar.  

— Mark Houlker, Chef

Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse • Volcano Roll 

23A Nelson Avenue • STATEN ISLAND, NY

(718) 966-9600 • partyonthegrill.com

Hot-out-of-the-oven, crab, avocado and cream cheese rolled up and topped with a mild spicy scallop salad.

Galloping Hill Caterers

Galloping Hill Road and Chestnut Street • UNION

(908) 686-2683 • gallopinghillcaterers.com

Galloping Hill Caterers has been an incredible landmark for nearly sixty years. We pride ourselves in delivering “over the top” cuisine, impeccable service and outstanding attention to detail. That is the hallmark of our success! Simply, an unforgettable experience. Pictured here is one of our crepes flambé that really creates lots of excitement!

The Manor • Seared Atlantic Salmon with Almond Couscous

111 Prospect Avenue • WEST ORANGE

(973) 731-2360 • themanorrestaurant.com

Fresh and light, this seared Atlantic salmon with almond couscous, asparagus tips, and a roasted tomato beurre blanc is full of bright, rich flavors. Our range of creative contemporary cuisine offered alongside classic Manor favorites ensures that every guest can find something special on their next visit.

— Mario Russo, Chef de Cuisine

Will your kid’s summer on the sofa translate into a six-figure salary…or college scholarship?

By Mark Stewart

That’s it…no more video games! What parent of slothful teenagers hasn’t issued this threat? And yet, here we are, at the dawn of a new era, when low-energy “gamers” are increasingly on the radar of higher education. More and more colleges are assembling “eSports” teams to carry their school colors into virtual battle, in hopes of securing much-coveted championship banners—which they aim to fly side-by-side with those won by traditional sports teams. A handful of schools are even offering scholarships. 

Has the world gone completely mad? Have you just discovered a way to cover college tuition?

Maybe. And, again, maybe.

It doesn’t take much of a business mind to grasp what a huge industry video gaming has become. Rare is the young man who hasn’t gone down the rabbit hole playing some online battle game only to emerge, unshowered, hours or days later with a temporary case  of PTSD. Multiply that by, oh, half a billion connected adolescents and 20-somethings worldwide, and you get a sense of how big the market and its potential is. The actual numbers are a bit foggy, but most experts agree that somewhere between 600 and 700 million people participate in online games, which equates roughly to 40 percent of the planet’s digitally connected population. More than 200 million people actually sit in front of their computers and watch others play these battle games, like an NFL fan watches the Jets or Giants. One wonders how anything in the non-online world gets done, or how dating is even possible. 

On college campuses across North America, eSports teams have been representing their schools unofficially for years. There are several leagues that hold competitions and tournaments for players from more than 350 colleges and universities. Most are the digital equivalent of “club” teams—sanctioned and supported, but not part of an official athletic program. Young men and women (but mostly men) who were slumped in dorm rooms gaming with their buddies, got good enough to compete online against their peers at other schools, and the video game industry was all too happy to create an infrastructure for them to do so.

The school that changed the game was Robert Morris University, in Chicago. In 2014, RMU officially added eSports to its athletic program. It began recruiting the country’s best League of Legends players with the lure of partial scholarships. The move paid immediate dividends: Robert Morris was featured on a 60 Minutes segment, bringing the university unprecedented recognition. Several small schools followed suit and, in 2016, UC Irvine became the first large Division I school to offer eSports scholarships. Irvine, a PAC-12 university, has gone all-in, doling out enough scholarships to build two 5-player League of Legends teams. And this fall, top gamers (both scholarship and non-scholarship) will be able to compete in a new 3,500 sq. ft. facility with 80 computer terminals.  

Tom Parham, Irvine’s Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, says that the school’s eSports program will be built on competition, academics, entertainment and community. “We hope to attract the best gamers from around the world,” he says, adding that, “our academic programs in computer-gaming science, digital arts, computer science, engineering, anthropology, law, medicine, neuroscience and behavior create a strong foundation for research and inquiry related to gaming.”

If history tells us anything, it’s that where one PAC-12 Conference school goes for glory, the others soon follow. By the end of 2017, the conference almost certainly will have absorbed eSports teams and tournaments into its existing athletic structure, meaning that scholarships from other PAC-12 schools won’t be far behind. Those schools, by the way, include Stanford, USC, UCLA and UC Berkeley. That means you may soon be screaming at your kid to stay on the couch and keep playing—otherwise he or she won’t get into Stanford. So yes, the world has gone a little mad.

Then again, don’t get your hopes up. Your child may be a video game prodigy, but the moment top colleges begin offering full scholarships, the competition is going to get nasty. Right now, the world’s best gamers don’t even bother going to college. They are plucked out of their parents’ basements by heavily sponsored eSports teams to compete in international tournaments as professional gamers. They earn salaries and endorsement dollars that can easily get into six figures. Their team owner houses, clothes and feeds them and hires coaches and trainers to keep on top of them, and to keep them on top of their games. Typically, team members live together under one roof and practice as a team 10 to 12 hours a day, six days a week. This is called the “gaming house” model. On some teams, players live separately but meet in a common location for practice. This is called the “office” model. 

Either way, when they enter a tournament, they function like a well-oiled machine. By the time every dollar is accounted for, a sponsor’s investment (sponsors include major brands such as Monster, Hyundai and Geico, as well as various computer companies and even some venture capital groups) can top a million dollars annually. 

Morgan Spurlock, who nearly killed himself eating three meals a day at McDonald’s for the film Super Size Me, immersed himself in the eSports world for a recent episode of Inside Man on CNN. He spent time with LA-based Counter Logic Gaming (aka CLG), the 2015 North American champions, playing and training with the likes of Yiliang Peter Peng (right), a 23-year-old born-and-bred Californian who goes by the handle “Doublelift” in the eSports world; CLG’s general manager, Matthew “MaTTcom” Marikian describes him as the LeBron of gaming. Spurlock wasn’t shocked by the level of skill demonstrated by the CLG players. However, he was surprised by the contributions of the grown-ups in the room.

“It’s incredible to see the amount of coaching Courtesy of Counter Logic Gaming that goes into being an eSports athlete,” he said during his report. “It’s just like being any other type of athlete.”

Tadayoshi “Hermit” Littleton confirms the huge role management plays in the formation of a world-class team. An avid player in college during the pre-scholarship days, he became the coach for NRG eSports in 2016 after guiding Spanish-based Origen to an impressive string of first- and second-place finishes in European League of Legends competition. NRG is the third pro team Littleton has assembled.

“There are two types of players we look for,” Littleton (left) explains. “One can do everything at the highest level. Their talent is really obvious. We also look for players who are very team-oriented. They can be harder to identify from their solo scores, but with my experience I am able to spot them.”

Littleton says communication is the most critical component in building a team, and considers this his specialty as a coach. Getting the players to mesh as he likes can take about a month, but sometimes the best individual players find it difficult to play a true team game, which can slow down the process.

“It depends on how much of a knowledge sponge they are,” he says.

Before college scholarships changed the game, so to speak, many eSports player turned pro, pocketed enough cash to pay for college and then went back to school—much to the relief of their parents. Top-tier gamers tend to be pretty intelligent, so for most of their lives, higher education was a foregone conclusion. Imagine the parent whose son or daughter announces that college is off the board, and that they plan to become professional game-players. Doublelift’s parents didn’t speak to him for three years, even though he may have made close to a million dollars during that time.

So what does this all mean? Probably that your parenting skills need to keep up with your child’s eSports skills. The better they are at playing their games, the more prepared you may need to be to help them make the right decision—now and come college time.  

LoL

League of Legends—LoL or just plain League, for short—is the multiplayer online battle game favored by a high percentage of eSports teams. Each player controls a character called a champion, who has unique abilities that hopefully mesh with those of other champions on the same team. The goal is to destroy an opponent’s fiercely defended Nexus (think Capture the Flag), with each champion gaining strength he-she-it fights his-her-its way through the game. A five-player LoL team can be five friends or classmates in the same room, or complete strangers at consoles thousands of miles apart. About 30 million people play League of Legends. A day.

 

John Nash, Ralph Kramden and Game Theory in New Jersey

By Luke Sacher

Sorry, Harvard and Yale. When it comes to Game Theory, you’re just safety schools. The Einsteins at Princeton basically wrote the book used by everyone from economists and multinational corporations to defense strategists and Survivor contestants. Which, for all practical purposes, makes New Jersey the birthplace of Game Theory. Most of us were introduced to the idea of Game Theory in the 2001 film A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe as Princeton professor John Nash. Some may remember the Matthew Broderick vehicle, War Games (“Shall we play a game?”), which introduced the concept to moviegoers as far back as 1983.   

Whether you realize it or not, if you happen to be the parent of a college-bound teenager, Game Theory is coming into play again, this time in a much more personal way. Both the application process and admissions process involve the fundamentals of high-stakes probability that were originally hammered out by three Princetonians: John Von Neumann, Oskar Morganstern and Nash (above)—right here in the Garden State. More on these three on page 78. 

In a twist that this trio would no doubt appreciate, many colleges now invite young applicants to expound on Game Theory in their essay options. So let’s just say that it’s good to know what you’re getting into. 

Game Theory is the application of mathematical probability and symbolic logic to the understanding of rational human behavior in interactive situations between two or more “players.” It takes how we expect individuals to behave, or to make decisions, and then adds the element of interaction with others who are also seeking to maximize their benefits by acting rationally. In other words, Game Theory is no game at all. Rather, it is a tool for analyzing situations where each player is exercising “strategic interdependence”—calculating actions and outcomes based on the decisions of others in the game.

THE ADVERTISER’S DILEMMA

In its most basic form, Game Theory helps to understand situations that are familiar to all of us. Take the “Advertiser’s Dilemma.” Two companies producing a similar product (let’s say Hershey and Nestlé and chocolate bars) are in competition with each other for customers. The maximum payoff for both companies happens if both do not advertise, since they are saving the expense of advertising. The minimum payoff for each company happens if it chooses not to advertise and the rival company does—thus cratering its market share. So both companies decide to advertise, dividing market share more or less evenly while squeezing out a small profit. 

Even if Hershey and Nestlé were to hammer out a gentleman’s agreement not to advertise, the two companies would likely operate in a state of sustained paranoia that the other might betray them and advertise (which is no way to run a business). The lesson Game Theory teaches us in this case is that expending resources and not getting much in return is preferable to not expending resources and risking getting even less. It’s akin to the spiraling logic employed by Ralph Kramden when he launches into one of his “You know that I know that you know that I know…” soliloquies in a Honeymooners rerun. 

The difference between Ralph Kramden and John Nash (who, ironically, were contemporaries) is that Nash was able to express this idea mathematically and arrive at an elegant, logical conclusion—for which he eventually won a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, in 1994. The Nash Equilibrium, his solution concept for non-cooperative competition, is now employed in one way or another in almost every aspect of global business. 

GAMING THE SYSTEM

Although all roads leading to college run through Princeton (where SATs, ACTs, Achievement and Advanced Placement exams are scored by the College Entrance Examinations Board), only 6 percent of the 30,000 or so kids applying to New Jersey’s top school will get in. That leaves a lot of smart kids looking elsewhere, and this is where a firm grasp of Game Theory can be helpful. 

If your kids can write with imagination and authority on the topic of Game Theory in a college essay, more power to them. Not only have they managed to stand out in a crowded field, they have made the job of the admissions officers reading that essay easier. Which increases their chances of landing on the acceptance pile. If that sounds

like an example of Game Theory within Game Theory, then you’re getting it! The fact is that—because of the sheer volume of applications they now receive—college admissions departments are applying Game Theory to their acceptance strategies. 

Let’s say that a school has 10,000 qualified applicants for 1,000 openings in the incoming freshman class. How many should it accept, given that an unknown percentage will inevitably decide to attend another college to which they have also been accepted? If the college accepts 3,000 and half show up for orientation, the extra 500 kids will overwhelm the school. But what if, of those 3,000, only 10 percent decide to attend? With 300 incoming freshmen instead of 1,000, a financial crisis would almost certainly ensue. 

In this game, one of the players is the college and the other is the student. Both are attempting to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty and incomplete or “hidden” information. It’s been described as a chess match, but it’s not. Poker is the game here. And in poker, you don’t always need the better hand to win—you can also win by maneuvering your opponent into a bad decision. 

The college is trying to reduce uncertainty and achieve its goals by convincing the most qualified applicants to show up on their campus instead of someone else’s, even if that other school might represent a better choice. The win here for the school is filling the 1,000 spots with the most talented group of freshmen possible. The student, of course, is trying to wangle as many acceptance letters as he or she can, in order to go to the best possible college. The win for the teenager is gaining acceptance to that coveted “reach” school, ideally under the best financial circumstances. Keep in mind, for every kid that gets into a reach school, there is probably a more qualified student who is rejected, often because the admissions department “knows” the better student is headed elsewhere anyway. Which is why no reach school is ever a slam-dunk rejection. 

One aspect of Game Theory that has come into play in a big way on the admissions side is the extensive wait listing of qualified applicants. This strategy gives schools more time to understand and evaluate the pool of prospective freshmen, and to create more certainty in achieving bottom-line goals. Of course, our kids are bright enough to know the correct response: Apply to 30 schools!

It’s a solution both Kramden and Nash, in their own utterly unique and ingenious ways, would probably appreciate. 

OUTSTANDING

Who has the power in the college entrance process? The more skilled player. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal offered some thoughts on gaming the admissions system:

• Play the Oboe or the Harp, and play it well. The old ideal of the All-American athlete/Latin scholar/musical-comedy star is long gone. Schools today want to see a lot of talent in a specific field, though exactly what they’re looking for varies. Colleges are looking more for a well-rounded class than well-rounded freshmen.
• Spend a summer at the school of your choice. A growing number of schools, like Brandeis and Harvard, are trying to get to know potential applicants by offering summer programs. Some let high school kids take college courses and earn college credit.
• Move to Idaho. Seriously. Colleges and universities want geographic diversity.
• Get a life. A survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling found that extra-curriculars now rank ninth in importance. Grades in college prep courses were #1. Colleges like to see students who take time to develop into more complete human beings, including those who take a gap year after high school to explore the world.

 

GAME ON

There are four core elements of all games:

1) Players (sometimes called agents)

2) Information available to each player, whether complete or incomplete, symmetric (common to all players) or asymmetric (unique to individual players)

3) Actions available to each player at each “move,” whether simultaneous or sequential, made by the players based on their information

4) Payoffs (positive or negative) available to each player for each outcome of their actions

A game theorist typically uses these elements, along with a solution concept of their choosing (such as the Nash Equilibrium), to deduce a set of equilibrium strategies for each player. These equilibrium strategies help determine a stable state in which either one outcome occurs or a set of outcomes occur with known probability. If these strategies have been correctly calculated, no player can profit by unilaterally deviating from his or her strategy. However, where Game Theory falls apart is when one or more players acts irrationally. In poker, it’s not the end of the world. 

In thermonuclear warfare, it is.

NEW JERSEY’S “BIG THREE”

Oskar Morgenstern

(1902-1977)

Morgenstern grew up in Vienna, Austria and graduated from the University of Vienna in 1925. After earning his doctorate in political science, he succeeded Nobel laureate economist Friedrich Von Hayek as director Courtesy of the Mises Instituteof the Vienna Institute for Business Cycle Research, and held the position until the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. Fortunately, he was visiting Princeton University at that precise moment, where he met and befriended John Von Neumann. The two began a six-year collaboration at Princeton that would result in the publication of The Theory of Games and Economic Behaviorin 1944, which is universally recognized as the first book on Game Theory.

John Von Neumann 

(1903-1957)

Von Neumann (below left, with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer) was born on December 28, 1903, in Budapest, Hungary. By the age of 8, he was familiar with differential and integral calculus, and published his first paper at the age of 18. He earned his first degree at the University of Budapest in 1925, in Chemical Engineering, 

books while operating his vehicle, occasioning numerous arrests, as well as accidents. Von Neumann was not only one of the fathers of Game Theory, he also worked on the mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, made invaluable contributions to the Manhattan Project, and was involved in the development of the first programmable digital computers.

John Forbes Nash, Jr. 

(1928-2015)

Nash was born June 13, 1928 in Bluefield, West Virginia, where he demonstrated his exceptional talent for mathematics as early as age 10. He was accepted to Carnegie Tech on a full Westinghouse scholarship and graduated at age 19 with a Master’s Degree in Mathematics. Nash then won a graduate studies scholarship from Princeton University in 1948. From the early 1950s to the mid-1980s, Nash suffered tortuously from extreme bouts of psychosis, and was often hospitalized and institutionalized. Forty-four years after completing his revolutionary 27-page doctoral dissertation at Princeton, he shared the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with game theorists Reinhard Selten and John Harsanyi. His theories and algorithms continue to be used today in the fields of economics, computing, politics, accounting, military strategy, and even evolutionary biology. On May 23, 2015, Nash and his wife Alicia were killed in an accident while riding in a taxi on the New Jersey Turnpike.

 

Editor’s Note: Luke Sacher has written for EDGE on the greatest disaster films and Baby Boomers’ beloved dangerous toys. He spent countless hours researching this story, watching online lectures by distinguished professors and reading several graduate theses.

Luke believes that Nash’s contributions to Game Theory offer keen insights on human behavior, however he says that basing the world economy on the ideas of a paranoid schizophrenic worries him sometimes.  

 

 

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION RECEIVES $17,500 FROM  BANK OF AMERICA!   

Trinitas Health Foundation received a $17,500 grant from Bank of America to support the Health Careers Exploration Program, a constructive and aspirational after school and summer initiative that mentors students on achievable career options, teaches them the importance of voluntarism and motivates them to stay in school. By offering career guidance and hands-on career exploration opportunities, the program has unlocked valuable economic opportunities for thousands of students from the greater Union County region, almost all of whom are from Elizabeth and from low-income families.

Trinitas currently employs 83 program alumni and has employed several hundred alumni throughout the program’s history. With at least 8 MDs, 67 nurses, and a number of dentists, pharmacists and successful alumni in every type of healthcare and non-healthcare program proves that having faith in inner city students and giving them the right tools will help them to rise above the obstacles that many of them face.

ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE? 

Trinitas Regional Medical Center is in the midst of a Capital Campaign to raise $18.7 Million to expand our Emergency Department and dramatically improve its ability to manage extremely high patient volume and acuity levels. Our plan will nearly double the number of patient beds, provide immediate access to advanced diagnostic equipment and create environmen-tally appropriate units for pediatric, elderly, behavioral health and non-emergent patients. With this expansion progressing on time and on budget, we are very happy to say we are on track to unveil a brand new ED in 2017. 

We recently received some very exciting news about the campaign: The JC Kellogg Foundation has awarded us a $4 million challenge grant, meaning that all gifts over the next three years will be matched dollar-for-dollar until we reach $4 million! This is a wonderful time to support the patients of Trinitas and double the value of your gift.

Please join us and make a gift today! Your gift will be matched by the JC Kellogg Foundation, and will help us create a BIGGER, BETTER, STATE-OF-THE-ART Emergency Department for all of our patients! To make a gift to the Emergency Department Capital Campaign, please contact Nadine Brechner at nbrechner@trinitas.org or Rob Eccles at reccles@trinitas.org or call the foundation office at (908) 994-8249.

A NIGHT OF JAZZ TO REMEMBER… 

If cool jazz is your groove, join Trinitas Health Foundation’s Jazz Celebration featuring David Sanborn on Thursday, November 17th. Enjoy a light buffet supper at NJPAC followed by the concert at 8 pm.  Orchestra seating, advance parking, and a memento of the evening are included.  What a cool, sweet treat of an evening! Contact Nadine Brechner (908) 994-8249 or by email at nbrechner@trinitas.org if you’d like to purchase a ticket(s) or discuss sponsorship opportunities.  

 

Alzheimer’s Breakthrough 

Doctors know that the main culprit in the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease is a sticky protein called beta amyloid, which accumulates in the brain as synapse-destroying plaque. How it collects there was something of a mystery until Harvard Medical researchers found evidence that this substance forms as protection against pathogens that cross the blood-brain barrier, forming a “cage” around them. The problem seems to be that the beta amyloid stays in the brain after the invading bacteria has been eliminated. The Harvard team believes that further research could reveal ways to treat or even prevent Alzheimer’s.

No Blind Mice 

Whoever wrote the song “Three Blind Mice” probably never imagined that, one day, they would regain their sight. Last month, the journal Nature Neuroscience reported that Stanford University scientists reactivated the optic nerve cables of a blind mouse, reestablishing the link between eye and brain. In a functioning eye, photoreceptors in the back of the retina send information to the brain through axons, whic act like electrical wires. When axons in the brain are damaged- from injury or disease- it had been assumed that they don’t regenerate. The Stanford project proved otherwise. Researchers were able to reactivate the retinal pathway with a combination of high-contrast visual stimulation and biochemical manipulation.

Large, But In Charge 

Many obese mothers-to-be are resigned to producing overweight children. A new study, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, shows that there is something expecting moms can do during pregnancy to tilt the odds in their favor. Researchers found that adequate maternal folate appears to mitigate the effects of a mother’s obesity on her child’s health. An essential B vitamin, folate is known to reduce a fetus’s risk for malformations affecting the brain, spine and spinal cord. In this study, children of obese mothers with adequate folate levels had a 43% lower risk of obesity than children of obese moms whose folate levels were considered too low.  

Do Opiods Ease Pain?

The short answer is Yes. However, the longer-term impact of painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin is less clear. Neuroscientists at the University of Colorado conducted a lab study in mice that suggests that painkillers may actually prolong pain. It took mice treated with morphine up to 12 weeks to recover from chronic nerve pain, while untreated mice recovered in an average of five weeks. The researchers suspect that opioids reshape the nervous system in ways that amplify pain signals long after an injury (or illness) heals, prolonging discomfort. 

Waist-Reducing Carbs? 

“Pasta doesn’t make you fat,” celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis likes to say. “How much pasta you eat makes you fat.” Well, now she’s got some science to back her up. Researchers from the Mediterranean Neurological Institute studied more than 20,000 people throughout Italy, comparing their pasta intake, body measurements and other criteria. They concluded that consuming pasta in moderation (traditionally Italians eat a small serving as an opening course) appears to contribute to a healthier body mass index and better waist-to-hip ratio. The results of the study do not prove that pasta helps you lose weight—only that the carbs it contains are not unhealthy. It probably doesn’t hurt that many in the study ate foods associated with a Mediterranean diet. They are, after all, Mediterranean.

 

Abu Alam joins the Trinitas OB/GYN team.

By Erik Slagle

Dr. Abu Alam, MD, PA is contemplative, looking back on his distinguished career as he sits in the waiting room of his office, which was once the parlor of a private home that is more than 140 years old. He’s looking ahead to the upcoming wedding in Chicago of his youngest daughter, thinking of Ramadan and also settling into his new role as Interim Chairman of Obstetrics/Gynecology at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth. Trinitas welcomed Dr. Alam to its team in April, and he quickly made an impression on both the faculty and the hospital’s patients.

Elizabeth’s considerable Haitian population gives Dr. Alam the opportunity to relate stories from his work serving in Haitian clinics where there is often no electricity and procedures are sometimes performed by flashlight. He dedicates several weeks each year to volunteering in Milot, Haiti as part of his commitment to charitable work in the impoverished island nation.

A doctor who has given much of his free time to charitable pursuits in underserved communities around the world, Dr. Alam is entering the next phase of his career, where he can serve as a teacher and mentor to the next generation of practitioners at the hospital while still working with OB/GYN patients and bringing new lives into the world.

“I believe I’m destined to do certain things in life,” Dr. Alam

says as he looks out the window onto Springfield Avenue. “I’ve delivered more than eight thousand babies, sometimes close to three hundred a year. When I go to bed at night, I know that I’ve given my patients the best care I can, whether that’s here in New Jersey, or in Haiti. My first priority has always been to my patients. Money was never the goal.”

Return to His Roots

Dr. Alam has also made it his mission to provide medical services to residents of his home country, Bangladesh. His work in Haiti inspired him to gather a team of like-minded medical professionals and open Nandina General Hospital, the only medical care for miles around its village. The village is about four hours by car from where Dr. Alam was born.

“I know that in many parts of Bangladesh malnutrition and childbirth are areas where not enough attention can be paid by the limited number of doctors available,” he says. “The patients who we treat at Nandina General Hospital might otherwise not have any treatment options available to them. We work with equipment donated by New Jersey medical centers to bring current, modern medical practices to people who truly need them.”

For his philanthropy and service, Dr. Alam was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2006; presented annually to immigrants who have made significant contributions to America’s heritage. Dr. Alam also serves as Chairman of the Teddy Bear Foundation, which provides support for patients stricken with achondroplasia—commonly known as dwarfism—for the past 20 years. These children often require multiple surgeries and painful recovery periods to help alleviate the condition, and the Teddy Bear Foundation raises funds to help provide the treatment and after-care needed. 

Vanessa Loeffler, who is a long-time member of the staff at Dr. Alam’s Summit office, established the Teddy Bear Foundation more than 20 years ago after her daughter Theodora was born with the condition. Loeffler credits Dr. Alam with playing a key role in helping further the Foundation’s mission.

“Dr. Alam has been instrumental in helping us grow the Teddy Bear Foundation,” she says. “His work on behalf of children like Theodora has made such an incredible impact on our ability to help families who are caring for people with this condition.”

Productive Partnership

Throughout his life, Dr. Alam has believed fate has led him to his accomplishments on professional and personal planes. As he sets out on his next professional endeavor as a member of the Trinitas team, the communities the medical center serves are fortunate to be coming under his care and compassion.

“For many years I’ve heard about Trinitas’ reputation for outstanding outcomes and patient satisfaction,” Dr. Alam says. “I look forward to being a part of this wonderful team and to working closely with the residents and students. I expect I can learn as much from them as they may hopefully learn from me.”

It is one thing to have practiced medicine for almost five decades without losing your ardor and drive to serve patients. It’s another to give so selflessly of your time and energy to help those in need around the world. To be able to balance both of those while also raising four children—and maintaining a perspective on the things in life that are truly important—is something else altogether. It’s a rare amalgam to find in a person who has seen and done as much as Dr. Alam. 

And it’s a great victory for Trinitas Regional Medical Center to welcome him to their team. 

Presbyopia…Don’t have it? Just wait.

By Mark Stewart

Evolution and genetics have blessed a little more than half of our population with excellent distance and reading vision. Unfortunately, the human eye is not built for the long haul. As we age, our lenses get a little harder and the muscles that help us focus on near objects become a bit less dependable. Around 40 years old, even people with “perfect” vision (or surgically corrected vision) begin to notice that they don’t see up-close as well as they used to.      

Welcome to the world of presbyopia…the only affliction that affects every eyeball on earth.

“For people who’ve always had good vision, presbyopia kind of comes as a shock and disappointment,” says Dr. Joel Confino, co-founder of The Eye Care & Surgery Center, a three-office practice in Central New Jersey. “Their eyes have always performed. They don’t think it’s going to happen to them. Now they need more light or have to hold things further away. They come into the office and say, ‘My eyes have gone bad!’ I’m still surprised by how many people are surprised by it.”

According to Dr. Confino, who was the first in the area to offer laser surgery back in 1995—and whose practice treats the entire range of eye diseases—presbyopia also affects people who wear contact lenses, and people who underwent LASIK surgery in their 20s or 30s.  

To the layperson, presbyopia sounds a lot more serious than it actually is. Where does the term come from?  

“It’s actually derived from the Greek word for older person, presbys, and ops, the word for sight,” explains Dr. Jaime Santamaria of the Santamaria Eye Center in Edison. “So it translates roughly to ‘the way an older person sees.’ Interestingly, the word Presbyterian shares the same root. A presbyter was a name for an older minister in the Greek Orthodox Church.”   

TREATMENT OPTIONS

The simple fix for people with otherwise good vision is a pair of reading glasses. For current glasses-wearers, the solution is often a pair of bifocals. Often, there is a natural resistance to both, Dr. Santamaria points out. 

If you’ve never worn glasses, the thought of being tethered to a cheap pair of CVS readers may be unacceptable. If glasses are already a part of your life, the idea of switching to bifocals may be your personal line in the sand where aging is concerned. And that’s totally understandable. Ben Franklin, the man who invented them, took his off to pose for the $100 bill. 

Refractive surgery has been a viable option to correct presbyopia for more than two decades, and has gone through significant improvement over that time. In most cases it is a better option than LASIK, especially for patients over 40. Refractive procedures replace the eye’s crystalline lens with an intraocular lens, similar to what happens in a cataract operation. In some cases, patients who undergo these surgeries see better than they ever did. Unfortunately, this type of procedure is not typically covered by insurance.

A relatively recent option for people who have never experienced vision problems, or who have undergone Lasik, is the KAMRA inlay, which was approved by the FDA about a year ago. It restores the eye’s ability to read without detracting from distance vision. 

“It is an implant in the cornea,” Dr. Confino explains, “smaller and thinner than a contact lens. It restores reading power by creating a ‘pinhole effect’ that gives great depth of focus in one eye—much the way a camera’s aperture does, or what happens when you squint to see something more clearly.”

Although new in the U.S., the procedure has been used in Europe and Asia for a decade. During that time, both the device and the surgical procedure used to implant it have improved and, in the year it has been available here, both have continued to evolve, says Dr. Confino, who offers KAMRA in his practice. He says the quality and results are consistent with the other procedures his group does.

Both Dr. Santamaria and Dr. Confino stress that presbyopia is not a disease, and therefore there should be no fear on the part of patients in being diagnosed. 

Editor’s Note: Dr. Confino is a Yale University graduate who studied medicine at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Santamaria trained at Columbia Medical School and is on the faculty of Columbia’s Harkness Eye Institute. 

 

No matter the challenges, Holly Charleton loves everything about emergency medicine.

Dr. Holly Charleton, a specialist in Emergency Medicine, is part of the Trinitas ER’s late shift. When Dr. Charlton is not dedicating her thoughts and energy to the patients who walk through the door of the Emergency Department, she’s likely to be thinking about the doctors and nurses she teams with on her annual trips to Jamaica.     

EDGE: When did you become affiliated with the American West Indian Medical Association?

HC: While I was in training at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. After my residency, I volunteered to participate. Jamaica needs help. Diabetes and high blood pressure are rampant.

There is no Medicaid and there are few private insurance programs to cover healthcare needs. 

EDGE: How are they able to afford basic medical care?

HC: Some of the patients I see have saved up for years just to pay for an ultrasound. Others opt to feed their children instead of buying their meds. I remember one female patient who came in with severe knee pain from her years of field work. When I removed the dirty ace bandage wrapped around the injury, I saw that it was covered with repulsive beige paste and pink sprinkles. Upon closer examination, I realized that the paste was made up of mashed fruit and the sprinkles were mashed up pain pills she had been prescribed. That taught me how much education the Jamaican population needs today and tomorrow.

EDGE: What appeals to you most about emergency medicine, both in Jamaica and here at Trinitas?

HC: That’s easy…saving lives. People come in who are at the brink of a life-or-death situation. It feels good to bring someone back from that brink. I recently had the pleasure to see a cardiac arrest patient I had saved who was back in with a minor injury. He thanked me all over again. It’s rewarding to see a patient leave and live.

EDGE: How have you personally fared through all of Phase I expansion activity?

HC: I’ve been through worse. The construction team was really good at minimizing our inconvenience. We actually managed to function relatively normally throughout.

EDGE: What are some of the logistical and technical components of a top-notch Emergency Room?

HC: Design is really important when you’re dealing with critical patients. They need to be readily visible at all times. All tech equipment should be state-of-the-art, accurate and functioning—especially when it relates to patients’ vital signs.  

EDGE: What led you to specialize in ER medicine?

HC: My mother was a pediatric nurse. She often took me to work with her, so I was always interested in medicine, but the Emergency Room appealed to me even before I went to med school. In the ER, you face a variety of medical challenges involving all possible bodily parts on a daily—or, in my case, nightly—basis. As a result, an ER practitioner needs to develop acuity in order to respond to all those challenges that come up fast and furiously. 

Editor’s Note: Dr. Charleton spoke with editor Chris Gibbs. She told Chris that ER doctors need to know how to decompress during their time off. Dr. Charleton loves to travel and does so often. At home, she hangs out with family and friends. The key is to achieve a complete break from the work environment: “Everyone on staff at Trinitas knows that when you’re off, you’re off-limits.”

 

Phases II and III of the hospital’s ER project are driven by emergency care…and emergency caring.

By Christine Gibbs

By this time next year, the ambitious $18.7 million expansion project for the Emergency Department at Trinitas Regional Medical Center will be long done. Phase I began in July of 2015 and ended in May of this year. Phase II is already nearing completion and the third and final phase is targeted for early 2017. Unlike most suburban hospitals, Trinitas is “land-locked” so there was not much real estate available for expansion. Even so, the architects and general contractor still managed to add 24,000 square feet, which will house 45 private spaces designed to accommodate emergency patients as soon as possible after coming through the front door.    

The expansion itself was an absolute necessity. In the last few years, the number of patients seen annually in the Emergency Department was double the 35,000 it was originally designed for. 

The Phase I improvements have already made a huge difference. They include three new treatment areas that provide 27 beds. The Fast Track area now has seven newly constructed treatment bays, the Behavioral Health area has six, and the Geriatric Unit has five new private rooms. There will also be an ICU accommodation comprised of three new rooms, as well as one renovated room. Once expansion is completed, 18 more treatment spaces will be added to the current 27 beds, which get the final number up to the aforementioned 45 spaces.

As with all projects of this nature, there have been some tweaks along the way. For example, the original plans for Phase II called for a two-story atrium waiting lounge. However, it was decided that the space would be more efficiently utilized by creating a second floor for the department’s administrative offices. The waiting room is now a single story, but with an entire wall of glass to bring some of the outside in. Additional improvements include a Radiology Suite, an Ultrasound Suite, and an Emergency Services Lounge for the staff.

What do the people who run the Emergency Department have to say about its progress? We sat down with Dr. John D’Angelo, Chairman of Emergency Medicine, Dr. Abie Li, Assistant Medical Director of Emergency Medicine and Mercy Mallari, RN, MSN  ER Director…

What is the most valuable resource added as a result of the expansion program?

Dr. Li: The new CT scanner, for sure, since it benefits doctors and patients alike. 

Dr. D’Angelo: I agree about the value of the scanner. Of course, the most valuable ER resource is the dedicated staff—those strong people who work to save lives every day are our most precious resource.

Were there any issues that gave you some sleepless nights during Phase I?

Dr. D’Angelo: Absolutely none [laughs]. The main issue during construction has revolved around spatial challenges—that is, how to keep the patient flow unhampered despite ongoing major construction activities.

Nurse Mallari: The ER never shuts down…the show must always go on!

Dr. D’Angelo: We actually experienced volume growth during Phase I, yet the “walk-out” rate went down. It was amazing that we were able to maintain the same level of performance and deliver the same quality of services despite some unavoidable inconveniences.

What can we expect from Phase III?

Nurse Mallari: Phase III will provide an ambitious “face lift” for all existing spaces with the goal of transforming the entire ER into a harmonious and homogenous environment. 

Dr. D’Angelo: The effort to achieve this has involved careful planning and execution to make the ER as comfortable, healthy, and safe as possible for patients and visitors alike. This requires the full-blown expertise of both the design consultant firm we hired for the entire project, Ewing Cole, as well as the main construction company, Barr & Barr.

Once everything is done, how will Trinitas rate as an ER facility?

Dr. D’Angelo: To be fair, we should compare our ER with similar sized facilities in comparable urban areas that process at least 70,000 patients per year. In this group, Trinitas’ ER is ranked among the best. Our metrics—from time of arrival, to point of contact with provider, to final discharge—place us at the top of the industry. We also have a very low rate of patients who leave without being seen [see “Trinitas by the Numbers”]. Of course, the greater the volume, the greater the challenge to service all patients. I am determined as the Emergency Medicine Chairman to right-size the department so that we can handle the daily projected volume of patients. 

When Phase III is done, how will you feel?

Dr. Li: Proud!

Nurse Mallari: Excited to serve the community…to show them that we are here to serve them.

Dr. D’Angelo: I feel especially proud of the geriatric area, which is becoming more important with the aging of the Baby Boomers. Geriatric care is a very resource-intense operation. Specific treatment is dependent upon the complexity of care needed by an older patient. Also, a lot of consideration must be given to proper aftercare. The majority of elderly patients are going to need to take advantage of our advanced technology, such as our new CT scanner and hand-held point-of-care bloodwork equipment that delivers lab results in 20 minutes, instead of 90. All architectural and construction planning for the project will reflect the latest advances to assure the physical safety of geriatrics while in our care. With the growing number of memory care patients, training will be given to staff on up-to-date testing procedures to assess levels of Alzheimer’s and dementia impairment in order to recommend the best final disposition of each patient from the ER.

Why did each of you choose Emergency Medicine as your specialty?

Dr. Li: I wanted to help as many of the sick as possible. The ER provides a “Spice of Life” environment with a constant flow of a wide variety of people who are in need of all kinds of help. I promised my parents I would try to help as many people as possible. In the ER, I can do that.

Nurse Mallari: Nursing has a wide array of specialties. During the rotation phase of my career, I felt an immediate calling during the ER training. The adrenaline surge from seeing a gunshot wound being treated right before my eyes to save a life was amazing.  I felt, “This is home!”

Dr. D’Angelo: My reason for selecting Emergency Medicine has evolved over time. Somehow, I relate to how frenetic the energy in the Emergency Department can be. It takes a special breed of ER providers to be able to react quickly enough to resuscitate and save a sick child, or a parent, or a grandparent. We’re glad to be here and we’re looking forward to building an even stronger relationship with the entire community. We care for those who often times are marginalized in society and have no choice about where and who should provide them with healthcare. We are here for them. Our doors are always open. 

 

TRINITAS MENTORING PROGRAMS FUEL PASSION

TRINITAS ER TECHNICIAN ACCEPTED TO ELITE NURSING PROGRAM 

Lauren McCue (left) began her journey at Trinitas through the HELP Program (Hospital Elder Life Program), which is designed to prevent delirium by keeping hospitalized older patients oriented to their surroundings. Johanna Thomas (right), Coordinator of the HELP Program, guided Lauren through her time as a volunteer, during which Lauren received specialized training that would eventually help her provide quality care for patients throughout the hospital. Lauren then worked as an Emergency Room  Techni-cian at Trinitas and was recently accepted into the Massachusetts General Hospital Nursing Program, a program to which only 13 students are accepted into a year. “I cannot be more grateful for my time at Trinitas. From my experiences as a volunteer to an ER technician, Trinitas has a supportive learning environment that allowed me to grow and find my passion,” says Lauren. 

TRINITAS NURSING CAMP VETERAN RETURNS TO THE O.R.       

 Hisham Santiago, RN, began his career at  Trinitas as a  volunteer. During the summer of 2008 he volunteered part-time and participated in a week of Nurse Camp at Trinitas. During Summer Nurse Camp, students partner with nurse mentors as they perform their daily tasks, tour the hospital, witness surgical procedures, attend medical lectures, and earn their CPR certification. “Nurse Camp at Trinitas exposed me to the clinical setting of what nursing is all about. It helped me to open my eyes,” says Hisham. From his Nurse Camp experience, Hisham decided he wanted to become a nurse—and so he did—and has returned to Trinitas as an OR nurse. Hisham’s mother Brighida Santiago, RNFA is an OR nurse at Trinitas as well!

WOMAN OF THE YEAR 

Heidi Reavis, an EDGE Magazine contributor, was honored by the Women’s City Club of New York with its 2016 Centennial Civic Spirit Award for her work in anti-discrimination, employment law, television and film. Heidi has also been recognized by the Women’s Sports Foundation for her successful work in Title IX desegregation in scholastic sports. Her most recent EDGE story— “How the Smartest Guy In the Room Can Be the Stupidest Guy on the Planet”—was co-authored with Neil Parent and looks at the five costliest legal mistakes people make. You can find it at edgemagonline.com/home26.htm.

JOSEPHINE’S PLACE AND TRINITAS TEAM UP 

Josephine’s place has long been a staple in the Elizabeth commu-nity as a refuge for women who have come across hard times. The center has evolved to include workshops, events, and even a community garden. Trinitas has played a big role in the expansion of the center’s services and events, more particularly through CPR Training. Karen Lukenda, CPR Instructor at Trinitas, has held ongoing certification classes that provide attendees with up-to-date lifesaving tactics at no cost. 

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS 

Ashley Schultz, Robert Schultz and Lloyd Perkel welcome customers to the new Short Hills location of Schultz Furrier and M. Blaustein, at 516 Millburn Avenue. The two multi-generational businesses, renowned for service, style and selection—and respectful competitors for six decades—have merged to offer clients the complete luxury outerwear experience.

TRINITAS SCHOOL OF NURSING WELCOMES NEW DEAN 

Trinitas welcomes Donna Penn, MSN, new Dean of the Trinitas School of Nursing. Donna comes from Mercer County Community College, where she served as the Director of Nursing Education and pro-vided leadership and oversight for all aspects of the Associate’s Degree program. Throughout her career she has developed partnerships to ensure seamless academic progression of graduates and their success. 

ZIKA VIRUS FORUM EASES CONCERNS   

Trinitas Regional Medical Center collaborated with the City of Elizabeth to host a forum on the Zika virus on July 17th and informed the general public on not only the status of the virus, but preventative measures as well.  Dr. William Farrer and Dr. Munir Nazar were able to elaborate on the origins and prenatal effects of the Zika virus.

SEMINARS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Ready for Emergency: 

Hands-On CPR Instruction

Presented by members of Trinitas Emergency 

Response Team

CORE Building, 1164 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ

(Enter parking lot from South Broad St., next to Firehouse) Call (908) 994-8939 to register.

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

5:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Have a Healthy Heart Beat from Your

Head to Your Feet  

“Go Red for Women” Free dinner and seminar in observance of American Heart Month

Speaker: Mirette Habib, MD, cardiologist, 

Trinitas Regional Medical Center

The Garden Restaurant, 943 Magie Ave., Union, NJ

Call (908) 994-8939 to register. Seating is limited.

 

TCCC SUPPORT GROUPS

Conference Room A or Conference Room B

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center 

225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth New Jersey 07207

All events take place from 1pm to 3pm.  

Call (908) 994-8535 for current schedule. 

Living with Cancer 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Living with Breast Cancer

Viviendo con Cáncer de Mama

Caregiving Support Group

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Apoyo Familiar

For more information on any TCCC support programs and to RSVP, please contact Roxanne Ruiz-Adams, LSW, (908) 994-8535. Por favor llame al (908) 994-8535 para confirmar su asistencia.

 

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Health Services with Women In Mind

Trinitas helps provide women access to vital health services with a focus on preventive measures. These include educational programs and cancer screenings. Programs, offered in English and Spanish.      

To learn more about these services, contact Amparo Aguirre, (908) 994-8244 or at amaguirre@trinitas.org  

 

Ask the Pharmacist: 

Medication Management 

Free of charge, by appointment only.

Monthly on the 4th Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm  

Call (908) 994-5237

 

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION EVENTS

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27

12th Annual Evening at the Races 

Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment, 

East Rutherford, NJ

 

THURSDAY, MAY 12

Gala Dinner Dance 

The Venetian, Garfield, NJ 

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 16

8th Annual Andrew H. Campbell Sporting Clays Tournament 

Hudson Farm Club, Andover, NJ  

 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Annual Golf Classic & Spa Day 

Echo Lake Country Club, Westfield, NJ

For more information about the Foundation or to learn more about its fundraising events, (908) 994-8249 or lciraco@trinitas.org.

Proceeds from these and other events benefit the patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Making reservations for Foundation events is fast and easy on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card!

 

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS

Diabetes Management Support Group

 Monthly, First Monday,    2:00 – 3:00 pm

Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)  

Open to both diabetics and non-diabetics who want to learn more about diabetes prevention.

65 Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth, New Jersey Call (908) 994-5502 for further information or registration 

 

Sleep Support Group

For information about the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center with two locations in Elizabeth and  in Cranford at Homewood Suites by Hilton, call 

(908) 994-8694 or visit www.njsleepdisorderscenter.org

Narcotics Anonymous

Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Sunday 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

 

Alcoholics Anonymous

Friday 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

 

HIV Education and Support Program 

for HIV Positive Patients

Monthly. Call for scheduled dates/times.

Judy Lacinak, (908) 994-7605

Early Intervention Program Clinic, 655 Livingston St. Monastery Building, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth

 

Mental Illness Support Group (NAMI)

for Spanish Speaking Participants

4th Friday of each month except August, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mike Guglielmino, (908) 994-7275

Martha Silva, NAMI 1-888-803-3413

6 South Conference Room, Williamson Street Campus 225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth

TRINITAS CHILDREN’S THERAPY SERVICES

899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, NJ • (973) 218-6394

 

“10 Tips…” Workshops 

The 10 Tips Workshop Series focuses on in-home or in-classroom activities. All information presented is appropriate for those who interact with children of all ages with an emphasis on preschool and school-aged children. Tips are geared toward home, school, and community environments.

All workshops take place at the Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services Center, 899 Mountain Ave, Suite 1A, Springfield NJ. We look forward to seeing you!      

Workshops are $15 each with discounts available for enrollment in multiple sessions.  

Tuesday, March 8, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Improve Following Directions Skills  at home or in the classroom    

Saturday, March 13, 2016   9:00 am – 12 noon      

Repeat of February and March evening programs  

Tuesday, April 12, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Improve Sensory Processing Skills at home or in the classroom, Part 1  

Tuesday, May 10, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Improve Sensory Processing Skills at home or in the classroom, Part 2  

Saturday, May 14, 2016   9:00 am – 12 noon  

Repeat of April and May evening programs   

Tuesday, June 14, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Keep Learning during the Summer at home or in the classroom   

For more information or to register for one or more workshops, please contact Christine German, OTD, OTR, at (973) 218-6394, ext. 4012, or email CGerman@trinitas.org

 

COMMUNITY EVENTS  

St. John’s Summit Concert Series

A variety of musical genres open to the community

Saturday, April 2, 2016   7:00 pm      

Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary) along with special guests Mustard’s Retreat. Tickets are $40 (Children 12 & under $20)

St. John’s Lutheran Church, 587 Springfield Avenue, Summit, NJ

For tickets and more series information visit

www.stjohns-summit.org/concertseries 

or call (908) 273-3846.

Spring Programs through May 2016

All programs are offered once a week for 45 minutes. These programs and/or group therapy sessions are a great alternative to individual therapy. They give children the opportunity to address key developmental areas in structured but busier environments that are more reflective of typical real-life home and school situations.  

Cook with Us

Children learn the basics of daily nutrition and fitness as they prepare simple meals and snacks in a practical and fun environment.  Overseen by a PT and personal trainer.  

Scribbles to Script Handwriting Program

Handwriting for preschoolers through elementary school-aged children in a fun atmosphere that uses multi-sensory activities to reinforce learning.  Uses the Handwriting Without Tears Program.  It helps to reinforce learning and make writing fun!  Overseen by an OT. 

Sports Readiness

An introduction for children into several fall/winter sports, including soccer, basketball, football, bowling, and kickball,  in a non-competitive. Overseen by a PT.

Social Butterflies 

An opportunity for children to engage in activities to address turn-taking,  topic maintenance, appropriate question asking, following non-verbal cues, and using manners. Overseen by a speech & language pathologist and/or an OT.

Typing Whizkids 

An opportunity for children to learn efficient keyboarding/typing skills, including key location and finger placement, and speed and accuracy. Overseen by an OT.   

My Trinitas Movement Groups 

3 – 6 months; 6 months -12 months; 18 months – 24 months, 2 – 3 year olds

Children and parents/caregivers will participate in movement-based activities to address social interaction, turn-taking, following directions, motor planning, coordination, and motor skills. Sign up for one week or more, up to a full 12 weeks.  

Parents Night Out 

Drop your child(ren) off for a few hours of fun playtime, a movie and a snack while mom and dad get a  needed night out.  Scheduled quarterly. Call for dates.      

To register for any programs or for more information, please contact Kevin Nelson at knelson@trinitas.org,(973) 218-6394, ext. 13, or fax (973) 218-6351. 

To learn more, visit www.childtherapynj.com 

This page is sponsored by

Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation

Inspired to Care, Inspired to Give

We welcome the community to our programs that are designed to educate and inform. Programs are subject to change.

SEMINARS

THURSDAY, APRIL 28

6:00 – 7:30 pm

Hypertension: 

Keeping it Under Control

Speaker: Dr. Vasyl Pidkaminetskiy Primary Care Physician

Trinitas Physicians Practice

1600 Saint Georges Ave., Suite 111 Rahway, NJ  07065

Call (908) 994-8939 to register.

 

TUESDAY, MAY 17

5:30 – 7:30 pm

Be Proactive: Protect Your Skin

In recognition of Skin Cancer Awareness Month 

Speaker: Carol Blecher, RN, MS, APN Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center

CORE Building, 1164 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ

(Enter parking lot from South Broad St., next to Firehouse) Light Dinner will be served.

Call (908) 994-8939 to register.

 

TCCC SUPPORT GROUPS

 

Conference Room A or Conference Room B

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center 

225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth New Jersey 07207

All events take place from 1pm to 3pm. 

Call (908) 994-8535 for 2016 schedule. 

Living with Cancer 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Living with Breast Cancer

Viviendo con Cáncer de Mama

Caregiving Support Group

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Apoyo Familiar

For more information on any TCCC support programs and to RSVP, please contact Roxanne Ruiz-Adams, LSW, (908) 994-8535. Por favor llame al (908) 994-8535 para confirmar su asistencia.

 

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Health Services with Women In Mind

Trinitas helps provide women access to vital health services with a focus on preventive measures. These include educational programs and cancer screenings. Programs offered in English and Spanish.      

To learn more about these services, contact Amparo Aguirre, (908) 994-8244 or at amaguirre@trinitas.org  

 

Ask the Pharmacist: 

Medication Management 

Free of charge, by appointment only.

Monthly on the 4th Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm  

Call (908) 994-5237  

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION EVENTS

 

THURSDAY, MAY 12

Gala Dinner Dance 

The Venetian, Garfield, NJ 

 

THURSDAY, JUNE 16

8th Annual Andrew H. Campbell Sporting Clays Tournament 

Hudson Farm Club, Andover, NJ  

 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Annual Golf Classic & Spa Day 

Echo Lake Country Club, Westfield, NJ

For more information about the Foundation or to learn more about its fundraising events, (908) 994-8249 or lciraco@trinitas.org.

Proceeds from these and other events benefit the patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Making reservations for Foundation events is fast and easy on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card!

For more information, visit

http://www.trinitasrmc.org/foundation.htm

 

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS

Diabetes Management Support Group

Monthly, First Monday, 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)  

Open to both diabetics and non-diabetics who want to learn more about diabetes prevention.

65 Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth, New Jersey Call (908) 994-5502 for further information or registration 

 

Sleep Disorders

If you or someone you know experiences problems sleeping, consider contacting the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center in Elizabeth. Another location can be found in Cranford at Homewood Suites by Hilton with easy access on and off the Garden State Parkway. Both centers are headed by a medical director who is board certified in sleep medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and intensive care medicine, and is staffed by seven certified sleep technologists. 

For further information, call (908) 994-8694 to learn more about the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center or visit www.njsleepdisorderscenter.org

 

Narcotics Anonymous

Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Sunday 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

 

Alcoholics Anonymous

Friday 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

 

HIV Education and Support Program 

for HIV Positive Patients

Monthly. Call for scheduled dates/times.

Judy Lacinak, (908) 994-7605

Early Intervention Program Clinic, 655 Livingston St. Monastery Building, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth

 

Mental Illness Support Group (NAMI)

for Spanish Speaking Participants

4th Friday of each month except August, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mike Guglielmino, (908) 994-7275

Martha Silva, NAMI 1-888-803-3413

6 South Conference Room, Williamson Street Campus 225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth

 

TRINITAS CHILDREN’S THERAPY SERVICES

899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, NJ • (973) 218-6394

 

“10 Tips…” Workshops 

The 10 Tips Workshop Series is in its last weeks for the 2015 – 2016 season. The series focuses on in-home or in-classroom activities. All information presented is appropriate for those who interact with children of all ages with an emphasis on preschool and school-aged children. Tips are geared toward home, school, and community environments.  

All workshops take place at the Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services Center, 899 Mountain Ave, Suite 1A, Springfield NJ. We look forward to seeing you!      

Workshops are $15 each with discounts available for enrollment in multiple sessions.  

Tuesday, April 12, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Improve Sensory Processing Skills 

at home or in the classroom, Part 1  

Tuesday, May 10, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Improve Sensory Processing Skills 

at home or in the classroom, Part 2  

Saturday, May 14, 2016   9:00 am – 12 noon  

Repeat of April and May evening programs   

Tuesday, June 14, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Keep Learning during the Summer 

at home or in the classroom   

For more information or to register for one or more workshops, please contact Christine German, OTD, OTR, at (973) 218-6394, ext. 4012, or email CGerman@trinitas.org

 

Spring Programs through May 2016 

All programs are offered once a week for 45 minutes 

at Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services, 899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, New Jersey  07081

These programs and/or group therapy sessions are a great alternative to individual therapy. They give children the opportunity to address key developmental areas  in structured but busier environments that are more reflective of typical real-life home and school situations.  

Cook with Us

Children learn the basics of daily nutrition and fitness as they prepare simple meals and snacks in a practical and fun environment.  Overseen by a PT and personal trainer.  

Scribbles to Script Handwriting Program

Handwriting for preschoolers through elementary school aged children in a fun atmosphere that uses multi-sensory   activitiies to reinforce learning.     Uses the Handwriting  With-out Tears program. Helps to reinforce learning and make writing fun!  Overseen by an OT. 

Sports Readiness

An introduction for children into several fall/winter sports,  including soccer, basketball, football, and kickball, in a non-competitive group setting.  Overseen by a PT.

Social Butterflies 

An opportunity for children to engage in activities to address turn taking, topic maintenance, appropriate ques-tion asking, following non-verbal cues, and using manners. Overseen by a speech & language pathologist and/or an OT.

Typing Whizkids 

An opportunity for children to learn efficient keyboarding/typing skills, including key location and finger placement, and speed and accuracy. Overseen by an OT.   

My Trinitas Movement Groups 

3 – 6 months; 6 months -12 months; 18 months – 24 months, 2 – 3 year olds

Children and parents/caregivers will participate in move-ment-based activities to address social interaction, turn-taking, following directions, motor planning, coordination, and motor skills. Sign up for one week or more, up to a full 12 weeks.  

Parents Night Out 

Drop your child(ren) off for a few hours of fun play time, a movie and a snack, while mom and dad enjoy a much needed night out.  Scheduled quarterly. Call for dates.      

To register for any programs or for more information, please contact Kevin Nelson at knelson@trinitas.org,(973) 218-6394, ext. 13, or fax (973) 218-6351. 

To learn more, visit www.childtherapynj.com 

This page is sponsored by

Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation

Inspired to Care, Inspired to Give

 

We welcome the community to our programs that are designed to educate and inform. Programs are subject to change.

SEMINARS

The seminar schedule is suspended for the summer months and will resume after Labor Day.

 

TCCC SUPPORT GROUPS

Conference Room A or Conference Room B

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center 

225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth New Jersey 07207

All events take place from 1pm to 3pm. 

Call (908) 994-8535 for 2016 schedule. 

Living with Cancer 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Living with Breast Cancer

Viviendo con Cáncer de Mama

Caregiving Support Group

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Apoyo Familiar

For more information on any TCCC support programs and to RSVP, please contact Roxanne Ruiz-Adams, LSW, (908) 994-8535. Por favor llame al (908) 994-8535 para confirmar su asistencia.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Health Services with Women In Mind

Trinitas helps provide women access to vital health services with a focus on preventive measures. These include educational programs and cancer screenings. Programs offered in English and Spanish.      

To learn more about these services, contact Amparo Aguirre, (908) 994-8244 or at amaguirre@trinitas.org  

Ask the Pharmacist: 

Medication Management 

Free of charge, by appointment only.

Monthly on the 4th Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm  

Call (908) 994-5237  

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION EVENTS 

THURSDAY, JUNE 16

8th Annual Andrew H. Campbell Sporting Clays Tournament 

Hudson Farm Club, Andover, NJ  

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Annual Golf Classic & Spa Day 

Echo Lake Country Club, Westfield, NJ

For more information about the Foundation or to learn more about its fundraising events, (908) 994-8249 or lciraco@trinitas.org.

Proceeds from these and other events benefit the patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Making reservations for Foundation events is fast and easy on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card!

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS

Diabetes Management Support Group

Monthly, First Monday, 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)  

Open to both diabetics and non-diabetics who want to learn more about diabetes prevention.

65 Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth, New Jersey Call (908) 994-5502 for further information or registration 

Sleep Disorders

If you or someone you know experiences problems sleeping, consider contacting the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center in Elizabeth. Another location can be found in Cranford at Homewood Suites by Hilton with easy access on and off the Garden State Parkway. Both centers are headed by a medical director who is board certified in sleep medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and intensive care medicine, and is staffed by seven certified sleep technologists. 

For further information, call (908) 994-8694 to learn more about the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center or visit www.njsleepdisorderscenter.org

Narcotics Anonymous

Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Sunday 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

Alcoholics Anonymous

Friday 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

HIV Education and Support Program 

for HIV Positive Patients

Monthly. Call for scheduled dates/times.

Judy Lacinak, (908) 994-7605

Early Intervention Program Clinic, 655 Livingston St. Monastery Building, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth

Mental Illness Support Group (NAMI)

for Spanish Speaking Participants

4th Friday of each month except August, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mike Guglielmino, (908) 994-7275

Martha Silva, NAMI 1-888-803-3413

6 South Conference Room, Williamson Street Campus 225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth

TRINITAS CHILDREN’S THERAPY SERVICES

899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, NJ • (973) 218-6394

“10 Tips…” Workshops 

There is just one more session of this series that focuses on in-home or in-classroom activities. All information presented is appropriate for those who interact with children of all ages with an emphasis on preschool and school aged children. Tips are geared toward home, school, and  community environments.  

All workshops take place at the Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services Center, 899 Mountain Ave, Suite 1A, Springfield NJ. Workshops are $15 each.  

Tuesday, June 14, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Activities to Keep Learning during the Summer at home or in the classroom  

For more information or to register for this last workshops, please contact Christine German, OTD, OTR,  at (973) 218-6394, ext. 4012, or email CGerman@trinitas.org

2016 Summer Programs: July 5 – August 18 

All programs are offered once a week for 45 minutes at Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services, 899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, New Jersey  07081

These programs and/or group therapy sessions are a great alternative to individual therapy. They give children the opportunity to address key developmental areas in structured but busier environments that are more reflective of typical real-life home and school situations.

Days that programs are offered can change, so those interested are encouraged to inquire. Please call (973) 218-6394, ext. 13 for further information. 

Scribbles to Script Handwriting Program

Offered on Mon., Tues., Wed., and Thurs.

Development of handwriting skills from basic pre-writing skills for pre-schoolers to review of letter recognition in manuscript for kindergarten through grade 1. Grade 2 focuses on letter placement, spacing and legibility with  a concluding program devoted to cursive. It’s a fun atmosphere overseen by an occupational therapist. 

Sports One Step at a Time 

Offered on Monday

An introduction to several fall/winter sports, including soccer, basketball, football, bowling, and kickball, in a non-competitive group setting. Lil and Biggie Groups. 

Social Butterflies 

Offered on Wednesday

A speech and language pathologist and/or an occupational therapist help kids learn turn taking, topic maintenance, appropriate question asking, following non-verbal cues, and using manners. Lil and Biggie Groups.   

Typing Whizkids 

Offered on Tuesday 

With the help of an occupational therapist, children learn efficient keyboarding and typing skills, including key location and finger placement, speed and accuracy.  

Lil and Biggie Groups.   

Learn to Bike Ride 

Call for the schedule of this program that normally requires three 60-minute sessions.  

 

Camp Trinitas:July 5 – August 18 

Now in its sixth year, Camp Trinitas spells fun for kids from 3 year old to 12. There is limited enrollment for this program that ensures individualized attention and instruc-tion to each child’s needs. It’s a school readiness camp that brings licensed occupational, physical and speech and language therapists together for a well-rounded experience for your child. Activities take place in the Center’s large classroom and therapy/sensory gym. 

 A   full range of activities  designed for development of important skills makes this an extremely valuable camp experience. Registration deadline: June 17

Early Bird Special: First 10 registrants receive a 10% discount.

Register for whole Camp Experience for full seven week and all 28 days and receive an additional 10% discount. 

For all other registrants, a 50% deposit is due at registration. Final payment is due the first day of the program. 

Cash, check, credit/debit cards accepted. 

To register for any programs or for more information, please contact Kevin Nelson at knelson@trinitas.org,(973) 218-6394, ext. 13, or fax (973) 218-6351. 

To learn more, visit www.childtherapynj.com 

This page is sponsored by

Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation

Inspired to Care, Inspired to Give

 

We welcome the community to our programs that are designed to educate and inform. Programs are subject to change.

SEMINARS

All Seminars will be held at the 

CORE Building, 1164 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ

(Enter parking lot from South Broad St., next to Fire House) Light dinner will be served. Call (908) 994-8939 to register.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 

5:30 pm 

Vaccines: When and why do I need

vaccines? Pneumonia, Flu etc.  

Speaker: Dr. Clark Sherer

Medical Staff President

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19 

5:30 pm 

Veins: Getting a Leg up on Varicose

Veins 

Learn about Varicose veins their causes and treatments Speaker: Dr. Timothy Wu 

Vascular Specialist 

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 

TBD 

Diabetes: ABC’s of Diabetes

Learn to better manage, reduce risks and complications.  

Speaker: Dr. Ari Ekmann, Chief of Endocrinology and Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 

TBD 

Parkinson’s Disease: What is it and

coping with the diagnosis

Speaker: Dr. Vasyl Pidkaminetskiy

Primary Care Physician

COMMUNITY EVENTS 

St. John’s Summit Concert Series

A variety of musical genres open to the community

Sunday, October 2, 2016   3:00 pm      

The Zukerman Trio

Featuring the iconic Pinchas Zukerman

Tickets are $50 (Children 12 & under $30)

Saturday, November 5, 2016   7:00 pm      

Wei Luo, the young multiple-award winning piano phenom Tickets are $30 (Children 12 & under $15)

St. John’s Lutheran Church, 587 Springfield Ave., Summit, NJ

For tickets or more information visit

www.stjohnssummit.org/concert-tickets 

or call (908) 206-4250.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Health Services with Women In Mind

Trinitas helps provide women access to vital health services with a focus on preventive measures. These include educational programs and cancer screenings. Programs offered in English and Spanish.      

To learn more about these services, contact Amparo Aguirre, (908) 994-8244 or at amaguirre@trinitas.org  

Ask the Pharmacist: 

Medication Management 

Free of charge, by appointment only.

Monthly on the 4th Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm  

Call (908) 994-5237  

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION EVENTS 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Jazz Celebration 

featuring David Sanborn 

New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ

For more information about the Foundation or to learn more about its fundraising events, (908) 994-8249 or nbrechner@trinitas.org.

Proceeds from these and other events benefit the patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Making reservations for Foundation events is fast and easy on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card!

TCCC SUPPORT GROUPS

Conference Room A or Conference Room B

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center 

225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth New Jersey 07207

All events take place from 1pm to 3pm. 

Call (908) 994-8535 for 2016 schedule. 

Living with Cancer 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Living with Breast Cancer

 Viviendo con Cáncer de Mama  

Caregiving Support Group

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo   

Viviendo con Cáncer, Apoyo Familiar

For more information on any TCCC support programs and to RSVP, please contact Roxanne Ruiz-Adams, LSW, (908) 994-8535. Por favor llame al (908) 994-8535 para confirmar su asistencia.

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS

Diabetes Management Support Group

Monthly, First Monday, 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)  

Open to both diabetics and non-diabetics who want to learn more about diabetes prevention.

65 Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth, New Jersey Call (908) 994-5502 for further information or registration 

Sleep Disorders

If you or someone you know experiences problems sleeping, consider contacting the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center in Elizabeth. Another location can be found in Cranford at Homewood Suites by Hilton with easy access on and off the Garden State Parkway. Both centers are headed by a medical director who is board certified in sleep medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and intensive care medicine, and is staffed by seven certified sleep technologists. 

For further information, call (908) 994-8694 to learn more about the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center or visit www.njsleepdisorderscenter.org

Narcotics Anonymous

Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Sunday 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

Alcoholics Anonymous

Friday 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

HIV Education and Support Program 

for HIV Positive Patients

Monthly. Call for scheduled dates/times.

Judy Lacinak, (908) 994-7605

Early Intervention Program Clinic, 655 Livingston St. Monastery Building, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth

Mental Illness Support Group (NAMI)

for Spanish Speaking Participants

4th Friday of each month except August, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mike Guglielmino, (908) 994-7275

Martha Silva, NAMI 1-888-803-3413

6 South Conference Room, Williamson Street Campus 225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth

TRINITAS CHILDREN’S THERAPY SERVICES

899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, NJ • (973) 218-6394

“10 Tips…” Workshops 

Come take part in the 7th year of our highly successful Ten Tips Workshop Series. The series is for parents, teachers, or other individuals who work with young children and focus on practical strategies that can be easily implemented into daily classroom and/or home routines. All of our workshops offer suggestions that are appropriate for all children with an emphasis placed on children with special needs and those who may be on the Autism Spectrum. 

All workshops take place at the Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services Center, 899 Mountain Ave, Suite 1A, Springfield NJ. Workshops are $15 each.  

September 20, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Talking to Parents about a Struggling Student  

October 18, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Understanding Early Intervention and Special Education Services  

November 15, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills During 

Small Group  Activities   

January 17, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Attention Skills During Small Group Time Activities   

February 21, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Tactile Processing 

During Circle Time Activities  

March 21, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm   

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills 

During Circle Time Activities   

April 18, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm    

10 Tips for Building Fine Motor Skills 

During Circle Time Activities   

May 16, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Tactile Processing 

During Large Group Activities Time Activities   

June 13, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills 

into Large Group Activities   

For more information or to register for this last workshops, please contact Christine German, OTD, OTR, at 

(973) 218-6394, ext. 4012, or email CGerman@trinitas.org

 Fall  Programs: Oct . 10  –  Jan .   20    

All programs are offered once a week for 45 minutes at Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services, 899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, New Jersey  07081

These programs and/or group therapy sessions are a great alternative to individual therapy. They give children the opportunity to address key developmental areas  in structured but busier environments that are more reflective of typical real-life home and school situations.  

Scribbles to Script Handwriting Program

An opportunity for children from preschool (prewriting) through elementary (cursive) school to participate in multi-sensory fine motor, visual-motor, and visual-perceptual activities to  learn prewriting skills ,  proper letter formation, and writing within the given lines using the Handwriting    Without Tears program .   Help to reinforce learning and make writing fun!  Overseen by an OT. 

Sports Readiness

An introduction for children into several fall/winter sports, including soccer, basketball, football, bowling, and kickball, in a non-competitive group setting.  Overseen by a PT. 

Social Butterflies

An opportunity for children to engage in activities to address turn-taking, topic maintenance, appropriate question asking,  following non-verbal cues,  and using manners.     Overseen by a speech & language pathologist and/or an OT.  

Typing Whizkids 

An opportunity for children to learn efficient keyboarding/typing skills, including key location and finger placement, and speed and accuracy. Overseen by an OT.   

My Trinitas Movement Groups

for 3 – 6 months, 6 months – 1y/o, 1 – 2 y/o, & 2 – 3 y/o

Children and parents/caregivers will participate in movement-based activities to address social interaction, turn-taking, following directions, motor planning, coordination, and motor skills.  Sign up for 1 week or the whole 12 weeks.    

Cook With US

An opportunity for children to learn the basics of daily nutrition and fitness in a practical and fun environment while engaging in simple meal and snack preparation.  Overseen by a PT and personal trainer.   

Parents Night Out 

Drop your child(ren) off for a few hours of fun play time, a movie and a snack, while mom and dad enjoy a much needed night out. Takes place quarterly.

To register for any programs or for more information, please contact Kevin Nelson at knelson@trinitas.org,(973) 218-6394, ext. 13, or fax (973) 218-6351. 

To learn more, visit www.childtherapynj.com 

This page is sponsored by

Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation

Inspired to Care, Inspired to Give

 

We welcome the community to our programs that are designed to educate and inform. Programs are subject to change.

SEMINARS

All Seminars will be held at the 

CORE Building, 1164 Elizabeth Ave., Elizabeth, NJ

(Enter parking lot from South Broad St., next to Fire House) Light dinner will be served. Call (908) 994-8939 to register.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 

5:30 pm 

Diabetes: ABC’s of Diabetes

Learn to better manage, reduce risks and complications. Speaker: Dr. Ari Ekmann, Chief of Endocrinology and Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)

Register at http://trmc-diabetes-eventbrite.com  

TCCC SUPPORT GROUPS

Conference Room A or Conference Room B

Trinitas Comprehensive Cancer Center 

225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth New Jersey 07207

All events take place from 1pm to 3pm. 

Call (908) 994-8535 for 2016 schedule. 

Living with Cancer 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Living with Breast Cancer

Viviendo con Cáncer de Mama

Caregiving Support Group

Viviendo con Cáncer, Grupo De Apoyo 

Viviendo con Cáncer, Apoyo Familiar

For more information on any TCCC support programs and to RSVP, please contact Roxanne Ruiz-Adams, LSW, (908) 994-8535. Por favor llame al (908) 994-8535 para confirmar su asistencia.

COMMUNITY EVENTS 

St. John’s Summit Concert Series

A variety of musical genres open to the community

Saturday, November 5, 2016   7:00 pm      

Wei Luo, the young multiple-award winning piano phenom Tickets are $30 (Children 12 & under $15)

Reception to follow

Sunday, February 12, 2017   3:00 pm  

West Point Glee Club

Tickets are $20, Reception to follow

St. John’s Lutheran Church, 587 Springfield Ave., Summit, NJ For tickets or more information visit

www.stjohnssummit.org/concert-tickets 

or call (908) 206-4250.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Health Services with Women In Mind

Trinitas helps provide women access to vital health services with a focus on preventive measures. These include educational programs and cancer screenings. Programs offered in English and Spanish.      

To learn more about these services, contact Amparo Aguirre, (908) 994-8244 or at amaguirre@trinitas.org  

Ask the Pharmacist: 

Medication Management 

Free of charge, by appointment only.

Monthly on the 4th Tuesday, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm  

Call (908) 994-5237  

TRINITAS HEALTH FOUNDATION EVENTS 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17

Jazz Celebration 

featuring David Sanborn 

New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4

3:30 pm 

Tailgate with Trinitas 

Shackamaxon Country Club, Scotch Plains, NJ

Join us in a country club setting to view the game on 

a big screen TV as the Giants and the Steelers go head 

to head. 

For more information about the Foundation or to learn more about its fundraising events, (908) 994-8249 or nbrechner@trinitas.org.

Proceeds from these and other events benefit the patients of Trinitas Regional Medical Center. Making reservations for Foundation events is fast and easy on your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card!

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUPS

Diabetes Management Support Group

Monthly, First Monday, 2:00 – 3:00 pm

Kathleen McCarthy, RN, CDE (Certified Diabetes Educator)  

Open to both diabetics and non-diabetics who want to learn more about diabetes prevention.

65 Jefferson Street, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth, New Jersey Call (908) 994-5502 for further information or registration 

Sleep Disorders

If you or someone you know experiences problems sleeping, consider contacting the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center in Elizabeth. Another location can be found in Cranford at Homewood Suites by Hilton with easy access on and off the Garden State Parkway. Both centers are headed by a medical director who is board certified in sleep medicine, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and intensive care medicine, and is staffed by seven certified sleep technologists. 

For further information, call (908) 994-8694 to learn more about the Trinitas Comprehensive Sleep Disorders Center or visit www.njsleepdisorderscenter.org

Narcotics Anonymous

Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm

Sunday 12:00 noon – 2:00 pm; Sunday 5:00 – 6:30 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

Alcoholics Anonymous

Friday 7:30 pm – 8:45 pm

Jean Grady, Community Liaison, (908) 994-7438 Grassmann Hall, 655 East Jersey St., Elizabeth

HIV Education and Support Program 

for HIV Positive Patients

Monthly. Call for scheduled dates/times.

Judy Lacinak, (908) 994-7605

Early Intervention Program Clinic, 655 Livingston St. Monastery Building, 2nd Floor, Elizabeth

Mental Illness Support Group (NAMI)

for Spanish Speaking Participants

4th Friday of each month except August, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mike Guglielmino, (908) 994-7275

Martha Silva, NAMI 1-888-803-3413

6 South Conference Room, Williamson Street Campus 225 Williamson Street, Elizabeth

TRINITAS CHILDREN’S THERAPY SERVICES

899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, NJ • (973) 218-6394

“10 Tips…” Workshops 

Come take part in the 7th year of our highly successful Ten Tips Workshop Series. The series is for parents, teachers, or other individuals who work with young children and focus on practical strategies that can be easily implemented into daily classroom and/or home routines. All of our workshops offer suggestions that are appropriate for all children with an emphasis placed on children with special needs and those who may be on the Autism Spectrum. 

All workshops take place at the Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services Center, 899 Mountain Ave, Suite 1A, Springfield NJ. Workshops are $15 each.  

November 15, 2016   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills During 

Small Group  Activities   

January 17, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Attention Skills During Small Group Time Activities   

February 21, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Tactile Processing 

During Circle Time Activities  

March 21, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm   

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills 

During Circle Time Activities   

April 18, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm    

10 Tips for Building Fine Motor Skills 

During Circle Time Activities   

May 16, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Sensory/Tactile Processing 

During Large Group Activities Time Activities   

June 13, 2017   6:00 pm – 7:30 pm      

10 Tips for Building Gross Motor Skills 

into Large Group Activities   

For more information or to register for this last workshops, please contact Christine German, OTD, OTR, at 

(973) 218-6394, ext. 4012, or email CGerman@trinitas.org

Fall Programs::    Oct . 10 –  Jan. 20

All programs are offered once a week for 45 minutes 

at Trinitas Children’s Therapy Services, 899 Mountain Avenue, Suite 1A, Springfield, New Jersey  07081

These programs and/or group therapy sessions are a great alternative to individual therapy. They give children the opportunity to address key developmental areas in structured but busier environments that are more reflective of typical real-life home and school situations.  

Scribbles to Script Handwriting Program

An opportunity for children from preschool (prewriting) through elementary (cursive) school to participate in multi-sensory fine motor, visual-motor, and visual-perceptual activities  to learn pre-writing skills,   proper letter formation, and writing within the given lines using the Handwriting Without Tears program. Help to reinforce learning and  make writing fun! Overseen by an OT.   

Sports Readiness 

An introduction for children into several fall/winter sports,  including soccer,  basketball,  football,  bowling,  and kickball, in a non-competitive group setting.  Overseen by a PT. 

Social Butterflies 

An opportunity for children to engange in activities tto address turn taking, topic maintenance, appropriate question asking, following non-verbal cues, and using manners.  Overseen    b y    a    speech & language pathologist and/or an OT.  

Typing Whizkids 

An opportunity for children to learn efficient keyboarding/typing skills,  including key location and finger placement, and speed and accuracy. Overseen by an OT.   

My Trinitas Movement Group

for 3-6 month,    6  months   –    1 y/o,   1 –  2    y / o, & 2 – 3 y/o

Children and parents/caregivers will participate in movement-based activities to address social interaction, turn-taking, following directions, motor planning, coordination, and motor skills.  Sign up for 1 week or the whole 12 weeks.    

Cook With Us 

An opportunity for children to learn the basics of daily nutrition and fitness in a practical and fun environment, while engaging in simple meal and snack preparation.  Overseen by a PT and personal trainer.   

Parents Night Out 

Drop your child(ren) off for a few hours of fun play time, a movie and a snack, while mom and dad enjoy a much needed night out. Takes place quarterly.

To register for any programs or for more information, please contact Kevin Nelson at knelson@trinitas.org,(973) 218-6394, ext. 13, or fax (973) 218-6351. 

To learn more, visit www.childtherapynj.com 

This page is sponsored by

Elizabethtown Healthcare Foundation

Inspired to Care, Inspired to Give

 

New Jersey may be greater  than the sum of its parts,  but some of its parts are pretty darn good.

By Mark Stewart

Life, Hindu spiritual master Amit Ray once observed, is a collection of moments. I maintain that the same could be said for our state. In fact, I can’t think of a more effective way to capture its complex personality than through the unique touchstone moments, both big and small, that collectively define who and what we are as New Jerseyans. We’re not talking about best or worst moments, or even greatest hits; those are way too hard to define. Rather, think of these moments as daubs of pigment on the palette of a painter in the midst of a great (yet unfinished) work of art…   

A EUREKA MOMENT

1877 • Mary Had a Little Lamb

When Thomas Edison uttered the words Mary had a little lamb… into his “talking machine” in 1877, it marked the first time sound produced by humans was recorded and played back. No one in his West Orange lab—Edison included— held much hope that their first prototype would work. When it reproduced his words perfectly, Edison later recalled, “I was never so taken aback in my life. Everybody was astonished. I was always afraid of things that worked the first time. Long experience proved that there were great drawbacks found generally before they could be got commercial…but here was something there was no doubt of.”

A(NOTHER) EUREKA MOMENT

The light bulb. Edison did not invent it, but his team made it cheaper and more reliable. Over a dozen versions of the bulb were in production when Edison threw his hat into the ring. The combination of a vacuum tube and the right filament produced the first commercially viable bulb.

A SWEET MOMENT

1883 • Taste of the Town

A summer storm in 1883 overwhelmed the resort town of Atlantic City, adulterating the water supply with ocean water. AC and its famous boardwalk drew more than a half-million tourists a year at the time, many of whom treated themselves to taffy. That summer, however, there was something wonderfully different about it: the unmistakable taste of salt. New Jersey’s iconic candy was born. In 1923, a storeowner trademarked the name “salt water taffy” and promptly sued the boardwalk’s other sellers. He lost the case in 1925, with the court deciding that the name had already been in common use for four decades. The taffy sold today contains salt and water, but no seawater. 

A WINTER MOMENT

1889 • Flexible Flyer

Sledding for most of the 19th century was fun but dangerous. State-of-the-art was the toboggan, which could not maneuver around trees, people or any other kind of obstacle. Samuel Leeds Allen, a manufacturer of farm equipment, came up with a less concussive option: a steerable sled that went on the market in 1889 and was an instant hit. He knew for a fact his product was safe—he had used the men, women and children of his native Cinnaminson as crash-test dummies in order to perfect it. 

A FEMINIST MOMENT

1919 • Alice Paul 

Protests, civil disobedience, hunger strikes—Mount Laurel native Alice Paul used every trick in the suffragette playbook to force President Woodrow Wilson into supporting the 19th Amendment. She was a thorn in Wilson’s side from Day One, organizing an 8,000-woman suffrage parade in Washington the day before his inauguration, which devolved into a near-riot. With America’s entry into World War I, Paul knew she had the president where she wanted him: How could Wilson ask Americans to lay down their lives to “free” countries where women had the vote…and not give the vote to their mothers, sisters and daughters?

AN AQUATIC MOMENT

1925 • Strokes of Genius

The 1920s are considered the Golden Age of Sports thanks to iconic athletes like Babe Ruth, Red Grange and Jack Dempsey. Every sport, it seemed, had its superstar and swimming was no exception. In 1925, 19-year-old Gertrude Ederle was among the dozens of men and women who took off from the tip of Manhattan on a 21-mile swim to Sandy Hook. She completed the journey in the astonishing time of 7 hours, 11 minutes—a record time that would stand for more than 80 summers. So powerful were Ederle’s strokes that she decided her next swim would be across the English Channel. The following year she became the first woman to make the rossing, once again in record time. “Gertie” had developed her remarkable strokes anstamina as a girl in her summer home of Highlands. Her parents tied a rope around her and set her loose in the powerful tidal currents of the Navesink River. 

A COMEDY MOMENT

1946 • Martin & Lewis

In the summer of 1946, a run-of-the-mill crooner and manic lip-sync comic took the stage at Atlantic City’s 500 Club as the unlikeliest of pairings: Martin & Lewis. For the next decade, no show business act surpassed their fame, popularity or earning power. Their madcap, improvisational performances transformed live comedy. The original act featured the 29-year-old 

Martin attempting to sing while the 20-year-old Lewis—dressed as a busboy—dropped dishes and created general chaos and mayhem. Audiences literally laughed until they cried. Hollywood soon came calling and the duo made 17 pictures between 1949 and 1956, when they parted ways.

A SPORTS MOMENT

1946 • Jackie Breaks the Color Line

Even the most ardent New Jersey sports fans are unaware that Jackie Robinson’s official debut in organized baseball came not in Brooklyn with the Dodgers in 1947, but in Jersey City as a member of the Montreal Royals one year earlier. The Royals were the Dodgers’ top farm team and they played the Jersey City Giants at Roosevelt Stadium on April 18 to open the 1946 season.  Robinson (whose middle name, coincidentally, was Roosevelt) gave a crystal-clear glimpse of the great things to come when he collected four hits and scored four runs in five trips to the plate, including a three-run home run. 

A SCIENCE MOMENT

1964 • Not Bird Poop

In 1964, a pair of Bell Labs radio astronomers in Holmdel—Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson—inadvertently discovered a “snapshot” of the early universe when they found cosmic microwave background radiation wherever they pointed their receiver. Initially, they believed this anomaly was caused by something “terrestrial,” perhaps pigeon or bat droppings on the huge antenna. When the results were the same after a big clean-out, they realized they were on to something: evidence that the “Big Bang” theory of the universe’s origin was correct.

A DIPLOMATIC MOMENT

1967 • Glasnost at Glassboro

The Cold War took an important turn for the better on the campus of Glassboro State College—now Rowan University— when President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin met for three days at Hollybush, the historic home of the college president. Aides to both world leaders expressed grave doubts about the outcome of the summit, which was held in southern New Jersey as a compromise between New York and Washington (where the threat of protesters was problematic). The two sides had not held formal talks since 1963. In the interim, Vietnam, the space race, the build-up of nuclear arsenals and the development of anti-ballistic missile systems had ratcheted up tension to its most dangerous level since the Cuban naval blockade. The substantive portions of the summit involved Johnson and Kosygin alone in a room with only their interpreters present. Although no formal agreements were reached, both men gave ground and developed a respect and friendship that was called the “Spirit of Glassboro.” We may all still be here because of it. 

A MUSICAL MOMENT

1978 • Springsteen at the Capitol Theater

Every New Jersey Bruce Springsteen concert has a can-you-top-this quality, including the recent four-plus-hour show at MetLife Stadium. But to the 1,800-or-so fans who saw him play the Capitol Theater in Passaic in 1978, the Boss could never, ever be better. The proof is on tape. The concert, which was a stop on Springsteen’s Darkness

On the Edge of Town tour, was broadcast over WNEW radio and recordings have been circulating ever since. The E Street Band’s renditions of “Prove It All Night” and “Thunder Road” are unimprovable. YouTube

A POLITICAL MOMENT

1982 • Must Have Musto 

To qualify as a truly great political moment, you need a unique partnership between the people and the politicians. William Musto was a career politician, serving in the State Senate and General Assembly in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s—and occupying the Union City mayor’s office twice. In 1981, during his second term as the town’s mayor, Musto was indicted for racketeering, extortion and fraud. In 1982, with key testimony from a 28-year-old former aide named Bob Menendez, Musto was found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison on May 10. On May 11, the people of Union City re-elected him mayor. The man he defeated was Menendez.

A SPIRITUAL MOMENT

1995 • Pope John Paul II 

During his 1995 tour of the United States, Pope John Paul II celebrated evening prayers at the Sacred Heart cathedral—the fifth-largest in North America—elevating it to basilica status. The French Gothic style cathedral was first conceived in 1859, and built between 1899 and 1954. “This magnificent building stands in the heart of Newark as a powerful reminder of God’s steadfast love for his people,” said the Holy Father, “and as a sign of faith in Christ, our hope of glory.”

AN ARTISTIC MOMENT

1992 • Grounds for Sculpture 

In 1984, philanthropist J. Seward Johnson launched a plan to make contemporary sculpture accessible to the public in a comfortable and informal setting. Eight years later, the Grounds for Sculpture opened in Hamilton with an exhibit featuring the work of 13 prominent artists. An indoor museum opened in 1993. Johnson, the grandson of Johnson & Johnson founder Robert Wood Johnson, is an artist in his own right, known for his trompe l’oeil painted bronze sculptures. The 42-acre site is home to nearly 300 works of art.

A SOPRANOS MOMENT

1999 • College

In the Season 1 episode entitled “College,” Tony Soprano encounters a relocated mob informant while taking Meadow on a college visit. The following day he slips away to strangle the “rat.” It marked the first of many instances where Tony’s family life would collide with his professional life with brutal, deadly consequences—and demonstrated that the show’s writers were unafraid to plumb the depths of this dark dichotomy as the series unfolded.

A CRIMEFIGHTING MOMENT

2011 • Foot-Swept

Jon Jones, a mixed martial artist preparing for a Saturday night Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavy-weight title bout in March 2011, decided to walk to nearby Paterson Falls to clear his mind before the fight. On his way he spotted a man breaking into a car. Jones shouted at the thief, who took off. Jones pursued him and took him down with perfect foot-sweep. He then double-legged the criminal and subdued him with an arm bar. Seven hours later, Jones stepped into the Octagon at the Prudential Center and employed the same moves to defeat Mauricio Rua in the main event of UFC 128.

A HEROIC MOMENT

2012 • Well Done

Newark mayors have experienced their fair share of heated moments over the years. In Corey Booker’s case, he had to rush into a burning building and break free of a police U.S. Senate Democrats detective’s grasp to save his neighbor’s daughter, who was trapped on the second floor. He fought back flames in the kitchen to reach the stairway, dodge an explosion on the second-floor landing, threw the woman over his shoulder and carried her to safety. Booker suffered second-degree burns on his hands and was treated for smoke inhalation at the hospital. On the way, he tweeted that he was okay. The hashtag #CoryBookerStories immediately started trending on Twitter. 

A MOVIE MOMENT

2013 • Thank God for Me

The “science oven” scene in American Hustle is Jennifer Lawrence at her absolute best. After nearly setting their home on fire by putting metal in the just-installed microwave, Lawrence’s Rosalyn turns the table on her husband Irving (Christian Bale) with an Oscar-worthy, expletive-laced Jersey tomato diatribe that makes all of their money and marital problems his fault—including the newly blackened cabinetry. She finishes with the classic line “Thank God for me.” Thank God, indeed. 

NJ: A NETWORK NO-NO

When the producers of The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire decided to base their shows in the Garden State, it is quite likely that a staff member with knowledge of network television history pointed out that few if any scripted series set in New Jersey had ever succeeded. Charles in Charge (126 episodes) and House (177) were the most successful. According to TV Guide, one of the worst sitcoms of all time revolved around Sheffield College, a fictional school located somewhere in our state. One of the Boys ran for 13 weeks in 1982 before being cancelled by NBC—though not for lack of talent. It starred Dana Carvey, Nathan Lane, Meg Ryan, Mickey Rooney, Scatman Crothers and Cleavon Little. 

Was there a defining moment in any Jersey-centric network series? Unfortunately, the moment that defined the series didn’t say much about New Jersey. But here it is, anyway:  

2006 • It’s Never Lupus

Fans of the medical drama House, which is set in a New Jersey hospital, lived for the show’s running jokes—above all the suggestion in virtually every episode that the mystery disease flummoxing the Courtesy of NBC Universal Television Princeton-Plainsboro team might be lupus. House’s response, invariably, was “It’s never lupus.” So when the painkiller-addicted doctor revealed where he’d been hiding his meds, an incredulous Dr. Foreman says, “You stash your drugs in a lupus textbook?!” 

Editor’s Note: Do you have a quintessential Jersey moment? Share it with EDGE readers on our Facebook and Twitter pages!

 

The EDGE Interview

If you are a regular reader of EDGE, you know that we go to great pains to craft every page of our editorial. That is especially true of our interviews. They are both topical and timeless. They are relaxed, thoughtful and well researched. They are as interesting for the interview well researched. They are as interesting for the interview subjects as they are for our readers. They are intimate conversations. Which answers the question we get all the time: Why would national celebrities agree to invest so much time and energy in a small regional magazine? We’ll let them speak for themselves… 

Sandra Oh

Actress

with J.M. Stewart

Is fame anything like you thought it was going to be?

No! Can I tell you? Honestly, it was probably one of the most traumatic events in my life. And, ultimately, I think it’s detrimental to being an artist. There’s a lot of struggle. If you want to be famous, awesome! But if you want to continue being an artist, I think fame is a hindrance. Your ability to be authentic is compromised. Fame is detrimental to one’s true artistry because that artistry comes out in the privacy of one’s being with one’s soul—when your soul feels safe in its surrounding to be free, to be authentic. Fame is a heavy, heavy cloak. In my case, I had a tremendous amount of struggle around that feeling of “threat.” There was a period of time when people would be sitting outside my house. How you manage that feeling of threat can go everywhere. It can go into your relationship, go into how you see yourself, and it can go into bad behavior because you start losing control over your privacy in your life. Yet no one’s pointing a gun at you. There’s no one actually “threatening” you. So, at the same time, you feel like your feelings are unjustified. I’ve thought about this a lot and I have no idea how people who are really famous are able to live and walk around, because they can’t just walk around. I feel that people—especially young people—cannot possibly comprehend the consequences of fame, of not being free. You have to manage your relationship with fame so you can continue to work and still be in the public eye. A lot of people can’t handle it and they leave.

Chazz Palminteri

Actor

with Tracey Smith

Which parts of A Bronx Tale are autobiographical?

I would say a good 80 to 85 percent of the movie is autobiographical. It really stems from when I was nine years old sitting on the stoop and I saw this man kill another man right in front of me. Just like they did in the movie, exactly the same. My father came down and grabbed me upstairs, and then the cops came. The reality is I never went down and did a lineup. I just said I didn’t see anything, and that was it. Also befriending the wiseguys when I was a kid, throwing the dice for them, going to get things for them—that’s all true. Also my dad was a bus driver. He worked right off of 187th street. My mother used to be out the window all the time. I fell in love with a black girl at the age of 17. Some of the guys I knew died in a racial attack with some black youths. The majority is true.  

Frank Vincent

Actor

with Tracey Smith

You met Joe Pesci in 1969 when he became the guitar player in your band. How did that turn into featured roles in Raging Bull?

We had such chemistry. Not just playing. We’d do bits back and forth. I had a sort of Don Rickles thing going. The club entrance was right near the stage, so as people walked in off the street I’d always have something to say. We both got a lot of laughs and before you know it, we’re doing two hours of comedy a night. A couple of years later, this movie producer is in the audience and likes what we’re doing. He asked us both to audition for a low-budget movie called The Death Collector. Later they changed the name to Family Enforcer and put our faces on the cover. Joe played a little mob guy and I played a Jewish businessman. Bob DeNiro and Martin Scorcese saw that film and hired Joe to play Joey La Motta and me to play Salvy in Raging Bull. That was our first studio movie. I got my SAG card and an agent, and Joe got nominated for an Oscar…that was how it began.

Lisa Kudrow

Actress

with Gerry Strauss

How did you develop the character of Phoebe in Friends?

The great thing I remember about Phoebe was that the audition piece was this monologue in the pilot that gives her whole back-story. My take on that really was to give a lot of definition to this person, that she’s cheerful about—or just refusing to see—the horrible, traumatic things that happened in her life. Her mom killed herself and then her stepfather went to jail, and she lived in a car, and she thought that was okay. That’s who she was going to be. Just this person who didn’t acknowledge reality the same way everybody else did.

Jaclyn Smith

Actress

with Zack Burgess

Charlie’s Angels was a unique, unproven concept in its time. Did you sense it would make stars out of its three leads?

Absolutely not. And I think that’s what made it a hit. We went into it with an open mind. We were friends. We were not desperate, ambitious actresses. We all had proper training, so we explored that first year and really learned what was going to make the show work as time went on. I don’t think any of us thought that it would change our lives. We were surprised—and I think even the producers were shocked—at our ratings. Our ratings went through the roof. We were almost always number one, number two…really up there in the top five. We even beat Gone With the Wind one night!That was kind of amazing—my favorite movie of all time. It was sort of like we were rock stars, only overnight. We had no concept of the impact Charlie’s Angels would have.

 

Dennis Haysbert

Actor

with Tracey Smith

What kind of response did you get to your performance in Far From Heaven?

I can’t tell you how many women in their sixties came up to me with tears in their eyes and whispered to me, “That was my life”…and how my jaw dropped to the floor. Imagine in a time when you weren’t allowed to love someone because of the color of their skin, or their religion, or their gender—to have that permeate everything that you do, say or feel—and you still try to love that person? Let’s put it this way, there have been a few ladies that have been like the wonderful Julianne Moore played in my life, but there were some that my heart was attached to, and their hearts were attached to me, yet somehow it just didn’t work. I’m in contact with an old high-school girlfriend of mine. We had broken up and I had no idea why we broke up, none whatsoever, and I was so heartbroken. And now, when I’m in my fifties, she says, “I loved you, too. But the circumstances were that I couldn’t do it, because I was afraid for you.” I never even thought of myself being in any danger because I loved this person, yet she was wise enough at a young age of 16 or 17 to understand, “I have to let you go because you might get hurt.” That just took so much weight and energy off of me, a lot of pent-up pain and hurt that I could release after having that conversation. I also understand how rare it is that you get a chance to feel that.

 

Roberta Flack

Singer

with Tetiana Anderson

What do recall about your first #1 hit?

When “Killing Me Softly” was released as a single I was performing in Germany. My one source of English-language entertainment was the army base radio station. I had it on and woke up to Well, here it is again, Roberta Flack’s next big single, Killing Me Softly! I remember thinking, “Oh, boy!” But at the end they finished by repeating “…killing me softly with his song” over and over and then fading out. I said, “No, that’s not it!” I called the producer and asked, “What did you do?” He said, “Oh, I just faded it.” I said, “No! No!No!” He said, “Man, only like a million three hundred fifty thousand of these have been sent out all around the world. Can’t you live with that?” I said, “No.” So they changed it.

Wendy Williams

TV Personality

with Gerry Strauss

What makes a classic Jersey Girl?

Being gutsy. Playing fearless. If you squint, you might mistake her for a Long Island girl. She’s usually a little gaudy and a little bit—I don’t want to say “loud” because people think that’s unattractive—but since I’m talking to Jersey people, I would say she’s a little louder than the rest…and slightly tacky. The giant orange nails, teased up hairspray hair. That’s Jersey. There are so many jokes about Jersey being an armpit and all that other stuff… but so much good has come out of Jersey. How dare you! I’ve practically spent my entire career working in Manhattan but I’ve never lived there. Never had the desire. You know why? I love strip malls. I love traffic circles. I love drive-thru banks and drive-thru McDonald’s. I love parking spaces. I love Jersey Transit, not the subway. I don’t want to go down there—I’m not going down there! Our beaches may be not the cleanest beaches in the world, but they’re ours. I grew up on the Jersey Shore, and I never caught hepatitis from our water!I love Jersey. 

Todd Bowles

Jets Coach

with Zack Burgess

In what ways do NFL teams function as families?

You have to learn to work together. You have to sacrifice and put all your egos to the side. You’re going to be in a building 8 to 16 hours a day, every day, with all these people—especially coaches, who work year ’round. For players it’s half the year. So you get to know these guys on a personal level and what makes them tick. They see what makes you tick. You kind of figure out what buttons to push; they figure out what they can and can’t do with you. There are a lot of personal relationships that go on behind the scenes that everybody doesn’t see. And you put out fires just like any other family. There are spats here and there, but for the most part we’re around each other so much, we kind of get a good feel for each other. And whether you like it or not, you’re going to be a part of a family. You have your bad people and good people—and everything in between. But at the end of the day, we have to be on one working relationship.

Robert Caro

Author/Historian

with Jesse Caro

What spurred your interest in politics?

In the beginning, I liked trying to figure out how things worked, and wanted to explain that to people. When I first went to work for this little paper in New Jersey, I almost immediately narrowed that down to an interest in politics because, it seemed to me, that’s what matters. Almost immediately, I realized the idea of politics I had in college had very little to do with the way politics worked, and that I didn’t know how politics worked. Every day, I was learning something as a reporter. And since I felt like, if power in a democracy ultimately comes from us and the votes we cast, then the better informed people are about the realities of politics—not what we learned in textbooks in high school and college, but the way they really worked—the better informed our votes would be. And presumably the better our country would be. So I almost immediately started to be interested in politics for that reason.

Ken Burns

Filmmaker

with Judith Trojan

Have you felt a special kinship with any of your subjects?

I feel a spectacular kinship with Louis Armstrong, Abraham Lincoln and Jackie Robinson; those three people are the bees’ knees for me. Now, would I compare myself to them?Never! I’ve had the great good fortune to spend a lot of time with them in the work that I do; and I feel that I’ve gotten to know them, even though they’re dead and I have not met them. I try my best to channel—if that’s the right word—the best of them to my fellow citizens to remind us of our greatest possibilities rather than our worst. These are the messages of love that Louis Armstrong gave us, of perseverance that Jackie Robinson displayed, and the wisdom and poetry that Abraham Lincoln exhibited. I’m proud to live in a country that had those three individuals as citizens.

Brian Williams

News Anchor

with Mark Stewart

How did you work your way to the top?

I didn’t have any contacts. I had no way in through the front door or the back. So climbing in the window of the television news business and coming up through the basement is the only way I know how to get ahead. That meant moving out to Kansas, learning the business, and being willing to crawl through broken glass to get ahead. If you have your eyes on a prize in this country, there’s nothing that can stop you—I’m a living example of that. I am not college educated, I did not grow up with honed skills or a family that knew what a prep school was. I didn’t know what the Ivy League was when I was in high school. It just wasn’t in my ken. But if you’re a hustler—and I’ve never regarded that as a pejorative, that word’s a positive in my book—the world is your oyster.

Joe & Gia Mantegna

with J.M. Stewart

What percentage of your father’s work have you seen?

Five percent. I’ve seen very little because most of it was released when I was too young to watch, or it was R rated. Half the films he dies in and I was too frightened to watch. I remember flipping through the channels watching a movie, and I saw my dad walking down the street with a bouquet of flowers. I went, “Yes! Dad’s on TV in something I can watch, this is so cool!” A couple of minutes pass and he’s shot down with a machine gun. It affected me much more than I thought it would. I remember seeing Baby’s Day Out when I was four. We thought, “Finally he did a movie that the family could watch.” We’re sitting on the bed, my sister’s right next to me, and here comes the scene when the baby’s in his pants, lighting his crotch on fire.

[Joe] Yeah, we’re thinking it’s a great family movie. But I get beaten up by gorillas and blown up. It was a horror film to them.

[Gia] It was awful. I remember running out of the room crying. And dad’s hitting his face, saying, “Look it’s me, I’m okay. I’m here.” So I never really sat down and watched my dad’s movies, because he was probably going to get the crap kicked out of him. EDGE

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