nursing home – 91��Ƭ

Remembering NCC Employee And Extended Care Resident Joyce Bates

Michelle Lang — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 15:53:42 +0000

Joyce Bates worked for 91��Ƭ’s New Start Program for 17 years and was a resident of Extended Care. Photo courtesy of Crystal Bates.

91��Ƭ lost a long-time member of the community with the passing of Joyce Bates Jan. 20 at the age of 64. She was an NCC employee for 17 years and lived at Extended Care for the last several years of her life.
Her only daughter Crystal Bates said Joyce loved working with 91��Ƭ and was very involved. She said her mother wrote a column in the Clarion called Grandma’s Corner, drawing from her own experiences as a grandmother, and was one of the coordinators for the parade 91��Ƭ used to organize. It was at the parade in 2012 that Joyce had her first stroke and her health began to deteriorate.
Because of Joyce’s strong connection to 91��Ƭ, Crystal felt comfortable with her moving to Extended Care.
“She had been with 91��Ƭ for such a long time,” Crystal said. “This was one of the reasons why I did not mind putting her in Extended Care when it came time for us to decide on a nursing home. Because I kind of felt like that was family.”
While at Extended Care, Joyce became an advocate for residents. Extended Care Administrator Veronica Onwunaka said she positively contributed to the nursing home.
“She spoke out for everyone. She didn’t just look out for herself alone,” Onwunaka said. “She advocated for other people to ensure that we provided the best quality care that would benefit everyone.”
Crystal said her mother was vocal about situations she believed needed to be changed. She said Joyce was good friends with 91��Ƭ Founder Monsignor William J. Linder, who also lived at Extended Care, and spoke with him about her ideas until his passing last June.
“She was a take charge person. She had a very strong personality, a very loving personality,” Crystal said of her mother. “Wherever she went, she made friends.”
Joyce was born in Jacksonville, Fla., but moved to Newark when she was 4 years old and never left. She graduated from Peshine Avenue Elementary School and Weequahic High School. She attended Essex County College and Rutgers University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social science.
Before coming to work at 91��Ƭ, Joyce worked with the Urban League of Essex County, the United Community Corporation and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, where she served as outreach coordinator for teen parenting and boarder babies prevention programs.
“She was known for teaching outreach to the community as well as teaching workers within 91��Ƭ and outside of 91��Ƭ at neighboring agencies,” Crystal said.
Crystal said many of Joyce’s former coworkers attended the funeral and sent their condolences for her loss.
“She touched anybody that she met,” Crystal said. “And I didn’t know she was as loved as she was.”

91��Ƭ And Saint Vincent Academy: A Longstanding Partnership

Michelle Lang — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 20:03:15 +0000

NCC CEO Richard Rohrman, NCC Chief of Staff Kathy Spivey, Saint Vincent Academy Administrative Director Sister June Favata, NCC Board President Dr. A. Zachary Yamba and NCC Board Member and Outreach Coordinator Madge Wilson, left to right, at the 33rd Annual Friends in Concert event at SVA Sept. 27.

91��Ƭ and Saint Vincent Academy have long been connected. Both are a part of Newark history and are celebrating milestones. Saint Vincent Academy is entering its 150th year of operation while NCC just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

While Saint Vincent Academy is an all girls Catholic high school and 91��Ƭ is a community development corporation that provides a myriad of services to members of the community, their goals are similar.

“With Saint Vincent Academy’s commitment to empowering individuals, their mission clearly intersects with the mission of NCC. And in particular, not just individuals, but individuals within the urban areas,” said 91��Ƭ Board President Dr. A. Zachary Yamba. “Monsignor’s passion in addition to everything else was for education and therefore I think NCC likewise is committed to that. NCC will also continue the legacy that Monsignor started by supporting some of the young women who go to Saint Vincent’s with scholarships.”

Saint Vincent Academy Administrative Director Sister June Favata came to Newark in 1969 and met NCC Founder Monsignor William J. Linder soon after. She explained that both the school and 91��Ƭ had a vision of what Newark could be, though they took different approaches.

“I think that Father Linder’s vision was to provide the citizens with the skills and the opportunities that they need to live a life that’s worthy of their dignity as human beings,” she said. “We as educators thought there needs to be a total renewal in Newark and that can’t happen without educating citizenry. And so we approach it that way. We really do feel that if you educate a girl, you educate a society. When you educate a girl, you educate a family. And I don’t mean education just in terms of academic things. I’m talking about faith and values clarification and morals and developing in people a moral compass. All those things that contribute to good citizenship.”

Education has always been an important component of 91��Ƭ as well. NCC has two early learning centers, it opened a charter school and it helps send high school students to Catholic high schools through the Monsignor William J. Linder Scholarship Fund.

“Saint Vincent Academy and 91��Ƭ have been working together to support our youth for a long time. Saint Vincent’s has been a part of the Newark fabric for 150 years. We are the new kids on the block at 50 years,” said NCC CEO Richard Rohrman. “Sister June and Monsignor Linder worked tirelessly to see that promising young people got the chance to excel in their lives. One individual’s success will over time change the course of the lives of their children, grandchildren and so on. The multiplier effect of one success is so powerful. Monsignor Linder was and Sister June continues to be two of the most effective and persistent champions of the city. We will continue to be as committed to Newark’s youth as ever.”

91��Ƭ Founder Monsignor William J. Linder and Saint Vincent Academy Administrative Director Sister June Favata at a past Friends in Concert event. Sister June credits Monsignor Linder with starting the partnership between the school and NCC.

Sister June said between five and seven Saint Vincent Academy students per year usually receive assistance from the Monsignor William J. Linder Scholarship Fund. But the partnership between SVA and NCC goes much deeper than that.

SVA has a program called Students-in-Community, which every student participates in annually.

“The idea is to have the students become imbued with a sense of responsibility to other people,” explained Sister June. “That idea of doing to your neighbor what they would do to you. That idea of serving others as Christ served.”

The school frequently sends students to work at Harmony House, NCC’s transitional housing facility for homeless families, and Extended Care, its nursing home, as part of the program. Last year, students hosted a luncheon for senior citizens as part of the Students-in-Community program and invited NCC residents to attend.

SVA also gave Monsignor Linder its Pelican Award in 2014 to honor him and the work he accomplished.

“I think that he was the single most influential person in the city of Newark over these years in terms of real results,” said Sister June. “We’re talking about senior citizens’ housing, we’re talking about housing for homeless, we’re talking about shopping areas, we’re talking about job training. You name it, all of the things that people need to improve their lives.”

She also said she was impressed with how he accomplished his goals.

“Lots of people can have the vision but not too many people can bring that vision to reality. And he had the ability to do that,” she said.

Sister June credits Monsignor Linder with starting the partnership between 91��Ƭ and Saint Vincent Academy.

“While we did very much appreciate everything that NCC was doing under his leadership, we were so desperately trying to keep this place going. It was more his initiative and his generosity and his understanding and appreciation for what we were doing that created the partnership,” she said.

Going forward, Sister June hopes Saint Vincent Academy can incorporate 91��Ƭ even more into the curriculum, perhaps having NCC employees visit the school and tell the students about their work, how they accomplish it and what it means to them.

“I think that their imaginations could be captured by meeting people who are offering their skills and talents and time and energy to building up the kingdom in Newark,” she said.

Extended Care Hosts Adopt-A-Resident Day

Michelle Lang — Fri, 25 May 2018 20:13:32 +0000

91��Ƭ Extended Care Facility, 266 South Orange Ave., Newark, held its annual Adopt-A-Resident Day, which is meant to show appreciation to residents. Those living in the nursing home received a variety of gifts, including clothes, perfume and cologne May 16.

Cardinal Tobin Visits 91��Ƭ Extended Care

Michelle Lang — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 18:25:51 +0000

Residents of 91��Ƭ Extended Care got a special visit Feb. 16 when Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, the Archbishop of Newark, conducted mass in the nursing home’s chapel.

91��Ƭ Founder Monsignor William J. Linder invited Tobin to see the nursing home chapel, which is dedicated to Pope Francis and is getting expanded, by sending him a letter. Tobin accepted the offer.

Tobin introduced himself to residents with words from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

“You might remember when Joseph comes and says, ‘I’m Joseph, your brother.’ That’s my name. I’m your brother as a disciple of Jesus. I’m your brother as a sinner who’s found mercy with the Lord,” he said.

During his sermon, Tobin spoke about the reason for fasting during Lent.

“We fast because it connects us with God and connects us especially with our brothers and sisters who are without,” he said.

He also encouraged everyone to think about others and not just themselves, at this time of year and always.

Many residents came down to celebrate mass with Cardinal Tobin, filling the hallway outside the chapel. To ensure everyone heard his words, staff members set up a microphone and speaker in the hallway. Following mass, Cardinal Tobin also addressed residents in the Activity Room.

He talked about growing up as the oldest of 13 children in Detroit and how his mother reacted when he became a cardinal.

Tobin was named a cardinal under the leadership of Pope Francis and sees him occasionally. He said he would inform Pope Francis that Extended Care has a chapel dedicated to him.

“I see him from time to time and I’m going to tell him that your building here has a chapel dedicated to him,” Tobin said about Pope Francis. “And I’m going to say to him if you’d really like to come see Newark, you can come and you can have mass here.”

Monsignor Linder was happy Cardinal Tobin came to Extended Care.

“The visit was fantastic. And it did so much for the morale of the place. So many people really got excited about it,” Linder said.

Tobin and Linder spent about 10 minutes talking before the mass began. Linder said, “You can see why he gets along so well with the pope.”

Extended Care Administrator and Director of Health and Social Services Veronica Onwunaka was honored to host Cardinal Tobin at the nursing home.

“The visit to us brought peace, healing, hope. Most importantly it brought this aura of God’s presence in our facility. And it has left a lasting legacy that will never, ever be forgotten,” she said.