[caption id="attachment_332664" width="778"]Mary Jane Genuino Photo: Erik Rank[/caption] Launched in 1999 in honor of J. Patrick Barnes, the DAISY Foundation (an acronym for “diseases attacking the immune system”) recognizes nurses whose compassion, guidance and level of care exemplify the high standards of the profession. Below is the complete list of 2023 DAISY Award honorees; click here to read spotlights on four select winners. Advanced Care Unit at Newton Medical Center (Team Honoree) Newton Medical Center Maria Abad Degree: RN Clinical Decision Unit The Valley Health System Kristen Adam ..read more

In this, our annual Excellence in Nursing list, in partnership with the DAISY Foundation, we honor 270 medical professionals from New Jersey with diverse practice specialties at more than 70 participating hospitals and facilities. Click here to view the complete list of 2023 DAISY Award honorees from our state, four of whom we spotlight below. Uzunma Emezua • BSN, RN ONCOLOGY Robert Wood Johnson University Healthcare, Somerset Uzunma Emezua fell into nursing almost by happenstance when she decided to try the nursing program at Rutgers University, Camden. After graduating in 2021, she sought a ..read more

Karri Ricklin moves closer to her husband, Jon, in their cozy green booth at Branchville’s old-school Victoria Diner. On cue, the Hillsdale couple raise their plastic Pepsi tumblers, tilt their chins just so, and smile for the camera. Clearly, they know the drill. This will be stop number 236 in the Ricklins’ ongoing mission to chow down at every diner in the Garden State, home to more diners than any other state—at least 400.  This Saturday morning photo shoot will also be one more in a string of media ops that have helped the couple gain big time attention for the chronicle of their Je ..read more

[caption id="attachment_332613" width="778"]Avi Schnall, Democratic assemblyman for NJ’s 30th legislative district. Photo: Courtesy of Agudath Israel of America[/caption] Avi Schnall may not be the most well-known name in many parts of New Jersey—but travel to Lakewood Township, and it's a different story. Originally from Brooklyn, Schnall, 39, settled in the Ocean County town for Rabbinic study at Beth Medrash Govoha, the second-largest yeshiva in the world. The religious institution has drawn scores of Orthodox Jews such as Avi to Lakewood, which has helped make it one of NJ's fastest-growi ..read more

[caption id="attachment_331248" width="778"] All photos courtesy of the manufacturers[/caption] A nifty slanted shade with whip-stitch detail gives the Arroyo brass floor lamp by Elan Byrd personality; $798 at luluandgeorgia.com. The Newark lamp has a rattan ginger jar-shaped body with a Belgian linen shade; $790 at hvlgroup.com. Earth-toned beads strung in an organic mollusk shape make for a whimsical statement; $1,564 at laylagrayce.com. The Nathan James wall-mount, pulley-style lamp sports a shapely, open-weave shade; $85 at amazon.com. Inspired by Florida palms, the Palma table lamp’s tex ..read more

[caption id="attachment_332448" width="778"]Environmental justice organizer Chloe Desir poses under Newark’s Jackson Street Bridge, which has become a trash dumping ground. Photo: Chris Buck[/caption] No community in the Garden State is immune from rising temperatures and extreme weather caused by global warming. But residents of marginalized neighborhoods are often doubly oppressed, subject also to pollution from power plants, runoff from pavements, a lack of green space, and illegal dumping. Meet three members of Gen-Z who have grown up with these problems and are fighting to fix them, in t ..read more

In 1970, 18-year-old Richard Hunt bounded into the New York rehearsal room where Jim Henson and Frank Oz were auditioning new puppeteers for the Muppets. Hunt, just graduated from Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, passed his audition with flying colors. The rest was Muppet history. The Bronx-born, Closter-raised Hunt played characters such as Scooter, Beaker, Statler and Janice, performing with the Muppets until his death at age 40 from AIDS complications in 1992. Hunt’s short but remarkable life is the subject of Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography, by Jessica Max Stein, re ..read more

More than 25,000 children with experiences of abuse and maltreatment have received care from the Audrey Hepburn Children’s House since it opened at Hackensack University Medical Center 22 years ago. Made up of board-certified child-abuse pediatricians, psychologists, nurses and social workers, the team gives cohesive, comfortable and appropriate care to patients and families in physical examinations and therapy sessions, setting them apart from standard pediatricians or psychologists. About 95 percent of cases are referred through the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, which covers ..read more

You’ve heard of all-terrain vehicles. Soon, there will be an all-terrain wheelchair available at Wharton State Forest to help people of all mobility levels enjoy the great outdoors. New Jersey is one of the first states in the country to make available to the public an electric wheelchair that can safely traverse rocky, sandy or snowy terrain. The $23,000 TrackMaster wheelchair can go up to 5.5 miles per hour, has an anti-tip feature, and can hold a charge for up to 10 miles. Sometime this spring, it will be available at Wharton State Forest, free of charge, for any visitor with a physical di ..read more

The Garden State will savor one of the country's biggest and most prestigious food and wine festivals next month, when the New Jerey Wine & Food Festival (NJWFF) returns to Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg from May 3-5. Ahead of the event each year, NJWFF traditionally anoints a first-rate guest chef who personifies the ultimate in food and hospitality. And this year’s honoree—shared first with New Jersey Monthly readers—is none other than Tom Colicchio. This master chef and visionary restaurateur has unique status in the culinary pantheon. His inventive restaurants have awed gourmets an ..read more