The Marisa Tufaro Foundation and Teamwork Unlimited Foundation have partnered to provide medical alert bracelets to children with autism and pediatric patients with chronic illness who receive outstanding care from Children’s Specialized Hospital, which annually serves more than 34,000 children statewide.
Children’s Specialized Hospital, with 12 different locations in New Jersey, is the nation’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children from birth to 21 years of age facing special health challenges ranging from chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities, such as brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues such as autism and mental health.
PSE&G Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Brunswick serves approximately 550 pediatric patients annually, approximately 100 of which are living with chronic illnesses such as autoimmune diseases, Type I and Type II diabetes, HIV, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, asthma, blood disorders and who have food and/or medication allergies.
For such children, who may have a medical emergency when a parent or caretaker is not present, medical alert bracelets ensure first responders and healthcare professionals will have immediate access to vital medical facts, which are engraved on the bracelets to facilitate appropriate and timely medical care and can help eliminate the threat of medical errors during an emergency.
Should a child with autism require medical attention, it is important for medical professionals to be aware of any special attributes that may otherwise be confused as symptoms of another medical condition. Autism bracelets will help a child avoid unnecessary tests or a misdiagnosis during a medical emergency. Children with autism often have delayed speech development. Some young children may not be able to speak at all. If an autistic child becomes lost and is unable to communicate, it becomes increasingly difficult for a parent or caretaker to locate the child. Bracelets identifying the child’s condition and containing contact information can help authority figures locate his or her parent, caretaker or doctor, if necessary.
Trisha and Mike Garlatti of Edison, who founded Teamwork Unlimited Foundation, have a son on the autism spectrum who has benefited from Children’s Specialized Hospital’s services.
Following her heart transplant, Marisa, who wore a medical alert bracelet at one point during her life, benefited from outpatient physical therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital’s New Brunswick location. After her first open-heart surgery, performed one day after she was born, Marisa, who returned home from the hospital with a feeding tube, received outpatient speech therapy at Children’s Specialized Hospital’s Mountainside location. The speech therapist with whom Marisa and her parents worked taught the family skills to help Marisa drink from a bottle, eventually eliminating the need for her as a newborn to continue using a feeding tube.
Teamwork Unlimited Foundation’s mission is to celebrate differences and encourage socialization with people of all abilities while increasing awareness, understanding and promoting acceptance.
“People with challenges in communication, socialization or mobility may be different, but not less,” reads the mission statement on Teamwork Unlimited Foundation’s website. “Helping others with their challenges takes teamwork, which is a goal of Teamwork Unlimited Foundation.”
Cyndi and Greg Tufaro founded The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, whose mission is to help children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area, in loving memory of their daughter, Marisa, who died at the age of 13 on Jan. 30, 2017 after complications from a heart transplant developed into a rare form of stage IV cancer, to which she succumbed following a valiant fight.
Marisa was born with a complex cardiac defect that required six open-heart surgeries. Despite keeping hundreds of doctor’s appointments and being hospitalized for more than two years, Marisa lived a vibrant life that inspired.
The Tufaros and Garlattis have a longstanding friendship that predates the founding of their respective tax-exempt nonprofits. Both families are elated that the generosity of donors who contributed to their foundations will be able to help children in need.
Last spring, Teamwork Unlimited Foundation made a generous donation to The Marisa Tufaro Foundation on behalf of players who hit home runs in any of the 20 games contested during the three-day Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge that Teamwork Unlimited Foundation organizes and conducts. The event, which Mike Garlatti, a professional scout for the Colorado Rockies, founded more than a decade ago, features 40 high school teams from across New Jersey. Most of the competing schools are from Middlesex County, but some come from as far north as Sussex County and as far south as Atlantic County.
Last month, participating teams conducted fundraisers for the 11th annual Autism Awareness Baseball Challenge, which will be held at North Brunswick’s Community Park in April. Representatives from participating teams will meet on March 25 at Edison High School for a pre-event dinner.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, New Jersey’s rate of autism leads the nation, with one out of every 42 children in the Garden State affected by the disorder. Autism is a lifelong neurological disorder that impairs a person’s ability to communicate and relate to others. It’s broad spectrum of characteristics range from severe detached and isolated behavior to extreme verbal and hypersensitive behavior.
The Garlattis and Tufaros are grateful for the opportunity to give back to Children’s Specialized Hospital, whose pediatric specialists partner with families to make innovative therapies and medical treatments more personalized and effective, enabling children to achieve more of their goals.
As a sports writer for MyCentralJersey.com, which is the official media sponsor of the Snapple Bowl, a charity all-star football game benefiting Children’s Specialized Hospital and the New Jersey Institute for Disabilities’ Lakeview School, Greg Tufaro has helped promote the event for 25 years. In so doing, he has been privileged to witness firsthand the outstanding efforts of the hospital’s team.
Children’s Specialized Hospital, a nonprofit organization, is leading the way into a brighter future for children and adolescents facing special health challenges – from chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities like brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues like autism and mental health. Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation supports the programs and services of the hospital and all donations go directly to helping Children’s Specialized Hospital pioneer new specialized care and serve more children in need. To help, or for more information visit Children’s Specialized Hospital on the web, on Facebook or on Twitter.