NNY Business August 2016

B

Y usIness

// Q2 REAL ESTATE: FORECLOSURES, MILD WINTER IMPACT MARKET, p. 42

AUGUST 2016 Volume 6 No. 9

***

THE INTERVIEW River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III p. 44

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ANNUA L HEALTH CARE ISSUE

Health care tech advances TELEMEDICINE IMPROVES RURAL ACCESS TO CARE // NORTHERN NEW YORK’S PREMIER BUSINESS MONTHLY //

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Inside AUGUST 2016 19

20 32

26 |

COVER |

20 TECH DRIVES ACCESS More local hospitals are embracing telemedicine to connect patients with care. |

SMALL BIZ STARTUP |

19 A DAYCARE DREAM For one Chaumont woman, opening a daycare to serve local children is ‘a privilege.’ |

HEALTH CARE |

26 CLOSING THE GAPS Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization works to make a healthier NNY.

28 HEALTH WORKFORCE Hospitals across the region are taking steps to address a shortage of skilled workers.

38 AN URGENT CARE BOOM Urgent care facilities help hospital ERs breathe easy.

30 STRIKING A BALANCE For many physicians, private practice doesn’t means a stressful work-life balance.

42 Q2 REAL ESTATE REPORT Mixed results in Q2 analysis.

32 A NETWORK MANAGER For Samaritan’s new Children’s Miracle Network manager, the job is a very personal one.

36 TURNING THE CORNER North Country Family Health Center is back from the brink.

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REAL ESTATE |

43 TOP TRANSACTIONS The top 10 property sales in Jefferson, St. Lawrence, counties total $37.6m in June |

BUSINESS SCENE |

40 NETWORKING, NNY STYLE Businessmen and women connect for success across Northern New York.

August 2016 | NNY Business

|7

CONTRIBUTORS

BusIness www.nnybizmag.com

Chairman of the Board John B. Johnson Jr.

Joleene Moody is a freelance writer who lives in Pulaski. In Entrepreneur’s Edge, she offers tips for bloggers to help gain traction with online content. (p.50)

Lance M. Evans is executive officer for the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. He explains how student debt impacts homeownership. (p. 41)

Bob Gorman is president and CEO of United Way of Northern New York.

He writes about a United Way’s partnership to help the region’s people in need. (p. 51)

Editor & Publisher John B. Johnson

Co-Publisher

Harold B. Johnson II

Magazine Editor

Kenneth J. Eysaman

Magazine Associate Karee M. Magee

Contributing Writers

Norah Machia & Joleene Moody

Photography

Jay Matteson is the agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Industrial Development Corp. He writes about the ‘Come Grow With Us’ campaign. (p. 53)

Brooke Rouse is past president and CEO of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. She shares tips to improve workplace wellness. (p. 52)

Jill Van Hoesen is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 28-year IT veteran. She writes about health care IT advances across the north country. (p. 54)

Justin Sorensen, Amanda Morrison Jason Hunter, Stephen Swofford

Director of Advertising Michelle Bowers

Magazine Advertising Manager Beth Hornbarger

Advertising Sales

Justin Sullivan, Jill Halley, Laurie Denesha, Barb Loomis, Jim Homa, Katie Nelson, Yvonne Houppert, Cindy Aucter and Marcia Sanderson

Advertising Graphics

Norah Machia is a freelance writer and veteran Watertown Daily Times reporter. In this month’s cover story, she examines telemedicine in the north country. (p. 20)

Jennifer McCluskey is an advisor for the state Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton. She explains how crowdfunding works. (p. 55)

Gabrielle Hovendon is a former Watertown Daily Times reporter and freelancer. She writes about the North Country Family Heath Center and doctors leaving private practice. (p. 30, 36)

MARKETPLACE 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel ..................... 68 Advanced Business Systems .................. 14 Black River Oral Surgery & Implant Center .................................... 51 Bond Schoeneck & King ........................ 43 Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina .............. 40 Burdick BMW ......................................... 49 Caskinette Ford ...................................... 52 Carthage Area Hospital ................ 5, 17, 18 Claxton Hepburn Medical Center ........... 67 Clayton Dental Office ............................. 40 Coleman’s Corner .................................. 48 Community Clinic of Jefferson County .... 66 Community Health Center of the North Country .............................. 67 Crouse Hospital ..................................... 22 D.G.M Coon & Co. ................................ 62 DL Calarco Funeral Home ...................... 54 Dr. Guitar ................................................ 48 Dr. Robert D. Schonfield, DDS ............... 40 Fairground Inn ....................................... 48 Fidelis Care ............................................ 16 Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization ............................ 34 Foy Agency Inc. ..................................... 48 Friends of Lewis County Hospice ............. 4 Fuccillo Auto Group ............................... 11

8 | NNY Business | August 2016

Fuller Insurance ..................................... 48 Garlocks Design Center ......................... 42 Good Morning Real Estate ..................... 22 Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce .......................... 47 H.D. Goodale Co. ................................... 48 Health Services of NNY .......................... 18 High Tower Advisors .............................. 46 Hospice of Jefferson County .................. 65 Immaculate Heart Central Schools ........... 9 Jefferson-Lewis BOCES ......................... 27 Lewis County General Hospital .............. 60 Liberty Glass .......................................... 41 Macar’s Interiors ..................................... 53 Marra’s Homecare .................................. 50 The Marrone Law Firm ........................... 15 Massena Memorial Hospital .................. 72 Massey’s Furniture ................................. 65 Meade Optical ........................................ 40 Merrickville Chamber of Commerce ....... 39 Nelson’s Dry Cleaning ............................ 31 NNY Community Foundation ................. 24 North Country Family Health Center ...... 29 North Country Urgent Care .................... 27 Nortz & Virkler Ford ............................... 11 NYSERDA .............................................. 33 Paradise Energy Solutions ..................... 31

Pearl’s Pastry Shoppe ............................ 48 Pivot ...................................................... 14 Rainbow International ............................ 33 River Hospital ........................................ 39 Samaritan Medical Center .................. 2, 69 Sandstone Family Dental ....................... 29 The Scrub Hub....................................... 10 Sea Comm Federal Credit Union ............ 59 Shred Con .............................................. 58 St. Lawrence Health System ..................... 4 St. Lawrence University .......................... 68 T.F. Wright & Sons Granite Foundry ....... 55 Tiebart Tidycar ....................................... 11 Tunes 92.5FM / 104.5 FM ...................... 56 Upstate Cancer Center ........................... 71 Vincent Cesario Family Dental ................. 6 Volunteer Transportation Center ............. 40 Waite Motor Sports ................................ 61 Waite Toyota ........................................... 63 Washington Street Properties ................. 23 Washington Summit ............................... 25 Watertown Savings Bank .......................... 3 Watertown Spring & Alignment .............. 11 Wells Communications .......................... 15 Wise Women OB-GYN ........................... 14 WWTI-TV50 ..................................... 10, 70

Brian Mitchell, Rick Gaskin, Heather O’Driscoll, Scott Smith, Todd Soules

Circulation Director Mary Sawyer

NNY Business (ISSN 2159-6115), is published monthly by Northern New York Newspaper Corp., 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601, a Johnson Newspaper Corp. company. © 2010-2016. All material submitted to NNY Business becomes property of Northern New York Newspaper Corp., publishers of the Watertown Daily Times, and will not be returned.

Subscription Rates 12 issues are $15 a year and 24 issues are $25 for two years.

Call 315-782-1000 to subscribe.

Submissions Send all editorial correspondence to keysaman@wdt.net Advertising For advertising rates and information in Jefferson and Lewis counties, email bhornbarger@wdt.net, or call 315-661-2325 In St. Lawrence County, e-mail blabrake@ogd.com, or call 315-661-2507 Printed with pride in U.S.A. at Vanguard Printing LLC, Ithaca, N.Y., a Forest Stewardship Certified facility.

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INTERVIEW | 44 HONING A NEW NICHE A conversation with Alexandria Bay’s River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III about the state of the independent hospital and the impact that the myriad of changes in health care have had on it. |

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COLUMNS

DEPARTMENTS

10 11 12 14 19

ABOUT THE COVER

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50 ENTREPRENEUR’S EDGE 51 NONPROFITS TODAY 52 COMMERCE CORNER |

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53 AGRIBUSINESS 52 BUSINESS TECH BYTES 53 SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS

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EDITOR’S NOTE PEOPLE ON THE MOVE ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT BUSINESS BRIEFCASE SMALL BIZ STARTUP

41 56 58 66

REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP CALENDAR BUSINES SCENE NEXT MONTH

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

For this month’s cover photo, photographer Justin Sorensen photographed a Certified Nursing Assistant class as they prepared for clinical exams at Samaritan Medical Center. Magazine Associate Karee Magee writes this month about Samaritan’s CNA training program. Her story begins on page 28. This month’s cover story, by writer Norah Machia, which begins on page 20, examines how technology and telemedicine have expanded access to care.

Pre-K to 12th grade • Catholic family values Free busing in local area & Ft. Drum Accredited by Middle States Association 100% graduation; 95% college attendance Average elementary class size: 17 Average high school class size: 20 Area’s only “junior kindergarten” Outstanding, devoted teachers Superb extracurricular programs Exceptional athletics & youth sports Elementary chorus & instrumentals Faith Community Service Military Family Life Counselor Scholarship and aid Most IEPs & 504 plans supported on site

www.ihcschools.org 315-221-3785 or 315-788-7011

August 2016 | NNY Business

|9

T

EDITO R’S N O T E his month, in our annual health care issue, we deliver a wide range of features about the state of care in Northern New York. First, in our cover story, Norah Machia’s examines how telemedicine is improving access to care for rural patients.

Norah also delivers an in-depth look at the work of the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization. In features, Magazine Associate Karee Magee looks at how many hospitals and health care providers are managing as Ken Eysaman a shortage of skilled health care workers looms. Karee also reports on urgent care facilities, how they have grown in numbers and how they benefit hospital emergency departments by keeping nonemergent cases out of hospitals.

Writer Gabrielle Hovendon tells the story of how the North Country Family Health Center went from a negative operating margin just three years ago to positive cash flow in its last fiscal year. Gabrielle also visits with doctors who have chosen to shutter private practices in favor of “employed practice” with larger providers.

Johnson Newspapers Staff Writer Elaine Avallone features a farm-to-table program at Carthage Area Hospital where staff has also launched a weekly farmers market. We also introduce Samaritan Medical Center’s new Children’s Miracle Network development manager and visit the Community Clinic of Jefferson County as it celebrates its fifth year.

Finally, Johnson Newspapers Staff Writer Marcus Wolf reports on second-quarter real estate sales and median prices. His story is on page 42.

River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III for an in-depth conversation about the changing state of health care in the region and the country. Our interview starts on page 44.

BUSINESS SCENE — This month’s Scene section, which begins on page 58, features 55 faces from nearly four-dozen businesses and organizations across the region.

On July 9, we joined the Jefferson County Historical Society for “History in the Garden” and its annual “Awards of Distinction” at the Watertown home and gardens of Karen and David Walton. On July 21, we joined the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce for its July Business After Hours at AT&T Premier Technologies in Evans Mills. On July 27, columnist and photographer Jennifer McCluskey joined the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce for its July Business in the Spotlight at Coffee Fever in Star Lake.

Finally, on July 31, we joined River Hospital for its 14th annual “Festive Evening” at Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina in Alexandria Bay. 20 UNDER 40 — Nominations are now open for our 6th annual NNY Business 20 Under 40 program that honors emerging leaders who show promise in their professions and communities. Turn to page 35 for instructions on how to submit a nomination and look for more information in next month’s issue and on our website, nnybizmag.com, where you will find all the requisite details about the program and luncheon.

On Wednesday, Dec. 7, we will recognize the class of 2016 during a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn, Watertown.

CONTACT US — As always, if you have any

questions, comments or general feedback, including story ideas, please contact me at keysaman@wdt.net or (315) 661-2399. NNY Business strives to publish an accurate magazine each month. If you spot an error of fact, please contact me.

Yours in business,

20 QUESTIONS — This month we sit down

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PEOPLE O N T H E MO V E

New primary care provider at Carthage Family Health Center

Physician assistant Kelsey Mollura recently joined the Carthage Family Health Center, Carthage, as its latest primary care provider.

Ms. Mollura earned a bachelor’s in biological sciences from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, and a master’s in Mollura physician assistant studies from Arcadia University, Glenside, Pa. She previously worked in an internal medicine/geriatric office in Pittsburgh and in an ENT/sleep medicine office in Greenbelt, Md. She has four children. In her spare time, her family raises chickens and honey bees.

Ms. Mollura will work weekdays at the health center, 117 N. Mechanic St. Call 493-4187 to schedule an appointment. Visit carthagehospital.com to learn more.

Former Army pediatric provider joins staff at Carthage Pediatric Clinic

Carthage Area Hospital recently welcomed Brandi Wilkerson, MSN, to its staff at the Carthage Pediatric Clinic, 117 N. Mechanic St., Carthage.

Mrs. Wilkerson is a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner and a 2012 graduate of Vanderbilt UniWilkerson versity School of Nursing. She began practicing pediatrics in October 2012. Prior to becoming a pediatric nurse practitioner, Mrs. Wilkerson served in the U.S. Army.

Brandi received a bachelor’s in kinesiology from the University of Texas-San Antonio in 2004 and commissioned as an officer in the army. She also holds a master’s of kinesiology from the University of Texas-El Paso. After graduation from Vanderbilt University in 2012, she obtained certification through the Pediatric Nursing

Got business milestones? n Share your business milestones with NNY

Business. Email news releases and photos (.jpg/300 dpi) to editor Ken Eysaman at keysaman@wdt.net. The deadline for submissions is the 10th of the month for the following month’s issue. Photos that don’t appear in print may be posted on our Facebook page.

Certification Board.

Mrs. Wilkerson loves to work with children and is passionate about providing patient and family centered care. She strives to build lasting relationships with patients and their families in order to provide holistic and comprehensive care.

Mrs. Wilkerson grew up in Brownsboro, Texas, and now lives in New York with her husband, Kenny, and two children, Victoria and Nate. In her free time, she likes to run, CrossFit, hike, travel, volunteer and participate in her community and children’s activities and sports.

The Carthage Pediatric Clinic is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and accepts sameday and same-week appointments. Visit carthagehospital.com to learn more.

Carole McCoy named Athena Award recipient

The Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce announced last month that retiring Jefferson Community College President Carole A. McCoy would receive the 2016 Athena Award.

The Athena Award is presented annually to an McCoy individual who is recognized for professional excellence, for providing valuable service to their community and for actively assisting women to realize their full leadership potential.

In 2007, Mrs. McCoy became the fifth president and first woman to lead JCC. Betsy D. Penrose, vice president for students at JCC, and other staff members nominated her for the award.

In her role at the community college, she spearheaded development of a strategic master plan. Under her leadership, enrollment grew 21 percent, compared with 3 percent Please see People, page 18

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Average New York surrogate* price for on-highway diesel

June 2016 $1.33 May 2016 $1.38 June 2015 $1.59

June 2016 $2.53 May 2016 $2.44 June 2015 $3.12

16.4

Average NNY price for gallon of regular unleaded gas June 2016 $2.35 May 2016 $2.32 June 2015 $2.83

Vehicles crossing the Thousand Islands bridge

17.0%

191,659 in June 2016 175,079 in May 2016 197,432 in June 2015

June 2016 $2.57 May 2016 $2.60 June 2015 $2.47

20.1%

Vehicles crossing the Ogdensburg-Prescott bridge 56,522 in June 2016 54,287 in May 2016 61,801 in June 2015

4.0%

Vehicles crossing the Seaway International (Massena) bridge 203,570 in June 2016 202,042 in May 2016 202,643 in June 2015

Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors single-family home sales 117, median price $142,000 in June 2016 96, median price $120,000 in May 2016 123, median price $153,000 in June 2015

Sales

Sales

U.S.-Canadian dollar exchange rate (Canadian dollars per U.S. dollar)

7.2%

$1.30 on June 30, 2016 $1.31 on May 31, 2016 $1.25 on June 30, 2015

Price

4.8%

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of N.Y.

Nonagriculture jobs in the Jefferson-Lewis-St. Lawrence counties area, not including military positions

3.9%

92,200 in June 2016 92,200 in May 2016 91,500 in June 2015

Price

NNY unemployment rates Lewis County

New York State

United States

5.5 June 2015

4.5

5.1 June 2016

May 2016

5.3 June 2015

4.2 May 2016

6.0 June 2015

June 2016

June 2015

4.5

5.9

5.5 May 2016

May 2016

5.8 June 2016

5.5

5.9 June 2015

5.2 May 2016

4.9

7.0

St. Lawrence County

0.8%

Source: NYS Department of Labor

Source: Jefferson-Lewis / St. Lawrence boards of Realtors Inc.

Jefferson County

0.5%

Seaway International Bridge Corp.

St. Lawrence Board of Realtors single-family home sales 59, median price $87,000 in June 2016 55, median price $75,000 in May 2016 68, median price $90,500 in June 2015

13.2%

8.5%

Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority

Source: NYS Energy Research and Development Authority

4.9%

2.9%

Source: T.I. Bridge Authority

Average NNY price for gallon of residential propane

June 2016

ECON SNAPSHOT

Average NNY price for gallon of home heating oil June 2016 $2.22 May 2016 $2.21 June 2015 $2.78

18.9%

*Prices are the composite area that includes New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

Source: U.S. DOE, Energy Information Administration

Source: NYS Department of Agriculture

12 | NNY Business | August 2016

(Percent gains and losses are over 12 months)

Average per-gallon milk price paid to N.Y. dairy farmers

June 2016

NNY

Economic indicators

Source: U.S. Department of Labor and New York State Department of Labor (Not seasonally adjusted. Latest available data reported.)

Note: Due to updates in some “Econ. Snapshot� categories, numbers may differ from previously published prior month and year figures.

Economic indicators New automobiles (cars and trucks) registered in Jefferson County Trucks Cars 153 in June 2016 549 in June 2016 115 in May 2016 435 in May 2016 134 in June 2015 552 in June 2015

0.5%

NNY

14.2%

Source: Jefferson County Clerk’s Office

Passengers* at Watertown International Airport

Open welfare cases in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

2,979 in June 2016 3,086 in May 2016 3,694 in June 2015

2,279 in June 2016 2,287 in May 2016 2,338 in June 2015

19.3%

*Inbound and outbound passengers Source: Jefferson County Board of Legislators

Source: Social Service Depts. of Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties

DBA (doing business under an assumed name) certificates filed at the Jefferson County Clerk’s office July 1 to July 29, 2016. For a complete list of DBAs filed in March and in past months, visit NNYBIZMAG.COM.

JULY 29: Touring Maps, 19676 Staplin Road, Black River, Randy Freeman, 19676 Staplin Road, Black River.

n Docteur Environmental, 33112 State Route 12E, Cape Vincent, Michael J. Docteur, 33112 State Route 12E, Cape Vincent.

JULY 28: J.L.S Bug Be Gone, 29363 State Route 12, P.O. Box 6105, Watertown, Alan D. Harris, 29363 State Route 12, P.O. Box 6105, Watertown.

JULY 14: SWP Construction, 15915 Eimicke Place, Apt. 206, Watertown, Sean William Pickford, 15915 Eimicke Place, Apt. 206, Watertown.

n C&T Cleaning Services, 151 Bowers Ave. Watertown, Tina Peck, 151 Bowers Ave., Watertown

n Twisted Roots Farm, 22285 County Route 57, Three Mile Bay, William David Giering, 22285 County Route 57, Three Mile Bay.

n M&M Cake n More, 13 Stone St., Carthage, Amanda Mae Crump, 13 Stone St., Carthage.

JULY 12: Squeaky Kleen Automotive Detailing, 110-8 Creekwood Drive, Watertown, Steven Pechey, 110-8 Creekwood Drive, Watertown.

n No Place Like Home, 24509 State Route 11, Calcium, Sherry D. Delaney, 24509 State Route 11, P.O. Box, Calcium.

JULY 11: Once in a Blue Moon, 37127 State Route 12E, Clayton, Matthew Edward Palega, 37127 State Route 12E, Clayton.

JULY 27: Classic Cab, 403 Academy St., Watertown, Ward Sampson Jr., 332 Weldon Drive, Watertown, Ralph Lantier, 403 Academy St., Watertown.

n Great Length Salon, 14056 State Route 11, Adams Center, Kaley Louise Widrick, 14589 State Route 11, Adams Center.

n Umsteads General Construction, 27707 County Route 192, Redwood, Stephen D. Umstead, 27707 County Route 192, Redwood.

n B&B Builders, 13356 Sulphur Springs Road, Sackets Harbor, Serena Elizabeth Adams, 25074 Moffat Road, Dexter.

n Lost Treasures, 221 State St., Watertown, Michael Paul Murphy, 18 Sixth St., Ilion.

n M&M Services, 18214 County Route 177, Adams Center, Christy Joyce McNeil, 18214 County Route 177, Adams Center, Gabriel Andrew May, 16820 May Irwin Road, Clayton.

JULY 26: AJT Electric, 8 N. Main St., Carthage, Gary Arquiett, 8 N. Main St., Carthage.

n Mason Jar, 517 Riverside Drive, Clayton, Kylie L. Morgia, 13322 House Road, Clayton.

JULY 25: MR Embroidery, 2630 State Route 3, Henderson, Mary Ruth Wheeler, 2630 State Route 3, Henderson.

n R.M. Cattle, 13322 House Road, Clayton, Mark David Morgia, 13322 House Road, Clayton.

n Pickert Family Farm, 12010 County Route 97, Rodman, Lyle Edwin Pickert, 12010 Route 97, Rodman.

n Upstate Cashing, 34 Maywood Terrace Watertown, Luz Maritza Velez Carter, 34 Maywood Terrace, Watertown.

n Brannans Farm, 21531 Whiskey St., LaFargeville, Peter Campbell Brannan, 21531 Whiskey St., LaFargeville.

n L.C. Management Services, 30105 County Route 4, Cape Vincent, Lynette Chapman, 30105 County Route 4, Cape Vincent.

JULY 22: La Esperanza, 34876 Muttan Lane, Clayton, Ashley Hazelwood, 34876 Muttan Lane, Clayton.

n A&J Custom Construction + Remodeling, 36720 County Route 28, Antwerp, John L. Shetler, 36720 County Route 28, Antwerp.

n All Twisted Up Tie Dye, 4972 Wilder Road, Adams, Cassaundra Kriner, 7 Grove St., Adams, Helen Denering, 4972 Wilder Road, Adams.

JULY 8: Bates Construction, 34187 Holkins Road, Philadelphia, Matthew E. Bates, 34187 Holkins Road, Philadelphia.

n Thousand Islands Goat Farm, 3204 State Route 12E, Cape Vincent, Karen L. Stumpf, 3204 State Route 12 E, Cape Vincent.

JULY 6: Guss Greens & Things, 30826 Elm Ridge Road, Evans Mills, Justin Scott Matteson, 30826 Elm Ridge Road, Evans Mills.

n Papin Trucking, 35925 Snell Road, Theresa, Jamie J. Papin, 35925 Snell Road, Theresa.

JULY 5: Selley’s Landscape & Riverside Nursery, 2908 Mill St., Copenhagen, Stephen Thomas Selley Jr., 2081 Doran Road, Copenhagen.

JULY 21: Daniel Anderson, 17075 Cook Road, Watertown, Daniel Eric Anderson, 17075 Cook Road, Watertown.

n Helping Hands, 9296 Middle Road, Dexter, Roxanne Louise Grant, 9296 Middle Road, Dexter.

JULY 20: Precision Surveying Services, 139 Girard Ave., Watertown, Jeffrey Quay, 139 Girard Ave., Watertown.

n Hair Studio 17, 17 Bridge St., Carthage, Katie Hennigan, 914A Emjay Way, Carthage.

JULY 19: Top Notch Contracting, 40588 State Route 3, Carthage, Stanley Robert Typhair Jr., 671 Mill St., Watertown, Tery Joseph Allington, 40588 State Route 3, Carthage.

n Barker Vehicle Industries, 24492 Route 12 South, Watertown, Matthew Thomas Barker, 24492 Route 12 South, Watertown.

JULY 18: Got Ink? Tattoo and Piercing Studio, 514 Factory St., Watertown, Jeffrey S. Bartlett Jr., 312 County Route 51, Mexico.

JULY 15: Vanguard Precision, 342 Vanduzee St., Watertown, Patrick Ryan Kelley, 342 Vanduzee St., Watertown. n Timeless Genealogy, 19678 Woodard Road, LaFargeville, Allyson E. Stephenson, 19678 Woodard Road, LaFargeville. n Jamieson Hops, 19029 Spring St., Adams, Mark J. Jamieson, 19029 Spring St., Adams.

n Little Learners Day Care, 95 State Route 26, Philadelphia, Kathleen Kuba, 95 State Route 26, Philadelphia.

JULY 1: Above & Below Imaging, Watertown, Connor Conklin Power, 23896 State Route 37, Watertown. n White’s Lumber Insurance Partnership, 231 North Rutland St., Watertown, Bradford A. White, 440 Lachenauer Drive, Watertown, Jonathan L. White, 424 Paddock St., Watertown, Roger W. White Jr., 25489 East Gotham St., Watertown, Sarah T. Cleaver, 17882 County Route 156, Watertown.

TRANSACTIONS

DBAs

2.5%

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 13

BUS IN E SS BRIE FC ASE

Pam Summers, a new radio show host with Intrepid Broadcasting, Inc., launched her first show Aug. 8 on Tunes 92.5/104.5 FM, WBLH Radio, Watertown.

Ms. Summers’ new show runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. She previously worked as on-air talent with Stephens Media, Watertown.

Tunes 92.5/104.5 FM is live from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is looking to hire radio show hosts to work from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Other openings include account executive, board operator and internship positions.

Intrepid Broadcasting is owned by State College, Pa.-based Magnum Broadcasting, Inc. It launched the Watertown station in August 2008.

ing solutions in Carlisle, Pa. The award is considered one of the most prestigious in the commercial roofing industry and was created to identify and reward Carlisle SynTec’s most successful contractors.

RSI Roofing has installed and warranted 15.9 million square feet of Carlisle SynTec’s single-ply roofing systems and has completed 921 Perfect 10 installations, a Carlisle SynTec roof installed to the highest standards judged by an inspection process by the manufacturer.

RSI Roofing has installed more than 52 million square foot of roofing and its more prominent projects include the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; the Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg; Robert Moses Power Dam, Massena; Boldt Castle, Alexandria Bay; and Jones Apparel Group, South Hill, Va.

CONSTRUCTION

AGRICULTURE

EDUCATION

New talent takes the air at Tunes 92.5 FM

RSI Roofing receives excellence award

RSI Roofing, Inc., Gouverneur, was named recipient of the Carlisle’s 2016 Excellence in Single-Ply award from Carlisle SynTec, a manufacturer of single-ply roof-

Barley crop insurance expands state coverage

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency announced last month that it would expand conventional barley crop insurance to 13 new counties

Women’s Health Care 172 Clinton St., Watertown, NY 13601• 315.782.6262

14 | NNY Business | August 2016

BUSINESS BRIEFCASE in New York and an additional 16 counties for crop year 2017.

This expansion comes after U.S. Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand, D-NY, called on U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to provide crop insurance for barley in all New York counties where production is possible. Before the expansion, barley crop insurance was only available in 28 counties across New York. Since 2011, there has been a 72 percent increase in farm-based breweries, cideries, and distilleries in the state York, which has created significant demand for barley and other small grains.

In her letter to the agriculture department, Mrs. Gillibrand explained that many producers outside these areas could benefit from crop insurance for barley. By expanding the current barley crop and developing a production history, insurers would have the data they need to create coverage for valuable malting barley that already covers nearly 2,000 acres of New York farmland.

Due to the New York State Farm Brewing Law passed in 2012, a percentage of gain used in production must be grown in New York. The legislation was designed to increase demand for locally grown products to further increase economic impact and create new businesses surrounding the brewing industry.

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

New eatery opens in downtown Postdam

A new downtown Potsdam restaurant, Bourbon Barrel Bar-b-que, opened last month at 6 Elm St., above Between the Buns.

The restaurant, owned by Marc C. Morley and wife, Megan, specializes in burgers and sandwiches, and has a selection of 20 different bourbons.

The restaurant offers meats from the smoker, including barbecued brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausages and chicken. Seafood and steak dishes are also available plus cold salads like macaroni, potato and pasta.

Warm side dishes such as baked beans, macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes will be offered. Catering is also available.

The dining room has been remodeled to seat up to 100 people. The upstairs was split into two rooms. Food is prepared separately from Between the Buns in a new kitchen area. The eatery employs 15.

REAL ESTATE

National real estate companies to merge

Realty USA and Howard Hanna Real Please see Briefcase, page 17

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 15

16 | NNY Business | August 2016

BU SIN E SS BRIEF C A S E BRIEFCASE, from page 11 Estate Services announced in early July that the two companies would merge, providing Realty USA offices with new services to benefit customers and real estate agents.

Howard Hanna will acquire more than 270 offices and 9,000 employees, making the company the third-largest real estate firm in the country.

Other than access to new tools, the merger is not expected to impact either company’s operations or staff numbers. The only change will be the additional tag line “A Howard Hanna Company.”

The merging companies’ combined performance in 2015 was $16.2 billion in closed sales volume and 89,737 closed transactions.

EDUCATION

St. Lawrence among best liberal arts colleges

St. Lawrence University, Canton, was ranked 29 on a list of the best liberal arts colleges in the U.S. and 10th in best colleges for merit aid by Money magazine.

The school was ranked 95 overall out of 705 schools.

The university was recognized for its common first-year program, 85 percent graduation rate within six years, and high levels of student involvement in athletics and student organizations. Also mentioned were that 55 percent of students received need-based aid and 35 percent received merit aid from the school.

Anonymous student reviewers said they appreciated things like the diversity of campus, the alumni network and even the area’s frigid winters.

In the overall rankings Clarkson University, Potsdam, was ranked 137, Syracuse University 294, SUNY Oswego 529 and SUNY Potsdam 571.

Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York City, was the highest-ranked school in the state, at eighth.

Princeton University, New Jersey, was the top-ranked school in the magazine’s list.

HEALTH CARE

Excellus recognizes north country nonprofits

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield recently presented grants to the Cornell Coopera-

tive Extension Association of Jefferson County, Watertown, and the Community Health Center of the North Country and GardenShare, Canton.

The three north country nonprofits were among those selected from a pool of 185 upstate New York applications to receive Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s 2016 Community Health Awards.

Each award recipient received up to $4,000 of the $87,000 allocated by the company to help fund health and wellness programs in the company’s 31-county upstate region.

The Community Health Center of the North Country, Canton, will use the money to make 250 carbon monoxide detectors and 300 informational brochures available to St. Lawrence County residents, 26 percent of whom do not have a carbon monoxide detector in their homes.

Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Jefferson County, Watertown, will use its award to fund “4-H Up for the Challenge” at after-school programs in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. The program’s research-based curriculum helps youths set goals and

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BUSINESS BRIEFCASE make healthy decisions regarding physical activity, health and nutrition.

GardenShare has already allocated its grant money to make bonus Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits available to low-income St. Lawrence County residents who shop at farmer’s markets.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield presents its Community Health Awards as part of its mission to improve the health and health care of the residents of the communities it serves.

The company’s Community Health Awards are granted to Central New York institutions that positively influence the health of the community. Awards are based on scope of need, goals of the program, number of people expected to benefit from the program and positive impact on the community’s health status.

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at community colleges across the state.

During her tenure, the college’s first oncampus dormitory was built and opened in the fall of 2014, a $14 million Collaborative Learning Center debuted this spring and partnerships with other colleges were created to allow JCC students to work toward baccalaureate and graduate degrees.

Ms. McCoy announced earlier this year that she would retire at the end of the 20162017 academic year.

She will receive the award at the chamber’s annual Athena Award Presentation and Dinner on Sept. 8 at the Hilton Garden Inn.

New Watertown water superintendent named

Vicky Murphy succeeded Michael J. Sligar as the City of Watertown’s water superintendent.

City Manager Sharon A. Addison appointed Ms. Murphy. As part of her duties, Ms. Murphy will oversee the water treatment and distribution, the wastewater plant and the city’s hydroelectric plant.

In a memo, City Comptroller James E. Mill reported that hydro revenues generated from sale of its power to National Grid is up about $200,160, or 5.27 percent, for the year.

Ms. Murphy served as director of municipal utilities in Auburn.

Mr. Sligar retired in early July after 36 years in service to the city.

SMAL L BU SIN E SS STA RT UP BUSINESS

Happy Sailors Daycare THE INITIAL IDEA

Christine Sharlow worked a variety of jobs in her life, including at radio stations, insurance companies and a short stint at Convergys, but it was her experience at Sacred Heart Day Care that inspired her to open her own day care.

“My heart was always in wanting to run a day care,” she said. “I’m naturally just a nurturer and this satisfies that.”

Mrs. Sharlow worked in the School Age Child Care program at Sacred Heart and previously for Jefferson Rehabilitation Center. She and her husband, Charlie, who was a Certified Employee Assistance Professional, were also foster parents.

“I adore the thought of being with children all day,” she said. “In my opinion it’s a privilege.”

With her experience of caring for children, Mrs. Sharlow decided her next step would be to open her own at-home day care, Happy Sailors Daycare, which she launched in February.

TARGET CLIENTELE

Mrs. Sharlow’s goal is to have parents feel comfortable dropping their children off at her house, so they don’t have to be distracted at work worrying about them.

“I’m very excited to help parents have some piece of mind that they’re safe, being cared for and being taught something,” she said.

Mrs. Sharlow said she prides herself on running a flexible business. It’s open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and she’s willing to assist families in any way she can, including by accepting government subsidies.

“I’m always trying to grow and change things up to accommodate the parents,” she said.

It’s also an important mission for Mrs. Sharlow to make Happy Sailors Daycare a learning environment for the children.

“I feel very passionate about helping children to learn and grow,” she said. “Everything we do is a learning experience.”

Mrs. Sharlow said the children recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day, they have story time and circle time every day where they focus on a new letter, color, number and another American Sign Language word each week.

The day care also does educational out-

JUSTIN SORENSEN | NNY BUSINESS

“I adore the thought of being with children all day.

In my opinion, it’s a privlege.”

— Christine Sharlow, owner, Happy Sailors Daycare, Chaumont ings that include library hour every Wednesday at the Lyme Free Library in Chaumont.

She presently has seven children registered at Happy Sailors Daycare, four full-time and three part-time school-aged children, but she will be able to take up to 16 children when she hires an assistant.

THE JOURNEY When Mrs. Sharlow started the process of opening her own day care she was looking to open her own center, not an at-home day care, but after running into roadblocks acquiring a building she found another option.

The Sharlows were in the midst of adding a porch onto the front of their house at that time and it proved the perfect opportunity.

“When it was finished Charlie came to me and said ‘what do you think,’” Mrs. Sharlow said. “I said ‘it’s my happy place.’”

Once they had the location, it was just a matter of licensing and meeting the state’s recommendations. Mrs. Sharlow began the licensing process in October and was fully licensed by April. She also has her health and food certifications.

The hard part proved to be building reputation and finding families, Mrs. Sharlow said, but that was expected.

“It’s an occupational challenge and it’s an exercise in patience,” she said.

As she’s started building that reputation though, she’s gets a few calls every week and usually a new child every couple of weeks.

IN FIVE YEARS There is no lack of plans for her day care’s future, Mrs. Sharlow said, and she’s already begun working toward fulfilling her goals.

The next step to grow her occupancy is to hire an assistant, a position that is already being advertised on Indeed.com.

Beyond the near future, though, said she would like to set up a parent support group and build a rack with brochures from local agencies on the playroom porch.

“Sometimes parents just need to talk to other people,” Mrs. Sharlow said.

A larger and more long-term goal is to establish a School Age Child Care program at the school or offer an after school program at the day care.

“I’m not ready for that yet, but I will be,” Mrs. Sharlow said. “It would help the children an awful lot and the parents, but I want to grow at a comfortable pace. I want to learn the ins and outs of the business.”

— Karee Magee

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August 2016 | NNY Business

| 19

COV E R ST O RY

Technology connects patients with care TELEMEDICINE ANOTHER TOOL WORKING TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO SPECIALISTS FOR RURAL RESIDENTS

TEXT BY NORAH MACHIA | PHOTOS BY AMANDA MORRISON A PATIENT RECENTLY CAME INTO SAMARITAN cuse neurologist. The equipment was venous tPA, a drug that breaks up blood Medical Center’s Emergency Department clots and restores blood flow to the brain, moved into the patient’s room, so the presenting with symptoms of a possible said Dr. Sarah Delaney-Rowland, SMC neurologist could see and speak with the stroke. Although a CT scan was done to emergency department physician. patient as well. rule out other causes, the physician treat The telemedicine connection had been But it’s just as important to determine if ing the patient was still not completely made within minutes, which is critical the patient is not having a stroke, because convinced that stroke was the administering this type of correct diagnosis. medication to a patient who Not wanting to administer is not actually undergoing any unnecessary medication a stroke be dangerous, even that could cause serious side effatal in some cases, she said. fects if the patient wasn’t expeIn the case of the SMC riencing a stroke, the physician patient, the emergency departturned to the hospital’s new ment physician was able to use telemedicine service, which the services of the Syracuse was just introduced in June. neurologist to determine that Samaritan is one of several patient, in fact, was not sufnorth country hospitals which fering a stroke. Instead, the have begun using the service, patient was diagnosed with which connects the local a “complicated migraine” physicians in the emergency and was not administered departments with neurologists the intravenous tPA, said Dr. at Upstate University Hospital Delaney-Rowland.

Above, Two Samaritan Medical Center nurses demonstrate how a telemedicine in Syracuse, who specialize Other north country hospimachine operates for a stroke victim. As the patient lies on the bed, the camera, in diagnosis and treatment of tals participating in the teleat left, transmits images to the off-site doctor via computer. The location nurse stroke patients. medicine service with Upstate runs tests for the off-site doctor to determine the level of stroke and needs of The technology allowed University Hospital include the patient. Right, a closer look at telemedicine equipment. that SMC physician to share Carthage Area Hospital, River patient data, such as the CT scan results, because there is just a three to four hour Hospital in Alexandria Bay and Claxtonwhile communicating through a portable window of time from the onset of a stroke Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg. videoconference system with the Syra “Within minutes, a physician in the when a patient can be administered intra20 | NNY Business | August 2016

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emergency department can connect with the stroke-attending physician in Syracuse,” said Dr. Delaney-Rowland. “The telemedicine allows the patient, if possible, to speak directly with the stroke doctor as well because the telemedicine equipment is brought into the exam room on a portable cart.”

The telemedicine technology allows the physicians to have collaboration, “make the diagnosis more accurate and decide on the best therapy,” she said.

Some patients may not seek care at a hospital right away after experiencing stroke symptoms at home, so by the time they get to a hospital, that three-to-four hour time frame in which a life-saving drug can be effectively administered has been shortened, Dr. Delaney-Rowland said.

“It’s very unlikely to get a stroke patient transported to a specialized center in that time frame, particularly if they have remained at home for awhile,” she said. “But this allows for faster treatment if called for and may also result in the patient staying at Samaritan, if possible.”

If a stroke patient is stabilized at Samaritan and still must be transported to the Syracuse hospital, the stroke-attending physician who had been using the telemedicine service with the emergency department

C O V E R S T O RY physician will already be familiar with the patient’s case, said Dr. Mario Victoria, Chief Medical Officer at Samaritan.

“A stroke specialist is involved from the beginning, and if there is a need to transfer the patient, then that physician is already familiar with what the patient has experienced and does not have to run all initial tests,” he said.

The telemedicine service allows hospitals outside of large metropolitan areas, such as Samaritan, to “be a part of the specialized coverage for stroke patients” that is not typically available, Dr. Victoria said.

Upstate is the only Comprehensive Stroke Center in the region as delegated

by DNV Healthcare, a national hospital accrediting body. It is also a state Department of Health-designated primary stroke center.

The partnership allows physicians at the four participating hospitals to reach and consult with a neurologist 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The telemedicine allows the patient to receive a higher level of care without traveling,” Dr. Delaney said.

The Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, 120 Washington St, assisted in providing each hospital with necessary equipment for the partnership

Dr. Steven Lyndaker of Lowville Medical Associates has been using telemedicine for a few years to offer adult and pediatric patients psychiatric services from St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Syracuse.

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COV E R ST O RY the north country. FDRHPO had worked with the Development Authority of the North Country several years ago to establish a large fiber network to support telemedicine services.

Some of the top users of telemedicine have included Lowville Medical Associates, Lowville; Child and Adolescent Wellness Clinic, Watertown; St. Regis Nursing Home, Massena; Community Clinic of Jefferson County, Watertown; and River Hospital, Alexandria Bay, according the FDRHPO data.

The number of health care providers

participating in telemedicine is expected to increase significantly this year as a result of state legislation that now requires all commercial insurance companies, along with government-subsidized health care plans, to cover telemedicine services, said Denise K. Young, FDRHPO director.

“This is a huge step forward,” she said.

Although the legislation went into effect on Jan. 1, many providers are still waiting for the state to release the official telemedicine coverage rules and regulations later this year before implementing the coverage, Mrs. Young said.

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he Community Foundation is an incredible organization which had an eternal impact on my son’s life. While a participant with their Youth Philanthropy Council, my son acted as the volunteer coordinator for his fellow students. He now understands the importance of volunteering and its positive impacts on the community. During his freshman year at college, he coordinated all of the volunteer efforts of his ROTC unit and fostered the unit’s involvement with the local community. His experience with the Youth Philanthropy Council enabled him to spearhead this effort. One of the greatest things the Northern New York Community Foundation does is empower our youth to be stewards of their community.” -Sara Stabins Freda

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“We have been long-time advocates of growing telemedicine in the north country,” said Mrs. Young. “But one issue that has been a problem is not having it covered by all health insurance companies.”

The new legislation states that insurance companies must cover medical services provided via telemedicine to the same extent as the services would be covered if provided in-person.

Since January, there have been 21 active telemedicine programs established in the region, but there are an additional 91 health care sites preparing to implement telemedicine services once the state regulations are released, Mrs. Young said.

“Our goal is to help get everyone up and running” with telemedicine, she said.

It’s difficult for some patients who need specialized care to drive a long distance to receive it, and telemedicine “gets rid of that barrier,” she said.

The FDRHPO has provided telemedicine access to numerous hospitals and health care agencies in the north country during the past several years.

“The patients feel very comfortable,” Mrs. Young said. “The providers are very engaged, they are looking at the patients and giving them their full attention.”

The same type of telemedicine service for stroke diagnosis is being used at ClaxtonHepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg.

“We are excited to begin this partnership with Upstate to provide more advanced stroke care in our emergency department to our patients,” Nate H. Howell, CEO of Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, had stated earlier.

Mr. Howell also added “now we are able to provide a quicker diagnosis, which decreases a potential delay in treatment.

Thanks to this technology in the treatment of stroke patients, our rural location is less of a barrier to care.”

Staff at the Ogdensburg hospital has already utilized the stroke telemedicine system for several patients who have come to the emergency department with symptoms, said hospital spokeswoman Laura Shea.

Claxton-Hepburn is also in the process of establishing a telepsychiatry service for its patients in the future, Mrs. Shea added.

Samaritan has been utilizing telemedicine services in some other areas as well, said Dr. Victoria. These include pediatric cardiology in the neonatal ICU, which allows physicians to consult directly with specialists.

The hospital is also using telemedicine services for elderly residents at Samari-

C O V E R S T O RY tan Keep Home and Samaritan Summit who have a diagnosis of some type of movement disorder, such as Parkinson’s disease, he said.

The Movement Disorder Center in Rochester is partnering with Samaritan, and the service offers the advantage of observing patients in their own environment, which makes “the accuracy of diagnosis much better,” Dr. Victoria said.

Telemedicine services are also being used by north country physicians outside of the hospital settings.

Dr. Steven Lyndaker of Lowville Medical Associates has been using telemedicine for a few years to offer both his adult and pediatric patients the services of a psychiatrist from St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Syracuse.

He also serves as medical director of the FDRHPO and its sister organization, the North Country Initiative, a clinically integrated network.

“Telemedicine really levels the playing field,” he said. “There is no reason if you live in Lewis County that you can’t see a highly skilled subspecialist. You should not be restricted geographically.”

Dr. Lyndaker started offering telemedicine for psychiatry, also called telepsychiatry, for both adults and children who were not responding to initial treatments of medications and/or counseling.

“If a patient was not responding at that point, we would ask for help from a psychiatrist,” he said.

The majority of patients referred for telepsychiatry have been dealing with the more serious cases of depression and/or anxiety, Dr. Lyndaker said.

“Getting patients to see a psychiatrist has been challenging” in the past because there have often been long waiting lists for appointments, he said.

“Historically, about 15 to 20 percent of psychiatric referrals are no-shows,” Dr. Lyndaker said. “But people are more inclined to keep an appointment if they can be seen quite a bit sooner.”

Since implementing telepsychiatry services at his office, the wait has been decreased for both adults and children who need an appointment with a psychiatrist, he said. The waiting time ranges between two to four weeks, with the majority of patients being seen closer to two weeks from their referral date, he said.

“Scheduling a time for the telepsychiatry session is not difficult,” Dr. Lyndaker said.

The patient schedules the telepsychiatry appointment through the Lowville office,

then returns for the therapy session at the same office. The Skype session between patient and doctor is conducted on 17-inch television screen in a private room.

“It’s high quality Skype,” Dr. Lyndaker said. “It’s encrypted and secure. For some patients, it’s actually less intimidating than meeting in person.”

It also saves people a significant amount of travel time that would be required to meet with a psychiatrist in person at St. Joseph’s in Syracuse, he noted “Kids find it fascinating,” he said. “We had one child who did not want to be seen

in person, but agreed to telemedicine” The technology also benefits the physician, because it allows for better consulting on patient cases, Dr. Lyndaker said.

“It’s been a team approach,” he said.

“The communication between myself and the psychiatrist is significantly better because we can also consult over the encrypted network. As a result, I receive very timely feedback.” n NORAH MACHIA is a freelance writer who lives in Watertown. She is a 20-year veteran journalist and former Watertown Daily Times reporter.

Contact her at norahmachia@gmail.com.

August 2016 | NNY Business

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H EA LT H C ARE

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

Denise Young is the executive director for Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization. The agency, which was formed in 2005 and today employs a staff of 36 full- and part-time people, works to improve the health of the region’s residents through a variety of initiatives.

A ‘mission-focused’ agency FDRHPO works to fill gaps in region’s health care

T

he growth of telemedicine is just one of several goals that the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization continues to accomplish on its mission to improve the health of north country residents.

The organization was initially established in 2005 to bring Fort Drum medical command officials together with regional health care providers and further plan for the population growth resulting from an additional Third Brigade being stationed at the military post.

The organization started to research the existing health care delivery system in the region to determine gaps in care.

This involved identifying the strengths

26 | NNY Business | August 2016

and weaknesses of the health care systems that serve the local military and civilian populations, and determining the best approach to improve and enhance integration of the two systems.

It was first incorporated in 2005 with just a board of directors. Today, the agency has 36 full- and part-time staff and a $4.6 million budget from state and federal grants, and service fee income from numerous government agencies.

“We’re very mission-focused,” said Denise K. Young, executive director. “We don’t provide direct services, but we work to fill the gaps for our partners in health care.”

Some of those gaps include the need for more primary care and behavioral

health services, a greater focus on prevention of chronic illness, the importance of recruiting more people into the health care workforce, implementation of electronic medical records and connecting patients with specialists via telemedicine services.

DELIVERY SYSTEM REFORM INCENTIVE PAYMENT New York State launched the Delivery System Reform Incentive Program last year and the FDRHPO was already in a position to help the region obtain funding to assist hospitals, clinics and private practices become more patient-centered in their operations.

“We were in a position to help bring in

H E A LTH CARE more resources to the region,” said Mrs. Young. “There was a lot of coordination, but we already had the partners in place.”

The DSRIP is a five-year program during which time nearly $8 billion in grant funding will be distributed statewide to improve health care by focusing on areas such as increased access to services, including both primary and specialized care, continuity of patient care, recognition of behavioral health issues and management of chronic illness.

The state funds are being distributed to groups of health care providers, public health agencies, and others working together to meet the program’s health care goals, with a particular focus on Medicaid patients, said Mrs. Young.

Some of the specific DSRIP funding milestones are to reduce the rates of chronic diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, and also prevent unnecessary hospital visits by 25 percent in five years.

To accomplish these and other goals of the program, the North Country Initiative, a clinically integrated network of health care providers, was established with assistance from the FDRHPO. “We’re staffing and supporting the North Country Initiative,” Mrs. Young explained. “This is a large undertaking and will be hugely beneficial to the region.”

Those who are working to improve health care delivery in the region by meeting the DSRIP key milestones are being led by Samaritan Medical Center, and include Carthage Area Hospital; River Hospital, Alexandria Bay; CliftonFine, Star Lake: Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, Ogdensburg; and Massena Memorial Hospital. There are hundreds of other private practices, clinics, schools and other health care providers participating as well who are working to improve the patient experience.

NORTH COUNTRY HEALTH COMPASS The FDRHPO offers the most updated data base for health care providers in the north country, and others as well, including public health agencies, nonprofit organizations and school districts, Mrs. Young said.

The agency developed the North Country Health Compass in 2013 after receiving a $225,000 grant from the state Department of Health’s Office of Rural Health. The online tool is a customized Web-based quality-of-life and environmental information system that includes data from the agency’s regional commuPlease see FDRHPO, page 64

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H EA LT H C ARE

CNA student Kasey Rivers practices for his clinical skills test at Samaritan Medical Center last month.

Samaritan manages its own resident CNA training program.

JUSTIN SORENSEN | NNY BUSINESS

Closing the workforce gap Aging population drives demand for health workers

By KAREE MAGEE

T

NNY Business

he U.S. health care industry has found itself in the midst of a dilemma. As baby boomers age and the need for health care grows, the nation is struggling to expand capacity, particularly in nursing.

The American Journal of Medical Quality projected in 2012 that a shortage of registered nurses would spread across the country between 2009 and 2030, and the north country has been feeling the strain.

While RNs generally are always needed, though, hospitals including Massena Memorial, Claxton-Hepburn and Carthage Area Hospital are more concerned with the shortage they’re seeing in specialty nursing areas, including obstetrics, intensive care, emergency room, and operating room nurses.

“They require more extensive training than out-of-college programs provide,” said Ralene M. North, a registered nurse and chief nursing executive at Massena Memorial Hospital.

New graduate RNs are required by New

28 | NNY Business | August 2016

York state law to be on a med-surgical unit for one year, which is classified as any inpatient unit where they can use their basic nursing skills.

“When you graduate nursing school, you’re not necessarily ready to jump into the emergency room,” said Steve Olson, RN, the director of nursing and administrator of patient care services at Carthage Area Hospital. “You need those specialty skills, but they’re also the hardest to recruit.”

Recruiting has proven difficult for two other nursing areas at Samaritan Medical Center’s Summit Village and Samaritan Keep Home.

In the early 2010s, Samaritan began to notice a shortage of certified nursing assistants and home health aides in the area, which was exacerbated when the organization started recruiting for Summit Village in 2012, which is staffed half by CNAs and half by home health aides.

Both jobs are more difficult to recruit for than traditional nursing positions. Being a CNA is a tough job, said Christine Robinson, CNA training coordinator at Samaritan.

“The CNA role is the most difficult job

in long-term care,” she said. “Long-term care doesn’t always lead to people going home. You’re dealing with not only residents, but family members. There is an emotional component.”

Home health aides can be harder to recruit because the state guidelines are very specific about who can teach a home health aide program, which didn’t exist in Jefferson County in 2012, said Michael Britt, manager of recruiting at Samaritan.

“It is more difficult to qualify as a home health aide instructor than a CNA instructor,” he said.

The shortage was causing a multitude of issues for area hospitals, including overwork, burnout and turnover.

“You cannot reduce the day-to-day requirements,” Mr. Britt said. “You have to do it with less people. It doesn’t help morale if you have short staffing.”

At Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center overtime was particularly difficult for nurses in department like OB because nurses cannot be substituted from other departments like they sometimes can for the ER. “OB is so specialized you can’t just plug

HE A LTH CARE anyone in there,” said David Ferris, chief of nursing and vice president of patient services at Claxton-Hepburn. “I don’t have a lot of playroom.”

Adaptation, though, in the regions hospitals is helping efforts to recover the number of nurses needed in these areas, with a large focus on education.

Prior to the nursing shortage, few hospitals in the region hired RNs right out of college, but they have recently been giving special consideration to new graduates from regional colleges like Jefferson Community College and SUNY Canton to provide specialized training and to grow their own nursing staffs from the ground up.

Lisa Cooley, chair of the nursing department at JCC, said that hospitals are able to do that because of the quality of the nursing programs in the area.

“JCC grads have a reputation for being very strong when they graduate,” she said.

“Our program has been the same since the beginning.”

JCC has a 100 percent pass rate for students taking their nursing boards and a 100 percent employment rate.

Massena Memorial began taking new graduates this year, including two to OB and ICU each, to go through specialty training that starts with a 12-week initial orientation and includes two weeks of classroom training, weekly evaluations and they go back to the classroom to work on skills as needed.

“They’re engaged,” Ms. North said.

“They’re enthusiastic. The mentors describe them as sponges and we come out with a nurse who is specialty trained.”

The trainees have a guaranteed job at Massena Memorial when they’ve finished the program.

Carthage Area Hospital, Claxton-Hepburn and Samaritan Medical Center have also started similar practices of hiring new graduates and training them as well.

Ms. Cooley said a more formalized training program for specialty areas is better for the nurses and the patients than the old transition model.

“It’s beneficial to the patient population of that area because the nurses are getting that specialty training to provide that quality care,” she said.

Samaritan Medical Center also saw the benefits of training its own staff to solve the CNA and home health aide shortages by creating those training programs.

The CNA program began at JeffersonLewis BOCES in 2011, but Samaritan moved it to the hospital shortly after.

The CNA program lasts 10 weeks and inPlease see WORKERS, page 64

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 29

H EA LT H C ARE

Dr. John Poggi, a board-certified hematologist and oncologist and director of medical oncology at Samaritan Medical Center, moved his private practice under Samaritan’s umbrella in 2014, having previously worked for Samaritan from 1984 to 1999.

STEPHEN SWOFFORD | NNY BUSINESS

A push for ‘balance’

Doctors who leave private practice for hospitals, networks on rise

By GABRIELLE HOVENDON

T

NNY Business

o be in private practice, or not to be? That is the question — and it’s an increasingly common one for north country physicians.

For Dr. John Poggi, a board-certified hematologist and oncologist and director of medical oncology at Samaritan Medical Center, the decision to move his private practice under Samaritan’s umbrella was motivated not only by his plans to retire but also by the financial state of the health care landscape.

He returned to employed practice at the hospital in 2014, having previously worked for Samaritan from 1984 to 1999.

“I was getting older, and I was looking towards retirement, and at the same time reimbursement had been progressively scaled back by Medicare and private insurers to the point where it was becoming harder and harder to run a private business,” Dr. Poggi said. “There were just huge cuts in reimbursement over the last 10 years, to the extent that I could barely afford to run the practice, let alone hire new doctors to make

30 | NNY Business | August 2016

the transition to retirement.”

According to Paul Kraeger, Samaritan Medical Center Senior Vice President of Special Projects, similar concerns about finances and time are what’s making employed practice more and more popular with physicians — both new and experienced ones.

“When we were recruiting physicians 10 years ago, the vast majority of them wanted private practice. They either wanted to run their own practice or be a part of a practice and then own it after a few years,” he said.

“Today, many, many recruits coming out of medical school don’t want to be bothered by that. They want that work-life balance.”

According to Mr. Kraeger, new physicians don’t want to be spread thin between fulltime patient care and the demands of running their own business. For Samaritan, offering employed practice has thus been necessary to remain nationally competitive in the physician recruitment game.

But absorbing private practices has also been important to keep the hospital from inadvertently competing against physicians nearing retirement. In order to fill anticipated gaps in medical coverage when an

area physician retires, the hospital needs to recruit new physicians… but it also doesn’t want those new physicians to create competition for the established practitioners.

In the case of Dr. Poggi, the 2014 move to private practice allowed Samaritan to hire additional staff for its upcoming comprehensive cancer center: Dr. Charles Romano, Dr. Florence P. Arnold, Dr. Osafie Bello and Ms. Karen Nevills, a nurse practitioner.

These practitioners work side by side with Dr. Poggi, ensuring that cancer care will continue in the community after Dr. Poggi’s retirement this November.

“The whole idea of bringing them under the hospital umbrella was to protect the existing physicians and protect their livelihood while still planing for the future when they will retire,” Mr. Kraeger explained. “It is not the hospital’s desire to just take over practices. The driver is really to maintain critical services, i.e. medical oncology, in the community, without hurting an established practice.”

So, how does this transition from private to employed practice actually work?

Seamlessly, in Dr. Poggi’s case — thanks

H E A LTH CARE to more than a year of advance planning and cooperation between Samaritan’s and Dr. Poggi’s staffs.

Day to day, Dr. Poggi said that his patient-care routine has remained much the same — a few more meetings to attend, a few more emails to read, but nothing major. Even his insurance billing service has remained unchanged.

“We do have more physicians now than we did before, so we’re able to see new referrals quicker — almost immediately — whereas previously there may have been a lag of a week or two,” he said. “As far as the day-to-day care of patients, other than the fact that we have four practitioners, I don’t think there’s been a major change in the quality of care, but there has been some new equipment, some new infusion chairs that are very comfortable for the patients.

There are also some new infusion pumps, and we added an extra exam room and counseling room, and all these things do add overall to the efficiency of our work.”

Dr. Poggi added that Samaritan did an excellent job with facilitating the transition, maintaining his practice’s nursing and office staff and adding new nurses and equipment as was necessary. But he emphasized that, although the name and location of the practice he runs has changed, the patient care has remained high quality.

“The main quality of care is what happens between the patients, the staff, and the doctors,” Dr. Poggi said. “Having an improved physical structure is nice, and that will certainly be the case with the beautiful new cancer center, but the most important thing is how the staff and physicians treat the patients, and that hasn’t changed.”

At the end of the day, Samaritan taking private practices under its umbrella is often motivated by the exact same concern: patient care.

“I don’t think that economics is ever the key driver,” Mr. Kraeger said. “We are a not-for-profit, so what’s important for us is making sure that we have the appropriate medical services in place to meet our community’s need. Often, these employed relationships, if we were to look at them from a straight profit-loss standpoint, do not generate enough income to cover the expenses of the practice, but they’re critical to the community. We do this because it’s very important to have these services here. n GABRIELLE HOVENDON is a former Watertown Daily Times reporter, north country native and freelance writer who is pursuing a Ph.d. at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Email her at ghovendon@gmail.com.

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| 31

H EA LT H C ARE

A new ‘miracle’ worker

Personal experience motivates CMN development manager because there was a crucial element missing in the North Country for at crisis children, one that Samaritan felt com-

By JOLEENE MOODY

T NNY Business

he north country is about to experience the Children’s Miracle Network like never before. In June, Samaritan Medical Center appointed Kristin M. Stockwell as its CMN development manager.

Ms. Stockwell not only brings knowledge and eagerness to her new role, she brings experience as the mother of a miracle child as well.

“For me this is personal,” she said. “When my daughter Madalyn Mae was born here at Samaritan, she was two months early. Something wasn’t right. After a series of blood tests, doctors found out she was born without a thyroid. She was sent to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse where she stayed for a month and a half. I traveled back and forth during that time.”

Ms. Stockwell was 20 when Madalyn was born. Children’s Miracle Network services were offered to her, but she refused it.

“I was young. I was 20, and I was too proud to take it,” she said. “But now that I’m in this position, I feel like I have such an opportunity to educate others about the various services and let them know that CMN was created to help them and their children.”

Samaritan has been a member hospital of the Children’s Miracle Network for the past 26 years. The program is supported 100 percent by locally raised money. The money

32 | NNY Business | August 2016

JUSTIN SORENSEN | NNY BUSINESS

Kristin M. Stockwell was named development manager for Samaritan Medical Center’s Children’s Miracle Network program in June.

helps children who live in the tri-county area and who are in medical crisis.

This is where Ms. Stockwell comes in. She is responsible for spearheading and managing events to raise money for children that qualify for CMN services.

The money raised is used to handle co-pays not paid for

by insurance, travel costs (if what is needed for the child isn’t available at Samaritan), and for equipment that helps support the child’s needs.

Beth Fipps, vice president of Samaritan’s foundation and community services division, said the hospital chose to become a franchise of CMN more than 20 years ago

pelled to fulfill.

“Samaritan recognized there was more we needed to do for the pediatric population here in the north country,” Mrs. Fipps said. “And while we realize that we can’t always fulfill the needs of a particular child here at Samaritan, we can help with travel expenses if they have to go outside the area to get the services they need.”

As Ms. Stockwell settles into her new post, her heart comes fully with it. Her 12-year-old daughter Madalyn has had many trying times as she’s grown. These trials are the same, if not more intensified in some cases, as so many other children who come through the doors of Samaritan Medical Center. In order to fully understand the needs of CMN children and their families, Ms. Stockwell said she plans to spend as much time with the families as she can, from the time they register at the hospital to the time they leave.

“I have to look at this process through the eyes of the patients and their families.

That is a crucial element,” Ms. Stockwell said. “I want to be with them to ask questions and understand what they’re going through.”

Ms. Stockwell’s daughter also struggles with Central Auditory Processing Disorder, a hearing problem that affects about 5 percent of school-aged

H E ALT H C ARE children. Those with this condition can’t process what they hear in the same way other kids can because their ears and brain don’t fully coordinate.

Ms. Stockwell said, “The way I explain it to people is like this: If you were to have a conversation with her, it’s kind of like Groundhog Day. But we’re figuring it out. We’re fortunate that Maddy is still here with us. She can play sports and ride her horse. Some kids that come through CMN won’t have those kinds of opportunities. But if we can give them what we can when we can, that can make all the difference sometimes.”

As Ms. Stockwell grows fully into her

“

Now that I’m in this position, I feel like I have such an opportunity to educate others about the various services and let them know that CMN was created to help them and their children.

— Kristin M. Stockwell, development manager, Children’s Miracle Network at Samaritan Medical Center

role, the Children’s Miracle Network franchise also grows. Ms. Fipps said the hospital is finalizing plans for a new women and children’s center.

“Very soon we’ll be seeing outward

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The Kristin M. Stockwell file AGE: 34 FAMILY: Daughter, Madalyn, 12, son, Bentley, 5; partner, Adam LaClair JOB: Children’s Miracle Network development manager, Samaritan Medical Center PROFESSIONAL: Children’s Home of Jefferson County, marketing and development coordinator; Northern Credit Union, marketing.

HOMETOWN: Belleville; lives in Watertown EDUCATION: Master of arts in elementary education, University of Phoenix; bachelor of science in elementary education, SUNY Oswego ON HER iPOD: “To Make You Feel My Love”

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signs of that, including a brand new labor and delivery area with additional beds and operating rooms,” she said.

“We’ll also have a brand new mother baby center with private and expanded rooms. In addition to that, the center will be expanded off the backside of the Sherman Street entrance. There will be a dedicated entrance and elevator for the women and children’s center.”

It’s an exciting time for CMN, and it’s only going to get more exciting with a new development manager at the helm.

My Maddy is my inspiration behind this new position,” Ms. Stockwell said. “I just love her so much. I want to be able to help families help their children move through times that can be challenging and sometimes, very difficult. I can do that in this role. And I couldn’t be more honored to be here doing it.” n JOLEENE MOODY is a freelance writer, blogger and speaker who lives in Oswego County with her husband and daughter. Contact her at takeyourvoiceback.com.

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| 33

H E ALT H C ARE

Farm-to-table wellness

Carthage Area Hospital launches new initiative

By ELAINE M. AVALLONE

C NNY Business

arthage Area Hospital has embarked on a locally grown produce initiative with a farm-to-table program.

The effort is three-fold, first by using local produce in the food the hospital serves. Second, the hospital will host a weekly farmers market for the public and hospital employees. Third, an education factor demonstrates how to incorporate fresh produce into individual diets while explaining the health benefits.

The hospital is partnering with the Down to Earth Gardens Co-Op to bring fresh produce from local farms to the hospital to feed patients, hospital staff and visitors.

“We are setting the example and pioneering the Farm to Table program which aligns with the Population Health initiative instituted by the Department of Health,” said hospital chief executive officer Richard A. Duvall in a prepared statement. “Our hope is by incorporating local produce into the hospital’s daily menu coupled with our nutritional counseling and cooking classes we can help combat obesity and other health issues like diabetes and high blood pressure. It’s a better alternative for our patients and supports local farmers all at the same time. This is a first of its kind and we’re thrilled to bring this opportunity to the north country,” The program was initiated last year by the hospital’s dietary director Richard Fields. He coordinated with the hospital’s registered dietician Carly Draper and reached out to local farmers.

“This program is three-fold,” Mr. Fields said in the press release. “First, it improves overall patient satisfaction. Second, we are reinvesting in our local community. Thirdly, it gives us the opportunity to provide fresh produce in an effort to promote healthy-eating in alignment

34 | NNY Business | August 2016

ELAINE AVALLONE | NNY BUSINESS

James Good, of Down to Earth Garden Co-op, restocks produce bins at the Carthage Area Hospital farmers market. Mr. Good and his wife, Rebecca, have partnered with th ehospital to provide fresh produce from local farms to feed patients, hospital staff and visitors.

with the future of health care and better health outcomes. It all ties together.”

A week into the program, Mr. Fields said utilizing fresh foods has been well received.

“It’s better than what we think of as hospital food,” he said. “Our menu has been revamped to accommodate the fresh produce.”

Mr. Fields said hospital’s menus will

be developed on a four-month cycle to align with the local growing seasons.

The dietary director said residents at Meadowbrook Assisted Living Facility have given “tremendous feedback” to the new menu and that recently they were able to accommodate a vegan patient at the hospital.

“They thought they would have to bring their own food,” said Mr. Fields.

HE A LTH CARE Gary Rosenberg, administrator of support services, noted that the program will improve the quality of a patient’s stay at the hospital.

“A good meal makes you happier and that will improve the quality of the stay,” said Mr. Rosenberg.

“I’m very excited about the program. I can’t see a negative side. It will influence healthier outcomes,” said Mr. Duvall. “The doctors are also excited about the program.

It will help develop healthier eating.”

Mr. Fields said last year they went to the Carthage Farmers Market but did not get much response from individuals so the co-op idea was explored.

In order to meet the hospital’s demands, James and Rebecca Good of Down to Earth Garden Co-op have partnered with Amish families in Jefferson and Lewis counties with more anticipated to join.

According to the Goods, their goal in starting the co-op was “to help keep the small family farms alive.”

Another dimension of the Farm to Table program is cooking lessons being developed by Mr. Fields and Mrs. Draper.

Beginning in the fall lessons will be given along with information about health benefits connected with various aliments.

“Eating fresh vegetables can help reduce cancer risks due to the antioxidant factors,” said Mrs. Draper. “Fresh, local vegetables are more beneficial since as soon as you cut at the stalk the nutritional value is lessoned. The further the distance, the lesser the quality. By incorporating healthier foods into our daily lives, it improves our overall quality of life and that’s what we hope to do with this program and future classes.”

In addition, the hospital will offer weekly farmers markets for the public and hospital employees. The market will be held Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the former front lobby, 1001 West St. Besides the fresh produce, the Goods have eggs, beef and chicken for sale.

Mr. Fields plans to incorporate cooking demonstrations into the weekly market, utilizing food sold that week. He will also make available copies of the recipes he uses. n ELAINE AVALLONE is a Johnson Newspapers staff writer based in Carthage. Contact her at eavallone@lowville.com or 493-1270.

NNY BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Nominate someone for the annual NNY Business magazine

20 Under 40 Awards

who meets the following criteria:

n A role model in his or her profession n A leader in his or her business and community n Dedicated and successful in his or her vocation n Active volunteer and community participant

NOMINATE ONLINE AT NNYBIZMAG.COM n Nominees must live and work in Jefferson, St. Lawrence or Lewis counties, and be between the ages of 21 and 39 on or before Dec. 31, 2016. NOMINATE ONLINE AT NNYBIZMAG.COM, EMAIL TO: NNYBUSINESS@WDT.NET OR MAIL TO: 20 UNDER 40, NNY BUSINESS, 260 WASHINGTON ST., WATERTOWN, NY 13601. For mailed entries, type or print directly on this form. All information provided will be held in confidence. Limit one nominee per form. ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 5 P.M. FRIDAY, SEPT. 30, 2016. Employees of Johnson Newspaper Corp. and its affiliates and their immediate family members are not eligible for consideration. Selectees will be honored during a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal St., Watertown, on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Complete luncheon details and registration will be published after nominees are selected and announced.

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 35

H EA LT H C ARE

Joey Marie Horton is the executive director of North Country Family Health Center, Watertown.

The center has clawed its way back from near closure three years ago.

JUSTIN SORENSEN | NNY BUSINESS

Back from the brink

North Country Family Health Center turns corner

By GABRIELLE HOVENDON

H NNY Business

ow healthy is the North Country Family Health Center? Take a look at its numbers.

In 2013, the center had a negative operating margin; in 2015, it was 19.3 percent positive. In 2014, its budget was $6.6 million; currently, it’s $7.7 million. In fiscal year 2014-15, it increased its revenue by $800,000, finishing the year nearly $1 million in the black … and that’s not to mention the awards and grants it’s received since then.

“I’m very pleased with the progress that we’ve made so far in the last two years,” said Joey Marie Horton, executive director of the North Country Family Health Center for the past two and a half years.

“We’re very excited about future health care reforms and health care system transformations and looking forward to how we can engage in those.”

36 | NNY Business | August 2016

Things weren’t also so sunny for the health center. Back in the summer of 2014, it had just regained its financial independence under Ms. Horton’s leadership. In 2013, it had been on the brink of closure, with inefficient management, no cash reserves and outdated funding and billing procedures.

Since then, the organization’s newfound financial stability has allowed it to invest in different programs, improve and enhance patient care and begin dialogues with different communities and school districts about expanding its services in those locations.

For example, with the help of $263,000 from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration, the clinic has recently reopened their Lowville school-based preventative dental program, begun providing preventative dental services in the Alexandria Central School District and planned to provide preventative dental services in the Copenhagen School District.

“We focus heavily on dental as well as medical services, and we do see a high

need for dental services in this area, particularly for patients who are uninsured and for Medicaid patients,” Ms. Horton said. “We see a lot of patients who are not going because of the cost, and our focus is on how to break down that barrier and get them preventive care and basic restorative care, regardless of their ability to pay. Dental services should not be a luxury.”

This focus on integrated, affordable services is one thing that makes the North Country Family Health Center is distinct from ERs and Urgent Cares. Offering discounted fees and payment plans for qualifying patients, the center is committed to providing care to everyone regardless of age, income or insurance coverage.

It doesn’t seek to treat just an emergency symptom; it seeks to ensure the patient has access to medical, dental and behavioral care as well as proper nutrition, education, insurance enrollment and other support.

“The idea is, if I can prevent a patient Please see HEALTH CENTER, page 66

H E ALT H C A R E

Celebrating a milestone

Community Clinic of Jefferson County marks its fifth year

By JOLEENE MOODY

W NNY Business

hen Mercy Behavioral Health and Wellness closed its doors as a mental health provider in June 2011, officials blamed poor Medicaid reimbursement as the culprit. The shuttered clinic left a gaping hole in the community for severely mentally ill patients. So when the Community Services Board in Watertown opened a bid for proposals for a county entity to acquire the operation, the Children’s Home of Jefferson County applied. They were humbly selected.

“Of all of the applicants, the Children’s Home of Jefferson County was chosen to open the new clinic,” executive director Karen Y. Richmond said. “We had no experience with this kind of clinic, so we brought with us a lot of community strength and involvement. We also brought the financial ability to withstand a long ride of potential losses to stabilize the clinic.”

In terms of financial stability, the Community Clinic of Jefferson County relies on multiple funding sources. From private insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Department of Mental Health (when there is a deficit in funding), the clinic is able to run daily operations. Mrs. Richmond said there are moments it can be a struggle to sustain the operation, but with shared administrative teams and dedicated staff members, much of the struggle is alleviated.

Part of that team includes Dr. Robert M. Woznicki, psychiatrist and medical director.

Dr. Woznicki was appointed in 2013 as the clinic’s first full-time psychiatrist.

“I think the clinic plays a fundamental role in the community in helping people who otherwise wouldn’t get good care,” he said. “We’re trying to expand our services and work with patients that need traditional psychiatric treatment, too.”

Now the clinic takes referral-only patients, all of whom are severely or persistently mentally ill. As the patient needs evolve, so does the clinic, working to provide resources and programs for mental health patients.

“We have a variety of groups, based on

JUSTIN SORENSEN | NNY BUSINESS

Jennifer Earl is director of clinical operations at the Community Clinic of Jefferson County, an affiliate of the Children’s Home of Jefferson County. The clinic marks its fifth anniversary this year.

about missing anything. The clinic in Public what the community needs,” said Jennifer Square in Watertown is fully staffed with 32 Earl, director of clinical operations. “We medical, non-medical, and support staff emtypically have depression groups, which ployees. That includes 2 physhave a cognitive behavioral iatrists, 4 nurse practitioners, focus. We routinely hold anger one physician’s assistant, and management and stress manage12 therapists. Add to this highly ment groups, too. We also have trained staff one new child some trauma related groups and psychiatrist, and the Commuare working on developing a nity Clinic of Jefferson County group for treating sex offenders.

The clinic operates the Forenhas what they consider a highly sic Jail Program at the Jefferson qualified, eager to serve, mental County Correctional Facility, health staff. staffed with two counselors on “Our new child psychiaWoznicki site. From psychiatric counseltrist, Dr. Harrison LeVine, was ing to rehabilitative services, trained at University of Michithe Forensic Jail Program offers inmates the gan and Columbia, and was at Children’s assistance they need to help improve their Hospital Colorado, which is one of the best health and well being both inside the facilchildren’s hospitals in the country,” Dr. ity and beyond release.

Woznicki said. “We’re very happy to have When the clinic wasn’t operating during him on board.” those bumpy months in 2011, some needs The Community Clinic of Jefferson of the patients went unmet. Ms. Earl said, County serves patients from age three to “I started with the clinic very early on. At the golden years. The 5,100-square-foot that time, there were several patients who Community Clinic is located in the Marcy had gone 6 months or so without their Building at 167 Polk St., Suite 300. medication because their dose injections For a full list of services and programs for antipsychotic medications were so high, available, visit nnychildrenshome.com/pro that the ER and other community providgrams/community-clinic. ers were uncomfortable giving them. These n JOLEENE MOODY is a freelance writer, patients had no where to get their medicablogger and speaker who lives in Oswego Countions administered.” ty with her husband and daughter. Contact her at Today, those patients needn’t worry takeyourvoiceback.com.

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 37

H EA LT H C ARE

Dr. Walter Mineart, M.D., owner and physician at North Country Urgent Care opened his practice in 2003.

AMANDA MORRISON | NNY BUSINESS

An acute care backstop

Urgent care facilities ease strains on hospital ERs

By KAREE MAGEE

A NNY Business

lthough a recent phenomenon in the health care industry, urgent cares have been on a roller coaster journey since the concept began in the 1970s, but after a decline in the ‘80s, they didn’t take hold in the U.S. until about two decades ago.

Today there are nearly 7,100 urgent care centers nationally, according to the Urgent Care Center Association of America, and they have become the popular choice for urgent, but non-emergent medical care.

“The reason why urgent cares are very popular is because we’re an on-demand society,” said Mark Maitag, operations manager at Samaritan Family Health Center in LeRay. “People don’t want to have to make an appointment or wait for an appointment.”

Urgent cares serve as an in-between for primary care and emergency depart-

38 | NNY Business | August 2016

ments, giving patients increased access to timely care when they can’t make appointments with their primary care physicians and relieving overcrowded emergency rooms of nonessential cases, filling a gap in treatment in Northern New York, said Dr. Shereen Palmer, MD, owner of Lowville Urgent Care.

“We’re trying to fill that gap,” she said. “We’re not trying to replace primary care clinic. We’re not looking to be in place of the emergency room. We’re trying to be complementary.”

On the contrary, urgent cares have proven to be beneficial for local emergency rooms, particularly in rural counties like St. Lawrence County, said Dr. Lorence.

Prior to opening the The Urgent Care Center in Potsdam, the hospital’s ER was seeing a 6 percent growth each year, which is a very high number for a small 14-bed emergency room, said Dr. Jason Lorence, MD, director of emergency department at Canton-Potsdam and

Gouverneur Hospitals, and director of the Urgent Care Center.

Since the urgent care opened two years ago, the ER has seen the volume flatten and it is just beginning to climb again at a healthy rate, he said.

“The mix of patients is more in line with what you’d expect to see,” Dr. Lorence said. “It allows us to concentrate on the patients that truly need to be there.”

Urgent cares have become a boon for the rural north country, which has a larger gap in services due to fewer physicians and smaller ERs since Med Ready Urgent Care opened in 2001. Due Med Ready’s success, Dr. Walter Mineart, M.D., owner and physician at North Country Urgent Care opened his practice in 2003.

“It was pretty apparent that there was a good chance of having success with an urgent care,” he said. “People needed more reasonable cost for their care and that’s why urgent cares are so popular.”

After the early 2000s a small urgent

H E ALT H C A R E care boom occurred in the tri-county area, which now has six urgent cares in Jefferson County, two in St. Lawrence County and one in Lewis County.

Urgent cares have become essential to the health care landscape in the region due to a shortage of physician care.

“We tend to get leaned on a little bit more because a rural area doesn’t have robust primary care like in the city,” said James Horrocks, physician assistant at The Urgent Care Center in Potsdam. “We serve a large rural population here.”

They work so well, Dr. Lorence said, because urgent cares are flexible and adaptable, not just because of their hours, but also their set up and the variety of services they can offer.

“I don’t see this as a flash in the pan,” Dr. Lorence said. “If anything, the urgent care can range from anywhere to a minute-clinic or doc-in-a-box to urgent cares bordering on EDs.” Dr. Mineart said that there are urgent cares in the cities that will even have their own CT and MRI machines.

“That’s how far we can go,” he said.

“There are all kinds of things people have tried to get people to their place.”

In the north country, urgent cares usually range from primary care services to acute services including x-rays, EKGs, ultrasounds and labs.

The flexibility of an urgent care’s set up is also uniquely suited for a rural environment that has a physician shortage due to the ability to run it with a staff made up primarily of Physicians Assistants and Nurse Practitioners.

“I’ve been trying to hire physicians for years,” Dr. Mineart said. “They’re just not available. There’s a shortage of physicians who would consider an urgent care career in Jefferson County.”

Dr. Palmer said that PAs and NPs have the appropriate amount of training to deal with acute illnesses and injuries that are not life-threatening, which makes having physicians regularly at the urgent care is unnecessary.

“We are committed to quality, both in their training and ongoing care,” she said.

“In a rural area it has really become essential to have physician extenders.”

It is this adaptability that makes urgent cares successful and will allow continued growth, which is necessary during a push for fewer emergency room visits from the State government to the insurance compa-

nies, Dr. Palmer said.

Insurance companies have been raising premiums for hospital visits to discourage people from going to the emergency room for non-emergent illnesses, Dr. Palmer said.

Dr. Mineart said urgent cares are also already adapting to a renewed focus on prevention rather than reaction, including conversations about screening patients when they come in for chronic illnesses like diabetes since they already do that for hypertension.

“We try not to just look at the cold, the

sore throat or the cough,” he said. “We try to look at the whole patient and take a detailed history.”

Due to the success of urgent cares, Mr. Horrocks said, this boom is far from over, especially in rural counties that are underserved.

“There can always be more access,” he said. “I would never say we’re at the point where there would be enough.”

Dr. Mineart, on the other hand, said that Watertown and Jefferson County would do Please see URGENT CARE, page 40

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 39

URGENT CARE, from page 39 well to have fewer urgent cares.

“It’s a little bit crowded,” he said. “Patient volume is the name of the game. We could use a few less urgent cares to get the volume up.”

Just because the area has reached its peak, though, doesn’t mean there’s no future expansion. Dr. Mineart said he expects to see health care facilities move more towards integrated systems and fewer standalone urgent cares.

“I think that there will still be a place for urgent cares like this one, but I think they will be integrated into family practices and at hospitals,” he said.

One thing is for certain though. Urgent cares are not going anywhere. If anything, they are becoming more successful, Mr. Maitag said, who has seen patient numbers increase at the Samaritan Urgent Care from 936 per month in 2014 to 1,200 per month so far in 2016.

“I don’t know what the people would do if they didn’t have an urgent care to fall back on,” Dr. Mineart said. n KAREE MAGEE is a magazine associate for NNY Magazines. Contact her at kmagee@wdt. net or 661-2381.

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RE AL E STAT E RO U ND UP

Student debt’s impact on homeownership

A

survey on student loan debt and housing released in mid-June showed that 71 percent of non-homeowners with student loans believe their debt is stymieing their ability to purchase a home and slightly more than half of all borrowers expect a delay in buying a home by more than five years.

The joint survey, conducted by the National Association of Realtors and SALT, a consumer literacy program of the nonprofit American Student Assistance, also revealed that student debt postponed four in 10 borrowers from moving out of a family member’s household after graduating college.

The full report is at realtor.org/reports/ student-loan-debt-and-housing-report.

I asked local mortgage loan originators and Realtors to look at the report and consider three questions: n Has student debt stopped a loan from going through? n Has it caused someone to buy “less house” than they needed or wanted? n What other issues surround this?

Faye Waterman of Citizen’s Bank of Cape Vincent said that while student debt has not stopped a loan “it has been a challenge” especially when parents cosign a student loan. “It causes the ratio to go up, which complicates everything.” This could mean settling for a lesser amount and may also drive their parents’ credit score down.

Homestead Funding’s Pat Wolf added that in the past lenders were allowed to eliminate deferred student loans from debt ratio considerations. Now-deferred student loans count in the debt ratio.

The lender has to have proof from the borrower of what the payments will be

once repayment begins.

As North Country Savings Bank’s Dottie Parker observed: “Depending on the lender, the monthly payment would be calculated at 1 to 2 percent of the Lance Evans balance owed.”

So if the student loan balance is $50,000, “the lender would calculate a monthly payment of $500 to $1,000 per month.”

Loan originators from Community Bank pointed out that “individuals repaying their student loans often have a difficult time saving for the down payment and cash reserves required to obtain a mortgage. They may experience ‘payment shock’ when [repaying] student loans, particularly when repayment starts within the first couple of years after [purchasing] their first home.”

Dan Estal of Northern Credit Union said that “Deferred student loans seem to be the main hindrance in terms of weighing on the impact of student loan debt and home ownership.”

His colleague, Chris Andiorio, noted that “revolving debt and auto debt are the two pieces that [also] hinder borrowers. Revolving debt plays heavily into the credit score, even if balances are low and very manageable.” Borrowers who have “$400 to $800 car payments with balances of $30,000 to $50,000 when yearly income is around the same (face) a large barrier.”

Sandstone Realty’s Doug Hawkins does not believe that “student debt has not been a problem” as much as a lack of a saved down payment. “This has even caused a six-month delay in a closing as the seller waited for the buyer to accumulate a 20 percent down payment.”

Adds Karen Peebles from Berkshire Hathaway Home Services CNY Realty: “Student debt is definitely an issue, but it hasn’t stopped a sale going through because they don’t get that far.” Buyers with student loan debt either buy “less house” than what they want or don’t buy at all. “The other big issue around the student loans is that it is the only loan that can’t be refinanced if the borrower finds a lower interest rate.”

One anonymous response noted that debt from lifestyle choices can be a large factor in delaying homeownership.

“Targeting student loan debt as the financial evil is a pretty easy bandwagon to jump on as it gives the appearance that there’s no choice but to take on this debt in order to secure lucrative employment.

[It would be easier] to save if potential purchasers were to forego buying coffee daily, dinner out, vacations, big weddings, new cars, etc. I doubt focusing on these expenditures as being detrimental to the housing market would gain favor as it makes ‘us’ accountable for our behaviors.

It’s much more trendy to blame student loan debt for our inability to save.”

What are your thoughts? Let me know at levans@nnymls.com. n LANCE M. EVANS is the executive officer of the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Realtors and the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors. He has lived in the north country since 1985. Contact him at levans@nnymls.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

| 41

RE AL E STATE

Mixed bag in Q2 real estate report

By MARCUS WOLF NNY Business

Jefferson up, Lewis down, St. Lawrence flat

econd quarter home sales in Jefferson County are up from the same quarter last year, but are down in Lewis County and relatively the same in St. Lawrence County.

The number of houses sold in Jefferson County increased by 20 units, or 8 percent, from 251 to 271, according to the JeffersonLewis Board of Realtors. Lewis County home sales decreased by 11 units, or 16 percent, from 56 to 45 over the same period; in St. Lawrence County, the number of units sold was relatively the same as the second quarter last year, decreasing only by two units from 161 to 159, according to the St. Lawrence County Board of Realtors.

Compared to the first half of 2015, home sales from January to June increased in Jefferson County by eight units, or 2 percent, from 371 to 379; in Lewis County by six units, or 8 percent, from 79 to 85 units and in St. Lawrence County by 34 units, or 14 percent, from 251 to 285.

Steady increases in sales during the six-month period for the three-county

area were assisted by strong first-quarter sales. Lance M. Evans, executive officer of both the Jefferson-Lewis and St. Lawrence boards, said that while winter tourism was down for Lewis County, prospective homebuyers still came up during the fall for hunting and four-wheeling. He also said that St. Lawrence County had a strong first quarter this year.

“They had a good run and another good run in the second quarter,” he said.

Mr. Evans said that the boost in Jefferson County home sales is bolstered by the number of foreclosed houses that have sold during the second quarter.

Nancy L. Rome, a Realtor for Rome RSA Realty LLC, said she has sold about 25 foreclosures this year.

“Banks don’t want to hold on to them for very long,” she said.

Many residents associate foreclosure sales with “zombie” property sales, Mr. Evans said, but homeowners who purchased the foreclosures either live in them or are

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initiating repairs. Mrs. Rome said that banks make sure that foreclosed houses have at least heat and running water before putting them on the market.

“There are opportunities there,” Mr. Evans said. “(For example) if you could buy a house for ten grand, you might do it and fix it up. That might get you into the market.”

SALE PRICES MOSTLY DOWN Compared with the second quarter in 2015, the median price for homes decreased in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, but increased in Lewis County.

Mr. Evans said that this year over the same period, Jefferson County’s median home price decreased by $22,300, or 14 percent, from $160,000 to $137,700. In St. Lawrence County, the median price decreased from the second quarter in 2015 by $11,000, or 12 percent, from $90,000 to $79,000.

The median price increased in Lewis County over the same period by $22,500, or 23 percent, from $97,450 to $120,000. Because of the lower number of sales, median prices in Lewis County can be affected by one or two high or low prices.

The decrease in median price in Jefferson County was caused by the increase in foreclosures, Mr. Evans said, but the lack of sales in Lewis County has kept its median price up.

Mr. Evans also said that lower prices, however, help first-time homebuyers and provide incentives for investors in the real estate market.

“The lower prices also mean that the owner has more capital to put into the home and make it, and the neighborhood, better,” Mr. Evans said.

Statewide, quarterly home sales have increased by 3,339 units, or 12 percent, from 27,678 units to 31,017 units, compared to the 2015 second quarter, according to the New York State Association of Realtors.

The second-quarter statewide median sales price was also up this year by $5,500, or 2 percent, from $224,500 in 2015 to $230,000.

Statewide during the first and second quarters this year, 55,543 homes were sold, up 15 percent, or 7,394 homes, from the 48,149 sold in the first and second quarters in 2015. n MARCUS WOLF is a Johnson Newspapers staff writer. Contact him at mwolf@wdt.net or 661-2371.

T O P T RAN SACT I O NS The following property sales were recorded in the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office in of June: $3,301,786: June 30, Town of Adams: No acreage listed, state Route 177 (Sackets Harbor Road), Ruby Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

acreage listed, state Route 12F, Paddy Hill Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $1,000,000: June 8, Town of LeRay: 53.182 acres, Route 342, Patriot Mobile Home Park LLC, Las Vegas, Nev., sold to Black River Estates of Watertown LLC c/o Speedway Inc., Oxford, Maine.

$2,680,087: June 30, Village of Chaumont: No acreage listed, state Route 12E at Morris Tract Road, Emerald Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

$826,211: June 29, Town of Watertown: No acreage listed, Route 11, Topaz Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

$2,416,923: June 29, Town of Pamelia: No acreage listed, Bradley Street Road (Route 12), Paddy Hill Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

The following property sales were recorded in the St. Lawrence County Clerk’s Office in June:

$2,499,545: June 30, Town of Hounsfield: Two parcels, 4.77 acres, County Route 62, Gallium Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $2,394,483: June 30, Town of LeRay: No acreage listed, Route 11, Zircon Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $1,836,025: June 30, City of Watertown: No acreage listed, Factory Street, Paddy Hill Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $1,448,930: June 30, Town of Pamelia: No acreage listed, Route 11 at County Route 37, Ruby Development LLC, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $1,181,176: June 29, Town of Hounsfield: No

$3,527,719: June 30, City of Ogdensburg: Unknown acres, Block 286, bounded by New York Avenue and Cedar Street, Topaz Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

town, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $2,354,193: June 30, Village of Norwood: 2 Parcels, unknown acres, bounded by South Main Street and Whitney Street, Gallium Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas. $2,300,000: June 16, Town of Clifton: 3,190.39 acres more or less, Township 13, bounded by New York State Route 3, A and Z of Maitland Family Limited Partnership, Maitland, Fla., and Robert P. Dewitt, Maitland, sold to Ying Sum Tsui, Dover, Mass. $492,700: June 15, Village of Potsdam: Unknown acres, bounded by Waverly Street and Cottage Street, Ronald J. and Nancy P. Brown, no address given, sold to Page C. Quinton, Columbia, Mo.

$3,287,506: June 29, Village of Gouverneur: Unknown acres, bounded by West Main Street and McKean Street, Emerald Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

$450,000: June 30, Village of Massena: Parcel 1) 0.89 of an acre more or less, Parcel 2) Unknown acres, Parcel 3) Unknown acres, bounded by Village Lot 97, bounded by East Orvis Street and Main Street, Sandstone Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas Texas.

$2,571,966: June 29, City of Ogdensburg: Unknown acres, bounded by Greene and Ford Streets, Ruby Development LLC, Watertown, sold to Sunoco Retail LLC, Dallas, Texas.

$355,000: June 24, Village of Canton: Unknown acres, Lot 6 of Section 5, Gregory and Daina Carvel, Canton, sold to Aaron M. and Wendy K. Todd, Needham, Mass.

$2,467,414: June 29, Village of Canton: Parcel 1) 0.05 of an acre more or less, Parcel 2) 0.67 of an acre more or less, bounded by Main Street and Miner Street, Topaz Development LLC, Water-

$275,000: June 1, Town of Oswegatchie: 3 Parcels, unknown acres, Lot 4 of Block 110B, Charles B. and Linda R. Gush, Ogdensburg, sold to Suong Ives, Potsdam.

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 43

20 QU E ST I ONS

STEPHEN SWOFFORD | NNY BUSINESS

CRITICAL CARE REDEFINED

F

or River Hospital the last 10 years since Ben Moore III became CEO has been a transitional period as it experienced financial challenges, backlash from the Medicaid reimbursement changes, and then growth with the help of programs like the outpatient program for soldiers with PTSD coordinated with Fort Drum and TRICARE. Mr. Moore sat down with us this month to discuss how River Hospital overcame the challenges facing it and the future for the hospital and the north country’s health care industry as a whole.

1

NNYB: What brought you into the administration side of the health care business?

MOORE: I always had a fascination with medicine, but I didn’t like being around sick people, so being a physician I didn’t think was a good option. The administrative side I thought would be an option. I enjoyed administration when I was in the Navy. I thought that would be ideal. I’ve enjoyed it.

2

NNYB: Since 2006, you came on board during the midst of a lot of change. Tell me a little bit about the background of how things were when you came here 10 years ago and how you got to where you are right now.

MOORE: The challenges at the time were financial. We had some program issues that we needed to solve. We needed to recruit providers and we didn’t have a very strong financial accounting system. As a matter of fact, we didn’t even have a budget. Then through 2008 and 2009 we had a crisis with Medicaid reimbursement for our skilled nursing facility. We finally decided that we couldn’t hold on to our skilled nursing facility, so we had to close that. That was a very difficult period because it’s hard on everybody and it certainly was hard on the residents who were there.

That was a pretty trying time. We’ve learned a lot of lessons from that experience. We started

44 | NNY Business | August 2016

n Alexandria Bay’s River Hospital

finds its niche in changing landscape

the closure in February. In that summer we had a board retreat to try to lay out our future, to map out what we needed to do. We’re still acting on some of those decisions from that time period. The other thing we did at that retreat was determine we needed to be more active in areas of care that there was a deficit of in the north country. We did a survey with the residents in the community, with providers in the community and one of the striking things to come out of that was lack of mental health services. So, we were looking for a way to be able to provide those services. We didn’t have any psychiatrists at the time or therapists.

Fortunately this came up around 2012, Fort Drum and their insurance company TRICARE approached us to see if we’d be interested in setting up a posttraumatic stress program.

I was very nervous about that to begin with, but they put me in touch with the Department of Defense hospital that treated PTSD for inpatients. I went down there, looked at it and I saw the possibilities, but again I was afraid to do on the job training with that kind of situation. I got them to agree to do a management contract with us. They would train our staff, help us set up the quality assurance programs, help us recruit and then monitor us to make sure we were doing things correctly. Once we got that contract I felt very positive about going ahead. That went from 10 soldiers a day all the way up to 40 soldiers a day in 2015. We had a really good program going.

Then, in May of 2015 the Army was going to retrench the program back to the base.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in its entirety.

We still have the program. We have a more intense program than what they have on the base. So, that’s where we are, but like every other institution in the north country and probably in New York everyone is struggling.

3

NNYB: How has River Hospital been able to manage through lean economic times while growing its services and facilities into its present state?

MOORE: Two factors. Our employees, they will bend over backwards to help you. They’re committed. They see us as an economic engine for the community, so they want us to succeed and they’ll do what you ask them to do to help you do that and they help each other out. That part’s been very rewarding. They’ll come to you and give you ideas and tell you when things aren’t working well. You need to know both. The other thing is our board. We have a lot of really good talent on our board.

We have people who are business people, people who are big accounting firm partners, so they really know finance, they really know business, and they’ve been very engaged.

They don’t micromanage. They’ve been very engaged in helping us chart a future.

4

NNYB: Describe the relationship with the Army has matured and grown and how beneficial it is now.

MOORE: It started out very, very well. When we got that started everything worked out very well. Then, the problem was there was a facility-wide directive that said you have to have these programs on post. So the interpretation at the time that came out was you have to pull it all back. Col. McMurray said ‘the interpretation I would infer is that we can do things together.’ He did recognize that having the program off post could have benefits. He came out and visited. He had lunch with the soldiers. So he became an advocate for what we’re doing. He also engineered a better communications system for us with his own behavioral health folks to make sure we’re all

2 0 Q U E S T I O NS on the same page. That works out very well now. I think they value us, we certainly value them. I think we’re back to a point where we view ourselves as a component of what they do and it’s a much more comfortable relationship than it was in May of 2015.

5

NNYB: In terms of Fort Drum, do you think that program and relationship will continue to grow as a partnership?

MOORE: I do. In addition to getting settled down on the immediate basis, I think what’s happened is Col. McMurray has really communicated very strongly with the Pentagon and his superiors about how this model works well and it ought to be maintained.

We’ve had a number or people come out to visit and look at it, all the way up to the most senior uniform person in the medical command of the Pentagon.

6

NNYB: There are some interesting innovations within that program, the soldier art initiative, things that are out of the box, but they’re necessary right?

MOORE: We learned that by signing on to be tutored by Holliswood Hospital. We had no clue about that before, but I saw that myself.

I went down when I did the sight visit down there and I saw these paintings, one when the Marine first started and one when he was about to be discharged. The one from when he first started was just chaotic, not grotesque, but scary, and then upon leaving peaceful, pleasant. The person who was telling us about it said well, that’s our therapy. That was 10 weeks. Art therapy taught the Marine to first of all see the feelings that were going on by the art and then that made his therapy much more effective for him, and then you can see the progression. That really works here. All of the soldiers let us display that.

7

NNYB: Where do you think the hospital needs to focus its efforts in order to prosper well into the future?

MOORE: For us in our location, it needs to be primary care and emergency care. That’s what the community, in any survey you take, is looking forward to. Now, recently we added mental health and that has really come up as being a core competency as well. We just started a children’s psychiatry program in February of this year and the involvement in that has really skyrocketed and we haven’t even done any advertising. We’ve just let the schools know that we have this available. We went from one psychiatrist to two psychiatrists.

Now, we’re doing this in a cooperative program with Upstate’s Department of Psychiatry. It’s telemedicine, but it works extremely well. What we feel we can contribute to the community, is needed by the community, and gives us the best shot for not only survival, but for working with other organizations, it’s those three things, primary care, emergency care and mental health.

STEPHEN SWOFFORD | NNY BUSINESS

River Hospital CEO Ben Moore III in talks about the future of health care in the north country in his Alexandria Bay office last month.

The Ben Moore III file AGE: 66 FAMILY: Cynthia McDonnell; twins, Matthew and Elizabeth JOB: CEO, River Hospital PROFESSIONAL: Line officer, U.S. Navy, four years; Creighton University, Omaha, Neb.; University of North Carolina; SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse HOMETOWN: Raised in Brawley, Calif.; splits time between Wellesley Island and Manlius.

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s in government, Harvard University, 1971; master’s in health administration, Duke University LAST BOOK READ: “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II” by Doris Goodwin

8

NNYB: To what do attribute the growth in the need for mental health services?

MOORE: It’s always been an unmet need.

There are stats that show that we have the fewest mental health providers for this region in all of New York apparently and one of our big DSRIP initiatives is to increase the amount of mental health providers that are available.

It’s difficult to recruit and I think that’s one issue. Insurance coverage has not always been the greatest, so I think institutions have been reluctant to provide it. Now we were lucky in that regard because when we did the Army program funded by TRICARE, the staff was also willing to do community care. That’s a unique feature. The programs worked out as far as staffing meshed out very well and we were able to take on community at rates that other institutions might not want to do.

9

NNYB: With larger institutions and other hospitals in the region, is the north country a competitive environment?

MOORE: It’s supposed to be collaborative. That’s what the Department of Health is trying to get us to do through DSRIP, but it’s still competitive and I haven’t seen the transition yet from competitive to collaborative. Institutions are still trying to get services away from one institution to another because that’s the competitive model. At what point do you throw the switch? My concern is that we haven’t developed in this region yet the level of trust between the CEOs and other leaders in the health care system to just say this is what we need to do. It’s going to take us awhile to work through all of that. The more we work together the better that’s going to be. The DSRIP program is a huge complex program, but I think one of the benefits is its forcing us to get together and try to problem solve. I think everyone’s committed to make things work out for the community.

10

NNYB: What steps are necessary to tear down those walls of competition and be more collaborative?

MOORE: It starts with almost a new willingness to just put everything on the table, try to analyze it from the perspective of community and be willing to accommodate other institutions, realizing those institutions mean a lot to their communities. If you went full competitive model, some might argue some of these places should disappear. I don’t believe that.

I think that we’re all going to have to change, but I think these communities, especially up here in the north country rely on these institutions for a lot of, not only access to care, but for the economic impact. If we can all be empathetic enough and wise enough, we August 2016 | NNY Business

| 45

20 QU E ST I ONS can create a collaborative model that does that and lowers the cost of care, improves the quality of care and so forth. I think the physicians and the providers working through the clinical-integrated network are probably ahead of the hospital administrators in working on that. Maybe they can light the spark that gets the rest of us to embrace all of that.

11

NNYB: How has technology been a game changer for you? How has that enabled you to expand your services on a leaner operating budget?

MOORE: Child psych is a perfect example of that. There’s no way we could have hired

a child psychiatrist, they’re very expensive, but once we reached that agreement with Upstate via telemedicine, the cost of running a program like that drops dramatically because of the technology. What I hear in the community is they really appreciate that we did that.

The reaction to having the services has been almost overwhelming. The electronic health record has been a huge advance. That’s gone out view of the public as a big advance, but it has been. It makes for safer care because it has all of those software edits in it that check for bad drug to drug interactions that you forgot to do reminds them to do it and then you can do much better quality assurance by

going back and looking at your care because you have much better data. And we’re able to transmit what happens to them back to their hometown doctor when they leave. It also helps because in many cases now we can have a radiologist from home see the actual x-ray on their home computer and be able to get a quick reading and no one has to wait around until the radiologist comes in. Getting to a diagnosis is much faster and easier with technology than it used to be.

12

NNYB: This has required a lot of leadership and I’m sure you’ve surrounded yourself with others like-minded and maybe some who challenge you. What lessons in leadership have you learned in 10 years?

MOORE: I’ve learned patience. I think when you first face a challenge and it’s difficult, it can be very easy to throw in the towel, but then you look around and you realize people are looking at you for an answer. You may not have one and then you start talking, you start listening. That’s the thing I learned a lot. There’s a lot of good information coming out of the employees, their observations, their feelings about things, what they think of work. We have a very good medical staff. They can tell you what they think will work or won’t work. The board can look at them really as consultants because they have some expertise.

13

NNYB: We all receive a lot of advice in our careers, what is the best advice that you have ever followed and tried to share with others?

MOORE: Listen. I’ve had that from several mentors. There can be a tendency when you’re leading an organization and you want to achieve deadlines and objectives, is to sort of march on with blinders almost. That can be a mistake and I’ve learned all the way that you listen. Sometimes silence tells you something’s wrong and then you try to get to it and find out what’s wrong. As well as listening, a secondary approach of that is being approachable. You find out so much when people are comfortable that you’re going to take them seriously, that you are going to respond to what they’re saying and be empathetic with what their concerns are.

14

NNYB: One of the tenets of the Affordable Care Act is a shift more toward prevention and not let’s let everyone get sick and be a major drain on the system. That’s a pretty tall order, but it also turns the hospital model on its head.

MOORE: It does. Now that part has been easier for us since we had a small inpatient operation to begin with and we’ve significantly grown the outpatient side, but that’s exactly right. On the preventative side, I think that’s where technology is helping. I don’t know what the actual outcome will be eventually, but this electronic medical record allows a provider to make sure they ask the patient

46 | NNY Business | August 2016

2 0 Q U E S T I O NS

15

NNYB: What do you mean by incentives for the patient?

MOORE: Other than convincing the patient you want to be healthy, just with that exhortation are they going to do it? A lot don’t. So, how do you incentivize it? Do you have a higher premium for them if their behaviors are not so good? How do you do that? I don’t like that idea of taxing them if they’re not compliant. You cannot price discriminate based on someone’s health condition.

16

NNYB: What is the outlook and the way forward for care in the north country?

17

NNYB: How do we regionally break through the silo mentality to deliver more cooperative and collaborative care?

MOORE: I think the communities have to, whether it’s the boards of directors of the institutions or the leadership of the community, say look, you guys, you’ve got to fix this in the interest of all of us. Just get to work and fix it. Hold our feet to the fire because if we don’t do this in the next 24 months, we’re going to leave the community with a mess in its hands.

The community needs to come together and say we expect you to deliver and we want you accountable to us. Right now we’re sort of accountable to ourselves. I think it’s got to go beyond that. We have to be much more accountable than we are right now.

18

NNYB: Why the urgency of 24 months?

MOORE: The Department of Health is now conditioning some of their grants on our ability to collaborate and I understand why they’re doing it. They’re trying to move the agenda. If we aren’t successful in that, we won’t have some of the financial support we have now, which can be a spiral, especially for small institutions. So I feel a real sense of urgency to break through this collaborative type of issue.

19

NNYB: After 10 years, how would you grade the health care report card here?

MOORE: I’d give us a B. We need to do more work on our own financial sustainabil-

20

NNYB: If your wish list was limited to one or two things for your hospital that you could fix or improve at, what would they be?

collaboration where we can share physicians because when we have a vacancy we’re small and it impacts us, and it’s hard to recruit so it tends to be lengthy. I would love a collaborative relationship where we share, we plug things in, not only for the financial piece, but to make sure the community’s taken care of. That’s the number one thing I’d like to see. I think the second thing is a real secure financial strategic plan for the whole region. Again, no one’s really put that together.

—Interview by Ken Eysaman.Edited for lenth and clarity to fit this space.

MOORE: The first thing would be a system of

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MOORE: We do have to solve the collaborative issue. I think that’s the most important thing. As I mentioned before, I don’t think we’re all in the same mindset yet to do that.

I hope we get there because I do feel the next 24 months are going to be critical and you’re more successful the more thought and effort you put into it as opposed to an emergency consolidation of some sort, which I think could be disastrous.

ity just so we can assure the community that we’re going to be here for the long haul, to tell our employees we’ve got some of these issues solved and make them feel a little bit more secure. I think there’s nervousness, not just in our hospital, but across the region.

The care I’d say is an A, but overall I think we’re a B because we haven’t moved the institution far enough into the future. That’s the challenge.

and

the questions, it makes sure they have this test or that test, or they talk to them about nutrition and issues like that and then document that, so you can track what’s going on with the patient. The missing piece of that to me is the incentive for the patient and I don’t think the Affordable Care Act provides for that directly.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

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EN T R E PR E NEUR’S EDGE

How to get your content to go viral

Y

ou need more traffic to your site. More interest in your articles. More reaction to your action. You’ve been told a thousand times that the key to making you a master on the web is to create viral content. And so you attempt to do so. But nothing happens. No one tweets you. No one shares you. Basically, no one loves you. So how do you turn things around so your content is contagious? Easy peasy.

RAISE A RUCKUS Seriously. Raise a ruckus and get people talking. Write content that evokes emotion. Certainly not the kind that will start fires or mass riots, no, but the kind that elicits a powerful response.

Remember the picture of the dress that circulated the web? The one that asked whether or not the dress was white and gold or blue and black?

That photo, which originated on Tumblr, went viral almost immediately. News outlets all over the globe picked up on the story. Celebrities weighed in, tweeting their opinion to millions of adoring fans.

The world of science even stepped up, sharing theories to explain why our brains see what they see. Add to that the number of companies that created a knock off version of the dress to sell, and you have a viral result that is unprecedented.

Perhaps you don’t have a questionable image to share, but you may have a questionable opinion to share. Build content

around that, and watch the reaction roll in.

BE THE BEARER OF GOOD NEWS There is a phrase in the news business: If it bleeds it leads. And Joleene Moody while studies show that Americans are more attracted to top stories with gory details, such is not the case

SPELL IT RIGHT Many a grammar critic resides on the web. They lurk in corners, unseen, until you post something that isn’t spelled or worded correctly. Instead of sharing your amazing insight, they pounce on you, reducing your confidence to mere ash as they offer correct spellings so you can be a better person. Your post dies right there, on the battlefield, never to be seen again. Or, like the post of the young lady that unintentionally made it look like she was selling her little sister, gets you in serious trouble with the law.

Punctuation matters. Spelling matters. Grammar matters. If the content is pleasing and easy to read, it is more likely to be shared. But if it’s littered with mistakes and sentences that look like they were written by a third grader, no dice.

Consider breaking up your content with subheads, too.

Readers are more likely to take in all of your amazing wit if you break it up into digestible pieces.

In the end, take the time to write engaging content that makes sense, elicits emotion, and flows well. Have a second set of eyes review your content before you hit send. It could be the difference between a well-intended post and one that gets you thrown in the slammer.

Have a second set of eyes review your content before you hit send. It could be the difference between a well-intended post and one that gets you thrown in the slammer. on the web. Jonah Berger and Katherine L. Milkman of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania published a finding in 2011 that explored 7,000 New York Times articles shared on the Internet. Turns out the majority of stories shared were positive and uplifting. A later analysis published by BuzzSumo in 2014 reported the same thing: Funny, interesting, and amusing content was more likely to circulate than negative and gory.

Write with humor. Write with wit.

And share something that will not only evoke emotion but will do so with a smile and a wink.

n JOLEENE MOODY is a freelance writer, blogger and speaker who lives in Oswego County with her husband and daughter. Learn more at takeyourvoiceback.com. Her column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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N O N P RO FIT S T O D AY

Embracing the call to ‘Lives Matter’

I

n September 1976 my brother, Jim, was shooting baskets with fellow members of the Morgan State University basketball team. It was “open gym” so other students were nearby shooting baskets as well.

No big deal, except for one minor detail: Jim had just shown up on campus as the first white player to receive a basketball scholarship to Baltimore’s “historically black” Morgan State.

One basket over, two Morgan State upper-classmen let their feelings be known. White privilege was rampant in America; “Another brother,” they said, deserved that scholarship instead of a middle-class Caucasian.

Jim didn’t get a chance to respond. The captain of the basketball team came over, explained in colorful language that Jim was his teammate and that was that. Then he added for good measure, “And if they did give the scholarship to another brother, it wouldn’t been either one of you cause you’re both terrible ... ” America is full of stories of interracial kindness, humor, guardianship and dependence. And these occasions mold us. Years ago I visited Ireland, where most of my DNA originated, and came away realizing one thing: I had more in common with any black American than I did with the Irish kinsmen I met in pubs and on the road that week. On the world stage, race and gender generally yield to one’s native culture.

Of course, what that native culture in America means is up for debate. As civil rights icon C.T. Vivian once said to me about race relations in America, “Oh yeah, things are getting better for black Americans. The knife used to be six inches deep

in my back. Now it’s only five.”

Today we are being challenged to explain/ understand our American culture, as seemingly defined by horrific videos showing citizens and cops being Bob Gorman shot to death.

And for most of us, all we can come up with is another cliché about violence begetting violence.

In Watertown, words do matter to the Rev. Jeffrey Smith, and he knows words can be heard differently because we have varied experiences with American education, justice, the economy, etc.

As the first black pastor at First Baptist Church, the Rev. Smith navigates worlds of black and white and the hot-button words that come with them. You want to march and chant? He would rather gather and embrace. Do “Black Lives Matter”?

Yes. And so do the lives of Central Americans who milk cows on north country dairy farms.

When the Rev. Smith began to organize an event for July 12 to allow local residents to summon the better angels of our nature, he settled on the term “All Lives Matter” as his theme. A day later he had shortened it to “Lives Matter.”

Denotation? Seemingly not much difference. But connotation? To those who support the term “Black Lives Matter,” the counter-use of the term “All Lives Matter” connotes dismissiveness. Such as, “Of

course black lives matter, because all lives matter. So grow up and move on.”

But “Lives Matter” doesn’t seem to elicit the same vibe. It’s sounds like a plea rather than a command. And it likely wasn’t lost on attendees of the event that the shortest — and perhaps most powerful — verse in the Bible is also a mere two words, “Jesus wept.” (John 11: 35) “Lives Matter” also sums up our nonprofit community, which every day provides care to citizens regardless of the circumstances — inflicted or selfinflicted —that overwhelm them. If you want to know who the “others” are in our community, dare to volunteer at one of our mental health, substance abuse and critical needs nonprofits.

Still, we are left to wonder. Is violence in our streets a passing trend? Is it the new normal? Or, instead, are we in the midst of a modern-day remake of the Battle of the Bulge, in which the enemies of goodness have unleashed a desperate assault to prevent the world from growing closer to experiencing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

As our country continues to navigate minimum wage hikes, terrorist threats, transgender bathrooms and manufacturing job loss, the fraying of society that leads to distrust of those we do not know will grow.

And clichés will abound.

Embracing the call to “Lives Matter” is one simple way to help ensure that America’s most famous words, “E Pluribus Unum” don’t also become a cliché. n ROBERT D. GORMAN is president and CEO of United Way of Northern New York. Contact him at bgorman@unitedway-nny.org or 7885631. His column appears every other month in NNY Business.

August 2016 | NNY Business

| 51

COM M E R CE CORNER

Workplace wellness: It really can be fun

M

any of us spend a long day sitting in front of a computer, eating lunch at our desks, and eventually feeling the negative impacts of this routine on our health and wellness. When you think about it, this daily practice is not normal. Even on your biggest “couch potato” day at home, it is unlikely that you will sit in a chair in front of a screen for eight hours straight, unless of course, there is a great series marathon on Netflix.

The Institute for Health Care Consumerism notes that for many companies “health costs use up 50 percent or more of their corporate profits.

In fact, the indirect costs of poor health, such as an absence from work and reduced work productivity, can result in two or three times the amount of direct medical costs.”

Here are some small tips on breaking up your day to feel better physically, mentally and emotionally.

Get your steps in. Set a goal for steps per day, starting with 5,000. Utilize a basic pedometer or a wrist device that connects to your smart phone to track how many steps you get. You will quickly see how little you get on a work day versus a weekend. Set your goal and keep an eye on it throughout the day. Think

about parking your car farther away, taking a walk around the block during lunch or on your break. A 5,000 stepsper-day goal is achievable by anyone, with Brooke Rouse a little bit of awareness and very little effort. You can make it a chal-

things. The fresh air, side-by-side contact, sunshine and physical activity may make for a more productive interaction ... and you’ll be talking so much you won’t even realize that you hit your 5,000 steps.

Fun with food. Instead of placing mass orders at your local fast food restaurant, schedule a staff lunch every week or month and rotate who brings in the dishes; highlighting fresh ingredients of course. During farmers market season you can create a recipe challenge with certain unusual vegetables. Create a binder in the office to add each recipe to and make a little cook book for everyone at the end of the year.

Understand your workplace rights for breaks during the day, and use that time to get up and about, rather than continue to work at your computer or opting to check your Facebook updates. Talk to your employer about creating a wellness program in your company. A healthy workforce is a productive workforce. Some insurance companies even decrease premiums when a wellness program is in place.

The Institute for Health Care Consumerism notes that for many companies ‘health costs use up to 50 percent or more of their corporate profits. In fact, ‘the indirect costs of poor health, such as an absence from work and reduced work productivity, can result in two or three times the amount of direct medical costs.’

52 | NNY Business | August 2016

lenge in your office by creating a chart or utilizing the apps to track and motivate each other. Up your step goal as soon as you feel like you are in a routine of walking more.

Walk and talk. Ask your supervisor or your colleague to discuss a topic over a walk, instead of while sitting across the table from each other. Brainstorm new ideas, have your evaluation conversation, or go over any other topics while you walk. Endorphins help to reduce stress while you are talking about threatening, exciting, or intimidating

n BROOKE ROUSE is executive director of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agent. She is a business owner, holds a master’s degree in tourism and is a former SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center Advisor. Contact her at brouse@ stlawrencecountychamber.org or 386-4000.

AG RIBU S I NE S S

Come grow with us in the north country

I

f you are driving on Interstate 81 in the Watertown area, you may have noticed two very large Holstein dairy cows watching you drive by. Their faces are almost 11-feet tall and nearly 8-feet wide. That’s a large Holstein by any standard.

You’ll notice the girls are wearing some “bling” around their necks, are decked out in horns and seem to have a quizzical look while watching you pass by. If you are driving on I-81 northbound, you can see one of the cows high atop a hill just as you pass exit 44. The other cow is watching you as you travel southbound on I-81. She is on the left side of the highway right near the Home Depot. These two cows aren’t just there chewing their cud, they have a big job to do. They are the faces of our new “Come Grow With Us” campaign.

Several months ago, the Board of Directors of Jefferson County Economic Development were reviewing the new JeffersonCountyAgriculture.com website.

Board members felt strongly that this new website would be a helpful tool in attracting new agribusinesses to Jefferson County and they also wanted to make the public in Jefferson County aware of the site as an information resource about agriculture. They directed staff to undertake a significant marketing effort to attract Canadian agribusinesses that may be interested in a U.S. location to Jefferson County and do it in such a manner to alert county residents about the site.

Staff put together a marketing plan that

will primarily target agribusinesses in the Toronto to Ottawa area of Ontario Canada. Using a variety of marketing tools, the JCED team wants to build recognition in Jay Matteson this portion of Canada of the Watertown area as a natural fit for locating agribusinesses; food processors, feed manufacturing, equipment manufacturing and other agriculturally related business.

The JCED team identified online, television, billboards, radio and print advertising as the best way to saturate and build brand recognition.

The concept of the Holstein cow watching commuters driving by Watertown was developed in house for use on the billboards, print and in some of the online advertising. A local company, Inkwell Graphics, took the cow concept and enhanced it into the design. Based on public response the office is receiving, people are enjoying the new faces as they approach Watertown. With nearly 385,000 dairy cows within 100 miles of Watertown, the Holstein girls certainly are part of our culture in Northern New York.

Quality Productions, a subsidiary of WPBS TV, was contacted to develop the television commercial. Its concept, based on the content of the website, was to

articulate an agricultural business person looking for sites for a new agribusiness.

The person came to jeffersoncountyagri culture.com in their search and found the information he needed to locate a site for his project and successfully cut the ribbon on the new business. The television advertisement is now running, reaching into Canadian markets while also being available to local viewers. The audio from the television ad worked well for use on radio advertising on several local stations that have broad appeal into Canada.

A Cooperative Business Recruitment Grant from National Grid was obtained to help defray the local cost of the Canadian Marketing campaign. The initiative is designed to provide intense outreach for a four month period into Canada.

Some aspects of the effort may extend longer. At the end of the four month period, JCED staff will evaluate the success of the campaign and determine if it was effective and how to fund any extensions of the effort.

Meanwhile, our two Holstein girls will continue to watch over the commuters on Interstate 81. The girls would like the public to name them, so any name suggestions may be sent to coordinator@ comefarmwithus.com. We’ll let you know if any names are used. n JAY M. MATTESON is agricultural coordinator for the Jefferson County Local Development Corp. He is a lifelong Northern New York resident who lives in Lorraine. Contact him at coordinator@comefarmwithus.com. His column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

| 53

B U S I N E SS TECH BYTES

Health care IT advances across region

H

ealth care IT is undoubtedly a north country industry that has seen scores of advances.

This year, you have most likely found that health care providers have successfully transitioned from a primarily paper-based system to a technology-driven digital one.

Where consumer health care cost savings is questionable, better patient care, which allows patients to be more actively engaged in their own care and ultimately healthier, can be credited to these IT advances.

As modern health care has become reliant on information technology systems to provide the best quality care to patients, many institutions have begun to rely on a converged IT infrastructure to get the best of reliability and performance with minimal hardware compatibility issues.

In health care IT, it’s been found that the real value of a converged, cloud-based infrastructure will be recognizing cost reductions in cooling and power consumption, while being able to improve time to market with technological medical advances. Converged infrastructures offer a way to address the digital health care transformation by allowing health care institutions to better focus on the core priorities of patient care.

It seems we can’t go a day without another data breach, and cyber-criminals have quickly learned that patient health care data has way more value than their credit card data. Security has become a major concern in health care IT as the whole security threat landscape has evolved sharply in the past few years.

The biggest fear is if health care IT systems do go down, the ability to provide patient care can become significantly compromised.

Many IT health care systems have Jill Van Hoesen incurred considerable costs related to deploying data encryption, multifactor authentication methods and increased physical safeguards. Is it

agement and keeping the lights on are all very important aspects of health care IT, but they certainly aren’t the only ones.

When institutions invest in IT, they begin to offer patients a higher level of engagement and involvement in their own care that just wasn’t possible before these technological advances. Today it is orders and results flowing seamlessly between rural clinics and hospitals, while a patient can view their health care summary in near real-time on a patient portal.

Geographic distances between facilities is nearly nonexistent as the ability to get potentially life-saving information to another provider at the click of a button, is possible and has become a real game changer. This new infrastructure inevitably leads to better patient care and outcomes, as health care professionals securely access and exchange patient records in real time.

The IT transformation in the entire health care industry has been largely driven by mandates addressing the use of electronic health records and the corresponding growth of digital tools and solutions to assist in health care delivery and patient care. This has placed a significant pressure on many small and rural facilities that lack large IT teams or budgets.

Something we can say is definitely true of many health care institutions throughout many parts of Northern New York.

When institutions invest in IT, they begin to offer patients a higher level of engagement and involvement in their own care that just wasn’t possible before these technological advances.

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54 | NNY Business | August 2016

enough to keep the data in and the bad guys out? Institutions certainly hope so.

If there’s an IT outage in the retail or even the travel sector, it can cost a lot of people a lot of time and money. But the stakes are much higher when there’s a tech outage in health care and it can easily have many, much more severe consequences. First, health care IT has two aspects that can be affected, business and clinical. An outage that affects any part of the revenue cycle process can indeed cost a lot of money, but that’s far less troubling than one that affects the clinical systems and direct patient care.

Cost reduction, data and records man-

n JILL VAN HOESEN is chief information officer for Johnson Newspapers and a 25-year IT veteran. Contact her at jvanhoesen@wdt.net.

Her column appears monthly in NNY Business.

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SMAL L BU SIN E SS SU CC E S S

Understand options for crowdfunding

C

rowdfunding, using various internet platforms like GoFundMe and Kickstarter to reach multiple investors, has been increasing by leaps and bounds over the last few years. So is crowdfunding a possibility for your business?

Certain types of products or businesses work better for crowdfunding than others.

New and exciting businesses and products, nonprofits that can help people connect to a cause, or anything else that could get regular people excited to donate their hard-earned money may do well with crowdfunding.

Individuals can use crowdfunding too, but this article is focused on business use.

There are three main types of crowdfunding. The first is rewards crowdfunding, which promises investors with some sort of reward ... from a T-shirt to a product prototype, in exchange for a donation.

There are also two types of investment crowdfunding. The first, lending crowdfunding, is similar to getting a loan, when investors choose to lend money to a project knowing that they will be repaid with interest. Equity crowdfunding gives investors a share in the company.

Running a successful crowdfunding campaign takes planning. You will want to start by choosing the platform that is the best fit for your business and researching their pricing policies. Make sure you check out successful projects on the site you are investigating, to see if this platform would be effective for your company. Chance Barnett, author of several crowdfunding articles at Forbes.com, has pulled together an overview of many of the platforms. I recommend his articles for further reading: 1) GoFundMe is best for individuals and social campaigners. The site takes 5 percent

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of each donation, but it is free to create a campaign.

2) Indiegogo is good for a wide range of projects and is often used by artists, musicians, entrepreneurs and Jennifer McCluskey humanitarians.

It has flexible billing options.

3) Kickstarter is a fundraising platform for creative projects. Its “all or nothing” policy means that users are not charged for their pledges until the fundraiser reaches the preset goal.

4) Fundable was created exclusively to help business start-ups. Fundable is best for businesses looking for venture capital and support and are willing to offer equity in the company.

5) CircleUp is for companies who make a tangible product. Most provide product samples as rewards.

6) MicroVentures is best for start-up businesses focusing on emerging technology and looking for angel investors, since it combines venture capital and crowdfunding options.

Many more new platforms start every day. There are also specialty platforms that focus more exclusively on topics like music, healthcare, or non-profits.

Make sure when you are looking at a platform, you clearly understand the fee structure and see that it is a reputable company. You may have to pay even if your project does not meet goals. It’s a good idea to choose your crowdfunding site based on

You Name the Countertop Type, We Can Do It

the project types they focus on, the existing community of members already on the platform, as well as how the funding would be structured.

You will also want to plan out your marketing and social media strategies to promote the campaign well in advance. The early stages of a campaign are the most important to build momentum for your project.

You should develop a compelling sales pitch that gets people excited and on board.

Effective campaign strategies usually tell a compelling story, and also focus on what an investor will gain from partnering with your company. If you are choosing rewards crowdfunding, you will need to set different levels of rewards that are each motivational for investors.

Look at the really successful campaigns for rewards ideas. If you are looking for investment capital, you will need to have your legal paperwork ready before you begin.

Know in advance what terms you will offer investors and have an accurate valuation of your company. Having a few investors already lined up before you start, or engaging with reputable partner organizations that will encourage people to trust your business can be important for accelerating a campaign quickly. Make sure you figure out your budget. How many backers at different levels do you need to meet your goals?

If you are interested in learning more about crowdfunding or developing a crowdfunding marketing plan, you can contact the Small Business Development Center at either SUNY Canton (315) 3867312 or JCC in Watertown (315) 782-9262. n JENNIFER McCLUSKEY is a certified business advisor with the New York State Small Business Development Center at SUNY Canton.

Contact her at mccluskeyj@canton.edu. Her column appears bi-monthly in NNY Business.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

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COMMUNITY / BUSINESS CALENDAR

ADAMS SUNDAY, SEPT. 11

n 6th annual Bicycle Heart Ride, 9 a.m., Adams Municipal Building, 3 South Main St. Includes 5-mile and 20-mile routes.

Benefits the South Jefferson Rescue Squad.

Cost: 5-mile, $20; 20-mile, $30; students aged 18 and younger, $10. Information: southjeffersonrescue.org.

ADAMS CENTER SATURDAY, AUG. 27

n Annual TaTa Run, 9 a.m., FX Caprara Harley-Davidson, 17890 Goodnough St. Hosted by Watertown Chrome Divas.

Registration slated for 9 a.m. at FX Caprara; kickstands up, 11:00 a.m. Ride ends at Adams VFW, 3 VFW Drive. Includes raffles, food, auction and music. Cost: rider, $20; passenger, $15; includes dinner. Information: chromedivas.com.

ALEXANDRIA BAY THURSDAY, AUG. 18

n Pirates Festival at the Winery, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thousand Islands Winery, 43298 Seaway Ave., Suite 1. Includes live music by The Bad Husbands Club and food is provided by Johnny D’s. Cost: $5.

Information: 482-9306.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 1 TO MONDAY, SEPT. 5

n 16th Annual Blues in the Bay Festival, Upper James Street. This five-day music festival features waterfront views, a pleasurable atmosphere and a variety of blues music.

Cost: Free. Information: Alexandria Bay Chamber of Commerce, visitalexbay.org.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 16 TO SATURDAY, SEPT. 17

n 2nd Annual Alexandria Bay Wine Festival and Farmers Market, View Park Pavilion, Fuller Street. This event features local farms, businesses and wineries. Cost: $10. Information: Alexandria Bay Chamber of Commerce, visitalexbay.org. n Fishing for Freedom Thousand Islands Bass Tournament, Friday in downtown Alexandria Bay, Saturday at Bonnie Castle Resort, 31 Holland St., Fishing for Freedom

56 | NNY Business | August 2016

Thousand Islands Bass Tournament honors Active Military by celebrating freedom and outdoor recreation in Northern New York.

It is also a fundraiser for Carthage Area Hospital Foundation and the Fort Drum USO. Cost: Contact for prices, Information: fishingforfreedomti.com.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

n Jefferson Leadership Institute Class of 2016 Kick-Off Dinner, 6 p.m. to 9p.m., Riveredge Resort Hotel, 17 Holland St. To register call the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Cost: Per person $50; alumni, $30; corporate table, $450. Information: GWNC Chamber of Commerce, 788-4400 or chamber@ watertownny.com.

CANTON FRIDAY, AUG. 19

n 11th Annual Frederic Remington Golf Classic, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., St Lawrence University Golf Course, 100 E. Main St. Dinner will follow the tournament at the Best Western, 90 E. Main St. Cost: $75 per golfer. Information: 393-2425.

CAPE VINCENT SATURDAY, SEPT. 24

n Oktoberfest, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Cape Vincent Village Green. The event includes vendors, crafts, food and music. Cost: Contact for prices. Information: Cape Vincent Chamber of Commerce, capevincent.org.

CARTHAGE WEDNESDAYS

n Cruise In Classic Auto Show, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Turning Point Park. Includes food, prizes, music and a raffle. Proceeds to benefit the American Legion Scholarship Fund. Cost: Free. Information: 493-2787.

CLAYTON SATURDAY, AUG. 27 TO SUNDAY, AUG. 28

n 33rd Annual Arts and Crafts Show and Sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Thousand Islands Arts Center, 314 John St. Information: 686-4123.

SUNDAY, AUG. 28

n River Rat Triathlon, 7 a.m., Centennial Park. Proceeds to benefit Children’s Miracle Network. Consists of 600 meter swim or 3 mile kayak/canoe/stand up paddleboard, 16.75 mile road bike and 3.3 mile run. Check in slated for 7 a.m.; kayak/ canoe/stand up paddleboard start, 8:30 a.m.; swim start, 9 a.m. Cost: by Aug. 1: individual, $50; team, $40 per person; Aug. 2 to Aug. 16: individual, $60; team, $50 per person; $10 additional fee to register race day. Register: active.com.

Information: mbocciolat@shsny.com.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 10 TO SUNDAY, SEPT. 11

n 30th Annual Thousand Islands Train Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Clayton Recreational Center Ice Arena Clayton, 615 E Line Road.

Train Show dealers will be on site buying and selling train related items. Train clubs of various scales will be operating layouts in the arena. Cost: Adults, $4; children, $2; family, $10. Information: Tom Barker, 489-1856.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23

n Clayton Jazz Festival, 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Clayton Opera House, 403 Riverside Drive. This event features Fritzel’s New Orleans Jazz Band with Brighton Beat. Cost: $25 to $45. Information: Clayton Opera House, 686-2200 or claytonoperahouse.com.

ELLISBURG WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24

n 5:30-7:30 p.m., South Jeff Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, The Old Creamery, 12022 State Route 193, Ellisburg. Beverages and appetizers served.

Featuring The Old Creamery, Hart Woodworking, and John Allen Sanitation. Meet and support the small business owners in your neighborhood, hear their stories and network. Cost: Free.

FORT DRUM WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 14

n Career Portfolio & Interviewing Workshop, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Army Community Service, P-4330 Conway Road. Learn how to set up and display your portfolio, and get tips and tricks to ace your next interview. Cost: Free.

com/lifestyle/shopping/syracuse-style.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 8

n Westcott Street Cultural Fair, 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Westcott Community Center, 826 Euclid Ave. There is entertainment at six stages including music, dance and kids performances. The fair also features local artists selling handmade items, food and a parade. Cost: Free. Information: 3135447 or westcottstreetfair.org.

n Build Your Own Business, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Army Community Service, P-4330 Conway Road. Small Business Development Center at Jefferson Community College and the Employment Readiness program provide instruction on starting a new business. Cost: Free. Information: 772-9611 or fortdrumacs.checkappointments.com.

MONDAY, SEPT. 12 TO TUESDAY, SEPT. 13

n Boots 2 Business, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Clark Hall, Mount Belvedere Blvd., Fort Drum. A two-day course for soldiers transitioning out of the service and interested in starting a business. Course offers information on business opportunities in the area, including home-based retail, service industry and online. Participants will learn about researching potential markets and how to find licensing and funding opportunities.

Requirement: three-day Department of Labor SFL-TAP briefing. Information: ACAP, 772-3434 or sbdc@sunyjefferson.edu.

MANNSVILLE WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22

n 5:30-7:30 p.m. South Jeff Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours, S&R Motors, 440 N Main St. Beverages and appetizers served. Meet and support the small business owners in your neighborhood, hear their stories and network. Cost: Free.

Information: South Jeff Chamber of Commerce, 232-4215 or southjeffchamber.org.

SACKETS HARBOR SATURDAY, AUG. 27

n Cruisin’ in the Harbor, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Downtown Sackets Harbor. Enjoy classic cars and motorcycles while listening to live music at the Visitor’s Center. Cost: Contact for prices. Information: Sackets Harbor Chamber of Commerce, 646-1700.

Information: South Jeff Chamber of Commerce, 232-4215 or southjeffchamber.org.

SYRACUSE THURSDAY, AUG. 25 TO MONDAY, SEPT. 5

n Great New York State Fair, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Empire Expo Center, New York State Fairgrounds, 581 State Fair Blvd.

The fair features rides, food, new products, agricultural displays, New York State products and live music. Cost: Contact for prices. Information: 800-234-4797 or nysfair.ny.gov.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 15

n Syracuse Style Fashion Event, 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Armory Square, South Franklin and Walton Streets. The premier fashion event showcases downtown apparel boutiques and salons with a runway fashion show. All proceeds benefit the Food Bank of Central New York. Cost: Free admission.

Information: Downtown Committee of Syracuse, 422-8284 or downtownsyracuse.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 18

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21

n CEO Talks: Branding the Destination, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., 235 Harrison St. Join the discussion about how you and your organization can shape and change the perception of Syracuse and its viability as a vibrant and inviting destination.

Cost: Non-member, $25; member, free.

Information: CenterState CEO, 470-1800 or centerstateceo.com.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 29

n BizBuzz Social Media Conference, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., SKY Armory, 351 S. Clinton St., The BizBuzz Social Media Conference explores the industry’s latest strategies so business leaders, marketers and practitioners stay on top of their social media game. Cost: Early bird, $99; conference pass, $125; student conference pass, $50. Information: Alyssa Kessler, 422-9400 or bizbuzzconf.com.

FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

n Business Innovation Days meeting, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., The Tech Garden, 235 Harrison St. Entrepreneurs and small business owners meet with a counselor from the Small Business Development Center at Onondaga Community College for advice and assistance opportunities. Information: 498-6070 or SBDC@sunyocc.edu.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

n Introduction to Business Startup, Small Business Development Center, 4 to 6 p.m., Mulroy Hall, Onondaga Community College, 4585 West Seneca Turnpike.

Information: 498-6070 or cnyastd.org. n Syracuse Business Networking, 6 to 7 p.m., Barbieri’s Restaurant, 304 S. Main St. Cost: Free. Information: Kim Bachstein, 414-8223 or info@SyracuseBusinessNet working.com.

EVERY THURSDAY

n Free Business Counseling with SCORE, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Tioga County Chamber of Commerce, 80 North Ave. Information: Tioga Chamber of Commerce, 1- (607) 687-2020.

EVERY FRIDAY

n 40 Above: Workers in Transition, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Northern Onondaga Public Library at North Syracuse, 100 Trolley Barn Lane. Helping job seekers aged 40 and above in search of work.

Information: John A. Cruty, 569-3964 or crutij@yahoo.com.

WADDINGTON TUESDAY, AUG. 23

n Business in the Spotlight, 5 p.m. to 7

p.m., JC’s River Run, 17 Bowling Court.

This networking event spotlights up to eight St. Lawrence Chamber of Commerce member businesses and organizations.

Cost: $5. Information: 877-228-7810 or business.northcountryguide.com/.

WATERTOWN THURSDAY, AUG. 18

n Business After Hours, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Fairfield Inn & Suites, 250 Commerce Park Drive. Register by noon on Wednesday, Aug. 17. Cost: registered members, $ 10; non-registered members, $12; nonmembers, $15. Information: Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, 788-4400 or chamber@ watertownny.com.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 8

n Athena Award Presentation and Dinner, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, 1290 Arsenal St. The Athena Award is presented to an individual who is recognized for professional excellence, for providing valuable service to their community and for actively assisting women in realizing their full leadership potential. This year’s recipient is Carole McCoy, president of Jefferson Community College. Cost: Per person, $50; corporate table of eight, $450. Information: Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, 788-4400 or chamber@watertownny.com.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 9

n Sue Day Memorial Gold Tournament, 8:30 a.m., Ives Hill Country Club, 435 West Flower Ave. All proceeds benefit the JRC Foundation in our mission to support people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Cost: Per person, $90; teams, $340. Information: Michelle Carpenter, (315) 836-1363, macarpenter@jeffrehabcenter.org or thejrc.org.

WEDNESDAYS THROUGH OCT. 5

n Watertown Farm & Craft Market, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., a program of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce. Market stretches along Washington Street in Downtown Watertown from the State Office Building Plaza north to the Morgan Stanley Building. Wide variety of farm and craft products. Rain or shine. Vendor list and more info: watertownfarmersmarket.weebly.com.

COMMUNITY / BUSINESS CALENDAR

Information: 772-9611 or fortdrumacs. checkappointments.com.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21

n Business After Hours, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Community Bank, 216 Washington St. Register by noon, Tuesday, Sept. 20. Cost: registered members, $ 10; non-registered members, $12; nonmembers, $15. Information: Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, 788-4400 or chamber@watertownny.com.

 GOT A BUSINESS EVENT or calendar item? Email nnybusiness@wdt.net. Deadline is the 10th of each month for the following month’s issue. Visit us on Facebook at www. facebook.com/NNYBusiness or www.nny bizmag.com for events calendar updates.

August 2016 | NNY Business

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B U SI N E SS S CENE History in the Garden, The Walton Homestead, Watertown

Carol Wardwell and husband, and Bob, Watertown.

From left, Kathie Carr, Chaumont, Virginia “Ginny” Champagne, Theresa.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

Karen Walton and husband, David. The Waltons hosted the Jefferson County Historical Society’s “History in the Garden” event on Saturday, July 9, at their homestead and gardens on Rome State Road, Watertown. The Historical Society presented its annual Awards of Distinction at the event.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

Clockwise from left, Peter Walton, wife, Michele, and daughters Ella and Kendall.

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BU SIN E SS S C E NE GWNC Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours at AT&T, Evans Mills

Robert Ferris and wife, Debbie, owners, Big Apple Music, Extreme Rides, and Big Apple Plaza, Evans Mills.

From left, Brandy Snyder and Bonnie Towles, ACR Health, Watertown.

KAREE MAGEE PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Rebecca Mabry, AmeriCu Credit Union, and Madeline Donovan, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik’s office, Watertown. AT&T Premier Technologies hosted the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce July Business After Hours on Wednesday, July 21, at its Evans Mills location.

KAREE MAGEE PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Robert Dalton, Paddock Club, Watertown, and Jill Parker, Victims Assistance Center, Watertown, and the GWNC Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Watertown.

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B U S I N E SS SCENE GWNC Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours at AT&T, Evans Mills

From left, Melissa Snyder and Meagan Antonelli, both of Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, and Andrew LaPlaca, AT&T Premier Technologies, Evans Mills.

KAREE MAGEE PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

Julie Daniels, The WorkPlace, Watertown, and Manfred Laube, Watertown Toastmasters. AT&T Premier Technologies hosted the Greater WatertownNorth Country Chamber of Commerce July Business After Hours on Wednesday, July 21, at its Evans Mills location.

60 | NNY Business | August 2016

From left, Robin Cortese and Jill LeWorthy, both of AT&T Premier Technologies, Evans Mills.

KAREE MAGEE PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Shana Bates, Perrywinkles, Watertown, and Mike Haight, U.S. Air Force, Fort Drum.

BU SIN E SS S C E NE SLC Chamber of Commerce Business in the Spotlight at Coffee Fever, Star Lake

From left, Jake Malcomb, Nature Up North-St. Lawrence University, Canton, and Michael Colello, Rainbow Restoration, Watertown.

From left, Connie Green and Yolanda McPhatter, both of Community Bank, Canton.

JENNIFER McCLUSKEY PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

JENNIFER McCLUSKEY PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

Chris Cooper and wife, Elizabeth, Coffee Fever, Star Lake. Coffee Fever hosted the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce July Business in the Spotlight on Thursday, July 27. Spotlighted businesses included: Coffee Fever, Community Bank, Gouverneur-St. Lawrence County Fair, McCluskey Photography, Nature Up North, Rainbow International of Watertown, SLIC Network Solutions and the St. Lawrence County IDA.

From left, Mark Cornett, Jeff Truskowski, Chad Orologio, all of SLIC Network Solutions, Potsdam.

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B U SI N E SS S CENE River Hospital 14th annual Festive Evening at Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina

From left, Lee Bentz, Clayton, and Heather Gazdik, Freighters, Clayton.

From left, Willa Collins and Ella Fornari, Brooklyn.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Stacy DiCorte and Andrea Pfeiffer, both of River Hospital, Alexandria Bay. River Hospital held its 14th annual Festive Evening at Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina, Alexandria Bay, on Sunday, July 31.

From left, Rock Rockell and wife, Mary Jo, Rockell Island.

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BU SIN E SS S C E NE River Hospital 14th annual Festive Evening at Bonnie Castle Resort & Marina

From left, Cindy Penn and Josh Larson, both of Alexandria Bay.

From left, Arminda Hunter and Judy Eves, both of River Hospital, Alexandria Bay.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Margot Menkel, Kelsey Cullen, Geneva Wagoner, Kaitlin Irvine and Madison Cullen, all of Uncle Sam Boat Tours, Alexandria Bay.

KEN EYSAMAN PHOTOS | NNY BUSINESS

From left, Kathy Morris, River Hospital Foundation, Alexandria Bay, B.J. Mosher, Treasure Island Jewelry, Alexandria Bay, Sarah Compo, New York State Sen. Patty Ritchie’s office, Watertown, and father, Tom, Thomas Motor Co., Watertown.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

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FDRHPO, from page 27 nity health assessment, which is conducted every three years.

“We put together strong data analytics,” Mrs. Young said. “We help all hospitals in the three counties conduct their community health needs assessment and planning, and we provide them with data to build a three-year plan to improve community health.”

The FDRHPO is completing its next community health needs assessment, which is conducted every three years, Mrs. Young said.

“Now we’re redoing it” to continue to provide the most up-to-date information, she said.

The North Country Compass is a customized website, so those visiting it are able to research particular incidences of diseases and medical conditions in specific areas of the region.

Each indicator contains detailed information and statistics, such as rates of chronic diseases, suicide and binge drinking, she said “The North Country Health Compass is a huge resource and tool for the region,” Mrs. Young said. “We’re always in the process of updating the information.”

WORKERS, from page 29 cludes an intensive interview process to be accepted, quizzes, a midterm and final, and 21 lab skills, three of which are picked randomly when students take the practical state exam.

Samaritan incurs all expenses including textbooks, workbooks, scrubs and testing fees.

The home health aid program is a threeweek training program.

“It gives us that availability to fill those areas,” Ms. Robinson said. “We tailor the program to what we want to see in those CNAs and we reinforce those values throughout the program.”

The shortage has had an impact on nursing education across the board in the north country, including the programs at JCC and SUNY Canton.

When Cooley and others in the nursing department at JCC noticed a shortage starting around 2008 to 2009, they discussed how they could expand the associate degree program.

The solution was the Weekend Nursing Program that was started in 2010, where nursing students who couldn’t fit into the full weekday program or couldn’t attend weekday classes could take classes every other weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“We always have more applicants than we have seats available,” Ms. Cooley said. “It has allowed us to increase our enrollment.”

In response to the shortage, SUNY Can64 | NNY Business | August 2016

BUILDING THE HEALTH CARE WORKFORCE The FDRHPO has been encouraging young people for several years to consider entering the health care field by exposing them to possible careers through programs such as Medical Academy of Science and Health, or MASH. The three-day camps give high school students an opportunity to explore careers in the health care field through experiences such as tours and demonstrations in hospitals departments, including the operating room, laboratory and emergency departments.

The MASH Camps are held at several hospitals throughout the region, and show young people there are a large variety of “good paying, sustainable and rewarding jobs” in the health care field, Mrs. Young said.

The organization has also partnered with Jefferson Community College to establish continuing medical education partnerships with facilities such as Upstate University Hospital for nurse practitioner training and Keuka College for bachelor’s degree programs in social work.

“More than 20 people have gone into the nurse practitioner program through

Upstate,” Mrs. Young said. “We’re also seeing a large increase in people going on to pursue their master’s in social work, which will help meet the shortage of behavioral health providers.”

“We are continuing to grow those graduate medical education programs,” she added.

The agency has also helped to establish a care coordinator training program for health care providers who monitor patients with chronic illness after discharge from the hospital. The FDRHPO worked with both Jefferson Community College and SUNY Canton to establish the North Country Care Coordination Certificate Training Program.

Also recognizing the expanding field of health technology, the FDRHPO helped to establish a certificate training program to help meet the demand for more people to enter that field, with a focus on issues such as electronic medical records systems.

Stephen Jennings, Public Health Planner, Jefferson County Public Health, called the FDRHPO “a convener of the entire regional health system.”

“It was needed because the health care system was changing so drastically in

ton’s nursing program instituted a bachelor of science in nursing for RNs who want to continue their education, and Debra Backus, nursing director at SUNY Canton, said the school is preparing to include a dual degree program and a master’s in nursing.

The nursing shortage has also spurred on changes in the hospitals accommodate work-life balance and support their staff to improve retention.

Carthage Area Hospital renovated its medical-surgical unit by constructing a centralized nursing station after following up with staff about improvements that could be made.

Mr. Olson, said he’s receive help from the Studer Group, an organization that help with health care coaching, to provide a better, staff-driven environment by encouraging staff input.

“We talked to the staff, which is the most important thing,” he said. “I think they were a little surprised. It’s a novel concept.”

Mr. Britt said Samaritan is also concerned with making the hospital a better work environment, which is why it tracks turnover to determine if it’s a trend that can be fixed.

“We’ll do whatever we can to keep an employee,” he said. “We will work with the employee.”

That includes the CNA training program.

Instructors follow-up and build relationships with their students to make sure they are happy in their new positions and to

provide a feeling of security.

“It’s more personal because being new they don’t feel comfortable going to a manager,” said Kim Fleming, nurse aid instructor at Samaritan.

Ms. North said that Massena Memorial is also considering a relaxation room for the staff where they could de-stress.

A lot of changes have been made to nursing programs in the north country, but Ms. Cooley said that it’s just the beginning.

Jefferson Community College has been working on providing more clinical experience in community health care with organizations like Jefferson County Rehabilitation because there will be an increase in those jobs as well.

“I think you’re going to see nursing programs expand and offer more community experience, such as public health, hospice and JRCs because health care is switching more toward needs in the community,” she said. “The key is to be aware of the needs of the individual communities and then coordinate and collaborate with the communities.”

With the programs being established at the hospitals, though, Ms. Cooley said that the nursing shortage is on its way to recovery.

“They are on the right path,” she said.

“They are staying on top of what the needs are. Now it’s just a matter of recouping.” n KAREE MAGEE is a magazine associate for NNY Magazines. Contact her at kmagee@wdt. net or 661-2381.

a short period of time” with the increase of troops at Fort Drum, he said.

As grant funding became increasingly competitive at both the state and federal levels, “we were in a much better position to demonstrate collaboration and partnerships” because of the FDRHPO, Mr. Jennings said.

The north country “has been in a position to go after funding because of FDRHPO and all the data they have generated, along with the cooperative working relationship among its members, hospitals, health care agencies and other organizations,” he added.

Mr. Jennings also serves as the cochairman of the North Country Health Compass partnership, a group of providers who meet monthly to collaborate and plan for health care needs based on the data collected through the FDRHPO. Providers from Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties belong to the partnership and have been focusing on three areas: chronic disease prevention, maternal and child health, and mental health issues.

Data from the North Country Health Compass and other resources was used to help apply for the state funding to establish a recovery center in Jefferson County, he said. Pivot, formerly the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council of Jefferson County, was awarded $1.75 million through the state’s Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to establish a “recovery community and outreach center” in the city to help address, among other issues, the region’s heroin on opioid epidemic.

Health care providers have also been focusing on suicide prevention efforts, Mr. Jennings said. Although the number of suicides in the north country appear to be low, the actual rate is high based on the population, he said.

Other initiatives by the partnership have included working on increasing colorectal cancer screening, and access to Type 2 diabetes prevention programs in the three counties.

A children’s oral health pilot program was also launched in Jefferson County through a “toothbrush curriculum” created for pre-kindergarten students. There has also been an effort to train primary care doctors to incorporate a one-minute fluoride treatment in the well-child visits, and talk with families about the importance of regular dental care. n NORAH MACHIA is a freelance writer who lives in Watertown. She is a 20-year veteran journalist and former Watertown Daily Times reporter.

Contact her at norahmachia@gmail.com.

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August 2016 | NNY Business

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HEALTH CENTER, from page 36 from going to the emergency room, I’m saving the health care system money,” Ms. Horton explained. “If I can ensure that from a young age they’re getting their annual wellness exams, Pap smears and dentist visits, I’m preventing bigger problems down the road. The providers’ focus has always been on quality, but this change in funding allows them not to worry about how they’re going to be reimbursed.”

These improved funds and services will affect a large number of north country residents. In 2015, more than 8,600 patients accessed the health center’s services for a total of nearly 33,000 visits, with the majority of patients being children and adolescents. The clinic’s WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) programs were similarly busy, receiving nearly 40,000 visits and passing out more than $5.2 million in food vouchers in 2015 alone.

According to Lynn M. Pietroski, vice president of the North Country Family Health Center’s board for the past two years, these expanded services and financial gains are the result of strong leadership and collaboration within the community. Among the key players she

mentioned were the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization, Samaritan Medical Center and Ms. Horton herself.

“Leadership has been a key. Joey is a very sound executive director, and she has great backing from the board,” Ms. Pietroski said. “I think that she’s established great relationships with community partners, and that’s supported the center as a whole.”

Looking forward to the future, Ms. Pietroski anticipates that the clinic will continue its strategic collaboration within the community, including with various health organizations and school districts, as well as across the state with other federally qualified health centers.

“I think it’s headed in the right direction, and it’s really got strong leadership.

I don’t just mean one person; I mean the entire senior team,” she said. “What was maybe the lead of one or two or three people has really become agency-wide and community-wide.”

With the help of a recent $1 million capital grant from the HSRA’s Health Infrastructure Investment Program, the North Country Family Health Center will continue its forward progress. The grant will fund the renovation of the 238 Arsenal St. facility, increasing the center’s

number of primary care exam rooms to at least 15 and dental rooms to at least six — which will in turn allow the center to hire two new providers, grow its capacity by approximately 1,700 patients and streamline patients’ experience inside the clinic.

The health center has also begun participating in the state Department of Health’s Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program (DSRIP), receiving more than $120,000 to recruit two dentists and develop their care coordination program. This program aims to move the region to value-based contracts (wherein providers are paid for the quality rather than the quantity of their patient services) and away from the current fee-for-service model within the next five years.

“There’s always something new and exciting for the health center, and there’s always something changing,” Ms. Horton said. “Every couple of months, it seems that we learn something new or a new opportunity arrives. I think the future holds a lot of opportunities for the health center, and we’re ready to take them.” n GABRIELLE HOVENDON is a former Watertown Daily Times reporter, north country native and freelance writer who is pursuing a Ph.d. at the University of Georgia in Athens.

Email her at ghovendon@gmail.com.

I

N E X T MO NT H

n our September issue, we look at executive leadership in the north country as we feature advice and tips from several business leaders.

Also coming next month: n LEADERSHIP LABORATORIES: The chambers of commerce in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties each run successful leadership programs. We look at the benefits and what working professionals learn.

n SMALL BIZ STARTUP: A feature story about a recently opened north country small business in St. Lawrence County. n 20 QUESTIONS: An in-depth interview with a north country business leader. n PLUS: NNY Snapshot, Economically Speaking, Commerce Corner, Nonprofits Today, Business Tech Bytes, Small Business Success, Real Estate, Agribusiness, Business History and Business Scene. n VISIT US ONLINE at www.nnybizmag.com.

Follow us on Twitter for daily updates at @NNYBusinessMag, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nnybusiness, and view eEditions at www.issuu.com/NNYBusiness.

66 | NNY Business | August 2016

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Employment NNY Employment

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The qualified candidate should possess excellent verbal and written communication skills with a proven successful sales record. Media Sales experience preferred.

We offer base pay plus commission, 401k, health insurance, vacation and sick days.

QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, PLEASE SEND YOUR RESUME TO: Michelle Bowers | Advertising Director | mbowers@wdt.net or 260 Washington St., Watertown, NY 13601 The Watertown Daily Times is an equal opportunity employer.

68 | NNY Business | August 2016

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED