12-22 WWP

Learning through culture and dance

BY DAN AUBREY

“I bring the culture of students into the curriculum through the arts—storytelling, dance, and music,” says Liliana Attar as she prepares to return to the classroom via Young Audiences of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Based on Forrestal Road in Plainsboro, Young Audiences is a nonprofit education program founded in 1973. The organization uses the arts as a means to create educational experiences that engage students beyond traditional training.

In Attar’s case, it could be putting rhythm in arithmetic or using motion to motivate learning—all the while keeping close to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and National Core Arts Standards.

During a recent discussion in her Lawrenceville kitchen, the Argentina-born Attar provides some examples of work by using her ongoing work in the multi-ethnic and lingual Trenton.

“One of the teachers was work-

Steward fights on the front line against homelessness

BY REBEKAH SCHROEDER

Sarah Steward has big shoes to fill. There is no question about that for the person chosen to take over from HomeFront’s longtime CEO and founder, Connie Mercer, who led the nonprofit organization in combating family homelessness and poverty for 31 years.

But Steward naturally stepped into them, bringing with her a recognition

of the task ahead, as well as a message of timeless importance—rather than focus on ‘replacing’ Mercer, Steward had already been working alongside her to fill stomachs across Mercer County for seven years, equally nourishing minds and spirits as HomeFront’s COO.

HomeFront, based in Lawrence Township, announced Mercer’s transition back in March. In an April interview with the Lawrence Gazette,

the pioneer behind the area’s first family shelter shared her intentions to pursue “bigger picture issues,” such as legislative reforms, before passing the torch.

Incumbents win local elections

BY BILL SANSERVINO

There were few surprises at the polls when came to local races at in this years election on Nov, 8.

The incumbents took all races for municipal government and the West Windsor-Plainsboro Board of Education.

Plainsboro featured contested races for two open seats on the Township Committee and one seat on the WW-P School Board. All results reported below are unofficial as of Nov. 21.

In the contest for two open threeyear seats on the Township Committee, incumbent Democrats Edmund Yates (3,848 votes) and David Bander (3,913 votes) defeated their lone challenger—Republican Kristin Santizo (1,390 votes).

The re-election of Yates and Bander means that the Democrats will continue to hold a 5-0 lock on the Township Committee.

Meanwhile, in the race for a Plainsboro seat on the School Board, incumbent Robin Zovich (2,581 votes) defeated challenger Bill Beecroft (1,710 votes) to win re-election to a new three-year term.

Following a national search for the best candidate to succeed Mercer, the HomeFront Board of Trustees “unanimously” circled back to the COO, a Ewing native who joined the team in 2016. When Steward began See STEWARD, Page 4 See ELECTION, Page 3

In West Windsor, there was no election for mayor or council this year, and candidates were running

Sarah Steward, the new CEO of Lawrence-based nonprofit Homefront, with her predecessor, Connie Mercer.

unopposed for all three open positions on the school board.

Louisa Ho (5,288 votes) and Graelynn McKeown (5,154 votes) won election to three-year seats, and Shwetha Shetty (5,205 votes) won election to a one-year unexpired term.

In Mercer County, more people cast their ballots on election day (60,417) than by early voting and mail (39,413). A total of 42.27% of Mercer County’s 236,158 registered voters cast their ballots this year.

In Middlesex County, a total of 207,777 people cast ballots out of 564,454 registered voters — a turnout of 36.81%

This year’s election was not without its problems, though. An election day glitch throughout all towns in Mercer County delayed tabulation of the results for several days.

A problem scanning ballots cast on election day meant that voters had to submit their choices via paper ballots and sharpies. The problem was discovered by poll workers shortly after the poll opened, said Nathaniel Walker, Mercer County Superintendent of elections

According to officials, coding marks printed on the paper ballots was not being accepted by the scanning machines. Officials have called for investigations into the cause of the problem amidst allegations of

corruption by some members of the public.

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello said that she has asked the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office to look into “whether the scanning problem occurred based on an error, or whether something was intentionally done to create chaos and distrust in the election system.”

She added: “We are not suspicious of any specific wrongdoing, but we do need to investigate the matter fully. At the end of the day, as county clerk, I must certify the election results so I have an interest in the integrity of our system.”

County Executive Brian Hughes also called for the matter to be looked into and for changes in the way elections are run in Mercer.

“We’ve got too many people in control and the quality of our elections has suffered as a result, undermining peoples’ faith in the democratic process,” Hughes said.

In Mercer County, there are three separate entities that play a role in elections— the Board of Elections, the Superintendent of Elections and the Office of the County Clerk.

“After issues in the last two elections, I have come to the conclusion that we must fundamentally change the management of the election process in Mercer County because it is clearly not working,” the county executive said.

We are a newsroom of your neighbors. The West Windsor and Plainsboro News is for local people, by local people. As part of the community, the Gazette does more than just report the news—it connects businesses with their customers, organizations with their members and neighbors with one another. As such, our staff sets out to make our town a closer place by giving readers a reliable source to turn to when they want to know what’s going on in their neighborhood.

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her new position on Oct. 1, Mercer was able to move on to the next stage in her career, leaving the ‘front of house’ operations in familiar hands.

Steward found her footing initially as a col lege intern for Democratic Congressman Rush Holt, who then hired her for various roles in his “government constituent ser vices office, legislative team on Capitol Hill,” and his successful campaigns for the U.S. House of Representatives.

As Steward rose to be Holt’s deputy chief of staff and district director, she worked with him for over a decade, both closer to home in West Windsor and in Washington, D.C. By the time Holt chose not to run for reelec tion after his loss in the 2013 Senate race, Steward was actively using her experiences to propel a dream of public service.

That same year, Steward found a new voice as a member of the Ewing Township Council, where her appointment at age 31. Steward easily won re-election to a new term on Nov. 8.

On her first day working for HomeFront, Steward recalls getting everything set up, which included a trip to the supply closet. She noticed that behind that very door, fate had seemingly stacked itself in boxes await ing her arrival, as her own handwriting was already on each of them.

“When we closed Rush’s office, we had donated everything to HomeFront, so I got reunited with all my supplies. I have the same stapler on my desk,” Steward laughs. “It’s been an amazing time, and it was exactly what I was hoping for—something that was going to put my network and my passion for this community, specifically, into service.”

Steward recalls that Mercer expressed a certain satisfaction in the board’s eventual choice, the latter explaining, “jokingly, that she’s glad that they came to the right deci sion, because she picked me for this job seven years ago.”

“I count myself as incredibly lucky to be able to be here, to be doing something that means a lot to the community but also means a lot to me,” Steward says. “I realize that not everyone has the opportunity to do something they love every day, and I do— and I’m really grateful for that.”

Although Steward was “coming into the organization with a background in under standing the needs of our community and the support we can offer,” the ability to learn HomeFront’s operations from the founder herself was an honor she never took lightly.

“Connie was our best case manager, our best fundraiser, our best public relations firm; she was so many things to this orga nization,” Steward says. “It really is going to take a team of us to continue on her legacy.”

Steward says that HomeFront’s Fam ily Campus—a sprawling site established in 2015 on the grounds of a former military base in Ewing—is the organization’s home

base for meeting the needs of each family with, “depending on how you count them,” about 35 active programs.

They include: access to emergency hous ing; educational and child care; health and wellness; enrichment opportunities; part ner agencies like WomanSpace; and “Hire Expectations,” which offers “job training and career support.”

“I think about Connie’s work over the last 30 years, and she built this amazing organi zation, and it has scaled up so significantly, but at the end of the day—and she would tell you this still, up until her last day at Home Front—we do this work ‘family by family,’ so having those educational, life skills, and career supports wrapped up in everything else is an important part that helps us to make sure that this change is lasting and long-term,” Steward says.

Mercer’s pivot to a broader reach beyond the day-to-day operations of HomeFront became possible when observing the orga nization during the COVID-19 pandemic, Steward says.

“Every organization always thinks, ‘How would we react if something truly terrible happens? Are we really designed, are we built right now, to withstand an incredibly difficult situation?’ We did—and came out, in some ways, even stronger on the other side,” Steward explains, with HomeFront “surviv ing and thriving” despite the conditions.

“[Mercer] realized that she really had built something that was going to last, that she had a really strong team in place to continue this work on, and then it was the right time for her to change her role here a little bit,” Steward adds. “That’s an incredible compliment to me, and I take that to heart.”

Steward’s interest in the political sector was piqued by an American government class at Franklin and Marshall College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in both government and psychology. In 2018, she also completed her master’s in public administration from Rut gers University.

As of press time, Steward is still fulfilling her duties as an adjunct professor for Saint Peter’s University’s MPA program, as well as HomeFront’s COO, given the hunt for her replacement remains ongoing.

But even with a full schedule and new responsibilities, Steward maintains that HomeFront shares the same guiding prin ciples as it did under Mercer.

“What Connie built here is an organiza tion that can respond to whatever the great est needs are for families in our community, so in some sense, the mission will remain unchanged,” she explains. “We are taking on this incredibly large challenge of trying to end family homelessness. That is an auda cious goal, in some sense, but if you read our mission statement, it’s ending family home lessness, but it’s also lessening the immedi ate pain of families that are living in

homelessness.”

“We’re always going to do those two sides of the coin, and we’re always going to respond to whatever today’s challenges are,” she says, adding that while those may differ from years prior, a focus as of late has been on the lack of affordable housing available.

Mercer started HomeFront in reaction to seeing families live in motels along Route 1, and she was able to drastically lower that number until the pandemic. Now, Steward says, “there is a real disconnect between the housing options available in our community and what families need,” with those build ings once again occupied by those in need of shelter.

“There are families living in motels in Mercer County right now, not because they wish to live in a motel with their children, but because there are no other options. With the limited funds they have, living in a motel is not a cheap way to live,” she says, adding that while HomeFront is proud to partner in help ing develop these homes, the organization “alone cannot solve the problem, so it has real repercussions for everything else we do.”

“The reality is that families are living so close to the edge,” Steward says, attributing that to “economic factors” like rising infla tion and an unstable housing market. The HomeFront hotline for those at risk of being evicted (609-989-9417 x141) has been receiv ing more calls than ever, according to the new CEO, and the lines at the food pantry are “longer than they were even a year ago.”

Steward acknowledges that the pandemic is a contributing factor to these numbers, but the increase in prices for basics like grocer ies or diapers can be a direct hit to a family’s monthly budget.

She says that while such a feeling might be shared by many at the checkout line for those hanging by a thread, or a single receipt, that same unexpected cost is a threat to safety.

“[What’s] always close to HomeFront’s heart, and such a core part of our mission, is our support for children. Kids have had, as we all know, an incredibly difficult time dur ing the pandemic and afterwards, especially children that are in unstable housing situa tions,” Steward says. “We have seen really challenging situations with a lot of our chil dren in their educational development, their social and emotional learning, just all the ways that kids were set back by the last several years. Then, you add into that the trauma of homelessness, of living in poverty, living in a motel? That is a very real, present concern for us.”

“We’re working hard to help give kids the tools to be successful long term, help them catch up aca demically, and make sure that as the world wants so desperately to move on COVID, that we don’t fail to rec ognize that there are kids that are still living with the very present effects of that, and will for years and years.”

“If you look at HomeFront’s tagline, it’s ‘working to break the cycle of poverty,’ and some of that cycle breaking happens genera tionally and happens by the children in the family having a vision of a different life and the tools to get there,” she says. “Any parent with young kids, no matter their economic status, can tell you how tough this last cou ple of years has been—and for our families, even more so.”

Along with significant losses in conven tional social, physical, and familial infra structures, the pandemic exacerbated the systemic issues already facing those who are experiencing economic hardship.

Steward says that she understands the

shift “to move on from COVID, but it’s some thing that we need to talk more seriously about as a community and make sure that we have those supports in place—to make sure that we’re not going to have a ‘lost generation.’’

She also highlights HomeFront’s “work to help families achieve their educational goals, and career and vocational support,” not ing that while there are job opportunities, the real challenge is in “finding a job that pays [a] livable wage.”

Through Hire Expec tations, anyone receiv ing HomeFront services can pursue tutoring, then acquire their high school diploma onsite, which can have a positive influ ence on earning potential. These programs are once again being held in-person after previously being offered online, with employers re-part nering as well.

As HomeFront works to “re-embrace and engage families” for future independence, Steward notes that “it’s not just about throw ing somebody into a job; it’s about getting somebody into a career that will help them earn enough to support their family long term. That is a challenge right now, just because the labor market has changed so much, but that’s still really core to our work here.”

HomeFront is also making strides in areas such as data collection, which will add dimension to the nonprofit’s work through a federal grant from the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research, & Evaluation (OPRE).

The Family Self-Sufficiency Demonstra tion Development initiative, Steward adds,

“will help better assess the impact of our work,” because although HomeFront has col lected data in areas like the number of lives touched since its inception, the organization is now one of 20 nonprofits given the tools to develop its internal capacities for doing so.

By giving these anecdotes a way to apply nationally, Steward is “confident” that Home Front would be able to assess the best prac tices for what works, what might be over looked, or what is a “component” in care, such as a lack of adequate transportation.

“If our goal here is to clearly create lasting change, long-term self-sufficiency, then we need to measure and quantify that better,” Steward explains, calling this a rather big “headset change,” but part of the organiza tion’s commitment to “become an organiza tion that’s driven by evidence and embracing that at all levels.”

* * *

“Our community is incredibly generous; I want to be able to show them the impact of the dollars that they donate, or the items that they give, or the volunteer hours that they give to us,” Steward says. “It’s impor tant for our public-facing work, but even more importantly, I think it’s going to help us really hone in on what about our work is impactful.”

As an example, she mentions that Home Front has “a relatively small program where if someone donates a car to us in good work ing order, we will, in turn, give that car to a family that is in great need.”

Steward recalls a case where a vehicle was given to a mother who could not take on a promotion at work due to the long commute and travel barriers, which not only “made an incredible difference in that family’s life,” but stuck with Steward.

“When I think of my life, in public service, in government, in elected office, it is so obvi ous to me how marginalized so many of the

See STEWARD, Page 6

Kristen

The pandemic exacerbated the systemic issues already facing those who are experiencing economic hardship.

voices are that we serve. I think a big part of our work is, ‘how do we switch that up?’”

STEWARD continued from Page 5 people who are under a HomeFront roof, in some sense,” Steward notes, with the orga nization’s legacy requiring HomeFront to be able to grow and meet demands.

Steward continues. “The art and the creative programs here help do that in a really impor tant way.”

She also wants to continue her own advo cacy like Mercer, who helped launch state wide efforts for the benefit of families in New Jersey and continues to do so. Stew ard herself is passionate about expand ing “HomeFront’s role in advancing racial equity and inclusion.”

As Steward prepares for HomeFront’s next strategic plan, she emphasizes how much of a “great comfort and asset” it is to still have Mercer as “part of the HomeFront family,” with her involvement unwavering despite the change in leadership.

“In some ways, the transition has been over the course of this year,” Steward says. “Connie and I have been preparing for this for many years. It is strange to not have her in the office every day, for sure, but it was so deliberate and planned that I think we really did this the right way…our number one goal throughout all this was to make sure that the incredibly important work that we do survives.”

“It’s different now than when Connie began HomeFront, because she grew this to be such a cornerstone agency in our com munity. On any given night, there’s 450 or so

“When Connie hired me, it was fully knowing that HomeFront had reached a point in its growth where, to sustain it and to continue to grow, it needed to be more structured,” she explains, adding that such implementation was a key part of her work as incoming COO.

Steward says that her background in gov ernment shaped her own approach to work ing side by side with Mercer, whom she calls the “dreamer and spirit behind our mission,” as well as the one with the original, bound less vision for the future of Mercer County families.

“When I came to HomeFront, I thought that I would hear these stories of families who had gone through an extreme event—a domestic violence situation, a house fire—or some sort of major precipitating traumatic event that led them to seek our services, and we certainly do hear stories like that,” Stew ard prefaces. “But far, far more common is this idea I mentioned before; it’s families that are living so close to the edge that one hic cup, one medical bill, one car wreck, puts them over the edge—and that is our friends and neighbors.”

According to a study from Empower Retirement and Personal Capital, “only 53%

of Americans are in a position to handle an unforeseen $500 expense without worry,” which Steward applies to a local scope.

“That might be the gal on the checkout line, or the man behind the counter at the post office. It’s our community, and it’s our neighbors,” she adds, noting that as a life long resident of Ewing, she is confident in the compassion and concern people can have when informed of the proximity to similar statistics. “People don’t always know how to help or what the challenges are, so they turn to organizations like HomeFront, because they trust us to help channel that caring and those resources and their gen erosity to helping people in our community that need it most.”

“One of the most common things we hear on the hotline is folks saying, ‘I never thought it could happen to me.’ That’s why it’s really important to me, as someone who loves this area, this community here in cen tral Jersey, that the work I’m able to help with at HomeFront is helping our friends and neighbors every day,” Steward says.

“That’s an incredible gift to me, because I recognize my good fortune and my privi lege to be able to do something every day that gives me that sense of satisfaction. But more importantly than that, it’s a real chance to be of service, and I think that if there’s any through line in my career to date, it is the idea of being in service to the community,”

she says.

“When I worked with Rush, that was one of his organizing principles, too, that our community can do great things. Govern ment, in my view, is [what] we can do better together than separately,” she says, describ ing it as “an extension of the same idea—that our community cares, and they turn to when they need and they want organizations who can help turn that caring into action.”

Steward notes that she sees her work with HomeFront and her responsibilities in Ewing Township as “different ways to achieve the same goal.” She adds that serv ing the public “anywhere in the world” would likely be a fulfilling experience for her, but this ability to help others with Home Front allows her to give back to where she grew up—then, to foster that same progress through taking action and “wrapping” fami lies in new opportunities.

“When I think of all of our programs, and what we offer, everything is made possible by volunteers working with their time and their hands. It’s made possible by generous people donating their new sweater or their gently loved couch to a family that needs it. It’s people who are donating their resources to help those who are in need,” Steward says. “I think that’s some of the genius of what Connie built here at HomeFront, because HomeFront is not separate from our com munity; HomeFront is our community.”

ing on fairy tales, the Cinderella story,” she says, recalling an elementary school project. “We chose different Cinderellas from different parts of the world. The students needed to create a story from their country. They wrote, drew, and made costumes. They brought in music and dances. They brought food to display on the day their parents came to share their stories. It was totally connected to the core curriculum standards.”

The same was true with a math lesson where she used Mayan numbers that were counted in dance steps.

As for her work in middle and high schools, she says, “I present poetry about emigration and leaving your place . . . the ‘South’”—as in South America. “I do a lot of poetry and music and dance that they are missing.”

She says her choice of using Latin dance and music provides her with an opportunity to address a variety of cul tures in her classes.

To illustrate her point, she says that merengue is a music and dance style associated with the Dominican Republic. However, she says it is also connected to the music and dance brought there by African slaves.

“Salsa is an interesting story,” she continues. “(The original sound) comes from Africa and Spain. Then in the 1950s, it came to New York, and musicians form different parts of the world there cre ated salsa—made something new.”

“Culture is the most important thing that (the students) have,” she says, add ing that using it as a path to education is important. “It is something they won’t forget. It is something that belongs to them.”

Attar’s personal experience connects her to students who suddenly find them selves in a new culture.

“I came from Buenos Aires 33 years ago,” she says before recounting her journey—to the arts and to the North.

“My parents were working in a fac tory—nothing related to art; they had a business. They made and sold their own clothing.”

Nevertheless, she—along with her theater director and psychologist brother—found a way into the arts.

The reason, she says, is that “Buenos Aires is a very cultural and intellectual city. You have hundreds of theaters and a lot of dance and music going on.

“You didn’t ask if you would do (art), but how you would do it. We didn’t have the resources, but we did it anyway. I was dancing since I was very small. My parents were every open minded.”

Attar says she went to the National School of Dance and received two teach ing degrees, one specializing in dance,

and worked in regional schools.

Then there was the move to the United States. Her biologist husband, Ricardo Attar, was offered a job at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Long Island.

“We came here without speaking Eng lish. That is why it is important to me to bring your culture,” she says.

The move to central New Jersey came when Ricardo took a position at Bristol Myers Squibb (He now is a vice presi dent at Janssen Pharmaceutical).

It was also when she returned to her cultural roots. “I was already working in

See YOUNG AUDIENCES, Page 8

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Liliana Attar of Young Audiences of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, based in Plainsboro, helps students learn and connect with culture through dance.

schools teaching Spanish, and I really needed to go back to dancing—merging tango and modern dance and telling stories about people.”

She started a company, Connections Dance Theater, that eventually caught the attention of arts educators at the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Young Audiences, and she began working with YA.

Looking back over the past 26 years, Attar says, the most important part of her work is to help the students and the teachers with new approaches not part of the standard teaching certificate programs.

“My residencies are not square,” she says. “We create residencies for that school and specific population and grade” (with a basic workshop cost at $685 per day).

She adds that the initial meeting with the faculty is key to making sure “we are on the same page. It is one hundred percent hands-on. (The teachers) learn the dances and practice with the students. It is not me going in and giving the teachers free time; it is to give an experience.”

She says that more teachers are applying for YA programs because of its positive results. “You can see the difference in the work of the students and how stu-

dents are so receptive.”

Attar says she loves her work for YA, but like many others, she found herself at a crossroads during the pandemic.

The mother of three and a new grandmother of a three-month-old grandson who contracted COVID, Attar says she

needed to make a choice: “Should I work or be a grandmother?”

Meanwhile, she says the work continued—and YA made an effort to find work for or support their teaching artists rather than let them go.

Attar says, “I was doing a lot of work

online with the students during the pandemic. It was hard, but we did it. I worked in the school before, and [the teachers] wanted to continue. And I went to the presentation outside with masks. You could see how important it is for the teachers to be working with us.”

Eventually, she realized that she “needed to be a grandmother, but after six months, I needed to come back. I love what I’m doing. It is a privilege. And I love to work with students in Trenton. I feel that I found a home close to my home. I work with all the students. I am working a lot in the bilingual classrooms. It is great to bring my experience to the kids, and we have a great connection.

“I miss Argentina. I miss the people and small little things. I recreate it. This is an Argentinian house. I speak Spanish with my kids, and my grandson is bilingual.

“In the beginning, it was teaching language through dance. But for me it was important to put together my experience and what it means to be an immigrant and show students that you can make it that it is possible to speak English and do what you love.”

For more on Liliana Attar’s “Let’s Dance Our Stories” workshops and residencies and other Young Audience programs, visit yanjep.org.

Liliana Attar and Young Audiences get into a learning rhythm during class.

@capitalhealthnj

HEALTH HEADLINES

BI-MONTHLY NEWS FROM CAPITAL HEALTH

Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell Earns ‘A’ Grade for Quality from The Leapfrog Group

Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell was awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2022 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. This national distinction recognizes Capital Health’s achievements in protecting patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital.

“Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell is a one of the region’s leading hospitals and home to dynamic services such as our Cancer Center, the Josephine Plumeri Birthing Center, and minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System,” said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO, Capital Health. “Our most recent ‘A’ grade from the Leapfrog group show residents in our community that we remain committed to providing our neighbors and their families the best possible care when they need it most.”

“Our continuous drive to improve quality and safety outcomes is woven into the fabric of our organization through our just culture as well as our ISO 9001 certification and on-site surveys with DNV,” said Dr. Mark Arcaro, vice president of Clinical Performance at Capital

Health. “And while we are pleased to earn this latest recognition from The Leapfrog Group, it also motivates to keep looking ahead to meet and exceed national standards of care.”

The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to general hospitals across the country based on over thirty national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

“I applaud the hospital leadership and workforce for their strong commitment to safety and transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “An ‘A’ Safety Grade is a sign that hospitals are continuously evaluating their performance, so that they can best protect patients. The team at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell should be extremely proud of their dedication and achievement.”

What is a Whipple Procedure? Frequently Asked Questions

After a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, patients naturally want to know what treatment options are available to them. The single most effective pancreatic cancer treatment option is surgery.

One particular complex and technically demanding surgery, called a pancreaticoduodenectomy, is one of the surgeries used for longterm control of pancreatic cancer. More commonly referred to as the Whipple procedure, this surgery may extend the person’s life and, for some, may be the best chance at a cure.

If you or someone close to you has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, here are some important questions you may be asking:

What is the pancreas?

The pancreas is a gland about six inches long that sits in the back of the abdomen, behind the stomach. It plays key roles in producing enzymes and hormones that help digest food. It also produces insulin and glucagon to help regulate blood sugar levels.

What is pancreatic cancer?

Because the pancreas has a number of different cells, each can bring about a different type of tumor. The most prevalent is from the cells that line the pancreatic duct, and often there are very few to no symptoms. There are some, however, you should be aware of, and include:

… Loss of appetite or unintended weight loss

… Abdominal pain that radiates to your back

… Light-colored stools

… Dark-colored urine

… Jaundice (yellowing of the skin)

… A new diabetes diagnosis, or existing diabetes that’s become difficult to control

… Nausea or vomiting

What is the Whipple procedure?

The Whipple procedure involves removing the head, or the wide part, of the pancreas next to the first part of the small intestine, called the duodenum. Then, the duodenum, some of the common bile duct, the gallbladder and possibly some of the stomach are all removed. Once that’s done, the surgeon reconnects the remaining intestine, bile duct and pancreas. It’s currently one of the only surgeries that can offer a potential cure for pancreatic cancer.

Who is a good candidate for the Whipple procedure?

Determining the right type of surgery for pancreatic cancer is largely based on the tumor’s location. The Whipple procedure is considered for tumors located at the head of the pancreas that have not spread to other parts of the body.

What is recovery like for the Whipple procedure?

Every person responds differently to surgery, and it depends on how it is performed. For a Whipple procedure performed as traditional open

surgery, a patient generally takes about four weeks to reach complete recovery. This type of surgery generally requires a hospital stay of about four days, though this varies from person to person.

Specially trained surgeons are able to offer a minimally invasive option through the da Vinci Surgery System robotic-assisted Whipple procedure. This approach reduces recovery time for patients.

Your surgeon will want you to be up and walking almost immediately after surgery to reduce the risk of blood clots or a pulmonary embolism.

Are there common complications to this surgery?

As with any surgery, there can be complications, which may be minor or major. Those include bleeding, infections, clots, pneumonia or heart attacks. They can also include trouble with the stomach emptying itself after meals.

Your surgeon should be able to manage most of these complications without the need for another surgery.

Who should perform the Whipple procedure?

The Whipple procedure is a complex and technically demanding surgery. However, extensively trained surgeons at Capital Health Cancer Center are certified and experienced at such a high level that the National Pancreas Foundation recognized them as a Center of Excellence for treating pancreatic cancer-related illnesses.

Patients who are good candidates for the Whipple procedure should choose a surgeon who has extensive experience with this type of surgery and has performed numerous Whipple procedures. Patients should also select a hospital large enough to care for Whipple procedure patients post-operatively, and are used to managing any post-surgery complications.

The decision to select a surgical team is a very important one. The team at Capital Health Cancer Center is here to help you. If you’d like to make an appointment, please call 609.537.5000 or visit CapitalHealthCancer.org.

Dr. Cataldo Doria, medical director of Capital Health Cancer Center and an internationally renowned hepato-pancreato-biliary surgeon, offers robotic-assisted Whipple procedures to treat pancreatic cancer.

Capital Health Launches Advanced Simulation Training Center

Mobile Lab Provides Cutting-Edge Clinical Training for Health Care Providers and Community Health Education

Capital Health recently announced the launch of its new Advanced Simulation Training Center, a mobile simulation laboratory that provides state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary clinical training for physicians, nurses, emergency medical service providers, and other staff. The initiative was made possible through more than $500,000 of federal grant funding secured by Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), who was recognized for her role in the project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Capital Health Regional Medical Center.

“As part of our mission to improve services for urban and suburban patients, Capital Health has made a commitment to becoming a leading academic health center for the region,” said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health. “The Advanced Simulation Training Center is the latest demonstration of that commitment. Any great endeavor such as this requires strong partners, and we are grateful for the support of Rep. Watson Coleman, whose decades of hard work, experience, and commitment to our community helped bring this initiative to life.”

“For over 125 years, Capital Health has provided high-quality medical care to local residents. I am so grateful that some of our country’s finest medical professionals are right here in Trenton and this new mobile lab will help reach further into our neighborhoods to better serve some of our most vulnerable populations,” said Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

Capital Health’s Advanced Simulation Training Center is a mobile facility that can be driven directly to learners to provide enhanced, customized instruction to doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other staff at or near their place of work. The 40-foot unit has two large, independent simulation rooms equipped with manikins

Capital Health Simulation Coordinator Paul Morer demonstrates one of the simulation rooms to Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Dr. Robert Remstein, Chief Academic Officer (Capital Health) aboard the Advanced Simulation Training Center.

(life-sized models of human bodies) to simulate real patient scenarios. Instructors in two central control rooms create situations that learners will see in real life, document their performance, and provide meaningful feedback. Simulation training like this promotes learning through active hands-on experience in a risk-free environment while supporting the development of teamwork, communication, and critical thinking skills.

Capital Health will use the Advanced Simulation Training Center to provide safe training in advanced cardiac life support, interventional procedures, management of acute hemorrhagic crises, childbirth, infant resuscitation, team care and other areas to prepare the next generation of its medical staff. Additionally, the simulation labs will be used for process improvement, medical error investigation, and research to help Capital Health continue to advance health care quality, safety, and best practices. On top of its clinical training mission, the Advanced Simulation Training Center will provide health education and wellness screenings at local community-based events.

Capital Health – Virtual Primary Care, part of Capital Health Medical Group, offers telehealth services to individuals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (ages 16 and older) who wish to receive support in managing common health issues from the comfort of their home or anywhere in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Capital Health Medical Group providers have conducted thousands of patient visits in a virtual setting,” said Dr. Michael Stabile, a board certified family medicine physician at the Capital Health Primary Care – Hamilton office. “As a result, our team is thoroughly prepared to provide outstanding, high quality health care services at a time and place most convenient for patients located in New Jersey or Pennsylvania – whether they are at home or on the go.”

Capital Health’s team of more than 35 virtual primary care providers can address a wide range of health conditions, including (but not limited to) symptoms of COVID-19, sinus problems, upper respiratory infection, sore throat, urinary tract infection, cough, flue, rash, common cold, eye infection, and more.

While Capital Health – Virtual Primary Care is designed to serve as an online platform to host sick visits, patients have the ability to schedule an in-person, follow-up visit with the same providers they see during their video visit at one of the many Capital Health office locations across the Mercer, Bucks, and Burlington county region.

To learn more or to request an appointment, visit capitalvirtualcare.org or scan the QR code to complete the online form.

Check your internet connection. Wi-Fi on wired connection is strongly preferred for a great video visit experience.

Use headphones. Cut down on any background noise and help keep the conversation with your health care provider private.

Please be patient! Video visit traffic may be high as clinicians work to provide care for patients during the current health crisis, so some appointments may run a few minutes behind schedule. A provider will be with you as soon as possible!

During virtual care visits with patients who aren’t feeling well, our clinicians address symptoms of numerous health conditions and issues, including but not limited to:

COVID-19

Sinusitis

Upper respiratory infection

Sore throat

Urinary tract infection

Cough

Influenza (Flu)

Rash

Common cold

Yeast infection

Allergies

Eye infection

Insect bites

Nausea

Back pain

Tick bites

travel talk with Caryn and Aron A plethora of cruise experiences

It has been a busy couple of months with several new ships beginning to sail from the US. I was fortunate to be invited to sample these ships with short sailings.

In early October, I sailed on Norwegian Prima, the first in its class. This ship provides an experience beyond expectations. You can take a 360° seaside stroll along the breathtaking Ocean Boulevard or discover unparalleled luxury in The Haven, an exclusive enclave with 24-hour butler service and world-class amenities. There are multiple slides on board, both water slides and dry slides to delight children of all ages. You can race around the track in a racecar or enjoy an interactive game of miniature golf or enjoy Top Golf onboard or a variety of other virtual games. I returned to sail the ship again in November to experience additional specialty dining venues unique to this class and their private island in the Bahamas. Ship is currently sailing roundtrip out of Miami Florida.

In the beginning of November, I sailed the new Celebrity Beyond, the newest of the Edge class of ships. Celebrity stretched the length of the ship to make way for newly expanded open-air spaces like the new twostory Sunset Bar designed by Nate Burkus. The Rooftop Garden brings you closer than ever to the water’s edge. And fine dining brought to you by world-renowned chef Daniel Boulud rivals anything you’d find on land. And for those who enjoy a more private experience, there is the Retreat – a private lounge, restaurant and deck area for Suite guests.

Royal Caribbean had two new ships start sailing this past year. In January I sailed on Odyssey of the Seas, new

Quantum class ship and before the year ends, I will sail on Wonder of the Seas, Royal Caribbean’s newest ship in the Oasis class.

On Odyssey of the Seas, cue the thrills with all kinds of complimentary adventures for kids and adults — from tide-taming on the FlowRider® and simulated skydiving on RipCord® by iFly®, to bumper cars and glow-in-thedark laser tag in the largest SeaPlex® ever.

Wonder of the Seas is currently the largest ship at sea (though that will change next year.) offering loads of activities and fun for families and friends. Wonder of the Seas has 8 unique neighborhoods including Central Park, a Boardwalk, and the all-new Suite neighborhood.

Each of these ships are unique and offer a fabulous vacation to create memories for families and friends.

There is still time to book your Winter travel and now is the time to start planning your spring break getaway. And don’t forget to purchase travel insurance.

Contact us at cberla@ cruiseplanners.com or 609.750.0807 when you are ready to set up time to discuss your next memory making vacation. At Cruise Planners we specialize in all types of travel (not just cruises). Whether you are looking for a Cruise, an All-Inclusive Resort Vacation, or a European Land Tour, we will provide you with the exceptional service you should expect from a travel professional. Visit us at www. makingvacationmemories.net and follow us at www.facebook.com/ familycruising. Unlike big online travel sites, Cruise Planners - ABC Family Cruising and Travel delivers the personal touch.

A drive through time: The history of West Windsor’s roads

PAUL LIGETI WEST WINDSOR CHRONICLES

Each month, the Historical Society of West Windsor—a nonprofit that preserves and promotes local history—publishes a column covering our town’s rich heritage. This article explores the history of West Windsor’s roads and is also an excerpt from our recently-released West Windsor History Book, which covers our town’s story from the prehistoric era to the pres ent day. Visit westwindsorhistory.com/ book to learn more.

Also—2022 is West Windsor’s 225th birthday! The Historical Society is lead ing dozens of commemorative commu nity projects and free-to-the-public events throughout the year. Visit westwindsorhis tory.com/year-225 to learn more.

A Revolutionary March

In the early morning of January 3, 1777, an army marched through present-day West Windsor. The Revolutionary War was in full swing, and George Washington and his soldiers had left Trenton several hours prior—where they had emerged vic torious after two consecutive battles there

in the span of just over a week. The troops trudged through mud and ice on their way to what would be the Battle of Princeton later that day. Their victory there would be their third ray of hope in what were pre viously the darkest hours of the war. The route the revolutionaries took included the “Quaker Bridge” Road—an avenue built many years prior to connect the old Stony Brook Quaker meeting house in present-day Princeton (next to the Princ eton Battlefield) to another Quaker meet ing house in the village of Crosswicks, Chesterfield Township. Thousands of sol diers marched along this road—now con stituting most of the border between West Windsor and Lawrence Townships - to leg endary victory.

However, the story of West Windsor’s transportation systems is even older than the American Revolution. Let’s travel back in time to the era of the area’s indigenous inhabitants.

Footpaths

Long before any colonist set foot in New Jersey, the footpaths of our indigenous predecessors - the “Lëni Lënape” - mean dered through its meadows and forests, forming a network stretching across their territory. The most relevant of these paths

to us was the “Assunpink Trail,” which ran from Trenton to north of the Raritan River. A first-hand description appears in the 1679 journal of Jasper Danckaerts, a Dutch agent who had come to the New World to purchase land for a colony of fel low Labadist Protestants:

“The road from here [the Raritan River near New Brunswick] to the Falls of the South River [Trenton, on the Delaware River] … is nothing but a foot-path for both men and horses between the trees and through small shrubs … we came to places where there were large plains, beset with few trees, and grown over with long grass, which was not the worst.”

Despite this description, the Assunpink Trail was a major artery for the Lënape and early colonists. Moreover, this image of an overgrown, narrow path was not unique to the Lënape’s trails—later colo nial roads were often equally as small and often ill-maintained. Like its counterparts in New Jersey, the Assunpink Trail gradu ally disappeared over the decades, being developed into colonial roads that approxi mated its former route. Over the years, these replacements were known collec tively as the “Old Dutch Trail,” the “King’s Highway,” “Lincoln Highway,” and mod ern Routes 27/206.

Colonial Roads

Early governments delegated responsi bility of road planning and construction to individual counties and townships. “Com missioners for Laying Roads” were tasked with establishing avenues and “Overseers of the Highways” were responsible for their maintenance. Both offices required significant funds and labor.

Two classes of roads existed in colonial New Jersey: major avenues that linked well-populated towns and required signifi cant planning, and local roads that were often informally established, primitive, and poorly maintained. These latter routes often meandered through farmland, zig zagging through the landscape to connect individual residences rather than follow ing more direct routes between towns. Seasonal conditions frequently restricted travel and water routes were often pre ferred. Even sleds were used on frozen rivers decades before stagecoach travel became popular in the mid-18th century.

West Windsor’s early road system developed during its first large wave of set tlement in the mid-1700s. Those with 18thcentury documentation (some stretching back to the mid-1740s) include Clarksville, Edinburg, Robbinsville-Edinburg, Line, South Mill, Windsor, Cranbury, South

O M E O W N E R S H I P W I N S O V E R T I M E

Source: NAR, FHFA

field, Princeton-Hightstown, Rabbit Hill, North Mill, and Quakerbridge Roads, as well as South Lane, Village Roads East/ West, and Lower Harrison Street. Even more crisscrossed the area but have long disappeared.

Many of West Windsor’s earliest roads were named after the communities they connected or property lines. We’ve already mentioned Quakerbridge Road linking two Quaker settlements. As early as 1744, the “Princeton-Hightstown” road stretched from Hightstown to at least as far as David Lyell’s “Great Tract” in pres ent-day West Windsor, presumably to con nect inhabitants to the “Old York Road” that provided access to larger cities in New Jersey. It was later extended to Princ eton. The “Clarksville-Grovers Mill” road (now just “Clarksville Road” connected its named communities, as did the “Dutch Neck-Edinburg Road” (now just “Edin burg Road”).

Two of the first roads constructed after West Windsor’s 1797 formation are still in use. The current alignment of Old Tren ton Road, which runs through the com munity of Edinburg and historically linked Cranbury to Trenton, developed c. 1803 as a straightening of older, likely colonial avenues. The following year, the “TrentonNew Brunswick Turnpike” (now Bruns wick Pike, part of the Route 1 interstate)

Washington Road looking east into West Windsor from Princeton, c. 1910s/20s. In the foreground is the Delaware and Raritan Canal.

hole-filled dirt farm lane. In fact, for many years, the highway was known as the worst in the state and West Windsor was sued at one point for failing to maintain it. Still, the Turnpike’s access to two of New Jersey’s larger cities made it well worth the upkeep.

Several historic local villages - such as Penns Neck, Dutch Neck, Edinburg, Clarksville, and VanHiseville - flourished as crossroad communities. They featured stores, taverns, wheelwright shops, and other establishments often catering to stagecoach travel.

19th Century development

liam Penn (founder of Pennsylvania) and David Lyell (an English goldsmith).

Twentieth Century and Beyond

Until the turn of the 20th century, local roads were dirt farm lanes. But the turn of the twentieth century brought new devel opments, including the laying of “mac adam” (asphalt) to accommodate motor ized travel.

was chartered, cutting a course through much of New Jersey. This road deserves special mention as a demonstration of how much West Windsor has developed: while we know of Route 1 today as a busy, multilane highway, back in the early 1800s it, too, was a narrow, often rutted and pot

Throughout the 1800s, about a dozen more avenues began to cut through West Windsor. Many of these “new” roads were named after locals and landscapes. North and South Post Roads (1833 and 1835) converge where William Post’s old white house still sits off Village Road West. North Post Road was also once known as “Tatamy’s Swamp Road,” presumably after a local Lëni Lënape leader named Moses Tunda Tatamy and his land. Meadow Road (c. 1855) was originally called “Bear Swamp Road” for the wetlands it traversed. And Penn-Lyle Road (c. 1866/7) followed a 1690s-era old division line that once sepa rated the immense properties of two of the area’s original colonial landowners: Wil

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Amid the post-World War II national suburban “boom,” West Windsor began to transform from farmland to suburbia. New housing and commercial develop ments—especially in the last quarter of the 20th century—necessitated many new roads. Over the decades, many routes were widened—most notably Route 1, which, once surrounded by farmland, now cuts through an endless commercial landscape. Today, a network of hundreds of roads crisscrosses the township, upon which traffic sometimes zooms by, and at other times, seems to be in an endless standstill. Despite this flux, however, there is a constant: that dozens of the old ave nues from the 1800s and 1700s remain as memorials to centuries past.

To contact, support, or volunteer for the Historical Society, visit westwind sorhistory.com. We are also on social media—search “@SchenckFarmstead” on Facebook and Instagram. Email us at wes twindsorhistory@gmail.com.