Jan 2, 2020 Donating to Make a Difference

How a JCMC Foundation trustee has helped the medical center thrive

Jared Wolovnick has a passion for golf and a passion for giving. Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC) has benefited greatly from both. “I started playing golf with my dad when I was 11,” he says. “I must have played thousands of rounds since then.” Philanthropy, too, was a family affair; his grandfather, Benjamin Wolovnick, had sponsored the building of a hospital in Queens, New York. So when Jared and his wife, Julie, moved to Jersey City in 2004, it was only natural that he became involved with the Cristie Kerr Birdies for Breast Cancer golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club.

“I wound up being a sponsor of that tournament and other events. During that time, I got to know a lot of people at the hospital, including the then-CEO, Joseph Scott. The doctors are fantastic, the nurses are wonderful,” he says.

In 2009, Jared was asked to become a member of the Board of Trustees of the JCMC Foundation. “Being a corporate attorney at the time, I said, 'Give me the rundown on exactly what’s involved,’” says Jared, who is now retired from his role as Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Verisk Analytics.

“I realized that, more than anything, being on the board is about making people aware of what the hospital is doing, how it’s growing and how it’s serving the community,” he says. “When you believe in the concept, it’s easy to do.”

Raising funds

“I’d say, 'I live in Jersey City, I see all the people walking by,’” he recounts. “I’d ask merchants where a person would go if they tripped on their front step. To a hospital down the road, treated by doctors who provide the best possible care, that’s where! I’d tell them, 'You need to support your local hospital.’ And I believe that’s true, not only for local merchants but for all the high-powered companies that have moved to Jersey City.”

Jared estimates that he and Julie, a retired orthodontist, have given close to half a million dollars to JCMC. “Most of the donations have been general, but we did support a new Pet Therapy program. We have a maternity suite named for us,” he says. The suite is part of JCMC’ s new state-of-the-art maternity wing featuring 20 private rooms.

In recognition of his dedication, Jared was Event Honoree at the JCMC Golf Classic and Celebration last July. The Wolovnicks now live in Florida, where he recently joined the board of the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation. They’ve kept their apartment in Jersey City and remain closely connected to JCMC. Their son, Joshua Remland, is JCMC’s Volunteer Coordinator, and the Wolovnicks still avail themselves of the care at the medical center.

“I personally have only had one episode where I needed medical assistance, and naturally it involved golf,” Jared says. “I was playing in a tournament in 2013 and after hitting a shot my left wrist basically exploded,” he explains.

“I went to the JCMC Orthopedics Institute and Dr. John Capo told me that I had injured both the ligament and tendon in my wrist. He suggested a year or more of rest as one alternative. But then he went out of his way to identify that I was using golf clubs that accentuated the vibrations caused during a golf shot. He explained that I needed to change my clubs and showed me how to double-wrap my wrist. I have been able to continue playing without incident for the last six years.

“It’s like I always tell people—you can’t beat the care you get at Jersey City Medical Center!”

To learn more about giving opportunities at Jersey City Medical Center, visit www.rwjbh.org/giving.