Shana Foundation recognized for public awareness drive

MONMOUTH BEACH — Madeline Wasserman, executive director of the Monmouth Beach-based Shana Foundation, was recognized for her educational advocacy on behalf of the public and the health care community by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey at a State House ceremony on May 21.

The nonprofit promotes public awareness about the dangers, warning signs, symptoms and treatment protocol of bacterial meningitis.

State Sen. Sean Kean, (R-11th District), sponsor of the resolution and legislation which would mandate education about bacterial meningitis as part of the health and physical education curriculum in all New Jersey public schools spoke at the event.

Wasserman established The Shana Foundation after the death of her daughter Shana, a vibrant and popular 19-year old.

"This is a memorial to Shana, a way to create a lasting legacy for her. I wanted her passing to affect lives on a daily basis, and The Shana Foundation was the result," Wasserman said.

She added, "College kids living in dorms, particularly in the Northeast, are at high risk and should all have a pneumococcal vaccine to prevent the strain of bacterial meningitis that Shana had. Freshmen are especially vulnerable because their immune systems are compromised by a radical change in lifestyle when they leave the comforts of home for the first time."

Wasserman explained that the organization is supporting research to convert the current pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine into a life-saving conjugate vaccine.

"We recommend that the existing pneumococcal vaccine be administered to all incoming college students across the nation," she said.

Realizing there was a dire need for education and awareness on many levels, Wasserman sought a creative and powerful way to communicate with the public and the medical community.

She chose animation, a cartoon, starring a set of college-aged students who present Shana's story in the surfing community of Monmouth Beach, Shana's hometown. The cartoon is available for viewing on the organization's website, www.TheShanaFoundation.org, and was accepted for screening by several regional film festivals.

One of Wasserman's goals is to see the animation edited to age-appropriate levels and to be viewed as part of health curriculum in schools so that children of all ages and their families can learn the warning signs and dangers of the disease.

Wasserman has also designed plaques bearing the proper treatment protocol for the disease and has advocated for their placement in hospital emergency rooms, where bacterial meningitis presents itself.

A

treatment protocol plaque is currently

displayed in the emergency room of Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch.

The Shana Foundation has partnered with Dr. Allan R. Tunkel in his role as chairman of both the Department of Medicine at Monmouth Medical Center and the Infectious Disease Society of America Bacterial Meningitis Guidelines Committee. Tunkel is a world-renowned specialist and author of the algorithim for the standard of care treatment protocol. He is narrator of an educational video aimed at medical doctors and other members of the health care community which has been made available on the organization's website and as a DVD.

The Shana Foundation Treatment Protocol Plaque that hangs in emergency rooms contains a link, which gives doctors instant access to proper therapy protocols in all cases of bacterial meningitis — for babies, children and adults.

"Utilizing proper doses of the right medication would instantly save lives and prevent crippling disabilities," Wasserman noted.

The Shana Foundation is seeking donors and sponsors to support its mission to assist in funding educational programs and treatment protocol plaques for hospital emergency rooms.

Wasserman commended The New Jersey Marathon for its sponsorship of treatment protocol plaques and hopes that other marathons across the country will join in the effort to preserve lives.

More information is available by contacting Madeline Wasserman directly at 732-263-0245 or by email at The- ShanaFoundation@gmail.com.

Future events include the Welcome to Summer Party; The Shana Ocean Mile Swim on Aug. 3; Golf outing at Metedeconk National in Jackson on Sept.21; The Shana Surf Jam on Sept. 26, and The Shana Classic 5k Race on Oct. 4. The Shana Ocean Mile Swim, Surf Jam and Classic 5K Race will be held in Monmouth Beach.

Information is available on the organization's website www.TheShanaFoun dation.org.