New Outpatient Room For Patients With Sensory Needs This Spring

In the United States, millions of children and adults have been diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 36 children and 1 in 45 Adults have autism, there are many people who go undiagnosed every year.

For children and adults who live with ASD, any changes to their daily schedule can be disorienting because they depend on that structure for their mental and emotional well-being. So the idea of going to a Hospital or Urgent Care for a medical emergency can be very upsetting.

People living with ASD have sensitivity to bright lights, overlapping noise, and fluctuating temperatures. But one South Jersey Hospital has created a sensory-friendly environment that will open this spring for adults and kids who live with disabilities.

What You Need To Know About The New Outpatient Testing Room

Located off Shore Road in Somers Point, Shore Medical Center has announced it will be opening an outpatient testing room for adults and children living with ASD or other sensory needs. This Spring, the new area will feature special equipment to help patients be more at ease for their next medical visit.

Jill Shultz, Chief Nursing Officer at Shore Medical Center, explains to Townsquare Media more about this new Testing Area coming to the hospital:

"Getting blood work or an EKG can be a scary experience, especially for patients with sensory needs. Too often, patients avoid these tests because the experience itself can be so overwhelming and daunting. Shore Medical Center's new sensory-friendly lab program is designed with these patients in mind, so they can get the care they need and deserve....This new program will complement our existing sensory-friendly initiatives, including in the pediatric emergency department program, and soon in the adult emergency department."

The new outpatient testing room will also include:

*White noise machine and sensory toys
*A vibroacoustic lounger for relaxation
*Roku Smart TV and enclosure for comforting distractions
*Aurora sensory projector bundle
*Shark Activity Wall Busy Board panels

All of these new resources for people living with ASD are thanks to the charitable work of South Jersey's own annual Fundraiser. Chief Nursing Officer Jill Shultz and the people at Shore Medical Center wanted the public to know that local fundraising efforts made all of this possible:

“We are so appreciative of the generous donation from Mike and Jeannie Monachetti, whose dedication to the autism community through the Mike’s Seafood 5K Walk/Run for Autism has helped make this possible.”

For almost 20 years, the Mike's Seafood Polar Bear Run-Walk for Autism has been a staple of the South Jersey events calendar. Mike Monachetti is the owner of Mike's Seafood and the man behind this annual fundraiser that has thousands of people visit Sea Isle City every President's Day Weekend.

I spoke with Mike Monachetti about how his annual fundraiser became the contributor to Shore Medical Center's new outpatient testing room:

"(Last) summer one of my workers of 25 years had to go to the Hospital and I was reminded firsthand how hard it is to visit any Medical Center for tests and emergency care. So I met with (Shore Medical Center Administrative Director) Brian Cahill about what we could do for kids and adults with disabilities....So we agreed to work together to get (Shore Medical Center) what is needed to build a new room for kids and adults with disabilities."

Mike Monachetti is the third generation of his family that has operated Mike's Seafood on Park Road in Sea Isle City. In a previous interview with 97.3 FM ESPN South Jersey, Mike explained how this fundraiser got started:

"I am the father of a boy and a girl with Autism who are on the spectrum. I have Mike's Seafood so I can take care of my children but there are a lot of people who can't (take care of their children the way I can). So I wanted to raise money for people to help them out....The last (few) years we have been averaging around four to five thousand people (coming) out for the event, it's really taken off. So many people enjoy the day with their family - I'm lucky to have Sea Isle City work with me as a partner on this to really make it a great day."

This year's Mike’s Seafood Run Walk for Autism will be Saturday, February 15th with a 5K Run and One Mile Family Fun Walk scheduled to begin at 12 pm. The day of Registration will be from 10 am to 11:30 am but you can register online ahead of time at the event page here.

The annual fundraiser also features door prizes, live music, face painting for kids, and more great activities after the Run/Walk inside huge heated tents located at Excursion Park on the corner of JFK Boulevard and Pleasure Avenue.

For more information about the Mike's Seafood Run/Walk for Autism, you can visit their website. Sea Isle City is also home to Eagles' Legend Jason Kelce's annual Team 62 Fundraiser event to benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation. For those who were not in attendance this past summer, here are some of the highlights from Kelce's 2024 fundraising event: