Source: Hudson Reporter
Representatives of Christ Hospital, the Mo’Hair Foundation of Jersey City, and local elected officials cut the ribbon for a new Mo’Hair Foundation Salon at Christ Hospital intended to help men, women, and children struggling to maintain their self-esteem while battling cancer.
In a room filled with pink balloons and posters depicting before and after shots of people who received wigs to compensate for hair loss from cancer treatment, officials praised the work ofMo’Hair Foundation founder and CEO Monique Smith Andrews and said they looked forward to bringing her work to Christ Hospital.
The Mo’Hair Foundation is a Jersey City-based non-profit organization that provides free non-surgical hair replacement for cancer patients and other individuals who have lost their hair as a result of their medical treatment.
Along with developing a clientele of celebrities, sports figures, and politicians as well as people in the community, Andrews is considered a master stylist and makeup artist who has received numerous awards for her charity work. A native of Bayonne, she graduated from Natural Motion Beauty School in 1983 and opened her salon Monique’s Techniques in 1988.
Andrews’ mother was diagnosed with cancer when Andrews was still studying to become a hair stylist. Her mother didn’t seem to have any other viable options while being treated — many patients she met were forced to wear bad-fitting and poor-looking wigs or cover their heads with scarves. So she started researching human hair alternatives to wigs and soon plunged into the world of non-surgical hair replacement. This led to the establishment of the Mo’Hair Foundation to provide services for free to people who cannot afford them.
Since 2009, Andrews has been performing the free temporary hair replacement service and has helped more than 100 people at her business location. She said the opening of a salon at Christ Hospital was a dream come true. She said her mother’s dream was to help cancer victims. She opened the hair replacement salon at Christ Hospital in honor of her mother.
The new Christ-hospital location offers patients greater access as well as increased privacy, while reaching an even greater population.
“We are honored to partner with the Mo’Hair Foundation to bring this important service to those individuals who need it most,” said Dr. Natasha Deckmann, chief executive officer for CarePoint Health. “We are constantly working to foster partnerships such as this to help us deliver the highest quality of healthcare to the community as well as added services that improve our patients’ overall experience.”
CarePoint Health CEO Dr. Natasha Deckmann and others said people who feel good about themselves tend to heal better. One of the professionals at the ceremony could speak from experience — a social worker who is an 8-year cancer survivor who struggled with self-esteem during treatment.