Belleville, NJ – In lieu of an in-person gathering, a drive-by celebration was held on October 27 to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Clara Maass Medical Center Auxiliary.
As members of the Auxiliary drove-up individually to the front entrance of the Medical Center, they were greeted by waves, cheers and well wishes from Angela Cuozzo-Zarro, President of the Auxiliary; Mary Ellen Clyne, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer; Frank Mazzarella, MD, Chief Continuum of Care Officer; Teresa DiElmo, MSN, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer; Javier Alvarez, Director of Patient Experience and Tania Manago, Assistant Director of Patient Experience and Volunteer Services.
“We’re so grateful to have the members of the Auxiliary who lend their support to the Medical Center day after day, and time after time said Mary Ellen Clyne, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Clara Maass Medical Center. “Given the commitment of our Auxilians to the Medical Center, the community and our patients and their families, we needed to reimagine the way that we honored them this year” Clyne said.
“The Auxiliary’s 75th Anniversary is a very significant milestone that we really wanted to commemorate, but only in a safe and socially-distant way given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic” said Tania Manago, Assistant Director of Patient Experience and Volunteer Services at the Medical Center.
Each member received a historical bookmark emblazoned with an image of the hospital’s namesake, Clara Louise Maass, along with a copy of the hospital’s newly published history book, 150 Years of Care and Compassion, and a specially-made 75th anniversary cookie; a salute in sirens and lights was provided by the Belleville Police Department.
The Auxiliary at Clara Maass Medical Center began 75 years ago as a self-governing volunteer membership organization whose members work together to assist the Medical Center in promoting the health and welfare of the community. The Auxiliary hosts various activities throughout the year to raise money for the hospital and the patients at Clara Maass Medical Center and to date has raised a total of $1 million through various fundraising activities.
In photo: Member of the Clara Maass Medical Center Auxiliary Edith Firth participated in The Auxiliary’s 75th Anniversary Drive-By Celebration
(L-R) Javier Alvarez, Director of Patient Experience with members of the Clara Maass Medical Center Auxiliary Kathy Minton and Grace Constantino, who serves as the Vice President of the Auxiliary.
(L-R): Teresa DiElmo, RN, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer, Clara Maass Medical Center; Tania Manago, Assistant Director of Patient Experience and Volunteer Services; and Member of the Clara Maass Auxiliary Stephanie Lumford–Lucas.
Extending well wishes to members of the Clara Maass Medical Center Auxiliary were (l-r): Frank Mazzarella, MD, Chief Continuum of Care Officer; Angela Cuozzo-Zarro, President of the Auxiliary; Mary Ellen Clyne, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer; and Celeste A. Oranchak, Vice President, Foundation and Development.
Click here to learn more about the Auxiliary at Clara Maass Medical Center.
About Clara Maass Medical Center
Founded in 1869 as the Newark German Hospital, Clara Maass Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, is celebrating 150 years of service to the community. Conveniently located in Belleville, NJ, Clara Maass Medical Center is a 472-bed hospital that offers a complete continuum of care to residents of northern New Jersey.
Clara Maass Medical Center has completed a state-of-the-art campus expansion of its Emergency Department, Operating Rooms and Post Anesthesia Care Unit with the addition of a four-story, 87,000 square foot medical office building that features a private Intensive Care Unit, main entrance and lobby, retail pharmacy and patient registration area. Designated by the New Jersey Department of Health as a Primary Stroke Center, the Medical Center has earned national recognition in patient safety and quality from Healthgrades and The Leapfrog Group.
The Medical Center leads the state in performing advanced treatment in ophthalmology, and has earned certifications in Disease-Specific Care from The Joint Commission in Acute Coronary Syndrome, Congestive Heart Failure, Hip and Knee Replacement, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Advanced Certification in Palliative Care, and has earned accreditation in Bariatric Surgery by the Aetna Institute of Quality program. In partnership with Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey – the state's only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Clara Maass Medical Center offers a world class team of researchers and specialists to fight most types of cancer, providing close-to-home access to the latest treatment and clinical trials. Committed to the health and wellness of its community, the Center of Excellence for Latino Health at Clara Maass Medical Center was established to address the social determinants of health within the local Hispanic community.
The first in the country to be named for a nurse, the hospitals’ namesake, Clara Louise Maass was posthumously inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame Class of 2017. For a physician referral or more information about Clara Maass Medical Center, call 1-888-724-7123 or visit www.rwjbh.org/claramaass.
Contact:
Stacie J. Newton
Office: 973-450-2989
Mobile: 201-424-9678
E-mail: Stacie.Newton@rwjbh.org