Walmart & Sam’s Club Honored Guests at Ribbon Cutting
Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation announced the opening of the hospital’s new Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area for outpatient physiatry, treating patients with muscle, bone and nerve disorders. The 11:00 am ribbon cutting ceremony was held on November 2 at the hospital’s 150 New Providence Road location in Mountainside, New Jersey. To celebrate the occasion, they were joined by Senator Thomas Kean, Jr. and Assemblyman Jon Bramnick of New Jersey, regional representatives from Walmart and Sam’s Club, and patient families. Following the ceremony, tours of the facility were offered.
“We’re thrilled to introduce the new waiting area,” said Philip Salerno III, president and chief development officer of Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation. “The new reception area for physiatry will be part of a larger “hub” for special health needs and primary care providing comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate care for children and families. We couldn’t have done it without long-standing partners like Walmart and Sam’s Club.”
In addition, the morning ceremony commemorated Walmart and Sam’s Club’s 30-year relationship with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals like Children’s Specialized Hospital. In that time, Walmart and Sam’s Club associates, customers and members have raised nearly $1 billion to help local kids live better. The unique relationship ensures that money raised at local Walmart and Sam’s Club stores goes directly to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospital in that area. To date, Walmart and Sam’s Club have raised over $3 million to benefit the children and families of Children’s Specialized Hospital.
“Walmart and Sam’s Club have been amazing allies in our quest to help kids live better,” said John Lauck, president and CEO, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. “We are deeply grateful for Walmart’s efforts to give back to local communities.”
“We’re honored to join in celebrating this vital new area, and humbled by the overwhelming number of Walmart and Sam’s Club customers, members, and associates who made a contribution to our Children’s Miracle Network Hospital fundraising campaign,” said Jennifer Hoehn, Walmart’s director of public affairs and government relations for New Jersey. “This new lobby will welcome children and their families into a world-class hospital, and we’re honored to be a part of this expansion project.”
Phase I of the expansion project created six new spaces for physiatry – including five exam rooms, an assessment room and the Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area. Phase II will convert the former physiatry rooms and ancillary spaces into the new Special Needs Primary Care suite. The expansion will greatly improve the practice’s efficiency, as the hospital will be able to centralize providers, nurses, and staff, therefore enhancing the team-based approach to care. Special Needs Primary Care at Children’s Specialized Hospital aims to provide high quality, family-centered, pediatric primary care to children with complex physical and mental health needs and their siblings.
The new Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area is the entry point for pediatric physiatry which specializes in the rehabilitation care and medical management of children with cerebral palsy, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, neuromuscular disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Children’s Specialized Hospital’s physiatrists understand how cognitive and physical disabilities affect growth and development incorporating this knowledge to work with patients and their families to develop and direct individualized treatment programs.
In addition to Walmart and Sam’s Club grant of $320,000, Phase I contributors also include: Blanche M. and George L. Watts Community Foundation, C. Northrop and A. Marder Pond Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Investors Foundation, Laura J. Niles Foundation, Standish Foundation, Summit Area Public Foundation, Union Foundation, and Upton Foundation.
(From left to right): Philip Salerno, III, President and Chief Development Officer, Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, Charles Chianese, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Children’s Specialized Hospital, patient Matthew Polifonte, age 10 and mother Lori Polifonte, New Jersey Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., New Jersey Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, and Gene Lydecker, Walmart Store Manager (#5111 Watchung, NJ)
(From left to right): New Jersey Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., Philip Salerno, III, President and Chief Development Officer, Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, patient Matthew Polifonte, age 10, mother, Lori Polifonte, and New Jersey Assemblyman Jon Bramnick celebrate the opening of the new Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area for outpatient physiatry at Children’s Specialized Hospital on November 2, 2017 in Mountainside, New Jersey.
Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, Walmart and Sam’s Club, and Children’s Miracle Network Hospital team members celebrate their 30-year partnership and over $3 million raised for New Jersey children and families with special health care needs like Matthew Polifonte, age 10 of Wayne, NJ and his mother Lori Polifonte. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held to announce the opening of the new Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area for outpatient physiatry at Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Mountainside, New Jersey location on November 2, 2017.
Walmart and Sam’s Club celebrate their 30-year partnership with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the over $3 million raised in support of Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Walmart and Sam’s Club Waiting Area for outpatient physiatry within the hospital’s Mountainside, New Jersey location. (From left to right): Shawn Marshall, Walmart Store Co-Manager, New Jersey Senator Thomas Kean, Jr., Charles Chianese, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Children’s Specialized Hospital, patient Matthew Polifonte, age 10 and mother Lori Polifonte of Wayne, NJ, New Jersey Assemblyman Jon Bramnick and Gene Lydecker, Walmart Store Manager