The Alternative Press

The Stockton Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA), the Stockton Wellness Center and the holistic health minor faculty are cosponsoring a daylong celebration of healthy living to give community members the chance to learn more about holistic health and wellness practices. 

The Wellness Day Holistic Health Minor Conference will be held on the College’s main Galloway campus in the Campus Center Board of Trustees Room on Tuesday, March 5, 2013.  Various workshops and presentations are scheduled throughout the morning.  During the afternoon, various vendors will be open and students in the Occupational Therapy program and Psychology of Well Being course will present posters.  The conference is free and open to the public.  

“The vibrant and multidisciplinary group of faculty members who teach courses in the holistic health minor have worked together as a team to offer the community the opportunity to learn about and try some of the many ways to live a healthy life through holistic techniques,” said Dr. Lisa Cox, associate professor of social work and SCOSA research chair.

Holistic health includes physical, spiritual, emotional, social and environmental interventions needed to lead a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle.  The following is the conference agenda.   

8:15 – 8:30 a.m.  Opening Remarks Dr. Jan Colijn, dean of the School of General Studies, and Dr. Mary Lou Galantino, professor of physical therapy and coordinator of the holistic health minor, will welcome guests and offer opening remarks.    8:30 – 9 a.m.  Reiki for Stress Management

Dr. Elaine Bukowski, professor of physical therapy, will discuss reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation.  9 – 9:30 a.m.  Heart Centered Connections: What Patients Need to Feel Cared For and Heal

Dr. Grissel Hernandez, a nationally board-certified holistic nurse, international speaker and author with more than ten years of clinical experience, will discuss the healing process.  Dr. Hernandez is director of clinical education at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. 9:30 – 10 a.m.  Experiential Meditation

Dr. Marcello Spinella, professor of psychology, will facilitate an experiential meditation session. 10:30 Keynote Speaker

Andrew B. Newberg, M.D., is director of research at the Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Medical College. The objectives of his lecture, “Beliefs, Brain Science and Neurotheology Across the Lifespan,” include understanding how spiritual development is related to brain development, the relationship between the brain and religious and spiritual beliefs, the basic aspects of the field of neurotheology, and how spiritual health and mental health are related.

For more information, please contact Dr. Lisa Cox at 609-652-4310.  

The public health program at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey brought Mr. William Thomas, CEO of Compassionate Care Foundation, to campus to give an update on the status of medical marijuana in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon.  

Eighteen states have legalized medical use of marijuana, and there is currently one alternative treatment center (ATC) that is operational in New Jersey.  Greenleaf Compassion Center, the first ATC in the state, is located in Montclair, New Jersey.  William Thomas is working to open the second alternative treatment center in Egg Harbor Township at 100 Century Drive. 

Thomas went through the $150,000 application process and 500 pages later, he is five months away from potentially opening Compassionate Care Foundation, an alternative treatment facility in EHT.  Thomas, who previously worked in health insurance for corporations and prisons, explained, “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

The Compassionate Care Foundation, set to open in August 2013, will create 50 jobs for area community members including interns, farmhands, consultants, security guards, office workers and consultants. 

By New Jersey state law, Thomas’ work is legal.  However, federally, his actions may be considered an illegal crime, and if the Attorney General were to uncover his activity, it is possible he could receive 20 years in prison. 

According to Thomas, there are 40,000 New Jersey residents living with the nine conditions with symptoms that can be eased by marijuana. The diseases are cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, crohn’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), epilepsy, and cerebral palsy, and individuals with only twelve months left to live can also benefit from medical marijuana.  He noted that there are 250,000 people in New Jersey battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  “Marijuana takes away the nausea and restores the appetite,” Thomas said.                               

Many students at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey are taking the opportunity to work with The Women’s Center in Atlantic County over spring break.  They will learn to be advocates for sexual assault and domestic violence. 

 The Wellness Center at Stockton has planned an alternative spring break program for students that will offer a 40-hour sexual assault and domestic violence advocacy training session led by representatives from The Women’s Center.  Once trained, students will be supervised by The Women's Center to respond to sexual assault and dating violence crisis situations on campus. 

Students who complete the program will become certified advocates who are trained to provide crisis and options counseling, support victims through potential legal or campus hearing board proceedings and to connect those in need to longer term counseling offered by the Stockton Wellness Center. 

 “The Women’s Center will extend their reach by training Stockton students, who will then carry the Center’s mission forward through their advocacy efforts on campus.  The training is a service learning opportunity for students that celebrates Women’s History Month,” said Erin O'Hanlon, coordinator of community initiatives at The Women's Center.

The Women’s Center, established in 1975 and based in Linwood, New Jersey, is dedicated to providing services to women including a violence intervention program, a child care network and job training.   

 Over the past two decades, Stockton has worked with The Women’s Center on various initiatives, including consultation on the College’s sexual assault policy listed in the student handbook and support with Healthy Relationships Awareness Day and the national Clothesline Project where students decorate shirts for an art installation educating the community on domestic violence. 

The Stockton Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA) is sponsoring a wool felting workshop for older adults to make a St. Patrick’s Day wool sculpture.  

Wool felting is a craft that molds wool into sculptures by puncturing the fibers with a barbed needle.  The workshop will be held onSaturday, March 16, 2013 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Noyes Museum of Art of Richard Stockton College, located at 733 Lily Lake Road, Oceanville, New Jersey. 

Niki Giberson, owner and operator of Swan Bay Farm in Port Republic, will instruct the class.  Participants will receive all of the materials and instruction to make a four-inch tall Leprechaun, and they will learn to use a barbed needle especially designed to sculpt wool.  There is a $20 materials fee for the class.

Visit the Noyes Museum, call 609-652-8848 or email Jillian at jillian@noyesmuseum.org to register.  Visit the SCOSA website for updates and schedule changes at www.stockton.edu/scosa or call 609-626-3591.