Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 26, 2014 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the community! Thank you to the Faith Reformed Church in Midland Park for their Food Drive. Thanks to all who have been bringing us Thanksgiving food and baskets. We wish you could see the joy on the faces of the families as they receive them! Our holiday deliveries will start to go in mid-December. Consider donating a holiday in a box for our families. This could include stuffing mix, gravy, bread or muffin mix, cranberry sauce, canned corn, beans, or pumpkin, organic broth, coffee, tea, healthy desserts, a tablecloth, and festive paper goods. Our deadline is Dec. 19. Consider making a “Joy Jar” that contains small fun activities to occupy a child or teen during a hospital stay. Birthday Bags are also distributed to our kids and their siblings, and include cake mix, frosting, candles, wrapping paper, party hats, balloons, paper goods, and a small gift card. Personal care items such as shampoo and toothpaste, or new mittens, hats and scarves are also needed during the winter months. ECF families can really use gift cards to Walmart and Target, gas stations, Kohl’s, Marshalls, and TJ Maxx. Kids prefer Game Stop, iTunes, and Toys R Us. We accept new toys, sheets, and towels. We also accept gently-used DVDs, books, small kitchen appliances, and electronic equipment such as Nintendo DS games. Malina’s story: ECF caseworker Malina got a frantic message from Leslie’s mom and immediately rushed over to her house. What she found was a hysterical family, mom sobbing and holding onto her daughter, who had just passed away after a three-and-a-half year battle with brain cancer. Malina sat with the family at Leslie’s bedside, trying to offer some consolation. The scene was gut-wrenching. Leslie leaves behind her mom, dad, sister, and extended family, and many who loved her. She had been through so much in the years following her diagnosis. She spent the last few years in a wheelchair, unable to walk without assistance. ECF helped the family secure that wheelchair through generous donors like you. While we prefer to share stories of hope with you, this is also an important part of the ECF narrative. At times, ECF caseworkers are called upon to provide bereavement counseling to the families of these precious kids whose lives have been taken too soon. We will be there to support our families for as long as we are needed. None of this would be possible without you. Please consider supporting the work we do by making a year end donation to us. A contribution of any size will help. In memory of Leslie: 1/16/01 – 11/11/14. ECF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a variety of specialized services, at no charge, to any New Jersey family facing the challenges of caring for a child with cancer. ECF provides professional counseling, material goods (such as household items, toys, and monthly grocery deliveries), and emergency financial assistance. These individually tailored services are critical in helping families get through the crisis of pediatric cancer. ECF does not receive government funding, so the com- munity’s financial support, donations, and volunteer time are essential. Please call the Northern Regional Center at (201) 612-8118 or e-mail Laura at laura@emmanuelcancer. org to see how you can help. We are in need of paper goods and non-toxic clean- ing supplies for our families. Examples are toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, laundry detergent and all cleaning supplies. We also need diapers stages 4, 5 and 6. Many of our children need to be in a sterile environment while their immunity builds. Thank you to all who have already brought us these supplies. We are planning our Fifth Annual Bash for March 6, 2015 at the Brick House in Wyckoff. Proceeds will help us provide counseling and financial aid to families in New Jersey. Would your company be interested in a sponsor- ship? Would you like to volunteer? If you have a few hours a week to spare, consider becoming a volunteer or just stop by and see what ECF is all about. The Northern Regional Center is located at 174 Paterson Avenue in Midland Park. Please call (201) 612-8118 before you stop by. Because storage space is lim- ited, please do not leave items at the center without check- ing with us first. For more information, visit us at www. emmanuelcancer.org or “like” us on Facebook: Emmanu- elCancerFoundation. As always, thank you for helping the children and their families! Hospital announces construction project to benefit the community HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley, based at 250 Old Hook Road in Westwood, has announced that the facility will submit plans for a new emergency department that will double the space currently available to over 22,000 square feet. The proposed $14 million project will feature a promi- nent entrance in the front of the facility for the convenience of patients and EMS providers. The expanded facility will be able to accommodate upwards of 37,000 visits on an annual basis. “Throughout Hackensack University Health Network, we are constantly looking for ways to improve access to care, offering patients the most convenient treatment loca- tions,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and chief executive officer of the Hackensack University Health Network. “To better serve our patients, HackensackUMC is in the midst of its Emergency and Trauma Center renovation project. Now, HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley will follow suit in providing its patients with a state-of-the-art Emergency Department featuring all-private rooms.” Mark Sparta, acting CEO of HackensackUMC at Pas- cack Valley, said, “Having just received Joint Commission Disease Specific Certifications for Joint Replacement (hip and knee) and Stroke, now is a perfect time to announce plans to enhance the emergency department at Hackensac- kUMC at Pascack Valley and continue the momentum of our effort to provide patient centered, quality healthcare to the region. Relocating the emergency department to the front of the building will offer added convenience to our patients during emergency visits. In addition, we currently offer outstanding door-to-provider times and the new emer- gency department will allow us to continue that level of care, as well as offer all private rooms for comfort.” The new emergency department will feature 26 all pri- vate exam rooms and diagnostic imaging in close proxim- ity to the delivery of patient care. The project, which will be submitted for proper approvals to the city, is proposed to include: • An entrance prominently featured in the front of the facility • 22,240 square feet of renovated new space • 26 all private exam rooms • 11 adult exam and treatment rooms • 6 fast track rooms • 2 dedicated behavioral health exam rooms • 5 pediatric exam and treatment rooms • 2 triage rooms • 1 digital radiology unit • A CT scanner • An EMS lounge The project is estimated to take 15 months from the approval process to the certificate of occupancy with an anticipated completion in 2016. HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley opened on June 1, 2013 and is a full service facility that provides orthopedics, a breast center, a maternity center, outpatient imaging, a wound center, and a cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation center, among other services. It is the only facility with all private beds in Bergen County. Hackensack University Health Network is the New Jersey-based parent company of HackensackUMC, the HackensackUMC Foundation, Hackensack University Medical Groups, and corporate joint venture partners with LHP Hospital Group, Inc. (Plano, TX) in ownership of two (continued on page 23)