Yarnis Center for motion rehab dedicated in Morristown

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Ribbon cutting for new Yarnis Center: (l to r) Dr. Mulford, Glenn Yarnis, Samantha Yaris, Marcie Yarnis, Josh Yarnis, Deborah Visconi. Photo courtesy of Atlantic Health.
Ribbon cutting for new Yarnis Center: (l to r) Dr. Mulford, Glenn Yarnis, Samantha Yarnis, Marcie Yarnis, Josh Yarnis, Deborah Visconi. Photo courtesy of Atlantic Health.

Submitted by the Atlantic Health System

A small, but excited crowd gathered at Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute Thursday, June 25, for the dedication of the Yarnis Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Rehabilitation Center in Morristown.

It was not the first time the Yarnis family had contributed to the Morristown Medical Center Foundation. Mrs. Marcie Yarnis said her husband Glenn “had a heart attack eight years ago,” and while recovering, decided to help the cardiac rehabilitation unit.  “It was something on our bucket list to help,” so the family made a donation to the Foundation.

Their donation to the Foundation for the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders Rehabilitation Center was even more personal.  The Yarnis family is all too familiar with movement disorders – his father died from complications of Parkinson’s and his grandmother from ALS, and the family has friends who suffer from neuromuscular disorders.

READ FULL STORY BY MORRISTOWN GREEN

Attending the ribbon cutting at the center, located on the second floor of the ARI at 95 Mt. Kemble Road, were Marcie and Glenn Yarnis, their children Josh and Samantha, Gregory Mulford, MD, Medical Director of Atlantic Rehabilitation Institute; Deborah Visconi, Director of Operations for Morristown Medical Center; John Halperin, MD, Medical Director, Atlantic Neuroscience Institute and Chair, Department of Neurosciences, Overlook Medical Center; and a host of doctors, physical therapists and friends.

There was a champagne toast, cheers and many thanks to the family from hospital officials before and after the ribbon cutting.

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Ms. Visconi said, “I’m so overjoyed and humbled to be here and thank the Yarnis family for the opportunity to serve patients in a way we couldn’t do in the past.”

Dr. Mulford thanked “Glenn and Marcie for their generosity and their support.”

“Movement disorders are a huge problem in the patients we serve. Thank you,” Dr. Halperin added.

There was even a special gift for the Yarnis family, a bottle of Chateau Gruand Larose, from 2004.

After all the ceremonies were done, the crowd went into the center, where Josh Yarnis helped demonstrate the Smart Equitest, one of two pieces of equipment purchased by his family’s donation.

Physical Therapists Julie Hamel Thomas and Jamie Cozine hooked Josh up to a harness, then asked him to step up onto a platform. The platform he stood on can move side to side and up and down. It tests a person’s balance while standing and can, through training, improve their balance.

Another feature of the apparatus is that the three walls can also move. A video-type interactive training “game” that has three boxes on various parts of a bullseye, tasks the patient to move a man into one of the boxes by maintaining his balance as the floors or walls move.  The progress of each patient can be tracked over time.

A patient, Heidi Santore, demonstrated the Lite Gait, a “body-weight-supported gait training locomotion” piece of equipment, Thomas said. Santore was placed into a harness, then wheeled up to the edge of the treadmill.

The support system moved toward her, then hoisted her upright and she stepped onto the treadmill. With some of her weight supported by the harness, she could practice walking. The treadmill can mimic walking over ground or on a flat surface. Patients can also be turned around easily.

Santore called it “a great machine. I can turn around on the treadmill and walk backwards. I’ve never been on a treadmill in my life” before coming here.

Dr. Mulford said, “This is a way for people get moving again,” especially those with stress fractures, balance issues or those who can’t stand on their own. “As time goes by, they can increase their activities.”

Santore scanned the crowd, found the Yarnis family, and said, “Thank you for this gift.”

After the demonstrations, the group returned to the meeting room for refreshments. Mr. Yarnis summed up his reaction to the day. “I’m very happy this could happen and that Susan (Johns of the Foundation) and Dr. Mulford for letting this happen. I hope it helps as many people as possible. I just wish my parents were here to see this, I think they would be very pleased.”

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