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Press Releases
Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey honors Bergen County Medical Examiner
March 14, 2007 SPRINGFIELD – The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey will honor Mary Ann B. Clayton, M.D., Medical Examiner for Bergen County, as its Visionary of the Year at a dinner program on Monday evening, June 11, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at L’Affaire Restaurant, 1099 Route 22 East, Mountainside. "We’re very pleased to honor Dr. Clayton for her extraordinary advocacy on behalf of eye, organ, and tissue donation," says Kenneth Mattfield, Chairman, Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey. "The medical examiner plays a critical role in coordinating the vital resources necessary to save lives and restore sight. We’re grateful for her hard work on behalf of the people of New Jersey." Dr. Clayton, a graduate of Rutgers Medical School, received her residency training in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology from St. Barnabas Medical Center and completed a fellowship in Forensic Pathology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Providence, Rhode Island. Her work to support eye, organ, and tissue donation is "part of my job," she says. "I am a strong proponent of organ and tissue donation, on a personal level," Dr. Clayton explains, "and it carries over to my professional responsibilities. On occasion, a family will contact our office directly and inform us that their deceased loved one was an organ and tissue donor, and ask for our help in making the right contacts. I am happy to step in." Dr. Clayton adds that her involvement in the donation process often begins with a phone conversation with the New Jersey Sharing Network, helping to determine a prospective donor’s suitability to donate eyes, organs or tissues. "Sometimes, during my conversations with families, I may be the person who introduces the topic and offers the opportunity for (eye, organ and tissue) recovery and donation," she says. "The generosity and kindness of families who are in the midst of their own personal grief always amazes me. It is a comfort to them to provide a gift of life in their time of sorrow, and it is my pleasure to assist them in any way I can." The Visionary of the Year Award Program is a fundraising event to benefit the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey. Tickets are available for $45. For reservations, contact Margaret Chaplin, Executive Director, Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, at 973-379-4535. The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, founded in 1970, is a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks. It is a 501c(3), independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of sight. It recovers, evaluates, and distributes human eye tissue for transplantation. It also supports research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions, promotes donation awareness through public and professional education, and provides humanitarian aid to people in need of corneal transplantation throughout the world. For more information, visit LEBNJ online at www.lionseyebanknj.org or call (800) 653-9379. Download PDF Version
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LIONS EYE BANK OF NEW JERSEY APPOINTS CHAPLIN AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
January 3, 2006 SPRINGFIELD, NJ – Midwest Eye-Banks and its subsidiary, the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey (LEBNJ), have announced the appointment of Margaret Greenaway Chaplin as LEBNJ’s Executive Director, effective January 1. Chaplin spent 13 years with St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, serving as Administrative Director, Professional Services during the past seven years. She has been in the health care industry for 20 years, having received her master’s degree in Health Services Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC. “In addition to her extensive background in health care, Margaret has an impressive history of community involvement,” notes Susan d’Olive Mozena, Midwest Eye-Banks’ President and Chief Executive Officer. “She brings management skills and experience in health care operations, experience with governance, and a real sense of community outreach and development, which are critical to the success of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey.” Since LEBNJ joined Midwest Eye-Banks in August, 2005, its administrative duties have been managed on an interim basis by Bradley Tennant, Midwest’s Vice President, Clinical Operations. Tennant has been instrumental in LEBNJ’s success under Midwest, including its recent three-year accreditation by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA), and will continue his involvement on a clinical basis. The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, founded in 1970, is a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks. It is a 501(c)(3), independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the restoration of sight. It recovers, evaluates, and distributes human eye tissue for transplantation. It also supports research into the causes and cures of blinding eye conditions, promotes donation awareness through public and professional education, and provides humanitarian aid to people in need of corneal transplantation throughout the world. For more information, visit LEBNJ online at www.lionseyebanknj.org or call (800) 653-9379. Download PDF Version
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Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Sponsors Open House
August 14, 2006 SPRINGFIELD – The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey will commemorate Lions Eye Bank Week with a presentation and open house on Saturday, Dec. 3, announced Lion Ken Mattfield, PDG, Chairman of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Board of Directors. The program will include a luncheon and educational program for New Jersey Lions District Governors.
A special presentation will feature Eileen Carrigg Specchio, PhD., RN, Associate Professor of Nursing, College of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, New Jersey. She will offer her personal experience with organ donation, as well as a professional perspective as a nurse educator.
The presentation will be followed by an open house and refreshments.
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey has been in operation since 1970 and is accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). It is a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks, which also operates the Illinois Eye-Bank, the Illinois Eye-Bank, Watson Gailey, and the Michigan Eye-Bank.
For more information about the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, contact Lion Lisa Langley, Community Outreach Coordinator, at (800) 247-7250 ext. 135.
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Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Announces Cinotti, Klein and Venturi as 2006 Visionaries of the Year
June 13, 2006
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey presented Alfonse Cinotti, M.D., Marshall Klein and Silvio Venturi with its Visionary of the Year Award at a ceremony in Mountainside on June 12th.
Alfonse Cinotti, M.D., Professor and Chairman Emeritus of the Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), is credited with initiating the Lions Eye Bank in 1969. A specialist in cataracts and glaucoma care, Dr. Cinotti recruited Silvio Venturi and Marshall Klein to serve on an initial steering committee to form the Lions Eye Bank.
“My philosophy is find people who have an interest and the talent, give them responsibility, and let them work,” says Dr. Cinotti, who currently resides in Naples, Florida where he’s a member of the Naples Lions Club. “They understood what I wanted and got it done. I wanted to develop a functional structure that produced what we needed – we needed corneas for patient care and training ophthalmology residents.”
Venturi became the first President of the Lions Eye Bank in 1970. Venturi, an engineer, is the founder and retired president of AMARK Industries. Dr. Cinotti’s vision motivated him to join the Board of Directors of the new eye bank. “He (Dr. Cinotti) was so dedicated to it. I thought, if someone could be so dedicated to this, it is something I could do to help other people and help him in his quest for making a better eye bank.” Venturi is a member of the Springfield Lions Club.
Marshall Klein, Administrator of the Eye Institute, became the first Executive Director of the eye bank in 1970, which operated under the auspices of the Eye Institute, in the NJMS Department of Ophthalmology. Klein served as Administrator from 1972-2005, with the exception of a two year hiatus from 1980-82.
Klein, a Past District Governor, 1969-70, is a member of the Scotch Plains Lions Club. In addition to serving as District Governor, Klein has served various roles within the New Jersey Lions, including Lions State Sight Chairman.
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey has been in operation since 1970 and is accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America. It is a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks, which also operates the Illinois Eye-Bank, the Illinois Eye-Bank, Watson Gailey and the Michigan Eye-Bank.
For more information about the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey, contact Lisa Langley, Community Outreach Coordinator, at (800) 247-7250 ext. 135. #
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Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Celebrates Lions Eye Bank Week with Presentation, Tour
December 19, 2005 SPRINGFIELD – Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first successful cornea transplant and the subsequent development of eye banks by Lions clubs throughout the world, the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey hosted a presentation and tour of its facilities for Lions in Springfield, outside Newark, on Saturday, Dec. 3.
Representatives from several clubs throughout the state attended, including members of the Elizabeth Colombian Lions Club, which presented a $150 donation.
Ken Mattfield, Chairman of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Board of Directors and Lions District 16E Governor, welcomed the group with an overview of the role Lions have played in educating the public and promoting organ and tissue donation in the 100 years since the first successful cornea transplant.
“We have professionals to handle the technical processes of restoring sight through corneal transplants,” explained Mattfield, “but the most important action we can all take is informing our families that we wish to be donors, and completing the paperwork to become registered donors.”
Mattfield emphasized the success of corneal transplants in the United States and other parts of the developed world, where this sight-restoring
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Midwest Eye-Banks Acquires Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey; Capital Improvements Planned
November 11, 2005
ANN ARBOR – Midwest Eye-Banks acquired the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey on Aug. 25, announced Susan d’Olive Mozena, President and Chief Executive Officer of Midwest Eye-Banks, and Marshall Klein, Executive Director of the Lions Eye-Bank of New Jersey. The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey will be a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks.
“We are pleased to welcome the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey into our family of eye banks,” Mozena said. Midwest Eye-Banks has divisions in Michigan and Illinois, operating as the Michigan Eye-Bank and the Illinois Eye-Bank; Each Midwest division is accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA).
“For more than 50 years, our eye banks have distinguished themselves as among the finest in the world,” she added. “We have achieved this position with a sincere commitment to the communities we serve, respect for those who donate precious eye tissue and their families, and a passion for quality in our clinical services.”
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey has been in operation since 1970 and is also accredited by the EBAA. The eye bank recovers, processes and distributes about 400 corneas annually for transplantation.
“We’re fortunate to belong to an organization with such high clinical standards,” Klein said. “With the clinical skills and information technology of Midwest Eye-Banks, and the support of the New Jersey Lions, we will continue to serve our communities well.”
Klein, who is retiring as executive director, will serve as a consultant to Midwest Eye-Banks during the transition, until the end of the calendar year. Bradley Tennant, Vice President of Clinical Operations for Midwest Eye-Banks, has been named interim executive director, while Midwest recruits for the position.
Midwest Eye-Banks will make some minor capital improvements to the New Jersey tissue processing laboratory, and is installing all of its information technology and clinical systems in the operation. In addition, Midwest will bring to New Jersey its programs in fund development, public relations and marketing, community education, and outreach to hospital professionals. The New Jersey eye bank’s medical director, William H. Constad, M.D., is a cornea surgeon and clinical professor of Ophthalmology at the New Jersey Medical School, Newark.
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Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey Joins Midwest Eye-Banks; Lions Community Mission to Continue
November 1, 2005
SPRINGFIELD – The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey has become a subsidiary of Midwest Eye-Banks, announced Susan d’Olive Mozena, President and Chief Executive Officer of Midwest Eye-Banks and Marshall Klein, Executive Director of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey.
“We are pleased to welcome the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey into our family of eye banks,” Mozena said. Midwest Eye-Banks has divisions in Michigan and Illinois, operating as the Michigan Eye-Bank and the Illinois Eye-Bank. “For more than 50 years, our eye banks have distinguished themselves as among the finest in the world,” she added. “Our mission has been in concert with the Lions clubs in the communities we serve – to prevent blindness.
“Our community mission simply could not occur without the continuing generosity of our contributors, including Lions and Lioness organizations,” Mozena said. Mozena, is a member of the Ann Arbor Host Lions Club in Michigan, which helped establish the original Michigan Eye-Bank in 1957.
The new arrangement will not affect the role that Lions play in the organization, as it will continue to be governed by a Board of Directors comprised of New Jersey Lions, added Stanley Grossman, Treasurer, and eight-year member of the Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey. Grossman has also served as District Governor of the New Jersey Lions District 16E and has served on the Lions International Board of Directors.
“I’m confident that the mission of the Lions in New Jersey, relating to the Eye Bank, will not only continue under the leadership of Midwest Eye-Banks, but will be strengthened,” Grossman said. “We’re going to be better off.”
One of the areas in which he anticipates change is in the ability of the Eye Bank to maximize the potential of procuring and distributing corneas.
Midwest Eye-Banks will make some minor capital improvements to the New Jersey tissue processing laboratory, and is installing all of its information technology and clinical systems in the operation, Mozena said. In addition, Midwest will bring to New Jersey its programs in fund development, public relations and marketing, community education, and outreach to hospital professionals.
Midwest Eye-Banks’ divisions distribute nearly 3,000 corneas for transplant annually and is accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA). Midwest waives or reduces tissue processing fees when there is the charitable need to do so. Additionally, each year Midwest grants approximately $100,000 to academic researchers to support early stage research into the causes and cures of blinding eye diseases.
The Lions Eye Bank of New Jersey has been in operation since 1970 and is also accredited by the EBAA. The eye bank recovers, processes and distributes about 400 corneas annually for transplantation.
“We’re fortunate to belong to an organization with such high clinical standards,” Klein said. “With the clinical skills and information technology of Midwest Eye-Banks, and the support of the New Jersey Lions, we will continue to serve our communities well.”
Klein, who is retiring as executive director, will serve as a consultant to Midwest Eye-Banks during the transition, until the end of the calendar year. Bradley Tennant, Vice President of Clinical Operations for Midwest Eye-Banks, has been named interim executive director, while Midwest recruits for the position.
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