Nurses from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Clara Maass Medical Center (CMMC) recently received a heartfelt, personal message from Akbar Cook, Principal of Newark’s West Side High School after receiving a delivery of personal hygiene items collected for students at the school. Just after Principal Cook received The Brotherhood Award at CMMC this Spring, and upon learning that students at the school had a need for personal care items, the ICU team, led by their manager, Maria Paradiso, began collecting items body wash, deodorant, soap and other personal care items for the students.
To express his appreciation ICU Nurses at Clara Maass Medical Center, Principal Akbar Cook shared a video message to thank the ICU Nurses at CMMC for doing good and helping to care for his ‘babies.’ View Principal Cook’s video message, below.
Since last year, Principal Cook has been recognized widely for his revolutionary effort to end bullying by creating a laundry room at the school for students who stopped attending school as a result of being bullied for wearing dirty clothes school. The laundry room, previously used as the football team’s locker room, now features five commercial grade washing machines and dryers and hundreds of donated bottles of laundry detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets. Principal Cook gained national attention for this efforts and has been recognized nationally by Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey, who donated $50,000 and $500,000 respectively to support programs at the school.