Ramapo College Teams Up with Jewish Family Service of North Jersey to Launch Program to Assist Holocaust Survivors

Ramapo College nursing students are learning more than just textbook material.

They are receiving first-hand training in how to deal with the special needs of Holocaust survivors who may exhibit symptoms of late-onset Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, also known as PTSD.

The new initiative, which is in collaboration with Ramapo College’s Gross Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Ramapo College’s Nursing Department and Jewish Family Service of North Jersey, will give ten students the opportunity to work with experienced social workers to recognize, understand and deal with PTSD sufferers in a “caring and effective manner,” according to the college.

“Late-onset PTSD is an affliction that may be experienced by the survivors of genocides, wars, civil turmoil, sexual abuse, and other forms of human distress,” Ramapo College said. “The goal of the initiative is to expose students to a population with very diverse experiences and to better prepare the students for situations they may encounter in their professional lives.”

“Participating in this project will hopefully afford students skills that may be transferable to other situations and groups as they continue their careers in the nursing field,” said Dr. Kathleen M. Burke, assistant dean of nursing at Ramapo.

The program is also one of many community-based programs Ramapo nursing students are participating in this semester, she said.

Pictured: Back row: Jacqueline Franklin, Mahwah; Jillian Firth, Glen Rock; Justin Barredo, New Milford; Katie Balsamo, Berkley Heights; Mollie Dlugasch. Front row: Dona Cyril, Bergenfield; Judith Dauer, Andover; Karen Comiso, Union; Cathleen Carbillas, New Milfrod; Marissa Gentile, Wood-Ridge.

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