Local clergy attend workshop on end-of-life issues
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, O 92 CTOBER 11-17, 2019 BTR
Chaplain Ruth Diones speaks at recent event of end of life issues at St. Barnabas Hospital.
Photo courtesy of St. Barnabas Hospital
It’s a topic that most of us would rather
not discuss.
Yet, it’s something that, in one way or
another, will affect all of us at some time:
end-of-life decisions.
SBH Health System’s Spiritual Department
hosted an interfaith breakfast
workshop entitled Speaking About the
Unspeakable: End of Life Issues. Local
interfaith leaders were invited to St. Barnabas
Hospital to discuss critical issues involving
end of life care, specifi cally such
subjects as palliative care, hospice, advanced
directives, and spirituality.
“Why is end-of-life planning so important?”
asked Maureen Eisner, vice president,
director of Patient Experience and
Bioethics at SBH Health System. “Technology
today can prolong life, but it can
also prolong the suffering that comes with
it. End-of-life planning can guarantee that
your wishes are carried out should you
not be able to communicate them.”
Eisner discussed the importance of
an advanced directive – including a living
well that “spells out what you want and
what you don’t want,” and a health proxy
that selects an individual to make sure
one’s wishes are carried out. Such a
document, she said, should be prepared
sooner rather than later, when one is still
in good health.
Both Dr. Steven Reichert, director of
Palliative Care at SBH, and Ruth Diones,
its chaplain, said their jobs are not to tell
people what to do at this time, but to listen.
Chaplain Diones discussed the importance
of spirituality, even for those
who might not consider themselves religious.
“I listen to what the patient values,
so if they are a person of faith I
might say ‘What’s your personal theology?
How does that help you get through
this? What helps you cope?’ If it’s a person
who does not look towards a greater
being or a particular faith group I will
talk about what’s important to them, and
what’s important usually is family. Family
is almost a constant in terms of what’s
important to people. How would you like
to be remembered? What is your legacy?
All of those things can be addressed by
a chaplain.”
An episode on end-of-life planning is
available on SBH Bronx Health Talk, SBH
Health System’s weekly podcast. This
and other episodes can be found at sbhbronxhealthtalk.
org, or on Spotify, Apple
iTunes or Google Play.
* * *
The 13th Annual Woodlawn Run for
a Cause ran through the streets of the
Bronx and Yonkers on Saturday morning,
September 14. Over 200 runners and
walkers completed the 5K course. The
race started and fi nished at Healy Field
in Van Cortlandt Park and raised more
than $20,000 that will be donated to two
causes: Yonkers Partners in Education,
an organization that partners with students
to ensure they are ready for, enroll
in and complete college; and NAMI: National
Alliance on Mental Illness (NYC),
whose mission is to help families and individuals
affected by mental illness build
better lives through education, support
and advocacy.
The Woodlawn Run for a Cause has
been a staple on the community’s calendar
for the past 13 years and the outpouring
of support this year was as strong as
ever. Tyler Bay from Woodhaven won the
race with a time of 16:04. He was followed
by Hector Hernandez of the Bronx with a
time of 16:35 and Julio Bolivar of White
Plains with a time of 17:49. The fi rst female
fi nisher was Michelle McVann with a
time of 19:43. Abigail Carney of New York
fi nished second with a time of 20:09, followed
by Jackson Heights resident Erin
Francese with a time of 20:53.
As has become tradition, following the
main race, more than 25 children participated
in the annual kids’ fun run, and everyone
walked away with a ribbon.
New this year, Woodlawn Run for a
Cause partnered with Councilman Andrew
Cohen to for a fi tting and distribution
of free bike helmets for all runners
and families.
Over the course of the 13 years of the
Woodlawn Run for a Cause, over 2,500
individuals have fi nished the 3.1 mile
course. Including this year’s event, more
than $170,000 has been donated to the
following charities: Families of Freedom
Scholarship Fund, Children’s Hospital
at Montefi ore Medical Center, Compassionate
Care Hospice, Part of the Solution,
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,
Calvary Hospital, Pulmonary Fibrosis
Foundation, Bronx Community Health
Network, Friends of Van Cortlandt Park,
Mercy Center, Peace Outside Campus,
Kalie Gill Family Foundation, National
Brain Tumor Society, Ty Louis Campbell
Foundation, HOPe Charity, Boomer Esiason
Foundation, The Ronald McDonald
House, Quinn for the Win, and Crohn’s
and Colitis Foundation, Making Headway
Foundation, The Matthew Wallace Foundation,
Yonkers Partners in Education,
and NAMI: National Alliance on Mental
Illness (NYC).
The race success is attributed to the
generosity of local sponsors. 50 individuals,
families and companies signed on
as sponsors for this event. The platinum
sponsors included Matthew Chiusa; John
Constantine, DDS; The Cuggy Family;
Nancy & Tim Ganas 7/13/19; Garadice
Builders, Inc.; The Nallen Family, in
Memory of Michael Nallen; New Balance
Westchester; Rambling House; and Reel
Hound Media.
The Race Committee looks forward to
naming the charities for next year’s 2020
Woodlawn Run for a Cause soon. Date to
be announced.
* * *
District Council 9 begins the union’s
formal recruitment for apprentices
across allied trades. Recruitment will last
throughout the month in an effort to recruit
metal polishers, glaziers, painters
and bridge painters at the union’s temporary
training center in Astoria, Queens.
District Council 9 Finishing Trades Institute
of New York offers apprentices
on-the-job and in-classroom training to
ensure every apprentice is prepared to
tackle the complex building market.
The information and dates for formal
recruitment are as follows:
Painters, Wednesday, October 16,
from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Bridge Painters,
Wednesday, October 23, from 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
All upcoming recruitments will take
place at District Council 9’s temporary
training center located at 36-13 36th Avenue,
Astoria, NY.
Apprenticeship applicants, before
being accepted as Apprentices, must
be able to meet the following requirements:
Applicants shall fi ll in the application
form in person; must be 18 years of age;
must produce their high school diploma
or GED; demonstrate evidence of ability
to reach remote job sites; must produce
proper identifi cation; and applicants must
be physically able to perform the work required
of the trade.
* * *
Stop by picturesque City Island and
enjoy the exciting programs offered at
the PSS City Island Center, which is located
at 116 City Island Avenue, Monday
through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Experience
the exercise classes from gentle
Yoga Stretch, Balance Class, Arthritis
Workshop and Tai Chi as well as the
vigorous Fit For Life and Cardio Fit. They
also offer acrylic painting, calligraphy,
health presentations, blood pressure
monitoring, gardening exchange, singing
group and parties. Lunch is served
from noon to 1 p.m. suggested donation
is $2. The center participants go on shopping
trips every day; i.e. Shop Rite, Dollar
Tree, Target, Kmart, as well as theatre
excursions, special trips, special luncheons
and more. It’s free to become a
member, but you must be 60 years of age
or above.
Upcoming Special Event: Friday, October
18, 12:30 p.m., Fall Prevention Talk
by NY Roadrunners.
For more information contact Patty at
(718) 885-0727 or email pattis@pssusa.
org for their monthly calendar.
* * *
Do you need help getting to and from
your medical appointments? Transportation
services are available to seniors
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
in community districts 9, 10, 11 and 12.
The program provides door-to-door service
for all medical appointments. Their
drivers are courteous and professional;
and their vehicles are clean and handicap
accessible, including wheelchair lifts.
For further information, contact Mildred
Cardona, program director of the
R.A.I.N. Transportation Program, at
(718) 882-8513.
Our annual Throggs Neck Merchants
Dinner Dance will be on Thursday,
October 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Villa
Barone Manor. Enjoy dining and dancing
with fellow merchants, members
of the community, friends and family
while we honor businesses, business
people and residents for their commitment
to our local businesses and community
in your favorite Roaring 20s
style.
This year our honorees are Anthony
Mimeli of MARCRE Property
Group for Businessman of the Year,
Melissa of Tosca Marquee for Businesswoman
of the Year, Madeline and
Salvatore DeSieno of SDS Electrical
for Businesscouple of the Year, and David
Flannery of Flannery Hardware
for our Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Tickets are available
now. Get ten tickets and
receive a free journal ad
(white page only, $150
value)! Our journal is a
great way to congratulate
our honorees and
advertise your business. We still have
some ad space available from $100 and
up. Call Gerri Colon at (646) 334-0127
or email Angela Molinini at angela.
tnma@gmail.com for more information.
The Northeast Bronx Community
Farmers Market at Preston High School
is open. The Farmers Market is every
Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. until Tuesday,
October 29. Preston
High School is located
at 2780 Schurz Avenue.
Please stop by and say
hello and pick up some
delicious goodies.
St. Joseph’s School
for the Deaf Children’s
Fund is having their
annual dinner and auction on Saturday,
October 19 from 7 to 11 p.m. at the
Con Edison Learning Center located
at 43-82 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island
City, NY. Tickets are $125 per person.
Contact St. Joseph’s School for the
Deaf at (718) 828-9000 for more information.
If you can’t attend but would
like to donate to the St. Joseph’s School
for the Deaf Children’s Fund, please
email executive director, Debra Arles
at darles@sjdny.org.
Do you have an upcoming sale,
product or service you would like to
promote? As a TNMA member, we will
announce any upcoming promotion,
sale, product or service in this column,
as well as, posting it on our TNMA social
media. It’s another benefi t of being
a TNMA member. Please email your
information to info@throggsneckmerchants.
com or call Angela at (646) 657-
1312 for further assistance. This service
is at no extra cost to our TNMA
members.
Not a TNMA member yet? Become
a member of one of the largest merchants
associations in the Bronx. Go
to www.throggsneckmerchants.com.
/www.throggsneckmerchants.com
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