Schwimmer Script Blog
Our New Work Group Will Support Mental Health in New Jersey Communities
The months of fear, isolation, and deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have created a mental health emergency in our towns and cities. The trauma of the pandemic — along with economic uncertainty, social unrest, and environmental catastrophes — is affecting our emotional well-being. If you cannot sleep at night, you’re not alone. The…Read More…
This Flu Season Is An Important Test for New Jersey
Influenza vaccine is now being shipped to New Jersey, and perhaps never before has a strong, widespread flu vaccination effort been more critical to the health and safety of our residents. There is no vaccine against COVID-19. But we do have an effective flu vaccine. The upcoming winter could be among the deadliest in…Read More…
Refocusing the Mayors Wellness Campaign in the Time of COVID
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh kicked off 2020 with a new Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) to prioritize the health of the city’s residents. There were community walks from City Hall to the Great Falls, an employee wellness program, and community aerobic classes. Then, life as we knew it changed. Mayor Sayegh shared in a recent Op-Ed…Read More…
Advancing Public Health Initiatives Amid a Global Pandemic
As we enter our sixth month of a drastically different New Jersey during the COVID-19 crisis, our members, government officials, and the Quality Institute all face similar questions: What happens to the important public health work moving forward before the pandemic? How do we maintain strong partnerships in the fight for safe, equitable, and affordable…Read More…
Small Employer Health Insurance Needs Fixing
As a small employer, I understand the importance of providing good health insurance to my employees. This is an important benefit that the Quality Institute wants to offer and is also essential to the health of our employees and their families. Until our country provides universal coverage or another method to pay for health care,…Read More…
COVID-19 Can’t Stop the COYL Conversation
Our Conversation of Your Life (COYL) program has historically relied on the power of our in-person community gatherings at libraries, community centers, places of worship, and other meeting spots. People came together to learn about and discuss end-of-life care options — and how to create and share their wishes through advance directives. These in-person conversations…Read More…
Voices of Pain, Anger — Calls for Action
I want to use my space here to project the voices that have most resonated with me this past week. Now more than ever, it’s essential to not only seek out diverse viewpoints but to also amplify those messages. Indeed, at this time we must address not just the pandemic, but also racism, another sickness…Read More…
My Commencement Speech for Healing
The Class of 2020 will enter a world of uncertainty, and as I listened to virtual commencement speeches over the weekend, I pondered the healing we need for ourselves and for our communities in the days ahead. The global pandemic has further exposed the inequalities we already knew existed. At the Quality Institute, we’ve long…Read More…
Perinatal Care During COVID-19: Recommendations Issued to Guide Pregnant Individuals and Caregivers
At the Quality Institute, we just released recommendations to guide pregnant individuals and their caregivers through the unprecedented times we’re living in right now. We answered a request from the State and The Nicholson Foundation and created a Work Group comprised of maternal and child health experts in New Jersey. The result is Recommendations of…Read More…
Leadership for a Difficult Time and Beyond
State leaders are now talking and debating the appropriate ways to open the economy. Many Governors, including Gov. Murphy, are rightly working together — and recognizing that a virus does not stop at state borders. Clear and trustworthy communication from political leaders is essential right now. As our board chair, Suzanne M. Miller, Ph.D., writes…Read More…