Hello! My name is Lindsey Midrano and I am a junior at Scotch-Plains Fanwood High School. This year I was presented with an amazing opportunity to serve as a member of the Overlook Medical Center Junior Board. The Junior Board fundraises money for a grant which is  allocated towards a specific area of the hospital. Our determined group unanimously voted to allocate our funds to the Neurosurgical Department, specifically towards a designated operating room for Neurosurgery. 

Overlook Medical Center is home to Atlantic Neuroscience Institute - the area's leader in neuroscience care - which offers a broad range of advanced neurological, neurosurgical, and neurodiagnostic services. These include an Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center, a Level IV Epilepsy Center, Atlantic Health Neuroscience Spine Center, and the Gerald J. Glasser Brain Tumor Center, where more brain tumor surgeries are performed than anywhere else in the state. With some 15,000 surgeries performed each year at Overlook, there is a demonstrated need to increase capacity and optimize our ability to perform complex procedures within a broad range of specialties. To that end, both inpatient and outpatient surgical areas are being renovated and expanded to include additional surgery suites, with particular focus given to providing our neurosurgeons with the space and the tools they need.

As a student planning to go into the medical field, the efforts of the Junior Board and Overlook Medical Center strengthen my passion for medicine and improving the lives of patients. It is key that Overlooks advanced neurosurgery team has their own designated operating room to provide life saving surgeries.

Thanks to a generous donor, every dollar raised by the Junior Board up to 100,000 will be matched 1:1, essentially doubling your contribution. In addition, another longtime supporter has offered a 3:1 match for all donations to surgical services. You will see your donation come to life through the construction of this new operating room.

Thank you for taking part in our journey to save lives and support an amazing cause! 

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to reach out to me: lindsey.midrano@gmail.com

To follow our efforts and stay up to date, please follow our instagram: @juniorboardoverlook