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 • 212-879-3828 • 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. 1 5 2 3 4 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