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No Small Feats of Courage, about the Kids Wish Heroes at John Heinz Rehab. -Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, January 27, 2010

By Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer.

WILKES-BARRE TWP. – If courage makes a hero, Nicky McAdarra and Zachary Vasholz earned the honor for triumphing over great odds in a short time.

Front row, from left: January Hero Zachary Vasholz, 5, of Nanticoke, Hero Program Coordinator Donna Diltz, December Hero Nicholas McAdarra, 10, of Avoca, his sister Mary, 7, and brother John, 6. Back row, from left: Zachary’s great-grandmother Marilyn Hicks and grandmother Cheryl Addison, occupational therapist Lynn Dunay, occupational therapist aide Amy Davenport, speech therapist Maggie Fritz and speech therapist Mandy Connell.

December Hero of the Month Nicholas McAdarra, 10, of Avoca, left, plays with a Mr. Potato Head with occupational therapist Lynn Dunay.

Nicky, 10, and Zack, 5, are the first two recipients of the “Hero of the Month” award at the John Heinz Rehabilitation Center. Presented as part of the Kids Wish Network based in Holiday, Fla., the award gives the therapists at Heinz an opportunity to recognize accomplishments made by more than 600 pediatric patients.

When Nicky first arrived for treatment four years ago, he couldn’t stand or walk and didn’t communicate much. Born with three holes in his heart, Nicky, who has Down syndrome, had to undergo emergency surgery the next day. Two of the holes were repaired; his mom, Linda, said he may require further surgery.

Zack’s grandmother, Cheryl Addison of Nanticoke, said Zack, who has autism, didn’t talk much when he arrived at John Heinz three years ago.

“Now he won’t stop talking,” Addison said. “He can count and spell; he’s ready for kindergarten next year.”

The Kids Wish Network, established in 1997, describes the mission of the program as “to help Little Heroes who have had some of life’s unfortunate experiences … who do not have life-threatening illnesses, but have faced some very sad and extraordinary circumstances that they have managed to overcome through efforts that can only be described as heroic.”

Nicky’s mom beamed with pride when she saw her son laughing and interacting with his therapists at the “Hero’s Party” last week. “Nicky is very happy here,” she said. “He knows everyone here cares about him.”

Nicky and his family have a lot to smile about. Nicky can stand and walk with assistance. And he’s not afraid to tell you exactly how he feels about everything.

“It’s a blessing how far he has come,” Linda McAdarra said.

Jean Fredmund, assistant director of pediatric physical therapy at Heinz, got the first call from the Kids Network about becoming part of the national program.

“This is a great way for us to recognize kids who have chronic health problems who work hard and make significant progress,” she said.

The honorees for the Hero of the Month program are children between the ages of 3 and 18 who have overcome difficult circumstances and who have endured a great deal of pain and suffering.

Nicky and Zack ate cake and drank chocolate milk at their party. They received T-shirts and certificates with their pictures and a gift certificate as they basked in the hero's worship of their families and therapists.

Then they returned to therapy because a hero's work is never done.

 Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer.

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Allied Services supports Haiti Emergency Relief -January, 2010

Atty. William P. Conaboy, CEO, announced that the regional non-profit healthcare and human service organization will be making $2,500 contributions to the Red Cross and to the Passionist Missionaries on behalf of Allied's 2,600 employees and volunteers.

Allied Services' employee and family connections to the devastation in Haiti are many. Two specific examples are depicted below:

-In 2008, two therapists from John Heinz Rehab - Pam Ceol and Sandy Tomasura - participated in a mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti with the Hands Together non-profit organization which has helped children in the impoverished country.

-Atty. Conaboy's brother Conan, who is a registered nurse, and nephew John are currently volunteering in Haiti to help in the recovery mission. Mr. Conan Conaboy, RN, has worked closely with Father Richard (Rick) Frechette and the Passionist Missionaries to provide healthcare for children in Haiti over the past five years. In 2006, Father Rick Frechette and his volunteers established St. Damien Pediatric Hospital.

Allied Services employees are also coordinating a system-wide collection to help several international relief charities such as the Red Cross, Hands Together, etc. Employee and visitor donations will be collected through Friday, January 22nd and then the funds will be disbursed to each non-profit organization.

Additionally, an employee blood drive will be conducted on Monday, February 1st at the John Heinz Institute in Wilkes-Barre Twp., and on Tuesday, February 2nd in the Graf Community Room at the Allied Rehab Hospital in Scranton, in cooperation with the Red Cross.

For additional information on the Hands Together mission, go to www.handstogether.org/
For information on Father Richard Frechette's Passionist Missionaries, http://www.nph.org/?page=page.php&lang=en&path=homes/haiti/employees/frrickbio.php

 
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Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal Magazine article on "Concussion Management protects student athletes" - September, 2008

Dr. Michael Raymond , PhD, Director, Clinical/Forensic Neuropsychology and Clinic Director, Brain Injury Program discusses John Heinz Program for Concussion Management.   Read more >

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Modern Healthcare Magazine article in Information Technology with Allied Services CIO - September, 2008

John Regula, Vice President and CIO talks about RHIOs with experts. Read more >

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Allied Services Member to Sit on Advisory Board- September, 2008

Bonnie F. Haluska, RN, CRRN, assistant vice-president of inpatient services, has been selected to sit on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory, a publication of the Pennsylvania Safety Authority.

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Four Physical Therapists Earn DPT- September, 2008

Four Allied Services physical therapists have earned their Doctorate in Physical Therapy this year. They are Lisa Pastore, Pam Ward, Nicole Dixon, and Jessica Bertocki.

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Advance Magazines Publish Two Stories on Allied- September, 2008

Allied Services Rehab Hospital was the cover story in a recent edition ofAdvance for Rehab Directors. Paul Harrington, one of our Speech Language Pathologists, wrote an article that was published in the August edition of Advance for Speech Language Pathologists. Read more >

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