Enjoy this captivating article and photos of Ivy Nursery at:

http://dailyre.co/KzCNzV

Enrollment is now open for September, 2012.  The inclusive Ivy Nursery program is open to families in Mountain Lakes and teachers in the Mountain Lakes School district who have toddlers with hearing age 18 months to three years old.    Children may attend half days or full days. 

Call Michele Klimovitch at 973-299-0166 for a tour.

Scholarships for a Sound Start

Are you looking for a little way to make a big difference in the future of a child?

New Jersey state funding covers only one third of the cost of The Sound Start Program.

For just $5,000, you can underwrite a scholarship to give a child a sound start for one year and change a life forever.

Make a pledge. You can pay over time. Or support just part of a child’s Scholarship.

We’ll invite you for a tour of Lake Drive School with a special visit to Ivy Nursery. Over the year, we’ll update you on the tremendous impact your gift is making on children in the program. Your generosity will be rewarded when you learn about their first words, favorite stories and wonderful achievements.

For more information and a tour of the Lake Drive School and Sound Start Program, please contact ssylvester@mtlakes.org or call 973-265-4168.

6:00-10:00PM

The Villa, Mountain Lakes, NJ

To Benefit The Lake Drive Sound Start Program

For Babies Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Honorary Chair-Angela Kubisky

Executive Vice President, Membership and Marketing at Morris County Chamber of Commerce

Keynote Speaker – Sue Thomas, "F.B. Eye"

Former Undercover F.B.I. Agent, Writer, Speaker, and Trainer of Special Skills Dogs for Hearing Impaired Individuals

Honoree – Dr. Laura Crawford, Au.D. FAAA CCC/A

Program Director of MidAtlantic Newborn and Infant Medical Services (MANIMS), Providing Newborn Hearing Screening for 10,000 babies a year at St. Clare's Hospital, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, and Chilton Hospital.

About Keynote Speaker, Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas Photo with her dog Katie

Through speech therapy Sue developed her voice. She also became an expert lip reader.  At the age of seven, Thomas became the youngest Ohio State Champion free-style skater in skating history. She learned to play piano, attended public school and graduated from Springfield College with a degree in Political Science and International Affairs. 

After college, Sue heard that the FBI was looking for deaf people. She started out as a fingerprint examiner, but when an FBI agent discovered her lip reading ability, she became a key member of an undercover surveillance team.

In 1990 Sue Thomas wrote her autobiography entitled Silent Night. The acclaimed book became the basis for the TV series to follow. Sue Thomas:  F.B.Eye was watched by more than 2.5 million viewers in the United States and was syndicated to 60 nations. The weekly drama helped raise awareness of the abilities of those with physical challenges.

In spite of being diagnosed in 2001 with multiple sclerosis, Sue remains active as a compelling speaker and runs a nonprofit center in Vermont to train special skill dogs like “Katie” to assist hearing impaired individuals.

About our Honoree, Dr. Laura Crawford

The evening’s Honoree is Dr. Laura Crawford, the Director of Newborn Hearing Screening for MidAtlantic Newborn and Infant Medical Services (MANIMS), the leading newborn hearing screening program in New Jersey. Dr. Crawford oversees the comprehensive hearing screening services within the newborn and intensive care nurseries for 10,000 babies annually at four major hospitals, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, St. Clare’s and Chilton Hospitals.

Hearing loss is the most common congenital health problem. As result of the large volume of children born with hearing loss, the state of New Jersey mandated screening of all newborns in 2002. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening mandate. The goal is to screen prior to one month of age, diagnose hearing loss by 3 months and to provide early intervention services by 6 months in order to maximize the optimum period of early brain development for communication.

Dr Crawford remembers how before newborn hearing screening, children were identified much later. “I will never forget the first time I had to tell a parent that their child had a significant hearing loss. The child was a little boy age 3 who had bright blue eyes. I gave him some crayons and paper and sat down with mom as she cried.” Crawford continues, “You can imagine the feeling of loss for her ‘perfect’ little boy but what she cried the most over was how guilty she felt that she had missed it, not seen the signs, was not there for him. She expressed how she should have done something sooner and blamed herself not only for the hearing loss but the delay.  She was distraught over the fact that she constantly yelled at him for not listening or following directions. Unfortunately this scenario played out too often.”

“I have been extremely fortunate in my career to see the changes that early diagnosis and early intervention can make in the lives of children born with hearing loss,” Dr. Crawford reflects. “Instead of being diagnosed at age three they are now implanted, aided and receiving crucial intervention services that will dramatically change their lives.”

MANIMS was founded in 2005 by neonatologists from MidAtlantic Neonatology Associates (MANA), a group dedicated to providing exemplary neonatal intensive care and improving neonatal outcomes. Medical Director Dr. Kathy Crowley and Managing Partners Dr. Andrew Schenkman and Dr. Larry Skolnick entrusted Dr. Crawford with their vision to create the preeminent newborn hearing screening program in the state.

As the Director of Newborn Hearing Screening, Dr. Crawford is responsible for the program’s development, protocols, quality assurance, and clinical research. In addition, she organizes a regional conference for hearing professionals, Current Topics in Congenital Hearing Loss.

MANIMS’ innovative protocols streamline patient follow-up and minimize false negative results. Statewide, 56.4% of babies who do not pass their newborn hearing screening are lost to follow up.  In sharp contrast, Dr. Crawford’s team ensures that every infant receives testing, and rescreening when necessary, prior to discharge.  Less than 0.1% of infants are lost to follow up. MANIMS’ highly trained technicians and state-of-the-art technology result in a low referral rate of just 1.3%, about half of the national average. With plans to publish results, Dr. Crawford’s team strives to contribute to the success of newborn hearing screening programs statewide, nationally and around the globe.

“MANIMS has set the standards for newborn hearing screening,” explains Dr. Laura McKirdy, co-founder of The Lake Drive Programs and trustee of The Lake Drive Foundation. “When every second of brain development counts, making sure babies with hearing loss are identified and receive early intervention services as early as possible is critical.”

 “Without programs like Sound Start,” McKirdy continues, “children with mild to moderate hearing loss, on average, achieve one to four grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing. Children with severe to profound hearing loss usually achieve skills no higher than the third- or fourth-grade level. But when babies with hearing loss get appropriate intervention from birth to age three, they can acquire age appropriate communications skills by the time they are five. ”

Sound Start operates under the auspices of the award winning Lake Drive Programs for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Mountain Lakes. Lake Drive offers New Jersey’s most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth to high school graduation.  The school serves 200 children annually from throughout northern and central New Jersey.

The “For the Babies Gala” is the signature event of The Lake Drive Foundation, dedicated to raising funds for The Sound Start Program.  There are no funds from the Department of Education for services for hearing impaired infants and toddlers until the children turns 3, beyond the optimal time to take advantage of the neuroplasticity of the developing brain.  Funding from the Department of Health and Senior Services, covers only one third of the cost of Sound Start early intervention therapies.

To find out more about the Gala, reserve tickets or become a sponsor please visit www.lakedrivefoundation.org or contact Sueanne Sylvester at ssylvester@mtlakes.org; 973-265-4168.

Lake Drive's Michele Klimovitch and Trish Filiaci Accept the Healthcare Heroes Award

On June 21, 2011 at the Palace in Somerset Park in Somerset, New Jersey, The Lake Drive Programs for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Mountain Lakes, NJ was named winner in the category of Education Hero-Organization, in the 2011 NJBIZ NJ Healthcare Heroes Awards.

The Healthcare Heroes awards program recognizes excellence and innovation and honors individuals and organizations making a significant impact on the quality of healthcare in New Jersey. More than 350 guests attended the annual event to celebrate the finalists and hear the winners announced in each category. Finalists and winners were chosen from more than 100 nominations by an independent panel of judges including: Donald J. Cinotti, MD, Medical Society of NJ; David Knowlton, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and D.N. Lombardi, Ph.D., USMC®.

The Education category recognizes individuals and organizations making a difference in health education either in the community or the industry.  The Lake Drive Programs for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing received the top award in the category for the wide-ranging health and educational services the school provides to hearing impaired children and their families. Lake Drive offers New Jersey’s most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth to high school graduation.  The team of specialists includes teachers of the deaf, speech and language pathologists, pediatric audiologists, physical and occupational therapists, clinical social workers, psychologists, and dysphagia experts offering the only eating and drinking skills program in a public school setting in New Jersey.

The award also reflects the emphasis Lake Drive puts on early intervention.  Lake Drive’s Sound Start Early Intervention Program is the most intensive in the state, with a full day inclusive program for toddlers 18 months through 3 years old.  In Ivy Nursery, toddlers with and without hearing loss learn side by side in a specially created environment to enhance auditory learning. Designed to take full advantage of the developing brain, Ivy Nursery focuses on language, communication and literacy skills, physical health, motor development, social and emotional development, cognitive development, art, music, math, science, family, community and culture. There is a strong family education component to build parenting confidence and provide strategies to reinforce their child’s learning.

Technological advances such as cochlear implants have dramatically changed the way Lake Drive addresses the educational programming for students.  “Cochlear implants have revolutionized educational opportunities for children who are deaf, but they are not a miracle cure,” explains Michele Klimovitch, Supervisor of Programs. “It takes intensive therapy, especially in the first three years of life to teach a child how to listen, hear and speak.” 

“We provide whatever programming is needed to help prepare our students to lead independent, fulfilling lives,” explains Trish Filiaci, Principal of The Lake Drive Programs.

“Each student has very individualized needs.  We tailor our programs to maximize each child’s potential.  Over the years we have been able to watch our students develop into adults with meaningful careers and promising futures.”

Graduates have gone into fields including medicine, dentistry, finance, the hi-tech industries, teaching, social work, graphic design.  They’ve competed in the World Games, volunteered with Holocaust survivors, and taught sign language in third world countries.

Founded in 1969, Lake Drive has transformed the lives of more than 1,000 students from northern and central New Jersey who are deaf and hard of hearing.  While New Jersey’s high school dropout rate is 17%, and the national average for students with hearing loss who do not receive high school diplomas is 50%, Lake Drive’s graduation rate is 100%. 

Healthcare Heroes, produced by NJBIZ, New Jersey’s premiere business news publication, is sponsored by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey Hospital Association, NJTopDocs.com and WithumSmith+Brown, PC.

Finalists were selected in eleven categories: Corporate Achievement, Education Hero-Individual, Education Hero-Organization, Hospital of the Year, Innovation Hero-Individual, Innovation Hero-Organization, Nurse of the Year, Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility of the Year, Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center of the Year, Physician of the Year and Volunteer of the Year. (See list of finalists and winners below.)

 Other finalists in the Education Organization Category included The Armenian American Health Professionals Organization in Far Hills; Liberty Science Center in Jersey City; Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey – Lutheran Senior LIFE at Jersey City; and The Meridian Health Pawsitive Action Team in Neptune. 

 For more information about The Lake Drive Programs call 973-299-0166 or visit www.lakedriveprograms.org.

The 2011 Healthcare Heroes Finalists and Winners
*In alphabetical order by category.

Corporate Achievement Hero
AtlantiCare
Hackensack University Medical Center – WINNER
Quick Chek Corporation

Education Hero-Individual
Linnea A. Brown, BA, RN, OCN
AtlantiCare Cancer Care Institute, A Fox Chase Cancer Center Partner
Gary Del Moro – WINNER
Hackensack University Medical Center
Nancy DiLiegro, PhD, FACHE
Trinitas Regional Medical Center
Joseph Roth
NJ Sharing Network
Rosanne Tully, RN
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Ilise Zimmerman
Northern New Jersey Maternal / Child Health Consortium

Education Hero-Organization
AAHPO – Armenian American Health Professionals Organization
Liberty Science Center
Lutheran Senior LIFE at Jersey City
The Lake Drive Programs for Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing – WINNER
Meridian Health

Hospital of the Year
Capital Health – WINNER
Jersey City Medical Center
Saint Barnabas Medical Center
South Jersey Healthcare
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Innovation Hero-Individual
David A. Baran, MD
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center
Jeffrey Brenner, M.D. – WINNER
The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers and Cooper Hospital
Shabbar F. Danish, MD
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson
Gerard J. Ferro
Free For All, Inc.
Richard P. Miller
Virtua
Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.P.E.
John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center

Innovation Hero-Organization
AtlantiCare Special Care Center
LIFE St. Francis
Summit Medical Group
The Chelsea at East Brunswick
The Senior Emergency Department (SrED) at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, a member of St. Joseph’s Healthcare System – WINNER
The Valley Hospital’s Peek-A-Boo I.C.U. Webcam Service

Nurse of the Year
Maryann Collins
Hackensack University Medical Center
Theresa E. Cope
South Jersey Healthcare
Lillian Dalrymple
The NBN Group/ Newborn Nurses
Rebecca P. Lynn
Lynn Developers LLC & Assisted Living, Inc.
Jenifer McEwan, RN – WINNER
Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center at Monmouth Medical Center
Lydia Stanislaus
Daughters of Israel

Nursing Home/Assisted Living Facility of the Year
Bridgeway Senior Healthcare
Green Hill, Inc – WINNER
Juniper Village at Williamstown Assisted Living and Wellspring Memory Care
Lincoln Park Care Center
St. Vincent’s Nursing Home, a member of St. Joseph’s Healthcare System
The Allendale Community for Mature Living

Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Center of the Year
Adler Aphasia Center – WINNER
Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation
Jerry & Dolores Turco Medical Rehab Center
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Rahway

Physician of the Year
William M. Burke, M.D.
The Valley Hospital
Anthony R. Caputo, M.D.
Clara Maass Medical Center
Frank V. Castello, M.D. – WINNER
Children’s Specialized Hospital
Robert A. Kayal, MD, FAAOS
Kayal Orthopedic Center, PC
Helio F. Pedro, MD
Hackensack University Medical Center
Alexander G. Salerno
Urban Healthcare Initiative Program (UHIP)

Volunteer of the Year
Cavan M. Brunsden, DMD
KidzDent
Ruth Dugan
Gilda’s Club Northern New Jersey
Jessie F. Kukor
Saint Peter’s University Hospital
Gary Lotano
Community Medical Center/Saint Barnabas Health Care System
Erika S. Rech and Michael V. Ruane
Breast Friends Forever
John A. Schmidt, Jr. M.D. – WINNER
John A. Schmidt, Jr. M.D.

On May 3, the cofounders were also honored at Ramapo College with The Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference which recognizes unsung heroes who have made a significant difference to the well-being of society. Reuben and McKirdy were among eleven finalists selected from more than 200 nominees by The Russell Berrie Foundation’s  advisory board of distinguished New Jerseys business leaders and professionals. The Honorable Cory Booker was the event’s keynote speaker, sharing personal stories of how unsung heroes impacted his life enabling him to have the opportunities to become the person he is today.  Angelica Berrie presented the awards, founded 15 years ago by her husband. Reuben and McKirdy received $5,000, which they donated to The Lake Drive Foundation for The Sound Start Early Intervention Program.

The Lake Drive Foundation is a 501 (C) 3 nonprofit established by community leaders in 1996 as the fund development arm of The Lake Drive Programs for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  Lake Drive offers New Jersey’s most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth to high school graduation.  Lake Drive’s Ivy Nursery and Sound Start Early Intervention Program are the major programs supported by the Foundation.

Ivy Nursery and Sound Start provide therapy and educational services to sixty infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing from throughout northern and central New Jersey each year.  Despite research demonstrating the importance and cost efficiency of early intervention for children with hearing loss, New Jersey state funding covers barely one third of the cost of these life changing programs. For more information about The Lake Drive Foundation visit www.lakedrivefoundation.org.

Today, the longtime Mountain Lakes, resident is using her personal experience with hearing loss and her education, a Wharton School MBA, and experience in marketing for Fortune 500 companies to help babies with hearing loss great the early intervention they need to reach their full potential.  If you ask Stephanie "What's the best thing about The Sound Start program?" She will say "That it works! It warms my heart to be involved in something where you can see such tremendous results.”

Thank you for visiting our web site to learn more about The Lake Drive Foundation, the importance of early intervention for babies with hearing loss and The Sound Start and Ivy Nursery Programs.

Because state funding covers less than one third of the cost of essential Sound Start services, The Lake Drive Foundation’s trustees, volunteers and I continue to devote ourselves to filling this funding gap. I hope you’ll join us in our efforts.

I urge you to make The Lake Drive Foundation a favorite charity that you follow and give to each year. You can also attend our fundraising events and shop online at more than 750 retailers through links on our web site to benefit the babies. You may even be at a time in your life when you can consider planned giving and leaving a legacy through The Duke Smith Endowment.

I have seen personally how Sound Start results are local, tangible, permanent and rewarding. Since 1969, Sound Start has helped more than 1,000 children with hearing loss on the path to life-long learning and success. Please share this information with friends, family and colleagues. While it is critical for us to fill the vast funding gaps, our mission includes raising awareness and being a resource for the community. We have also undertaken the new initiatives Precious Ears and Ivy Nursery to further improve outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. I look forward to updating you on these exciting new endeavors.

Finally, I want to personally invite you to visit a Sound Start Speech and Language Group Development Class and take a tour of The Lake Drive School to see what a meaningful difference your support makes in the lives of children with hearing loss. Simply complete the contact form on our "Contact Us" page to arrange a visit.

On behalf of the babies in The Sound Start Program, thank you for your generosity.

Workplace Giving
If you give at work to the United Way or make donations through any other workplace giving or charitable gift fund, consider directing your donation to The Lake Drive Foundation.

Planned Giving

Bequests | Retirement Accounts | Life Ins. | Charitable Remainder Trusts

The Duke Smith Endowment Leave a legacy to the Duke Smith Endowment of The Lake Drive Foundation and give generations of babies with hearing loss a sound start.  Sometimes long-term planned giving is the best way to make a gift.  Planned giving can have significant estate, financial and tax planning advantages.  A planned gift is one which helps you: achieve your philanthropic wish to provide support for the Sound Start program; ensure your personal and financial objectives are met; realize tax benefits in your current financial planning and/or lower the taxes for your estate.

Event Sponsorship Opportunities
The future of the Sound Start Program depends on the generosity of individuals, private foundations and corporations.   We welcome sponsorships, including in-kind donations of products and services.  Sponsors receive publicity, VIP seating and event recognition.  Your support may also be tax deductible.

Early Identification, Amplification and Intervention is Critical

●  Babies born with hearing loss are not starting from the same point as a child with typical hearing – as they have missed out on 20 weeks of development of their auditory brain pathways, as well as the neural development missed before they are diagnosed. Babies born with hearing loss are starting from a point of neurological emergency because they have a limited window of time in which to catch up.

 
●  During the first three years of life, vital connections are made in the central nervous system that are uniquely attuned to receive auditory and linguistic information. In the absence of auditory information, nature has efficiently arranged for alternate use of the brain areas reserved for deciphering hearing, space that can not be reclaimed as effectively again.

 
●  The focus must be on early detection, amplification and enhanced listening experiences to urgently develop auditory neural connections so that optimal developmental periods for brain growth can be maximized. 

Without programs like Sound Start, children with mild to moderate hearing loss, on average, achieve one to four grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing.  Children with severe to profound hearing  loss usually achieve skills no higher than the third-or-fourth-grade level.
(The American Speech-Hearing Association)

When babies with hearing loss get the appropriate intervention from birth to age three, they can acquire age communication skills by the time they are five.
(Robinshaw, 1995 and Moeller, 1996; Yoshinaga-Itano, 1999)

One hour of early intervention therapy with the child and family learning together translates into 84 hours of education and therapy time when family member follow the model at home with their child on a daily basis.
(Lee Ann Jung, PhD)

Early identification and intervention for children with hearing loss can save schools approximately $420,000 per child in special education services, and has a lifetime savings to the community of approximately $1 million per individual.
(Johnson JL, Mauk GW, Takekawa KM, Simon PR, Sia CCJ, Blackwell PM)