ISSUE 167 April - May 20 by Oswego County Business Magazine

OSWEGO COUNTY

BUSINESS April-May 2020

$4.50

COVID-19 HORROR SHOW

CNY’s Busines Magazin s e

WE INTERVIEWED 15 CNY BUSINESS OWNERS. IT’S NOT PRETTY!

The New

CHIEF

Surgeon Duane Tull is Oswego Health’s new chief medical doctor. He talks about what’s been done to offer high-quality health services in Oswego County. INSIDE Meet the top doctors at Crouse, St. Joe’s, ConnextCare

cnybusinessmag.com

Covering Oswego, Onondaga counties

Had a Stroke. Back on Stage.

Musician Todd Hobin KNOW THE SIGNS • CALL 911 IMMEDIATELY

Central New York music legend Todd Hobin knew nothing about stroke — but he does now. That’s why he’s raising awareness about stroke risk factors and its signs and symptoms.

FACE DROOPING

A. S.

ARM WEAKNESS

SPEECH DIFFICULTY

Fact: Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. Important to know: Stroke can happen to both men and women — at any age. Good news: Stroke is preventable by managing medical risk factors and healthy lifestyle choices. What to do: Time lost is brain lost. So it’s vital to know the signs of a stroke — F.A.S.T. Four words to live by: Call 911 and say, “Take me to Crouse.“ When it comes to stroke, every moment matters. As one of just 10 hospitals in New York State tohave earned Comprehensive Stroke Center status, and with the region’s newest ER and hybrid ORs, Crouse offers the most advanced technology for rapid stroke diagnosis and treatment

Read Todd’s story and learn more: crouse.org/toddhobin.

TIME TO CALL 911

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Y O SW EG O C O U N T

BUSINESS $4.50

April-May 2020

CNY’s Business Magazine

COVID-19 HORROR SHOW

APRIL/MAY 2020 • Issue 167

WE INTERVIEWED 15 CNY BUSINESS OWNERS. IT’S NOT PRETTY!

PROFILE GREG SMITH

The New

CHIEF

Health’s new chief Surgeon Duane Tull is Oswego to about what’s been done medical doctor. He talks services in Oswego County. offer high-quality health at INSIDE Meet the top doctors Care Crouse, St. Joe’s, Connext cnybusinessmag.com

ga counties Covering Oswego, Ononda

COVER STORY

Surgeon Duane Tull is Oswego Health’s new chief medical officer. “We are more modern in many aspects than Syracuse, and a lot nicer and convenient. If we can get people to understand that, then there is no reason to drive.”

Healthcare

• Meet four chief medical doctors who are in charge of hundreds of physicians in CNY • Leadership of Oswego Health shares new plan for the future • George Chapman: Healthcare reform must run the gauntlet • Study: NYS hospital rankings among the worst in the nation

Real Estate

The new CEO of International Wire Group in Camden used to race sports cars back in the day. He says he uses some of the same racing techniques to lead his business — precision, rapid assessment of the situation and quick decision-making.................................16

SPECIAL FEATURES Coronavirus Crisis We’ve asked more than a dozen local business people how they’ve been affected.................................................11 RealEats Geneva-based food business produces and ships 25,000 to 30,000 meals per month to clients in 22 states......................................28 COVID-19 Emergency Relief Zero-interest loans are available for samll businesses in Oswego County .....................................................38 Eight tips to make your work-at-home more productive — from writer Deborah Sergeant, who has been working from home for 20 years.........................40 ‘Farmers Are in Pain’ High wages, low prices are causing headaches to local farmers..................................................................................52 Five Habits of Highly Successful People Five of the most successful people in CNY share their top habits..................................82 100 Black Men of Syracuse Nonprofit emphasizes work with youth, preparing for job market, better life.................................................86 Launching Prosperity Launch NY is a catalyst for entrepreneurial growth throughout Upstate New York........................88

SUCCESS STORY

• State of the sector: Standstill • Teri Beckwith sets the pace when it comes to mastering art of real estate sales

Dining out

DEPARTMENTS

Menter Ambulance Service Third-generation owner Zach Menter reaches new heights while continuing tradition of family ambulance service in Oswego County..............................92

How I Got Started Michele Kings, co-owner of Fyzical Therapy...........14

Where is Sandra Scott Panama City, Panama...........................................20

Newsmakers / Business Updates.....................................................................22

The staff at Grist Mill will treat you like family. And the food is worth the trip 4

My Turn COVID-19: Will life ever be the same?....................................36 Economic Trends The importance of property listings ............................50

Last Page Ellen Wahl, Oswego Music Hall’s artistic director.............98 OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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Dental Health Associates.....79 Dunsmoor Construction......32 Eis House................................29 Emergent................................10 Excellus - BlueCross BlueShield........ Back Cover Eye Consultants of Syracuse.79 Financial Partners of Upstate.. 13 Fitzgibbons Agency..............39 Foster Funeral Home............45 Fulton Community Development Agency......49 Fulton Savings Bank.............13 Fulton Taxi..............................17 Fulton Tool Co.......................39 Gartner Equipment...............73 Halsey Machinery.................49 Hammerback Media.............34 Harbor Lights Chem Dependency......................77 Haynor Hoyt..........................65 Hematology-Oncology Associates of CNY............79 Hospice of CNY.....................79 Howard Hanna Real Estate...9 Humana..................................77

Johnston Gas..........................25 JTS Remodeling.....................25 Laser Transit...........................32 LW Emporium Co-Op..........19 Mimi’s Drive Inn...................28 Mitchell Speedway Printing.32 Mr. Sub ...................................28 Northern Ace Home Ctr.......23 Novelis....................................96 Ol’ Factory Soups & Scents..19 OOC..................................cover Oswego County Federal Credit Union.....................95 Oswego County Mutual Insurance...........................34 OCO..........................................8 Oswego Health .....................65 Oswego Quality Carpet........23 Oswego Speedway................19 Pathfinder Bank.....................18 Prevention Network.......72, 77 RiverHouse Restaurant........29 Riverside Artisans.................19 Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-In....28 Salmon River Realty.............17 SBDC – Small Business Development Center........39

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Scriba Electric.........................24 Smith Houseware & Restaurant.........................18 Storage 48...............................15 Sun Harvest Realty...............49 SUNY Oswego, Office of Business and Community Development....................51 Sustainable Office Solutions.............................13 Sweet-Woods Memorial.......23 Tavern on the Lock................29 Technology Development Organization (TDO).........95 The Gardens at Morningstar .....................81 The Medicine Place...............77 Tully Hill Chemical Dependency Treatment Ctr 78 Uniforms Etc..........................24 United Wire Technology......45 Vashaw’s Collision................39 Watertown Industrial Center of Local Development.......6 WD Malone............................25 Whelan & Curry Construction.....................10 White’s Lumber & Building Supply................................25 WRVO.....................................91 APRIL / MAY 2020

Auto Technology CDL-A (Tractor Trailer) CDL-B (Dump Truck)

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

www.CCCEd.net 7

CNY’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE OswegoCountyBusiness.com Editor and Publisher Wagner Dotto

Associate Editor Lou Sorendo

Columnists

L. Michael Treadwell Bruce Frassinelli, Sandra Scott George Chapman Mark LaFountain

Writers

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant Christopher Malone Payne Horning, Alexander Plate

Advertising

Peggy Kain Roxanne Seeber, Richard Annal

Office Manager Nancy Nitz

Layout and Design Dylon Clew-Thomas

Cover Photo

Chuck Wainwright

OCO has a vision for the future. That’s why we’re committed to our mission: empowering people, OCO has a vision for the future. That’s why we’re supporting our communities, and changing lives for committed to our mission: empowering people, supporting our communities, and changing lives for the better. With over 50 services that include housing, the better. With over 50 services that include housing, care management, addiction recovery, education, health care management, addiction recovery, education, care, transportation, crisis services, advocacy and health care, nutrition services, transportation, crisis prevention for all ages, we’re investing in people, services, advocacy and prevention for all ages, we’re building futures and changing lives. investing in people, building futures and changing lives. Making a difference – it’s what we do! Making a difference – it’s what we do! Oswego County Opportunities 315-598-4717 www.oco.org info@oco.org

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Oswego County Business is published by Local News, Inc., which also publishes CNY Summer Guide, Business Guide, CNY Winter Guide, College Life, In Good Health– The Healthcare Newspaper (four editions), CNY Healthcare Guide and 55PLUS, a Magazine for Active Adults (two editions) Published bimonthly (6 issues a year) at 185 E. Seneca Street PO Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126. Subscription: $21.50 a year; $35 for two years © 2020 by Oswego County Business. All rights reserved. PRSRT STD US Postage PAID Buffalo, NY Permit No. 4725

How to Reach Us

P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 Phone: 315-342-8020 Fax: 315-342-7776 Email: Editor@OswegoCountyBusiness.com APRIL / MAY 2020

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ON THE JOB How Has the Coronavirus Affected Your Businesses? Interviews conducted in mid-March by Deborah Jeanne Sergeant “Barado’s on the Water will now be take-out only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 12 to 6 p.m. I laid off 10 employees. I hope we survive this horrible time.” Cheryl Barsom Co-owner, Barado’s on the Water, Central Square “Do you have all day? As a tax accountant with returns for everybody and people not being able to get into their offices, it’s crazy. I’ve been trying to help small businesses like restaurants shift gears into being take-out businesses. I’m also talking them off the cliff because they feel like everything has been taking away. It’s taken me away from filing income taxes and turned me into a consultant on how to become a mobile or a remote business.” Brenda Weissenberg Owner, Affordable Business Solutions, Central Square

APRIL /MAY 2020

“We have been designated as an essential business because we’re doing printing for Oswego Health and for the food industry and for food packaging. We sent our employees home and gave them the option to come in if they want. It’s my husband and I, like it was when we started in the beginning. It’s been very quiet, as many of our regular clients’ companies are shut down. We’re doing OK at present, but two to three months down the road, if they don’t get started up again, that would be a real problem.” Kathy Henry Co-owner Mitchell’s Speedway Press, Oswego “As a small business, we’ve been able to adapt so far. Although it’s created challenges and inconveniences, we have strong

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

processes and procedures in place. I’m confident that we will be able to provide a level of service to our clients as long as our supply chain — large insurance carriers — have a good business continuity plan. We’re discovering that most of them do and it’s business as usual for now. We already have a remote employee so that has also helped in many ways.” Nate Skinner Agent/broker and branch manager, H.G. Ellis Agency, Inc., Constantia “It’s really slow. I’m open 9 to 9 usually and only one customer had been in so far and it’s 10:30 in the morning. Tomorrow, we’ll open at 12. If this continues, I will close.” Mike Alamos Owner, Alamos Food Market, Syracuse “We are a home center and lumberyard, so we’ve been deemed an essential business by the state and federal government. We are maintaining normal hours. We’ve posted a lot of informational signs that if people feel sick to not come in. We asked employees to maintain distance from each other. We’re cleaning phones, handles and electronics hourly, and counters after every customer leaves. We clean door handles several times an hour to maintain a virus-free environment. Hopefully, if someone comes in with

being a public entity, we have had to increase our already high-level cleanliness standards. This results in more supplies used daily to keep our facility clean and sanitary while depleting these resources even faster than usual. Despite these recent hardships, our number one goal throughout our businesses is that we keep a positive outlook and remain patient and persistent for those around us. Through it all, we look forward to being a true beacon of light in our community throughout and beyond these difficult times.” Atom Z. Avery Owner Beacon Hotel, Oswego

it, we can clean these surfaces to keep people safe. We’ve always had free deliveries. We might see more of that. March is a tough month, as it’s transitional. It depends on the weather. We’ve maintained good sales volume and we’re working on this with our employees. Everyone seems to be on the same page as far as safety and maintaining our business.” Tom Handley Co-owner Burke’s Home Center, Fulton and Oswego “We haven’t gotten any notification about anything so we’re operating as usual. Until we hear differently, we’re maintaining.” Dorrine Kallfelz Owner, Square Deal Liquors, Central Square “Since I have supported and promoted women entrepreneurs for two decades, the coronavirus has me creatively communicating, marketing, and inspiring them through more frequent communication, including online programs, inspiration, and education that women in my organization are offering to other women. I am also starting a podcast next week to share business and motivational wisdom with them, and any other female business owner, during this period. I realize my role as a leader for this demographic and intend to be a major support for them in their time of need. It is about service to me now, not sales.” Tracy Chamberlain Higginbotham President, Women TIES, LLC, Syracuse “Currently, we’re just getting ready to shut down for the next couple of weeks, unfortunately. People have been calling and rebooking [their trips] for future dates. I think it’s taken its toll on everybody but we have to do this and stick together. People can still call us. We will have our phones forwarded to us at home in case they need to call us.” Sandy Shue Manager of Canalview Travel “It has reduced new and some in-progress projects and initiatives. We are all rethinking how we can help our clients keep their businesses healthy long-range.” Steve Chilrello Owner Chirello Advertising, Fulton

“I generally like to do as many of my meetings with clients face to face because it’s easier looking at them face to face. It’s easier to look at graphs together. We haven’t had in-person meetings for a week now. I’ve had lots of phone calls to update clients on what we see. It’s a crazy time period and hard to know what the economic direction will take with the markets.” Randy L. Zeigler Certified financial planner, private wealth adviser, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., Oswego “I had a deal just before [the coronavirus crisis] broke out. The market was really, really strong and it will come back. What we had to do is limit the number of people who are in the house and making sure people are washing their hands. The home inspection, I had a client who had one. They usually go along with the inspector, but the inspector did it alone and emailed them. It’s a people business and we’re doing it remotely.” Tom Wiegand Licensed real estate agent, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services-CNY Realty, North Syracuse “COVID-19 has had an immediate impact on our day-to-day operations. From guest services to our banquet and event hosting, we’ve seen an all-time high in cancellations and refunds that we are processing daily. The recent economic impact from this pandemic came about while we had multiple long-term guests in town for the local [nuclear power plants] shutdown. In also OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“We’ve seen an increase in sales because everyone’s trying to stock up on things. We’re seeing a spike in sales we haven’t seen with people we don’t usually see. The big thing is keeping the shelves stocked. Our warehouse is struggling. We’re placing large orders but only getting a fraction of what we ordered. It hasn’t changed how people act toward employees. I’m seeing people be more polite. They’re understanding what’s going on. A few are a little out there and don’t understand the stress of what’s going on, but we see overall a balance between the good and the bad.” Jordan Crapser Manager, Paul’s Big M, Oswego “It is a multi-faceted effect. We have been very, very busy the past couple of weeks but it’s been a challenge to keep our products on the shelf. We want to keep our employees and customers safe as well as be able to supply people. We have hand sanitizer available and our staff is wiping down door handles as frequently as possible and they’re using safe health practices. We’re hoping things start leveling off and people will be OK. If employees are sick, they stay home. We’re doing the best we can and trying to keep our community safe and supplied.” Theresa Himes Co-owner, Bosco & Geers, Oswego “Business has definitely slowed down.”

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Started How I Got By Lou Sorendo

Michele King Physical and occupational therapist talks about running her physical therapy, balance center in Oswego

Q.: What motivated you to pursue a career in occupational therapy? A.: I did the New Visions program at Oswego Hospital and initially wanted to go into surgery. However, I saw the hours that a surgeon had to put in, the on-call work, and it did not fit into the future picture of my life with a family Q.: At what point in your career did you decide to be your own boss and run your own business? A.: I always knew I wanted to own my own clinic someday and run my own business. But I had an epiphany one day when I was working for another company and I realized that their values did not line up with my values, goals and direction for the career I wanted. Q.: You specialize in hand and stroke treatment. Why did you decide to specialize in these particular areas? A.: Hand therapy is a specialization within the field of physical and occupational therapy. I was initially drawn to the challenge of post-operative hand therapy, tendon repairs, and the custom splint fabrications involved in patient care. I like a challenge and I really like working with post-surgical wounds, burns and complex surgeries. It is fun to be a part of the healing process for someone and incredibly rewarding when someone is able to use their hand again. The hand is so closely tied to function. Q.: When did you launch your business? Can you give us a sense of what costs were associated with the launch? A.: I started with Adirondack Therapy in 2006 in our Watertown location and by 2008 I had opened the Oswego location. In 2010, we expanded into our 2,100-sq.-ft. space at 127 E. First St. [in Oswego], and at that time I became a partner in the company. In 2017, my current business partners — physical therapist Jason Myers and occupational therapist Clark Wolf — joined the practice. In October of 2018, we made the decision to partner with FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Centers in order to bring specialized balance and vestibular services to the clinic as well as pelvic health. We recently completed our rebranding campaign.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

Q.: What were some of the more challenging aspects of launching the business? A.: The business was launched when I became a partner. However, we have gone through substantial changes over the years for growth and sustainability. One of the most challenging aspects of business at this time is keeping up with our growth and adjusting the sails and business processes as we go along. We are fine tuning things to set us up for a growth and expansion phase, but that requires change and challenges.

able to offer a proprietary progressive framework for the treatment of balance disorders. In addition, we have been able to add specialized equipment to our facility, such as a safety overhead support system ensuring our patients cannot fall. We have added a class 4 laser for the treatment of pain and inflammation as well as Normtec compression therapy for healing and muscle recovery. This year, we plan to add pelvic health and wellness services for the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction and incontinence.

Q.: You have been serving the Oswego community since 2006. What have been the keys to the business’ success and longevity? A.: The key to our success has been outstanding patient care. People genuinely like coming into the clinic. They know our team is giving it their all, and providing as much value within the therapy sessions to help our patients recover and achieve their goals as quickly as possible. We put the patient’s needs and care above all else.

Q.: How has advanced technology impacted the physical and occupational therapy realm? A.: Equipment and tools have become more modernized. Laser is big right now and has really helped many of our patients. We feature new technology such as Frenzel goggles for effectively treating patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. However, there is no substitute for human connection and putting your hands on a patient, and therapeutic use of self. Much of what we do is one-on-one consulting — how to move, how to position yourself in bed for less back pain, and when to increase activity levels and how. Technology cannot do that.

Q.: What are the keys to running a physical, occupational and fitness facility on a highly successful level? A.: The keys to running a successful practice are relationships and marketing. This means relationships with your referring physicians, patients, and community, along with relationships with your staff and team. Marketing what you do and how you are different are also vital. We are more manually based focus and offer more one-on-one treatment time than most clinics. That makes us different and I believe we get better results. We also offer many niche services such as hand therapy, concussion rehab, vision therapy and balance and vestibular services which has helped us to stand out in the community. Q.: You recently rebranded the business and are now FYZICAL Therapy & Balance Center of Oswego. What motivated the change? A.: By aligning with the national collaborative, we are able to serve an entirely new patient demographic that we were not serving — balance and vestibular patients. Through our partnership with FYZICAL, we now are a balance level 2 center, and are APRIL /MAY 2020

Q.: What changes can customers expect as a result of the rebranding and expansion? What added services do you now feature? A.: Our FYZICAL balance program is up and running. We expect to add pelvic health and wellness services in 2020 as well as expand in the Central New York area. Q.: What are the most gratifying aspects of your profession and being your own business owner? A.: It is still intensely gratifying to help someone improve their functional abilities and regain something that they had lost. That never gets old! In regards to business, I am incredibly proud that we have built this thing from the ground up, created a positive work environment and a culture and community that I am proud of.

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

PROFILE By Lou Sorendo

GREG SMITH New president, CEO of International Wire Group — who used to race sports cars as a hobby — takes manufacturer to new heights

e is wired for success. Gregory J. Smith, newly minted CEO and president of International Wire Group, Inc., is accustomed to making the right decision at precisely the right time. “I enjoy leading a business. I’m a competitor at heart and love the complexity of leading a business,” Smith said. The International Wire Group (IWG) leader used to race sports cars as a hobby. “I have said success in competitive sports car racing is a lot like running a

business. You have a lot of variables coming at you, and a lot of decisions to make rapidly. Obviously, you want to make more right decisions than wrong decisions. If you make a bad decision in business, it can cost you a lot of money. In the case of racing, it could obviously hurt as well,” he said. “Leading a business that has a lot of variables and triggers is very exciting to me. The fact that International Wire Group has a large footprint around the world adds to that excitement,” said Smith, noting that experiencing different regional characteristics related to customers and exploring the contrasting needs and wants of clients makes it even more interesting. IWG, headquartered in Camden, is the largest bare copper wire and copper wire products manufacturer in the United States with operations in Europe. IWG has 20 locations throughout the world, including

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

one in Williamstown, Oswego County. Smith has owned several sports cars, his fondest being a Porsche 911. He raced in the club division of the Sports Car Club of America. “I did that for 15 years. It’s an addictive sport and like boating or golf, you can’t get enough of it,” he said. Smith gave up racing about five years ago. “My children were getting older, and because I travel so much, when I am off I want to be with them. I used to pack up and go racing on the weekends, but it just became too much of a commitment. Also, job demand doesn’t afford me the time needed to enjoy that hobby,” he said.

Engineering foundation

Smith was recruited by Atlas Holdings LLC, which acquired IWG Holdings, Inc. in late April of 2019. Smith joined on May 1, 2019. “I was specifically sought out to be the next CEO of this business,” he said. Previously, he worked for the Marmon Group, a Berkshire-Hathaway company based in Chicago, Illinois. He was president of a group of nine international wire and cable businesses. Smith is a mechanical engineer by degree. He earned undergraduate engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees. He started his career in the ship building industry, and then transitioned into aerospace component machining businesses. “Throughout my career, I had technical assignments that increased in responsibility,” he said. He’s worked as an engineer, supervisor, engineering manager, operations manager and in business development, all with the idea that his ultimate goal one day would be to run his own business. The bulk of what he has done and excelled in is operational leaderAPRIL / MAY 2020

Lifelines

Age: 54 Birthplace: Connecticut Current residence: Connecticut Education: Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, University of New Haven; Master of Business Administration, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Affiliations: The Wire & Cable Manufacturers Alliance Personal: Married to his wife Beth for 24 years, two daughters Hobbies: Spending time with family; cars ship of businesses. In the early 2000s, Smith was looking for a change. It was post 9/11, and the aerospace industry had undergone a dramatic downturn. “The demand for aircraft parts underwent a significant change, and I was just interested in a change to a different environment,” he said. “What I found in the wire and cable industry is that these businesses are very much job shops,” he said. “Every month, there is a different recipe for what we are making.” He said the challenges and personal rewards he gets in this type of business are greater than what he had realized in the past. “The wire and cable industry tends to be quite dynamic. It’s ever changing, and that is exciting,” Smith added.

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Conducting business

IWG produces bare as well as tin-, silver- and nickel-plated copper conductors. “We have a variety of operations that either strand, bunch or cable them to a variety of configurations,” Smith said. The IWG leader said they are ultimately used in what he terms “mission critical applications” by customers in the industrial and energy, electronics and data communications, aerospace and defense, medical products, automotive, and consumer and appliance industries. IWG buys continuous cast copper rod from several suppliers located in North America. “We buy it in a raw state, and from there, it’s drawn down into

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continued on page 88 APRIL /MAY 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Publisher’s note By Wagner Dotto

his coronavirus crisis caught just about everyone by surprise. It started just before we kicked off one of our largest projects of the year — the “Summer Guide — The Best of Upstate New York,” a project that involves about 10 people in the office. We had sent letters out and were in the process of making phone calls to invite businesses to advertise. That’s when the news hit really hard — the number of cases of people diagnosed with COVID-19 started to grow exponentially and so did the number of deaths. Soon, schools, restaurants, stores, shopping malls, bars, banks closed. Should we go ahead with the Summer Guide? For a few days we debated whether to abort the project. In the end, we decided to keep it on. We tweaked some of the deadlines and the guide is a go. We will start distribution in June and will continue distributing the publication in July, August and September. Over the years, a lot of readers

Bill Reilly, Owner of the river’s end bookstore

cools things to do and see. Likewise, advertisers have counted on the vast distribution and readership of the Summer Guide as a way to draw more customers to their businesses and organizations. We hope we made the right decision. We’re confident we will enjoy a normal summer — going to restaurants, bars, attending festivals and concerts, shopping at the local farmers market, gathering family and friends for cookouts and all those routine things to which we’re accustomed.

have come to rely on the publication as it highlights the most fun things to do and the most interesting places to visit during the summer and early fall. We carry an extensive calendar of events and many stories featuring

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Where in the World is Sandra Scott? By Sandra Scott

Panama City

Considered the New York City of Central America

anama City is the “New York City” of Central America. It has become a skyscraper city. It is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. There are three distinct parts to Panama City. One is a World Heritage site called Panama Viejo (old city) founded in 16th century. The area includes a museum and some ruins. The city was destroyed in 1671 when it was attacked by Henry Morgan and his band of pirates. The “new” city was built in 1673 and is also a World Heritage site. It is referred to as Old Town or Casco Viejo because a wall was built around most

of it. Old Town is in the process of rejuvenation and has become a major tourist attraction. The twin-towered Cathedral on the central plaza is also undergoing renovation. There are places to stay, shop, and dine. This is a great place to wander around to soak up the ambiance of Panama. Modern day Panama City is a bustling city of skyscrapers that are home to banks, businesses, hotels, and restaurants. While exploring the various aspects of Panama City, a must-see and one of the most popular tours is the Panama Canal. The canal is an architectural wonder. In 1513, the Spanish explorer Vasco de Balboa crossed the

Isthmus of Panama becoming the first European to reach the Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean. Thus began a dream to create a water route that would provide quick, easy access between the two great oceans. The first attempt was by a French company that failed mainly due to the high cost in both money and lives. The United States ended up building the canal which opened in 1914. In 1999 the control of the Panama Canal Zone was transferred to Panama. There is a museum in Old Town devoted to the construction of the canal, although many prefer to visit the Mirafloras Visitor Center located on

Skyscrapers dot the coastal area of Panama City.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

the canal lock where displays provide the history of the canal and the canal’s operation. Visitors can also watch ships transiting. The best way to experience the canal is on tourist boat. Most tours are for a half transit and include a meal. A full transit takes eight to 10 hours. Ships transiting the canal pay a high price. Princess Cruise Line pays about $425,000 plus $35,000 so they can have a specific time to transit instead of waiting in line. Other day trips include a visit to Taboga Island, known as the “Island of Flowers” where there are a variety of activities, including swimming and hiking. Nature lovers will want to visit the Gamboa Rainforest, where there is an aerial tram, a sloth sanctuary and butterfly gardens along with many ecological exhibits. Interested in culture? Then take a dugout canoe adventure to the Embera Village. The Embera are the indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. Visitors can listen to music and watch dances that have changed little since the days before the explorers. There are several interesting museums but architecturally nothing as eye-catching as the unique Biomuseo. It is the place to learn about the geological origin of the Panamanian isthmus and the impact of the planet’s biodiversity. The museum has many interactive displays to keep visitors engaged. From Panama City there are excellent connections to hot spots such as Boca del Tora, beautiful beaches, and fascinating islands. Panama is a great place to take Spanish language or cooking classes. For Americans to visit Panama a passport valid for three months is all that is necessary. While Spanish is the national language English is widely spoken. The Panamanian money and the U.S. dollar are interchangeable but large U.S. bills such and 50s and 100s are sometimes difficult to use as they are often thought to be counterfeit. Sandra Scott, a retired history teacher and the co-author of two local history books, has been traveling worldwide with her husband, John, since the 1980s. The Scotts live in the village of Mexico. APRIL /MAY 2020

Playa Bonita is one of the many beaches visitors can enjoy in Panama.

The Panama Canal plays an crucial role in the Panamenian economy. It is an artificial 51-mile waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.

Biomuseo is the place to learn about the geological origin of the Panamanian isthmus and the impact of the planet’s biodiversity. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

NEWSMAKERS NEWS BRIEFS ON LOCAL BUSINESSES & BUSINESS PEOPLE Dentist Joins Advanced Dental Arts in Fulton Dentist Nicole Grassi has joined Advanced Dental Arts (ADA) in Fulton as an associate. G r a s s i earned her DDS degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine and completed an Grassi oral and maxillofacial fellowship and internship at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. In addition to general dentistry, she is proficient at treating patients for crowns, bridges, veneers, inlays, onlays, surgical extraction, root canals and implant placement. She is also Invisalign certified and holds dental licenses in both New York and New Jersey. She is also a fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. “We are delighted to welcome Dr. Grassi to our family of professionals,” said the practice’s owner, dentist Frank J. Fruce. “She is patient-focused, diligent and friendly, and brings a variety of professional skills that will fit seamlessly into our practice.” “We are a state-of-the-art general and cosmetic dental office dedicated to providing our patients with personalized, gentle care,” Fruce added. “We provide comprehensive treatment planning, and use restorative and cosmetic dentistry to help our patients’ achieve optimal dental health. A Fulton native with more than 25 years of experience, Fruce received his doctorate from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. He is a member of the Oswego County Dental Society, American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He is also an attending dentist 22

at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, and he volunteers at the dental clinic where he teaches and mentors first year dentists in the residency program.

achievement,” said Mike Miedler, chief executive officer, Century 21 Real Estate LLC. “This is an outstanding honor since only a small percentage of affiliated agents in the United States received this award for sales.”

Agents at Galloway Century 21 Win Award Ament Promoted to Ed Fayette and Constance Ryan, both sales asso- Executive VP at Davisciate with Cen- Standard

tury 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego, recently received the Century 21 President’s Producer Award. The award was given in recognition of outstanding Fayette sales production and commitment to quality service, according to a news release. The annual award is bestowed upon those Century 21 System sales affiliates that earn the Century 21 Centurion award and the Century 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer award in the same calendar year. The CentuConstance rion Producer award honors Century 21 System sales affiliates that earn $288,000 in sales production or 69 closed transaction sides within the calendar year. To earn the Century 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer Award, a sales affiliate must receive completed customer surveys for at least 50% of their transactions surveyed from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, with an average survey score of at least 95 percentage or better for two consecutive years. “We are thrilled to recognize these agents’ work for this momentous OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Davis-Standard is pleased to announce that Zachary Ament has been promoted to executive vice president. He w i l l re p l a c e longtime Dav i s - S t a n d a rd employee and team leader Ernie Plasse who is retiring. Ament has been with Dav i s - S t a n d a rd Ament for over seven years, most recently serving as vice president of business development. In that role, he has been heavily involved in the development and tactical execution of Davis-Standard’s organizational strategy across the global organization including mergers, acquisitions, and strategic agreements. “Ernie’s leadership, industry knowledge and vast experience will be greatly missed,” said Jim Murphy, Davis-Standard’s president and CEO. “He’s had an extraordinary 46-year career at Davis-Standard. His humility and work ethic set an excellent example for our entire team at Davis-Standard, and we wish him all the best in retirement.” Murphy added, “Zachary will do an outstanding job in this role and has been working alongside Ernie to ensure a smooth transition. We look forward to his perspective and leadership as we continue our commitment to outstanding customer service.”

APRIL / MAY 2020

NBT Bank Earns Six Greenwich Excellence Awards

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NBT Bank has been recognized with six awards in the 2019 Greenwich Excellence Awards in small business banking and middle market banking. In the u.s. middle market banking category, more than 600 banks were evaluated for excellence with only 33 recognized with distinctive quality. NBT earned the following three designations: • Cash management — overall satisfaction (Northeast) • Likelihood to recommend (Northeast) Commercial • Residential • Overall satisfaction (Northeast) Serving In the U.S. small business banking Oswego category, more than 600 banks were O County evaluated for excellence with only 36 QC since recognized for distinctive quality. NBT 1996 We provide dicounts for earned the following three designations: 315-343-1098 • Fax 315-342-5416 Senior Citizens & Veterans • Overall satisfaction 35 West Schuyler St., Oswego • Likelihood to recommend (Northoswegoqualitycarpet.com east) • Overall satisfaction (Northeast) Northern Ace Home Cente The awards are based on interviews is like going to your neighbor. with more than 13,000 middle-market Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center We’re here to help! businesses with sales of $10 to $500 islike like going to your neighbor. islike like going toto your neighbor. is going your neighbor. is going to your neighbor. (315) 592-2063 million and over 14,000 small businesses We’re here to help! We’re here toto help! We’re here help! We’re here to help! • Steel Roofi592-2063 ng • Lumber with sales of $1 to $10 million across (315) 592-2063 (315) (315) 592-2063 (315) 592-2063 Insulation • Concrete Block the country. •Steel Steel Roofi ng••Lumber Lumber •Steel Steel Roofi ngng Lumber • Roofi ••Lumber •• Roofi ng •Insulation Insulation Concrete Block •Insulation Insulation Concrete Block • ••Concrete Block •• Block “With the many choices that small Selkirk Pipe ••Concrete • Valspar Selkirk Pipe ••Benjamin Valspar Selkirk Pipe Valspar ••Selkirk Pipe ••Valspar ••Selkirk Pipe Valspar Benjamin MoorePaint Paint Moore and middle market customers have in Let Us Quote Your Next Project Let Us Quote Your Next Project! Let Us Quote Your Next Project! Let Us Quote Your Next Project! Let Us Quote Your Next Project! today’s world, we’re honored to be recFind us on Find us on Find us onon Find us Find us on ognized with these awards,” said NBT Military Discounts Discounts ••Military Discounts • •Military Discounts •Military Military Discounts Bank President of Commercial Banking Senior Discounts Senior Discounts ••Senior Discounts • •Senior Discounts • Senior Discounts onTuesday Tuesday onTuesday Tuesday on on Sarah Halliday. “These designations on Tuesday align with our drive to deliver the Store Hours: same great service and attention to our Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Northern Ace Home Center Monday - Friday: 7am - 6pm 2721 State Route 3, Fulton, NY 13069 2721 State Route 3, Fulton, Fulton, NY 13069 2721 State Route 3, Fulton, NY 13069 2721 State Route 3, NY 13069 business customers regardless of size.” Store Hours: Saturday: 7am - 6am Northern Ace Home Center 2721 State Route 3, Fulton, NY 13069 (315) 592-2063 (315) 592-2063 Monday–Friday: 7 a.m.–6 p. (315) 592-2063 (315) 592-2063 Sunday: 9am - 4am 2721 State Route 3, Fulton, NY 13069 Saturday: 7 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. (315) 592-2063

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SUNY Oswego Students Win National Broadcasting Awards

Three SUNY Oswego student productions continued to bolster the college’s national reputation by earning Broadcast Education Association awards. Winning Awards of Excellence were: • Emmy Leavy, Ethan Magram and David Hite for “The SUNY Oswego Holiday Television Special” in the student film and video competition: studio (multi-camera or live-to-tape) category; • Carl Neff, Chelsea Gualoano, Timothy Brenner and Matthew Roelands for WNYO’s “Matt and Carl in the Morning” in the studio audio comAPRIL /MAY 2020

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petition: comedy or drama category; • James Kattako for “Salar Faryar Profile” in the student sports competition: television sports story/feature short category. The holiday special, the brainchild of communication studies faculty member Francisco Suarez, unfolded as a student-run production with around 50 students writing, filming and starring in a Saturday Night Live-style variety show that aired on WCNY-TV in Syracuse as well as online and in a special campus screening to a packed audience. “The award really is a testament to the collaboration that we had,” said Leavy, the production’s lead director and a senior majoring in both cinema and screen studies and in broadcasting. She said Suarez made sure the students learned as much as possible by truly allowing them to do all of the functions of the production. “He’s really good at letting students learn, which is important,” Leavy said. She added that Suarez also brings an excitement and energy that inspires the students.

Oswego Health Presents Employee Awards Oswego Health has recognized six employees as engagement champions. According to the hospital, these employees exemplify what it means to be engaged across the organization and Oswego County. The hospital has more than 1,200 employees throughout Oswego County. The recipients are: • Connie Boger-Allen, environmental services tech; managers: Joy Bifera and Valerie Favata. • John Boggart, behavioral health services safety coordinator; managers: Jody Pittsley and Maggie Niland Glass. • Kate Gentile, environmental services & infection prevention coordinator; managers: Terri Hammill and Valerie Favata. • Jake Jones, service tech & food services worker; managers: Ryan Porter, Amy Dittly and Valerie Favata. • Michelle Mannino, scheduling & staffing specialist at The Manor at Seneca Hill; managers: Esther Field and Jason Santiago. • Jennifer Martin, director of marketing; managers: Jamie Leszczynski and Jeff Coakley. • Megan McManus, medical im-

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aging manager; managers: David Ruel and Maggie Niland Glass. The Oswego Health engagement committee, made up of directors and managers from various areas throughout the organization, created specific criteria for the award and open nominations for employees that display the values of Oswego Health: teamwork, ownership, communication, quality, compassion and respect. In addition, the nominee must go above and beyond to participate and attend events, demonstrate a positive attitude, rise above challenging situations, collaborates well across different departments, embrace the culture, take pride in the organization and promote Oswego Health in the community. “Now more than ever we could not be prouder of our employees. Their dedication and commitment to this organization, our patients and community, is truly remarkable,” said Vice President of Human Resources Marq Brown.

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The light, golden-colored pancakes had a light crisp around the edge. The bacon was not too crispy, not too flimsy, but just right.

Comfort Cuisine Cruise-In Grist Mill country-style staples off the grill

ull disclosure — I was headed to a different location to accomplish this edition’s restaurant review. Perhaps the appeal of a road trip on a mild, clear-skied Saturday evening with spring-like temperatures and then seeing the lone restaurant off I-81 North, exit 33 for Parish really helps bring out the spontaneity in a guy. For a traveler, the glow of gas prices and the country store aesthetic of The Grist Mill Restaurant, 3039 county Route 26 in Parish, is a beacon for the weary and for the hungry. Although today’s easily accessible technology can show this eatery is open 26

24/7, clear signage explains faster than fingertips can type. The Grist Mill Restaurant is the epitome of a rest stop with gas pumps, faux stone wallpaper, dingy bathrooms, a seasonal ice cream stand and various grab-and-go snacks. It’s a large restaurant and there are two unique U-shaped sections to the bar, where I sat. As noted, it’s conveniently found right off a highway while embarking on that road trip. The staff will treat you as if you are part of their family. The menu boasts all-American comfort fare and breakfast staples OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

served any time. It was difficult to make the decision to try breakfast or the lunch-dinner fare. Since this was a solo mission, my review came in two parts because of congenital indecisiveness.

Dinner The Ol’ Smokey burger caught my eye ($9.29) — onions, spicy barbecuesauce, two burgers. Yup, two patties of meat. Unfortunately, there were hits and misses to the choice. The barbecue sauce, although not entirely spicy, was a great condiment with onions. Both sides APRIL / MAY 2020

of the roll were toasted well. The dill pickle slice was crisp, not soggy. I was asked how I wanted my burger cooked, so there was initial faith in the beef. The issues were unapologetic and didn’t hide themselves. Despite enjoying straight shooters, the lack of chips had me scratching my head. A complaint or concern was never made about this since I had plenty of food in front of me. There was a void, however, without that critical complement. The burger was cooked just about well-done instead of medium, but it wasn’t dry by any means. To go with the burger, I placed an order of hot wings. Wings can be ordered in increments of five, 10, or 20. The handful order ($5.99) was best for one person, and the best part of dinner. The large, meaty wings were slathered in a medium-thick, red-orange hot sauce. By the end of the meal, light perspiration speckled my brow — major kudos. The celery strips were dunked in the remaining sauce. The third option was the chili-spud ($4.29). Listed as a “baked potato treat,” it lived up to it. The potato was baked really well — trust me, I have had a bad spud before. The ground beef and kidney bean chili could have offered more flavor, but the pile of shredded onion atop compensated. For hearty amount of food, dinner came to $21.14 before tip.

The Grist Mill unofficial “garbage plate” with toast, home fries, and eggs. The Ol’ Smokey ($9.29): Onions, spicy barbecue sauce and two burgers. But where are the chips?

Brunch The next morning, I returned for more. With this other solo excursion, brunch was on the mind. Cue up the coffee ($2.29 with free refills), eggs with home fries ($5.59), and a short stack of pancakes with bacon ($5.29). As much of a locally roasted connoisseur as I am, nothing beats a hot cup of diner coffee in a ceramic mug. It’s a simple aspect of life and a beautiful inanimate relationship beyond words. The Grist Mill’s did not falter. The golden-colored pancakes had a light crisp around the edge. They were medium-large. The butter was placed in a small paper cup, which was face-down on the top cake. This allowed for easily spread butter and avoided the mess of rogue butter puddles. Unfortunately, I do have to rib about the Aunt Jemima syrup instead of the real stuff. The bacon was not too crispy, not too flimsy, but just right. Shaking a little pepper on them made the strips taste great. I ordered the two eggs over easy, APRIL /MAY 2020

Hot wings can be ordered in increments of five, 10, or 20. The handful order ($5.99) was best for one person. It was the best part of dinner. which came out as perfect. The white bread toast came with lightly spread butter. The home fries, a plentiful pile, didn’t have a lot of salt and no pepper. However, this is great for patrons to season their home fries to their liking. Per request, you can just order them as is or ask for them on the crispier side. The Grist Mill is accommodating. The overly filling brunch came to $14.76 before tip. The Grist Mill Restaurant has something for every traveler of any age, whether they come by car, snowmobile, hiking or hitchhiking. Sometimes spontaneous stops are rewarding in their own right. I’m definitely not displeased with this decision. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Grist Mill Restaurant Address 3039 County Rte. 26, Parish, NY 13131 Phone (315) 625-7691 Website/Social thegristmillrestaurant.com facebook.com/ The-Grist-MillRestaurant-131023050261838/ twitter.com/TheGristMill_ Hours Open 24/7 27

Lakeside Drive-In

Our Family Feeding Yours Since 1946

78 Co. Rte. 89 • Oswego, NY www.RudysHOT.com 315-343-2671

OPEN MID-MARCH THROUGH OCTOBER (5 Day a Week thru April)

Seared lime shrimp is one of the top sellers at RealEats of America. The company has dozens of options on its website. It ships 25,000 to 30,000 meals per month.

What’s For Dinner? RealEats of America Has the Answer Geneva-based food business produces and ships 25,000 to 30,000 meals per month to clients in 22 states By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

olving a problem is often the best way to start a new business. Geneva-based RealEats America answers the nagging question of “What’s for dinner?” with a locally-sourced, chef-prepared meal hot in 10 minutes. It’s not a meal kit delivery program, but ready-made meals. Subscribers reheat the meals by submerging pouches of food into boiling water. RealEats’ concept proved popular enough for the company to win $1 million at the inaugural Grow-NY Global Food and Agriculture Business Competition held in November 2019 in Rochester. RealEats, founded in 2007 by Dan Wise, has grown to service 22 Northeastern states and is looking to tap the markets in Tennessee and Michigan. RealEats ships 25,000 to 30,000 meals 28

per month via FedEx two-day shipping. Entrees include meals like barbecue brisket with sides of mashed potatoes and green beans; lime-infused seared shrimp; Cajun grilled chicken; and mushroom tacos. With a cost of $12.50 per meal for the 12-meal-per-week plan, RealEats doesn’t do business based upon price point, especially when compared with home cooking. RealEats’ primary market is comprised of health-conscious people who are too busy or unable to cook. They likely would otherwise eat out most of their meals and these consumers may feel those meals out are not nutritious. Instead, these consumers want a healthful meal with minimal effort and made with farm-fresh sources. RealEats executive chef Marco Ballatori said that most of the food RealEats OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

cooks come from “local, sustainably sourced products.” The company also tries to minimize its impact on the environment. Granted, shipping food in plastic bags in boxes packed with icepacks sounds the opposite of eco-friendly. But Ballatori said that the company uses recyclable BPA-free bags and recyclable ice pack and shipping materials, adding that the company’s meals use less plastic than if consumers purchased the goods at a grocery store and prepared the meals themselves. “Everything is shipped fresh and once customers receive it, they have seven to 10 days to enjoy it,” Ballatori said. Customers can customize their meals to an extent and a la carte options are available. “People can say they’d like more chicken or more potatoes as an addon,” Ballatori said. “It depends upon what your needs as a household are. The menu is entirely gluten-free and we have a lot of dairy-free and plantbased meals. These are in response to consumer trends.” Many of the meals’ ingredients come from New York farms not far from the RealEats kitchen in Geneva. Ballatori relies upon Headwater Food Hub in Ontario, New York, supplied by 120 area farms. All of those farms are within 200 miles of Geneva — a big difference from buying produce that’s shipped in from California or Mexico. Ballatori believes that by working with New York farms, he can provide customers with fresher foods than by relying wholly upon distant producers. Ballatori said that fresh salads don’t work with the RealEats model, since lettuce would deteriorate in quality by the time the package would arrive. One New York supplier is Adam Hainer, who owns Juniper Hill Farm in Wadhams. The 100-acre farm is certified organic by Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, an industry authority for organic certification. Growing produce in New York’s temperamental climate is difficult, so Hainer uses numerous greenhouses to help him extend the growing season and raise more consistent produce. “We are continuously adding more greenhouses with a goal of bringing to market an earlier and higher quality variety of products,” Hainer said. “We’re capable of supplying whatever New York organic food they’d like to buy.” Another area supplier, Thor Oechsner of Oechsner Farms in Newfield, co-owns Farmer Ground Flour, a grain 30

Another popular choice at RealEats is the Garlicky tamari chicken. According to the compnay, most of the ingredients used in its dishes comes from around Central New York.

Marco Ballatori is the executive executive chef at RealEats. Most of the food RealEats cooks come from “local, sustainably sourced products,” he says. mill. Oechsner’s 1,400-acre grain farm provides most of the grains RealEats uses. “There really wasn’t much of any local flour available in the state,” Oechsner said. “You could get the local meat and the local fruit and the local vegetables, but the grain was the missing part of the meal. The more local food we eat the better for everyone both on an environmental level and supporting local farmer.” He feels saddened when he sees once-worked farmlands sitting idle and OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

believes that efforts like those of RealEats helps support New York farmers. “A company like that that buys from a local flour mill — that’s a value-added enterprise we have,” Oechsner said. “That enables us to raise the price the farmer is paid. The average food dollar, the farmer gets 12%. We pay almost 50% to the farmer as a mill. That makes a huge difference in how much the farm makes. Part of the reason our flour mill is running is to support the local farms by giving them a higher price. When people buy food, they’re voting for a kind of agriculture.” With the $1 million prize money, Ballatori said that the company plans to expand its cooler space to help in production and hire about 30 to 40 people full time. “We just want to keep on the path we’re on,” he added. “We want to innovate on how we prepare food and build on the flavors and catalog of dishes we have and grow our space to grow our company. New York state has helped us out a lot and been supportive in everything we’re doing.” RealEats bested nearly 200 applicants. Empire State Development funded the Grow-NY competition through its Upstate Revitalization Initiatives.

APRIL / MAY 2020

BUSINESS UPDATE

Running the show at Oswego Sub Shop in Oswego: Bill Greene Sr. and Jr. They’re the owners of the sub shop

Oswego Sub Shop Sticking to Family Tradition, Half a Century Later

he Oswego Sub Shop recently entered its 51-first year in operation, and owner Bill Greene Jr. said that stable, consistent quality is still the foundation of his business. The sub shop has always been a family affair, stretching back three generations. It was started by Bill Greene Sr.’s father, affectionately known as “Pops” to staff members, in partnership with his daughter and son-in-law. He had run a sub shop in Brockport for a few years, before opening the Oswego Sub Shop in 1969. At the time, Bill Sr. worked at Lincoln Rochester Trust Company, after returning from the Vietnam War in 1967. He said that every week he talked with his father, he heard about how well the Oswego location was doing, how much business was growing every week, and that was what made him decide to move to Oswego. “It just kept growing and growing,” Bill Sr. said. “That’s the reason I moved here, because I was skeptical when they APRIL /MAY 2020

first planned the Oswego shop. When I saw how well it was working, I knew I wanted to move here and help out.” Tensions arose between the family early on though, and Bill Sr. bought his father’s part of the business in 1970, and shortly after bought the rest from his brother-in-law. “My father couldn’t get along with my brother-in-law anymore,” Bill Sr. said. “I offered to buy my father’s half, and so I took over his half of the shop. Eventually, I couldn’t get along with my brother-in-law either, so I bought his half out. From there, I ran it for 35 years until I sold it to Bill Jr. here.” Bill Jr. took over the shop in 2002, but he had been involved in management since 1994. He has worked at the shop since he was a teenager, cleaning on weekends, then delivering and working the counter as he got older and more capable. Around the same time, Bill Jr. stepped into a more advanced role at the sub shop and opened Greene’s Ale OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

House across the street, which he owned and operated until 2002. Both men have committed themselves to keeping the Oswego Sub Shop consistent, and live by the rule that “If you bought a sub in 1969, you can get the exact same sub today.” Not only is the recipe the same, but it is made with fresh ingredients. “We slice our meats every day, we dice and chop our vegetables every day, it’s all done daily,” Bill Jr. said. “There is a lot of labor involved in that, and we feel that that’s what keeps us ahead of our competitors.” In order to meet demand and keep up with the workload that fresh-prepared ingredients requires, the shop has hired a staff of over 40 people, many of them working full time. While the sandwiches may be the same, there have been many changes to the shop since Bill Sr. ran it nearly 20 years ago. Over the last 12 years, the shop has grown in footprint as more space has been required. 31

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In 2008, Bill Jr. expanded the shop with a bakery and ample storage space in the basement, after growing dissatisfied with the company they were buying their bread from. “We used to buy from New York Bakery,” Bill Jr. said. “They were talking about cutting deliveries again and again, and it would have meant three days a week without fresh bread. That’s a very important part of our subs, so we decided to take that into our own hands. Now, every day at 5 a.m. my bakers come in to bake bread fresh for the day.” With the expansion of the building came an expansion of the menu. Before Bill Jr., the shop served 10 varieties of subs. Now, just the cheeseburger sub, which used to be one menu item, has 15 sub-options, warranting its own space on the classic-style menu board above the counter. There are 15 similar options for the chicken cutlet sub, as well as a wider selection of sandwiches, wings, fries and even baked goods. All that food, all that business and all that staff calls for high spending on wages, and Bill Jr. says that the current trend of yearly minimum wage increases has forced him to raise prices on the end product. “I think the major issue we’ve had in recent years has been the consistent, yearly minimum wage increases,” Bill Jr. said. “It has a huge effect on us, as I mentioned we are labor-intensive, which calls for a lot of man-hours, and it has been a struggle to keep up with these increases.” The future looks bright for the shop, however. The shop has gained historical significance to many Oswegonians, and with that significance has come loyalty. Bill Sr. remembers the story of a soldier stationed in Alaska, about to deploy to Afghanistan, calling and ordering four cheeseburger subs, to be overnighted to him on the Pacific coast. “It ended up costing him $150, but if someone calls and asks and is willing to pay the price, we’ll take care of it,” Bill Sr. said. “I’ve actually got one right now, I have to send a few cheeseburger subs out to Buffalo overnight this week,” Bill Jr. added. For the future, the plan is to add online ordering when possible, to improve and expand their delivery services. “We’ve got a great business here, we have an incredible product and we’re good at what we do,” Bill Sr. said. “The future is looking good.”

By Alexander Plate APRIL / MAY 2020

BUSINESS UPDATE

Mastering the Web Businesses need to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to search engine optimization By Lou Sorendo

n today’s age when technology evolves at a rapid pace, learning to use the internet as a marketing tool is becoming increasingly essential for business owners both large and small. Among the avenues on the web is search engine optimization (SEO). When a consumer is searching for a particular product or service on the internet, search engines display results pages in response to a query by a searcher. The main component of search engine results pages is the listing of results that are returned by the search engine in response to a keyword query. For a business, being among the top choices could be the difference between cashing in or losing. Daniel Carroll is the founder and owner of Hammerback Media, a full-service online branding and internet marketing company headquartered in Watertown. One of the business’s specialties involves SEO. Today, there are many different search engines available on the internet, each with its own abilities and features. Marketers such as Hammerback Media are experts on how search engine algorithms work. With this knowledge, content can be tweaked so that search engines have a complete understanding of the purpose of a client’s page and can deliver it near the top of the relevant results for a user looking for that client’s kind of business. SEO is about understanding businesses, the customers that are looking for that business and the technology users are employing in their search, Carroll said. “Search engines evolve constantly in an effort to ensure they are delivering high-quality results to their users,” Carroll said. “SEO is leveraging all possible avenues to ensure your business shows up fast when the user’s search is relevant to your business.” Google wants to give users the answers they are seeking while still keeping their attention after they have APRIL /MAY 2020

your brand,” Carroll said. “Most of this prime real estate is taken up by what Google calls ‘rich snippets’ or pieces of information from your website that are displayed directly in search results without users having to click your link.” Carroll said business owners must make adjustments in order to adapt to changes. “If you have a web developer and a marketing department on staff, ensure they are familiar with rich snippets and proper structured data,” he said. Structured data is data that has been organized into a formatted repository, typically a database, so that its elements can be made accessible for effective processing and analysis. “These are fairly novel concepts, so it may be time to consider sending staff to some continuing training to freshen up those skills if you aren’t already showing up in these results,” Carroll said. If a business does not have a web developer or marketing team on staff, it’s time to hire a consultant, he added.

Step up to plate

Daniel Carroll is the founder and owner of Hammerback Media, a fullservice online branding and internet marketing company headquartered in Watertown. completed the search, Carroll noted. “If Google can deliver the answer without the need for a user to click your link, they want that to happen,” he said. “For example, go to Google now and search for ‘lollipop.’ If you were a local business selling lollipops, look how far the user would have to scroll down the page to find your business,” he said. “The page is filled with pictures of lollipops, music with lollipop in the title, and some dictionary entries.” An effective SEO consultant is staying on top of these trends and is proactively ensuring his or her client’s business has a presence in this “prime real estate,” well above the first natural organic link, he added. “There should be photos of your business’ lollipops up there, and perhaps a link to a YouTube video about OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Carroll said business owners must take proper measures prior to hiring a company that specializes in SEO and understands the changes that are taking place. Traditional SEO has evolved and significantly changed in the last six months and most people are just recently enacting a plan that will fail if they are hiring a substandard SEO expert, Carroll noted. “First, ensure they understand your business and your customers. Someone could be an expert at technical implementation but if they don’t understand your product and your customer, none of that matters because they can’t properly implement a successful strategy,” he said. Secondly, Carroll said to quiz prospects by asking about rich snippets and structured data. “Ask them about their company policy for continued education,” he said. Carroll said it is imperative that candidates read weekly industry blogs, participate in quarterly online training seminars, and attend Moz conferences annually. MozCon is where some of the world’s top SEO experts share research and ideas. “There is no reasonable way to expect they can perform optimally in today’s hyper-fast and constantly evolving search engine landscape,” he said. Carroll said Hammerback Media 33

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seeks a competitive edge over other companies that specialize in SEO. “There are actually a lot of scammers or pretenders in the online marketing space,” he said. “I know a lot of ‘social media experts’ that give themselves that title because they have a lot of friends on Facebook.” Carroll said the same is true for “SEO experts.” “Someone read an online article and uses search engines a lot so now their LinkedIn says, ‘Search Expert.’ Either ask for certifications or ask about past campaign performance. If you are seeking pay-per-click services, it makes sense that your agency has passed the Google Ads certification, which is free,” Carroll said. Hammerback Media ensures that results promoting one’s business display relevant and inviting information that encourages potential customers to click on his or her link, the owner said. “That is because we start with a genuine conversation about your business,” he said. “I want to understand what your business does and its goals. I want to understand why your customers choose your product.”

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

SEO Audit For business owners who are new to internet marketing, the first step is to get an SEO audit, Carroll said. “Even if you had a perfect SEO strategy, if it was implemented more than a year ago, there could be a lot of missed opportunity,” he said. “Some of our past clients are doubling their website traffic after receiving an SEO audit and fixing problem areas.” In addition, he said many customers have recently added Google Ads to their marketing efforts so they can receive an increase in traffic to their site in less than 24 hours. Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google where advertisers pay to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, video content, and generate mobile application installs within the Google ad network to web users. Carroll said typical SEO work takes weeks or months for search engines to update a business’s rankings and start driving more traffic to its site. “But ads show up immediately and up to four ads can be displayed before even the ‘rich snippets’ on any Google search result page,” he said.

APRIL / MAY 2020

BUSINESS UPDATE

All in Family: Duo Joined in Dentistry and Marriage By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

o say that Dental Health Solutions in Fulton is a “family practice” means more than the demographics of patients the office serves. Dentists and spouses Yamilka Serrano and Juan Lopez-Rosario are family. “We want to be a destination for families,” Lopez-Rosario said. “That’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed a lot.” The couple met in dental school at the University of Puerto Rico in 2000 and moved to the United States in 2004. Since Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, their credentials are considered the same as if they had been earned at any dental school America. In 2007, Lopez-Rosario began working at the office that dentist Michael Botty had founded in 1985. Lopez-Rosario became a partner and eventually took the reins when Botty retired in 2015, bringing on Serrano at APRIL /MAY 2020

that point. “Once I became full owner, as the current owner was cutting back and selling the business to me, it was a perfect opportunity to join back again as a team,” Lopez-Rosario said. He and Serrano had studied together in dental school and they have enjoyed working together. The dental practice employs the two dentists, four administrators, four hygienists and three dental assistants. Lopez-Rosario said that he enjoys the interactions with the patients, along with “being able to be there for them to navigate their oral health needs. Any inquiries and situations they have, it’s a joy to help people.” Some families he has known for 12 years through the practice, treating some children from early childhood into their teen years. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Yamilka Serrano and her husband Juan Lopez-Rosario, both dentists, own Dental Health Solutions in Fulton. With them is their son, 7-year-old Diego. Helping others “is definitely our office culture,” Lopez-Rosario said. Lopez-Rosario said that his penchant for helping others drew him to a career in healthcare. Once he learned more about the dental field while in college, he realized that’s what he wanted to do. Helping others “is definitely our office culture,” Lopez-Rosario said. “We’re a patient-oriented practice where our goal is meeting the needs of the patient and trying to guide them through their needs and dental care. Though he doesn’t draw a lot of Spanish-speaking patients, some do come to his office because he and his wife are bilingual. The office provides a range of services that includes restorative work, surgery, cosmetic dentistry and pediatrics. The practice accepts several kinds of insurance and offers an annual membership that gives patients a discount for paying in advance. The membership includes two hygiene appointments, X-rays and a 15% discount for services, regardless of how patients pay. Lopez-Rosario said that the membership helps patients stay more faithful to keeping up with their dental care because it helps them keep costs down. “It’s been well received by a lot of patients who don’t have insurance,” Lopez-Rosario said. Patients who pay by cash or check can obtain a discount, too. The office has invested in technology that allows the providers to take digital impressions and a cone beam imaging system that allows them to provide implant services digitally. “We want to become the prime destination for dental care in the county,” Lopez-Rosario said. “I’d say this is a place that’s recognized as being patient -driven.” As a part of developing close ties with the community, the office donates to organizations such as Friends of Fulton Parks, supports community sports teams and donates to teachers who need school supplies. The couple has a 7-year-old son, Diego.

Bruce Frassinelli bfrassinelli@ptd.net

CORONAVIRUS

Will Life Ever Be the Same? ‘Sure, we have had disruptions in our lives before. When weather forecasters warned of a major snowstorm or blizzard, for which our part of New York state is especially famous, or other dislocating events, we saw panic-buying at grocery stores, but in those instances we knew that the emergency was going to be of relatively short duration.

BRUCE FRASSINELLI is the former publisher of The PalladiumTimes. He served as a governor of the Rotary Club District 7150 (Central New York) from July 2001 to June 2002. 36

What has changed since the start of coronavirus crisis? Everything!

little more than three months ago, China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases which became the genesis of the novel coronavirus. A month later, there were about 10,000 cases worldwide, including the first one in the United States. And now, a little more than a month after that, at deadline, there have been more than 400,000 cases with nearly 20,000 deaths worldwide, including more than 50,000 cases and more than 500 deaths in the United States. In New York state, as of March 24, there were more than 23,000 cases with 157 deaths. Nearly two-thirds of the cases and 80% of the deaths have been reported in New York City. In Central New York, the number of cases as of March 26 was more than 100, with about half being reported in Onondaga County. Oswego County had eight cases at that point. As you are reading this, the numbers are sure to be even higher. They have been changing on a daily basis. It seems almost incomprehensible that in about three months our lives have been turned upside down by a novel (new) virus for which there is no vaccine and one is not likely to be approved for use for 12 to 18 months. Things we have taken for granted — having dinner at our favorite restaurant, picking up a bottle of wine at the liquor store, socializing with family and friends, shopping, going to classes — are on hold for weeks, maybe months. The simple pleasures of life — attending concerts and sporting events, taking part in church services or seeing our child or grandchild’s performance at a dance or piano recital — are no longer options. Taking a trip to see relatives, planning a cruise, getting ready for summer vacation — they’re all on indefinite hold. High school and college seniors, who typically at this time are planning year-end

events and celebrations — proms, graduations, class trips, parties — they aren’t going to happen unless those involved violate the government’s decree to ban events like this. Let’s be honest: There are those who have downplayed this crisis and who want to pooh-pooh these dire warnings. Those photos of spring break revelers on Florida beaches made many of us angry at the self-centeredness and callousness of these young people who believed that this was an “old person’s disease.” Now, they have found out from researchers and health professionals who have been tracking COVID-19 that more than 20% of those afflicted are in the 20-45 age group. Businesses, which until just weeks ago were recording record profits in an economy that was humming along at unprecedented levels, are shut down and millions of employees are suddenly without jobs or soon will be. The stock market, which seemingly set new records daily, plunged into bear market territory and beyond, and most financial experts believe we are already into the early stages of a recession and fear we may even be talking about the dreaded “D” word — depression. Our individual retirement accounts (IRA) have in some cases been depleted by 40%, more in some cases. We are in unchartered waters where fear, anxiety and panic have become our daily companions. Sure, we have had disruptions in our lives before. When weather forecasters warned of a major snowstorm or blizzard, for which our part of New York state is especially famous, or other dislocating events, we saw panic-buying at grocery stores, but in those instances we knew that the emergency was going to be of relatively short duration. Those of us old enough remember two oil crises in the 1970s because OPEC put the screws on oil supplies. In 1973 and again in 1979, we sat in long lines every other day to get

My Turn

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

gasoline to fill our vehicles — assuming we could even find any. With this contagion, we do not know whether the disruptions will last two weeks, two months or much longer. Some health experts have warned us to be prepared for up to six months of the types of challenges we are facing today, including product shortages. Even after the immediate danger has passed, we are basically clueless at the moment as to how things will play out after that. We are told to stay home. Do not go to public places. Practice safe-distancing, which means staying three to six feet away from another person. We are given daily reminders to wash our hands for 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer (if you can find any), frequently clean surfaces with disinfectant (if you can find any), don’t allow anyone into our homes except immediate family and take a number of other common-sense precautions. News reports in newspapers and TV are devoted almost exclusively toCOVID-19-related information. Each day, the virus’s toll is reported — how many infected, how many have died. It seems as if any other kind of news has suddenly stopped. Social media are abuzz with comments and information-sharing posts. Along with the helpful is the misinformation that always occurs in crises. Of course, also a part of these crises are the charlatans and snake-oil salespeople who come out in force trying to make a buck on the vulnerable, fearful and anxious. Despite laws against it, price-gouging has become rampant, too, with outrageous prices being charged for hard-to-find items such as hand sanitizer, toilet paper and a number of food products. During my 80 years, I have lived through other pandemics — the most serious being the 1968 Hong Kong flu virus that killed about a million people, including 500,000 or 15% of the population of Hong Kong. The Asian flu, which struck while I was a senior in high school in 1956-57, killed 2 million people worldwide, including 70,000 in the United States and made some of my classmates really sick. When I was a boy, childhood diseases such as measles, mumps and chicken pox were common. Several of my friends and I had all three and were quarantined at home at various times until we recovered and could no longer spread the diseases to others. There were even quarantine placards on our APRIL /MAY 2020

‘What is unfolding before us with this novel coronavirus is unprecedented in its reach and scope, so we are being asked to act in a manner to which we have never been accustomed.’ windows to warn people to stay away. During World War II, rationing was a means of ensuring the fair distribution of food and other commodities that were scarce. Among rationed goods were gasoline, butter and sugar, but, eventually, most foods were covered, and shoppers received ration stamps which they used to buy sparing amounts of these items. But what is unfolding before us with this novel coronavirus is unprecedented in its reach and scope, so we are being asked to act in a manner to which we have never been accustomed. Living in a country such as ours, where we can basically come and go as we please, it is shocking for us to face a new normal for an unknown period of time. We are being asked not to do some of the things that have become second nature — shake hands, hug, kiss, hold hands, touch our face, lick our finger to turn the page of a book or newspaper, etc. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

This will be one of the biggest tests of what we citizens are made of. We have lived through other scary events. The Great Recession was just 12 years ago when the jobless rate soared and the country nearly went into depression. There was 9/11 two decades ago and the unsettling days and months that followed, yet we came together dedicated to fight the threat of terrorism. Now, as then, heroes emerge. Those on the front lines, especially the health-care providers in all of our communities, deserve our thanks, admiration and praise. We also salute the workers who remain on the job in critical businesses such as supermarkets and grocery stores, those restaurant workers who continue to serve takeout meals and other unsung heroes who put their lives at risk to help us. We got through those scary times, and we will get through this one, too, with common sense, sensible precautions, accepting the sacrifices we have to make for the greater good and by following the instructions of our health professionals and government leaders. We ignore their guidance at our peril and at the peril of our loved ones and the community in general. Let us also understand that we need to conduct our lives with an abundance of caution at this critical moment. This is not a time for downplaying or minimizing what faces us We citizens have an extraordinary track record for meeting challenges and rising up to conquer them. Let us face this challenge with the same fervor. Remember: We are all in this together. 37

1, as well as the need for funding. The application will be available online at www.oswegocounty.org or by emailing ooc@oswegocounty.org.

How will loan requests be reviewed? A loan committee comprised of OOC board members and OOC staff is being established to review requests on a regular basis in the order applications are received. Decisions will be made within three days of a complete submission and simple loan documents must be executed with the borrower prior to disbursement of an approved loan.

What is the cost of applying for the program?

COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program for Small Businesses Submitted by Operation Oswego County

n light of the devastating impact being felt by small businesses throughout Oswego County due to the coronavirus outbreak, Operation Oswego County, Inc. (OOC), with funding from the County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (COIDA), and support from the County of Oswego Department of Community Development, Tourism, and Planning, is uniquely equipped to provide emergency loans to directly assist small businesses with temporary financing during the pandemic. The COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program is summarized below.

What is the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program? An emergency loan fund of $500,000 allocated by COIDA and managed by OOC to provide zero-interest, 180-day loans to small businesses (50 employees or less) with a maximum of $10,000 available to support operations and employment directly impacted by 38

COVID-19.

Purpose of the Loan Fund

• prevent staff reductions; • allow business operations to continue, if possible; • offset losses related to the coronavirus/COVID-19; and • help companies sponsor sick pay for workers.

Who is eligible? Commercial, for-profit entities that own or manage a business located within the County of Oswego and can provide evidence of a loss in sales, income or cash flow within the last 60 days, or into the foreseeable future.

How can businesses apply? An application/intake form and required financial materials will be used to gather relevant information, and conduct an independent verification of financial statements beginning on Jan. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

There is no cost to apply. There are no closing costs, no filing fees and no attorney fees (if you hire an attorney you are responsible for that cost). Loans will be provided at 0% interest and will be payable until maturity of the loan up to 180 days (six months) from disbursement. Loans that are unable to be paid at the end of the 180-day period can be restructured and converted into low interest loans with a competitive rate.

Program Protocol and Procedures The loan committee will review loan applications and financial information. The committee will identify and prioritize which loans will have the greatest impact on economic resiliency. The loan committee will convene as needed to review and vote on loan requests. The required materials to submit will be included on the OOC website and via email as part of the application process. The loan committee reserves the right to seek additional information from the application prior to making a determination. If your business is receiving a similar grant from the cities of Oswego or Fulton you will be limited to one of the relief programs so that the maximum number of affected businesses can be considered.

Loan Collateral & Security All applicants owning 20% or more APRIL / MAY 2020

of the business entity will be required to execute a personal guarantee. All loans will be structured to mature 180 days from closing to be paid in full through a balloon payment. At the end of the 180day period, businesses may request to convert the loan into interest financing, which may require additional collateral as part of the loan restructure (corporate guarantee, UCC-1 filing, mortgage, etc). “During these unprecedented times it’s critical that our local businesses are supported in any way possible. I’m pleased that the County of Oswego IDA has made it possible for Operation Oswego County to bring loan relief to county businesses. My heart goes out to all those that are struggling due to this pandemic. My hope is that all businesses and their families stay healthy both personally and financially,” said Barbara Bateman, president of Operation Oswego County’s board of directors. Gary Toth, COIDA’s chairman. said, “The County of Oswego IDA, which serves Oswego County as a business development and retention organization, is proud to partner with Operation Oswego County and the County of Oswego to offer some economic relief to our small businesses. While this may not solve all of the economic stress, this is a good proactive start. In addition to the programs we are now offering and looking to establish, please use the OOC website as an informational tool to find other programs and resources for individual and business relief. The website is updated regularly as more information comes to their attention.” James Weatherup, chairman of the Oswego County Legislature said, “In these very unusual times, I am pleased to be joining the leadership at Operation Oswego County and the County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency as we announce this joint initiative designed to assist members of our small business community. Few of us alive today have ever experienced the types of business interruptions we are experiencing now. Our employers have been forced to navigate uncharted waters and we hope this program will help calm the seas of uncertainty and help our business315.342.5000 owners find their way through this unfortunate environment.” For more information about the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Program, call OOC at 343-1545 or visit www. oswegocounty.org.

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Working From Home 8 Tips to Stay on Top Advice from a writer who has worked from home for the past 20 years By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

hether you’re working at home because of a new flex arrangement, minor illness or, let’s say, a pandemic (COVID-19 — you might have heard of it?), try these tips for staying healthy and productive: 1. Stick with a regular schedule. It may be tempting to sleep in late or stay up late working, but avoid these extremes. If you work your normal hours, your coworkers and clients know when they can reach you and you won’t slack off or burn out. Take time for your normal breaks and lunchtime, too. When your day is done, follow your normal protocol for availability as if you were still working from the office. 2. Get dressed. Especially if you don’t video conference, it’s tempting to stay in pajamas all day; however, the cozy duds send your brain the message that you’re not really working today. You may not dress up in a suit or heels while at home, but at least getting out of pajamas and dressing sets the right

tone for the workday. 3. Communicate. You have to stay in touch for the tasks of your job, so choose the means that meets the needs of your audience and remains in compliance with company policy. Talk it over with your boss if it’s not working out well. That client who ignores email may be better reached on the phone. Respond promptly to others’ communication. A delay in the reply may make the other person assume that since you’re at home, you’re not as attuned to your work as when in the office. It’s also important to stay connected with coworkers socially. An occasional, non-work-related comment in a text, email or call can help you feel closer to your co-workers and not so isolated. 4. Minimize distractions. Working at home can make it easy to do a few household repairs or chores while “on the clock.” Discipline yourself to ignore the urge to start a load of laundry or fix that squeaky hinge until you are not working. (Writing down an after-work to-do list can help you make peace with these urges.) If possible, designate a room or at least a space in a room separate from the activity of the household. Set up a work area with all the resources, supplies and tools you need to work effectively. Let anyone else in your home know that during these hours, you’re working and anything that’s not an emergency will have to wait until you have a break. Once you’re

Writer Deborah Sergeant at her workstation at home. 40

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

accustomed to working at home, treat yourself to the pleasure of working from the back deck or other venue, as long as you’re productive. 5. Eat right. If you’re accustomed to grabbing lunch out, it may be inconvenient to go from your home office to the places you have patronized before. Perhaps cut back to a couple restaurant lunches a week or else find new places you like that are closer to your home office. Don’t let the lure of the fridge tempt you into grazing through the day. This may be a good opportunity to make healthful meal choices at home. Stock up on (or prepare yourself) some readyto-eat fruits and vegetables, yogurts, nuts, sandwich and salad fixings and low-sodium, vegetable-laden soup for easy lunches at home. Eat someplace away from your desk so it feels like a real break. Go outside, if possible. 6. Exercise. It isn’t just good for your body, but it helps you work better. If you liked to swing by the gym before work and now, you’re at home, you can still stay in shape. Get out and briskly walk or run when the weather’s nice. Look up home-based workouts on YouTube. Invest in some exercise equipment such as exercise bands, hand weights, elliptical machine or a treadmill. Performing some old-school stretches and calisthenic movements like calf raises, squats and jumping jacks can help you stay fit. 7. De-stress. Exercise helps with this, as does finding time each day to do an activity that helps you let go of stress. The transition to working at home can add extra stress to your life. Plus, when you work at home, it’s harder to shed stress because you don’t have that commute in which to decompress. Take time to do what helps you unwind, like the aforementioned exercise, light reading, talking with an upbeat friend, mindfulness or an enjoyable hobby that’s different from your work. 8. Enjoy yourself. Minimize the drawbacks of working at home by focusing on the advantages: no more commute, parking struggles or dealing with bad weather. You can pet your cat or dog anytime you like and wear your slippers all day if you want. All the time you had spent commuting you can use for something to nurture and improve yourself. For most home-based workers, the flexibility and time saved make the shift to home work a great arrangement.

Deborah Jeanne Sergeant has worked in a few different offices and, for the past 20 years, from home. APRIL / MAY 2020

COVID-19: Getting Information from Social Media? Oh, Boy! Those who rely on social media for information are getting bombarded with misinformation. See some examples seen mostly on Facebook and LinkdIn By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

s with any other popular topic, social media has shared lots of information and comments on coronavirus and COVID-19. Some of it is helpful and accurate and some is not. Here are a few examples of the latter, along with correct information from reputable sources.

“Ibuprofen/Advil/Aleve/Aspirin makes the virus go from mild to severe. Spread the word!” The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that there’s no evidence that taking these over-the-counter medications worsens COVID-19. A letter published in The Lancet said that these medications may worsen coronavirus’ effect, but it’s just a theory.

“Coronavirus can spread to our pets.” WHO’s website states, “While there has been one in-

APRIL /MAY 2020

stance of a dog being infected in Hong Kong, to date, there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit COVID-19. COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks.” Although originating as a zoonotic disease that was transmitted from wild animals to humans at wet markets in Wuhan, China, it’s not established that pets are in danger in the US.

“Check out this cure for coronavirus!” Coronavirus is the name of the virus that causes the illness called COVID-19. WHO’s website states, “To date, there is no vaccine and no specific antiviral medicine to prevent or treat COVID-2019. However, those affected should receive care to relieve symptoms. People with serious illness should be hospitalized. Most patients OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

recover thanks to supportive care. Possible vaccines and some specific drug treatments are under investigation. They are being tested through clinical trials. WHO is coordinating efforts to develop vaccines and medicines to prevent and treat COVID-19. The most effective ways to protect yourself and others against COVID-19 are to frequently clean your hands, cover your cough with the bend of elbow or tissue, and maintain a distance of at least six feet from people who are coughing or sneezing.”

“Whoever owes you money, go to their house now. They should be home.” While meant as a joke during a stressful time of home quarantine, minimizing contact with others is important to prevent the spread of any communicable disease, including COVID-19. 41

Foundation Launches ‘Nonprofit Education and Training Series’

he Richard S. Shineman Foundation is launching its first Nonprofit Education and Training (N.E.T.) Series in 2020. Due to the overwhelming success of two pilot workshops the foundation offered in 2019, its board of directors recognized the need and desire for professional development training within the nonprofit sector in Oswego County. “In 2019, our foundation offered a half-day workshop entitled “Nonprofit Board Basics” and a two-day workshop entitled “Fundamentals of Fundraising,” said Karen Goetz, executive director of the Shineman Foundation. “We set attendance goals for each. Nonprofit Board Basics was attended by 96 people, which was three times our goal. The twoday Fundamentals of Fundraising workshop was attended by 36 people, which was double our goal. Feedback we received gave us the green light to work with CNY-area consultants to develop the N.E.T. Series.” Four half-day workshops will be offered, all from 8:30 a.m. to noon. They are: • Board Development — May 15 at River Vista Event Center, Fulton. Participants will learn the best practices in nonprofit boards and create a plan to build, strengthen and maintain a good board. • Create a Fundraising Plan — June 12 at River Vista Event Center, Fulton. Participants will learn key aspects of effective fundraising plans and how to create their own. • Make the Ask — Sept. 18 at the American Foundry, Oswego. Participants will learn and practice how to solicit gifts for their nonprofit organization. There will be both theory and practice, with role play and other exercises. • Donor Retention — Oct. 16 at the American Foundry, Oswego. This workshop will present the free tools of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and guide participants in the concepts and use of donor retention methods and metrics. For additional information and registration, contact the foundation office at 315-312-5561.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website states, “Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for cancer survivors and people with other serious chronic conditions, people who are at higher risk of getting very sick. Avoid crowded locations like malls, theaters and sports venues.” Since people can transmit COVID-19 even though they don’t feel sick, it’s especially important to stay away from other people and avoid touching one’s face in public.

“We’re social distancing!” (Accompanied by pictures of people a few feet apart doing things like playing catch, attending a church service and using a blow dryer taped to a pole to dry a client’s hair.) Social distancing is supposed to help people avoid sharing germs. If they’re both touching surfaces such as balls, pews, chairs, door handles and countertops, they’re sharing germs, regardless of how much distance is between each person. The CDC states on its website, “Avoid touching high-touch surfaces in public places — elevator buttons, door handles, handrails, handshaking with people, etc. Use a tissue or your sleeve to cover your hand or finger if you must touch something.” Staying home helps prevent touching contaminated surfaces. Playing ball, in-person church services and haircuts can wait. Again, these posts are likely meant as lighthearted, but unnecessary social contact spreads coronavirus.

“Stock up on natural cleaning products to beat coronavirus.” This is a sales pitch, not health advice. Some natural cleaners may be helpful; however, it’s wise to follow the advice of the CDC, “If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.” For household cleaning, the CDC recommends using a diluted household bleach solution (providing the product has not expired). Follow the package directions and do not mix bleach with

other cleaners. Use five tablespoons (1/3rd cup) bleach per gallon of water Or four teaspoons bleach per quart of water. More isn’t better. Alcohol solutions should contain at least 70% alcohol. Wear gloves while cleaning and maintain good ventilation. Allow the surface to remain wet for several minutes to ensure germs are killed. For soft surfaces, use soap and water or other cleaners appropriate for the items. Launder items that are machine washable with the warmest water setting that’s appropriate. Wear disposable gloves while handling contaminated items and wash hands after removing the gloves. Avoid shaking dirty laundry. Disinfect empty hampers.

“It only affects older people, so I’m not worried.” Anyone can become ill with COVID-19. The CDC states that many populations should be especially concerned including, “people aged 65 years and older; people who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility; people with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma; people who have heart disease with complications; people who are immunocompromised including cancer treatment; people of any age with severe obesity or certain underlying medical conditions, particularly if not well controlled, such as those with diabetes, renal failure, or liver disease might also be at risk; people who are pregnant should be monitored since they are known to be at risk with severe viral illness, however, to date data on COVID-19 has not shown increased risk. Many conditions can cause a person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, bone marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and other immune weakening medications.” Many people who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for example, take immunosuppressant drugs. RA affects young adults through older adults. Use social media responsibly by first checking with established healthcare organizations like the CDC, WHO and local healthcare providers before you post or re-post. Kindly offer links in the comments of erroneous posts so that subsequent visitors can find accurate information.

Reserve space in the 2020 CNY Summer Guide editor@cnysummer.com OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

CCCE: Delivering Adult and Continuing Education Programs and Services

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he past year marked the beginning of an evolution at the Center for Career and Community Education (CCCE) as we strive to meet the ever-changing needs of our community. One of the major initiatives of 2019 was to bolster our branding efforts to better represent the services CCCE can offer through the partnership between the Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation and Cayuga Community College. In conjunction with branding efforts, we unveiled a new website, www.CCCEd.net, which is mobile-friendly and provides greater accessibility to information. In addition to a new website, CCCE implemented new programming to meet industry needs while simultaneously meeting the demands of adults and continuing education students. We are proud to offer a heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) course and a new customer service and administrative skills program. These new courses complement our long-successful health occupations programs, which have accounted for a 91% job placement rate on average. As we embark on 2020, one of our goals is to revamp our personal enrichment offerings. Right now, we are looking to create classes ranging from digital media to music to drones and more. We’re currently searching for instructors in the community who have a talent or skill and want to share it with other adults. Looking ahead, we’re exploring additional offerings such as a home health aide program and standalone CPR basic life support class. Our dental assisting program will now also offer a refresher course for those who have the hours of experience but need certification. At CCCE, we continue to instill a passion for life-long learning in pursuit of our mission: to deliver adult and continuing education programs and services to CNY residents and employers in an atmosphere that fosters intellectual growth, pride in achievement and opportunities for economic viability.

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Public Health Director: ‘This is Unprecedented’ By Payne Horning

swego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang is helping lead the effort to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, in Oswego County and beyond. He offered some perspective on what is happening on the front lines of this unprecedented health crisis. Can you compare what’s happening in this pandemic to anything else you’ve experienced during your career or is this truly unprecedented in every way? This is unprecedented. Working in public health, I deal with many outbreaks, but if you think about it there has never been anything on a scale like this. If you compare this virus with SARS (severe acute respiratory system), they are in the same family and are named very similar, but [COVID-19] is so much more infectious. And if you compare it to the H1N1 pandemic, we had a vaccine. With this, we don’t have a vaccine and we don’t have medicine [to treat it], so this is a big, big difference. An additional challenge your office is wrestling with is the investigation aspect. You have to track down the contacts each person who tests positive has had with others in the community. Before it came to our county, we were following state health guidelines — the first phase was case tracking and case isolation and the second phase was mitigation. Now what we are doing is combining the first and second phases. We are tracking cases and finding close contacts and isolating them. Are you seeing a lot of collaboration between different entities in the medical community in Central New York? The public health departments have been working together with our healthcare providers. It’s a valuable advantage to work together and important. When I look at how to protect our community, the key is really how to protect our healthcare providers. If they collapse, our community collapses.

If they are strong, our community will be well protected. What can the public do to help stem the tide? We need to protect ourselves through personal hygiene — washing your hands with lukewarm water and soap for 20 seconds; if soap and water is not available, using hand sanitizer – and also practicing social distancing. When – not if – we make it through this crisis, what do you think will have made that recovery possible? Working together is the key. My whole department and everyone in this building is working very hard and around the clock. The last email I received from someone came at 10 p.m. and the first email [the next day] came at 4 a.m. This is a close community and different agencies, healthcare providers, law enforcement, EMS, public health, social services work —we work together well. That is our hope.

Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang

‘When I look at how to protect our community, the key is really how to protect our healthcare providers. If they collapse, our community collapses. If they are strong, our community will be well protected.’

Things to Do The Oswego County Health Department encourages people to: • Stay home as much as possible. • Avoid non-essential gatherings of all types. • Keep six feet from other people in public spaces. • Wash hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before eating. • Avoid close contact with people who are sick. • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

• Get a flu shot. • Stay home if you are sick. • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue and then throw the tissue in the trash. • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. • Call your healthcare provider from home if you are experiencing symptoms such as a fever, cough or shortness of breath. • Do not go to urgent care or an emergency department unless you are experiencing life-threatening conditions.

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SPECIAL REPORT

At a Standstill Area housing market comes to sudden halt due to COVID-19, but real estate brokers express optimism By Lou Sorendo

OVID-19 has done its share of damage to the local economy, including a real estate market that was packed with promise at the beginning of the year. “Personally, I feel the COVID-19 situation hopefully will be relatively short-term,” said Thomas Haggerty, broker-owner of Century 21 Leah’s Signature in Fulton and Liverpool. “On the other side of this, we will see the recovery of the economy and housing marketplace. “I think the housing marketplace stands a good chance of being minimally impacted by the COVID-19 situation, if it isn’t protracted.” Despite the pandemic, people still need to buy and sell housing for various reasons, including life-changing situ46

ations such as death, marriages and divorces, he noted. “Those life situations can greatly impact the type of housing they need at that point in time,” he said. “Although it is possible that there could be a standstill, it the situation doesn’t become protracted and is relatively short-lived, I can foresee a recovery of our housing market place certainly by the end of the year,” he said. Haggerty said early March was “very good” in terms of real estate activity prior to the arrival of COVID-19. He said with a relatively mild winter and spring, there had been “virtually no slowdown of activity on the market.” “We had people who wanted to see houses and putting purchase offers OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

on houses on the last day that we could legally do that,” Haggerty said. In late March, the New York State Association of Realtors outlined restrictions for real estate licensees and brokers, including no open houses, no showings of houses listed for sale or rent, and no in-person listing presentations.

Seller’s market Up until COVID-19 reared its head, Oswego County was in the midst of a seller’s market as prospective buyers were busy placing purchase orders of properties. Haggerty noted that when a property comes on the market, typically APRIL / MAY 2020

Haggerty said he believes the factors that led to a seller’s market were primarily tied to a robust economy. “The economy nationwide is booming, and that trickle down effect — believe it or not — has reached Oswego County,” he said. “When the economy is chugging along, that makes everybody more confident about buying a home in particular. It’s the American dream to buy a home. The rising economy definitely led to more people being in the marketplace to purchase a home, and that led to the seller’s market.” Haggerty said Oswego County has been stable as far as the number of homes that are in the marketplace. “Absent the current situation with COVID-19, I really don’t see any change in the marketplace. However, it’s really dependent on how the economy picks up after we are through with this COVID-19,” he said.

Price drop explained

there is a flurry of activity in terms of showings. “If the property was appropriately priced, you would receive more than one offer within that first week of showings,” he said. He said a seller’s market exists when there are fewer homes for sale in the marketplace compared to what the demand is. “That tips the balance in favor of the seller, because now they have a commodity that is more desired by more people,” he said. “When you have less items for sale but they are desired by more people, that drives the price up.” Conversely, should there be a surplus of inventory, the scale would tip in the other direction and it would become a buyer’s market at that point. Haggerty said in his experience, Oswego County has historically been a very balanced county in terms of not being either a buyers’ or seller’s marketplace. In fact, 2019 was actually an anomaly, he said. “That was the first time in nearly 20 years that we have seen a solid seller’s market,” Haggerty added. APRIL /MAY 2020

According to the New York State Association of Realtors, the median sales price of a home in Oswego County was $90,163 in February of 2020 compared to $111,125 in February of 2019. Haggerty said the decrease could be attributable to being in a smaller market compared to other locations throughout the state. “It could be that a few home sales in the prior year were much larger. They might have been $200,000 to $400,000 homes that sold in the prior year, whereas this year we didn’t sell that $350,000 house during January,” he said. “That appears to negatively impact our marketplace in a much greater fashion than it would some other marketplaces that have more homes that it is selling during any given period,” he said. Meanwhile, mortgage rates in New York state as of March 26 were 3.75% for a 30-year fixed, 3.06% for a 15-year fixed, and 3.64% for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage. Haggerty said expectations call for interest rates to follow a downward trend. “Mortgage rates will become even more attractive to spur more buyers to go out and buy a home,” he said. “Three to 4% is already attractive, and when you hear that the mortgage rates are likely to go down for a period of time, that will make it even more attractive for buyers to want to go out and buy a home.” OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

In late March, the New York State Association of Realtors outlined restrictions for real estate licensees and brokers, including no open houses, no showings of houses listed for sale or rent, and no in-person listing presentations.

Looking for silver lining William Galloway, broker-owner of Century 21 Galloway Realty in Oswego, said prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was seeing “very high” activity with buyers in the market and homes selling for a higher value than the year before. Galloway said there is not a surplus of homes on the market for sale, which helps sustain a seller’s market. He said the low inventory of homes for sale has been an issue for Oswego County as well the entire country. “With less inventory, the value of homes increases, which makes it a seller’s market,” he said. In terms of homes for sale, there were 332 units on the market in February in Oswego County, a 5.4% decrease compared to year-ago figures. “COVID-19 has shut down real estate activity for a period of time, but when we are able to actively list and sell property, we expect the market to be more robust than 2019,” he said. The stoppage in real estate activity has significantly skewed results for the second quarter of 2020. “However, with interest rates dropping to record lows and buyers ready to go, the market will be extremely busy. We are getting calls to list properties, so sellers can take advantage of the market,” he said. “What we want everyone to know is that Century 21 Galloway Realty is concerned for the safety and health of our clients, the public and all of our agents and want everyone to remain safe and healthy,” he said.

SPECIAL REPORT

A League of Her Own Teri Beckwith sets the pace when it comes to mastering art of real estate sales By Lou Sorendo

hrough her 20-plus years in the real estate industry, Teri Beckwith has learned to skillfully navigate through the tough times while appreciating the good times. Beckwith has been the No. 1 real estate agent at Century 21 Leah’s Signature for more than 20 years. Leah’s has locations in Fulton and Liverpool. She has earned Century 21’s Centurion Award for the past 14 years. It is given to only a handful of real estate professionals within the Century 21 system for sales excellence. In 2019, she was the third-highest producing agent in New York state for the Century 21 team. Beckwith, 52, said it is “extremely gratifying” to be recognized on such a 48

high level, especially given that “there are some excellent agents out there and we all compete for business. “Each and every year, I work very hard to stay on top even with the challenges of the ever-changing market.” The Oswego native gets gratification and a feeling of accomplishment when she helps buyers and sellers achieve their goals. “It may be a seller that is looking to move to their dream retirement home or a buyer looking to get into their very first home,” she said. “Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions of one’s life and to be a part of that is amazing.” Beckwith has been working in the real estate industry for 23 years. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Throughout her career, she has experienced some bleak moments. “I have witnessed bankers not lending, lack of inventory, an overflow of inventory, high-interest rates — you name it,” she said. However, “what you can be guaranteed about in the real estate market is that you will get through the tough times.” Beckwith said one of the keys to being successful is adapting to ever-changing circumstances. “In the real estate industry, you are going to have deals that crash,” she said. “The more homes you sell, the higher the chances are of this happening.” She could be 45 days into a transaction when suddenly a buyer’s job site could close its doors. APRIL / MAY 2020

“This would now make your client ineligible for bank financing, when 45 days prior they were all pre-approved and ready to go,” she said. “You have to accept what’s at hand, make the appropriate phone calls and move on,” she added. “You cannot get into a slump due to one transaction or market conditions. Every day is a new day.”

Know the market Experiencing the many different types of markets throughout her career has sharpened Beckwith’s skill set. “When you are in the real estate industry, many fellow agents will ‘throw in the towel’ in a tough market rather than weather the storm,” she said. “Sales can be up and down depending on factors that include the economy, weather and interest rates. You truly have to hang in there,” she added. She said agents must use the down time during quiet periods to build future business. “This is done by marketing and self-promoting yourself, attending continuing education classes and working on your business plan for the following season,” she said. A real estate professional has to be aware of what type of market he or she is in, she noted. “We have to give our clients the best advice for any situation that could be at hand,” she said. Beckwith said knowing what homes are selling for, what buyers are looking for and the different financing programs available are essential to being a top agent. She discussed what motivated her to become a realtor. “My children were born 13 months apart,” she said. “When my children were born, I knew I needed a profession that would allow me to control my hours. I knew I could schedule house showings and appointments around my husband Scott’s schedule for watching the kids.” Beckwith also realized she could schedule real estate largely around school field trips and activities. “My children are now 26 and 27, and it’s worked well since the start,” said Beckwith, noting she also has a granddaughter.

Determining her fate She also knew she was destined to be her own boss. “I did not want a ‘cap’ on the income I could make. Being self-employed, you do APRIL /MAY 2020

not have to rely on an employer paying your medical insurance or paying into your retirement, and things like that,” she said. For Beckwith, the sky is the limit in terms of how much money one can make in the real estate industry. “When the kids went through college and planned their weddings, I knew I had to work extra hard for my goals. I love that. I love to work,” she said. Beckwith has received hundreds of personal referrals from clients. “I love when people are happy enough with my services that they refer me to family and friends,” she said. “When you have been in the market as long as I have, personal referrals should be a huge part of your business.” Being that there are many real estate agents to choose from, clients seek out advice from family and friends. “I feel clients should look for experience and a full-time local agent as well,” Beckwith said. She noted the internet has vastly changed the real estate industry. “There are so many websites taking over the industry,” she said. “A buyer can literally sit in front of a house, put the address in their phone, and the buyer will have a virtual tour and 30 photos in front of them within seconds. “As hard as it is to believe, years ago this was not the case.” The Sterling resident said when she first started in the industry, only two photos of a home were available for marketing purposes — normally front and back exterior. “There are pros and cons to this change. A pro is that we should be showing clients less houses as they have more information in front of them to ‘weed out’ the homes that may not work. “The cons are that in many instances, we cannot use our sales skills to discuss particulars with the client. If they discount the home on their own, you may not get to have that phone conversation,” said Beckwith, noting those types of decisions should be made with the guidance of a professional realtor. Beckwith was a former director of the now-defunct Oswego County Board of Realtors. She also serves on the board of directors for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Her passions include traveling and working in her yard.

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L. Michael Treadwell ooc@oswegocounty.org

Property Listings Aid in Business Attraction and Expansion Efforts

T ‘Operation Oswego County maintains a comprehensive portfolio of currently available properties in order to be able to mobilize quickly when contacted by a prospective company.’

L. MICHAEL TREADWELL, CEcD, is executive director of Operation Oswego County based in Oswego. To contact him call 315-343-1545 or visit www.oswegocounty.org. 50

raditionally, spring has been the peak in an effort to promote business growth and season for the real estate market, as development in Oswego County. Listings more home sales occur in the spring. for these properties can also be found on It’s also a great season for businesses looking the OOC website. to relocate or move into a larger space. OOC operates three industrial parks in With the goal to draw new businesses Oswego County: the Oswego County Into the area and help existing businesses to dustrial Park off state Route 481 in the town expand within the county, Operation Oswego of Schroeppel, the Lake Ontario Industrial County (OOC) maintains a comprehensive Park in the city of Oswego and the Airport portfolio of currently available properties in Industrial Park in the town of Volney. order to be able to mobilize quickly when OOC is also involved with the continucontacted by a prospective company. ing development of the 100-acre, mixed-use OOC maintains a list of buildings and Columbia Mills Site in the town of Minetto sites that are available for purchase or lease. and the Centerville Road/Peck Road Site in Many of these listings come from area real the town of Richland. estate companies and are provided on our The five sites listed above have had comwebsite with their permission. This relation- prehensive site profiles completed. Each site ship is mutually beneficial in that it provides profile contains detailed information about additional exposure for the site, including site area realtors and a comEconomic Trends characteristics, prior and prehensive property list current uses, site topogfor OOC. raphy, environmental features, soil characterThe OOC website provides two lists, istics, site utilities and zoning. Additionally, one containing available commercial and a market analysis is provided which includes industrial buildings and one containing potential scenarios for development of the available development sites. Each listing site. These comprehensive site profiles help provides pertinent data about the building developers and business owners visualize or site, as well as contact information for the the site’s potential, giving them a head start listing agent or owner. in the development process. In addition to marketing properties, OOC uses these site profiles to straOOC owns and manages several properties tegically market these sites to prospective

The Business Expansion Center in Oswego is ideal for hi-tech and IT businesses as it recently upgraded its computer and telephone network capabilities. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

businesses that would be well suited for the identified best-use of the property. When contacted by a business seeking information about potential sites or buildings, the site profiles are made available to them. Comprehensive site profiles are also available on our website within the property listings. OOC also works to promote development of privately-owned industrial and business parks such as the Riverview Business Park in the town of Volney, the Independence Industrial Park in the town of Scriba, as well as the Rich Corporate Park in the town of Hastings. Because of the many economic development assets of the industrial and business parks in Oswego County — including strategic locations, existing infrastructure, economic benefits and incentives, and varying parcels and buildings for office, research and development, light industrial, distribution and manufacturing space — we are able to be competitive when attracting prospective businesses. Operation Oswego County additionally manages three buildings with long-term tenants. The SUNY Oswego Phoenix Center and Discovery Daycare are located within the Oswego County

‘Because of the many economic development assets of the industrial and business parks in Oswego County we are able to be competitive when attracting prospective businesses.’ Industrial Park in town of Schroeppel. Northland Filter is located in OOC’s spec building located in the Lake Ontario Industrial Park in the city of Oswego. For short-term tenants, OOC maintains an incubator building with affordable rental space for non-retail, industrial and service businesses. The Business Expansion Center (BEC), located on East Seneca Street in Oswego, is ideal for high-tech and IT businesses as it recently upgraded their computer and telephone network capabilities. The building includes 13 offices and two manufacturing spaces. The building

also has a receiving dock. OOC promotes these properties by marketing through various channels. For instance, several issues of the OOC E-News features one of the available properties from the website. OOC highlights our industrial parks in editorials in national site selection magazines, driving traffic back to our website. OOC also uses targeted marketing to reach businesses in a specific sector. An example of this is the marketing campaign that was created to promote the BirdsEye facility. This resulted in K&N’s Foods USA’s purchase and development of the facility. The advantage to listing properties on the OOC website is to have everything in one place. Businesses who are looking to expand in Oswego County can find information about financial assistance and potential properties at the same time. It eliminates the need for them to weed through several websites looking for suitable buildings or sites, incentives, demographics, and helpful links to partner organizations. If you’d like more information about OOC or economic development services in Oswego County, call 315-3431545 or visit www.oswegocounty.org.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Ripe apples in orchard ready for harvesting. In New York state, apple growers harvest 29.5 million bushels of apples annually, making New York the second-largest apple-producing state in the U.S. Stock photo.

‘Farmers Are All in Pain’ ‘In New York, we have incredibly high minimum wage and an unfair system,” says one local farmer By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

he New York Farm Bureau announced its 2020 state legislative priorities in mid-March. Agricultural labor is the first priority. “The organization has long pushed for reforms that address workers who are currently in this country playing an important and necessary role in food production,” said Steve Ammerman, spokesman for New York Farm Bureau, in a statement. “At the same time, members are advocating for a better system to update or replace the current program: H-2A: Temporary Agricultural Employment of Foreign Workers.” New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher added, “We need a guest worker visa program that ensures a continuous and legal workforce going forward into the future for all sectors of agriculture, including dairy which is currently shut out of the H-2A system for its year-round needs.” The Farm Workforce Modernization Act was passed by the House of Representatives late last year. The New York Farm Bureau believes that the bill 52

Labor is top priority for New York Farm Bureau would help improve the supply of farm workers, and also improve safety by mandating that workers already here would commit to working two years in agriculture by becoming a certified agricultural worker. That would include paying a fee and receiving a background check. New York Farm Bureau wants to tweak the bill to raise the number of year-round guest worker visas and help farmers and ensure a fair and competitive wage. Any help like this would be welcomed news to Robert Abendroth, owner of Abendroth’s Apple Ridge Orchard. The operation owns orchards in Sodus and Wolcott. “Farmers are all in pain,” Abendroth said. “In New York, we have OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

incredibly high minimum wage and an unfair system. No one hears us.” He said that it’s unfair that H-2A workers receive $14.27 an hour — a jump from $9.25 just six years ago – and have nothing taken out for taxes. “My kids don’t make any money,” he said. “I can’t hire a local; he walks off with only a portion of the paycheck. A local gets nothing compared with the same migrant worker.” Abendroth’s adult children have degrees in agriculture and work on the farm with him. “Prices for fresh apples have gone down and processed apples have gone down since the 70s,” he added. The price he receives for apples is based upon how many apples his farm picks; however, now migrant workers receive a flat hourly wage. In 2014, a fast picker might make between $10.50 and $15 per hour, which motivated workers to pick more. “Now people say, why should we even pick well?” Abendroth said. “They’ll pick slowly, because they get APRIL / MAY 2020

paid as much.” He feels like his farm has no room for errors because the profit margin is so narrow. “I don’t know how anything will stay alive,” he said. He became a farmer by purchasing an existing farm, not through an inheritance. The farm had been run-down, which means he had to renovate or purchase more aspects of his farming infrastructure to bring it up to date, unlike a farmer inheriting a currently functioning farm. “If you start out in farming today, good luck!” he said. Other issues important to Farm Bureau include dairy pricing, since dairy farmers don’t decide the prices they receive for their farms’ milk. Farm Bureau wants farmers to have input as to milk pricing as well as bring whole milk and chocolate milk into the federal dietary guidelines. “Scientific data shows that whole milk is especially healthy and good for growing children,” said Ammeman, the New York Farm Bureau spokesman, in a statement. “In addition, consumer trends indicate increased consumption for whole milk and full-fat dairy products, like butter.”

A growing number of dietitians say whole milk is preferred since it’s a whole food rather than skim or 2% milk. Whole milk contains only 3% milkfat — not a lot more than 2% or skim. Farm Bureau also wants more enforcement of the misuse of terms such as “milk, yogurt and cheese” on products derived from plants. “This is misleading to consumers, some of whom believe these products contain the same nutritional value as milk,” Fisher, the president of New York Farm Bureau, said in a statement. “The FDA has strict guidelines on the use of the term ‘milk’, and it is not enforcing the milk standards. This must change for the benefit of both consumers as well as our dairy farmers.” New York Farm Bureau also wants improvement to infrastructure in rural areas, including roadways and broadband internet connection. USDA estimated that nearly one-quarter of farms in New York state lack access to the internet and that many of the farms with access rely on slower service. This can hamper farms from connecting with consumers, influencing public perception of farming and reaching potential vendors and partners. New York Farm Bureau also wants

“workable rules” for the 500-plus hemp farmers in the state. The Department of Agriculture and Markets states that more than 25,000 acres statewide are in hemp. At present, any hemp farmer can have his crop destroyed if his hemp is found to exceed a threshold of 0.3% THC, the hallucinogenic property found in marijuana. “New York Farm Bureau is advocating that the USDA Interim Final Rule for industrial hemp be flexible for producers and include proper testing procedures, higher THC level thresholds, better sampling requirements and ways to properly dispose of the crop that is over legal THC thresholds,” Ammerman said in a statement. “A challenge has been a lack of DEA testing facilities for industrial hemp which can greatly slow down the approval process for individual harvests. However, there are positive signs that the federal government will allow other labs to test as well to expedite the process.” New York Farm Bureau also wants more enforcement of organic livestock standards so that the certification standard is consistently upheld among producers.

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COVER By Lou Sorendondo

Meet Oswego Health’s New Chief New chief medical officer at Oswego Health intent on keeping pace with ever-changing health care landscape

ike his distant relative Jethro Tull, a farmer in England who invented the seed drill in 1701, physician Duane Tull is planting the seeds of change at Oswego Health as the newly designated chief medical officer. Duane’s family originally came from England to the United States and grew from its roots in Maryland. Besides his administrative role, Tull provides care to patients needing general surgeries and minimally invasive procedures in Oswego Hospital’s advanced surgery center. Tull grew up on the eastern shore of Maryland and he and his wife Kristy have been in Oswego for about a year and a half. He most recently served as chief of surgery at Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital, in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. It was Oswego Health’s Kristin Bullard, director of physician recruitment, who successfully reached out to Tull online in efforts to recruit him. With assistance from Century 21 Galloway Realty, the Tulls found their 54

dream home on the banks of the Oswego River in Granby. They reside there with their dog, Sir Jethro Tull. It was at Peninsula Regional Medical Center Salisbury, Maryland, where Tull “cut his teeth” en route to a career in medicine. He started as a junior explorer and worked in the lab and emergency room. As a junior explorer through the Boy Scouts interested in the field of health care, Tull would go to the hospital every Saturday and check out activity. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“I got immersed in it, except I got very bored because I wasn’t doing anything,” he said. That’s when he joined the volunteer team. However, after finding out assisting patients on a volunteer level was not fulfilling enough, he managed to get into the emergency room at the age of 14. “I was doing exactly the same things as the techs were doing, from doing bed pans to moving patients to handing sutures to doctors,” he said. APRIL / MAY 2020

Surgeon Duane Tull is Oswego Healthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new chief medical officer. Photo by Chuck Wainwright. APRIL /MAY 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“We’ve got to get the whole community to understand that we are not a Band-Aid station,” he said. “We are more modern in many aspects than Syracuse, and a lot nicer and convenient. If we can get people to understand that, then there is no reason to drive.” 56

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

He gradually became trained in phlebotomy and drew blood on a regular basis. He began emergency medical technician coursework at age 15 and finished in three months. “I had to have a waiver from my parents to go to class, and of course they drove me there,” he said. Tull at one point was the youngest EMT in the state of Maryland. “I grew up knowing I wanted to help people,” he said. His mom was a dance instructor and his dad was a labor representative. “Nobody in my family had any medical background whatsoever,” he noted. Although he is now in an administrative role, “it still is kind of the same thing. In college, I was on the rescue squad and part of the leadership of the rescue squad. I helped design ambulances and ran crews. I’ve always been a leader,” he said. Tull earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry in 1988 at Hampden-Sydney College in central Virginia. He then spent a year teaching high school, and then went to Eastern Virginia Medical School to earn his medical degree in 1994. He then returned to the Delmarva Peninsula and trained at Christiana Hospital in Delaware. Tull has been a surgeon or consultant in surgery since 1999. Chief medical officer is his first titled administrative role. “I’m still doing as much surgery as I was before,” Tull said. He is maintaining a full practice of surgery through filling his open times with administrative duties and focusing on administration one day a week. The 54-year-old surgeon has operated his own surgical practice and has worked in partnerships with other practitioners as well. “I’ve gone in all directions,” said Tull, noting that he became adept with aspects such as billing and coding. His new administrative duties consist of being part of all the credentialing for all physicians, and acting as a liaison between hospital administration and physicians. “If a medical question arises, it comes to me,” he said. Tull also interacts with all of Oswego Health’s outside consultants and facilities. He also recently worked with City of Oswego Mayor William Barlow in preparing local residents against the threat of the coronavirus. APRIL / MAY 2020

Born to lead Tull said he leads by example. “I am the one that always has my records right. I always show up to the operating room on time if not early. I try to do everything to lead by example,” he said. He said the only way to manage is to be part of the team. “You have to be actively involved, accepted and work with everybody rather than sitting there and saying, ‘This is how we are doing it.’ It’s got to be a team effort, and that’s how I try to do it,” he said. “One of our weaknesses when I started here was trying to manage and run the operating room,” he said. “We were running into inefficiencies.” However, Tull made his presence felt and encouraged workers to focus on being more productive. “Our actual turnover times now are 5 minutes less than the national average. We are heading in the right direction, but part of it is me being there,” he said. Tull took on the role of chief medical officer when Renato Mandanas retired from the position at the end of December. “Basically, since I’ve been here, I’ve been a disrupter,” he said. “The hospital has been here forever, and people have done things the same way forever. But the reality is, medicine has changed to the point where you can’t do everything the way you used to. Administration understands that, and they needed someone to help them get the medical staff to understand that as well,” he said. Tull said he was honored by that level of faith is his abilities. “I think being real is one of the huge things,” Tull said in regards to the keys to doing his job on a high level. “I’ve seen leaders that feel like they are above everyone, and it doesn’t work. You’ve got to be part of the team. “You have to be that guy who pops in at 4 o’clock in the afternoon on a Saturday and sits down and talks to nurses and asks, ‘OK, what’s going on today?’ You can’t just do the role and leave.” Tull said his wife is committed to making their transition work. “We have a running joke going where she will ask me when my last meeting is, and I’ll tell her it is supposed to be done at 4. Then she will say, ‘OK, so you’ll be home at 7.’ That’s kind of the way it is,” he said. He said the job is anything but just shuffling papers and telling staff APRIL /MAY 2020

New CMO Takes On the Challenges Ahead

ew Oswego Health Chief Medical Officer Duane Tull is zeroing in on some of Oswego County’s most perplexing health care problems. Tull said smoking and obesity are among the top health problems in Oswego County. “We have a very poor population, and as a result, the nutritional value in food that they choose is very low,” he said. “We are inundated with diseases of obesity. And this being a rural community, changing smoking habits is very difficult,” Tull said. In the realm of mental and behavioral health, Oswego Health is in the midst of constructing a new behavioral health center in the city. “I think we’re already doing well helping mental health in the community because we are already becoming a referral center with our small facility,” said Tull, noting the new facility will be state of the art. “We’re going to see even more

out-referrals, meaning people coming to us versus us going there,” he said. “Mental health is always going to be a problem in our area mainly because of socio-economic issues.” Tull said Oswego Health is continually working to create a mental health outpatient staff in order to extend its ability to care for everyone. He said Oswego Health is part of the New York program to try and limit opioid distribution. “We’ve actually changed our practices in the operating room and on discharge such that we are probably No. 1 in this consortium in the drop in the number of pills we prescribe.” “On average, I give seven to 10 pills after surgery and still patients are not using them because instead of saying to them, “Here are 20 pills. You will never have pain,’ we are actually training people up front by saying, ‘You’re going to be sore afterwards, but Tylenol should work,’ such that the expectation of narcotics is going away.”

Passionate Pursuits

he idiom “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” certainly applies to workers in many professions, including health care. New Oswego Health Chief Medical Officer Duane Tull recently spoke of his recreational pursuits that take the edge off more serious tasks. Among Tull’s passions is tinkering with the ’79 MG that his father-inlaw gave him. His father was not a tinkerer, but his paternal grandfather was. However, he died before Tull had the opportunity to work with him. “To me, I am paying homage to my grandfather by trying to make a combustion engine work,” he said. Tull is also interested in beer brewing, and at one point had a half-barrel brewing system that he donated to a brewery prior to moving. He has upgraded to an automatic system that can brew five gallons at a time. Tull prefers microbrews. “I drink so infrequently that when I do, I want it to be something enjoyable. I’m into OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

the ‘hoppier’ IPAs [India Pale Ale]. I like the New England juicy IPAs because of their very interesting flavors,” he said. Marquand Brown, vice president of human resources for Oswego Health, also is a beer connoisseur. He recently gifted Tull with a Rochester-based IPA called 4AM Phone Call. “I have to admit it is very good. It is kind of a juicy IPA and stronger in alcohol,” he said. “But it’s the only 4 a.m. phone call I really want because normally for me it’s the ER.” Tull is also an avid fisherman, and grew up on the eastern shore of Maryland surf fishing. “In most of my travels, I try to go offshore fishing, which is a blast,” he said. During his most recent vacation, he had the pleasure of catching a 125-pound, 6-foot shark that required 28 minutes of landing time. “My stress relief is adrenaline. I have two 3-wheelers that I go play with — a Polaris Spyder and Slingshot,” he said. 57

what to do. Tull said the reality of health care today is trying to keep people out of the hospital. “So the biggest efficiencies that we have to create to be able to keep the place open for those people that do need a hospital involve having alternative sources of income,” he said. He said for Oswego Health and most facilities, the OR and outpatient surgery are those avenues. “In this community, we have to get people to understand that we can do the exact same things that they can do in Syracuse, and we can do it as well and usually with a bigger smile than they will ever get in Syracuse. That way, people will want to come here for surgeries,” he added. “We’ve got to get the whole community to understand that we are not a Band-Aid station,” he said. “We are more modern in many aspects than Syracuse, and a lot nicer and convenient. If we can get people to understand that, then there is no reason to drive.” “You can walk into the OR, the ER or walk onto our nursing floors, and see that we have the same if not better technology,” said Tull, noting that one exception involves robotics. Oswego Health does feature robotic-assisted technology for its orthopedics department. Tull said he foresees robotics being used at Oswego Health if it becomes more affordable. “Right now, it would take 10,000 cases to even break even on the machines,” he said. “However, there is a company now that will actually lease it as you use it. We’re getting closer, but we just are not where it’s a favorable cost-benefit ratio at the moment.” In terms of other technology,

Lifelines

Birth date: Feb. 9, 1966 Birthplace: Salisbury, Maryland Current residence: Granby Education: Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, HampdenSydney College; medical degree, Eastern Virginia Medical School; residency, Medical Center of Delaware/Christiana Care Health System Affiliations: Fellow, American College of Surgeons; Fulton Lions Club; Elks Club Personal: Married, Kristy Hobbies: Tinkering with old cars, brewing beers, fishing Oswego Health will be featuring submersible UV lighting that has an anti-bacterial component in its new patient rooms. “We have all kinds of technology that nobody else has, and that’s one advantage we are able to do in a smaller facility,” he added. Oswego Health has begun significant renovations to its medical-surgical unit at Oswego Hospital. The $7.6 million investment will completely renovate the third and fourth floors and will modernize inpatient care.

Teaching moments Tull serves as an associate clinical professor for the SUNY system, and is also accessible to SUNY Oswego to field medically related questions and offer expertise. Oswego Health also supports the

Rural Medical Scholars program at SUNY Upstate Medical University. “We’ve had their medical students come through, but we are not set up for residents. However, we could easily sponsor a resident if they needed a place. But we haven’t set that up yet,” he said. Tull said in the world of surgery, there is a trend for a transition to practice fellowship. “We would be more than able to do that with somebody,” said Tull, who has taught physician assistants, medical students and nurses. “The only thing I don’t like when you are at a really big teaching facility is, it becomes the expectation that they [students] are going to do your case, and I still like to get dirty,” he said. Tull gets his gratification from being able to do something for someone that he or she can’t do. “For instance, a guy comes in with a big hernia that is limiting what he is able to do, such as work. We correct it in a minimally invasive manner so he is ready to go back to work in less time than he thought. That is the best thing in the world,” he said. “Another thing I like is when we go two or three days and nobody fell or complained. Those are the things that I look at,” he said. Among his challenges from a managerial standpoint is trying to meld individuals into one functioning unit. “Every single physician has his or her own interest. You have to get past the personal interests to the team collective,” he said. “We are not the Borg, where you can push buttons and program that. The most challenging aspect is getting everybody to think about ‘us’ instead of ‘me’,” he added. “It takes a lot of talking, listening and a lot of slow discussions,” he said.

Not a 9 to 5 Career Oswego Health’s new Chief Medical Officer Duane Tull shares some advice to those contemplating a career as a surgeon. “You have to think about the commitment and what it is going to mean for your lifestyle,” he said. He said people still think that physicians have a 9 to 5 job.

“Normally, we’re in the office a minimum of 9 to 5, but you are usually doing rounds before 9 or maybe after 9. Also, in our group we have three physicians, and we are on call 10 days out of every month, which means 24 hours of being available,” he said. How does Tull deal with running on fumes due to long hours?

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“You learn in residency how to not truly sleep and how to answer the phone and actually be logical,” he said. Meanwhile, burnout is very high among top-level health practitioners. “That’s part of why a lot of us are adrenaline junkies. We use that to decompress,” he said.

APRIL / MAY 2020

Meet the Chief Patrick Carguello, DO ConnextCare Chief Medical Officer By Lou Sorendo

hile dedicating one’s life to health care is certainly a noble pursuit, focusing that care on underserved populations such as those seen in the Oswego County region is even more admirable. Physician Patrick Carguello is the senior vice president and chief medical officer at Connextcare, headquartered in Pulaski. ConnextCare is a federally qualified health center (FQHC), which means it receives federal funding to provide quality medical care in a medically underserved community. The Community Health Care Association of New York State recently awarded The Paul Ramos Award to Carguello at its annual conference and clinical forum. Paul Ramos was a community activist who founded the Betances Health Center on the lower east side of New York City. He touched thousands of lives as he dedicated his life to providing health care to a significantly underserved population. “It is both humbling to receive an award that honors such an amazing individual, and a privilege to provide medical care to the underserved population in our surrounding communities,” Carguello said. As an FQHC, ConnextCare has significant regulatory requirements. Carguello’s primary duty is to work with administration, ConnextCare’s quality team co-led by senior vice president and chief nursing and quality officer Nancy Deavers and health care providers. “I ensure that we provide the highest quality care while achieving regulatory objectives without overburdening our health care teams,” he said. Carguello, 49, originally from Rochester, spoke to the choice of ConnextCare and Pulaski as areas to practice in. “Pulaski is about five miles from Sandy Pond, where I spent my summers visiting with my grandparents at their summer camp,” he said. “My parents turned that summer camp into their retirement home. My wife Wendy and I moved up here to be closer to our families in Sandy Creek and the APRIL /MAY 2020

‘ConnextCare also has shown superior control for diabetic patients with better control than both state and national goals’

Syracuse area.” “Coming closer to family was objective No. 1,” he said. “Fortunately, the federal government forgave my significant college and medical school debt after five years, and the mission of ConnextCare helped to anchor us here,” he added. Most graduates from medical school today owe between $200,000 to $300,000 in loan payment principal alone.

Playing crucial role

Carguello’s leadership has been instrumental to the significant expansion of ConnextCare since his arrival in 2003. The expansion resulted in an increase in access to primary and preventive health care services in Oswego, southern Jefferson and northern Onondaga counties. ConnextCare was the result of a rebranding of the former Northern Oswego County Health Services Inc. in 2018. The most significant growth occurred as leadership from Oswego Hospital, Oswego County Opportunities and NOCHSI came together approximately 10 years ago to merge medical practices under the governance of NOCHSI. Driving the transition were key medical providers that included current associate medical directors Scott VanGorder and Marie Desravines from OCO, Thomas Hanna from Oswego Health, and Elaine Shaben, nurse practitioner leader from NOCHSI. “This initiative stabilized primary care in our county and surrounding counties by merging several vulneraOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

ble practices under our stable FQHC governance and status,” Carguello said. He said none of this would have been possible without the efforts of ConnextCare President-CEO Dan Dey and Executive Vice President-Chief Operating Officer Tricia Peter-Clark. Carguello addressed the top health care concerns in Oswego County. The 2018 New York state health rankings report ranks Oswego County 57th out of 62 counties. The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation prepares the annual report. Data indicates that Oswego County has much higher rates of obesity, smoking, inactivity and other modifiable behaviors like excessive alcohol consumption. Carguello said these behaviors lead to increased rates of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and higher rates of cardiovascular death. He said ConnextCare has responded to these community wide health threats. The American Heart Association and American Medical Association have recognized ConnextCare as a Gold Level Organization for achieving more than 70% control of blood pressure with its patient population in 2019. “ConnextCare also has shown superior control for diabetic patients 59

Meet the Chief with better control than both state and national goals,” Carguello said. “We need to continue with success in these areas as it will help to lower rates of cardiovascular disease and death.” Another significant health issue in the county is the opioid epidemic, Carguello noted. Around 10 years ago, Glenn Thibault, a family medicine specialist at ConnextCare, started providing care for opioid addiction by prescribing Suboxone. Since he started providing this care, ConnextCare has since added several Suboxone prescribers, Carguello said. Amanda Ray is one of ConnextCare’s board-certified family physicians who is also board-certified in addiction medicine. “ConnextCare has played a significant role in reducing overdose death rates over the last several years and plans to continue to provide and grow this very important service,” he added.

Dual responsibilities

Aside from his administrative duties, Carguello also works as a full-time family physician. During his first two years at ConnextCare, he did not have an administrative role. “It was very easy to build a practice here because there was such a shortage of providers. So within a year, I was pretty full and by two years, fairly saturated. When given the opportunity back then to become medical director, I took it but wanted to keep my full-time practice,” he said. “Patient care is what I really enjoy.” ConnextCare is addressing the physician shortage by taking a proactive approach. “One thing that we’ve done to help extend our physician staff is grow relationships with SUNY Upstate Medical University and Le Moyne College for their nurse practitioners and physician assistants,” he said. “We’ve evolved from where we were in 2003 with a limited number of mid-level NPs and PAs and a higher number of physicians to now a much larger complement of NPs and PAs.” “They are crucial. We have a number of teams of physician pairings with NPs and PAs that allow physicians to be extended out to accommodate patients that really need care,” he said. “Without this system that we built, we wouldn’t 60

be able to do it.” Carguello said he enjoyed teaching medical students during his residency days, which led to an outstanding teaching resident award. “I have carried this on as an attending and have taught many medical students, nurse practitioners and physician assistant students over the years,” he said. “Many of my former students are employed health care providers for ConnextCare and I take pride when I sit in the office with a patient and they praise the health care providers that were my students.” As a medical provider, Carguello said he tries to lead. “Our quality team reviews many health indicators for our patients and I strive to achieve high-quality outcomes with my patients as a physician leader in our health center,” he said. “My father is an industrial engineer. Efficiency and time management were imbedded in my upbringing,” he said. “This mentality has helped me with documentation and computer challenges so that I can leave my computer in the office.” Carguello’s first job as a family physician was for the Olean Medical Group, a multi-specialty group in the Southern Tier. “I worked with almost every specialty in the outpatient setting and also took care of hospital patients, including newborns, pediatric and adult admissions and also adult patients in the intensive care unit,” he said. “This first job was like a second residency for me.” This training, along with practicing in Pulaski with accomplished physician leaders like Pat Chapman, Jay Chapman and Charles Kim, helped Carguello be prepared for all his current duties. Additionally, ConnextCare leader Dey provided invaluable guidance and mentoring, he added. “I chose family medicine because of the broad variety of diagnosis and patient populations keeps work interesting,” he noted. Carguello said relationships with patients are “definitely the most satisfying part of being a family physician. “It is rewarding to help someone through a challenging medical problem. It is also nice to get compliments about care that was provided to a family member.”

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Achieving balance

“As a family physician, I treat many diagnoses daily that can be treated or prevented with lifestyle modifications,” he said. “Exercise is definitely important to me and a huge part of stress relief for me.” Carguello does a combination of cardiovascular exercise and resistance exercise about 45 to 60 minutes a day. “My wife and I try to see that our family has a healthy diet that is low in sodium, concentrated sweets, saturated animal fats and high in fruits and vegetables,” he noted. Carguello addressed the need to achieve a successful work-life balance. “Physicians, especially family physicians, have had very high burn out rates since the evolution of electronic health records,” he said. Carguello credits his family and parents for helping him to not suffer from burnout. “Growing up in Upstate New York and camping throughout Upstate has helped me to appreciate how beautiful our region is and how necessary vacation time away with family is,” he said. “The ‘recharge’ from a vacation is invaluable.” Carguello said carving out family time is crucial to maintaining a healthy work-life balance. “We have always carved out time to get the family together and get away, whether it be skiing, hiking or biking together,” he said. Meanwhile, the Carguello family has done significant fundraising for diabetes research over the years. His oldest son Benjamin was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of 9. Benjamin and his family formed a riding team called “Carguellos for a Cure” a year after he was diagnosed and has done several Tour de Cures around Oneida Lake. The family has generated between $30,000 and $40,000 for diabetes research over the last 10 years. Carguello’s ideal retirement scenario involves staying in the region. “We plan to eventually turn our summer camp on Sandy Pond into our retirement home, as long as Plan 2014 [plan to regulate Lake Ontario water levels] doesn’t interfere,” he said. “Wendy and I also love to travel and will probably do that during the winter months a bit to break up the long winter season.” APRIL / MAY 2020

Seth Kronenberg, MD Crouse Health Chief Medical Officer By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

orking at Crouse Health has proven to be a good fit for physician Seth Kronenberg. The board-certified internist serves as chief operating officer and chief medical officer at Crouse Health. He oversees both Crouse’s clinical operations and also physician activities, as well as its hospital affiliations, quality improvement and patient health initiatives. Kronenberg said that one of the things that attracted him to working at Crouse was its company culture, an aspect of the heath system that is now part of his job duties to maintain and promote. “The culture at Crouse is excellent,” Kronenberg said. “It’s one of the things we think differentiates ourselves.” In an economy where the growing number of baby boomers is retiring from healthcare positions and requiring more and more healthcare themselves, the demand is much higher than decades ago. Many healthcare organizations across the nation struggle to staff positions from entry level through physicians. Kronenberg said that Crouse is well-staffed, thanks in part to efforts to retain staff. He also likes how involved the physicians are in the organization. “We have tremendous physician engagement, which makes my job easy and interesting,” he said. “I like being able to work with the talented physicians aligned with Crouse to improve patient care.” Patient care has always been an important to Kronenberg. He has worked in a purely administrative role only since five years ago. Kronenberg earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Kronenberg studied internal medicine and completed his internal medicine residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Upstate Medical University. A board-certified internist, Kronenberg began working in private practice in internal medicine in 2001, seeing patients at Internists Associates of Central New York. He became the managing partner in 2005.

APRIL /MAY 2020

‘The culture at Crouse is excellent. It’s one of the things we think differentiates ourselves.’ Internists Associates of Central New York became part of Crouse Medical Practice, PLLC, which Kronenberg helped found in 2010. Kronenberg became president of Crouse Medical Practice in 2014. Though he was still seeing patients at Crouse Medical, he began performing more and more administrative work at that point. In 2015, Kronenberg transitioned to full-time administrative work in his current positions as chief medical officer and chief operating officer at Crouse. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Syracuse Community Health Center, Community Memorial Hospital, HealtheConnections and the Central New York Care Collaborative. “I enjoy being able to improve the culture and quality at Crouse on a systemic basis,” he said, employing medical parlance. “I enjoy seeing patients and I enjoy patient care and interacting with one patient at a time. I like working on the systems of company culture for Crouse’s 3,100 employees and 900 physicians.” Though different things come up every day, as the organization’s chief medical officer and chief operating officer, Kronenberg keeps his main focus on making sure the hospital maintains adequate bed capacity, safe staffing and clinical coverage, as well as handling any physician issues, working on the systems development and process improvement program. “The challenge is dealing with day to day operations while forwarding the mission and reach of Crouse,” Kronenberg said. He also deals with unexpected regulatory issues and crises such as the COVD-19 outbreak. Like his colleagues OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

at other healthcare facilities nationwide, managing the changes caused by the illness has taken much of his time in recent weeks; however, he believes the staff at Crouse are adjusting well and maintaining their level of customer service. He said that he finds it rewarding to work with “such an engaged medical staff and seeing how we’ve grown over time and how Crouse has improved out quality and programs, including our comprehensive stroke center.” Established in 2007, Crouse Hospital Primary Stroke Center represents one of 10 such New York state-designated facilities. It is also designated by New York state and DNV GL as a Comprehensive Stroke Center. Headquartered in Hovik, Norway, DNV GL is an international accredited registrar and classification organization. Crouse was the first in the region to receive dual designation for its stroke care. Thanks to the team approach, stroke care begins prior to the patient showing up at the hospital. While en route, coordinated care keeps the emergency room and stroke care providers apprised to the patient’s treatment to ensure the most appropriate care continues at the hospital. Crouse’s website states that the providers meet or exceed the US average “door-to-door” treatment times. The shorter time between the onset of a stroke and treatment of a stroke, the better outcomes patients tend to 61

Meet the Chief experience. Crouse also provides rehabilitation services for stroke patients. Crouse has received recognition from the American Heart/Stroke Association’s Target: Stroke Honor Roll

Elite Plus for reducing the time of giving stroke medication to within 45 minutes. Kronenberg also expressed pride in Crouse’s two hybrid operating room suites, which lets the stroke team offer

endovascular stroke care 24 hours a day any day of the week. “We have such a talented team; It’s a pleasure to do my job,” Kronenberg said.

Joseph Spinale, DO St. Joseph’s Health Chief Medical Officer By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

ealthcare has undergone quite an overhaul from even a decade ago. Physician Joseph W. Spinale, chief medical officer for St. Joseph’s Health since 2017, has observed this change both at Kent Hospital in Warwick, Rhode Island, where he used to work, and at St. Joseph’s. “Hospitals used to be places where physicians and single practices and small groups came and practiced their work,” Spinale said. “Now, it’s a complex system or is part of a larger complex system. It needs to provide healthcare for the population it serves. Physicians who used to be their own entities are transitioning to be employed. It’s a lot of work to shepherd those things. It’s no longer doctors doing their own things, but doctors being part of a whole. They were trained to be autonomous, so it’s difficult. How do I train them to be autonomous in a larger system and collaborative?” Spinale worked in his family’s engineering firm, which designed and built assembly lines. Though healthcare is much more personal and caring than a factory assembly line, the experience taught him important lessons. “That work made me very focused on process,” Spinale said. “How do you design a process, remove unnecessary steps from the process and get a good product at the end? As we apply that to the in-patient healthcare setting, when you get a good result, it’s very rewarding.” Considering the tight margins in modern healthcare, becoming more efficient is vital, Spinale said. Spinale earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and his Master of Business Administration from University

‘How do we provide the best care for a population of people at the lowest cost?’ of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is board-certified in cardiovascular medicine. Spinale started out as a cardiologist at Kent Hospital, then served as chief of cardiology, followed by director of medical education and lastly chief medical officer — all at Kent Hospital in Rhode Island. “I never had a plan to come to New York,” Spinale said. “In my old role, I was in the succession plan to be the president of the hospital.” That changed with a call from a recruiter who felt that Spinale would be ideal for the chief medical officer position at St. Joseph’s. “I said, ‘Isn’t that the snow capital of the U.S?’” Spinale said. “’Call me back when you have something in North Carolina or Virginia.’” In July, Spinale visited and felt like St. Joseph’s was the place for him. By Labor Day, he called Syracuse his home. “It’s a great hospital and great community,” Spinale said. “We love Syracuse and Central New York and we’ve been here ever since.”

Morning meetings First thing in the morning, he meets with the physicians to prepare for the day. He also meets with the hospital directors and managers to catch up with what’s happened over the previous OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

24 hours and what is expected for the following 24 hours. He also walks through the hospital to visit each department to talk with employees about what barriers they may have to overcome to provide excellent care and to learn about any other issues. He also speaks with other leaders in the hospital about the information he’s gathered in the morning. During the afternoon, he interviews employment candidates, meets with various departments and quality improvement groups, and to wrap up his day, he meets with the physicians again to recap the day. Spinale also works with physicians leaving small medical practice seeking employment. “There’s a lot of financial assessment and due diligence,” Spinale said. “Mixed in with that is the usual budgeting and quality improvement work.” He also works to ensure that the students have a good learning experience that meets accreditation standards and APRIL / MAY 2020

that students, employees and interns are working safely. St. Joseph’s is certified by DNV GL, an international accredited registrar and classification organization headquartered in Hovik, Norway. Spinale works with the St. Joseph’s Medical Group, which is affiliated with the Trinity Health System, and interfaces with his counterparts at Crouse and Upstate. “All of us chief medical officers and hospital administrators have good, working relationships,” Spinale said. “It’s about collaborating and competing, because every hospital has a bottom line they must meet.” Spinale said that his biggest challenge is daily answering the question, “How do we provide the best care for a population of people at the lowest cost?” “That’s what keeps every chief medical officer up at night,” Spinale said “Every hospital across the country is working on that. Some are further ahead than others and some parts of the country are farther ahead than others. And it’s not just the chief medical officer, but every part of the administrative team.” One of St. Joseph’s recently achieved goals is reducing the rate of hospital-acquired infections, which enabled the hospital to earn a Leapfrog A in its safety score. “It’s one of my pet peeves for a patient to come to the hospital and be harmed by the hospital,” Spinale said. St. Joseph’s also has a community health and wellbeing department that promotes health initiatives in the community such as smoking cessation, diabetes management and healthful diet. “As we move from taking care of individual patients, to keeping the community healthy, that’s where the savings is in healthcare,” Spinale said. “It’s been a pleasure working in a faith-based organization. It’s very different than working for a for-profit and a secular hospital. In this institution, the commitment to taking care of the community and each other is palatable. It hits you at the front door. It was completely obvious from the day I came. It’s why I’m here.”

Reach 25,000 decision makers in CNY. Advertise in Oswego County Business. 315-342-8020 Covering Oswego, Onondaga APRIL /MAY 2020

Micheal Stephens, MD Oswego Health Associate Chief Medical Officer By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

“I expect a lot from my staff, but in turn, once they have gained my respect, they will be part of my family and I will go to bat for them for anything’

t’s one thing for a physician to treat a patient for an illness. It’s entirely another thing to truly be a part of their journey through all stages of life. Physician Micheal Stephens, recently named the new associate medical director at Oswego Health, has excelled as a front-line family physician throughout his career. He has worked with many patients in helping them make vital health care decisions. Stephens, 50, said he is looking forward to being part of the Oswego Hospital team as it strives to provide better quality of care to all reaches of Oswego County and beyond. Stephens said his past roles in emergency and family medicine, hospice care, and working in senior living facilities helped in terms of preparing for his new position. The St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada native has experienced health care across the broad spectrum of life, all the way to hospice care and the role of compassion. “We are certainly in a population with baby boomers, and we are continuing to have an aging population that we are going to be responsible for. We need to treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve,” he said. Stephens has been a long-time family practitioner at Oswego Family Physicians, which Oswego Health acquired in October of 2018. Stephens was on the Oswego Health board of directors for six years, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

and as vice chairman, was positioned to become chairman prior to the acquisition. “I had to step back from the board, which I loved,” said Stephens, who noted a conflict of interest due to the transaction involving Oswego Family Physicians prompted that decision. “My role is to continue to provide primary care access throughout the county,” he said. A focus will be on making primary care offices in Central Square, Fulton and Novelis more accessible and to improve the standard of care. “We just recently implemented a new electronic medical record system that is different from the hospital. It was a commitment that the hospital made because it recognized that is the most efficient and productive way to care for patients in a primary care setting,” he noted. Stephens said his past experience in the ER also connected him to first re63

Meet the Chief sponders and the challenges EMTs face. “The ER is the gateway to an organization and the front door to Oswego Health,” he said. “We need to continue to build great relationships with first responders and create great first impressions.” “When you talk about the emergency room, you touch on a lot of moments in a person’s life when there is a lot of stress and duress,” he said. Stephens will also focus on assisting Duane Tull, the new chief medical officer at Oswego Health. Stephens’ goals include improving access to care and putting procedures into place for direct admission from patients’ primary care providers. “That is something most facilities don’t have. We would like to provide a concierge of medical services to those throughout the county,” he said.

The essentials Stephens said among the skill sets necessary for a health care provider to work at a high level is the ability to be an effective communicator. “To be a family physician, you have to play a quarterback role,” he noted. Also, “you have to be able to identify the specialists that your patient needs,” he added. One must also learn the “art of medicine,” which includes delivering bad news. “That is not something that you are taught in med school,” he said. He said the “science of medicine” involves understanding directives from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as knowing what screening is appropriate for a given patient. He emphasizes the importance of creating a trust bond with patients and being able to “deliver a message that suits their personality,” Stephens said. “As you go through practicing for 25 years, you develop these skill sets that can never be taught in a classroom,” he said. In terms of his administrative role, Stephens said it is important to understand that “people are depending on me to do the job.” “There are going to be employees that have different perspectives, and it’s important to be able to walk in their 64

shoes for a day,” he added. Stephens said across the organization, “everyone is fighting for what they believe is the best thing for the patient. It’s essential to collect and absorb all that information to make the best decision. As long as we understand that the patient is first, we will move forward as an organization.”

North of the border Stephens grew up in St. Catharines, the largest city in Canada’s Niagara region and sixth largest city in Ontario. “New York is very similar to Ontario province, so it was an easy transition. I am definitely attracted to the four seasons and my family enjoys winter,” he said. Prior to arriving in the Port City, Stephens began his medical career within a rural program in British Columbia in 1997. He always wanted to practice in a community hospital setting instead of a larger metro area. “I’m a blue-collar, boots-on-theground type of guy. I think that is one of my assets. I am very relatable to people, and that is one of my endearing qualities,” he said. When he arrived in Oswego, he had the opportunity to engage in many different aspects of medicine. “Oswego Health at that time allowed us to work in the intensive care unit, and we did so many different things,” he said. Stephens also praised physician Robert Morgan, head of Oswego Family Physicians, for giving him the opportunity to work in an efficient office with other highly talented providers such as physicians Mark Humphrey and Douglas Guenter. “It was a practice that was running well that allowed me to do all the hospital work I wanted,” he said. As a key member of Oswego Family Physicians, Stephens said Oswego Health is using the successful practice as a model for others today. Stephens said he leads by example and with passion. “I expect a lot from my staff, but in turn, once they have gained my respect, they will be part of my family and I will go to bat for them for anything,” he said. “I will support, assist and encourage them in any area they need, in and OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

out of work,” he said. “I really try to sit back and listen to their side of the story.”

Enjoy the journey

Stephens’ advice to students in medical school is to not be overly concerned about grades. “I feel medical students are always worried about grades. They have been programmed to do that because it is so competitive to get in,” he said. “Once they get in, they still continue to think about grades all the time.” “What do you call someone who graduated med school with a 2.2 grade point average? The answer is ‘doctor’,” he said. Stephens advised med students not to fret about grades. “Worry about the knowledge you are receiving and enjoy the journey,” he said. Stephens said medical students he has trained are obsessed with aspects such as testing. “They are forgetting that you’re just a sponge as a medical student. It’s just wrong when people get bogged down on grades once they have already reached medical school,” he said. He said the most successful physicians “really absorbed into the patients and just sponged everything up” throughout medical school. “The people who didn’t obsess over grades in med school have turned out to be some of the best doctors,” he added. Stephens, 50, takes pride in being part of the Oswego community. His wife Pam has worked and volunteered at the Oswego YMCA for many years. “We’ve been all about this community and keeping things in this community,” he said. Stephens earned his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Guelph in Ontario in 1991. In 1995, he graduated with his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 1997, he graduated with his residency in family medicine from the University of British Columbia. Stephens is the medical director for Morningstar Residential Care Center and The Gardens assisted living community in Oswego. In addition, Stephens is an owner of the former Michaud Residential Health Services in Fulton and is doing a complete remodel of the facility. APRIL / MAY 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Rendering of a new $17 million behavioral health center Oswego Health is building at the former Price Chopper location in Oswego.

Catalyst for Growth Oswego Health continues its role as main economic driver in Oswego County By Lou Sorendo

swego Health is not only attendiJeng to the health care needs of Oswego County. It is also helping to keep the region’s economy rolling. The latest numbers indicate that Oswego Health has a total economic impact of $207 million on the communities it serves. Over the last two years, its annual payroll has gone from $63 million to $75 million. That is what it is paying to its more than 1,200 employees in competitive wages who largely live in the community. Oswego Health is the second-largest private employer in Oswego County, ranking only behind Exelon Generation. Of course, a multiplier effect kicks in as these workers also buy homes, groceries, and support local businesses while participating in a myriad of other activities. Additionally, Oswego Health is investing in about $25 million to $30 million in construction projects while 66

employing construction trades workers. It is constructing a new $17 million behavioral health center at the former Price Chopper location in Oswego. Internally, it is investing $8 million in upgrading its inpatient medical-surgical rooms. Additionally, SUNY Upstate Medical University recently did a $1 million project to enhance its presence at the hospital. “We are paying that money out on top of payroll dollars for fixed staff,” said Michael Harlovic, president and CEO of Oswego Health. “We continue to be in a growth mode.” The organization’s growth in the areas of primary and specialty care, psychiatry and the addition of physicians and mid-level practitioners is expected to increase Oswego Health’s overall economic impact. “We have growth plans under way that potentially involve new facilities and sites, and upgrading what we already have, especially in the Fulton OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

market,” he added. In the wake of the city of Oswego being granted $10 million in state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds, the city of Fulton is embarking on its own revitalization thanks to receiving the same level of financial assistance last year. “We have the opportunity in Fulton to continue to upgrade services at our Fulton Medical Center,” said Jeff Coakley, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Oswego Health. He noted Oswego Health has applied for $2 million in DRI funding to upgrade its facility in Fulton to include a freestanding emergency department (ED). “That really is an evolutionary process. We began providing urgent care service in Fulton in 2009, and now we are able to transition some of those people with the growth of ConnextCare and with our own growth in primary care in Fulton,” Coakley said. “Those people are finding a home in primary care and don’t need the same level of urgent care.” ConnextCare, headquartered in Pulaski, is a federally qualified health center that drives primary care throughout Oswego County. Providing a freestanding ED will offer more concentrated services that are more accessible to the Fulton comAPRIL / MAY 2020

Annual payroll at Oswego Health over the last two years has gone from $63 million to $75 million. It employs mopre than 1,200 people. munity, Coakley said. For advanced needs, patients can come to Oswego Hospital or be directed from Fulton to a tertiary facility in Syracuse in a convenient manner, he said. “If you look at our economic footprint here, it’s not just the city of Oswego, but also Fulton. We also have an important outpost in Central Square, where we are providing urgent and primary care, lab, radiology and physical therapy, and that continues to have an impact in that community,” Coakley said. He said the Central Square area is growing at a quicker rate than the rest of Oswego County. “We are looking at options to continue to develop services there ourselves as well as in collaboration with others,” he noted. Coakley said he foresees the new ED to be operational this year. The path involves going through a certificate of need process, making applications to the state Department of Health, and physically changing the structure to meet DOH requirements for a free-standing ED. “But we think it is possible to have that construction started this year,” he added.

Image makeover

The inpatient medical-surgical units renovation at Oswego Hospital is moving along quickly and the first phase of the three-phase project is expected to wrap up in April. At that time, Oswego Health will be able to open up its first two banks of rooms on the third and fourth floors of the hospital to give the community and patients a first glimpse at what those entire units are going to provide. “It’s really a completely different level of hospitality as it relates to health care service,” he said. “It truly will be a healing environment for those patients APRIL /MAY 2020

in the medical-surgical units.” The entire project is anticipated to be complete in November. Harlovic noted Oswego Health was at a competitive disadvantage with its older double occupancy rooms. He said it also affected recruitment efforts, but now work stations in the rooms offer more appeal to physicians and nurses who will have access to computer technology. Lifts above beds will make it easier to move patients, Harlovic noted. “They will be healing in nature, warm, comfortable, nice and calming,” he added. Rooms will also feature an ultraviolet clean air system that uses germicidal ultraviolet light to sterilize mold and other microbes. Also featured will be a filtered air system using a technology that reduces particulates in the air to practically zero. Meanwhile, the new behavioral health building is expected to be finished in July with certificates of occupancy intact in the fall. “We will have mental health services right here in Oswego County,” said Harlovic, noting that the facility will be designed to reduce adverse factors in the county such as the suicide rate, which is about double that of any other county in New York state. Harlovic said the new center will help in terms of early identification of mental illness, prevention, access and the availability of treatment options. He said the facility itself will exude a healing environment as well and feature a residential feel. “Even its presence will destigmatize some of the issues that go along with mental illness,” he said. It is already benefitting Oswego Health in terms of recruiting health care professionals. “People like working in nice buildings,” he said. Also on site will be case management, primary care and other services. Featured will be 20 acute adult beds and 12 geriatric beds. “Right now, the closest place to get geriatric psychiatric care service is Rome,” Harlovic said. As the building process has commenced, Oswego Health is getting referrals from all over the state. “We have referrals coming in right now because of our reputation and willingness to treat patients and we are getting that immediate need met here in the county of Oswego,” he added. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Goal Driven Oswego Health continues to pave way for increased access to quality care By Lou Sorendo

swego Health, a key economic driver in the region, is continually seeking ways in which to sustain its role as the region’s first choice for quality care through service, collaboration and clinical excellence. “Our mission is to provide affordable, accessible and high-quality health care,” said Michael Harlovic, president and CEO of Oswego Health. He noted there are several basic components to what that mission entails. “We want to make sure we have a highly qualified medical staff that is able to provide service for all levels of care that we can here with the best doctors,” he said. In addition, mid-level providers such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants will provide sufficient support for those doctors, he added. Another key factor is to ensure Oswego Health has a highly trained and stable nursing staff, Harlovic said. Oswego Health has reorganized its nursing department, and now features a director of nursing, chief nursing officer and director of nursing. “We are focusing on programs to recruit and retain nurses and give them the best set of clinical skills we possibly can through in-house training,” he said. Another vital component is the importance of a solid brick-and-mortar presence, Harlovic said. Oswego Health is making significant renovations to its medical-surgical unit at Oswego Hospital. The $8 million investment will completely renovate the third and fourth floors and modernize inpatient care. “We are going from double occupancy to largely all private rooms,” said 67

Harlovic, noting there will be 40 private rooms and four semi-private rooms. “It will have a hotel feel versus a hospital feel,” he said. Harlovic said Oswego Health is also examining its extensive footprint in Oswego County. It will continue its focus on primary care, which was significantly enhanced when Oswego Health acquired Oswego Family Physicians in 2018. Oswego Health is working with other county-based agencies to enhance primary care, including ConnextCare, a federally qualified health center based in Pulaski. “Our goal is to work together and keep all health care resources here for all the care we can give,” said Harlovic, adding Oswego Health has formed key strategic relationships with its partners in Syracuse. It offers oncology services in conjunction with SUNY Upstate Medical University, cardiac support through St. Joseph’s Health Hospital, neo-natal intensive care unit resources with Crouse Hospital and works with various agencies involved in long-term care such as Morningstar Residential Care Center and St. Luke Health Services in Oswego. Oswego Health’s service demographic ranges from Pulaski, Central Square and Fulton, the latter being “a big hub for us right now,” Harlovic said. Plans in Fulton include a freestanding emergency department thanks to the opportunity for growth through recently acquired state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding. “We are really looking at our image as well,” said Harlovic, noting that Jamie Leszczynski, Oswego Health’s senior director of communications, is working on rebranding measures. The thrust of the rebranding includes informing the public that area residents can get high-level quality care in Oswego County and do not need to travel to Syracuse-based health care facilities. Jeff Coakley, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Oswego Health, said an important collaboration for Oswego Health has been with the Oswego County Integrated Delivery Network, an offshoot of the Rural Health Network of Oswego County. OCIDN is comprised of ConnextCare, Catholic Charities of Oswego County, Farnham Family Services, Oswego County Department of Social Services, Oswego County Health Department, Oswego Health, Oswego 68

Oswego Health’s leadership team: From left, Jeff Coakley, executive vice president and chief operating officer; surgeon Duane Tull, chief medical officer; Michael Harlovic, president and CEO; and physician Micheal Stephens, associate chief medical officer.

“Our mission is to provide affordable, accessible and high-quality health care. We want to make sure we have a highly qualified medical staff that is able to provide service for all levels of care that we can here with the best doctors.” Michael Harlovic President and CEO of Oswego Health County Opportunities, and St. Luke Health Services. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

OCIDN strives to establish and sustain an integrated health care manAPRIL / MAY 2020

chief medical officer at Oswego Health, praised the efforts of city of Oswego Mayor William Barlow, emergency services provided by the cities of Oswego and Fulton, and the county of Oswego in addressing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “It shows how we can all get together and work together,” Tull said.

Challenging times

agement system in Oswego County. “All of these organizations not only support health services for residents here in the community, but also address social determinants related to health care, such as providing necessary transportation and attending to dietary issues that other non-profit community organizations can support,” Coakley said. “It’s these collaborations that help us maintain services for everyone in the community.” Collaboration with local employers is critical for Oswego Health as well, he added. APRIL /MAY 2020

Connections with Novelis, Exelon Generation, Huhtamaki, municipalities including Oswego County, and nine school districts “are key to us in terms of supporting their needs as employers. “All of them are self-insured and have costs related to the health care of their own employees. One of the things we need to do is always be mindful of the cost of care and helping people as residents and patients receive that care here at the highest level of quality but also in an affordable way,” Coakley added. Duane Tull, a general surgeon and OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Among the foremost challenges for Oswego Health is declining reimbursements from government insurance programs such as Medicaid. Harlovic noted there has been a 1% decrease across the board for this form of medical assistance, and that has had an impact on financials. “We have to continue to give the same level of quality care with less financial resources to do it, and that is certainly a challenge for us,” Harlovic said. In terms of Medicaid, preliminary estimates call for a $2.5 billion reduction in medical assistance throughout the state. The Medicaid Redesign Team is taking a look at the system and indicated that it doesn’t want to impact safety net providers, which would include Oswego Health due to its status as a sole community hospital. “They may actually redistribute some of that money in this redesign where we are kept flat and whole at our level,” said Harlovic, noting it is to be determined what the impact will be and what services and resource will be cut. He said if it were a $2.5 billion cut, Oswego Health would experience approximately a $3 million to $4 million cut in revenue for the services it offers. “It would be an extreme hardship on us and we would have a lot of decisions that we would have to make to go on,” said Harlovic, noting that he recently joined Coakley in lobbying efforts in Albany with local representatives that include Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) and Senator Patty Ritchie (R-Oswegatchie). Besides its own lobbying efforts, Oswego Health is part of two groups that lobby for hospitals in terms of lessening the impact of Medicaid redesign — the Iroquois Healthcare Association and also the Healthcare Association of New York State. In terms of possible cuts, Harlovic said that would be a “game time decision” if that were to come to fruition. Harlovic said “there are just too 69

many people coming on the rolls, and that’s why Medicaid is so expensive.” Changing eligibility requirements may be necessary to curb the number of people on Medicaid. “They are going to consume and costs will rise,” he said. He addressed how Oswego Health compensates for that possible funding gap. “We are efficiency experts and monitor our staffing every four hours and adjust according to the volume we are seeing,” he said. In terms of its supply chain, Oswego Health seeks to get the best deals and contracts possible, he added. Harlovic said length of patient stays affects the bottom line, and noted Oswego Health uses the most effective drugs at cost-efficient prices. Micheal Stephens, a practicing family physician as well as associate chief medical officer at Oswego Health, said among the challenges is practicing “great antibiotic stewardship” by using the best antibiotics at the right time. Stephens said it is essential to have “a great lab that identifies cultures quickly” and the need to not overuse antibiotics. In terms of the ongoing opioid crisis, Tull said his surgical team is focused on the post-operative use of narcotic-based medications. “We are watching and following national guidelines in limiting those numbers,” Tull said. “Most people used to get a bottle of pain killers following a surgery. National studies are saying most people throw those bottles away.” Tull said his team is now dispersing seven to 10 pills rather than an entire bottle of painkillers. “Patients were throwing out prescriptions, and also allowing them to be diverted. But by not putting them out on the street, we are avoiding that diversion,” Tull said. Oswego Health also features a drug collection box that is placed outside the emergency department. It allows people to surrender any drugs they are not using to avoid diversion as well. Tull said to gauge the program’s success, follow-ups are held with patients to determine how much prescribed opioid-based painkillers were actually used or not used. “We’ve been able to demonstrate that these lower numbers in terms of pills prescribed are more realistic than what we have been doing in the past,” he said.

Countering physician shortage Coakley said one of the most urgent challenges most rural community hospitals face is both retaining and recruiting high-quality physicians on the medical staff. “There is a significant amount of effort that all of us put in at really presenting our community and colleagues on the medical staff to other physicians and advanced care providers that could support our patients’ care here in the community,” he said. “That is probably the greatest challenge that most community hospitals are facing.” Coakley said Oswego Health has been fortunate to welcome many new physicians over the last five years to the medical staff and is continuing to do that. For instance, the orthopedic department was recently enhanced with the addition of physicians Michael Diaz and John Ayres, who will be introducing another physician, Kamajeet Banga, in May. “Having three full-time employed orthopedic surgeons is fantastic for a community our size,” Coakley said. August Buerkle also helps anchor the orthopedic staff as an independent surgeon. “We really concentrate on the importance of the medical staff by listening to them and helping them make sure they continue to find this the place they want to stay, raise a family and continue to practice medicine in the future,” he added. Harlovic said when recruiting, Oswego Health focuses on the success of the community. “We talk about how Oswego is a great place to live as well as affordable,” he said. “We talk about how it is a growing place, and that crime is low here.” Besides highlighting the city, recruiters also indicate such resources as SUNY Oswego and other large employers such as Exelon Generation and Novelis. Oswego Health also tours candidates around the lakefront community while highlighting all of its community partners. “We talk them up, and we believe they are doing the same for us when they are recruiting. As we all work together to support the community, we are all better off,” Harlovic added. Stephens said there is a trend in primary care that sees mid-level practitioners playing more of a role in OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

community medicine. “That is true especially as family physicians tend to move out of the hospital and no longer do as many admissions,” said Stephens, noting that transition has been unfolding over the last seven to 10 years. “There is a bigger push for nurse practitioners and mid-levels to be part of the primary care team and they are a welcome asset,” Stephens said. He said mid-level practitioners have a vastly different set of skills compared to physicians. “We have a lot of NPs in primary care and they are extremely valuable to us,” Stephens said. “There is a patient base that looks to see an NP over a physician.” Stephens said some patients “really gravitate” to mid-level practitioners. “There are some patients who prefer to see nurse practitioners who may spend a little more time with them,” he said. Stephens added that they also fill a gap left by the primary care physician shortage, which is how both NPs and PAs have risen in popularity. “There are NPs and PAs that help fill that void especially in an area where it’s hard to recruit family physicians,” he noted. Tull noted in the area of cardiology, Oswego Health has been able to shore up that department with three PAs working with one cardiologist to sustain a practice that is in high demand. “There are quite a few patients that call physician assistants ‘doctors’, because to them, they are the exact same as cardiologists,” said Tull, noting mid-level practitioners are known as “physician extenders.” Challenging specialties to fill have been in the areas of psychiatry, dermatology and nephrology, Coakley said. “In those particular areas, for us it’s about building relationships with those who can help come and join us to support that patient care or make those relationships to get patients in a reasonable distance to those providers,” he added. Tull said many health care facilities outsource recruitment. “It’s an entirely different environment when you have the organization actually trying to bring you in. You actually get more of the truth, more the reality of the area, as opposed to somebody working on a commission to get you to take the job so they can make their money. Having an in-house recruiter is definitely a benefit,” Tull added. APRIL / MAY 2020

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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Pot Use Among U.S. Seniors Nearly Doubled in 3 Years Americans may want to rethink the stereotype of the pot-loving teen: More U.S. seniors are using the drug now than ever before. The proportion of folks 65 and older who use pot stands at 4.2%, up from 2.4% in 2015, according to figures from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health. “The change from 2.4 up to 4.2, that’s a 75% increase,” said senior researcher Joseph Palamar, an associate professor of population health at New York University Langone Medical Center. “It didn’t double, but 75% is a pretty big increase, I think.” Emily Feinstein, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Center on Addiction, reviewed the study and commented that the trend is “not surprising.” “First, older people are more likely to experience pain and other chronic

conditions,” Feinstein said. “Secondly, marijuana has become increasingly available and acceptable within society. Together, these two factors are probably driving this trend.” But Palamar doesn’t think the wave of marijuana legalization sweeping the nation has prompted Grandma and Grandpa to give weed a try, either to ease aches and pains or have a pleasant evening. Rather, he thinks the proportion of aging marijuana users is increasing because more older folks are already familiar with pot. “A lot of people who use marijuana are aging into the 65-and-older age bracket. I personally think that’s what’s driving this,” Palamar said. “Of course, there are new initiates, but I don’t think there are that many older people trying weed for the first time ever.” There still are a lot fewer seniors

using pot than younger folks, Palamar added. It’s just that marijuana use overall has continued to rise in the United States, affecting nearly all groups of people. The NYU researchers analyzed responses from more than 15,000 older adults. Pot use rose more drastically among specific groups of seniors between 2015 and 2018, including: • Women (93% increase) versus men (58%), although nearly twice as many men use compared with women overall. • College-educated (114% increase) versus high school or less (17%). • Households making more than $75,000 a year (129%) or $20,000 to $49,999 (138%), compared with folks making less than $20,000 (16%) or between $50,000 and $74,999 (3%). • Married seniors (100% increase) versus singles (45%). Seniors taking up pot after smoking it back in the day are probably doing so for potential medical benefits, although the survey didn’t ask this question, Palamar said. “From what I see, I think a lot of older people are using weed more for medical reasons rather than recreational reasons,” Palamar said.

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Healthcare Reform Must Run the Gauntlet By George W. Chapman, MBA

he gauntlet is comprised of the well-funded and influential special interest associations that dominate our healthcare industry and legislation via their K Street lobbyists. Special interest groups spend hundreds of millions every year to make sure our congressman heed their perspectives and concerns. According to Open Secrets, in 2019 the pharmaceutical lobby led the pack by spending $295 million; the hospital/nursing home lobby spent $107 million; and various lobbies representing professionals (physicians, nurses, therapists, etc. ) spent a collective $95 million.

All told, 1,300 healthcare-related associations spent a staggering $594 million on lobbying last year. All told, there are 2,775 registered healthcare lobbyists on the Hill, which come to just over five lobbyists for each of 535 representatives. Half of these lobbyists represent just the drug industry, and 54% of all lobbyists are former federal employees, including representatives from the Senate and 74

Congress. This uncontrolled and blatant inbreeding makes running the gauntlet with a radical or progressive plan an even more daunting task. Acknowledging the reality of the gauntlet, perhaps a more moderate, less threatening approach to healthcare reform may get us to where we need to be. The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is unsustainable and threatens the very OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

rubric of society. Family premiums went up an average of 5% to $15,375 this year. Individual premiums for a low-cost silver plan hover around $7,000 annually. The average single deductible is about $1,600 with high deductible plans at about $2,350. If you have employer-sponsored insurance like 156 million of us do, over the last 10 years premiums and out-of-pocket costs have risen much APRIL / MAY 2020

faster than inflation. An individual making $50,000 pays over 12% of it on health care: $2,400 goes toward the $7,000 premium, $3,000 goes toward Medicare-Medicaid taxes (typically overlooked in the cost equation), then another $800 on average goes toward deductible and co-pay amounts due. That comes to $6,200 or just over 12% of the $50,000 gross pay. The employer pays $4,600, about two thirds of the $7,000 premium and then pays an additional $800 in Medicare taxes. When all is said and done, we average close to $11,000 per capita in costs annually per all 330,000 million of us. That’s about $3.6 trillion or 18% of our gross domestic product. While it’s easy to agree it costs too much, it won’t be too easy doing anything about it. The biggest and most radical legislative change in healthcare since Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965 is the Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law by Barach Obama in 2010. It was by no means easy. Acknowledging rather than fighting the lobby gauntlet, the designers

‘The reality is despite all the attention healthcare is getting in the media and in the presidential political debates, behind the scenes 2,775 healthcare lobbyists representing 1,300 clients control the narrative.’ of the ACA brought them to the table. The ACA was actually a cooperative or community effort crafted by the industry’s major players and special interest groups, including physicians, hospitals, federal and state governments, consumer advocacy groups, equipment manufacturers, commercial insurance plans, employers and unions. All things considered, good and bad, the ACA remains a significant, (almost miraculous considering today’s political animus), legislative accomplishment if only because special interest groups, worked collectively and not selfishly. Fear of missing out may have been their motivation. Notably absent from the cooperative effort was Big Pharma. A lot was accomplished by the ACA besides bringing disparate groups together in an extremely partisan environment. Twenty million previously uninsured Americans got coverage; pre-existing conditions were protected; lifetime caps were abolished, access to care improved, hospital bad debt declined, and commercial carriers were limited to 20% of premiums for overhead and profit. Again, despite its faults, the ACA remains a significant cooperative effort and victory for consumers. Taking politics out it, the pros far exceed the cons. Tossing it out and starting all over again would be a unconscionable waste of time, money and effort. What’s our budget deficit? It would push consumers back at least 10 years. We should keep the ACA as a platform or constitution and tweak it with amendments and a Medicare public option would

be a good tweak. It would simply become just another plan for individuals, employers and unions to consider. Take it or leave it. And no need to run the gauntlet. The public option would be very competitive because of relatively very low administrative costs and not having to satisfy shareholders (profits). As long as providers are paid about the same as traditional Medicare for seniors, there should be little impact on participating physicians and hospitals. Special interest groups wary of the public option (Big Pharma, commercial insurers) are “warning” the public that their choices will limited. In reality, if you have employer-based care, your employer selects your health plan and therefore limits your choice of providers. Individuals who purchase their insurance through an exchange actually have more choice than those covered at work. If for some reason their preferred provider chooses not to participate in the public option, they can pick another plan. Critics and vested interests threatened by change typically resort to spreading fear about access and quality. To them, the public option is the proverbial nose of the camel in the tent. Quite possibly, over time, natural market forces may result in commercial payers gradually abandoning the healthcare insurance market, resulting in a single payer system in a last man standing scenario. A single payer will eventually have the clout to use its purchasing power to finally negotiate drug prices. The billions in savings from lower drug and administrative costs will help mitigate the increased costs associated with a rapidly aging population; the high cost of artificial intelligence technology and long-term care. The reality is despite all the attention healthcare is getting in the media and in the presidential political debates, behind the scenes 2,775 healthcare lobbyists representing 1,300 clients control the narrative. While all of our 535 elected representatives on the Hill and most of our 330 million citizens want lower drug prices, 1,300 drug lobbyists have succeeded in thwarting any progress. Recognizing this unfair and unfortunate reality, the Medicare public option seems to have the best chance of surviving the gauntlet.

George W. Chapman is a healthcare business consultant who works exclusively with physicians, hospitals and healthcare organizations. He operates GW Chapman Consulting based in Syracuse. Email him at gwc@gwchapmanconsulting.com. APRIL /MAY 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

New York Hospital Rankings Among the Worst in the Nation By Payne Horning

ore than half of the hospitals in the Empire State received the lowest-possible ratings in a report produced by the federal government. The annual Hospital Compare study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services analyzes the quality of each of the nation’s hospitals based on 100 measures in seven categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness of care, and efficient use of medical imaging. Using this formula, each hospital is given a rating on a scale of 1-5 stars, with 5 stars for those that performed the best. New York had lower-quality stars than all of the 49 other states. Only 15% of the state’s 148 hospitals earned a 5-or 4-star rating while 52% got a 1-or 2-star rating. That’s nowhere near the national average, where only 18% of hospitals received 1 or 2 stars and 37% got 5 or 4 stars. The picture isn’t much better when looking only at Upstate. None of the 83 hospitals in this half of the state received a 5-star rating and only 12 had 4 stars. Fifteen had 1 star, 32 had 2 stars, and 24 had 3 stars. That means, like the rest of New York, more than half of Upstate hospitals earned the lowest-possible ratings. NYPIRG, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen advocacy organization, highlighted these findings in a report it released late last year called “Code Blue: New York Hospital’s Poor Quality Performance.” The organization says the findings raise questions for policymakers who are responsible for protecting hospital patients as well as the public, who foots the bill for the additional costs resulting from poor quality care. The report from NYPIRG doesn’t investigate the reasons for the results, but it highlights how these low marks appear to be part of a troubling pattern. It identified several other hospital reviews with similar findings. The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade survey gives hospitals a letter grade rating based on how safe they keep their patients from errors, injuries, 76

accidents and infections. In 2019, New York was near the bottom of the country for A ratings. Only 7% of hospitals in the state earned that top rating while 60% had a C rating and 20% had a D rating. And the annual IMB Watson Health 100 top-performing hospital survey doesn’t include a single hospital from New York. While a few did make America’s 250 Best Hospitals from Healthgrades, the total was far less than other states. Seven hospitals in New York are on that list whereas California has 41, Ohio has 24, and Pennsylvania has 15. “It is clear that New York hospitals have failed to take enough steps to improve their safety,” the NYPIRG report said. But not all are taking these findings at face value. “There’s been a real proliferation of reports on hospital quality in recent years,” said Michael Pauley, vice president of communication and marketing strategy with the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). “In fact, more than a dozen entities now issue them annually. A hospital can get a great rating in one report and a less-than-great rating in the next. The resulting situation is very confusing for both patients and providers.” The NYPIRG report adds to the confusion, according to Pauley, who says the studies mentioned in the OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

organization’s report are inconsistent and arbitrary in their methodology. The issue is that there are no definitive, accepted standards to be consistently applied across these various studies. Still, NYPIRG says lawmakers should investigate these poor performance ratings and make quality improvements a priority in this session of the New York State Legislature. One potential way to improve safety, the organization says, would be for the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) to impose substantial penalties on hospitals that caused or were likely to cause patient harm or death. NYPIRG says despite having the power to assess fines against hospitals, the New York Department of Health rarely does. Between Dec. 1, 2015 and Nov. 30, 2018, NYSDOH reported only nine hospital enforcement actions with a total of $56,000 penalties in 2016, 10 hospital enforcement actions with a total of $48,000 in penalties for 2017 and $14,000 in penalties during 2018. Pauley with HANYS says there are some signs that things are already improving, though. He says the state has seen a 19% reduction in sepsis mortality since 2014, a 35% reduction in hospital onset C. difficile since 2015, and 23 steps of improvement in state rankings for maternal mortality since 2010. APRIL / MAY 2020

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Working Your Way Up in Healthcare Professionals point out there is great upward job mobility in healthcare sector By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

f all the economic sectors, positions in healthcare consistently are listed as having potential for faster-than-average growth by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For healthcare organizations, promoting from within often represents an effective means of filling positions. “Healthcare has historically been structured that way,” said Joseph Spinale, chief medical officer at St. Joseph’s Health. “It typically goes, student, resident, chief resident and attending physician.” He added that some nurses and physicians also move into leadership and administrative roles within healthcare organizations — and that’s what he likes to see. “Part of my job is to make the people around me better and succeed in what they do,” Spinale said. “I want to get physicians into as many decision-making roles in the institution as much as possible.” He said that this model has come full circle. Initially, most hospitals were run by physicians. For a number of years, professional administrators who weren’t physicians began leading hospitals. “Now, successful hospitals have a lot of physicians in the decision-making process,” he said. Hiring from within and seeking the input of employees is also the case at Crouse Hospital, according to John Bergemann, director of human resources. “Crouse benefits from hiring within as it allows the organization to know the employee well before we promote them,” Bergemann said. “Every day they work is their job interview for a promotion. Part of the time delay in bringing on a new manager from the outside is that they don’t know Crouse, the culture, or the people. Those hired from within already know a lot of this, and that is half the battle in adjusting to a new employer.” Promoting an existing employee 80

enables a healthcare provider to fill an opening much sooner. It also helps employees acclimate more quickly as they know the organization and its infrastructure. “The new role is a challenge, but knowing the organization is already in place,” Bergemann said. “They don’t have to learn the organization and the people; they just need to focus on their new role.” He also believes that internal promotion contributes to good relationships among providers and support staff, since they may already know each other. Andi Meade of Syracuse has been working at Crouse Hospital for five years. She initially started as a housekeeper. Right away, she held any positions in employee groups that she could, such as union delegate. Her interest in the health system and her work ethic paid off. She was asked if she were interested in becoming supervisor of patient transport. “Various managers thought I’d be a good fit,” Meade said. “I decided I could contribute to this department.” Her experience as a housekeeper helped her become familiar with all the managers. They advised her to apply for the job. She has now worked in that role for a year. She believes that her work in housekeeping helped her develop the communication skills that now help her as she supervises patient transport. “We’re all here to give great patient care,” she said. “I’m taking everything I’ve learned from the units I’ve worked on to implement in the role I have now.” She also tries to learn from others who have worked at Crouse a long time. Her job duties include overseeing a team that manOSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

ages patient movement within units of the hospital as well as discharge and transportation to other facilities. “It’s very fulfilling,” Meade said. “I am able to be a part of the patient’s day. It’s either the worst day or the best day. Either way, I want to be supportive. I learn from them daily, which is very rewarding. I want to give them my best.” She encourages anyone working in an entry-level position to not view himself as limited, but as someone with a foot in the door. “Use that to learn the hospital and feel how you can contribute. All of us in healthcare want to give back and be part of something bigger than ourselves. Build steps within your career.” A large part of that is using any educational opportunities available and joining in groups within the organization. Meade also believes it’s important to ask questions of leaders and try to learn something about oneself every day. Meade’s long-term goals include finishing the prerequisites for nursing school, and earning her bachelor’s in business management and in nursing at Crouse School of Nursing. Like many educational hospitals, Crouse and St. Joseph’s offer tuition reimbursement.

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OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

SPECIAL REPORT

Habits of 5 Highly Successful People

There is a common thread that all successful leaders share: the ability to take what they learn and experience and develop habits from them that lead to favorable outcomes. Oswego County Business magazine spoke to five local leaders who shared their five habits of success By Lou Sorendo

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happens — learn to get 1.Change comfortable with it

We often find comfort in repeatability. Previously applied methods or experiences offer the security of predictable results. This comfort level can cause fear, worry or concern regarding an upcoming change in our life. Understanding the things underlying these concerns is powerful when used as a tool to mitigate the risks associated with upcoming change. When you personally gain a comfort level with those concerns, this understanding can be used as a tool to gain buy-in from others. By learning what others fear or are concerned about regarding an upcoming change helps you to recognize other potential impacts you may have not foreseen. Working through change with those who are experiencing it enables you to bond into a more cohesive team.

is about other people, 2.Leading silly

Understanding myself, my personality type and tendencies were some of my first steps in my leadership journey. However, this alone has not been what has delivered the best results. Learning how to apply the knowledge I have gained about myself to best support others has been vastly more successful. The “Golden Rule” is good: “Do onto others as you want done to yourself.” 82

However, the “Platinum Rule” is better: “Do onto others as they want done onto themselves.” When I manage my personal tendencies in a genuine way to interact and provide leadership more in line with the tendencies of the individual I am working with, as opposed to my own, there is a more open exchange of thought and the outcome tends to be better. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

3.The glass is half full

Risk management and navigating around potential areas of failure is a very important part of a leader’s responsibilities. However, a pitfall of this is that it can lead to a very pessimistic viewpoint. Envisioning and communicating positive outcomes, instead of emphasizing the potential risks or failure points, is a much more powerful tool APRIL / MAY 2020

for motivating people. This will make you and your team happier as well. Research shows you will be healthier if you have a more positive outlook on things. If you expect something good to happen, then it is more likely positive results will occur, and the inverse is also true. Like the saying goes: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right!” The answer is the glass is half--full and you can.

4.Take time to recharge

Life can be exhausting physically, mentally and emotionally. Our body does a good job of letting us know when we are physically tired. However, we can sometimes overlook or ignore the signs of being mentally and emotionally tired. Being mentally or emotionally tired provides less than optimal results, leads to unfavorable interpersonal exchanges and eventually can grind you down. Strong leaders learn the signs when they are mentally or emotionally tired and take steps to recharge. Each person is different in how they recharge, and I personally find having various types of work I perform in a day helps minimize my mental fatigue. In addition, finding moments to experience introverted activities where I can process things at my own pace are tremendously beneficial to my emotional comfort level.

5.Find joy each and every day

Every day each of us does great things; sometimes is it harder to see than others, but it is there. A saying those who work with me hear me say from time to time is, “we need to make sure we enjoy the misery.” Working with a team that comes together in time of crisis can be exhilarating. Accomplishing a portion of a complex task or recognizing the positive impact you have made is joyful. Joy will change your demeanor and outlook on the day and will spread to those around you. Laugh with those you spend time with, praise people when they do something good, say thank you often and put yourself in a position to smile. These are just a few things that will bring joy into your life and the life of those around you. You and your organization will be more productive, time will fly by and you will be able to endure challenging times easier.

Deborah F. Stanley

President SUNY Oswego

1.Foster a “why”

mentality and culture, and a “what if we didn’t do it that way?” investigation Turning an idea or a problem around to look at every side keeps me thinking fresh, encourages deeper analysis of situations, and always yields new ideas.

2.“Let it Steep”

Give things, initiatives, decisions and impressions time to brew. In American culture, we often place a high value not only in decisive action but quick action. One of the best pieces of advice I ever received was to take a tough question — a complaint, a request, a press inquiry (as long as it’s not an emergency) aside — and think it through, perhaps seek expert advice, study the issue and assess likely outcomes before taking action.

3.Remember the “Golden Rule”

Value being human and express the value you have for others

APRIL /MAY 2020

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

in words and deeds. This is good for you and good for the organization. The message is never just about work. Even if you never talk about anything else, you will be judged on the way you treat the individual — on the respect, compassion, fairness, and dignity you do or don’t display.

4.Pay it forward

Hard as it may be to believe, but the world is going to outlive you! And although we would all like to believe that no one could be as wonderful, smart, accomplished and — well, just perfect — as we are, if leadership counts, and I believe it does, it is incredibly worthwhile to spend time cultivating, encouraging, and guiding the next generation so it will be ready — confident and experienced — to take the reins.

higher education we talk 5.Inabout “habits of the mind”

Make being a constant learner — a seeker of knowledge, not just information — your main habit. It takes a bit of humility to recognize that this vast world will never be fully known, and even more to absorb that in this era of vastly expanding knowledge in about every field, you will never know it all.

employees, and the legislative branch of government.

not try to make everyone 3.Do happy

If you’re setting out to make big changes, you’re going to ruffle some feathers along the way. There is no way around it. Generally, a sign of a good deal is nobody is 100% happy and nobody is 100% angry. I’ve learned that whether its negotiating with someone one-on-one, or negotiating personnel contracts, legislation, projects or any other situation, as a leader, you have the responsibility of considering the impact your decision is going to have on everyone involved. It is critically important to keep the greater good for the people and for the community in mind, do your best to do the right things for the right reasons, and accept that any time you make a big decision, not everyone is going to agree and there is nothing wrong with that.

Strike the balance of not being 4. a micro-manager and not being totally hands-off either

William ‘Billy’ Barlow

Mayor City of Oswego

that everything is 1.Remember manageable

During my term as mayor, we’ve had some great successes, but it hasn’t come easy. We’ve had challenges and setbacks, most of which were out of our control to a certain extent. It is important to remember that everything is manageable and your reaction and response to a problem or crisis is key. Rather than get upset or frustrated, identify the problem, find the solution and begin managing through it. For every problem there is a solution — mitigate the negative impact and keep moving forward.

is impossible and “no” 2.Nothing is not an answer 84

I’ve learned that usually every idea or project is met with resistance, regardless of how great it may be. When I propose a project or come up with a new idea, usually somebody says it can’t be done or focuses on reasons why it can’t or won’t happen. My attitude is, “It can be done; we just have to find a way.” We need to spend less time focusing on reasons something can’t happen, and put as much energy into ways to make it happen. “We’ve never done it that way” or “it can’t be done” aren’t acceptable answers and as a leader, you need to maintain that attitude and have that mindset filter throughout any organization, or in my case, all levels of management, OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

As mayor, I have a vision for the community and set our goals in the beginning of our term. While you want to know everything that is going on all the time, you have to allow your department heads and employees to provide their input and add to the dialogue. I’ve found that if I, as mayor, set a very clear vision for the city and I make the vision known to the department heads, employees and the council, they will naturally work toward that vision and our goals. At that point, they have the ability to make decisions, provide valuable input, and generate ideas that are naturally consistent with your overall vision and you’re all rowing in the same direction. This allows you to not be involved in the minutia of every decision and allows your team the flexibility necessary to be creative and enhance the original idea.

5.Be consistent

As a leader, I think it is key to be consistent in everything you do. From your demeanor at work, to how you react to situations, to making decisions, if you’re consistent across the board, your department heads and employees know what to expect and can work toward the desired outcomes from the get-go. I try to treat everybody the same way, approach every situation the same way, and would like to think that when anybody approaches me on any given day, they know what they can expect. APRIL / MAY 2020

Robert Simpson

President CenterState CEO just embrace 1.Don’t change — seek it out

Michael Harlovic

President-CEO Oswego Health

1.Be a personable leader

Take the time to get to know your employees, walk the floor or make your rounds and let them see you as a real person. Establishing rapport with your staff will help strengthen retention within your organization.

communicate to every2.Overly one in your organization

Once you’ve set your priorities, goals and objectives, make sure to communicate them to everyone in your organization. Sharing your vision with staff is critical to ensure everyone is moving in the same direction and will reinforce their role in the growth of the company.

yourself with thought 3.Surround leaders

Seek talented employees for your organization that will help grow your business, but also individuals that will challenge you and motivate you to be the best leader you can be.

4.Practice being a great listener

Listen to your staff and your patients or customers. You don’t always have to act on the ideas or suggestions; however, by simply listening to other’s input, it shows you are open to feedback and have the best interest of others in mind.

5.Motivate your staff

Do it as often as you can to show they play a key role in the growth of your organization, whether that’s through forms of recognition, rewards or simply reinforcing how they are valued.

APRIL /MAY 2020

Change is the only constant in life. Everything around us — people, businesses, our environment, ourselves — are constantly evolving. To succeed in a dynamic environment such as this, the most successful businesses and leaders will look for the opportunities that change and disruption create. It is no longer sufficient to just be culturally or situationally aware of the change taking place around us. Rather, true innovators and pioneers will use the energy of that change to further influence the environment in which they operate. Moving from passive reactor to active disruptor is one of the most challenging, and rewarding, endeavors.

the best, and trust 2.Hire them

There is no more important function of a CEO than hiring talent and empowering them to achieve. The trap I sometimes see is that CEOs believe that they have landed in their leadership role because of what they know, and that therefore they know best. The best CEOs that I know are actually far more attuned to what they don’t know than what they do, and they hire accordingly. It takes self-awareness and self-confidence to admit your weaknesses, and ever- greater discipline to cede enough control to allow others to apply their experience and approach to your shared goals without micromanaging. This is a constant learning experience for me as an executive, but I am consistently rewarded when I get it right.

3.Find opportunity in adversity

When the stock market crashes, there is a major buying opportunity. When we make mistakes, we are afforded the opportunity to learn. Inevitably, things will happen that are painful, unexpected and challenging. It is in those moments that we have a chance to grow and innovate and discover. Remember, the cost of risk-taking is at its lowest when you have the least to lose. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

be afraid to admit you 4.Never are wrong

Beyond the lessons that we can learn from failure, there is something deeply therapeutic about the act of admitting your mistakes. To yourself, it is an act of self-forgiveness. To others, it is a sign of humility and strength. Few things are harder in life than saying you are wrong. Therefore, the act of doing so in front of others is less an admission of weakness than a testimonial to your courage.

5.Trust your instincts

All too often, we over-think decisions. We tie ourselves in knots with the latest logic model, business advice or treatise on organizational culture. When the noise gets too loud, we can drown out our most important tool — the one that has carried humanity forward for millennia — our intuition. Does it feel right, or wrong? Does it pass the smell test? Do the risks feel outsized to the potential rewards? Is it ethical, moral and fair? Your internal compass has been fine-tuned by evolution and your own lifetime of experiences. Use it. Often. 85

SPECIAL REPORT

Students take part in a program sponsored by 100 Black Men of Syracuse. The nonprofit organization offers STEM activities, SAT exam preparation classes, wellness walks, reading groups and outings — all to encourage students to consider higher education, such as college tours.

100 Black Men of Syracuse Nonprofit emphasizes work with youth, preparing it for job market, better life By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

li Rahman of Syracuse views poverty as a domino effect. Once it hits a family, it continues, generation by generation. “Because of poverty, people can’t get out of it,” he said. “Education isn’t there, jobs aren’t available.” It’s hard to find a good job if you can’t afford an education or training classes, for example. Rahman serves as vice president of administration at 100 Black Men of Syracuse, which has operated in the city 86

for 13 years. Rahman believes the organization as making a positive difference in the life of boys living in poverty. “The mantra for 100 Black Men is ‘What they see, they’ll be,’” he said “We’re trying to improve the community by mentoring and being a role model for the youth in the community.” If all young people see are adults who do not better themselves, the youth will believe that they cannot improve their own lives. An office technician at National OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Grid, Rahman heard about 100 Black Men through a co-worker in 2017. He attended an honors banquet 100 Black Men hosted and realized that he wanted to join the group. “Syracuse in particular is leading the nation for poverty per capita for a city of its size,” Rahman said. “Once you correct this situation, you can correct problems in the city like crime.” Immediately, he saw that the gentlemen leading the group were serious about their mission and joined right away. About 100 young people participate in the all-volunteer organization. Its programs include STEM activities, SAT exam preparation classes, wellness walks, reading groups and outings that encourage students to consider higher education, such as college tours. Since many youths receive acknowledgement for sports accomplishments, focusing on academic achievements may help motivate more students to work harder at their studies. Considering few young people can shine like Michael Jordan or APRIL / MAY 2020

Reach visitors, local residents Ali Rahman is the vice president of administration at 100 Black Men of Syracuse, which has operated in Syracuse for 13 years. “The mantra for 100 Black Men is ‘What they see, they’ll be,’” he said “We’re trying to improve the community by mentoring and being a role model for the youth in the community.” Serena Williams, it makes sense to focus on praising them for meeting academic goals as well as sports. “We like to have visibility in the community,” Rahman said. The organization also promotes local speakers and events related to health, safety and wellness topics, including domestic violence, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and more. 100 Black Men of Syracuse also operates an economic empowerment program, which presents workshops and helps participants develop strategies to meet goals. Helping participants gain economic security through sustainable means is one of the ideals of 100 Black Men, so the economic empowerment program includes financial literacy, building family wealth and entrepreneurship. Among other goals this year, 100 Black Men of Syracuse is planning on expanding its robotics and drone program, attending the Imagine RIT event in Rochester, and planning a citywide 2021 awards program for students. APRIL /MAY 2020

“Some of the initiatives that the city of Syracuse has initiated in terms of economic development on the south side and inner city are significant in assisting us with our mission to influence the youth of this community,” Rahman said. “Certainly, we’ve been shown support by the city school district and school superintendent and other organizations.” 100 Black Men works with Upstate University Hospital, Vera House, InterFaith Works, and a number of other community organizations. Fundraisers and donations support 100 Black Men. The group was founded by Jerome Walker and Walter Eiland of Syracuse. They had attended the Million Man March in 1995 and wanted to build a grassroots organization to rebuild their communities. They believed that the national organization 100 Black Men of America was a good model and eventually received a charter to open a local chapter. 100 Black Men of America has more than 100 chapters. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

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SPECIAL REPORT By Lou Sorendo

Marnie LaVigne, president and CEO of Launch NY, spoke recently at SUNY Oswego’s December commencement.

Launching Prosperity Launch NY a catalyst for entrepreneurial growth throughout Upstate New York

othing ventured, nothing gained. This is a mantra for many entrepreneurs, investors and community supporters associated with Launch NY, a nonprofit venture development organization that pro-

vides free mentoring and access to risk capital for high-growth startup companies across a 27-county region in Upstate New York. Marnie LaVigne is leading an organization that is the first and only venture development organization to act as a OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

catalyst for business development in the state. She said Launch NY makes a significant economic development impact, which is the basis for its existence. As of early January, Launch NY has worked with 1,071 companies. In 2019 alone, Launch NY served more than 300 seed and early stage companies. Fledgling companies seeking Launch NY assistance normally have about one to three people involved in their operation. In many cases, those people are not full-time, but are working other jobs to pay the bills. “They can only apply for our funding when they have been mentored for at least three months,” she said. “We are very much here for those who don’t have sources of capital otherwise.” Additionally, more than 45% of client companies have minority or women-owned leadership. “They are typically the groups that do not have access to venture capital,” she said. Over the period of time that Launch NY has been mentoring, client companies have created more than 3,700 jobs, according to LaVigne. Another economic impact is the amount of additional capital companies raise. The companies that Launch NY has helped with pro bono mentorship since 2012 have since attracted nearly $700 million in investment and other funding and generated more than $97 million in revenues. Since starting its first fund in 2016, Launch NY funds have attracted over 17 times in additional capital from other sources to its portfolio of nearly 50 companies accounting for over 240 jobs, LaVigne noted. Launch NY introduced its new invest local financing platform in 2019 to scale up its ability to bring startups and investors together to build businesses in the region. “Now when we invest in our client companies, providing what I call ‘small but mighty’ dollars, typically it is up to $50,000 for our first investment,” she said. Another $50,000 comes from the new for-profit limited partner fund. This gives companies an important start toward their typical goal of $200,000 to $500,000 when first engaged in the fundraising mode, she added. “Launch NY also augments this process through its new investor network, affording accredited investors a way to fund companies they choose with as little as $10,000 to help fill the whole round a company is seeking,” LaVigne said. “Helping companies find this initial risk capital locally is critical to APRIL / MAY 2020

preventing companies from leaving the area for more fertile communities or simply letting their good ideas die on the vine,” she added. One success story involves SparkCharge, a startup company from Syracuse that developed a portable and efficient way to charge electric vehicles. Launch NY mentored the minority-owned company for nearly three years, and the company went on to win the 2018 grand prize of $1 million in the 43North startup competition. Launch NY is sector agnostic, meaning it doesn’t focus on any one area of the economy. Its top areas include software and technology companies, biomedical and health, and business and consumer products. Those combined make up about 50% of the companies in its portfolio. “We also have a little bit of everything, including food and beverage, clean tech, advanced manufacturing and material science,” she added. It also has a clean tech incubator that is supported by the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority.

From the beginning LaVigne was one of three co-founders of the organization. The founders were involved in helping startup companies at a time when technology-based economic development was rapidly building momentum in 2005-07. At that time, New York state — buoyed by both private and federal investment — was heavily engaged in doing infrastructure projects, and with it was borne renewed business growth and an array of research and development facilities. However, as soon as innovators began to actually create products and services, “then you had to figure out the business side,” she said. That’s where Launch NY comes in. LaVigne said there are “three legs to the stool” that make up high-growth business ventures — the technology or opportunity they are taking advantage of, the talent to grow these companies, and availability of risk capital. It all starts with the original idea or innovation, and an entrepreneur who is willing to seize a market opportunity. The other two legs — the talent to grow these companies, and availability of risk capital — however, are the ones that were seen as weak in Upstate New York and need to be focused on, she said. APRIL /MAY 2020

She noted there is an absence of venture capital to back potentially high-growth businesses in the state. Central New York was no different from the rest of Upstate suffering these types of dynamics, she said. One of the co-founders, Alfred Culliton, was a longtime leader of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. The third co-founder is attorney David Colligan, who has been active in the community supporting various causes. He was instrumental in establishing the Buffalo Angels, an investment group that would take a risk and put money into starter-type businesses. The founders started to organize events where their client companies could pitch their products or services and present their stories while seeking financial support. In 2009, the group invited Rebecca Braun of Cleveland, Ohio, former co-founder and chief operating officer of JumpStart and president of JumpStart Ventures, to be the keynote speaker at its annual venture forum — Bright Buffalo Niagara. JumpStart is a Cleveland-based venture development organization. Working with LaVigne and her team, Braun helped conduct an 18-month study to evaluate regional needs stretching from Buffalo to Syracuse and design the business plan that yielded Launch NY in 2011. “We started to rally people who cared about what we were doing and wanted to get involved one way or another,” said LaVigne, who is also on the board of the National Association of Development Organizations. Federal and private monies funded the endeavor. “New York state has been minimally involved. Despite our name, we really have been scrappy in finding many other sources because New York state was heading in a different direction” in terms of economic development initiatives, she said. Also chairwoman of the New York State Economic Development Council, LaVigne has spent more than 25 years in both the private and public sectors creating new products and start-up businesses.

Modest beginnings Launch NY essentially started out with a three-year, $10 million budget. “We had to get going just like our companies in terms of scrapping and OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

cobbling together money,” she said. “Most of our client companies do not have any revenues when they first work with us. It is a labor of love.” In 2012, Launch NY began to provide free mentorship to a 27-county area that included Western New York, the Finger Lakes, the Southern Tier and Central New York. LaVigne launched the venture development organization at the University of Buffalo, where she worked as head of economic development. In 2014, she changed the mentorship model from a handful of people covering various geographic areas to having nearly 30 mentors matched up on an individualized basis. Launch NY also had access to a national network of more than 2,000 mentors that it could dip into at no cost to clients. In 2015, LaVigne started a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds, being that New York state was not providing the dollars that other venture development organizations had enjoyed. Its nonprofit fund was launched in 2016, and within two years, became the most active seed fund in the state and one of the most active in the country. “We did what is called boot strapping, meaning we kept raising the money as we lent,” she said. LaVigne said the group also tapped into people wanting to invest their money locally. One of its largest sponsors, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation in Buffalo, has donated $7 million to the organization. U.S. Treasury funds also help support Launch NY’s work. “At that time, Launch NY conducted surveys which revealed that people loved what we were doing. Half of them wanted to donate and the other half wanted to actually invest,” she said. LaVigne also took a unique approach in bringing in a female fund manager — Lindsey Stenzel — and noted that less than 10% of firms around the country have a female fund manager. The award-winning Stenzel, an Ohio State University graduate, has done more than 1,200 seed and early-stage investments. The second leg of the stool, getting people actively working at startup firms, “is a bit of a tough sell, because most of them can’t pay fair market value,” she said. “The idea of applying for a job at a startup is a little bit different than people applying for a job with National Grid or with a company in the area.” 89

GREG SMITH

continued from page 17

New CEO of International Wire Group these single ends that are then configured into a multitude of finished constructions,” he said. IWG has its own tin-plating facility in Camden that supplies most of the plants it has in the region. “We have several plants throughout Central New York. Not every plant has its own tin-plating capability,” he said. The Connecticut native said the level of business at IWG “is very much related” to gross domestic product growth. “When the economy is doing well, our business is doing well. Such has been the case over the last several years,” Smith said. Demand for IWG products remains consistent, according to him. “We had a very good 2019, and are actually looking forward to a growth year in 2020,” he said in an interview before the coronavirus outbreak.

Focus on operations

Smith noted his background is mostly operational, with an emphasis over the last 15 years on turnaround situations. “I’ve demonstrated the ability — with Marmon and with companies prior — to really focus the business around customer-oriented profitable growth,” he said. “Historically, International Wire Group has tried to be everything to everyone, and that would include never refusing orders even if profitability was questionable,” he said. As a result, the business has grown to supply thousands of product configurations, making customer service, on-time delivery and profitability challenging, he said. “My challenge is to focus the business on supplying customers and products that define who we are,” Smith added. “I am a down-to-earth, hands-on and collaborative leader. My job is to lead, teach and coach my staff toward a vision and goal, cheer them on and celebrate success together,” he said. IWG has 13 facilities in Central New York. Last December, IWG acquired its largest competitor, Owl Wire and 90

Cable from Marmon Holdings, Inc. Owl is a producer of high-volume, heavy bare and tinned wire with operations in Canastota, Rome and Boonville. IWG has a second plant in Rome, as well as locations in Cazenovia, Hamilton, Sherrill, Sherburne, Williamstown, Jordan and three in Camden. It also has locations in El Paso, Texas, and in Bremen, Indiana. In Europe, IWG has two locations each in France and Italy and one in Poland. Smith said he is traveling 80% of the time. “I have been traveling for many years and it is not something I am unaccustomed to,” he said. Smith resides in Connecticut, and his weeks consist of either a weekly commute to the Camden area where company headquarters are, or if he is anywhere else in the world, he travels outside of his local airport in Connecticut.

Safety is paramount

“When looking at some of the practical challenges and things that keep me awake at night, first and foremost is the safety of my employees,” Smith said. The industry features rotating machinery and high-speed copper conductor lines that make safety a concern, he noted. “We spend a lot of energy making sure our employees are safe so they can return home to their families every day. That is top of mind for me,” he said. “Speaking in terms of what concerns me, first and foremost is safety,” he said. “Meeting commitments and keeping everyone safe are the measures of success.” Other challenges are workforce related. “There are not a lot of folks that grow up necessarily and aspire to get into this industry,” he said. “You can’t go to college and obtain a degree in wire and cable. You have to be drawn into this industry in some way.” “Finding those people who are interested in this type of work presents a challenge,” he said. Smith said it is difficult to find OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

young engineers who want to work their way into first-level leadership roles and into middle management. “Young people have many career choices, and wire and cable is not necessarily at the top of the list,” he noted. Another workforce-related challenge is the significant gap between older workers who are aging out toward retirement and young workers who are new on the scene. A serious void exists in between these two sets of workers. In operating the business, “we have to be wise from a technology and productivity standpoint to be able to service the needs of our customers with that type of variation in skill and, quite frankly, just having people available,” he said. He said direct labor jobs are challenging to fill across the country in the manufacturing sector.

Striking a balance

“I think work-life balance for me is the most important thing in my life right now,” said Smith, noting he has two young daughters. “I put a lot into my career and this business,” he said. “For me, I work a long day but at the end of the day, I shut it off. Being with them and being together is really nourishing to me,” he added. Because he travels so much, he watches what he eats. “I don’t have a specific diet that I adhere to, but I do not eat fast food. I don’t have a set workout schedule, but I do try to work out whenever I can,” he said. Smith, 54, said it’s difficult to picture retiring. “I would like to do board work and mentor the next generation. I want to be able to give back to the next generation of leaders. That would be my ideal form of retirement,” he said. What kind of advice would Smith give a freshly minted engineering graduate? “I would say the wire and cable industry offers a lot of opportunity for those who wish to apply themselves. There is a great career path to be had, and it could be a technical path or it could be a leadership path depending on what they want. It is an industry that will be around for many generations to come. There will always be a need for our products,” he said. APRIL / MAY 2020

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Success Story

Menter Ambulance Service

By Lou Sorendo

Zach Menter is president and CEO of Menter Ambulance in Fulton, Oswego County’s largest ambulance service company. The business employs 160 workers. It was started in Fulton by his grandfather, Alfred Menter, in 1952.

Third-generation owner Zach Menter reaches new heights while continuing tradition of family ambulance service in Oswego County

ome say the true measure of a person is determined by how well they respond to a crisis. For Zach Menter, president and CEO of Menter Ambulance in Fulton, he has made a career out of helping others avert their own personal disasters. “When you know the service you run has made a difference in someone’s life, that makes you feel good,” Menter noted. He gains gratification when an employee goes out and does something significant. “A child or loved one is here because of what we have done,” he said. “It may be as simple as someone who was kind enough to somebody to make a difference.” Menter is a third-generation owner of a family business that has experienced

significant success since its humble beginnings in 1952. When his grandfather Alfred started Menter Ambulance in 1952, he managed to get a loan from a local health care professional after he was unable to acquire a loan through a bank at that time. Alfred, who came from a farming family in Fulton, was an innovative thinker and saw the need for an ambulance service. Alfred and his wife also operated a taxi service. He bought an existing service from Frank Spaulding, who had two hearses and an ambulance that were used interchangeably at that time. In 1956, he decided to incorporate as Oswego County Ambulance and Hearse Service, Inc. with the dream of servicing the entire county. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

He had already been functioning as Menter Ambulance for four years, and the name had become a household name. When Zach came into the business, it was Oswego County Ambulance and Hearse Service, Inc., but for the purposes of Medicaid, Medicare and billing purposes, he used the “doing business as” or assumed corporate identities of Oswego County Ambulance Service and Menter Ambulance. Over the past year, a rebranding process took place and the name Oswego County Ambulance and Hearse Service, Inc., dba Menter Ambulance was established. When Alfred opened the business, it was run out of his house at 760 S. First St. in Fulton. He would later move the business APRIL / MAY 2020

Inside an ambulance operated by Menter Ambulance. The cost to have an ambulance that is fully staffed and equipped is about $530,000 a year to maintain. to 13 Nestle Ave., where Zach grew up. Menter Ambulance is headquartered at its new location at 404 Ontario St., Fulton, which was established last December. The business’ growth has led to establishing locations in Oswego and Central Square as well. It acquired Southern Oswego County Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 2017.

Whirlwind of change The ambulance service industry has seen changes that include the evolution of first aid, advanced first aid, and emergency medical technicians. Both the state Departments of Transportation and Health would eventually step in to provide regulatory guidelines for the service. “I really consider ourselves as being more part of the health care industry than transportation,” Menter said. Besides Menter Ambulance, he also owns and operates the James A. Menter Funeral Home at 510 Erie St., Fulton, which is also where his hearse service is located. Both Zach and his father James are licensed funeral directors. They are APRIL /MAY 2020

partners in the funeral home, a separate limited liability corporation. “We don’t run a full-fledged funeral business, but we do offer services to the public,” he said. The hearse service contracts with the district attorney’s office for removal of decedents throughout the county. It also rents hearses to funeral homes that may need them. James also did a lot of trade work for other funeral homes, and they would contract with him to use hearses, and transport and prep decedents. However, Zach balked at taking on that significant workload, and trade work later was done on a limited basis. By the time Zach graduated from high school in 1999, he had already gained experience in dispatching and began studying to be an EMT. He earned a four-year degree at SUNY Oswego, during which time he gained his EMS certification. It was 2006 when he first became a partner in the business with his parents and took on a vice president’s role. By 2007, he was in full command of the operation. Over time, his role became more administrative, and in 2017, he became sole owner as president and CEO. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Zach has three sons, ranging in age from 2 to 11, and says it would be meaningful if one or all of them took over the business some day. He has even had offers from folks wanting to buy the business, but said he is not going to do anything with the business until his children get old enough to determine if they want to get involved. “Fulton is my home and I’ve been in Oswego County my whole life. We will see where it goes,” said Menter, who will turn 40 in September.

Making an impact Menter said he takes pride in the growth of the company under his leadership. When he became a part owner in 2006, the business had seven ambulances. In 2018, that number reached 17. When he first took on a managerial role in the business, there were 50-plus employees. Today, there are 160 workers. “The business itself more than doubled as far as staff and call volume over a five-year period from 2013 to 2018,” he noted. “For a successful model, you need 93

volume, and that volume ties to our success. The more volume we get, the more we are able to pay staff, the more we are able to have resources to put into our arsenal, and the more we are able to accumulate funds to put back into the business,” he said. Menter said there have been some challenging periods over the past 15 years where growth was difficult. “In business, any risk you take comes with knowing there might be some tough times ahead,” he said. “It’s important to have a contingency plan in case you have to shift it back.” “What worked yesterday may not work today, and what works today may not work tomorrow. I always keep that in the back of my mind. Just because you figured out something today doesn’t mean that formula or equation is going to work tomorrow,” Menter said. He said that is challenging because by nature, people enjoy being able to accomplish something and say it is done. “The one thing I have learned in this business that I would pass along as advice to my kids someday is it’s never going to be done,” he said. “There’s always going to be a list of something in front of you. You get to times when it’s better or it’s good, but it’s never done.”

Team Menter Menter said communication is vital to realize a high level of success. Also important is making a conscious effort to not only focus on his perspective, but to gain insight from employees as well. “The staff is one of my greatest challenges, one of my greatest assets, and the one thing that can bring me the greatest success,” he said. Menter has a strong managerial team led by Michael Zukovsky, his director of operations. “He has basically cut his teeth at this business. He worked his way up from a wheelchair driver to an EMT to a paramedic, and now he is director of all operations,” Menter said. “I’m fortunate to have somebody that has gone through all the roles here.” Steve Sant serves as Menter’s director of finance and administration, while John Medico is systems director and plays a key role when it comes to analyzing and interpreting data. Jeffrey Andrews is director of training who is responsible for key aspects such as making sure workers are on track to get their credit hours for recertification. A continuous quality improvement 94

committee is also intact to ensure that workers are doing what they are supposed to be doing on calls and correct any deficiencies in the system. Meanwhile, Michele Newcomb serves as director of community relations, and is responsible not only for sustaining a social media presence, but also attending to vital networking with the community, schools and other businesses. Compliancy is another significant component for Menter, particularly in the billing department and working with organizations such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

He said copious documentation is necessary whenever you are receiving funding from federal or state sources. Other areas that demand compliancy involves organizations such as the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as adhering to laws imposed through the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.

High overhead An ambulance that is fully staffed and equipped costs about $530,000 a year to maintain, he said.

The Medicaid Piece

Shortfalls of Medicaid huge challenge

or Zach Menter, owner of Menter Ambulance Service in Fulton, one of his foremost challenges is dealing with Medicaid and insufficient reimbursement for services. “EMS is a difficult business in the sense that a large population that we serve is on public assistance,” he said. “In Oswego County, that is fairly high.” “It raises a concern because those are the calls you get a lower reimbursement on,” he said. Menter said 35% of his business volume involves Medicaid patients. “The average Medicaid call is a loss,” said Menter, noting that Medicare is a break-even proposition at the worst. Profits are derived basically from patients who are covered by commercial insurance, he said. Through copious data collection, Menter has learned that different areas featuring different demographics are more profitable than others. “At the end of the day, everyone has to be serviced the same,” he said. “But you can over time know the average cost based on a particular town.” “There is a lot of data to collect and a lot of different metrics that we look at. There are a lot of moving parts,” he said. He said it is imperative to staff properly to meet the service needs in particular areas, and knowing what costs are associated with supplying that service. It is also about knowing what an expansion would result in based on the location of enhanced services. OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

“A lot of it is based on utilization,” said Menter, noting it crucial to respond to the pattern of use of a service over a given period of time. Menter said low reimbursement from Medicaid is affecting the entire health care industry, and not just the EMS sector. He belongs to the United New York Ambulance Network, which is a group of privately owned and commercial ambulance services throughout the state. UNYAN lobbies intensively for not only changes to Medicaid, but also in support of direct pay from commercial insurers. “It’s about the entire equation put together. It’s about the volume of calls. Utilization is huge as far as knowing your cost readiness from the time that alarm goes off, to the time the patient is in the ambulance, to the time the ambulance is back in service to take another call,” he said. He said people often question the cost of using an ambulance service. “What they don’t realize is at 1 o’clock in the afternoon, we have 70% of our resources being utilized across all the territories we cover. I have 30% sitting here available. Everything has to pay for that 30%. It would be a fantastic business model to run where you are 100% utilized at all times, but that is not what is right for the community,” he said. “So we need to find that right mix where you can be able to turn a profit and make sure you give the absolute best service that you possibly can for that profit that you are turning.” APRIL / MAY 2020

Depending on the size, make and model, its costs between $90,000 to $130,000 for an empty ambulance. Payroll is the biggest expense, and Menter said there are significant training costs associated with bringing in new employees, which is why retention is so vital. In response, Menter is now featuring his own EMT Academy, the first session of which wrapped up recently. “We have traditionally always hired people with certification, but we still have to have them come and spend time training,” he said. He recently hired six new employees who engaged in the inaugural EMT Academy while simultaneously orienting themselves to their job at Menter. “We are truly building the right employee from the ground up, and we can slow down some turnover that way,” he said. One of Menter ’s biggest goals this year is to stabilize his workforce, particular given the national shortage of EMTs. He is in the midst of turning his former location into a training center. Other ambulance services in Oswego County include McFee Ambulance that services the Mexico area; Northern Oswego County Ambulance, which services the Pulaski area; Northshore Volunteer Ambulance, which services the Constantia region; the city of Oswego, and SUNY Oswego’s Student Association Volunteer Ambulance Corps, or SAVAC. He said there is less a sense of competition than working on the same team. “We are more partners and trying to accomplish the same goals and work together,” he said. Despite spending many hours at the office, Menter said having a proper work-life balance is vital. “Probably my best friends outside of work are my family,” Menter said. “When I am not here, I am with my family.” Menter grew up in Fulton and resides on the west side of the city on the Oswego River. His home is complete with a pontoon boat, kayaks and a pool. In the winter, the family enjoys downhill skiing. “If you follow me around with a GoPro camera on, it wouldn’t be any super exciting life. It would be a lot of family stuff,” he said. “The way we spaced our kids out, we are going to have a child in the Fulton City School District for 22 consecutive years, then we can retire,” he said. APRIL /MAY 2020

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APRIL / MAY 2020

Best Business Directory AUTO SALES & SERVICE

JANITORIAL SERVICES

Bellinger Auto Sales & Service — Third generation business. Used Cars, Towing, general auto repair & accessories, Truck repair. Oil, lube & filter service. 2746 County Route 57 Fulton, NY 13069. Call 5931332 or fax 598-5286.

Looking for good service, start by calling LC Cleaners at (315) 744-2205. We clean dirt cheap. We will also disinfect your office. Please leave message on our phone.

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CONSTRUCTION Dunsmoor Construction Inc. – Residential-Commercial Construction. Serving Oswego County. Home Improvement Contractor. 315-343-4380 or 315-5915020.

COPY + PRINT Port City Copy Center. Your one-stop for all of your copy + print needs. 37 East First St., Oswego . 2166163.

DEMOLITION Fisher Companies. Commercial & residential demolition. Great prices. Fully insured. Free estimates. 48 years of experience. Call Fisher Companies at 315652-3773 or visit www.johnefisherconstruction.com.

EXCAVATING Gilbert Excavating. Septic systems. Gravel & top soil. Septic tank pumping. 685 County Route 3, Fulton, 13069. Call 593-2472.

Lakeshore Hardwoods. We stock kiln-dried cherry, walnut, maple, butternut, ash, oak, basswood, mahogany, cedar figured woods, and exotics. Also, hardwood flooring, moldings, stair parts & woodworking supplies. 266 Manwaring Rd. Pulaski. 298-6407 or visit www. lakeshorehardwoods.com.

LAND SURVEYOR Robert M. Burleigh, licensed land surveyor. Quality land surveying. Residential, subdivision, commercial, boundary surveying. 593-2231.

LUMBER White’s Lumber. Four locations to serve you. Pulaski: state Route 13, 315-298-6575; Watertown: N. Rutland Street, 315-788-6200; Clayton: James Street, 315-6861892; Gouverneur: Depot Street, 315-287-1892.

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Oswego County Business P.O. Box 276 Oswego, NY 13126 OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

Last Page

Ellen Wahl

Artistic director for Oswego Music Hall, also known as the Ontario Center for Performing Arts in Oswego, is passionate about bringing music and performances to the region Q.: Oswego Music Hall has been in existence for more than 40 years. To what do you attribute its success and longevity to? A.: Community. Perseverance. Passion. Expertise. Embedded in our volunteer leadership, these are the key attributes that have sustained us. Q.: Can you describe what your role is as artistic director of the Oswego Music Hall? A.: I book the acts for the national stage. We initially see the acts live, often traveling to major festivals and conferences to recruit top-notch performers and discover emerging artists. Once scheduled, I communicate performer needs to all other departments — in sound, technical, promotion and hospitality. Q.: Both you and your husband Mark have been instrumental in the growth of the Oswego Music Hall. What has motivated you as a couple to support the organization? A.: We began our lives as a couple of college students majoring in art. When Mark got the job as a student to design, build and convert the campus post ofﬁce into The College Tavern (back when the drinking age was 18), he hired me as one of his carpenters and also introduced me to the world of theater. I became involved again with Oswego Music Hall when its members decided to donate proceeds to the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the charity I directed. We both became dedicated board members and close friends with other families doing the same — working together and playing together as a team of community leaders. Q.: What is new at Oswego Music Hall for 2020? A.: We began the year with novel programming when Gangstagrass — a band melding bluegrass and hip-hop — packed the house before an audi98

ence of all ages. At the same time, we received an award to pilot a guest curator series that will enable innovative programming by entrepreneurs for the beneﬁt of youth and other underserved demographics. On the horizon is a feasibility study to erect a performing arts facility on the waterfront in Oswego and we are pleased to have members of our board at the table and in on discussions.

By Lou Sorendo the Arts to subsidize artist fees and the Shineman Foundation to fund technical upgrades. We’ve been all-volunteer run for 42 years and the membership sustains us between shows. Most importantly, Central New Yorkers support live music by coming to shows. It’s a community effort. The city of Oswego provides performance space and storage, river’s end bookstore is our downtown ticket outlet, Quality Inn houses performers and Azteca Restaurant provides them dinner. Ontario Orchards and Green Planet Grocery donate concession supplies and countless other businesses display our ﬂyers and posters.

Q.: Can you describe the demographic that attends performances? A.: We’re family friendly and welcome all ages and skill levels. Each of three stages draws a greater concentration of one demographic over another. Our national stage draws a stronger mix of professionals and retirees — people who tend to have more discretionary time and disposable wealth. The Hook Singer-Songwriter Series draws a greater percentage of GenXers and millennials — typically local, emerging artists often supported by their younger friends and family. Open Mic Fridays attract all ages, often entire families, and the youngest mix of performers and audience. A key draw, especially for the younger demographic, is affordability and the opportunity to perform using state-of-the-art sound equipment run by bonaﬁde sound engineers and technicians. Q.: How does Oswego Music Hall financially sustain itself? A.: Our nonproﬁt status has helped us secure grants from the New York State Council on

OSWEGO COUNTY BUSINESS

APRIL / MAY 2020

3.3% UNINSURED RATE 39% LOWER

THAN THE NEW YORK STATE AVERAGE

63% LOWER

THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

Central New York’s 2018 uninsured rate is among the lowest ever recorded. According to recently released numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, the uninsured rate in the Central New York region was just 3.3 percent in 2018, compared with a New York state uninsured rate of 5.4 percent and a national rate of 8.9 percent. Low health-care costs are a key factor in the Central New York region’s low uninsured rate.

For private insurance, Central New York’s health costs ranked 15th lowest among 306 hospital referral regions across the country.* Central New York and upstate New York have a proud history of affordable, high-quality health care. It’s the result of regional partnerships and a commitment to nonprofit health care. It helps make our community a great place to live and work.

*Source: “The Experts Were Wrong About the Best Places for Better and Cheaper Health Care.” The New York Times, December 15, 2015 A nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association