In Good Health by In Good Health: CNY's Healthcare Newspaper

in good

our

150 th FREE issue

ONE IN 10

More than 10 percent of babies worldwide are born prematurely. The problem is worse in African countries. Belarus and Ecuador have the lowest rate

PET SPECIAL Inside • Raw food and your pets • Getting your dog ready for the summer

Three Cheers for

Cherries

Why you should eat more cherries? Go to page 13 Meet Your Doctor. Robert Corona runs the pathology department at SUNY Upstate

June 2012 • Issue 150

Synthetic Drugs

CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

Story on page 11 BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT YOUR STOMA. Shawn, Age 50, Diagnosed at 46 Washington State

Smoking causes immediate damage to your body. For Shawn, it caused throat cancer. You can quit. For free help, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

MENORAH PARK TURNS 100

www.smokefree.gov

Anti-Smoking Campaign Making an Impact The campaign “Tips From Former Smokers” — which features graphic antismoking ads — has gotten strong feedback in CNY

Men’s Depression

Kids’ Summer Safety Gear Helmets, wrist guards can make a difference

Depression among men is vastly under-diagnosed. Part of the reason for this is that men often manifest depression in ways that are different from the “classic” depression signals. Page 21

Thanks to the philanthropic commitment of four generations, the Jewish Home of Central New York — which became known in 2002 as Menorah Park — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Having evolved from a small rooming house in Syracuse in 1912, Menorah Park today is a 35-acre hillside campus that can accommodate a resident population of 350 to 400 people. June 2012 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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When it comes to vascular services, the best care is at St. Joseph’s.

# 301 Prospect Ave., Syracuse, NY Visit our new website: www.sjhsyr.org St. Joseph’s Resource Line (Physician & Program Information): 315-703-2138 Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: stjosephshealth St. Joseph’s is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis. Franciscan Companies is a member of the St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center network.

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

in New York state

More Than 1 In Every 10 Babies Born Premature Globally

ore than 10 percent of babies worldwide are born prematurely, according to a new report issued by Save the Children, WHO (The World Health Organization), The March of Dimes, and Newborn & Child Health. The report, called “Born Too Soon: The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth”, informs that over 1 million premature babies die soon after they are born, while several million more suffer from physical, neurological or educational disabilities. The economic burden of these disabilities to family members and society overall is considerable. The report also includes the first ever country ranking of preterm birth rates. “Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer,” said Joy Lawn, coeditor of the report. “Preterm births account for almost half of all newborn deaths worldwide and are now the second leading cause of death in children under 5, after pneumonia, and six times more than child deaths due to AIDS.” There are huge disparities between countries regarding preterm births and associated mortalities. All but two of the 11 countries with preterm birth rates over 15 percent are in sub-Saharan Africa. Sixty percent of all preterm births worldwide occur in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The authors emphasize, however, that preterm birth really is a worldwide problem. Brazil and USA are among the 10 countries with the highest number of preterm births. In the U.S., 12 percent of all babies are born premature, that is more than one in every nine births — twice as many in the majority of European countries (twice as many as in China). “The numbers of preterm births are increasing,” said Lawn. “Of the 65 countries with reliable trend data for preterm birth rates, all but three countries have shown increases in the last 20 years. Worldwide, 50 million births still happen at home and many babies die without birth or death certificates. These first ever country estimates give us a clear picture of how many babies are born too soon and how many die.” Why are preterm birth rates rising in rich countries? Several factors have

The following nations have the highest number of preterm births: India ...........................................3,519,100 China .........................................1,172,300 Nigeria ..........................................773,600 Pakistan ........................................748,100 Indonesia ......................................675,700 United States ................................517,400 Bangladesh ..................................424,100 Philippines ....................................348,900 Demo. Republic of the Congo ......341,400 Brazil.............................................279,300

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The following countries have the highest rates of preterm births: Malawi .................................. 18.1 per 100 Comoros and Congo ............ 16.7 per 100 Zimbabwe ............................. 16.6 per 100 Equatorial Guinea ................. 16.5 per 100 Mozambique ......................... 16.4 per 100 Gabon ................................... 16.3 per 100 Pakistan ................................ 15.8 per 100 Indonesia .............................. 15.5 per 100 Mauritania ............................. 15.4 per 100

The following countries have the lowest rates of preterm births: Belarus ................................................ 4.1 Ecuador ............................................... 5.1 Latvia ................................................... 5.3 Finland, Croatia, and Samoa ............... 5.5 Lithuania and Estonia .......................... 5.7 Antigua/Barbuda .................................. 5.8 Japan and Sweden .............................. 5.9 contributed to a rising rate of preterm births in high-income nations, including: More older women are giving birth than before; more women are using fertility drugs to get pregnant, which increases the number of multiple pregnancies; more women of reproductive age have diabetes and more women of reproductive age are obese. There are more inductions and C-sections before full term, many of which are medically not unnecessary. Experts say that approximately 75 percent of the preterm babies who currently die worldwide could be saved with inexpensive care if proven treatments and preventions were available and used.

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ONONDAGA, OSWEGO, CAYUGA AND MADISON COUNTIES in good A monthly newspaper published by

Health CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

Local News, Inc. Distribution: 35,000 copies. To request home delivery ($15 per year), call 342-1182.

In Good Health is published 12 times a year by Local News, Inc. © 2012 by Local News, Inc. All rights reserved. Mailing Address: P.O. Box 276, Oswego, NY 13126. • Phone: 315-342-1182 • Fax: 315-342-7776. Editor & Publisher: Wagner Dotto • Associate Editor: Lou Sorendo Contributing Writers: Jim Miller, Eva Briggs, M.D., Gwenn Voelckers, Deborah Banikowski, Deborah Sergeant, Anne Palumbo, Chris Motola, Melissa Stefanec, Aaron Gifford, Suzanne Ellis, Todd C. Battaglia, M.D., Matthew Liptak, May Beth Roach, Ernst Lemothe • Advertising: Jasmine Maldonado, Tracy DeCann • Design: Chris Crocker • Ofﬁce Manager: Laura J. Beckwith

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June 2012 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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CALENDAR of

HEALTH EVENTS

June 2

Multi-organ blood analysis offered in Fulton

FREE

Community Bladder & Continence Awareness

HEALTH FAIR

Saturday, June 23, 2012

11 am - 2 pm St. Lucy’s Church Auditorium 435 Gifford Street, Syracuse, NY

Hosted by the Syracuse Chapter of the Society of Urologic Nurses & Associates

Oswego Health and the Fulton Kiwanis Club will team up once again to offer the community a multi-organ blood analysis on Saturday, June 2, in the cafeteria of G. Ray Bodley High School. This full battery of tests can help prevent potential health problems. The cost of the analysis is $35. Typically these tests can cost more than $340. In addition, there is an optional $20 prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which is recommended to men older than age 50. To make an appointment, residents can call 341-0094. The screening will be offered from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. A 12-hour fast is required. Checks to cover the cost of the screenings should be made out to “Oswego Health.”

June 6

Medicare basics workshop held in Auburn Learn about the basics of Medicare at a free workshop from 1 to 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 6, at the basement training room of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St. in Auburn. This session will be geared toward those who are approaching Medicare enrollment and for those already enrolled who are overwhelmed or confused by the information and the options available. Information included in these programs will be the basics of original Medicare; Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription

WHOLE FOODS DAY TRIP Day trip to WHOLE FOODS in Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, July 21. Van leaves at 6 a.m. Play health trivia and win prizes! Free lunch! Samples for all! Win a $25 gift card. Plus other giveaways.

$125 per person. RSVP ONLY. Contact Deborah 315-882-8194 or e-mail healthtou@twcny.rr.com

coverage; Medicare Preventive benefits; Medicare supplemental insurance and EPIC; costs, co-pays and deductibles; and information about available assistance to help those beneficiaries of a low-income status. Registration is required and will be accepted until June 5 or until such time as the seating limit has been met. For more information, call the Cayuga County Office for the Aging at 315-253-1226.

June 9

Red Cross holding BBQ event in Oneida The Madison-Oneida Chapter of the American Red Cross is holding its sixth annual chicken barbecue. It will be a “Drive-Thru BAR-B-Q” — just drive in, pay the cashier, pick up your meal and enjoy at home. You won’t even need to leave your car. The barbecue will be held at Sears parking lot in Oneida (next to Wal-Mart) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, June 9, at a cost of $8 per meal. Included in a meal will be 1/2 chicken, cole slaw, and salt potatoes, or 1/2 chicken only for $5. Proceeds from the barbecue help support local American Red Cross branches’ ongoing commitment to the communities. For more information call 315-363-2900 or email susan.tonra@redcross.org.

June 9

Rochester Deaf Festival takes place Exhibits, entertainment, food, a cake contest, prizes, activities for children and more will be part of The Fourth Rochester Deaf Festival, Inc. will take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 9, at Ellison Park. The event is made possible by exclusive “Diamond” sponsorships from The Z® and Harter Secrest & Emery, LLP, plus valuable partnerships with Deaf Rochester BBQ, Rochester Deaf Rotary and Rochester Recreation Club for the Deaf. For additional information, visit rochesterdeaffestival.org, “Like” RochesterDeafFestival on Facebook and follow @RocDeafFestival on Twitter.

June 10

Scleroderma Foundation schedules event The Scleroderma Foundation / Tri-State, Inc. Chapter will hold its annual Syracuse’s “Stepping Out to Cure

LAKE REGION UROLOGY William H. Foresman, M.D., P.C. 192 Genesee Street • Auburn, NY 13021 Ph: (315) 258-LAKE (5253) • Fax: (315) 258-0202 Insurance Questions: pamela@centralny.twcbc.com

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Major credit cards accepted. Convenient parking lot • Treatment of female urinary incontinence • No scalpel vasectomy behind building • In-ofﬁce kidney stone treatment • Fully integrated electronic medical records

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Scleroderma” walk at Onondaga Lake Park (Onondaga Lake Parkway, Liverpool) June 10. Walk registration starts at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10. Scleroderma is a chronic, degenerative autoimmune disease characterized by a hardening of the body’s connective tissue. With no known cure, scleroderma is a painful, life altering disease that can be fatal. There are an estimated 300,000 people living with scleroderma in the United States — about 80 percent of which are women, typically diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 55. There are an estimated 30,000 cases of scleroderma in Tri-State Chapter’s New York, New Jersey and Connecticut service area. The Syracuse walk helps the Scleroderma Foundation / Tri-State, Inc. Chapter build awareness and raise funds for dealing with this devastating disease. Tri-State provides support to help scleroderma patients and their families cope with the disease through support groups, physician and peer referrals and educational forums. The Tri-State Chapter also advocates for and funds medical research aimed at finding new and better treatments and ultimately, a cure for scleroderma. For more information on scleroderma and the Scleroderma Foundation / Tri-State, Inc. Chapter, call 800-867-0885 or visit www.scleroderma.org/chapter/tristate.

June 27

Aurora offers monthly vision screening Aurora of CNY, Inc. is offering free vision screening at its office at 518 James St. in Syracuse. Screening will be held from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on the following dates: June 27, July 25, Aug. 22, Sept. 26, Oct. 24 and Nov. 28. Each screening takes approximately 15 minutes; appointments can be scheduled by calling Aurora at 422-7263. Vision screening is a non-medical test that evaluates a person’s visual acuity and checks for color-blindness, field-of-vision defects and other conditions. If the screening reveals a possible problem, a visit to a physician is recommended.

SUNY offers test for health education certiﬁcation Registration has opened for the next certified health education specialist test, which will take place Saturday, Oct. 20, at the SUNY Oswego Metro Center in the Atrium, 2 Clinton Square in Syracuse. This voluntary certification was developed by and for the health education profession to promote mastery of a common set of skills across practice settings. Registrants must meet eligibility requirements of the credentialing agency, the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc. The exam requires test takers to apply and interpret knowledge in the seven areas of responsibility for health educators, which cover a range of competencies from planning to implementing to advocating for health education programs. SUNY Oswego Metro Center first served as a CHES examination site in April. Prior to that, the closest site was about a 90-minutes drive from Syracuse. This often required test takers to make an overnight stay, increasing the cost and time required to take the exam, officials said. For more information, call 315-399-4100 or email metro@oswego.edu.

SUNBURN

Young Adults at Higher Risk of Skin Cancer

These people are all host parents in the Treatment Foster Care Program at Cayuga Centers

What does that mean?

Half of adults younger than age 30 report being sunburned; indoor tanning rates highest among white women

It means they have big hearts,

oung adults are increasing their risk for developing skin cancer, according to two studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute. One study, of people aged 18-29, found that 50 percent reported at least one sunburn in the past year, despite an increase in protective behaviors such as sunscreen use, seeking shade, and wearing long clothing to the ankles. Another report found that indoor tanning is common among young adults, with the highest rates of indoor tanning among white women aged 18-21 years (32 percent) and 22-25 years (30 percent). Both reports evaluated data from the National Health Interview Survey’s Cancer Control Supplement. They are published in today’s issue of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. “More public health efforts, including providing shade and sunscreen in recreational settings, are needed to raise awareness of the importance of sun protection and sunburn prevention to reduce the burden of skin cancer,” said Marcus Plescia, director of CDC’s division of cancer prevention and control. “We must accelerate our efforts to educate young adults about the dangers of indoor tanning to prevent melanoma as this generation ages.” Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, and melanoma is the most deadly type of skin cancer. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and from indoor tanning equipment is the most important preventable risk factor for skin cancer. Indoor tanning before age 35 increases a person’s risk of getting melanoma by 75 percent. Sunburn indicates too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation. “Efforts to shape public policies awareness regarding indoor tanning generally have been targeted toward adolescents rather than young adults to help change behavior of minors,” said Anne Hartman, study coauthor from the Applied Research Program of NCI’s Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. “This study suggests that as adolescents mature into young adults, they may continue to need environmental support to develop and maintain healthy behaviors and to change their perspectives about tanning.” Findings from the two studies: • Among adults aged 18-29 years, whites reported the highest sunburn prevalence (66 percent in 2010) whereas the lowest rates were among blacks (11 percent in 2010). Although sunburn is not as common among blacks as compared to whites, blacks can get sunburned. • The most common sun protective behaviors reported among women aged 18-29 years in 2010 were using sunscreen (37 percent) and staying in the shade (35 percent). White women

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hostakid.org Contact Chris Schell at hostakid@cayugacenters.org or 315-253-5383 ext. 1203 were less likely to stay in the shade, and black women were less likely to use sunscreen compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Among men aged 18-29 years, the most common sun protective behaviors reported in 2010 were wearing long clothing to the ankles (33 percent) and staying in the shade (26 percent). • Among white women aged 18-21 years who reported indoor tanning, an average of 28 visits occurred in the past year. White women aged 18-21 years were the most common users of indoor tanning. • The highest prevalence of indoor tanning was reported among white women aged 18-21 years residing in the Midwest (44 percent), and those aged 22-25 years in the South (36 percent). • Among white adults who reported indoor tanning, 58 percent of women and 40 percent of men used one 10 or more times in the previous year. People should take these steps to protect themselves from ultraviolet light exposure that could lead to skin cancer by: • Seeking shade, especially during midday hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). • Wearing clothing to protect exposed skin. • Wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shade the face, head, ears, and neck. • Wearing wrap-around sunglasses that block as close to 100 percent of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays as possible. Sunglasses safeguard your eyes from UVA and UVB rays, protect the tender skin around your eyes from sun exposure, and reduce the risk of cataracts and ocular melanoma. • Using sunscreen with sun protective factor 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection. • Avoiding indoor tanning.

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Crouse Hospital Patient Preadmission Center (315) 470-7942 St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center Medical Office Centre (315) 703-5004 Upstate University Hospital at Community General Physician Office Building (315) 492-5428 FAYETTEVILLE Northeast Medical Center (315) 329-7047

PULASKI North Jefferson Street (315) 298-4743 In the suburbs

CAMILLUS Medical Center West (315) 468-0501

EAST SYRACUSE Medical Center East (315) 656-9560

Maps and directions online at www.laboratoryalliance.com June 2012 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Macular Degeneration Dr. George Kornfeld uses miniaturized binoculars or telescopes to help those with vision loss keep reading, writing and maintaining independence.

By Elana Lombardi, Freelance Writer Just because you have macular degeneration or other eye diseases like diabetic retinopathy doesn’t mean you must give up driving. “People don’t know that there are doctors who are very experienced in low vision care.” Dr. George Kornfeld, a low vision optometrist. “My new telescopic glasses make it much easier to read signs at a distance.” Says Bonnie, “Definitely worth the $1950 cost. I don’t know why I waited to do this. I should have come sooner. ”Low vision devices are not always expensive. Some reading glasses cost as little as $450 and some magnifiers under $100. Every case is different because people have different levels of vision and different desires. “Our job is to figure out everything and anything possible to keep a person functioning visually.” Says Dr. Kornfeld. Dr. Kornfeld sees patients in his five offices throughout upstate New York.

For more information and a FREE telephone consultation call: 585-271-7320 Toll-free 1-866-446-2050

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Meet

Your Doctor

By Chris Motola

Robert Corona Doctor who founded Upstate’s telemedicine returns to direct the pathology department, following a leadership role at Welch Allyn. He talks about his field and how different it is to work in academics and the corporate world Q: You helped setup Upstate Medical’s telemedicine program in the ‘90s, can you explain what that is? A: Prior to social networking and wide use of the Internet, we had set up a system that was a microscope hooked up to a camera that could send the images remotely. So we would look at tissue inter-operatively and make a diagnose. So that was telepathology, the first application of telemedicine. Telemedicine at the time usually meant using video over the Internet to make or support a diagnose. It’s probably best that the term go away because so many people are using multimedia to practice medicine now, that almost all those applications could fall under the label of telemedicine. We digitize pathology slides, radiology has gotten rid of film, video conferencing, it’s all telemedicine. Q: Are you stilled involved with informatics at the university? A: My new role is to head up the pathology and laboratory medicine section of Upstate. I’m hoping to do for pathology what happened in radiology years ago in digitizing the way we do things, getting more sophisticated testing than using the computational power we have now. Q: Your personal specialty is neuropathology. Can you explain what that is? A: In the general area of pathology, you have different tissues and organ systems. Neuropathologists have two extra years in a fellowship beyond general pathology to diagnose diseases of the nervous system.

Visit cnyhealth.com Page 6

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Q: What kinds of conditions do you typically treat? A: The surgical conditions are for the most part brain tumors and spinal chord tumors. The conditions that we would see from autopsy specimens would be strokes and degenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. We also provide consultation for forensic pathologists for

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

head traumas or other specific issues related to seizures. So any nervous system tissue would be the domain of the neuropathologist. Q: What duties do you have as head of the pathology department? What’s your management style? A: We’re a big department. We have anatomic pathology, which is tissue-based pathology that people typically think of with biopsies. We have all kinds of labs that do specialty testing on that tissue. The clinical pathology side is laboratory medicine with hematology, chemistry and microbiology. That’s where a lot of your tests go to be evaluated. The department requires a really robust information system. The department is really diverse, there are many labs and technical people. My management style? I was here for a few years before I went off to the corporate world and spent almost 16 years as chief medical officer at Welch Allyn. So my style is probably a hybrid of an academic physician and a physician executive from the corporate world. I tend to be very open and communicative and try to include people in what I’m thinking and try to integrate it into my strategy. Q: What was your experience in the corporate world like? A: I was lucky enough to work for one of the most outstanding companies in the world. WelchAllyn’s a big company, but it

has a close family feel. I was fortunate to learn from Bill and Lou Allyn. They’ve been great mentors and taught me a great deal about working in the business world. They gave me enough room as a physician to balance the safety needs of the people who use the products. So my role over there was one to interact with the executives who are trying to generate a profit while making sure our products were safe, effective and complied to federal regulations. I hope to apply a lot of what I learned there at Upstate. Q: You’re a D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) rather than and M.D. (medical doctor). What was different about your training? A: I didn’t know what a D.O. was when I went to college. I had an unfortunate experience where I had a lymph node swell up. I was told it was a lymphoma. I went to pre-med adviser, who suggested I get a second opinion and sent me to a family physician who ended up being a D.O. When I found out about the training being a little bit different in the approach to the patient — and I’m not saying that all D.O.s and M.D.s practice in the same way — it was intriguing to watch this D.O. look at my lymph node and actually palpate my node and gave me a great physical exam. He asked me if I had a cat. The lymph node ended up not being lymphoma but cat scratch fever. So I was totally taken by the osteopathic medical profession. I found out it was founded by an M.D. who wanted to do things a little differently and integrate more physical diagnosis and biomechanics into the approach to the patient. So I got my medical degree as a D.O. There’s no differences in the eyes of licensing or board certification organizations, so when I graduated from osteopathic school, I ended up in an M.D. residency program and did an M.D. fellowship, so I’ve probably had more M.D. mentors than D.O. mentors. It’s a bit more of an integrated training program, but for the most part a lot of the distinctions are now blurred.

Lifelines Name. Robert Corona, Jr., D.O. Hometown: Oneida, NY Current position: Chairman of Upstate’s department of pathology and the John B. Henry Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Career: Served as the chief medical officer Education: New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. Performed clinical training including a rotating internship at Southeastern Medical Center in Miami, followed by training in neurology, anatomic pathology and neuropathology at Upstate Medical University, with special fellowships in neuropathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and with Dr. George Collins at Upstate Medical University Affiliations: SUNY Upstate Medical University, Albany Medical Organizations: American College of Physician Executives; New York State Board for Medicine; New York State Board for Professional Medical Conduct. Has served as a member of the board of directors of the American Osteopathic Foundation, a member of the Federation of State Medical Boards Working Group on Telemedicine, and as an appointed member of the Office of Professional Medical Conduct, New York State Department of Health. He is an emeritus member of the New York State Board for Medicine. Family: Married, two daughters, one son Hobbies: Coaches youth basketball; weightlifting, bicycling, taking care of dogs

Graphic Anti-Smoking Ads Controversial But Effective Campaign gets strong feedback in CNY By Matthew Liptak

ncreased calls coming into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention smokers quitline show that graphic ads depicting people who have been disabled by their addiction are having an impact across America. The $54 million campaign named “Tips From Former Smokers” has gotten strong feedback in Central New York. Many residents are in favor of it, and some are against it. The controversial and sometimes hard-to-watch ads show what it’s like for disabled former smokers to go through their daily routines. In one ad a middle-aged woman has to attend to her stoma, a surgical opening in the neck, before starting her day. In another a former smoker shows his artificial limbs. According to the CDC, eight million Americans are living with smoking-related diseases and every day more than 1,000 children become daily smokers. The campaign, which runs through at least the middle of June, is small compared to what the tobacco industry spends on marketing. CDC statistics show that the tobacco industry equals the entire “Tips From Former Smokers” campaign in marketing in just two days. It spends $1 million an hour in marketing and promotion. “It certainly is just a drop in the bucket compared to tobacco advertis-

ing in this country,” said Leslie Holmberg, clinical director of the tobacco cessation center of Onondaga, Cayuga and Oswego counties. “It’s a powerful drop.” That drop has made ripples. In the week before the campaign started, between March 12 and March 18, 14,437 calls were recorded to have come in to the smokers quitline. The ads started March 19 and between the week of the 26th to April 1 34,413 calls had come in. The increased pace has not slowed much. The latest data at the time publication showed that 28,712 calls were generated between May 7 and 13.and a total of 124,000 calls had come in up to that point. Although obviously making an impact on some smokers in a positive way, the ads have garnered some negative feedback from other smokers in the area. Passing the time on a bench on North Salina Street in Syracuse, two 20-something smokers—Justin Listman and Joshua Fairbanks—were critical of the ads saying the money could be better spent elsewhere. “I can’t imagine anyone seeing that commercial and saying ‘That’s a great thing. I love seeing that,’” Listman said. “It’s definitely shocking I guess, but you can’t shock people into things.”

Fairbanks supported his friend calling the effort “shock and awe.” Those working to get others to quit smoking admit the ads are controversial and not effective for everyone. “Smoking is an addiction,” Holmberg said. “The degree of addiction varies with individuals. Some people are more highly addicted then others. For some people it is very difficult to stop, but it is always possible for everyone to stop especially with some of the cessation aids that we have available that we didn’t have available 15 or 20 years ago.” Holmberg believes that the graphic nature of the ads shows the reality of what smoking does to those who need to see it. “I think that they are depicting the reality of what people who use tobacco products face,” she said. “So many times we think about people who die because they smoke tobacco. There are people who live sometimes with great disabilities...because of tobacco use. It’s hard living with it. It’s hard dying from it. There are all kinds of health sufferings associated with it and some of them stare you in the face every morning.” But there are some smokers who are resolute in their resistance to the ads and they think the TV commercials in particular could do more harm than

good. “Honestly I think they are pushing the envelope a little bit too far with that,” said Seth Hartman, 33, of Syracuse. “I think the whole graphic nature is something, if I had kids, I wouldn’t necessarily want them seeing something like that on TV. “I think it’s exploitative. I’m sure it will help in dissuading some of those children but I think they’re kind of going about it in the wrong manner.” The question of the ads’ effect on children is one Holmberg addressed too. She sees it as a possible opportunity to reach out to smoking parents through their children. “I can see small children saying to their parents ‘Mommy and Daddy’ or ‘Grandma and grandpa please stop using tobacco I don’t want you to be like this.’ That’s real” Holmberg knows the reality of cancer-related disabilities all too well. She is an registered nurse who worked in the head and neck cancer unit of a hospital and saw the devastation that comes with them. For every one person that dies from tobacco 20 are disabled or disfigured according to the CDC. “These ads are a world that I worked in for quite some time and it is a world that I would love to see go away,” she said. “If more people understand this maybe it will.”

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THE INFUSACARE DIFFERENCE • Minimal referral requirements • Immediate patient scheduling • Physician on site at all times

• Continuous medical supervision by nursing staff • Follow-up treatment documentation • Comfortable, pleasant environment ensuring patient satisfaction

QUALITY CARE FOR PATIENTS OF ALL AGES June 2012 •

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Live Alone & Thrive

By Gwenn Voelckers

Practical tips, advice and hope for those who live alone

Forgiveness: It Can Set You Free W ho could blame her? After 34 years of marriage, three kids and a lifetime of memories, she arrived home from work one day to find a hand-written note on the kitchen table. He had left her to “find himself.” Completely blindsided, she dropped to her knees in disbelief. He was gone. His clothes closet empty. His home office cleared out. With no word about his whereabouts. In shock, she called friends and family. With loved ones gathered around her, she desperately tried to make sense of his bizarre behavior. How had she missed this? Was he ill? And where in the world was he? Days later, her heartache was replaced by anger when she inspected his computer history and discovered that he had met someone online. He and his newfound “soul mate” had scheduled a rendezvous in Massachusetts. It’s been five years now since this nightmare, but to hear her talk about it today is to bring everything immediately to the fore — the deep emotional wound, the humiliation, and the loss of life as she knew it. The retelling of her ordeal quickly ignites a seething anger just beneath the surface. How could he have done this to her and the kids? How could he have betrayed them? While my friend’s lingering bitterness is understandable, it is also unfortunate. By dwelling on this hurtful

event and hanging onto her anger, she is allowing her resentment and hostility to fester. Left unchecked, she risks bringing negativity into current relationships and experiences, or worse — losing important and enriching connections with the people who matter most in her life. I feel for her. Are you holding onto a grudge? Does an abiding bitterness occupy your thoughts? Nearly all of us have been hurt by the words or actions of others somewhere along the way. The wounds may be deep, but if you don’t practice forgiveness, you might be the one who pays the biggest price. While it can feel almost impossible to let go of a longstanding grudge and feelings of resentment, I tell you from my own experience that forgiveness can bring some peace that enables you to move on with your life. It might even make room for compassion and understanding. I’ve also learned that forgiveness doesn’t just happen on its own or overnight. You must choose to forgive. It’s a process of change that requires a commitment, patience, and practice.

KIDS Corner In Child Sexual Abuse, Strangers Aren’t the Greatest Danger

arents generally teach their children about “stranger danger” from an early age, telling them not to talk to, walk with or take gifts or candy from strangers. But statistics show danger often lurks closer to home. According to numbers provided by the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, the vast majority of children who are sexually abused are abused by someone they know – most often a family member, an adult the family trusts or, in some instances, another child. Parents can help protect their children from sexual abuse by talking frankly to them about abuse, starting Page 8

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at a young age with age-appropriate information. “It’s essential that parents have a continuing conversation with their children about sexual abuse,” said Kay Knaff, clinical services program manager for Youth Villages, a private nonprofit organization that helps children with emotional, behavioral and mental health issues, as well as children who have been abused or neglected. “This may seem hard to do, but it’s the best way to protect your child. It’s best to start talking to your children about child abuse as early as age 3 or 4.” Parents should talk to their children about inappropriate touching and other forms of child abuse, and make

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Below you’ll find a few things you can do to help this process along: • Acknowledge and share your pain. Let it all out. Share your suffering with someone you trust, and don’t hold back. When there’s someone there to really listen, your pain can become tolerable and more likely to dissipate. • Empathize with the person who hurt you. I know this may not be easy. But none of us is perfect. The person who hurt you may have been acting out of self-preservation, an unspoken fear, or pain of their own. To quote Mariah Burton Nelson, author of “The Unburdened Heart: Five Keys to Forgiveness and Freedom, “ “Behind every jerk, there’s a sad story.” Hard as it might be, try to see the situation from the offending person’s point of view.

health benefits, as well, when you carry a lighter emotional load. The more I practice forgiveness, the less stress I experience and the better I feel. • Focus on the future. Rather than focus on the past and your wounded feelings, seek out positive, healthy relationships and experiences. Put your energy into finding beauty and kindness around you. • When you are ready, actively choose to forgive the person who hurt you. Remember, you can forgive the person without excusing the act. Forgiveness is not about condoning. It’s a gift to give yourself — to release yourself from bitterness and vengeful thinking. • Reinforce your forgiveness with a symbolic act. In my Living Alone workshops participants take part in a “letting go” ceremony, during which they symbolically release anger, negative attitudes, and unhealthy behaviors into a fire. Many capture their thoughts in writing and enjoy seeing their past hurts go up in flames. Symbolic acts such as this can help the healing process. As you let go of anger, grudges, resentments, and thoughts of revenge, you will no longer define yourself and your life by your past hurts and grievances. When you embrace forgiveness, you are embracing the promise of renewed compassion, kindness, and gratitude. Forgiveness can set you free.

• Embrace the benefits of forgiveness. Forgiveness enables you to reclaim your personal power and avoid slipping into a “victim mentality.” It can set you free from the past and release the control the offending person has had in your life. There may be

Gwenn Voelckers is the founder and facilitator of Live Alone and Thrive, empowerment workshops for women held throughout the year in Mendon, New York. For information about the workshops, call 585-624-7887, email gvoelckers@rochester. rr.com, or visit aloneandcontent.com.

sure their children know what behavior is right and what is wrong. In addition, Knaff said parents should teach children to say “no” to their abuser if they can, try to get away from the abuser and call for help so other people become aware of the situation. “Child abuse data shows that the majority of children keep abuse a secret,” Knaff said. “That means it is even more important that parents not only talk to their children about what child abuse is and emphasize that it is never the child’s fault. Abuse is always wrong, and children should report it to a trusted adult. Parents need to keep the lines of communication open and seek out their children whenever they feel like something is going on with their child or their child is behaving differently in some way from usual.” To encourage children to report any abuse, parents should let the child know about two or three people designated as safe adults the child can talk to if he or she suffers abuse or feels unsafe. “Children need to know who they can talk to,” Knaff said. “They also need to be encouraged to tell what happened to them to more than one person and keep telling until someone believes them and does something about it.” Knaff also recommends parents specifically teach their children to report any touching that feels uncomfortable or wrong, even if it is by a family member, teacher, coach, pastor or church official, youth group leader or another child.

How to talk to your child about sexual abuse: • Tell your child about good touch — a hug or a pat on the back — and bad touch, when someone is touching your private areas. • Tell your child nobody — no family member, teacher, other child or adult — is allowed to touch him or her in the areas covered by a bathing suit because these are private areas. Exceptions are a parent bathing a young child or helping the child with using the bathroom, as well as a doctor or nurse when examining the child at a doctor’s office or healthcare facility. • Tell your child he or she has permission to tell any adult who touches them in their private areas, “No!” • Tell your child that if anyone ever touches him or her in any way in their private areas, he or she should tell Mom, Dad and or Grandma/Grandpa or another trusted person about it immediately. Other forms of child sexual abuse are exposure to sexual acts or sexually explicit materials not intended for minors, as well as indecent exposure. Children should be encouraged to talk to the designated safe adults any time they feel unsafe. Get help immediately If you suspect your child has been abused, act immediately. Either call your local police department, your local rape crisis center, child protective services or the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800422-4453).

Helping Little Ones Cope with Heart Problems Newly-formed chapter of Mended Little Hearts helps people with congenital heart defects — and their families By Mary Beth Roach

ikki and Ryan Cawley were expecting their second baby in the winter of 2009. Nikki’s pregnancy was going along well, and they looked forward to giving their son, “R.J.,” a new sibling. But then, a sonogram at 33 weeks into her pregnancy changed the Cawleys’ world. It revealed that the baby had a pulmonary venous return problem. When Aurora was born in December of 2009, more tests revealed that the baby girl had a coarctation of the aorta, or a constricted aorta, and a valve that was bicuspid instead of the normal tricuspid configuration. Six months later she was undergoing surgery to repair the constricted aorta. And her parents waited — anxious and terrified — through the surgery. Sitting with the Cawleys that day was Claire McClain, one of Nikki’s coworkers. But McClain was more than just a compassionate co-worker. She and her husband, Marty, know only too well the fear that the Cawleys were going through. McClain had been pregnant with their first baby in 2003. Everything was normal, and it wasn’t until Harry was born in October of that year that they learned something was wrong. While cleaning Harry after the birth, the nursery staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital had done a deep suction of his lungs, and they realized that the baby had heart and lung problems. The baby was transferred in the middle of the night to Crouse, where it was determined that he hadn’t developed his pulmonary valve. A few days later, the baby boy was in surgery, having a plastic conduit inserted. As Harry continued to grow, he had needed more surgeries to replace artificial valves that would work for his body size. Now 8 1/2 years old, Harry has had three surgeries. When Nikki learned of Aurora’s

diagnosis, she turned to McClain. She recalls how much it meant to have McClain sitting with them during Aurora’s surgery. The McClains offered similar support to another couple — Judy and Joe Walsh — whose daughter, Maggie, was born in 2005. The Walshes learned during a routine sonogram that their baby had hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a rare congenital heart defect in which the left ventricle of the heart is severely underdeveloped. The news turned their world upside down. Maggie had her first surgery when she was 3 days old; her second surgery when she was 9 months old, and the third surgery when she was 5 years old. Marty McClain says that by offering encouragement to other parents going through this, he and his wife are “paying it forward.” And it seems that phrase — “paying it forward” — is the foundation for the newly-formed local chapter of Mended Little Hearts, which was chartered in November 2011. Nikki Cawley, Claire McClain, Judy Walsh, and several others have been instrumental in the development of this chapter. When Harry McClain went through his first surgery in 2003, his father recalled that family members came from near and far to be there for them. And while their support was greatly appreciated, Marty McClain pointed out that none of them had been parents of a child with a CHD, and therefore could not grasp the depth of their fear. It can be a very lonely time, Judy Walsh recalled from their experience. To support children with congenital heart defects and their families, the national organization of Mended Little Hearts began in 2004 as a program of Mended Hearts Inc. Statistics show that CHDs are the most common birth defects, affecting one in every 100 babies. There are about 1.8 million Americans living with a congenital heart disease.

Marty and wife Claire McClain Marty with their three children at Deer Lake in Ontario, Canada. Their oldest son, Harry, left, was born with heart and lung problems and had to undergo three surgeries. The McClains and a few other parents in November started Mended Little Hearts, a group that supports children with congenital heart defects and their families. The other children shown are Ally and Ellen, on mom’s lap. In an article scheduled to be published for a local service organization’s newsletter, Judy Walsh wrote that Mended Little Hearts of Syracuse is made up of parents, grandparents, family members, children, and adult survivors of CHD who “help to support each other through this journey from diagnosis, to surgeries, to celebrate successes, and mourn the losses.” Parents and families involved in Mended Little Hearts have children with CHDs who are all ages, she noted. Families with older children with CHDs can inform parents with younger children what to prepare for during the teen years, for example, and adult survivors come back to the group to show support, Judy Walsh added.

Although it has just started, the local chapter is eager to begin outreach efforts, as well. Judy pointed out that they are working on implementing a visiting program at Golisano Children’s Hospital, where they will visit families who are inpatient; they are putting together care bags to give to families to help support them as they navigate life in the hospital; and as a team, they supported the local American Heart Association’s recent Heart Walk, raising more than $5000 to support research. Those wishing to learn more about Mended Little Hearts or the local chapter can visit www.mended littlehearts. org. “It’s nice to give hope,” Judy said.

Need for Nurses and Health Professionals in NY Expected to Increase Hospitals anticipate growth in demand for health care professionals

ith major state and federal health care delivery reform underway, New York state providers expect a continued need for more nurses and other health care professionals, according to the Healthcare Association of New York State’s (HANYS) 2012 Nursing and Allied Health Care Professionals Workforce Survey Report. “This report highlights the need for the training and recruitment of health care professionals, to ensure that communities across New York state are prepared for an increased demand

for health care services in the coming years,” said HANYS President Daniel Sisto. To meet the expected increase in need for services, more than half of the hospital respondents anticipate growth in demand for health care professionals, with 52 percent indicating the expected need for registered nurses (RNs), 57 percent for nurse practitioners (NPs), and 56 percent for physician assistants (PAs). Sixty-one percent of respondents indicated that nurse managers were very difficult to recruit. The 2012 Nursing and Allied

Health Care Professionals Workforce Survey Report also found NPs and PAs were more difficult to recruit Upstate than Downstate, but 61 percent of hospitals across the state indicated that nurse managers were “very difficult” to recruit. Overall, the most difficult allied health care professionals to recruit continue to be clinical lab technologists, medical coders, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Greater New York Hospital Association, Western New York Healthcare Association, RochesJune 2012 •

ter Regional Healthcare Association, Iroquois Healthcare Alliance, Northern Metropolitan Healthcare Association, Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council, and the State University of New York Center for Health Workforce Studies. The Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS) is the only statewide hospital and continuing care association in New York State, representing 500 non profit and public hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, and other health care organizations.

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My Turn

By Eva Briggs

Still Very Few Drugs That Can Kill Viruses Scientists continue to learn more about molecular biology, and are working on several strategies to develop broad-spectrum anti-viral medicines

y father never met his oldest brother, my uncle Martin. Born in 1903, 10 years before my father, he died of pneumonia while still a toddler. Penicillin and other antibiotics were still more than two decades in the future. Despite advances in creating antibiotics to kill bacteria, we still have few drugs that can kill viruses. Current antiviral drugs are limited to treating a few specific viruses, and the fast mutation rate of viruses often quickly renders them obsolete. Viruses are profoundly different than bacteria. That’s why antibiotics don’t affect viruses. For example, consider that oft-requested panacea Zithromax. It disables bacterial ribosomes, the part of bacterial cells that assembles bacterial proteins. But viruses are packets of genetic information (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat, and don’t have ribosomes. That’s why Zithromax won’t work, indeed can’t

work for a cold, known as an upper respiratory tract infection in medicalspeak. Amoxicillin and other penicillins target bacterial cell walls and are completely ineffective against viruses, which have no cell walls. What about Cipro? Its target is a bacterial enzyme called DNA gyrase, but again viruses lack this enzyme. The good news is that scientists continue to learn more about molecular biology, and are working on several strategies to develop broad-spectrum anti-viral medicines. One approach involves blocking the host enzymes that assemble viral particles. Viruses hijack their hosts’ cells to replicate not only their DNA or RNA core, but also to manufacture the proteins that form the shell, or capsid, enclosing the genetic material. These proteins must be assembled in complex ways to build the capsid. If you’ve ever purchased an assemble-it-yourself piece of furniture,

What They Want You to Know:

Dermatologists

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ermatologists are medical doctors that specialize in diagnosing and treating conditions of the skin, hair and nails. • “This season, it’s all about sunexposure, tanning booths and sunscreen. It’s a huge issue with vitamin D deficiency but you don’t need that much exposure. Ten or 15 minutes a day. If you get two to four hours, you’re not making more vitamin D. Your body can only store so much of it. • “There are more effective ways to obtain D like foods or supplementation.

They don’t have side effects of skin cancer and the appearance of aging. “The tanning booth industry says it’s healthy to tan because it produces vitamin D. They use UVA rays in tanning booths and vitamin D is produced by UVB rays. • “Tanning is addictive. There is a physiological basis for it. The body produces melanin which makes the skin change color and it produces endorphins which are the ‘feel good’ hormone. Exercise produces endorphins as well, so I tell people to exercise instead, which is good for their health.

Health in good

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you know what I’m talking about: someone needs to read the directions and use a few tools to get these disparate pieces to form the final product. Viruses need the host’s enzymes to act as the tools to fit the capsid proteins together. Vishwanath Lingappapa, founder of the company Prosetta, and his scientist sister Jaisri Lingapappa, are pursuing this approach. They’ve found substances that block the host assembly proteins, and have succeeded so far — at least in cell culture — in preventing the capsid formation in rabies, ebola, influenza, and other viruses. The hope is that it will work for most or all viruses that cause disease. A second approach is akin to assisted-suicide for affected host cells. Biological engineer Todd Rider is experimenting with DRACO: doublestranded RNA activated capsase oligomerizer. The concept is to combine a protein that detects double-stranded RNA — the signature of an invading virus — with a protein that triggers cell death. In mouse experiments DRACO prevented influenza-infected mice from severe illness and death. Rider has been tweaking the molecule to add a receptor that will send it to the affected tissues. Akin to an address label, it could deploy DRACO to respiratory tissues to fight influenza, to the brain to fight neurological infection, or to wherever it was needed. Eleanor Fish, at the University of Toronto, is exploring a third approach: replacing or augmenting our body’s existing anti-viral compounds called interferons. These substances detect double-stranded RNA, and trigger a

cascade of hundreds of other proteins that fight viruses. These proteins slice up viral RNA, stiffen the cell membrane so that viral particles within can’t escape, and communicate to adjacent cells who can begin to ramp up defenses ahead of the viral invasion. But some viruses replicate too fast for native interferons to fight them off. By tweaking interferon, for example by adding polyethylene glycol (PEG), Fish and colleagues produced interferons that last longer. In clinical use, PEGylated interferons can effectively treat hepatitis C in about 80 percent of patients. We’ve learned that broad-spectrum antibiotics can cause harm, by inducing allergic reactions or by killing beneficial bacteria. Broad-spectrum antivirals might also have deleterious effects. We don’t know yet which viruses we harbor that may be necessary or essential for our body’s function. Who knows? Perhaps in a few years we will have effective antiviral to treat both the mundane common cold as well as dangerous viral diseases.

• “You need broad spectrum, UVA and UVB sun screen because both types are carcinogenic. • “When people come in, there’s always a lot of questions about cosmetics. A lot of women really don’t know what products to use. Some have merit and a lot don’t have it. It’s a difficult field to navigate. Every two days there’s a new product that says you’ll look 50 years younger. • “To maintain a youthful look, avoid sun exposure and tanning booths. Look at people in their 70s and 80s. They didn’t wear bikinis. The skin on their abdomens looks 40 years younger. Use sunscreen. If you’re a golfer or like to be outside, wear a hat. Retinoids are proven products. Those dispensed by a physician are more potent than those bought over-the-counter. The other things are alpha- and beta-hydroxy acids. They are found in some products. • “People talk a lot about anti-oxidants in tea and coffee. Those are good. Eat a healthful diet. The antioxidants are good.”

skin cancers a year. It’s very common. • “I do general dermatology. My youngest patient is one week old; my oldest is 108. I take care of acne, warts, psoriasis, and skin cancer. • “I use all the new different treatments for psoriasis. • “A lot of people don’t realize we did go to medical school. A lot of people feel like dermatologists are just one step ahead of a Clinique [cosmetics] counter. Most dermatologists do well in medical school. • “We treat serious conditions like skin cancer, not just esthetic things. I have lasers and do a host of cosmetic things but medical dermatologist is of major importance.”

Joyce Farah, dermatologist at Farah Dermatology and Cosmetics in Syracuse, Watertown, Camillus and Fulton • “Do what you can to prevent getting sunburn. It increases the risk of skin cancer. You can get quite a bit of sunshine on hazy days. Sun screen isn’t just for days at the beach. Though it’s generally cloudy up here, I treat 500

Eva Briggs is a medical doctor who works at North Medical Urgent Care in Liverpool and Fulton Urgent Care in Fulton.

Jeff LaDuca, dermatologist with Reflections Dermatology in Auburn and Skaneateles

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant is a writer with In Good Health. “What Your Doctor Wants You to Know” is an ongoing column that appears monthly to give our area’s healthcare professionals an opportunity to share how patients can improve their care by helping their providers and by helping themselves.

ADVERTISE WITH IN GOOD HEALTH. REACH DOCTORS, HEALTH ADMINISTRATORS, CONSUMERS

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Synthetic Drugs New drugs quickly growing in popularity putting drug enforcement and advocacy groups on notice By Ernst Lemothe

ike a new virus, it’s a growing battle that never stops. Every year, a new drug comes into the youthful status quo, often marketed to teens, which allows for a more intense, psychedelic high advised as lower risk. Today, the new drug goes by names such as “Spice,” “K2,” “Mr. Nice Guy,” “Purple Wave” and “Galaxy Gold.” But it’s generally known as synthetic marijuana, a $10 product that is being sold as a legal alternative to marijuana in convenience stores, smoke shops and tobacco stores. These substances consist of plant material coated by chemicals that mimic THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The New York State Health Commissioner recently issued an order of summary action banning the sale of synthetic marijuana products in New York state. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo called upon the Department of Health to take action to ban the sale of these products because the drugs have been linked to severe adverse reactions, including death and acute renal failure, increased heart rate, paranoid behavior, agitation and irritability. In addition, it brings nausea, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness, headache, hypertension, seizures and loss of consciousness. The symptoms can persist for days. The state is calling for the sale and distribution of these products to cease

immediately. However even as these drugs are becoming more popular in college campuses and among young teens, many adults still don’t know exactly what synthetic marijuana is? “You’re never sure what’s in them and they can have tragic side effects like rapid heart rate and increase in blood pressure,” said Benjamin J. Domingo, director of health services for University of Syracuse Health Services. “The hallucinations and in some cases irritability seem to be much worse.” Domingo said the last year-and-ahalf to two years was when synthetic marijuana first became the topic of conversation around the office. Bath salts were the first to enter the forefront. Synthetic drugs are a large family of chemically-unrelated structures that are synthesized and marketed to mimic the psychoactive feeling of marijuana. The drug is packaged and sold as incense, herbal mixtures, bath salts and often carry a “not for human consumption” label in order to disguise the true purpose of the substance. Users smoke the substance just as you would with marijuana, but officials say the high mirrors cocaine or LSD more than just pot. The bath salts are crystallized chemicals that are snorted, swallowed or smoked. They contain two powerful stimulants, which mimic methamphetamine. Syracuse University Health Ser-

vices has a spotlight informational about synthetic drugs on its website. Officials also ask students to fill out a behavioral health risk assessment form when they visit the office, said Domingo. The form assesses risk and other departments like residential life and the counseling center are also do their part to educate the students. “I think students who choose to experiment with synthetic drugs are risking their lives because the stimulants and synthetic ingredients increase the likelihood of sudden cardiac arrest,” said Domingo. Young people have been using the drug during the past year not only as a legal substitute for getting high, but as a substance that does not show up on a urine drug screen. According to New York Poison Control Centers, instances of poisoning from products containing synthetic cannabinoids increased more than 200 percent from 2010 to 2011. With the rapid increase in abuse and the harmfulness due to its high potency, the drug is causing imminent hazard to public safety. “When you are talking with emergency departments, they will tell you that they have seen a significant spike in this product,” said Jennifer Faringer, director of DePaul’s National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence

June 2012 •

for the Rochester area. “The problem with drug prevention is the type of drug changes all the time. And kids tell their parents that this is potpourri or bath salts, but trust us it’s not the kind of bath salts you get from Bed Bath and Beyond.” The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence is a researched-based substance abuse prevention serving a diverse population through education, support, resources and referrals. Faringer first started hearing about synthetic marijuana during the second half of last year. At that point, it was a relatively new phenomenon. While designer drugs weren’t a new concept, the new drug quickly grew in popularity putting drug enforcement and advocacy groups on notice. Rochester will host an event on June 15 at the Holiday Inn Airport, 911 Brooks Ave. in Gates, to educate the public on bath salts, synthetic marijuana and other emerging analogues. The event features speakers ranging from director of medical toxicology and chair of the department of emergency medicine from the University of Rochester Medical Center to officials from Upstate New York Poison Center, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the supervisor of drug chemistry for the Monroe County Crime Lab. There was a concrete effort to get people from the human resource, mental and substance abuse, university and crime departments together because the drugs and their effects ripple through each department. “People taking this don’t know exactly what compounds are in the substance and it could push you over the edge to schizophrenia where you can’t tell the difference between real and unreal experiences,” said Faringer. “We are hearing too many kids talk about synthetic marijuana and as a community we want to get a handle on it.” Onondaga County Commissioner of Health Cynthia Morrow said in the past months synthetic drugs slowly became something that officials needed to be concerned about. Reports of emergency room visits associated with the drug were increasing. They started working with partner agencies like Poison Control and Prevention Network to spread the news. “We expect that other drugs will replace these,” said Morrow. “The technological advancements are frightening. What makes this new wave of synthetic drugs so dangerous is that they are an unpredictable, unregulated drug that are associated with a wide range of dangerous health outcomes.”

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Anterior Cruciate Ligament - or ACL - Injuries: What You Need To Know By Todd C. Battaglia, M.D.

ears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are among the most common knee injuries, particularly in high demand sports like soccer, football, and basketball. In fact, more than 200,000 ACL injuries occur each year in the United States alone and affect individuals of all levels, from recreational athletes to professionals. In recent years, numerous well-known athletes, including Tom Brady, Ricky Rubio, and Tiger Woods, have suffered well-publicized ACL tears.

of ACL tears are the result of non-contact injury (cutting, jumping, sudden stops); this is much more common than direct contact or collision ACL tears. Female athletes have a much higher incidence of ACL injury than male athletes (between two and seven times more common). It is thought that this is due to differences in leg alignment, muscular strength, and neuromuscular control. It is also believed that hormone differences play a role, as estrogen may weaken ligaments.

Ligaments are strong bands of tissue that connect one bone to another. The ACL, one of two ligaments that cross in the middle of the knee, connects your thighbone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia) and helps stabilize your knee joint. It prevents the tibia from sliding forward in front of the femur, as well as provides rotational stability to the knee. The ACL can withstand approximately 500 lbs. of pressure, but only a 25 percent stretch, before failing. Injured ligaments are considered “sprains” and are graded on a severity scale from a mild stretch (Grade 1) to a complete tear (Grade 3). Partial tears of the ACL are relatively rare; most ACL injuries are complete or near-complete tears. About half of all injuries to the ACL also involve damage to other structures in the knee, such as articular (joint) cartilage, meniscus, or other ligaments. Nearly 80 percent

When you injure your ACL, you may hear a “popping” noise and you may feel your knee give out from under you. Most ACL tears are associated with moderate to severe pain. The knee will usually swell (often severely) within four to eight hours of injury. Other symptoms may include loss of motion, tenderness along the joint line and discomfort while walking. The pain and disability associated with an ACL injury usually prompts most people to seek medical attention. Continued athletic activity on a knee with a torn or malfunctioning ACL can have devastating consequences, resulting in severe cartilage damage and increased risks of arthritis.

The Basics

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of an ACL tear primarily relies on the physical examination performed by your doctor. Through movement and manipulation of your knee,

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of two ligaments that cross in the middle of the knee and connects your thighbone (femur) to your shinbone (tibia). It helps stabilize your knee joint and prevents the tibia from sliding forward in front of the femur, as well as provides rotational stability to the knee. Page 12

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

the physician can usually diagnose an ACL tear without use of any special tests. X-rays may be taken to rule out a bone fracture. But X-rays cannot visualize soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons, so an MRI, which can, is often used to confirm the diagnosis and to evaluate for torn cartilage or other injuries often associated with ACL tears.

Treatment

Initially, treatment for an ACL injury aims to reduce pain and swelling, regain normal knee movement, and strengthen the muscles around your knee. Ultimate treatment, however, will depend on several factors, such as the severity of the injury, presence of associated injuries, and most importantly, the patient’s individual needs. If the overall stability of the knee is intact, your doctor may recommend simple, non-surgical options. This might include physical therapy to strengthen the leg or use of a brace during certain activities. A completely torn ACL will not heal without surgery, and the lack of a functioning ACL greatly increases the risk of other knee injuries, such as a torn meniscus, so sports with cutting and twisting motions are strongly discouraged. For younger patients and those who frequently participate in such sports, surgery will most likely be required to safely return to those activities. But non-surgical treatment may be effective for patients who are elderly or have a very low activity level. If surgery is chosen, a torn ACL cannot simply be sewn back together. During surgery the ACL is not repaired; instead, it is reconstructed – your doctor will replace your torn ligament with a tissue graft. This graft acts as a scaffold on which a new ligament will grow. Grafts can be obtained from several sources. Some are taken from the patient’s own body (autografts) and include the hamstring tendons or patellar (kneecap) ligament. Alternatively, various cadaver grafts (allografts) can be used. There are different advantages and disadvantages with each graft option; factors to be considered are graft strength, healing time, re-tear rates, and infection risks. Your surgeon should discuss graft choices thoroughly with you prior to surgery to help determine which option is best for you. Nearly all ACL surgeries today are performed with an arthroscopic camera, using small, minimally invasive incisions. Although arthroscopic reconstruction has been performed for more than two decades, over the last five years, ACL surgery has undergone a major revolution. New strategies and techniques, particularly with regard to placement sites of the new graft, have shifted dramatically. We have learned, unfortunately, that the techniques used 10 or 20 years ago did not do a good job of placing the new graft in the same

location as the patient’s original ACL. Our newer techniques have resulted in greatly increased stability, and although not yet proven, we suspect will also reduce the likelihood of subsequent arthritis in these knees. After surgery, crutches and a brace are typically used for a period of time, usually 2–6 weeks. The rehabilitation process is a very important part of the surgery. There is a long and rigorous course of physical therapy required, first focusing on returning motion to the joint and surrounding muscles. This is followed by a strengthening program designed to protect the new ligament. This strengthening gradually increases the stress across the ligament. The final phase of rehabilitation is aimed at a functional return tailored for the athlete’s sport. Because the biologic healing and re-growth process take time, it may be 6 months or longer before an athlete can return to sports after surgery. A surgeon who promises a faster return to sports is doing the patient no favors — early return to sport before appropriate healing has occurred is associated with much higher rates of re-injury to the ACL. The most common risks of ACL surgery include infection, persistent instability or pain, and stiffness. The good news is that better than 90 percent of patients have no complications with ACL surgery. Most patients are able to return to their previous level of athletic activity; however, for very high-level athletes, this is not always the case. For instance, only 50–60 percent of professional football players return to the NFL after ACL surgery.

Prevention

Some studies have shown that rates of ACL injury can be reduced anywhere from 20 percent to 80 percent by engaging in specific training designed to enhance balance, proper movement patterns, and muscle strength. Not all physicians agree with this, however, and other studies show much less, if any, benefit from these “ACL prevention programs.” In addition, although many sports medicine doctors frequently prescribe knee braces, there is no scientific evidence to date that braces significantly prevent ACL tears.

Todd C. Battaglia is a board-certiﬁed, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon at Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists, PC. He specializes in sports medicine and reconstructive surgery of the shoulder and knee, and has a particular interest in ACL injuries and revision surgery for failed ACL repairs.

SmartBites

By Anne Palumbo

The skinny on healthy eating

Three Cheers for Cherries

or decades, my late grandmother asserted that eating cherries soothed her aching joints and gave her a better night’s sleep. For nearly as long, I dismissed her claims as old wives’ tales. How could a fruit this gorgeous, this sumptuous, this sweet be anything but a nutritional lightweight? Well, it looks like ol’ Granny knew what she was talking about. According to recent research, cherries possess some pretty remarkable health benefits or, as I like to call them, “cheers.” Cheer #1: Cherries contain a good amount of melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain that has been credited with fighting insomnia and reducing jet lag. A new study in the European Journal of Nutrition found that adults who had two daily glasses of tart cherry juice slept about 40 minutes longer on average. Whether drinking juice or eating them fresh (1 cup = 2 milligrams of melatonin), researchers advise consumption 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime for better zzzs. Cheer #2: Cherries act as a natural painkiller. Thanks to anti-inflammatory

compounds that nip the nasty enzymes responsible for inflammation in the bud, cherries’ effect on pain has been likened to that of aspirin or ibuprofen.What’s more, research has suggested that drinking cherry juice helps muscles recover better after a strenuous workout. Suffer from arthritis or gout? Cherries, which help to lower uric acid levels, may ease your symptoms. Cheer#3: Cherries are a rich source of disease-fighting antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins. These powerful compounds (the same found in red wine) help keep the immune system strong and protect against cancer, heart disease, and other diseases associated with aging. Low in calories (about 90 per cup)

and a moderate source of fiber, cherries are also a good source of vitamin C and potassium. Worried about the sugar content? Cherries’ glycemic index is lower than many fruits: bananas, grapes, strawberries, and oranges, to name a few. They say, “Life is a just a bowl of cherries.” I say, “Cherries are really a bowl of life!”

Helpful tips Choose plump, firm, brightly colored cherries. Look for cherries with stems intact, which increases shelf life. Loosely pack unwashed cherries in plastic bags or pour them into a shallow pan (single layer) and cover with plastic wrap. Store in refrigerator for up to a week. Wash cherries well before consumption; buy organic when possible.

Grilled Chicken with Savory Cherry Sauce Serves 4 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 cup Spiedies marinade (or any vinaigrette marinade) 2 cups pitted fresh cherries (or frozen, unsweetened dark sweet cherries) 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3/4 cup water 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried, crushed) 1 garlic clove, minced Salt and pepper, to taste 1/3 cup gorgonzola cheese (optional) Marinade chicken breasts for 30 minutes to an hour. While chicken is marinating, make sauce. Chop fresh cherries in half. If using frozen cherries, follow thawing instructions, then chop in half. In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Heat outdoor grill to mediumhigh heat. Brush the grate of the grill with canola oil just before you grill the chicken. Grill for 6 to 8 minutes on each side. Arrange the chicken on a platter, top with savory cherry sauce, and sprinkle with crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

Anne Palumbo is a lifestyle columnist, food guru, and seasoned cook, who has perfected the art of preparing nutritious, calorie-conscious dishes. She is hungry for your questions and comments about SmartBites, so be in touch with Anne at avpalumbo@aol.com.

“I had cancer. Cancer never had me.” Yesterday, I got out my fishing rod. I couldn’t help thinking of everyone at HOA. It was last spring when I found out. I was overwhelmed, distraught - and scared. I thought my fishing days were over. Then I went to HOA. My medical team all said, “We have the technology to fight this thing!” and showed my the CyberKnife. It sounded scary, but when I learned how it worked and how safe it was, I had hope for the first time. Your attitude really inspired me, your staff always encouraged me and your plan of action worked. I may have had cancer, but cancer never had me. Today, my kids and I are heading up to the lake.

June 2012 •

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 13

Kids’ Summer Safety Gear Better safe than sorry: Helmets, wrist guards can make a difference if accidents occur By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

s you and your children gear up for summer fun, consider, well, their gear. While outdoor recreation gives children beneficial exercise, some activities can also result in serious injuries if they do not have or properly use safety gear. Debbie Kogut, coordinator of traffic safety with the Onondaga County

Sheriff’s Office, said that Onondaga County requires all children up to age 18 to wear an appropriate safety helmet when using bicycles, inline skates, scooters, or skateboards and until age 14 when riding horseback. According to the New York State Safe Kids Coalition, “Children’s risk of injury and death can be greatly

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

reduced by setting some limits. A single rule–wear a helmet–can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.” Children inline skating and skateboarding should also wear wrist Blotiau guards. Wrist guards work by stiffening the wrist so the instinct to use the hands to break a fall does not endanger the wrist. “Wrist injury is the No. 1 injury for inline skating,” Kogut said. “Have them also wear knee pads and elbow pads if they’re going to be skate boarding, scooter riding or on inline skates.” Horseback riders should also wear a helmet. Kogut recommends one especially suited to equestrian sports since they are constructed differently. Contact and ball sports can also necessitate a helmet and mouth guard. Coaches usually make sure players have the right equipment. Buying the right equipment and using it properly makes a big difference. “Sometimes parents buy helmets that too big,” said Catherine Blotiau representing the New York State Safe Kids Coalition. “Or the helmet won’t be fitted right. If the child shakes yes or no, the helmet should not move. It should go with the head.” Sometimes, parents adjust the strap too snugly so it pinches the child, which can make the child not want to wear it. “You should be able to fit one of the parent’s fingers under the strap,” Blotiau said. “If they open their mouth like in a yawn, it should pull the helmet down.” The placement of the helmet is important, too. “The helmet should be parallel to the ground and a finger or two above the eyebrow,” Blotiau said. “It

should not be tipped back. So many kids do that.” Insist that your child fasten the chin strap so that it will stay on his head if he were to fall. It may seem frugal to purchase used helmets, but Ackerman they may not offer the level of safety your children need. “You don’t know if a bike helmet has been in an accident,” Blotiau said. “They are inexpensive enough and there are programs that provide them. We’d prefer new ones.” Anytime a helmet is in a crash, it should be replaced. Tiny cracks in the helmet can compromise its effectiveness, so unless it’s handed down in your family and you can know for sure it has not been in a crash, don’t use it. Mouth guards do not need to be purchased from a dental office. Ones purchased at mass merchandisers or sporting goods stores work fine. For children wearing braces, their orthodontist will likely fit them with oral protection. Getting your children to wear helmets may be easier than you think. “The most important thing is that the parents should wear them,” Blotiau said. “I see children wearing them but the parents are not. They give out the message that once you get to be my age, you don’t need to wear it. How can you change that if you don’t wear a helmet?” Although adults likely have better control of their bikes,

Tips on Getting

Safe Neil Ackerman, pediatrician at Summit Pediatrics, in Auburn, shared more summer safety tips: • “Life vests save lives, but ‘floaties’ or water wings don’t do much. They’re not that safe of an item. If your child isn’t able to swim well, they should wear something that’s safe. • “Always stay near children who are swimming. Never leave them alone.”

Debbie Kogut, coordinator of the traffic safety program with the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, shared more safety tips: knowledge of bike safety and impulse control, accidents can still happen and a bike helmet can make the difference between major and minor injuries. Blotiau also tells parents and children, “You never see professional athletes go out without a helmet.” Kogut encourages parents to involve their children in the purchase of safety helmets. “Get them one they think is really cool, whatever color or character that they like,” she said. “It gets them more apt to wear the helmet.”

• “A lot of parents don’t think about small motorized vehicles. They put the little guys on there and don’t think about putting a helmet on. That’s certainly a very good place to have one. • “They should wear life vests when in boats.” Neil Ackerman, pediatrician at Summit Pediatrics, Auburn, recommends taking away the item they’re using if children do not wear their safety gear. “I “ can’t imagine any other way to make it happen,” he said. He always asks children in his practice about safety helmets because of how seriously he takes head injuries. “You can mend a broken arm, but not so much a broken head,” Ackerman said.

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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Page 15

Why They Run By Aaron Gifford

here are dozens of reasons why people run: To relieve stress, get in shape for sports or just to enjoy Central New York’s scenery and fresh air. But for two Central New York women, both of whom will participate in the second annual Turning Stone Races in Verona this August, running was the key to health, happiness and recovery.

Andrea Piazza, 21

Overview of the last year Turning Stone Races. The photo was taken at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino grounds. The photo in the background is its indoor golf domes at the resort’s golf complex.

Andrea Piazza, of New Hartford, took up running to help her recover from postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a disease that causes her to sustain an excessive heart rate when she stood up from a seated position and resulted in extreme fatigue, circulation problems and damage to her nervous system and loss of muscle mass. When she was diagnosed five years ago at the age of 16, doctors were unsure if she’d still be able to walk long distances after she reached adulthood; they never imagined she’s be training for a 10K competition. “I grew up playing softball, soccer, and always staying active,” said Piazza, now 21. “It was really tough on me when I couldn’t play sports in high school anymore.” But before Piazza could learn to run again, she had to get used to trotting first — on a horse. A friend recommended an equine therapy program

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

at the Root Farm in Verona. Through the adaptive riding program, Piazza’s nervous system reacted to the horse’s movements and stimulated activity in her own legs. Within a few weeks Piazza was able to ride the animal and then walk alongside it to slowly regain muscle mass. “I thought it was crazy that riding a horse would work better than medicine, but it was working,” she said. Piazza was steady enough to walk more regularly, though she tired out quickly. She tried running once to her neighbor’s mailbox, and was startled by how such a short jog could cause her so much pain and fatigued. But she continued to push herself each day to mailboxes further down the street. Four months later, Piazza participated in the inaugural Turning Stone Races event. She registered on Crowdrise website and solicited sponsors to help her raise $245 for the nonprofit Root Farm and awareness for POTS disease. She stuck with running after that, getting out four or five times a week during the warmer weather to run about three miles. This year, she’ll participate in the 10k event in her second fund raising effort for the Root Farm. Piazza, a student at Mohawk Valley Community College, admits that running often leaves her much more sore and fatigued than most runners, even beginners. “It does hurt,” she says, “but it’s

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worth it because the pain is strengthening my body. The doctors are baffled by my progress. I want to inspire others with this illness that they can do it, too.”

Customers forgot to cash $1.25 million from Excellus

Susan Brilla, 28

Company is looking for owners of “forgotten funds”

In Susan Brilla’s case, the first time she went for a run she gave up after the first mile marker, out of breath and almost too sore to walk back home. Fast-forward to three years later, and that same young woman is slimmer, happier, and training for her second marathon. In 2007, at only 23 years old, the Liverpool resident was up to 252 pounds. It took her a couple years to lose 100 pounds. Weight Watchers played a major role in that effort, but Brilla needed another activity that would fit her lifestyle to keep those unwanted pounds off without giving up her homemade beer and occasionally some of her favorite foods. Running did the trick. “I always wanted to learn how to run,” she said. “I got a cheap treadmill off of Craig’s list and started that way. In the beginning, there was more walking than running.” And, of course, making the transition to outdoor running with the chilly air and the hard pavement was especially challenging and painful, but Brilla stuck with it. She ran four to six times a week, gradually increasing her distances and improving her finish times. Brilla participated in the Beaver Lake 5k run in the fall of 2009 and a year later finished a half marathon in Philadelphia. The following summer, she entered the Turning Stone Races as preparation for the Corning Glass Marathon, which she also finished. She’ll follow the same routine this year. For Brilla, running has become an addiction. She usually gets out six times a week and prefers to train alone. It’s a special “my time” where she can alleviate stress. Her advice to anyone who wants to start running, but might be intimidated: Run on your own terms. Know that it’s OK to go slow or stop. And focus on why you wanted to start running in the first place. “Trying to do three miles in 30 minutes might not be the way to start,” she said. “I remember when I started, I didn’t get discouraged by runners who were going a lot faster than me at Onondaga Lake [Park]. If you have to stop and walk, there’s no shame in that.” As a program leader for Central New York Weight Watchers’ locations, Brilla was selected to participate in the organization’s national campaign. She’s appeared in commercials with Weight Watchers spokeswoman and Oscarwinning actress Jennifer Hudson. Brilla also maintains a blog, “OK, Just one More Beer,” where she chats about her interest in craft beers and home brewing. She considers herself fortunate to keep that hobby in check with her commitment to running and her responsibilities as a Weight Watchers role model. “It’s been a crazy ride,” she said.

early 12,000 individuals and companies in New York state have forgotten about $1.25 million in checks issued by Excellus Health Plan, including by its d.b.a., Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. This isn’t money left in their pockets, but is in the form of unclaimed checks issued in 2008 to members and providers. A complete list of names of people and companies with checks to claim is available on the company’s website at excellusbcbs.com/forgottenfunds . You can also see the legal notices beginning April 23 in many newspapers across New York state.

The weekend-long Turning Stone Races event, scheduled for Aug. 25–26, consists of a half marathon, a 10k, and a 5k road race. Registration is held throughout that weekend.

Every year, the state requires insurers such as Excellus BlueCross BlueShield to make a list of unclaimed checks that are at least three years old. The names are then placed in advertisements in local papers in an attempt to find the people who have money to claim. If the property is not claimed by the end of August, the money is then turned over to the Comptroller of the State of New York. “This is money that was paid for claims or refunded premiums. If the money remains unclaimed, it will go to the state,” said Arthur Vercillo, regional president, Excellus BlueCross

BlueShield, “It rightfully belongs to our members or providers, and we want to make sure they have one more chance to claim it before it goes to the state.” Most of the funds that have yet to be redeemed were allocated to Excellus BlueCross BlueShield members and providers. Checks may not have been cashed for a number of reasons. The member may have moved and not left a forwarding address, a member may have died, or the member simply forgot about the money. Checks need to be claimed prior to Aug. 31 and they be issued after that.

The Healthy Geezer How certain foods and drugs don’t mix

By Fred Cicetti

Q A

.My daughter heard that grapefruit juice can be toxic for some people. Is that true?

The juice, itself, is not toxic, but you should be careful taking medicine with any grapefruit. Grapefruit juice can raise the level of some medications in the blood. The effect of grapefruit was discovered after using juice to mask the taste of a medicine. So, be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist if it is safe to have grapefruit with your medications. Taking medicine can be hazardous to your health. You have to know what you’re doing. For example, calcium-rich dairy products or certain antacids can prevent antibiotics from being properly absorbed into the bloodstream. Ginkgo biloba can reduce the effectiveness of blood-thinning medications and raise the risk for serious complications such as stroke. You should educate yourself so you know what active ingredients are in the prescription and over-the-counter medicines you are taking. Some people treat over-the-counter pain relievers as if they are harmless. They can hurt you if you take them improperly. They contain drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium and aspirin. Acetaminophen is in Tylenol. Ibuprofen is in Advil. Naproxen sodium is in Aleve. Many prescription or over-thecounter medicines that treat multiple symptoms, such as cold and flu medications, also include acetaminophen and the other pain-relieving ingredients. So you have to be careful not to take too much of any one ingredient by ingesting more than one medication that contains that ingredient. Seniors take more medicines than any other age group because they have more health problems. Taking several drugs a day presents dangers. Here are some more tips to avoid these hazards: Always inform your doctor or pharmacist about all medicines you are already taking, including herbal products and over-the-counter medications.

• Tell your doctor, nurse or pharmacist about past problems you have had with medicines, such as rashes, indigestion or dizziness. • Don’t mix alcohol and medicine unless your doctor or pharmacist says it’s okay. Some medicines may not work well or may make you sick if you take them with alcohol. • The best advice is this: Don’t be afraid to throw a lot of questions about your medicines at your doctor, nurse or pharmacist. When should I take it? As needed, or on a schedule? Before, with or between meals? At bedtime? How often should I take it? How long will I have to take it? How will I feel once I start taking this medicine? Can this medicine interact with

June 2012 •

other prescription and over-the-counter medicines—including herbal and dietary supplements—that I am taking now? And, ask your pharmacist to put your medicine in large, easy-to open containers with large-print labels.

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Parenting By Melissa Stefanec

Feed the Parents The belief that having children means your diet is derailed until your children reach 18 simply has to go

his month’s column is brought to you by the following public service announcement. Attention parents: These items do not constitute a proper meal: bread crusts, value-menu items, fruit/vegetable trimmings, anything that has been torn into marble-sized scraps, any food item that has been dipped into applesauce, any food that’s been picked over or any food designed for people who have to mash it with their gums. If any of your recent meals revolved around any of the aforementioned items, your diet needs a revamp. You deserve more. You deserve to eat like a grown-up, even if your bedtime is on par with a 7-year-old. One of the things I hear fellow parents gripe about with loving 10 months old regularity is how they just don’t have time to cook anymore. I use the term “cook” loosely. A lot of parents I know say they don’t have the time to prepare or throw together a meal. A lot of them are eating out a lot more. Others are getting more take-out. Still others are eating almost nothing but prepared foods, if they are finding time to eat at all. This is where the public service announcement above comes into play. They eat their children’s leftovers. I’m not advocating wasting food, but parents have to remember to take care of themselves, too. Taking the time to cater to your dietary needs is good for you and your children. The belief that having children means your diet is derailed until your children reach 18 simply has to go. The biggest challenge facing most parents is not having enough time. We all wish there were more hours in the day. We cut corners to keep our sanity, but one corner we shouldn’t be consistently cutting is our diets. My husband and I both work full time. We both commute. Our daughter is in group daycare. By the time we pick up our daughter and get home, there is very little precious time between then and baby bedtime. We want to spend as much quality time as possible with our family. Cooking a four-course meal isn’t practical on most nights, but that doesn’t mean we pull the plastic off our dinners five nights a week. We’ve developed some strategies and want to share them. • When you actually have time to cook, do it in bulk and freeze some of it. • Make something on your days off that lends itself well to other meals. For

example, spaghetti sauce can be used in lots of recipes, as can soups or chili. • Keep your freezer stocked with things that freeze well such as rice or other grains in a freezer bag; diced-up chicken, beef or pork; burrito sauce; pesto • When you bring produce home, cut it up right then and there. Invest in some storage containers and fill them with pre-cut veggies and fruit. They are ready to add to your favorite recipes or for snacking during the week. • Swallow your pride and buy the preminced garlic, shredded cheese, bagged salad, canned beans and any other convenience food that is healthy and hassle free. Most of this stuff isn’t that expensive and it’s always cheaper than eating out. • Whole-grain pizza crusts, pita bread and flat breads can replace ordering pizza out. A favorite of ours is Naan oven-baked flatbread pizza. Top with your shredded cheese and pre-cut veggies and put it in the toaster oven. It’s a healthy meal on the table in less than 15 minutes. • Buy the healthy versions of premade foods. Our family loves meatfree chicken nuggets and organic mac and cheese (you can get it for $2 a box, which is still very inexpensive in the grand scheme of things). • Couscous is a busy parent’s best friend. All you have to do is boil water and it’s ready in five minutes. These are just some of the things my family does to try to eat healthy on a time budget, and we know making the time is worth it. Placing an importance on food is good for child development. Prepared foods come with a lot of added sugar, salt, fat, cholestrerol and chemicals. They don’t typically come with a lot of nutrition. These foods are not good for children or their parents. We all know they are damaging our health and vitality. If you teach your children from an early age that what Mommy and Daddy eat matters, than they are more likely to let that idea play out in their own lives. If you consistently eat unhealthy food, it’s only a matter of time before your children follow suit. We make time in our lives for far lesser things. We burn up time on the Internet or in front of the television. As parents, we need to make time for what matters. In doing so, we can keep picked-over chicken fingers, bread crusts and frozen pizza to an occasional occurrence. Author’s Note: If you have ways you help your family eat well when on a time crunch, send them to melissa@cnyhealth. com and I will share them in an upcoming column.

Menorah Park Celebrates 100 Years From a small rooming house in Syracuse in 1912 to a 35-acre hillside campus today, the former Jewish Home of Central New York accommodates up to 400 people, Jewish and non-Jewish

By Suzanne M. Ellis

he year was 1912, and the setting was the basement of a synagogue in downtown Syracuse. Hopeless and having nowhere else to turn, an elderly man lay there, alone in the darkness, knowing death was near. For two years prior to that fateful night, the Rev. Moses Braude had fought unsuccessfully for the creation of an “old age home” for the Jewish community in Syracuse. At that moment, in a cold, dark cellar where a few Jewish men rescued the old man, Braude’s mere concept turned to reality and the Jewish Home for Aged was born. Thanks to the philanthropic commitment of four generations since then, the Jewish Home of Central New York — which became known in 2002 as Menorah Park — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Having evolved from a small rooming house in Syracuse in 1912, Menorah Park today is a 35-acre hillside campus straddling the boundary between the city of Syracuse and the town of DeWitt. The facility has room for a resident population of 350 to 400, according to MaryEllen Bloodgood, the chief executive officer at Menorah Park. It offers independent living for active seniors, long-term nursing care, supportive living, rehabilitation, a social center and a research facility for the study of aging. Menorah Park also runs Beit Tikvah, a group home in Fayetteville for young women with develop-

mental disabilities. “When that man was found in the synagogue in 1912, the Jewish community wasn’t welcome in many places,” said Bloodgood. “Now, 100 years later, everyone is welcome at Menorah Park.” Contrary to what some might believe, Menorah Park is not a facility exclusively for Jewish people. “We have about 60 percent of our population that’s Jewish and 40 percent who are non-Jewish on our campus,” Bloodgood said. “That [misunderstanding] is part of the reason we changed the name, to give it a more secular name.” While New York City became home to many of the Jewish immigrants who crossed the Atlantic, some journeyed farther in search of freedom and fortune, according to Barbara Sheklin Davis and Susan B. Rabin, authors of the book, “Jewish Community of Syracuse.” Because it was readily accessible via the Erie Canal, Syracuse is where many of the immigrants leaving New York City ended up. The area “offered opportunities, open roads and a small but ever-growing Jewish community,” according to an online recap of the book, which was released in December by Arcadia Publishing. “This history traces the development of the Jewish community of the Salt City from its beginnings … when a handful of peddlers gathered weekly to share a Shab-

The main entrance of Menorah Park as it appears today. Photo courtesy of Menorah Park.

This photo was taken circa 1925 after Jewish Home for Aged moved from Irving Avenue in Syracuse to its current location on East Genesee Street. The property, which eventually became known as the Jewish Home for Central New York and more recently Menorah Park, is partially in Syracuse and partially in the town of DeWitt. Photo courtesy of Menorah Park.

These undated photos of male and female residents and one of their nurses was taken during the early 1900s at the Jewish Home for Aged. Photo courtesy of Menorah Park.

bat meal, to a much larger community that numbered 11,000 to 12,000 at its peak …,” according to Arcadia. Today’s Jewish community in Central New York, according to some, numbers roughly 8,000 to 10,000. Many of them — benefactors, residents and friends of Menorah Park — will participate in special activities commemorating the facility’s 100-year anniversary. A few events, some involving the descendants of the founding fathers, were held earlier. “At the end of May, we will have our Shining Stars, where we recognize our volunteers and some of our residents,” Bloodgood said. In August, the 30th annual golf tournament will be held. The celebration of Menorah Park’s 100th anniversary culminates Oct. 27 with a gala at Temple Adath, and organizers are expecting hundreds to attend. “We’ll have a gallery of old pictures and articles with a timeline from June 2012 •

1912 to 2012, showing how things have changed over the last 100 years,” Bloodgood said. “This is an open event for everyone in the community. Sidney and Winnie Greenberg will be our honorary chairs for that event, and Doug Logan will be our master of ceremonies.” Bloodgood believes there will be more milestone celebrations in the years to come. “We are relevant in Upstate New York and not only because we are mission-driven. This is an extremely important [place] for our Jewish community, and I believe we’ll be around for another 150 years or more,” she said. “When you see other long-standing places like this one closing, you will not see that here because we have such a wonderfully supportive community behind us. It’s that supportive community that has kept us going for the first 100 years, and I truly believe that it will keep us going for a very long time.”

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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PETS

Pet Food: How Safe Are You?

Recent cases of pet owners getting sick because of pet food raises concerns about pet food safety By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

n the past several decades, feeding cats and dogs has become as convenient as scooping up a serving of kibble or opening a can. But recent cases of contaminated pet food sickening people bring to light the importance of safely handling pet food. Pet food can carry pathogens such as salmonella, which can cause serious illness or even death, especially for small children, the elderly or people with compromised immune systems. Although processed kibble seems as safe as your children’s breakfast cereal, it is not because pet foods are made with meat as an ingredient. Since poorly processed meat can harbor harmful bacteria, even dry food should be handled as if handling raw meat. Some people choose to feed raw meat to their cats and dogs and several alternative pet food companies sell raw pet food. Garry Lewis, who distributes Oma’s Pride Raw Diet frozen pet food from his home in Syracuse, has fed to his show dogs raw food for decades. “Our dogs give us plenty of kisses

and we’ve never been sick,” Lewis said. “We use commercial steel food serving pans to defrost the food in the fridge. Afterwards, we wash the pans with detergent and water. We wipe the counters down with vinegar water or disinfectant spray or occasionally diluted Lysol in water. “It’s like cooking for people. The dogs clean themselves up pretty well.” However, dogs or cats eating raw meat may not be as careful to stay away from children while eating or shortly after. Cats are typically fastidious groomers but most dogs aren’t. Jan Plank, owner of Plank’s Pet & Pup Tub, a boarding and grooming facility in Jordan, also shows dogs and feeds raw food. “When the dog is being fed, it should be by itself,” she said. “After the dish is picked up, you can take a wash cloth and wash the dog’s face.” She lathers up her pups’ chops with Dawn antibacterial dish soap. “It is organic, environmentally friendly and is used on wildlife,” Plank said. “You can also use baby wipes on

dogs to take off extra debris.” Garry Lewis isn’t Follow the same afraid to get upprocedures for storing, handling and serving close and personal raw and cooked pet with his dogs after food as you would prefeeding them raw paring a meal with raw food. meat ingredients. Gretchen Pierson, supervisor of food protection for the Onondaga County Health Department, recommends washing seafood from ready-to-eat food,” Pierhands, utensils and surfaces with hot, son said. “You want to prevent juices soapy water. from dripping on the other food. Store “Wash countertops and anything raw foods on the bottom so they won’t that comes into contact with raw food have the potential to drip on the other or kibble with hot, soapy water,” she foods.” said. “Some people also use sanitizing Keep the meat cold. Use a dedisolution.” cated utensil for scooping kibble or else As you wash your pet’s dishes, use wash it after each use. Wash pet bowls dish soap and water that is 110 degrees frequently. Fahrenheit. Rinse thoroughly and allow Just as you would not let young to air dry. Or, use the dishwasher. children handle raw meat, do not allow To avoid cross-contamination, store them to feed pets or handle pet food of food carefully. any sort-dry kibble, canned or raw. “Separate raw meat, poultry and

Doggy Tune-up Time Getting your dog in shape for the summer and beyond By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

s your dog prepared to hit the nature trails with you for a hike? Before you and your pooch get outside to enjoy summer, get ready with a “doggy tune-up.” “If you are going to be out in the

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fields or woods, you definitely want to make sure that your dogs are current on all vaccines, including rabies and the distemper/parvovirus vaccines,” said Liz Dole, veterinarian at Stack Veterinary Hospital in Syracuse. A bite from a rabid wild animal can infect your dog with rabies, though the Centers for Disease Control reports that “transmission has been rarely documented via other routes such as contamination of mucous membranes….” In addition to the rabies vaccination, which is required by law, Dole recommends getting an annual leptospirosis vaccination. Dogs can pick up the infection from urine, other bodily fluids, diseased wildlife and standing bodies of water. “Leptospirosis, which is a bacterial infection, causes liver and kidney failure and Lyme disease,” Dole said. Look into Lyme disease vaccination, too. Not available to humans, the vaccination can protect your dog if

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

it bitten by a tick with Lyme disease. After the initial shot, a booster is given two to three weeks later and annually thereafter. You should also check for ticks on your dog’s head and ears since ticks are attracted to hosts by sensing carbon dioxide. As your dog exhales, a tick on a nearby leaf will jump and likely land near the nose, mouth or possibly ears. Taking care of flea and tick control can spare your dog from bites. Fleas carried indoors by one dog can quickly and easily infest a home and transfer to other pet and human hosts. Some preparations work against both fleas and ticks; however, do not assume that all do. You have plenty of products from which to choose, including topical and oral ones. Flea sprays and powders can be messy and more easily transferred to children and furnishings. It can be hard to know if you have used the correct amount. The problem with flea collars is

that the fleas are repelled only where the collar is worn, so fleas will live near the tail instead. In addition to ineffective, flea collars are also dangerous for dogs to wear since they do not break easily if a dog gets caught on something. Different oral and topical types of flea and tick products work differently. Some kill pests only if your dog has been bitten. Others repel them so the dog can stay free of bites. “You can buy that stuff OTC at Wal-Mart or grocery stores, but there are more reactions with those than the stuff the veterinarians carry,” said Leia Lindley, associate veterinarian with Animal Ark Veterinary Hospital Baldwinsville. Drops need to be applied to only one spot between the shoulder bladesand they last for about a month. Oral medication is usually used in conjunction with flea drops. Ask your vet what is right for your dog and follow all the directions carefully. Start flea and tick protection in early spring and continue it until a few hard frosts have occurred. Year round, dogs need de-worming treatment, too. “A common misconception is about heartworm disease,” Lindley said. “Because of the mild winter, mosquitoes have been out since December. People need to use year round heartworm pro-

Continued on page 26

Men’sHealth Men’s Depression Manifests Differently By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

tereotypically, men are strong and silent. Emotions beyond jubilation when a favorite team wins, are buried. “Men are taught to hide their feelings,” said Andrea Reinking, a licensed marriage and family therapist with Partners for Change in Jamesville. “If they express them, they think they’re less manly. Women are more readily available to share their feelings.” Depression among men is vastly under-diagnosed. Part of the reason for this is that men often manifest depression in ways that are different from the “classic” depression signals. With men, depression can manifest as flashes of anger and engaging in risky behavior such as abusing alcohol or drugs. It may seem difficult to tell the difference between a man who is angry or reckless and one who is angry or reckless because he is depressed. However, the key is to look beyond the anger or recklessness to the classic depressive symptoms: listlessness, lack of passion in life, withdrawal, eatAltoonian ing habits changing dramatically, lack of sexual desires and disrupted relationships. Part of the reason that men’s depression symptoms are so different is that the cause behind their depression is different. For example, many men believe they must be the breadwinner and if the recession caused them to lose their jobs, they feel their lives are out of control. Acting out in anger, acting recklessly or even indulging in an affair makes them feel in control of an area of their lives, even though in a negative way.

The classic signs of depression that men and women share may be less observable in men, “due to the fact that men are socialized to express fewer feelings in general in our culture,” said Ann Altoonian, licensed psychologist with offices in Syracuse. “Men show more irritability than sadness when they are experiencing depression.” Internalizing their feelings makes men manifest depression as snappishness instead of sadness. “Regarding helping men, anything that a loved one can do to help the man recognize that depression may be the problem will help,” Altoonian said. “Multiple conversations communicating your concern are probably going to be needed. Also communicating the importance of getting outside help can be crucial as most men are inclined to try to ‘tough it out.’” Simply telling him that he needs professional mental health counseling will probably not work. Max Malikow, a licensed mental health counselor practicing in Syracuse, thinks men may resist counseling because “they think they should take care of things themselves. This is substantiated in research. Men are solution-oriented and they may not see a solution coming from talking about it. “Women want reassurance that they see things clearly and are much more relational. Men are task-oriented and want to know how a conversation with a therapist will help them with their sadness.” Instead of pushing the emotional aspects of depression, point out any physical or behavioral symptoms. Suggest that it may be time for a physical check-up. Primary care doctors are generally good at identifying depression and can refer patients to counseling.

For a more direct approach, Malikow suggests saying, “’Let me tell you how your depression affects me.’ “That may make him do it for the sake of the other,” he added. “Challenge them in terms of what they have already done and ask how it’s working. Ask what plan they have for making things better. Challenge them with questions instead of telling them what to do. Ask if they won’t see a therapist what will make things better.” Once the subject of seeking help from a mental health counselor has been broached, “acknowledging to them that expressing feeling helps them will encourage them to come,” Reinking said. “It has to do with empathy and acknowledging it’s healthy to talk about their feelings. With a man who’s depressed, it is a good idea to invite him to come to therapy with you.” A mental health counselor can help him talk through faulty beliefs that can cause depression, such as thinking that all enjoyment in life is over because he has hit a milestone birthday or that he will surely die soon because he has become as old as his father when he passed away. Anyone who indicates he is considering harming himself or others needs immediate professional help because this is an emergency situation.

What to Say, Not to Say

If a man (or woman) you know exhibits signs of depression, Ann Altoonian, licensed psychologist with offices in Syracuse and East Irondeqoit, suggests these tips adapted from The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (www.dbsalliance.org):

What you can say that helps:

• You are not alone in this. I’m here for you. • You may not believe it now, but the way you’re feeling will change. • I may not be able to understand exactly how you feel, but I care about you and want to help. • When you want to give up, tell yourself you will hold of for just one more day, hour, minute — whatever you can manage. • You are important to me. Your life is important to me. • Tell me what I can do now to help you.

Avoid saying:

• It’s all in your head. • We all go through times like this. • Look on the bright side. • You have so much to live for why do you want to die? • I can’t do anything about your situation. • Just snap out of it. • What’s wrong with you? • Shouldn’t you be better by now?

Father’s Day is June 17 J

une 17 as Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent. Here’s some stats about fathers in the United States:

• 70.1 million

Estimated number of fathers across the nation.

• 24.7 million

Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2011

• 1.7 million

Number of single fathers in 2011; 15 percent of single parents were men.

• 176,000

Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2011. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for at least one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for upwards of 332,000 children.

• 17%

In spring 2010, the percentage of preschoolers regularly cared for by their father during their mother’s working hours.

• $1.9 billion

Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2009; they were due $3.5 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $19.5 billion of the June 2012 •

$31.7 billion in support that was due.

34%

Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due in 2009, not significantly different from the corresponding percentage for custodial mothers, 42 percent. Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2009 <http:// www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60240.pdf

70%

Percentage of custodial fathers receiving noncash support, such as gifts or coverage of expenses, on behalf of their children. The corresponding proportion for mothers was 58 percent Source: Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2009

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper

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get some help with monthly premiums, ou can probably think of a numannual deductibles, and prescription ber of times when you asked co-payments. Some examples where your dad for a little extra help. income may be higher include Now, with Father’s Day right if he or his spouse: around the corner, is the per—Support other family fect time to offer a little extra members who live with them; help for Dad. People across the —Have earnings from nation are helping their dads work; or save nearly $4,000 a year on the —Live in Alaska or Hacost of Medicare prescription waii. drugs. You can help your dad, • Resources limited to too — and it won’t cost you a $13,070 for an individual or dime. $26,120 for a married couple The high cost of prescripliving together. Resources tion medication can be a burinclude such things as bank den on fathers (or anyone) who Banikowski accounts, stocks, and bonds. We do have limited income and resources. not count his house and a car (if he has But there is “Extra Help” — available one) as resources. through Social Security — that could Social Security has an easy-to-use pay part of his monthly premiums, anonline application that you can help nual deductibles, and prescription copayments. That Extra Help is estimated complete for your dad. You can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/prescripto be worth about $4,000 a year. To figure out whether your father is tionhelp. To apply by phone or have an application mailed to you, call Social eligible, Social Security needs to know his income and the value of his savings, Security at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800investments, and real estate (other than 325-0778) and ask for the Application for Help with Medicare Prescription the home he lives in). To qualify for Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020). Or go to the Extra Help, he must be enrolled in the nearest Social Security office. Medicare and have: To learn more about the Medicare • Income limited to $16,755 for an individual or $22,695 for a married cou- prescription drug plans and special enrollment periods, visit www.medicare. ple living together. Even if his annual income is higher, he still may be able to gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800633-4227; TTY 1-877-486-2048).

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Q: I’m getting married later this month and plan to change my name. What documents do I need to apply for a new Social Security card with my new name? A: To change your name for any reason in Social Security’s records, and on your Social Security card, you’ll need to provide proof of your U.S. citizenship (if you have not previously established it with us) or immigration status. You’ll need to show us evidence of your legal name change by showing us documentation of your old and new names. Such documents could include a court order for a name change, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or certificate of naturalization. Finally, you’ll need to show us proof of identity. All documents submitted must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents. Visit our website about your Social Security card and number at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber where you can get more information and fill out your application. Or call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Q: Recently, I was told I shouldn’t be carrying my Social Security card around. Is that true?

A: We encourage you to keep your Social Security card at home in a safe place. Do not carry it with you unless you are taking it to a job interview or to someone who requires it. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, and the best way to avoid becoming a victim is to safeguard your card and number. To learn more, visit our Social Security number and card page at http://www.socialsecurity. gov/ssnumber. Q: I just started my first job and my paycheck is less than I expected. Why am I paying for retirement benefits when I have a lifetime to live before retirement? A: Besides being required by law, you are securing your own financial future through the payment of Social Security and Medicare taxes. The taxes you pay now translate to a lifetime of protection, whether you retire or become disabled. And when you die, your family (or future family) may be able to receive survivors benefits based on your work as well. Aside from all the benefits in your own future, your Social Security and Medicare payments also help today’s retirees. To learn more, visit our website at www. socialsecurity.gov.

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How to Make the Most of Your Doctor’s Visit Dear Savvy Senior, Can you write a column educating patients on how to prepare for doctors appointments? I manage a number of small health clinics, and have found that patients — especially seniors — who come prepared when they visit our doctors are much more satisfied with the care they receive. Thanks for your help. Patient Educator Dear Educator, You’re right. Studies have shown that patients who help their doctors by providing important health information and preparing themselves for appointments tend to get better care than patients who don’t. Here are some simple things we can all do to help maximize our next visit to the doctor. Before Your Appointment Gathering your health information and getting organized before your appointment are the key steps to ensuring a productive meeting with your doctor. This is especially important if you’re seeing multiple doctors or are meeting with a new physician for the first time. Specifically, you need to: • Get your test results Make sure the doctor you’re seeing has copies of your latest X-ray, MRI or any other test or lab results, including reports from other doctors that you’ve seen. In most cases, you’ll need to do the leg work yourself which may only require a phone call to your previous doctor asking them to send it, or you may need to go pick it up and take it yourself. • List your medications Make a list of all the medications you’re taking (prescription drugs, overthe-counter medications, vitamins, minerals and herbal supplements) along with the dosages and take it with you to your appointment. Or, just gather up all you pill bottles and put them in a bag and bring them with you. • Gather your health history Your doctor also needs to know about any previous hospitalizations, as well as any current or past medical problems, even if they are not the

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reason you are going to the doctor this time. Genetics matter too, so having your family’s health history can be helpful. The U.S. Surgeon General offers a free Web-based tool called “My Family Health Portrait” (see familyhistory.hhs.gov) that can help you put one together. • Prepare a list of questions Make a written list of the top three or four issues you want to discuss with your doctor. Since most appointments last between 10 and 15 minutes, this can help you stay on track and ensure you address your most pressing concerns first. If you’re in for a diagnostic visit, you should prepare a detailed description of your symptoms.

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During Your Appointment The best advice when you meet with your doctor is to speak up. Don’t wait to be asked. Be direct, honest and as specific as possible when recounting your symptoms or expressing your concerns. Many patients are reluctant or embarrassed to talk about their symptoms, which makes the doctor’s job a lot harder to do. It’s also a good idea to bring along a family member or friend to your appointment. They can help you ask questions, listen to what the doctor is telling you and give you support. Also consider taking some notes or ask the doctor if you can record the session for later review. If you don’t understand what the doctor is telling you, ask him or her to explain it in simple terms so you can understand. And if you run out of time and don’t get your questions answered, ask if you can follow up by phone or email, make another appointment, or seek help from the doctor’s nurse.

Savvy tip The National Institute on Aging offers a booklet called “Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People” that provides great information including a variety of questions to ask that can help you be a more informed patient. To get a free copy mailed to you, call 800-2222225 or visit www.nia.nih.gov.

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Page 23

H ealth News North Medical adds new provider at Women’s Place Norht Medical announces the addition of physician Mark Billinson to The Women’s Place at the North Medical Center in Liverpool Billinson is a board certified physician of OB/GYN. He comes to The Women’s Place from a solo private practice in Syracuse, where he practiced for 24 years after completing his residency at University Hospital. Billinson has also been a clinical instructor at SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Health Science Center. With special interests in breast cancer, menopause and hormone replacement, Billinson speaks nationally on topics such as risk assessment and genetics testing for hereditary cancer syndromes. He is certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Oswego Health marketing team wins award Members of Oswego Health’s community development department have won a prestigious gold award from the Aster Awards, one of the largest national competitions of its kind, hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today magazine and Creative Images, Inc. This program recognized outstanding healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts for the calendar year 2011. Lauren Winters, director of business development and marketing, along with Anne Raham, the department’s graphic designer, won

the award for a physician recruitment booklet that was submitted in the professional recruitment category. The 12-page booklet describes the Oswego Health system, as well as the community including available housing, local schools and the cost of living. The 2012 Aster Awards received nearly 3,000 entries from across the United States as well as Canada and South America. Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category. “Although our nation has been challenged economically, the talent of healthcare marketing professionals seems to be at an all time high. The 2012 Aster Awards program contained some of the best advertising arguably in the world. The judge’s expectations were again surpassed,” said Melinda Lucas, Aster Awards program coordinator. All winners are posted on the Aster Awards website (www.AsterAwards. com), as well as published in Marketing Healthcare Today.

East Hill Family Medical serves 11,250 people in ‘11 East Hill Family Medical in Auburn provided medical, dental and behavioral health services to 11,250 individuals in 2011, according to figures released in May. These individual made 33,895 visits to the facilities. Of these individuals 10 percent received free and reduced care last year while some 50 percent were Medicaid recipients. The information was released during the organization’s 42nd annual meeting in May. Highlights of the meeting included

OCO Salutes Volunteer of the Year

Executive Director of OCO, Diane Cooper-Currier; Ann Clark of Backstreet Books and Bistro; Steve Zink, Joe Caruana, president of the board of directors for OCO; and Karen Merrill, Comprehensive Care Coordinator Steve Zink was honored with the Howard Wilcox Volunteer of the Year Award at Oswego County Opportunities’ annual meeting held April 25. Since 2010 Zink has volunteered more than 1,000 hours at OCO’s Backstreet Books and Bistro in Fulton. “Steve is a valuable asset to Backstreet Books and Bistro. He enjoys interacting with the customers and takes an interest in their Page 24

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well-being,” said Sarah Irland, deputy executive director of Oswego County Opportunities based in Fulton. Other nominees for the Howard Wilcox Volunteer of the Year Award, who were recognized at the annual meeting were Sean Broadwell, Head Start; John Pierce, Meals on Wheels; and Donn Williams, Constantia Dining and Activity Center.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Upstate cheered by United Way for campaign excellence

Upstate Medical University received the United Way of Central New York’s Spirit of Caring Award for Campaign Excellence after raising more than $650,000 for area human service agencies in last year’s fundraising campaign. On hand for the award presentation April 26 are Pamela Suddaby, Becky Cerio, Zanette Howe, Catherine Wenthen, Lisa Viggliotti-Bane, Upstate President David R. Smith, Leola Rodgers, Susan Graham and Debra Stehle. Over the last ﬁve years, Upstate has raised more than $2.6 million for local charities. a review of the 2011 audit presented by the Bonadio & Company as well as the report of the nominating committee. Reelected to a three year term was Kenneth Padget and Daniel Larson. Padgett has been on the board since June 1997 and is the retired president and chancellor of the New York Chiropractic College. Larson has just completed his first term on the board. He serves as president of Cayuga Community College. Elected to a three-year term as a consumer was Claudia Ball of Weedsport. Last year, the practice secured a five-year, $250,000 New York State Department of Health Preventive Dental Services Grant to provide school-based dental services to six schools in Auburn and Cayuga County. East Hill also received funding last year to offer comprehensive dental services to children enrolled at the Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency’s Head Start program. This program is funded for two years by a CHOMPERS grant from the Central and Western NY Health Foundation. East Hill offers services in downtown Auburn, at Summit Pediatrics, as well as in North Rose and Waterloo.

Hillside gets $90,000 grant from Excellus Excellus BlueCross BlueShield pledged a $90,000 multi-year grant that will help Hillside Work Scholarship Connection in Syracuse launch a program called Healthy Mind/Healthy Body. The initiative will teach healthy habits to Syracuse students, leading to their overall well-being and success in and out of the classroom. The announcement was made in April by Arthur Vercillo, regional president of Excellus and Sharon Contreras, Syracuse City School District superintendent “Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is pleased to continue its long-standing support of Hillside Work-Scholar-

ship Connection and the tremendous potential of its new Healthy Mind/ Healthy Body program,” Vercillo said. “As a nonprofit company that seeks to continually improve the health and healthcare of residents of Upstate New York, we applaud the program’s goal of teaching healthy habits to young people in our community. Our hope is that health habits instilled during teenage years will boost graduation rates and carry over into adulthood.” Funding from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield will be used to launch Healthy Mind/Healthy Body — aimed at educating youth about the benefits of healthy eating, the importance of exercise and how to make healthier choices to improve their overall wellbeing. Over a three-year period, the money will support, among other thing, enhancements to Hillside’s current kitchen area, creating a fully equipped teaching kitchen that will offer students the space and equipment to learn healthy cooking and preparation skills; improvements to Hillside’s community garden for youth to grow vegetables that will be used in recipes; and train students and staff in collaboration with Syracuse University on the importance of healthy eating and activity.

Grant to Aurora of CNY to fund hearing aids for youth The Gifford Foundation recently awarded $13,000 to Aurora of CNY, Inc. to support its low cost hearing aid program for youth who are hard of hearing. The program provides hearing aids at low cost for up to 10 children per year in partnership with Hear 2 Learn, a pediatric therapy and service agency. The grant will cover the cost of consultations with an audiologist, the hearing aids, and support and training once the hearing aids are fitted. Children aged 4 to 18 are eligible. “There is a grow-

H ealth News ing number of hard of hearing youth between the ages of 4 and 18 in our community who cannot afford hearing aids and who need support to maintain them as they grow,” said Debra Chaiken, Aurora’s executive director. As children grow, they need multiple ear molds and fittings to accommodate their changing hearing needs. “Most insurance plans do not cover the cost of hearing aids throughout the life span,” Chaiken noted. “Our hearing aid program for youth is modeled on an already successful program delivered by Aurora and Hear 2 Learn for seniors in our community. We are grateful to the Gifford Foundation for enabling us to extend this service to our local young people.” Since 1954 the Gifford Foundation has been dedicated to the stewardship of the funds entrusted to its care by Rosamond Gifford. The foundation is committed to using its financial and human resources to build the capacity of individuals and organizations to enhance the vitality and the quality of life for the people of the CNY community. For further information please visit the website at www.giffordfoundation.org.

Loretto staff earns certiﬁcate in holistic aging Six members of Loretto’s staff recently earned certificates in holistic aging at LeMoyne College. The fourcourse curriculum was designed by Le Moyne faculty in partnership with eldercare practitioners from Loretto. This new certificate was created to prepare individuals with vision to transform “old age” into “long life,” according to Loretto. It’s grounded in eth-

ics and the humanities and the curriculum allowed participants to explore the dimensions of aging in contemporary times through cross-disciplinary study — from biology and ethics through politics and spirituality.

Midwifery service wins grant to expand services The midwifery service at Upstate University Hospital at Community General has been selected as one of three in the region to receive a $15,000 grant from the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York. The grants are intended to expand midwifery services for low-income women. Although typically thought of as caregivers in woman’s pregnancy, midwives are experts in women’s health and provide care through all stages of a woman’s life. “Midwives are considered primary care and provide a full scope of women’s health services,” explains Heather Shannon, Upstate’s director of community midwifery. “We work with women at every age and stage, providing gynecological care from puberty and menstruation, to family planning and obstetrics, and menopause and beyond.” The provider-based midwifery program is set to fully launch by early fall with all babies being delivered at the Jim and DeDe Walsh Family Birth Center in Upstate University Hospital at Community General. The grant will support several areas of the program including pregnancy care, patient education and strategic planning to help meet the needs of the targeted population

ACH Recognizes Its Team of Staff, Physicians and Volunteers

Celebrating Recognition Day at Auburn Community Hospital are, from left, Amber Sitterly, nurse manager; Roz McCormick, VP public relations/medical staff; Auburn Mayor Michael Quill; and Scott Berlucchi, hospital president and CEO. As part of Hospital Week, Auburn Community Hospital declared May 9 Recognition Day. All patients received flowers; nurses received plants; and medical staff, employees, and volunteers received a barbecue lunch. During the lunch, Scott Berlucchi, the hospital’s president and CEO, presented certificates of recognition to individuals

Eastside Pediatrics receives the award for National Infant Immunization Week

and departments for excellence in and dedication to healthcare. Auburn Mayor Michael Quill joined the celebration as he read a proclamation from the City of Auburn to ACH urging people to express their appreciation for the people, facilities and technologies that make trustworthy, reliable healthcare possible in the community.

The Onondaga County Health Department presented an award to Eastside Pediatrics for “outstanding vaccination rates among their patients under 2 years old.” The practice was recognized for its commitment in educating parents about the importance of immunizations and for its high vaccination rates. The event took place during the week of April 21–28, National Infant

News from

Crouse Receives Komen for the Cure Awards Grant — The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Central New York has awarded Crouse Health Foundation a grant for $44,300. The funding will be used to help increase the number of women in the community who get tested for breast cancer though community outreach aimed to lesson the barriers of poverty, lack of education and access to healthcare services. The program will provide education and outreach in three distinct tracks: Building on outreach projects started two years ago to Syracuse minority populations, including the refugee populations and the chemically dependent populations; outreach to physicians with patients under 40 who have abnormal results or family history; and outreach and programs aimed at Crouse’s 2,700 employees and their wives, sisters, mothers, daughters. “The main goal of this project is to insure that all women in Onondaga County, including 30-to 40-yea-old women, receive mammography screening as well as a followup appointment with a medical provider if an abnormality or problem is detected,” says Stephen Montgomery, medical director of the Crouse Breast Health Center, the first nationally accredited breast imaging center of excellence in Syracuse. Crouse Awarded ‘Certificate of Excellence’ from Excellus — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield has awarded Crouse Hospital its “Certificate of Excellence” for most patient safety measures achieving statistically significant improvement in 2011. The award is part of the health insurer’s hospital performance incentive program. June 2012 •

Immunization Week. Above, from left to right: Julie Bowsher, secretary; Kavita Seth, MD; Denise Wolken, MD; Geri Rosselli, Onondaga County Health Department; Diane Dimond, MD; Linda Lesins, RN; Josephine Burke, RN; Katie Thurber, RN; Gileen Morgan, RN; and Vanessa Giarrousso, secretary.

Crouse is the only Syracuse hospital to receive the designation, which was based on improvements made in the clinical areas of central line infection (CLI) rates and pressure ulcers. Both are common in hospital settings and can result in longer lengths of stay, increased healthcare costs and decreased patient satisfaction. “This recognition reflects the daily focus we put on performance improvement and patient safety,” says Chief Quality Officer Derrick Suehs. “Performance improvement at Crouse is at the heart of our mission and is a key part of our organizational culture.” In the past year, the hospital has put in place a number of quality improvement initiatives focusing on the reduction of central line infections and pressure ulcers. When comparing the baseline rate at the beginning of the study to a seven-month time period rate the hospital experienced a statistically significant improvement based on calculations performed by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield.

News from

St. Joseph’s Launches Redesigned Website — St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center recently launched a redesigned website at www.sjhsyr.org, with a brand new mobile version. The new website features new patient-friendly components, such as recipes, health tips and information, as well as “My St. Joseph’s,” which allows visitors to keep track of the classes they sign up for, as well as their favorite physicians. “’My St. Joseph’s’ is the entry point to our patient portal,” explained Chuck Fennell, vice president for information management for St. Joseph’s. “In the

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H ealth News future this module will allow patients to make appointments, view health information and even pay their bills online.” In addition to the redesigned website, St. Joseph’s maintains a strong presence on various social media via “StJosephsHealth,” including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. New Docs Join St. Joe’s — The following medical doctors joined St. Joseph’s active medical staff: Francis L. Kirk of Binghamton, anesthesia; Michael A. LaCombe of Vernon Hills, Ill., radiology; John Schubmehl of Hamilton, psychiatry; Richard F. Seidner of Fayetteville, family medicine. St. Joseph’s Wins GHXcellence Award For Achievements In Supply Chain Performance — St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center was recently recognized as one of the “Best 50 Integrated Delivery Networks” in the GHXcellence Awards for leveraging

supply chain automation and trading partner collaboration to drive out costs, reduce waste and improve business performance. The winners were announced at the 12th annual GHX Healthcare Supply Chain Summit — the largest event to bring together both the buy and sell sides of the healthcare supply chain. The awards were granted to organizations that best met specific criteria during 2011, including increased use of e-commerce solutions throughout the healthcare supply chain; the number of trading partners with whom they conducted e-commerce; and the percentage of orders transacted electronically. “As we all know, sharing data electronically is much more efficient than using facsimile or hard copy paperwork,” said Steve Fondario, director for supply chain management for St. Joseph’s. “It helps reduce order and invoice discrepancies and errors, as well.”

St. Joseph’s Westside Family Health Center Earns Recognition

St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center announced its Westside Family Health Center has received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Physician Practice Connections—Patient-Centered Medical Home (PPC-PCMH) program for using evidence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships. The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a promising model of health care delivery that aims to improve the quality and efficiency of care. PPC–PCMH identifies practices that promote partnerships between individual patients and their personal clinicians, instead of treating patient care as the sum of several episodic office visits. Each patient’s care is tended to by clinician-led care teams, who provide for all the patient’s health care needs and coordinate treatments across the health care system. Medical home clinicians demonstrate the benchmarks of patient-centered care, including open scheduling, expanded hours and appropriate use of proven health information systems. Early evaluations of the PPC-PCMH have shown promising results in improving care quality and lowering costs by Page 26

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increasing access to more efficient, more coordinated care. By avoiding unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits, these early results are producing savings for payers, purchasers and patients. “The patient-centered medical home promises to improve health and health care,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The active, ongoing relationship between a patient and clinician in medical homes fosters an all-toorare goal in care: staying healthy and preventing illness in the first place. PPC=PCMH Recognition shows that St. Joseph’s Westside Family Health Center has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care at the right time.” To receive recognition, which is valid for three years, St. Joseph’s Westside Family Health Center demonstrated the ability to meet the program’s key elements embodying the characteristics of the medical home. The standards are aligned with the joint principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the America Osteopathic Association.

IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012

Crouse partnering with EMS, Rochester Institute of Technology for improved patient care Crouse Hospital is taking its partnership with local and regional emergency medical services (EMS) to a new level with what it calls “an innovative training program” that involves EMS representatives from 15 local and regional agencies and members of hospital’s emergency and cardiac services staff. The program, which evolved from discussions Crouse started with Rural/Metro leadership last year, will focus on integrating Lean Six Sigma strategies to improve the quality and process of care between EMS providers and hospitals. Lean Six Sigma was developed by Motorola in the 1980s as a way to improve the manufacturing process by decreasing variation and eliminating defects. Combining Six Sigma with Lean methodology — which focuses on eliminating waste within processes — has lead to the Lean Six Sigma philosophy. When this process is put in place, it can create improvement that drives customer satisfaction and, in the case of healthcare, improve care and outcomes. Crouse has used Lean Six Sigma for several years in a number of areas to improve processes in patient care and hospital operations. The training program, held in

the hospital’s Marley Education Center, began in April and runs weekly through the end of June. Sessions are taught by faculty from the Center for Quality and Applied Statistics at Rochester Institute of Technology. The program is being funded through an education grant from Onondaga Community College. A final capstone project presentation will be held in late July, and leaders from all local and regional EMS agencies will be invited to attend. “This will also be an opportunity to talk directly with Crouse leadership to continue to build on our long-term relationship with the EMS community and discuss ideas for further learning and collaboration,” says Michael Jorolemon, a physicians and senior quality officer for emergency services at Crouse and lead organizer for the program. “We’re excited to be collaborating with our EMS partners and RIT on this innovative program,” adds Jorolemon. “Our overall goal with this training is to improve communication between hospitals and EMS providers, leading to improved, more responsive care and clinical outcomes for patients.”

Doggy Tune-up Time Continued from page 20 tection. The heartworm protection has intestinal de-wormer against parasites that people can get, too.” Dogs can get sunburned. Since sunscreen isn’t practical for dogs, they “should be protected from prolonged exposure to sun, especially during the midday hours,” Dole said. “Breeds with thin hair coats or light colored fur may be more susceptible.” Never leave a dog in a car alone, even if the windows are open and it’s parked in the shade, because the temperature can rise quickly. As you walk your dog, take care on hot surfaces such as asphalt and sand as the mercury rises. If it would be too hot for you to walk barefoot, it is likely too warm for your dog. “Warm weather impacts all breeds of dogs, but especially those with short noses, known as brachycephalic breeds, such as Bulldogs, Boston terriers, and pugs,” Dole said. “They have trouble cooling themselves in hot weather and are more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. They should never be left outside for extended periods during the summer months.” Provide abundant clean water. Many pet stores sell collapsible water bowls, making it convenient to give your dog a drink on a hike.

If you take your dog on car trips, restrain it in a travel harness or crate. Travel harnesses strap to the dog and have places for a seat belt to slide through so your dog will be secure in case of an accident. A crate can also offer protection and prevent your dog from becoming a projectile, harming both it and you. Planning to take your dog boating or swimming? Even if yours is a good swimmer, watch it carefully since dogs can tire or become caught in an undertow. Especially watch older and unfit dogs. Dog life vests can offer a measure of protection. Attach to your dog’s collar its license tag, rabies vaccination tag, and identification tag. Occasionally check your dog’s leash and collar for wear. If a squirrel darts across the trail, a frayed leash or collar can give way. Regularly trim your dog’s toenails. Nails that grow too long can cause problems in the dog’s toes, feet and even its gait because the nails’ excess length will force its paw to move unnaturally. If you notice it limping or licking a paw repeatedly, examine the paw for a cut or other problem to keep your dog healthy and by your side where it belongs.

Some feature stories in this issue: • Looking for a new hobby? Several active adults are taking up scuba diving, right here in North Syracuse • Look! Grandma just got a tattoo. Why more adults are going for it • Rock ‘n’ roll DJ Dave Frisina ﬁnds a new home • At 81, actor William Shatner continues to wow audiences • The Sandwich Generation —more boomers are caring for their parents and children • World traveler George Harrer, 99, recounts his trips around the globe • 10 things to do in Niagara County, NY

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IN GOOD HEALTH – CNY’s Healthcare Newspaper • June 2012