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Contact: Patient Care Services Programs Health Education Dept. Deborah Heart and Lung Center 200 Trenton Road Browns Mills, New Jersey 08015 609-893-1200, ext. 5618 or 5258 |
| Zipper Club History | ||||||||
| The Zipper Club is a nonprofit, volunteer peer group made up of cardiac patients and their families. Their mission is to help people like themselves. The club was formed in 1974 by Sydney Freedman, who had undergone valve and bypass surgery at Deborah Heart and Lung Center. While he was in the hospital, a doctor asked him to speak with another patient who was feeling frightened and anxious. Syd immediately recognized the value of peer support and human empathy in recovering from this very technical, life-altering surgery.
The first meeting was held in September of 1974 at Syd's home. It was attended by a Rabbi, a cardiologist, heart patients and their spouses. In the 1970's Zipper Club volunteers made home visits to patients referred to them by hospitals and doctors, at all hours of the day or night. Meetings were held in members' homes. After Syd moved to Florida, Carole Scutt assumed the leadership role for the next five years. The emphasis was on pre-op visiting and developing "heart-buddy" relationships among patients. Carole was succeeded by Frank Hollin, the first official "president" of the Zipper Club. |
In the 1980's the structure of the Zipper Club was formalized. It established a relationship with the American Heart Association in Philadelphia and initiated peer-visitation programs in several hospitals. The Zipper Club was incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1981. Under the leadership of Walter Chacker, the Zipper Club visitation program became widely known and welcome in hospitals throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey. Walt expanded the program with telephone visitation and with larger meetings held at hospitals. In 1991 the Zipper Club received national recognition as the 520th Daily Point of Light in President George Bush's "thousand Points of Light" Program. Currently, the Zipper Club is based at the American Heart Association in Conshohocken, PA. Volunteers visit patients in nine hospitals in PA and three in NJ. Four additional hospitals in PA will establish visitation programs in 2001. All Volunteer Visitors must complete a specialized training program and participate in annual follow-up workshops. Zipper Club volunteers touch the lives of thousands of heart patients and their families each year. They offer emotional support based on their personal experiences. Additional support and heart education is provided through monthly meetings featuring such topics as nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and the latest information on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart related diseases. |
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