Ensuring a child can be transported safely after tragedy hits

Natalia Gonzalez is a research assistant who works in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program at our Fanwood site. As part of her responsibilities, she meets with parents to review the study, obtain consent, score measures, and maintain the database that we need to comply with our grant. In addition, she is frequently asked by the ABA team to help interpret with the many Spanish-speaking families we serve. 

The families at Children’s Specialized often seek her out directly, as they recognize her caring and support; which is probably why one of the families living in Toms River confided in her when they informed her of an unfortunate accident where they lost their car in a fire. Lost in the car fire was the child's specialized car seat. Without the car seat, the family could not get their child to therapy sessions safely. 

When Natalia heard of this incident, she knew she wanted to help them. Having a child with special needs, the family needed a special car seat to ensure their child was safe when in a car. With one phone call, the wonderful community of Children’s Specialized Hospital stepped in and our team in LTC Toms River—Dalthea Beavers, Carolyn Romond, Bobbi Jo Pansier, and of course Natalia—arranged to ensure that the family not only had the car seat, but also that it worked properly, was installed correctly, and the family knew how to use it. 

Because of the dedication from this team, the family got the equipment they needed to ensure their child would be transported safely. 

We pride ourselves around wrapping ourselves around the family and ensuring that all of their needs are met to the best of our capability. This is another example of those long arms and warm hearts. Great job team!

We will continue to spotlight stories of how you are living our vision, mission, and values with a specific focus on teamwork. Please share your stories with me and you may see them in a future blog post!