Monmouth Medical Center Announces Partnership with WEforum

Monmouth Medical Center, a Barnabas Health facility, recently announced a partnership with WEforum, a newly formed, female-led organization whose mission is to strengthen the health and wellness of communities within New Jersey. The WEforum inaugural Women’s Health and Wellness Conference will be held Wednesday April 20, 2016 at the Ocean Place Resort and Spa in Long Branch.

“The statistics are staggering – 47 percent of all deaths in the U.S. occur from chronic illnesses and women have a higher death rate from both heart disease and strokes. We need to shift the health care paradigm through behavior modification,” said WEforum Chair Carolyn C. DeSena. “When it comes to providing wellness education, we want to step it up a level so that vital health care information is accessible to everyone in our community. When you educate a woman, she empowers her family, and together WE can evolve a community – that is what we aim to do. We are excited to partner with Monmouth Medical Center and Barnabas Health to help the local community learn how to take better care of themselves and their families, as well as provide them with the resources to do so,” she added.

The inaugural day-long conference, designed to provide an opportunity for conversation, interaction and education, will include roughly 30 different workshops with the latest information on specific health and wellness topics, free health screenings, and a vendor fair featuring local medical practices, health care facilities and businesses in the fitness, food, cosmetics and wellness education fields. Proceeds from the conference will support free, wellness education workshops and programs to make vital health care information accessible to the entire community.

To spread awareness of WEforum’s activities and the Women’s Health and Wellness Conference, WEforum is looking for WEforum Wellness Ambassadors – health conscious individuals from Ocean and Monmouth counties who represent living a healthy lifestyle and own a business or have a blog or website. Wellness Ambassadors will join Shrewsbury business owners Dani Rubin, of Pilates Blast, and LB Kass, founder of Yollet Technique and Danzenergy Fitness, as well as Alex Mazzucca and Cara Pescatore of Seed to Sprout of Fair Haven and Avon-by-the-Sea, in supporting the overall mission of WEforum as well as sharing with and educating the community.

“I want people to feel better than they ever thought they could by being healthy from the inside out. I believe in doing everything you can to prevent disease – from when you wake up in the morning until you go to bed at night,” said Rubin, the first local business owner to sign on as a Wellness Ambassador. “Rather than fixing the problem, we need to prevent the problem and that can be done by really educating people. That education – from physical fitness and exercise to nutrition – can have an impact on a number of people.”

“I am honored to be chosen as a 2016 WEforum Ambassador. In this position I’ll have an opportunity to connect and empower women to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle. My unique dance fitness program appeals to a large audience of every age. I have found a way to enhance women’s lives by taking their existing passion for dance and turning it into a beneficial workout regimen,” said Kass. “Through WEforum women and their families in our community will learn about wellness programs like mine and choose preventative paths to avoid chronic disease.”

To apply as a Wellness Ambassador, please complete contact Davina Feingold at 732-923-7525 or dafeingold@barnabashealth.org. Applications are due October 23, 2015 and WEforum will select the additional Wellness Ambassadors in early November.

PHOTO: WEforum Wellness Ambassadors LB Kass and Dani Rubin

About Monmouth Medical Center
Located in Long Branch, N.J., Monmouth Medical Center, a Barnabas Health facility, along with The Unterberg Children’s Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center, is one of New Jersey’s largest academic medical centers and has been a teaching affiliate of Philadelphia’s Drexel University College of Medicine for more than 40 years. From its earliest days, Monmouth Medical Center has been a leader in surgical advancement and as introduced many technological firsts to the region, including robotic surgery and other minimally invasive techniques. The hospital is routinely recognized by HealthGrades, the nation’s largest premier independent health care quality company, for excellence in both emergency medicine and maternity care. U.S. News & World Report has recognized Monmouth as regional leader in cancer, geriatrics, gynecology, neurology and neurosurgery.