MORRIS COUNTY — Bayada Nurses presented Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco with its Champion Award last week for his support of in-home nurses and the patients who rely on them.
Bucco was honored for his work to raise reimbursement rates for personal care assistants and private duty nurses, and supporting a recently signed law providing parking placards that ease access for home health-care providers.
Professionals and advocates praised Bucco’s dedication and hard work at the organization’s annual awards ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn in Hamilton Township on Thursday, October 25.
“When someone like Tony Bucco changes our lives the way he does, and puts his life and family aside as a public servant, it is not always going to be easy to put our lives aside to help other people and to honor them,” said Christina Cerza, a home-care advocate and mother of a patient. “That’s why I’m here today. This man made a huge impact on our lives and he needs to know that.”
In December 2016, Bucco visited Cerza and her daughter Carly Zukowsky in their home in Bernardsville with Christine Rios, the director of the Bayada pediatrics office in Morris Plains. The 17-year-old Zukowsky was diagnosed with a recessive genetic disorder after her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck during birth. She receives full-time nursing care and is a sophomore at Bernards High School.
When the family needed additional nursing hours, Bucco negotiated with their insurance company to get more nursing coverage for Zukowsky.
“You are not just an assemblyman by title, you are walking the talk, and you are making it happen, and we are so grateful for you,” Cerza told Bucco.“He is always available and listens to the concerns of home health care and what we go through as providers and as clients,” said Marlana Follett, a pediatrics director for the northern New Jersey area, while introducing Bucco. “He has attended several family meetings and roundtables with our employees.”
“I can tell you that my life changed the day I walked into the home and met Christina and Carly,” Bucco explained. “Every once in a while I get a photo of Carly going to the prom or out at school and those are the days you say to yourself: ‘I’ve got to keep doing this.’”
