CentraState - Healthy Directions

President's Message… Community Voices… Healthy Directions is produced by CentraState Healthcare System, Freehold, New Jersey. Spring 2016 Editorial Advisors Stephen G. Perrella, Esq. Chair, Board of Trustees John T. Gribbin, FACHE President and CEO Jack H. Dworkin, MD, FACC Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Linda W. Geisler, RN, MNEd, NEA-BC, FACHE Vice President, Patient Care Services Kim A. Kelly, RN, MS, NEA-BC, FACHE Vice President, Clinical Services Rich Mackesy Vice President, Strategic Planning & Business Development Abbey M. Luterick Director, Public Relations and Communications Please note that physicians on staff are private practitioners and not employed by CentraState. We hope you enjoy this issue of Healthy Directions. Comments about the publication can be directed to the Public Relations and Marketing Department, CentraState Healthcare System, 901 West Main Street, Freehold, NJ, 07728. (732) 294-7080. Healthy Directions is published by CentraState Healthcare System to provide general health information. It is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained directly from a health care provider. Editor–CentraState Brian Johnson Writers Susan Bloom Stephanie Duncan Chris N. Johnson Jane Kollmer Photographers Peter Chollick Rich Schaub Jeff Tureaud Kevin Birch Designer Sherri Thornton With National Nurses Week being celebrated every year in May, I'd like to dedicate my message this month to CentraState's nurses, who deserve recognition for all of their tireless work in maximizing the comfort and quality of care for our patients. Since 2005, CentraState Medical Center has held Magnet ® recognition status from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which is considered the gold standard for measuring excellence in nursing and patient care. CentraState honors RNs each year during Nurses Week by bestowing Nursing Excellence Awards to a select group of nurses who demonstrate exceptional clinical skill and leadership in the hospital and in the community. Nurses who win the Nursing Excellence Awards must demonstrate Magnet program ideals including leadership; professionalism; involvement in research, publications, and formal lectures; certifications and education; and clinical excellence. Our nurses are the backbone of what keeps CentraState running, taking on any task asked of them by patients and staff, and going above and beyond to make sure that when our patients leave, they know they received the finest and friendliest care possible. We believe we have assembled one of the best groups of nurses in the state, and the personal care they provide is reflected in CentraState's consistently exceptional satisfaction scores. Thank you again to all of our outstanding nurses who bring pride, professionalism and kindness to their jobs. John T. Gribbin, FACHE President & CEO James Matera, DO A Medical Mission to Guatemala James Matera, DO, board-certified internal medicine physician and nephrologist and on staff at CentraState, recently went on a medical mission with a group to Guatemala in a program that currently benefits 95 students and families in seven villages, allowing children to continue their education. The program provides school supplies, books, medicines and other basic necessities, as well as promotes service to the community and the active participation of parents supporting their children's education. During the trip, the team visited several places, including a facility for special needs children that provides day programs with educational activities varying from physical activity to school work. Dr. Matera and his group found that health care centers throughout the area had severely limited resources and access to the proper medications. The group visited a children's nutrition clinic where children aged birth to five and their families receive help to combat malnutrition—a devastating problem affecting 50 percent of children in Guatemala. Dr. Matera also visited a dialysis clinic, which had difficulty providing some basic medications and routine care for patients. "Many of the patients there cannot even get dialysis as the availability is simply not there," Dr. Matera says. "They often have to travel two or more hours, and since they lack the money, transportation or both, they simply choose to forgo treatment or opt for sporadic treatment." The team plans to continue to look at the potential for improving health care and overall humanitarian issues in this district as well as enhancing the scholarship program to allow children and young adults to be educated.

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