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June 13, 2008
Good Shepherd and H.A.L.A. Partner to Have Inspirational Mural Painted on South Allentown Campus

Allentown—Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and the Hispanic American League of Artists (H.A.L.A.) have partnered to have a mural painted on Good Shepherds South Allentown campus, as part of the Lehigh Valley Community Mural Project. The Lehigh Valley Community Mural Project is a collaborative effort between H.A.L.A. and the Alliance for Building Communities that began in 2004, which incorporates the fine arts into community development through mural paintings.

The mural at Good Shepherd is being painted on a wall outside the lower level of the Health & Technology Center on South Fifth Street. The wall was originally built as a protective shield from an electrical transformer that was placed just beyond the building, but the size of the wall also obstructs the window views of South Fifth Street for Good Shepherd patients and associates inside the Hand Therapy Unit. The new mural will now provide a much more tranquil view for patients who are receiving hand therapy treatments.

The theme of the mural is a peaceful, outdoor garden with a faint background of several hands that promotes the hand-healing process. The mural is being painted by Matthew Halm, a 27-year-old artist from Kutztown who has helped on several of the murals H.A.L.A. has painted throughout the city of Allentown. He began preparing the wall for design in early June and expects to be completed with the mural by July 1 if weather conditions are favorable.

We wanted a mural that would inspire calm and relaxing thoughts for our patients, says Randy Wolfe, OTR/L, CHT. The mural will help our patients enjoy their rehabilitation.

The idea to have H.A.L.A. paint the mural grew out of a tour of Good Shepherd in December of 2007 by State Representative Jennifer Mann, who noticed the wall and recommended that Good Shepherd contact H.A.L.A. to talk about possible ideas for a mural that would benefit the community.

Having these murals done is both exhilarating and fun, says Norberto Dominguez, founder and creative director of H.A.L.A. Working with an established organization like Good Shepherd only confirms how much the people in this area really do care about the community they live and work in.

H.A.L.A. is a non-profit organization founded in 1994, whose mission is to cultivate, educate, promote and collaborate with actors, dancers, writers, media artists, visual artists and musicians in the Lehigh Valley, while preserving Latino cultural heritage.

FEATURE STORY IDEA: Find out more about the partnership between Good Shepherd and H.A.L.A., and how the mural is providing inspiration to associates and patients of the Good Shepherd Hand Therapy Unit. Interviews with Randy Wolfe, Matthew Halm and Norberto Dominguez (fluent in both English and Spanish) can be arranged by calling Bo Fulginiti at 610-776-3553 or by e-mailing him at bfulginiti@gsrh.org.

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is a nationally recognized rehabilitation leader, offering a continuum of care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities and specializing in assistive and rehabilitation technology. More than 36,000 people come to Good Shepherd each year for specialized programs in stroke, orthopedics, brain injury, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, amputation and more. Good Shepherd provides rehabilitation services in 8 eastern Pennsylvania counties. Good Shepherd operates 15 outpatient sites, 4 inpatient sites, a long-term acute care hospital, 2 long-term care homes for people with severe disabilities, an independent living facility, a Work Services division that provides employment training and job placement and a lifestyle products store called Rehability. Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, will provide post-acute care in the Philadelphia region beginning July 2008. Good Shepherd was founded in 1908 when The Rev. John and Estella Raker invited a disabled orphan named Viola into their Allentown, Pennsylvania, home. Good Shepherd is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For more information, visit www.goodshepherdrehab.org.