St. Barnabas Hospital
volunteer program
A volunteer program at
a local hospital directed one
Fordham University student
on his future career path.
Michael Buontempo was
more than halfway through
college at Fordham University
when a friend and classmate
approached him about a volunteer
program at SBH Health
System (St. Barnabas Hospital).
The Patient Ambassador
Program is meant to bring volunteers
together with patients
who are looking for someone
to talk to.
“I wasn’t looking to volunteer,
but a friend told me
about this, and I thought, why
not?” said Buontempo, who
graduated last month. “This
sounded phenomenal. It just
worked out really well. I sat
and talked with patients in the
ICU and in the general patient
population and they were so
grateful.”
For three to fi ve hours each
week over the last 18 months
Buontempo has gone from
one patient room to another
consoling and listening to patients.
He has spoken to all
kinds of patients, from frightened
gunshot victims to those
confused dementia patients.
In fact, it was a dementia patient
that he remembers the
most.
“I was there on the patient
fl oor one afternoon
when there was a call for a
non-compliant patient,” he
said. “He had dementia and
had just moved from a nursing
home to the hospital. He
was scared and didn’t know
what was going on. I just
walked into his room and sat
down and just started talking
to him. I usually sit for
about 30 minutes with a patient,
but with this gentleman
it was closer to an hour. He
was so grateful to me. He just
wanted someone to talk to.”
The program, which Buontempo
just completed, made
its mark on the 21-year old.
“This is why I decided I want
to be a doctor,” he said. “It is
not about making money; it’s
about helping people; about
caring for them.”
MetroCard Mobile Van scheduled stop
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
BRONX TIMES R 58 EPORTER, JUNE 7-13, 2019 BTR
According to Maureen Eisner,
vice president, patient experience
at SBH, those in the
Patient Ambassador Program
help facilitate communication
with patients, families and
staff, participate in rounding
and interview patients.
“It helps the volunteer/intern
gain insight and understanding
into the total patient
experience, patients’ rights,
and patient satisfaction service
issues,” she said. “We get
a number of pre-med students
like Michael who greatly benefi
t from the experience.”
Buontempo, who majored
in Biological Science at Fordham,
will begin medical
school this fall at Seton Hall
University. He hopes to become
a cardiologist.
SBH HOSTS MOMMY & ME YOGA
On Tuesday, May 21, St. Barnabas Hospital hosted ‘Mommy and
Me’ yoga classes courtesy of Women’s Infants Children. WIC at
SBH offers regular classes that allow moms of young children in
the Bronx the chance to spend an hour stretching their muscles
and improving their range of motion accompanied by their children,
ages fi ve and under.
(Above) Ethan Corcino got into the swing of things during Mommy
and Me Yoga class. Photo courtesy of St. Barnabas Hospital
Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto, in conjunction with
Councilman Mark Gjonaj, announces
that the MetroCard
Mobile Van will visit the
Throggs Neck section.
The van will be parked at
the curb in front of the assemblyman’s
offi ce, located at 3602
E. Tremont Avenue, on Friday,
June 14between the hours of 1
to 3 p.m.
The MetroCard Mobile Van
enables:
• Senior citizens 65 years
of age or older to apply for Reduced
Fare MetroCard and receive
a temporary card on the
spot (Bring proof of age such
as a Medicare card and valid
photo identifi cation);
• People with disabilities
that qualify, and who present a
Medicare card and valid photo
ID such as a driver’s license to
apply for Reduced-Fare Metro-
Card;
• Daily riders to add money
to their Reduced-Fare Metro-
Card; and
• Everyone to get all Metro-
Card questions answered.
For more information, call
Assemblyman Benedetto’s offi
ce at (718) 892-2235
BY GENE DEFRANCIS
Hello June! Summer is almost
offi cially here and we are
ramping up our fundraising
and community events.
We can use your help. We
can not wait for Superman to
swoop down and save us. We
have to do it ourselves. If we
all chip in a little bit we can accomplish
a lot.
Together we can empower
our local small businesses.
Provide more storefront cameras
for neighborhood security.
Clean up and secure our alleyways.
And build an effective
and long lasting community
watch group.
Also with the business incubator
we can grow small businesses
that offer diversity and
variety in our area.
We can build the community
garden we always wanted
and provide a safe place for our
neighbors to gather and create.
And our annual clean up
events can become more frequent.
And of course we will never
forget about our holiday lights.
We need to triple our support.
More neighbors joining our
Facebook page and staying engaged
in our community. Send
them to the PayPal link and
make a donation.
Become a member for just
$25 and discounts to our events,
discounts at participating
stores, and free subscription
to your favorite local paper, the
Bronx Times.
If you send $350 to our Pay-
Pal account you will get your
name added to the plaque at
our soon-to-be community garden
for all to see that you pioneered
and brought the garden
to life.
Summer is also looking like
a great time for classic American
fi lms as we team up with
Beth Abraham once again to
provide Movie Nights. Join our
Facebook page to learn more.
Friday, July 5 is our Freedom
Bingo Night. Tickets are
available now for $20. If you
haven’t heard our fi rst Bingo
was a great success and a lot
of fun. So don’t miss this one. 7
p.m. start at Beth Abe as well.
Saturday, August 17 we
team up with our elected offi -
cials Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj, Councilman
Ritchie Torres, Senator Alessandra
Biaggi and Senator Jamaal
Bailey for our Annual
Allerton International Food
Festival.
And so much more. Allerton
will be the place to be this
Summer so don’t miss it. Help
us raise some money to make
sure these events are the highest
quality. The more we raise,
the more we can do.
Any questions email us at
AllertonMerchants@gmail.
com. Report any quality of life
concerns or issues.
Be sure to call 311 and send
us the control number so we
can follow up.
Remember your community
is your business.
Letters to the editor are welcome from all readers. They
should be addressed care of this newspaper to Laura Guerriero,
Publisher, the Bronx Times Reporter, 3604 E. Tremont
Ave., Bronx, NY 10465, or e-mail to bronxtimes@cnglocal.
com. All letters, including those submitted via e-mail,
MUST be signed and with a verifi able address and telephone
number included. Note that the address and telephone
number will NOT be published and the name will
be published or withheld upon request. No unsigned letters
can be accepted for publication. The editor reserves
the right to edit all submissions.
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