MOVERS & SHAKERS

Edmunds named VP at St. Joseph’s Health

Julie Edmunds Smith has been appointed vice president, financial operations and planning, at St. Joseph’s Health. Moving forward, Julie will be instrumental in setting and achieving performance metrics as well as working with operations on new business ventures and assisting to drive St. Joseph’s strategy forward in a manner consistent with its mission and values.

Julie joined St. Joseph’s Heath in April 2016 after 14 years of progressive experience with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Syracuse and Atlanta. During her nearly five years at St. Joseph’s Health, Julie served first as the director of finance, then system controller. In those positions, she has been responsible for accounting, finance, budget, strategic planning, and financial analysis. Julie has led several initiatives that improved the competency and efficiency of St. Joseph’s Health financial operations. “Julie’s collaborative leadership style coupled with her ability to drive organizational strategy and financial performance has enabled her very successful career,” said Meredith Price, Chief Financial Officer at St. Joseph’s Health. “She is a true professional who has a keen ability to balance mission and margin in the complex healthcare environment.”

Julie holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from LeMoyne College. dedicated to improving the health and well-being of New York’s most vulnerable,” says Alfred Kelly, Jr., chief executive officer of Visa and chair of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation Board.

Crouse Health’s Addiction Treatment Services is the only hospitalbased provider of comprehensive substance abuse treatment services in Central New York. Construction is currently underway on a new 40,000-square-foot medical office building on Erie Blvd. East, where the service, offices and outpatient programs will be relocated later this summer.

Wahl joins PrimeCare Central Square

Oswego Health welcomes experienced provider, Deirdre A. Wahl, RN, MSN, FNP-C to PrimeCare Central Square.

Wahl brings more than 15 years of experience providing high-quality care in both family practice and internal medicine settings. Fully licensed and certified by AANP, Wahl earned her master of science in nursing at SUNY Upstate Medical University College of Nursing, and her bachelor of science with a major in nursing from Keuka College.

Wahl joins the Oswego Health PrimeCare team in Central Square where she will work alongside Vandana Patil, MD, and Cassandra Hunsberger, FNP-C, to provide more access to primary care in Oswego County.

Crouse Health receives $125,000 grant for addiction treatment services

Crouse Health has been awarded a $125,000 grant from the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to help support and expand services for individuals in treatment for substance use disorders.

The grant will expand access to Certified Recovery Peer Advocates (CRPA) outside of traditional treatment hours. CRPAs are individuals with lived experience who understand the toll of addiction and the treatment process. The grant will also help sustain a therapy aide as part of the multidisciplinary treatment team who supports patients and the counseling staff with a range of services, including help accessing child care and navigating paperwork.

In addition, the grant will allow Crouse to add additional counselor hours to its Celebrating Families program, which is held outside of typical clinic hours, usually on a Saturday morning, to make it more convenient for families to participate.

“We are so grateful to the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation for recognizing the need for enhanced support for individuals undergoing substance use treatment,” says Crouse Addiction Treatment Services Medical Director Dr. Tolani Ajagbe, adding that demand for opioid treatment services has increased significantly in the area since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

“Getting services to people where they live, especially during a pandemic, is critically important,” added Dr. Ajagbe. To address this, the grant will also help support the purchase of equipment and software to provide more robust telehealth services for those who request it. “These grants demonstrate our continued commitment to support a wide range of organizations like Crouse Health that are