Contact:

Maureen Curran Kleinman

Marketing and Communications

(201) 291-6310

mcurran@valleyhealth.com

Ridgewood, NJ – May 21, 2009 – Recently The Valley Hospital was honored to welcome United States Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who conducted a press conference calling for Congress to pass the Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act (Mom’s Opportunity To Access Help, Education, Research, and Support for Postpartum Depression).  The legislation introduced by Senator Menendez calls for the federal government to increase its commitment to combating postpartum depression.

Also in attendance were former New Jersey First Lady and postpartum depression survivor Mary Jo Codey, and Fred Rezvani, M.D., Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Valley.  The event received widespread coverage in newspapers and on radio and television.

It is estimated that postpartum depression affects from 10 to 20 percent of new mothers.  In the United States, there may be many as 800,000 new cases each year.Valley has been at the forefront of the effort to raise awareness about this debilitating condition.  Even before New Jersey became the first state to mandate the screening of new mothers for postpartum depression, Valley had already implemented a number of important steps to identify new mothers at risk, to offer additional support and when necessary, to intervene with treatment.

Caption:  Shown (left to right) are: United States Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Franklin Lakes resident Sylvia Lasalandra, who documented her experience with postpartum depression in a book and short film, “A Daughter’s Touch”; Susan Stone, a resident of Tenafly and chairwomen of the President’s Advisory Council, Postpartum Support International; former New Jersey First Lady and postpartum depression survivor Mary Jo Codey; Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital; and Fred Rezvani, M.D., Director of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Valley.