Whitesell and Heitzman Family Honored by Oaks Integrated Care

On Wednesday, June 6th, Oaks Integrated Care’s 50th Anniversary was celebrated by a number of special donors, volunteers, and partners at the Laurel Creek Country Club in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Oaks Integrated Care is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, adults and families living with a mental illness, addiction or developmental disability. The organization offers over 230 health and social service programs throughout New Jersey designed to meet the needs of the community with compassion. Its mission is to empower and support individuals and families to achieve emotional and physical wellness by providing quality health and social services.

At the gathering, awards were presented to the Whitesell and Heitzman Family, Senator Troy Singleton, Virtua, and PREIT for their respective work, partnership, and commitment to the organization.

The Whitesell and Heitzman Family were honored and humbled to receive the Legacy Award from Oaks Integrated Care. The Whitesell and Heitzman Family offer congratulations to fellow award recipients, and joins them in saluting Oaks Integrated Care for all of the wonderful things they do in our community.

Please see respective Honoree award descriptions below.

LEGACY AWARD
The Whitesell and Heitzman Family

Tom and Deborah Whitesell and Tom and Evan Heitzman represent two generations of unwavering support for Oaks Integrated Care. For nearly three decades, the family has shown dedication to our mission through corporate event support, donations and volunteer work.  Inspired by the drive and passion he saw in Executive Director Mary Wells, Tom Whitesell joined the Family Service Board of Trustees and served from 1994 to 2003. 

The Whitesells graciously opened up their farm in Moorestown, NJ to thousands of local families for the annual Spring Into Summer fundraiser, creating happy memories for thousands of families in our area for more than ten years. Tom and Evan have generously opened up their hearts and home to host dinners for the Moorestown Progressive Dinner to benefit the Oaks Food Pantries. In addition, the family consistently supports our holiday donation drive by providing gifts for adults living with developmental disabilities. Their legacy of giving will always hold a special place in our history.

ADVOCACY AWARD
Senator Troy Singleton

Oaks Integrated Care recognizes Senator Troy Singleton’s strong commitment to the most vulnerable members for our community and tireless efforts to advocate for important issues including mental health and addiction.  Senator Singleton has devoted his life to public service in government, political, and policy posts at all levels. In 2011, he was elected to his first term in the New Jersey General Assembly, representing the over 220,000 residents of the 7th Legislative District. Senator Singleton served on the Assembly Budget, Education (Vice Chairman), State & Local Government (Chair) and Tourism & Gaming (Vice Chair) Committees. He was elected to the New Jersey State Senate in 2017.

Along with this busy career, Senator Singleton is a devoted husband and father of three. He currently serves as a Commissioner on the Burlington County Bridge Commission, as Co-Chair of New Leaders Council New Jersey, as an Advisory Board member for Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County and Greater Trenton-Princeton and as a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc.

COMMUNITY PARTNER AWARD
Virtua

It takes a community to save lives! Oaks Integrated Care is proud to partner with Virtua to address the opioid epidemic through the Opioid Overdose Recovery Program launched in 2017. The program is part of a state-wide effort to engage and support survivors reversed from an opioid overdose while they are still in the emergency room and link them to treatment programs.  In addition, Oaks has partnered with Virtua through the South Jersey Behavioral Health Innovation Collaborative and Veteran’s telehealth initiative.

As one of New Jersey’s largest, non-profit health systems, Virtua provides comprehensive health care services to achieve its mission to help people be well, get well and stay well. Virtua provides services through Virtua Medical Group with 500 physicians and other clinicians, and at its urgent care centers, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, health and wellness centers, fitness centers, home health services, long-term care and rehabilitation centers, and paramedic program. Virtua is affiliated with Penn Medicine for cancer and neuroscience and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for pediatrics.

BUSINESS IMPACT AWARD
PREIT

When PREIT approached Oaks Integrated Care in 2012 about holding a family-friendly fundraiser at the Moorestown Mall, we were thrilled to accept the offer. Their goal was to connect with the South Jersey community by coming together for an important cause. We united to create Touch A Truck, an annual event that gives kids the chance to see, touch and explore their favorite trucks! Proceeds benefit the Oaks Integrated Care Food Pantries in Mount Holly and Berlin.

PREIT is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that specializes in the development and ownership of large scale retail projects with a geographic focus on in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  The company has been widely recognized as a market leader and was one of the first REITS formed in the US in 1960. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company’s executive and leadership team has a long track record of supporting charitable causes including the Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, The Boy Scouts, The YMCA, the American Heart Association, Leadership Philadelphia and of course, Oaks Integrated Care.

OAKS INTEGRATED CARE (History):

Fifty years ago in Moorestown, NJ, a small group of compassionate volunteers decided to bring their dream of a mental health organization to life. The vision for Family Service of Burlington County was broad yet simple- provide counseling and emergency intervention to adults, children and families in need 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Using donated space, volunteers worked round the clock to offer counseling to families with nowhere else to turn.

Over the next few decades, Family Service continued to strengthen to meet society’s ever-changing needs. By 2011 the agency expanded to offer 65 essential behavioral health programs for individuals and families throughout nine counties in southern and central New Jersey.

In 2012, Family Service merged with Steininger Behavioral Care Services to form Twin Oaks Community Services. In just 3 years, Twin Oaks grew to include over 120 programs and expanded services to include group homes, outpatient, partial care, housing, in-home and community services, food pantries, supportive housing, case management and more.

Twin Oaks Community Services merged with Greater Trenton Behavioral HealthCare in 2015 to form Oaks Integrated Care. By focusing on integrated care, we can begin to treat the whole person to achieve both mental and physical wellness. The merger significantly expanded our services into Mercer County to give more people access to quality behavioral health services.

In 2016, Oaks Integrated Care welcomed Preferred Behavioral Health Group into our family of services as an affiliate. The partnership enhances our mission, expands services into Monmouth and Ocean Counties and strengthens our ability to succeed in the changing healthcare environment.

Today, with 230 programs serving 34,000 individuals and over 2,400 employees, Oaks Integrated Care is one of New Jersey’s most comprehensive and forward-looking human service providers.

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