Welcome St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Center For Pediatric Cancers and Bloods Disorders to The Valerie Fund Family

[Maplewood, NJ, September 15, 2016) Please join The Valerie Fund and St. Joseph's Children's Hospital on Wednesday, September 21st at 5:30 pm at the dedication of the new Valerie Fund Center in Paterson, New Jersey. Scheduled to speak are Kevin J. Slavin, President and CEO at St. Joseph's Healthcare System and Sue and Ed Goldstein, co-founders of The Valerie Fund along with Dominic DiBari, Chairman of the Board.

Barry Kirschner, Executive Director of The Valerie Fund said, "On behalf of everyone at The Valerie Fund, we are so honored and so excited to partner with St. Joseph's Children Hospital as the newest member of our Valerie Fund Family. To know The Valerie Fund standard of psychosocial care will now be available to over 1,000 new children and their families in northern New Jersey is what makes this partnership so special."

"The partnership with the Valerie Fund is a major step forward in our mission to caring for the special needs of children," said Kevin Slavin, President & CEO of St. Joseph's Healthcare System. "Together, we can bring our collective efforts to enhancing treatment options for our youngest patients and their families, expanding on the world-class pediatric cancer care provided at the St. Joseph's Children's Hospital."

Jill Menell, MD, Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is looking forward to the collaboration. "We are so excited that our patients will have the benefit of being a part of The Valerie Fund family. We provide excellent medical care for our patients, but the psychosocial piece is equally as important to the well-being of the child and the entire family unit. Many of these services, such as social work and child life, are not reimbursed by insurance. With The Valerie Fund's generosity, we can support our current social work and child life positions and we will add several new staff positions to ensure that the diseases our patients have and treatments they receive will not limit their success in school and in life."

About St. Joseph's Children's Hospital Center for Pediatric Cancers and Blood Disorders. The Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division was established in September, 1996 and similar to The Valerie Fund, a multi-disciplinary team approach has proven effective in providing patients with state-of-the-art, comprehensive compassionate care. The team works closely with other pediatric disciplines throughout the children's hospital such as pediatric critical care, infectious diseases, cardiology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, pulmonology and others to provide all-inclusive care. Their methods mirror The Valerie Fund model where the entire family is included in the treatment process while addressing the numerous, complex issues that may arise with a life-threatening illness. Also, like the diverse population treated at The Valerie Fund's Newark Beth Israel Center, English is not the primary language spoken in the homes of many of the 1000 patients who receive outpatient care at St. Joseph's Center. In this case, 60% are Spanish speaking and another 10% are Arabic.

The Pediatric Cancers and Blood Disorders Center at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital hosts approximately 5000 outpatient visits each year. Current staff is made up of five physicians board certified in pediatric hematology and oncology. Rounding out the team is a dedicated nursing staff – 2 PNPs and 2 RNs with expertise in administration of chemotherapy and other therapies and a psychosocial team that includes a social worker and child life specialist. Three integrative therapists administer acupuncture, acupressure, aromatherapy and massage therapy---popular and effective treatments that have been proven in a high percentage of cases to reduce the pain and stress of illness. A part time counselor for the Long Term Follow Up program, established in 2013 provides valuable information about cancer survivors.

St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is a state-designated children's hospital offering a broad spectrum of advanced services for patients from birth to 21 years of age and their families. A member of St. Joseph's Healthcare System and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, St. Joseph's Children's Hospital is recognized for its high standards of quality, responsive and compassionate pediatric care. For more information about St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, please call 877.757.SJHS (7547) or visit www.stjosephshealth.org/pedshemonc.