PARSIPPANY — Meena Patel had been living in the United States for less than a decade when her husband died. At the time, she worried about how she would raise her two young children with no help.

“It was scary. I didn’t know what was going to happen next,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would be able to pay rent. It happened all of a sudden. I thought how many hours will I have to work to provide food and roof for my children.”

The struggles that defined her life as a young widow helped shape who she would later become in life – a caring and compassionate nurses’ assistant at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark.

“Life has been a struggle, but let me tell you, every time I ever do anything from my heart, God has rewarded me,” said Patel, who is deeply religious. “I believe in Karma very strongly. You must to the right thing always.”

Patel was named the employee of the month for February at Saint Michael’s Medical Center, Newark, for doing right by patients.

Patel said she is guided by one principal: The person she is caring for could be a family member.

“Every day I come to work very happy,” Patel said. “I provide patients care with kindness, love and respect and I go home very happy that I did something good for somebody.”

Janice Learn, the nursing supervisor on A4, the unit where Patel works, said patients consistently speak glowingly of Patel.

“Meena is a hard worker who often stays if needed after her shift,” Learn said. “Her coworkers enjoy working with her and the patients can’t say enough good things about the care she provides.”

Patel’s first job was with Saint James Hospital in Newark’s Ironbound. Though she was trained as a nurse in India, she could not work immediately as a nurse in New Jersey without further schooling, testing and licensing. So she started out as a nurses’ assistant with the goal of one day becoming a nurse.

But when her husband died of a brain stem infarction in 1998, her plans changed and she focused on raising her children, who were 4 and 9 at the time.

In 2008, when Saint James was closed, Patel applied for jobs at other hospitals, including Saint Michael’s.

“When I came home and heard on the answering machine that Saint Michael’s was offering me a full-time job, it was the happiest day,” Patel said. “I was a single mom. I was raising two kids by myself without any help. It was so scary.”

At the time, Cathedral Healthcare System, which owned Saint Michael’s, Saint James and Columbus Hospital, sold the three hospitals to Catholic Health East, which closed Saint James and Columbus. Like Patel, a number of Saint James and Columbus employees found work at Saint Michael’s. Prime Healthcare purchased the hospital in May 2016.

Including her time at Saint James, Patel has 30 years of service.

At one point, Patel, who never remarried, worked as many as three jobs to save enough money to send her children to college.

Patel’s children are now grown. Her son graduated from NJIT with a degree in mechanical engineering and was recently married. Her daughter is graduating from Rutgers University with a pharmacy degree.

“I feel myself a little bit lonely,” said Patel, who will soon be an empty nester. “But I know myself. I will do more volunteer hours. Because I came from India, I always admired Mother Theresa. I can’t be Mother Theresa, but I can follow in her footsteps.”

Seniors Celebrate Chinese New Year

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By Florence Kan

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Year of the Dog, various senior citizen clubs at the Parsippany Community Center planned and participated in nine programs on Friday, February 16.

Ann Fong and Janet Chen were the emcees for the program. Opening remarks were made by Parsippany’s Mayor Michael Soriano and Health & Human Services’ Director Michele Picone.

The first program was the Tai Chi Chuan which was performed by the Tai Chi Group at the Center. Mayor Soriano was invited by the Tai Chi group to join in and give an impromptu performance. He did such a fabulous job in convincing the audience that he was no green horn in Tai Chi practice. The Parsippany Tai Chi group is led by Master Yan Feng who teaches different forms of Tai Chi such as chuan(fists), sword and fans. She has a trainer certificate from Beijing, China (Coach of martial arts – National Level II) and been a Tai Chi teacher at the Center for over six years. The group practices every Monday and Friday at the Center and has over 80 members.

Second program was a dance named Nanping Evening Bell which was performed by the Parsippany Grand Dancing group.  Grand dancing is a popular type of dance in China usually done in open spaces.  All ladies were dressed in medium long Chinese “Qipao”, one kind of formal Chinese dress. They all looked gorgeous. The Grand Dancing group is led by Nina Dai who is a frequent story writer and teaches grand dancing every Wednesday afternoon at the Center.

The third program was Tai Chi long-tasseled sword which was performed by Master Yan Feng. Her exceptional Tai Chi skill was absolutely stunning at her age of over 70.  

The fourth program was guitar playing performed by Chuck Boyajian and his bass player, Simon. Their folk music was very lively and uplifting.  Chuck and Simon belong to a band and love to entertain.

The fifth program was Mulan Double fans 54 form performed by the Tai Chi Group. The look-alike blue and white peacock fans flew over the room like a big cloud of sea.

The sixth program was a mini fashion show performed by the Grand Dancing group. All ladies dressed elegantly in long “Qipao” and the audience was amazed by their beauty, charm and graceful movements.

The seventh program was the Double fans 48 form performed by Vivian and Charlie Zhou. Their coordinated movements captured the eyes of the audience the entire time.  The eighth program consisted of Waltz and Cha Cha dances performed by the Parsippany Ballroom Dancing group and were quite entertaining. This dance group is led by Richard Wu who teaches at the Center every Thursday afternoon. The ninth program and finale was ballroom dances performed by  Lucy and Bing Chang. Both take lessons at Rogers Dance Center.  They danced International Waltz, American Foxtrot and Quickstep.  Lucy wore a beautiful pink professional gown. Together with Bing, an avid dancer, they had captured the attention of the entire audience with their impeccable dancing techniques. The Chinese New Year celebration ended with open floor free dancing.

In conclusion, over 150 seniors, friends and families had attended the program at the Center. They have expressed their thanks to Mayor Soriano, Health & Human Services’ Director Picone and her staff, the organizers, volunteers and the performing groups whose efforts had made this Chinese New Year a memorable one. Special thanks to Mayor Soriano and Director Picone for providing this wonderful facility which has so many activities for senior citizens. Their supportive efforts  are so much appreciated and have drawn so many seniors of diverse backgrounds to the Center.