Document 6460811

T h e
Nancy’s Notes
N a n c y
K l a u b e r
F o r e s t
F o u n d a t i o n
Fall 2007
Vol. 2 No. 1
Making a difference in the
2 9 5 M A D I S O N AV E N U E
FOURTH FLOOR
lives of cancer patients & their families
NEW YORK NY 10017
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212-879-3828
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FA X : 9 1 4 - 9 2 3 - 0 5 0 5
Message from Marc
It’s hard to believe that it‘s been nearly four
years since we lost Nancy. The incredible
accomplishments of our ever-growing foundation in this time has been a great and fitting tribute to her memory, with this last year
being our most successful yet.
“Knit for Nancy” again raised significant funds for the foundation’s initiatives
and provided a year’s supply of knit hats
for the patients in New York-Presbyterian
Hospital’s cancer unit. The fourth annual
“Knit for Nancy” is Sunday, November 11,
2007. Hope to see you there!
Casino Night, held at New York City’s
Harmonie Club in April, was another triumph, with the money raised going a long
way to help NKFF realize its goals. We are
looking forward to an even more successful
and “magical” evening this spring.
Your generous support has allowed the
award-winning volunteer program “Nancy’s
Friends” to begin its second year of offering
companionship and advocacy for oncology
patients during their hospital stay. In the spirit of our mission, we also provided a food
stipend to a patient who couldn’t afford to
travel home between treatments.
The NKFF Staff Appreciation Day is an
opportunity for nurses and caregivers to
enjoy a catered meal in the tenth-floor
lounge. We also showed our gratitude to
the hard-working oncology staff with 200
tickets donated by Citibank to see the Mets
play the San Francisco Giants at Shea. It
was a great night for all, as the Mets pulled
out a close one in extra innings!
It’s been a very big year for us. We
could not have arrived here without you,
our dedicated patrons, and the hard work
of our advisory board. Once again, thank
you for your continued support and for helping the foundation carry out Nancy’s wish
to touch and brighten the lives of others.
With warm regards,
Marc Forest
NKFF president Marc Forest visits an oncology patient at New York-Presbyterian
Hospital with “Nancy’s Friends” program coordinator Patricia (Trisha) Choi.
“Nancy’s Friends” Receives Award
S
ix months after the Nancy Klauber
Forest Foundation established
“Nancy’s Friends,” the volunteer
program servicing oncology patients
was selected as a recipient of the New
York-Presbyterian Hospital Patient
Centered Care Team Achievement
Award. Announced in January, the
award recognizes outstanding projects
or programs that improve the patient
experience and also support the hospital’s core value of “Putting Patients First.”
Since the program’s inception, more
than 100 volunteers have participated in
the six-hour training sessions required for
them to serve as companions and advocates for patients during their hospital
stay. Working with a total of 610
patients in its first year, “Nancy’s
Friends,” according to hospital officials,
has significantly influenced patients’ satisfaction with the quality of care they
have received, from ensuring their comfort to addressing their spiritual needs.
“It is so great that volunteers are here to
spend time with patients in a way we
cannot afford to because we’re so
busy,” notes Primilla Ramnauth, a nurse
on the oncology unit.
In addition to helping them navigate
the health system, “Nancy’s Friends”
may accompany patients on walks, find
DVDs from the 250 titles donated by the
NKF Foundation, read to them, or simply
listen to their concerns and stories. “My
wife has not allowed anyone to visit but
myself, and it was wonderful to see her
eyes light up as she interacted with the
‘Nancy’s Friends’ volunteer,” says the
husband of one patient. Natalie Kelly,
who joined the program in April, spent
her first day as a “Nancy’s Friends” volunteer holding a patient’s hand for four
hours while the patient endured her initial round of chemo treatment.
“The Patient Centered Care Award recognizes the teamwork it takes to make
an ongoing impact on the Oncology
Department,” says Patricia Troi, the program’s coordinator. “I am proud to work
with a foundation that has so much heart
and volunteers who are so caring.” ■
NKFF Grants Wish
Q & A
Jet’s linebacker Jonathan Vilma and
cancer patient Tyler Millington.
w i t h “ N a n c y ’s F r i e n d s ” Vo l u n t e e r s
Why did you want to become a “Nancy’s
Friends” volunteer?
My family lives in Europe and when some of them
were diagnosed with cancer, I was too far to
really offer help or support. I felt I wanted to do something that
in some ways could get me close to them. –Chiara Ciraldo
I wanted to do some good for people who are in
need. I wanted to give back for the blessings I
have had in life. After I interviewed for the
“Nancy’s Friends” program, I knew I was in the
right place. –Victor Rottner
I lost my mom and a sister to cancer and have
had my own battle with the disease. Once, when
my sister was weeping in her hospital bed, her
daughter asked her why she was crying. She
replied, “I am just so moved by the kindness of everyone
here.” I want to be one of those kind people in order to
honor her memory. –Ardythe Ashley
I lost my mother to a brain tumor and since then
have wanted to work with oncology patients in a
hands-on way. While my mom was ill, I felt overwhelmed and alone, and I wanted to help minimize those frightening feelings in others experiencing serious
illness. –Linda Verrigan
How often do you work on the unit?
I work Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. I often come in on
other days when patients request that I visit them again. –V.R.
I volunteer one four-hour shift per week. Every shift is rewarding—seeing a patient who has trouble sleeping doze off during a volunteer’s foot massage, watching TV with a patient so
that a tired family member can have a meal. Providing company for someone who is lonely, a movie for someone who is
anxious, or a hand-knit cap to a patient makes one feel good
about oneself and helps others at the same time. –L.V.
How did the training sessions prepare you?
For someone like me with a financial background, the train-
ing session was very helpful, as I needed to become familiar
with the hospital, and more particularly, with the oncology
environment. I was scared and kind of distant at the beginning. I had this feeling that there was nothing I could really
do to help patients and their families. “Nancy’s Friends”
Volunteer Coordinator Patricia Choi taught me how sometimes just a smile can make a huge difference . . . and it
worked! –C.C.
The sessions were extremely professional and informative.
The facilitators at these sessions made us feel we were part of
the team. They gave us the realities about whom we would
be working with, and we were all prepared for what to
expect. –V.R.
What is your professional background and have you had
any previous experience with oncology patients?
I was trained many years ago as a medical social worker.
Although I took my degree in that specialty, I went into private
practice as a psychoanalyst. Returning to a hospital setting has
been deeply rewarding, and much of what I learned in my
master’s program came immediately into practice. –A.A.
I am a magazine editor with no experience in medicine or
social work, but I am comfortable in hospitals and interested
in the many facets of patient care. –L.V.
What have been some of your most rewarding and
effective moments in the program?
One patient could not accept losing her hair and seeing her
face in the mirror. Once I told her I wanted to take her for a
walk but she needed to get ready. I came back after 30 minutes, and she was wearing earrings and lipstick. She said,
smiling, “I was waiting for you!” Since then, we try to walk
together every Saturday. –C.C.
One man on the floor had suffered a stroke and couldn’t feed
himself or speak. We became friends in spite of his disability.
His eyes sort of “sparkle” when we meet, and now I have
made friends with the family as well. They are very grateful to
know that “Nancy’s Friends” are in attendance when they
cannot be. –A.A.
Newsletter edited by Deidre Greben; graphic design by Heidi Antman. www.faboographics.com
T
yler Millington, an 18-year-old
leukemia patient being treated at
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, got a
big surprise this summer, courtesy of
“Nancy’s Friends.” Learning that Tyler was
one month too old to be considered for
the Make-A-Wish Foundation program,
Patricia Choi, “Nancy’s Friends” coordinator, set out to make things happen for the
Brooklyn teenager. Choi contacted
Executive Limo, which donated transportation to and from the Jets training facility on
Long Island, where Tyler met his favorite
football star, linebacker Jonathan Vilma.
The Jets gave Tyler an official jersey to
wear and Modell’s donated one for Vilma
to autograph. It seems that with his positive outlook, Tyler has his own fan club.
The hospital’s leukemia medical team has
drafted him to encourage young adults
when they arrive on the unit. Go Tyler! ■
N K F Fa m i l y A l b u m
R e c e n t Fo u n d a t i o n E ve n t s
1. Jeff Friedman and Jodi
Toch try their luck at the
NKFF Casino Night.
2. "Nancy’s Friends" volunteers and NYPH staff
members at the NKFF Staff
Appreciation Day get
tutored in origami, an art
they will in turn teach
patients.
3. Lauren Reiss (left) and
Samantha Greben show
they are true Nancy's
Friends with a cup full of
money raised by selling
lemonade and cookies.
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5
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3
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4. Foundation president Marc Forest with NKFF supporters (from left) Lisa Reiss,
David Blumberg, and Pamela Charles at Casino Night at NYC's Harmonie Club.
3
5. Three generations of the Weinstein family spin some yarns at "Knit for Nancy"
in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Kudos for Karch
S
usan Karch, a member of The Nancy Klauber
tal in the development of the hospital’s Greenberg
Forest Foundation Advisory Committee, has
Wing, which serves 48 oncology patients and 16
been selected as the recipient of the 2007
candidates for bone-marrow transplantation. A guidNursing Leadership Award for New Yorking force behind the establishment of the “Nancy’s
Presbyterian Hospital. In presenting the award,
Friends” program, she also directs the multidisciplihospital officials commended Karch for “being
nary oncology team in providing the specialized
where she is needed through every phase of the
orientation and training for the volunteers.
Susan Karch
patient’s journey.”
“I have often said that Susan was Nancy’s guardian
Karch has been on staff at the hospital since 1978, tirelessly
angel,” says foundation president Marc Forest. “She embodies
dedicating herself to patient care and leading one of the finest
everything that is right with respect to patient services—she
oncology nursing teams in the country. She has been instrumenalways puts the patients first. ■
N K F F B o a rd o f D i re c t o r s
& Advisory Committee
President
Marc Forest
Vice-President
Andrew Klauber
Treasurer
Steve Forest
Secretary
Ricky Dessen
Director
Barbara Klauber
Co-Chairpersons
Arthur Klauber
Barbara Klauber
Debra Gill
Kathie Desola
David Berley
Robin Burns
Susan Deutsch
Rachel Forest
Shep Forest
Melissa Friedman
Shari Gersten
Stacy Gill
Deidre Greben
Susan Karch
Steven Mintz
Jane Overman
Barry Posner
Adam Semler
Tracey Stone
Adam Wachtel
The Nancy Klauber Forest Foundation
295 Madison Avenue, Fourth Floor
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-879-3828 Fax: 914-923-0505
www.nancysfoundation.org
The Nancy Klauber Forest Foundation
295 Madison Avenue, Fourth Floor
New York, NY 10017
Visit us at
w w w. n a n c y s f o u n d a t i o n . o r g
We proudly support
The Nancy Klauber Forest
Foundation in its commitment to
providing comfort, companionship, and
advocacy for oncology patients during
their hospital stay
-The Forest Family
Shep, Susan, Marc, Rachel, Steven,
Dylan, Nicole, Anna & Ryan
MINTZ & GOLD LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
470 PARK AVENUE SOUTH
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10016
TELEPHONE (212) 696-4848
FACSIMILE (212) 696-1231
www.mintzandgold.com