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Tim's Corners Reading & COVID-19. What is the local impact?
nekritz@gmail.com Reading in a Pandemic: How Has it Impacted the Community?
The pen, the old saying goes, is mighty Fulton and Time and Again Books and Tea than the sword. But is the pen mightier in Oswego, however, have remained closed than the pandemic? throughout.
With reading books among the reported Local libraries have adjusted as well, trends as people spend more time in their as important community touchstones that homes, how did that impact local booksellers provide access to wide audiences.and libraries? Christmann said the river’s end book-
It was somewhat complicated by the store needed to change its operations with initial — necessary — restrictions, but people the initial shutdown, but credited their still found ways to go local in seeking out customer loyalty for weathering the early reading material. part of the pandemic.
The river’s end “Through the inibookstore in Oswego was able to maintain Tim’s Notes tial lockdown right up to the present day, service for clients, our community has thanks to a robust web presence that allowed responded by taking advantage of our curbfor online ordering followed by touchless side service, home delivery and competitive delivery or curbside pickup, store manager shipping rates,” Christmann said. “Some Emil Christmann said. orders are placed over the phone while
Used bookstores Backstreet Books in
Tim Nekritz is director of news and media for SUNY Oswego, where he spearheads telling the stories of the campus community. Staff at the river’s end bookstore in Oswego. “Through the initial lockdown right up to the present day, our community has responded by taking advantage of our curbside service, home delivery and competitive shipping rates,” said store manager Emil Christmann.
many have been submitted through our website, which was due for some fine-tuning anyway. We’re fortunate to have already had it up and running though; fellow booksellers have told us that without a web presence, or even with a fledgling site, it has been difficult to keep up.”
Christmann noted tools like bookshop.org, which launched in early 2020, and BINC have offered some bookstores a lifeline, as have loans and grants made available to businesses.
Changing operations along the way has been necessary.
“We’ve been generally more conservative when ordering products far in advance, yet we simultaneously have to try to predict bestsellers and popular items for the holidays, so it’s an interesting balancing act, to say the least!” he said. “And of course, we are following safety protocols, adjusting when and how everything gets cleaned, before, during and after store hours.”
Warming up
Christmann did note an uptick in reading interest, especially before the warm weather, as “we were delivering quite a few books to people who wanted some new stories to keep them entertained.”
“When it warmed up, people were happy to be out and about again, calling ahead and picking up their books,” he noted. “New and existing reading groups have started hosting their book club meetings virtually. We’ve seen a healthy presence of the SUNY Oswego community. And now that it’s getting cold again, and people are starting to strategize for their holiday shopping, we’re seeing people stock up once more.”
As for what trends the booksellers saw, “jigsaw puzzles, board games and coloring books have certainly enjoyed a bit of a renaissance lately,” Christmann said.
With literature, “I think the mix of genres and topics has remained largely consistent,” he added with new biographies, historical fiction (for escapism) and traditional strong storytellers like Stephen King remaining staple lines.
“I think one of the most significant overarching trends this year has been the current demand for, and subsequent abundance of, titles regarding systemic social injustices in the US — specifically those authored by members of marginalized groups who have the lived experience, and therefore authentic Interior of Time and Again Books and Tea in Oswego: “With no tourism this year, we continued to be closed because the risk of contracting COVID wasn’t worth the extremely small profits,” owner Deborah Engelke said.
voices, to speak about that which they write,” Christmann said.
“A number of such books continue to dominate regional and national bestseller lists,” he said. “Uncomfortable truths are just that — uncomfortable. But to see so many people actively seeking them out as a means of understanding in hopes of healing is, if nothing else, an encouraging sign, given everything we’ve been through so far.”
Deborah Engelke of Time and Again Books and Tea, said she and her husband Ray are still mulling the future of their bookstore, at least the brick and mortar version.
Engelke said hers is not an unusual case, with some estimates finding more than half of such businesses might not make it.
“We are struggling, no doubt about that. But as we just entered our 20th year, most of our business loans are paid. We are in better shape for this than we would have been earlier in our tenure,” Engelke said.
But since “small brick and mortars often make the majority of their yearly income during the summer tourism season,” the loss of Harborfest, Super Dirt Week, Pumpkinfest and the like has impacted businesses like theirs greatly, she noted.
“With no tourism this year, we continued to be closed because the risk of contracting COVID wasn’t worth the extremely small profits,” Engelke said.
“We do offer curbside, and after four or more months, several of our regular customers are now calling ahead, paying by PayPal, check, cash, and picking up their orders on our deck. This has worked fairly well, but of course, there is no browsing for items that they weren’t aware we had. A large portion of our sales in normal times are people looking for something to do.”
While they do have their inventory posted online at Amazon and EBay,
“these sales are very small as we aren’t able to procure inventory for resale,” Engelke noted.
“A lot of our inventory comes from driving up to a hundred miles, for the most part, for huge fundraiser library, school, church sales,” she noted. “We compete with other vendors and select quality merchandise for our shop and our online shops. We haven’t had that opportunity this year. Therefore, we don’t have good stuff to sell online, either.”
Online sales can place brick-andmortar shops at a disadvantage, as competitors may have less overhead which allows for lower prices, although Time and Again is the kind of operation that can compete through excellent service. But huge online retailers like Amazon that can provide lower-price options and free shipping is hard to compete with on costs alone.
Thus any shift to reading more hasn’t helped their bottom line much, Engelke said.
“Our curbside pick-up customers are folks that know our inventory, but maybe not what we have in stock today,” she said. “They call and leave a message, and we call them back with exact titles, cost of item and a discount we offer for remaining loyal to us through this. The trends are the same as they have always been here: murder mysteries, action, suspense, children’s titles, and one buyer bought a very rare out-of-print title early on in the pandemic the week we closed our door that he’d noticed last time he was browsing.”
Libraries keep serving
Public libraries around the county are finding ways to cope as well. As nonprofits, finding ways for them to continue their mission of serving the community remains paramount — and they rose to the challenge as best they could.
“During June, most of the libraries in Oswego County attempted remote programming and then moved to curbside service,” said Kathleen Mantaro, who is the president of the Oswego Public Library board of trustees and secretary-treasurer for the Oswego County Library Council. “Recently, library by library, our Oswego County libraries have adjusted delivery of services based upon their particular set of circumstances: such as size, staff, budgets, logistics and patron needs as well as continued compliance with the governor’s changing model of COVID-19 requirements.”
One of the libraries that has been able to reopen in the fall, the Fulton Public Library focused on what it could do remotely through summer. They stayed connected by providing virtual programming, from story times to poetry readings to fitness classes four to five times a week; increasing access to electronic materials; giving free access to their WiFi and furnishing 15 WiFi hotspots to patrons for 30-day checkouts; waiving overdue fines and fees; offering free outdoor crafts for families; and establishing grab-and-go options for materials and services like copying, printing and faxing.
“Our Grab-and-Go has been steady since we started it in June and last month [October] we opened up to browsing and computer appointments as well,” said Fulton Public Library Director Caroline Chatterton. “We are so happy to once again have our patrons in the building. Everyone has been very respectful of the new procedures we have in place for visiting the library and we look forward to our next phase of reopening.”
Reading, particularly during the pandemic, has served many purposes, including “comfort, distraction, escape, self-care, mindfulness, education,” Chatterton said, with comfort and self-care perhaps the two most notable.
“With so much uncertainty in the world, there’s great comfort in the predictability and safety of a pastime like reading,” Chatterton noted. “Knowing that no matter what happens, I can sit down at the end of the day with a good book and a hot cup of tea is a great solace for me and, I’m sure, others. Additionally, while we are constantly bombarded with bleak messages and news from the media, reading can be a type of self-care and escape from reality. Too much news consumption can be anxiety-inducing and so many people are finding it necessary for their mental health to turn off the TV or phone and pick up a book.”
While patrons continued to generally stick with the wide variety of genres the library offers, Chatterton said some interesting trends did emerge.
“A good number of patrons found great comfort in formulaic genres like thrillers and mysteries (James Patterson, Lee Child, Louise Penny, etc.) while others took this extra time to branch out and read genres they normally wouldn’t try,” Chatterton said. “Still, others settled into the safety of familiar plots by re-reading tried-and-true favorites and classics. Since reopening in June and resuming the purchasing of new books we can’t keep our bestsellers on the shelves and with the election any political books have been a hot commodity as well.”
The Oswego Public Library had not yet been able to open its doors as of November, but like other libraries around the county and country, they have opened themselves to whatever community needs they can fill. Once allowed to offer curbside service to patron requests this summer, they made this available, mainly for books and videos from their own materials, the 64 libraries in the North Country Library System and additional libraries outside the area.
Oswego’s patrons are huge readers, and found reading a safe activity, a great way to escape, an opportunity to peruse about travel while not able to take a regular vacation, a calming influence in troubled times, a means of self-improvement and a source of entertainment when some other offerings — like new movies and live sports — were curtailed.
In surveying staff, Mantaro found increasing demand for books of a political nature, as well as popular authors and best-selling fiction, cookbooks and books about previous pandemics. Families and children particularly enjoyed their favorite series and topics they started learning since school began again.
Children’s programming for the Oswego Public Library was a big emphasis, as Children’s Program Director Karen Swartz said they were able to run a full remote summer of kids’ programs. These included make and take craft bags, which families picked up and then assembled while connected remotely; a regular online themed story hour (expected to continue through at least December); highlighting such community entities as Man in the Moon Candies, Fort Ontario, the Richardson-Bates House and the Oswego City Police through sharing their stories remotely through the library; and a city-wide scavenger hunt on the theme of fairy tales.
And if a happily ever after in a post-pandemic world may seem far away, at least all those providing access to written words and other materials continue to help Oswego County find as much joy in these chapters as they can.
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Surprise Casualty of Pandemic: Some of CNY’s Seasoned Teachers
By Ken Sturtz
When the Mexico schools ordered its students home in mid-March due to the pandemic and switched to virtual learning, Michael Charbonneau quickly realized he was at a disadvantage.
For years Charbonneau, a high school English teacher, had thrived in his classroom. He relied on raw enthusiasm to keep his students’ interest and fed off their energy. One week he’d have them dissecting a piece of literature. The next they might act out Shakespeare or analyze poetic lyrics of music.
Charbonneau says his teaching style was ill-suited to virtual learning and he struggled with the medium.
“To say that I hated the distance learning is an understatement,” he says. “I stunk at it.”
Charbonneau was eligible to retire, but had wanted to teach at least another year. But with no end to the pandemic in sight and, facing the prospect of returning to virtual teaching in the fall, he reluctantly decided to retire.
Across Central New York veteran teachers who might have otherwise continued working have decided to retire early. Their reasons include reluctance
Michael Charbonneau with his students in the Mexico schools.
to continue teaching virtually, health concerns and the possibility that layoffs will affect less experienced teachers.
“This was just the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as staying in education,” Christine Jordan says.
Jordan, 56, of Camillus, spent 20 years with the Syracuse schools. She enjoyed teaching, but over the last few years she began considering retirement. She says morale among teachers in the district was sagging and violence became more common.
She worked 12 years as a teaching assistant before teaching English as a second language. She later switched to sixth-grade academic intervention services and then taught social studies for a year.
She says the student population in academic intervention was tough. She had a few situations where students pushed her during scuffles. Last year she went back to being a teaching assistant before deciding whether to retire.
Jordan also has a condition that leaves her with a compromised immune system. She says she was reluctant to continue jeopardizing her health. She also worried that if she didn’t retire, someone else would likely lose their job due to budget cuts.
“If I stayed I would be taking a position away from somebody who probably needs another 10 years before they can have the choice of retiring or not,” she says. “I think it was the best Michael Charbonneau, on senior recognition day, speaking at commencement, and with a class of his students.
Christine Jordan, 56, of Camillus, spent 20 years with the Syracuse schools. She recently retired because of issues caused by COVID-19. She is shown with one of her students.
Teacher Mary Ann DeMar about her early retirement: “It was very hard,” DeMar says. “It was a decision that I really didn’t want to make, but decided that for my own health and safety that I needed to do that.”
choice to save somebody else from the chopping block and finally take my exit myself.”
Mary Ann DeMar had also been thinking about retirement. DeMar, 54, of Liverpool, spent 34 years teaching. She began her career teaching in Catholic schools, so she didn’t have enough years of service to retire and planned to teach another six years. She worked as a reading teacher in the Fulton schools, then as director of literacy and universal pre-kindergarten before going back into the classroom to teach reading again.
More recently she had become an instructional coach working with teachers at Granby Elementary School. When the school district moved to virtual learning, her job became more challenging and less fulfilling.
And DeMar has lupus; the disease and the treatment for it can weaken the immune system. DeMar says she had taken precautions previously to avoid germs and getting sick through school. But when discussions began about hybrid learning, she says she worried about her health and her effectiveness as a teacher.
“With the COVID I was at high risk,” she says. “I just felt like I couldn’t risk going into a hybrid program if they really thought the COVID was going to last.”
DeMar struggled with the decision to retire. She enjoyed interacting with the children and working with her colleagues. But she had no way of knowing how long the pandemic would last, how long the school would use a hybrid system or when a vaccine might become widely available. She made up her mind in June.
“It was very hard,” DeMar says. “It was a decision that I really didn’t want to make, but decided that for my own health and safety that I needed to do that.”
Waiting for a vaccine
Around the same time, Charbonneau was wrestling with the retirement decision. He wanted to teach one more year. After 33 years, Charbonneau, 56, of Baldwinsville, says he had a great schedule and bright students who enjoyed learning.
But he also knew he didn’t want to spend a whole school year miserable under a virtual learning model that he felt wasn’t right for him. He also reasoned that any layoffs were likely to cost a newer teacher their job if he stayed. He reluctantly put in his retirement paperwork.
“I’m not happy about it, but I’m at ease with it,” he says. “I’m comfortable with it.”
Jordan struggled with the decision to retire right until the end. She waited so long to hit the submit button on the computer that the system timed out and she had to start over again.
“You have all those thoughts going through your head,” she says. “As soon as I push that button that 20 years is going to go away.”
When the pandemic subsides and a vaccine is readily available, Jordan says she’d like to continue teaching, perhaps for a parochial school or in another setting.
DeMar also hopes to substitute teach once there’s a vaccine. She says that after retiring she felt awkward over summer, but has enjoyed being outside for the fall weather instead of in a classroom. She and her husband were able to leave their pool open past Labor Day and DeMar says she’s enjoyed having more time for reading and crafts.
She misses the students and socializing with other teachers. But she says her former colleagues have described their struggles with hybrid learning and assured her she made the right choice.
Charbonneau spent the summer golfing, gardening and “taking a deep breath.” He says he and his wife, who retired from teaching a year before him, plan to do some traveling. He also plans to look for a new job, the first time in 33 years. He says he’s considered everything from teaching to Uber or delivery jobs.
As he and the other retired teachers in Central New York begin a new chapter, Charbonneau says he’s feeling a lot of empathy for his students and colleagues and a little bit of guilt.
“As professionals, teachers will figure this out. It’s not going to be ideal, but they’ll figure it out,” he says. “It’s going to be really hard for kids.”
Surviving COVID-19 As Oswego J.C. Penney lingers, ex-employees recall retail of yesteryear
When J.C. Penney filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, many wondered about future of the department store chain’s longtime Oswego location.
The once formidable retail powerhouse was in the midst of a long decline, the victim of mismanagement, as well as competition from the internet and discount department stores. When the coronavirus pandemic forced retailers to shutter their stores this spring, J.C. Penney collapsed.
As part of its restructuring the company announced the closure of 154 of its 850 stores, including its stores in Oswego and at Destiny USA. But weeks later the company decided that a handful of stores, including in Oswego, would not close after all.
The reason for the change wasn’t clear, but the news caused many former employees to reflect on their time there and what has changed.
Before J.C. Penney opened in the Oswego Plaza in February 1977, the space was occupied by W.T. Grant. Largely forgotten today, Grant was the nation’s 17th largest retailer when it filed for bankruptcy protection in 1975. Bev Bateman worked there before it closed. She was surprised when she received a phone call from the human resources officer at W.T. Grant.
“She called me, she said ‘You want to come to work?’” Bateman says.
J.C. Penney was opening a new store in the location, the woman explained. She was told to report to work the next day. The reason for the hurried hiring soon became clear.
“We started of course in the stock room because all the freight got shipped in,” she says. “And we were wall to wall, ceiling to floor boxes.”
Bateman and the other new hires, many of whom had worked for W.T. Grant for years, checked all the new merchandise in, brought it to the floor and set up the departments throughout the store. There was training on the cash registers and more work to ready for the opening.
Preparing the new store was exciting and nerve-racking, Bateman says. There were scores of people in management lurking around and everything had to be just so for the opening.
When it opened the store had more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 96-seat restaurant, a six-bay automotive center and a salon. There was a robust catalog department and a sewing department; the store even sold firearms and ammunition for a while. Over the year’s J.C. Penney phased out many sections, choosing to focus on its core department store offerings.
Mike McCrobie was a sophomore at SUNY Oswego at the time and looking for a part-time job while he attended school.
“Back then a good part time job like that — if you had it during the school year and in the summer — that could pay your tuition for the year,” he says. “Not so much anymore.”
McCrobie was hired as a sales associate before the store opened. He remembers being taught customer service skills and being shown a film on the history of J.C. Penney. He didn’t do much shopping at the bigger department stores in downtown Syracuse such as Chappell’s and Dey Brothers, and developed a loyalty to J.C. Penney. His first credit card was a store card. He says the Oswego store was well suited to the needs of the community.
For example, when he worked in the men’s department it wasn’t uncommon for a mother to come in with her teenaged son and say he needed a suit
The stores manager Jeff Bame (from left), Kay McCollum, Jan Edwards, and Barb Arras at one of the store VIP nights.
Barb Arras and store handyman at one of their VIP nights.
for calling hours after a death in the family. When he worked in the shoe department, there’d be a rush for back to school shoes in the summer and a flood of men seeking winter boots in the fall.
“It just really catered to the needs of the community,” he says. “Everything from a sit-down restaurant to shoes, clothing, bedding, you name it.”
Years ago, J.C. Penney would do small things that went a long way toward employees building relationships with customers, says Barb Arras.
Arras started at the store in 1991 as seasonal holiday help and stayed 23 years. She worked her way into human resources and managed several departments over the years including jewelry, shoes and women’s. She remembers when the store had special VIP nights. The employees dressed up in tuxedoes and served cake to customers.
“We really got to connect with our customers back then,” she says. “Now there’s just not that time, you just can’t do it.”
There were other personal touches. At Halloween they dressed in costumes and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. At the start of the Christmas season they distributed complimentary J.C. Penney ornaments to shoppers. And Santa Claus arrived each year, holding court in the middle of the department store and meeting with children.
For many years the store also held an annual Easter egg hunt, complete with an appearance by the Easter bunny. They also had a photographer come in for portraits several times a year.
“It was a much different atmosphere when I was there,” Arras says. “It was special. It was more of a personal touch back then.”
When it opened in 1977, J. C. Penney had more than 50,000 square feet of retail space, as well as a 96-seat restaurant, a six-bay automotive center and a salon. There was a robust catalog department and a sewing department; the store even sold firearms and ammunition for a while.
When Arras worked in jewelry she went out of her way to find exactly the right item for customers. She once had a customer who wanted a special pair of 1-carat earrings. Arras worked tirelessly to track down the perfect earrings for the customer. “She was just so happy,” Arras says. “Like I said, it was personal back then.”
The store made an impression on Susan Sawyer. As a teenager in the 1980s she says the cool kids shopped at J.C. Penney. She saved her babysitting money to buy a trendy yellow polo shirt from the store.
Sawyer watched her older cousin get a job at J.C. Penney and decided she wanted to work there too. When she was old enough, she put in an application and returned to the store each week for months to update it. She was hired in high school and continued throughout college. “It was home,” she says. “It was family.”
As much as she liked her job, Sawyer says that like many young associates she ended up spending a good chunk of her paycheck on clothes. The associate discount at the time was 15 percent and employees could snag new items that came in and place them on layaway. It didn’t help that associates needed to be well-dressed for work, Sawyer says.
“They had a very strict dress code back in the ‘80s,” she says. “You’d get called on the carpet if your ankles were showing.”
Men were expected to wear shirts and ties, but sport jackets were preferred. The dress code wasn’t the only thing that was stricter. Any time a cashier had a lull they were expected to check the fitting rooms or straighten up merchandise.
“We didn’t leave that store at night until it looked perfect for the customers the next day,” Arras says. “It’s just a totally different atmosphere today, in every store I think. I don’t think anybody
has the time to do that anymore.”
Jan Edwards was hired in May 1977 as an associate in the fabric and gift department and eventually worked her way into management. She believes the employees’ commitment to providing excellent service helped sustain the store through corporate reductions.
Unlike the heavy turnover more typical of retail today, Edwards says the store was buoyed by a core group of employees who enjoyed their jobs and stayed on for years or even decades.
If a job at J.C. Penney could be demanding at times, there were also moments when the company showed it appreciated its employees. There were special luncheons to celebrate associates’ birthdays and other special occasions, Edwards says. Summer picnics complemented the annual Christmas party, which was held off-site, after the holidays.
Supervisors even found a way to make the sometimes-agonizing job of asking customers to sign up for a store card more fun. They were always thinking up contests to make the task more bearable and, for many years, the store met its goals for signing up new customers.
Employees took pride in engaging with customers and their input was valued, especially when purchasing was Mike McCrobie, a writer and former English teacher in Oswego, was a sophomore at SUNY Oswego looking for a part-time job while he attended school. “Back then a good part-time job like that — if you had it during the school year and in the summer — that could pay your tuition for the year,” he says. File photos
still done locally. She says customers reciprocated by remaining loyal shoppers. “The store always had a family atmosphere on both sides of the counter,” Edwards says. “The community was very committed to supporting local business which has been the key to the store’s success.”
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By George Chapman Special for Oswego County Business
These are the words of our soon-to-be former president at a campaign rally just days before the November election. It was said somewhat sarcastically because it was dominating the headlines and he predicted we would never hear another word about COVID-19 after the election. Well … COVID-19 continues to dominate the news and our lives as the pandemic worsens and we approach 300,000 deaths. Thankfully, vaccines will be distributed throughout the early months of 2021. The virus, however, will continue to impact and influence our well- being, healthcare delivery and the news throughout 2021.
Average Age Continues to Rise
We are getting older. The New York Times ran an article in 2020 on the pending healthcare crisis facing the country as we age. (The impact of the pandemic remains to be seen.) Our birthrate is at a record low, continuing a steady decline since
the 2008 recession. Ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day and they are living longer. In 10 years, by 2030, the population of the prime caregivers (4565) will increase by just 1% a year, while the population over 80 will increase by an astounding 80%. To compound the approaching dilemma, once you reach 85, your chances of developing Alzheimer’s is 14 times higher than when you’re 65 to 70. Most of the help received by the elderly, 83%, is provided by relatives or neighbors — without compensation — and two thirds of the caregivers are women. According to the National Institute on Retirement Security, the median savings of people in middle age is just $15,000. It is estimated that people over 65 withdrew $22 billion from their savings to cover what Medicare doesn’t. And Medicare does not cover long term care. It is human nature to kick the can down the road, ignore reality and avoid uncomfortable debate. Pending crises aren’t really addressed until they are smack in front of us. 2030 is just around the corner.
ID Doc Shortage Continues
With the coronavirus grabbing the headlines, overlooked is the fact that Infectious disease experts (ID docs) are a fading breed. There has been a 40% decrease in medical students enrolling in ID training programs or residencies be tween 2009 and 2019. Infectious disease is one of just two subspecialties where not all residency slots are filled. Telemedicine can help by transmitting increasingly rare and valuable expertise to physicians working in even the remotest areas. Telemedicine also allows physicians to treat patients remotely, keeping them from coming into EDs and offices and infecting provider staffs and other patients.
Drug Prices Will Remain Uncontrolled
The House bipartisan bill authorizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to negotiate drug prices on behalf of the 165 million people covered by Medicare and Medicaid remains stalled in the Senate and most likely will not be tabled for a vote in 2021. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican, spearheaded the bipartisan bill. Opponents of the bill have argued that negotiating prices is a form of “socialism.” The rather timid bipartisan bill would authorize CMS to negotiate just 25 prices the first year, then ramp up to more over ten years. Drug prices remain totally unchecked while CMS literally sets prices and fees for physicians and hospitals. Rather than negotiate prices with U.S. drug manufacturers, the latest scheme is to buy drugs from Canada and Mexico where they are much cheaper. Both countries have told us they purchase just enough drugs for their citizens and have no interest in our roundabout scheme.
Amazon’s Impact to Increase
Just as Amazon changed the way we shop, resulting in the closure of 9,000 brick-and-mortar stores last year alone, so it is changing the way we receive medical care. It will continue to open primary care clinics, expand virtual medical services and introduce an on line pharmacy called PillPack. Amazon is working on an Alexa-based program whereby consumers can query drug interactions and side effects as well as manage their meds. Information will be updated regularly. The company is also working on clinical speech recognition whereby provider patient conversations will automatically be documented in the medical record. This will have a significant impact on “he said, she said” conversations. Amazon has the wherewithal, size, money, supply chain, artificial intelligence and IT expertise to alter the entire healthcare delivery system. Industry observers believe Amazon will have the same impact on brick-and-mortar providers as it did on stores. In lieu of the dire predictions of a physician shortage, Amazon could considerably reduce the deficit with increased automation and artificial intelligence.
COVID-19 in Perspective
Various computer models have attempted to predict U.S. deaths from this pandemic. The earliest estimates were upward of one million deaths. These early predictions were based on spurious data from China. A year into the pandemic, we have more experience. Models in mid- April were predicting fewer than 100,000 deaths. The final tally for 2020 may exceed 300,000. It helps to put the impact of the virus in perspective.
The major causes of death for 2018: • Heart disease: 655,381 • Cancer: 599,274 • Alzheimer’s/dementia: 267,311 • Emphysema/COPD: 154,603 • Stroke: 147,810 • Diabetes: 84,946 • Drug overdose: 67,367 • Pneumonia/flu: 59,690 • Liver disease: 55,918 • Renal failure: 50,504 • Car crash: 42,114 • Septicemia: 40,718 • Guns: 39,201 • Falls: 37,558 • Hypertension: 35,835 • Parkinson’s: 35,598 • Digestive diseases: 31,015 • Arterial diseases: 24,808.
In 2018 the US population was 327 million. COVID-19 with 300,000 deaths will move into third place behind cancer and before dementia.
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.
Telemedicine to Increase
Undoubtedly, COVID-19 is the catalyst for the widespread acceptance and use of telemedicine and virtual visits. As the virus resurges, providers may either postpone your upcoming routine office visit or offer to “see” you via telemedicine. Medicare has relaxed privacy and billing requirements for providers, (MDs, NPs, PAs, social workers, therapists, mental health providers) making it far easier for them to offer and bill for virtual visits. Smart phones and personal computers are acceptable for virtual visits. You must agree to the virtual visit verbally. Over the next several months. Medicare has relaxed physician supervision of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, granting these two advanced practitioners more independence. Physicians can still provide virtual care across state lines regardless of the state they are licensed. No one could have predicted that a pandemic would be the catalyst or “black swan” event for telemedicine. Up until the pandemic, telemedicine was used infrequently. Virtual visits were just 10% of a typical provider’s schedule in 2019. In April 2020, it had ballooned to 46%. Industry experts are predicting that telehealth could be $250 billion a year in spending post pandemic. Both providers and consumers have adapted to the new reality. According to a recent consumer survey by McKinsey & Company, 75% of respondents are highly or moderately likely to use telemedicine services. Seventy-five percent of respondents who recently received services via telemedicine were satisfied. Up until the pandemic, providers were somewhat reluctant to incorporate telemedicine into their business models, primarily due to poor reimbursement from insurers. Before the pandemic, telemedicine was used primarily to reach isolated, rural or homebound patients. The unknown is whether or not Medicare will continue the improved telemedicine reimbursement beyond the pandemic. The longer this pandemic lasts into 2021, the further the “horse is out of the barn”. Medicare would certainly face a backlash from both providers and consumers who have adapted to this care delivery care option.
Reopening Healthcare, Again, in 2021
The initial surge in the spring of 2020, forced hospitals and physician offices to close to non-emergent care. The postponement or cancellation of elective surgeries and routine office visits put most pproviders in dire financial straits and most resorted to furloughing or laying off staff as bottom lines floundered. In April, CMS issued guidelines for providers to open up again for normal business. By summer, things started to return to normal. But with the pandemic resurging at the end of 2020 to heights never imagined last spring, providers may start to limit care again. Decisions to limit care will be consistent with federal, state, and local orders, CDC guidance, and in collaboration with state and local public health authorities. Last spring, with the initial surge, providers were hampered by shortages of personal protection equipment (PPE). That is still somewhat of an issue this time around. But now a worsening and more devastating problem is provider burnout and stress. As if that isn’t enough of a problem, competition for nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists among hospitals is furious. Traveling nurses can earn as much as $7,000 to $10,000 a week, especially in rural areas. While it is great for nurses, it is straining already disastrous hospital bottom lines.
The pandemic will cause this trend to accelerate. In addition to opening more and more primary care, dental, vision and
mental health clinics, mega corps like Walmart have introduced healthcare insurance products. Walmart Insurance Services began selling Medicare plans last August in the Dallas Fort Worth area market. Not to be outdone, Walgreen’s plans to open 500 to 700 clinics called VillageMD over the next five years. The plan is to employ 3,600 primary care providers. Half of the clinics will be located in federally designated medically underserved areas. It remains to be seen how this will impact the private practice of medicine and hospital systems that also employ providers in remote, off campus facilities. The obvious question is where will all these care givers come from?
Hospitals Are Not
“Gaming” the Virus
There are several and totally unfounded rumblings on social media and the press regarding hospital “profiteering” during the pandemic. The inference is that hospitals are encouraged to label every respiratory infection as COVID-19 ( COVID-19) in order to get paid more. Nothing could be further from the truth. That would be out and out fraud and all the major payers like Medicare, United, Humana, BlueCross, etc. employ fraud police. Also, patients or family members of the deceased, are asked to inspect their hospital bills for suspected fraud and to report such. In 2017, well before the pandemic, the average payment to hospitals for respiratory and infections problems ranged from $13,000 to $40,000 depending on the patient’s insurance, severity of illness, comorbidities and length
of stay. Medicare, that pays for most of the COVID19 hospitalizations, pays an average of 20% more because … it costs more. The average patient spends 20 days in the ICU, which is the most expensive and service intensive place to be in a hospital. According to the Association of Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the average reimbursement to hospitals for COVID-19 is about $30,000. No hospital is “making money off the virus”. Medicare partially reimburses hospitals for COVID-19 care rendered to the indigent. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates two million of us will get the virus and 15% will be hospitalized when all is said and done. There are plenty of hyped up stories about exorbitant hospital COVID-19 bills. That is not newsworthy because all hospital bills are exorbitant. They are notoriously and historically absurd when compared to what they are actually are paid by insurers. Hospital charges have little to do with costs. But, despite their charges, all hospitals have suffered tremendous financial losses since the pandemic because they had to cancel all their elective surgeries. In a typical non-pandemic year, about one third of our 5,000 hospitals lose money, another third hover around break-evenand a third make a modest profit. ‘Ten thousand baby boomers are retiring every day and they are living longer. In 10 years, by 2030, the population of the prime caregivers (45-65) will increase by just 1% a year, while the population over 80 will increase by an astounding 80%.’
Uninsured Increasing
The impact of the pandemic is evident in fatalities, increased social anxiety, a faltering economy and loss of jobs. It is estimated that as many as eight million workers will lose their jobs temporarily, if not permanently. Consequently, they will lose their employer-based health insurance.
If the ACA is stuck down, subsidized commercial insurance plans on the exchanges will no longer be an option as it is currently for 20 million Americans. Physicians and hospitals, already in financial peril due to the pandemic, are understandably concerned about the further strain on their revenue sources as patients lose their better paying commercial insurance plans.
The newly uninsured who qualify based on income, will be covered by Medicaid. Those who don’t qualify may decide individual commercial insurance is too expensive and risk being uninsured. Health insurance, for most under 65, has traditionally been employer based.
The ACA was designed to offer an alternative to employer based plans.
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Do For-profit Hospitals Provide Better Care?
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
Why does hospital ownership matter? New York state prohibits publicly traded corporations from owning and operating their own hospitals. Most states allow investor ownership of hospitals.
“In general, New York has been stricter about private equity-backed ownership groups, but that has started to loosen over the years,” said Edward Yoo, director of Strategic Research at New York State Nurses Association in New York City.
“In general, equity-backed or publicly traded health care providers have been accused of cutting costs to maximize profits, not providing high quality patient care.”
He added that some healthcare corporations that own hospitals “have received a lot of scrutiny over the years over their practices after they take over or purchase institutions.”
As with other industries, nonprofits operate on a different model than for-profit organizations.
This can affect a variety of outcomes. In New York, the organizations that operate hospitals include the state, counties, the SUNY system and public benefit corporations.
“High quality, patient-centered care and bending the cost curve are two of the highest priorities for all of our hospitals,” said Nick Henley, vice president of external affairs for Health Care Association of New York State.
It does not matter that the organizations are nonprofit. To remain in operation, watching costs is vital.
Fortunately for patients, where for-profit care is available, the quality of care is not largely different at for-profit compared with nonprofit hospitals. A 2014 Harvard study compared 237 hospitals from when they operated as nonprofit organizations to when then became for profit. After they transitioned to becoming for-profit, their patient outcomes improved a little.
While it may seem that investor-owned hospitals would create healthy competition that would drive down costs, Henley does not see that as a factor.
“Competition is the reality for all hospitals, regardless of whether they’re nonprofit or for profit,” he said.
Especially since in most areas, healthcare consumers can select from a variety of hospitals to meet their healthcare needs, competition is inherent. Despite this, Henley said that he has observed cooperation and alignment among hospitals to meet their community members’ needs, “both from a financial and quality standpoint, and that works to reduce costs,” he said.
“Even outside of formal system affiliations, we have seen hospitals in the same market or region coming together to collaborate to improve overall healthcare delivery. This has never been more true than with the COVID-19 pandemic, where we are seeing hospital and system leaders banding together to create regional command centers and share information to ensure the safest care coordination for our communities.”
Henley said that government-led reforms, along with market influences, have helped drive down costs.
It may also seem like for-profit hospitals would remain more financially solvent than nonprofits; however, other factors drive their viability.
“Healthcare leaders say a hospital or health system’s nonprofit or for-profit status isn’t what leads it to profitability,” stated Les Masterson in an article on Healcaredive.com. “Instead, it’s the health system’s location, size, ability to scale and share of the local market. Nonprofits are in many ways facing the same struggles that for-profits are.”
Nonprofit hospitals also operate from a perspective of community health through promoting preventive health, such as programs that support good health, and to subsidize care to people in need. They also seek to reach underserved populations and increase access to healthcare.
“New York’s hospitals contribute over $11 billion to community benefit and investments annually — and that doesn’t include the community benefit work of our public hospitals, which are not required to report it,” Hanley said. “What you’re seeing now, both from a state and national focus is that health outcomes and health status are impacted by far more than just the healthcare you get. They’re impacted by a number of factors, referred to as social determinants of health, that are outside of traditionally what the health system provides — education, public safety, nutrition, food security, literacy, etcetera.”
While most people would agree that improving in these areas is good for society, it’s more than just generating building goodwill. It brings results.
“Research shows that being able to positively influence these other factors can have a real impact on the health outcomes of these populations,” he said. “What we’re seeing is our hospitals are more and more investing in these areas and partnering with community-based organizations to really make a difference.”
Healing the Budget Hospitals are (almost) like businesses. They need to generate revenue to stay afloat. How do they do that? More and more they rely on additional revenue streams
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
For many years, hospital and healthcare providers’ reimbursement has been declining.
According to Statista, hospital revenue source by payor in March 2020 was Medicare (21.8%), Medicaid (12.8%) and private or self-pay (66.5%).
Private/self-pay patients pay 1.4 times the average hospital operating cost and Medicare, at 0.881 and Medicaid at 0.868 pay less.
Bottom line: Medicaid and Medicare, which pay low rates, comprise together 34% of visits to hospital, which is a sizable chunk. Only 66% of hospitals’ patient visits are from patients with the higher-paying insurance companies or paying in full out-of-pocket.
It’s little wonder hospitals need to seek revenue from other sources.
Healthcare Leadership Council reports on its website that the number of doctors not accepting Medicare patients has doubled since 2009. Currently, 81% of family doctors will accept seniors on Medicare, down from 83% a decade ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue as providers have poured money into additional PPE and equipment like heart monitors, oxygen monitors and ventilators, setting up additional triage or patient beds specific to COVID-19 patients and treating uninsured or under-insured patients for COVID-19 — with sometimes a long and costly recovery time.
Earlier during the pandemic, elective and nonemergency procedures were delayed. Normally, these are top moneymakers for healthcare providers, so canceling or delaying appointments further undermines providers’ budgets.
To weather financial storms like this, many healthcare providers have developed revenue streams not directly related to their main mission. For some healthcare organizations, patient care is far from lucrative. They have established urgent cares throughout the area, they created day-surgical centers and other ways to increase revenue.
“Many hospitals actually make their profits away from the bedside,” said Edward Yoo, director of strategic research at New York State Nurses Association in New York City. “In fact, if you look at a hospital’s operations, a lot of the time they will be at best breaking even when it comes to their patient care operations. The non-patient revenues for many providers make up the difference.”
While it seems strange that an organization loses money while performing their main function, healthcare providers’ reimbursements have become so
low that offering more than healthcare is the only way that many providers can stay solvent.
Some providers have begun offering services to well patients, such as a physical therapy office selling memberships to former patients to use their equipment for general fitness, like a gym.
The website www.advisory.com reports that healthcare providers are engaging in moneymakers like investing in healthcare startups or venture funds. In fact, this kind of investment jumped 304% between 2009 and 2015.
The site also referenced out-patient pharmacies, which can garner a profit margin of up to 15%. Upstate Medical University maintains an out-patient pharmacy, for example.
“It could also include investments in financial instruments, real estate holdings for rent or lease, supply chain, and for-profit subsidiaries that could
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At first glance, focusing on the bottom line seems uncaring; however, the ability to continue to provide care relies upon staying in the black.
Meredith Price, corporate financial officer at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, said that the organization has a variety of ways to shave down costs and increase its revenue.
“Some ways that St. Joseph’s makes money in addition to providing direct patient care include owning a parking garage and charging visitors for parking, owning property and leasing it to other medical providers, and operating a coffee shop and café,” Price said.
Eight years ago, St. Joseph’s Health invested $15 million in a cogeneration energy plant on the hospital campus. Completed in 2014, the plant services the hospital and reduced its energy expenses by $1 million its first full year of operation.
“We are now looking to enhance that investment to allow us to sell energy back to National Grid,” Price said.
For some organizations, expanding their care to include an ancillary service not only makes financial sense but also improves patient care. Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS) added a physical therapy department six year ago.
Todd Cardi, physical therapist, had been operating Salt City Physical Therapy in Syracuse until SOS tapped him to join a new physical therapy department, along with physical therapists from two other independent practices. Cardi heads the orthopedic and sports therapy department at SOS.
Cardi said that the additional revenue was not as motivating as the concept of “bringing physical therapy into the house and complementing the SOS continuum of care.”
By increasing the pool of patients seen by the physical therapists, they can focus on their specialty. Cardi, for example, treats only shoulders, which he believes allows him to offer optimal care for patients with shoulder injuries.
“In the past six years, we’ve decreased our stay in physical therapy — from evaluation to discharge. We have decreased care visits per patient.”
He also believes that it provides a team approach to healthcare in that he works with the surgeons closely on each case.
Of course, patients may choose a non-SOS physical therapist. Cardi said that about 75% of his patients are in-house referrals and the rest come from primary care providers or other outside referrals.
“It’s been a win on all sides,” Cardi said. “It’s better care for patients, improved outcomes, less cost to patients and the insurance companies and it’s been great for our doctors to have another set of professionals to facilitate good outcomes.”
As uncertain times continue, healthcare providers will likely continue to develop creative ways to keep their organizations operational.
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Feeling blue lately? A tad blah? You’re not alone. According to fi ndings from government-funded COVID Response Tracking Study released in June, Americans are the unhappiest they’ve been in 50 years. Writer Anne Palumbo presents six foods that show promise in helping improve mood and fi ght depression. P. 13
Multivitamins really are magic pills for your health, a new study contends — but just not the way you might think. P. 20
How to Make the Most of a COVID Christmas
The Christmas holidays will certainly be celebrated differently this year, as we are in the midst of a pandemic and fl u season. But you can still have yourself a merry little Christmas if you listen to the health experts, who stress the key word for this holiday season is “little.”
Are the Benefi ts of Multivitamins All in Your Head? Boost Vitamin C with Portable Clementines Great Gifts for Healthcare Providers P. 19 P. 14
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Is Election Stress Getting to You? You’re Not Alone Why is Frozen Spinach Such a Healthy Choice? P. 15 Physician Satish Krishnamurthy talks about recent expansion in the Upstate University Hospital’s neurosurgery department. ‘We’re confi dent that we can offer world-class care right here in our community,’ he says. P. 4 “This is the healthiest I’ve been. So why did I just have a stroke?” P. 7
America’s most-hated vegetable doesn’t deserve the bad rap P. 15 SHIFT WORK Another health risk for workers in healthcare and other fi elds P. 11Brussel sprouts Ready for the Challenge Meet Mark Muthumbi, the new regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s in CNY. He talks about his career, goals and more. Story on page XX Jill Smith of Cicero was tested for the BRCA gene mutation and opted for prophylactic bilateral mastectomy at age 32. Smith is a member and co-founder of Positively BRCA Support Group. Story on page 20
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SUNY Names Mantosh Dewan, MD, President of Upstate Medical University
Physician Mantosh Dewan, who has served as interim president of Upstate Medical University since November 2018, has been named president of the university. The appointment was announced early in November by the SUNY board of trustees. Under Dewan’s leadership, Upstate has been commended by the board of trustees for its work on a COVID-19 pooled surveillance testing program that has assisted most SUNY campuses in meeting regular testing for students, faculty and staff on campus.
Another breakthrough under Dewan’s leadership is the development by Upstate and its Start-Up New York partner, Quadrant Biosciences, of a saliva-based COVID-19 diagnostic test that was granted emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dewan has had a long and distinguished career at SUNY Upstate. He is a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor in the department of psychiatry. He is former chairman of the department and has also served as director of undergraduate education and director of residency training. He was interim dean of the College of Medicine.
Throughout his career, which began at Upstate Medical in 1979 as an assistant professor of psychiatry, he has written 35 books and book chapters and 75 papers, and given hundreds of presentations on topics that range from brain imaging and economics of mental health care to psychotherapy and medical education. His work has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Dewan has an active clinical practice and is listed in The Best Doctors in America. He is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and has received the Scientific Achievement Award from the Indo-American Psychiatrists Association, the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the 2010 George Tarjan Award from the American Psychiatric Association, and designated an “Exemplary Chair” by SUNY in 2011.
Valentine promoted to director of ER at Oswego Health
Leroy Valentine has been promoted to director of the emergency department at Oswego Health. Valentine has been a licensed registered nurse since 2015 and began his career at Oswego Health in 2017, working on the night Valentine shift in the emergency department. Upon graduation from nursing school, Valentine worked at Upstate University Medical Center.
“I have the utmost confidence in Leroy and he is perfect for this leadership role,” shared director of nursing Melissa Purtell. “This was the perfect opportunity to recognize an employee for his commitment to Oswego Health and our patients and will provide Leroy with a chance to grow in his career here.”
Oswego Hospital’s emergency services department is staffed 24 hours a day by board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and nurses. Each year the department provides care to more than 25,000 visitors.
Oswego Health promotes RNs to leadership positions
Oswego Health recently promoted two licensed registered nurses to leadership positions within the organization. • Ryan French started her career at Oswego Health as a newly licensed RN in the medical-surgical unit in 2010. Her career quickly escalated within the organization and within one year transitioned to the intensive care unit. By 2017 she was promoted to senior RN in the ambulatory surgical unit, until recently where she has been promoted and will oversee the entire intensive care unit as director of the ICU. • Jody Wood joined Oswego Health in 2005 as a business services coordinator. Even though her career began in a nonclinical role, she quickly realized her passion for healthcare and in 2009 earned her an associate’s degree in nursing from Cayuga Community College and became a licensed RN. Once licensed, Wood worked on the medical-surgical unit until 2011 when she moved into an RN role in the surgical services unit. In 2018 she was promoted to RN educator/ staff development on the surgical services unit. In February 2020, she was again promoted to the director of the operating room and most recently was given the additional responsibilities of overseeing PACU/ASU and PAT in addition to the operating room and promoted once again to the director of surgical services. Wood is currently taking part in the RN tuition assistance program as she finishes her BSN through Empire State College.
uccess StoryS
By Lou Sorendo
C.J. Demars Mechanical
Christopher Demars worked for several contractors before being laid off during the Great Recession of 2008. Armed with solid experience, he started his own heating and air conditioning business and he hasn’t stopped growing
have a sense of accountability, Christopher Demars takes the concept to a higher level.
Demars is founder and president of C.J. Demars Mechanical, a residential and commercial heating and air conditioning business that was established in Fulton in 2009.
Seven years ago, he expanded and created a shop at 24 E. Cayuga St., Oswego.
Demars said the driving force behind establishing a location in Oswego was the lack of work in Fulton.
Within the first two or three years of doing business in Fulton, Demars realized that Oswego was where all the work was.
“We needed a place to do some off-site work,” he said. “There are some major players in Oswego that really helped give me a shot.”
Those players, such as entrepreneurs Atom Avery and Ed Alberts, are the same developers who are transforming the Port City’s downtown landscape today.
He said as 2020 winds down, nearly all of his work is in Oswego.
“It’s nice having a go-to location that is within five minutes of all our projects,” he said.
On occasion, his crew will do jobs in Syracuse or at locations along state Route 31 in Onondaga County.
When Demars opened his Fulton location, which is used strictly for office space and administration today, he was already well established in Oswego.
Developers such as Anthony Pauldine and the Paul Castaldo were instrumental in giving Demars the opportunity “at some fairly decent work,” he said.
“If it were not for people like that, we really wouldn’t have a reason to bury our shovels,” he said.
C.J. Demars Mechanical has been instrumental in many local projects, including Avery’s Litatro Building at West First and Bridge streets and Ed Alberts’ Riverwalk/22 Crossroads along West First Street, both in downtown Oswego.
The business also worked on the new Burritt Motors facility last year as well as the Children’s Museum of Oswego.
Demars and his seven-man crew are involved in plans and specifications as well as designing and building work for new installation. The business also provides maintenance for everything it installs.
“We have to be able to carry every brand,” Demars said. “There could be a variety of things a particular job requires. It’s just part of the plan and spec world. An engineer designs it, and they tell you what kind of equipment to use. So we have to be able to install
While business owners strive to
a variety of things.”
Higher perspective
A high school dropout, Demars learned his trade from experience while holding himself to the highest of standards.
“There’s an intricate part of my character that wants to do things beyond my customer’s expectations,” he said. “You never want to disappoint anybody.”
Demars has worked for “too many past employers who only did the bare minimum of what they were expected to do or tried to short change customers to try to make more money,” he said.
“I never wanted to do anybody wrong. On occasion, you’re bound to make mistakes, but from an integrity
standpoint, you have to do things well and right whether somebody is looking or not,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, another heating guy at the minimum is going to come behind you and see your work for what it is. He is going to be your biggest critic.
“You want to do things to impress the next guy coming behind you and not make more work for him.”
When he launched his business in Fulton in 2009, he was starting many projects with zero dollars in the bank.
This is where his faith and belief in a higher power came in.
“Some of that is just relying on God’s provision for your meals and providing for your family,” he said.
Demars said there were many projects that he was awarded when he desperately needed to provide materials and a paycheck for a helper.
“I really had to rely on that phone call to come in for steady income to pay for jobs that were coming up,” he said.
He said every time he got into a pinch financially and uncertainty reigned, he and his wife would pray.
“Within a day, I would have a month’s full of steady income and that would help to give us enough capital to get through some of the bigger projects, which has caused us to grow as we have,” he said.
“It’s clichéd to preach about it, but to experience it first hand is another story,” he said.
Demars said he is not accountable to just people.
“If you have a belief system where you’re accountable to God, there is another factor involved. You can see what’s not seen by a normal human being,” he said.
“If I’m to do things with integrity, I am doing it in his sight, not just the customer’s,” he said.
Demars said there is a whole demographic of people that is “very good, honest and faith-based.
He said many people are unsure of what to seek out in terms of services these days.
“Our industry can be very dishonest. There are people who don’t think twice about taking advantage of you,” said Demars, noting that a segment of his website speaks to just that.
“I am telling customers, ‘I think the same way you do. You don’t have to worry about me’,” he said.
Demars recalls that while working for past employers, it was not uncommon for him to be replacing furnaces unnecessarily.
“There was nothing wrong with them. It was because somebody wanted to make money. A salesperson sold up instead of just fixing a simple problem,” he said. “Customers were spending thousands to replace it. I never liked that.”
He said repair technicians can go through six months of a customer’s savings on a furnace replacement.
“And that’s all they got. If someone should replace a furnace or boiler, I educate that person first. I am not going to put them in a position to sell them something; I am going to give them options,” he said.
He details the repair cost, how long he thinks a customer has with a given
Christopher Demars, founder and president of C.J. Demars Mechanical in Fulton and Oswego, is shown at the Riverwalk/22 Crossroads project on West First Street in downtown Oswego.
piece of equipment, and the cost of replacement.
“I don’t want to scare them. I don’t know where they are financially, and I just want them to make the right decision,” he said.
Although he is swamped with business now, Demars makes sure that he takes care of customers that he can’t get to right away.
Customers will call him and ask for consultation in regards to whether or not they are getting a legitimate deal from another technician.
“I’m OK answering those questions. I don’t want to undercut any other technician, but if someone calls, I want to take care of them the best I can.”
In the beginning
Demars worked for several firms in Syracuse doing residential and commercial work before the recession struck in 2008.
“I found myself laid off and just started to throw resumes out there,” said Demars, who at that point was an estimator and project manager.
“Nobody was biting and nobody was hiring, so I just started cold calling local contractors looking to bid on stuff on my own,” he added. “That’s how the ball got rolling.”
His main motivation?
“My fourth child was on its way, so I did it for the family. I think my wife was about four months along when I got laid off from the last company I because they are there all of the time now. They are not taking vacations; rather, they are doing things like working on their camps. COVID-19 has actually meant better business for us because people are home. People who are laid off have taken their extra money — if they had any extra money — and spent it on their homes.
Q.: What do you feel gives you a competitive edge when compared with other businesses?
A.: We price our products below the big box stores and a lot of people would rather buy local. They also worked for. There’s some pressure in that,” he said.
“There’s always fear of what you don’t know when it comes to running a business,” said Demars, noting he did have a taste of the back office process and “always swung a hammer.”
“You go into it thinking it’s going to be a cakewalk and you’re going to make a ton of money,” he said. “And when you step into it, there’s some excitement, but also concern because you are day-to-day and week-to-week on projects.”
“The biggest challenge was the anxiety that resides within you of what you don’t know,” he said.
He said it is vital to understand the legal and tax aspects of the profession, skills he learned without having any official business schooling.
Demars also makes himself available as an emergency service technician on a 24/7 basis.
“Most of the time, I want to be the first person on the scene and the first person people see,” he said.
His wife Leah, who works as a teacher’s aide for the Oswego City School District, attends to some administrative duties as well.
“Without her, I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I do,” he said. “She is a good mom and holds the home well. Up until two years ago, she didn’t work. She raised our children, and her being a solid, steady influence in the home enabled me to focus on running the business.” Wood Products see the quality in what we are doing. Also, during COVID-19, there were not a lot of products available at big box stores because they were running out quicker. We have enough connections in the lumber world where we were are able to keep material in stock.
Q.: What have been the keys to operating the business on a successful basis?
A.: We’ll have to make sure to be able to keep lumber in stock to actually dry and make into products. We figure we will probably slow down through winter. If we can get
“I’m working for my family first. It doesn’t always seem that way because of the amount of hours I work, but they are my first concern,” he said.
In terms of COVID-19, Demars said the pandemic has not forced him to change his business model, but has shone the spotlight on the labor field.
“We’ve always had a hard time finding qualified labor to meet the demand,” he said. “But with COVID-19, if there is anybody who wants to work, they are working. Nobody is looking for a job.”
Demars said there is a significant amount of work available in the Oswego area, but capable workers are hard to come by.
“We’re very high in demand, but there’s nobody to pull from,” he said.
Efforts have been made to recruit workers out of high school and try to get them excited about the field, but even that is “slim pickings,” said Demars, noting that even vocational-technical programs in the area don’t necessarily fill the demand.
A skills gap that has plagued Oswego County for years has been experienced by Demars.
The average age of individuals he has working for him is 50.
“They are going to be retiring in the next 10 years, and this is almost industry wide,” he said.
He said the value or price tag on existing workers will skyrocket going forward or he is not going to be able to
Started How I Got
Patty Smith, co-owner of Brown Dog
c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 7
find anybody. enough inventory between now and early spring, we’ll be ready when it picks up again. We may not be making product, but people will come and ask if we are open. We’re always here, especially during COVID-19. Hopefully, we can hire one or two more people to help in the business and allow it to grow more.
Q.: What is it like working with your husband as partners in the business?
A.: It’s good and it’s bad. You’re with him a lot, and sometimes that can be a little too much. For the most part, though, I enjoy working with him.
Randy L. Zeigler Adjusting to Reduced Income Due To COVID-19
Randy L. Zeigler is a private wealth adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. in Oswego. He is a certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial consultant (ChFC) and chartered life underwriter (CLU). He can be contacted at 315-342-1227 or www. ameripriseadvisors.com/ randy.l.zeigler
COVID-19 is having a profound effect on household finances across the country. Many Americans have been laid off or required to accept reduced hours on the job. Parents who continue to work find themselves in a childcare bind due to closed schools and daycare centers. If you’re affected by any combination of these circumstances, your family may need to live on reduced income until the virus can be contained and the economy rebounds.
Below are some suggestions for managing through leaner times.
Create a budget spending or neighbor or cutting down your cable bill.
You may be able to reduce your tax
withholding to increase what’s left of your monthly paycheck. This may mean no refund at tax time, but it will put more into your pock-
Living on less income is really about finding balance. Your expenses cannot exceed Revisit your savings GUEST COLUMNIST your income if you are to avoid dipping into savings or going into debt. A realistic budget reveals what you have left after fixed expenses such as your mortgage payment, utilities, car and health insurance premiums are taken off the top. You decide how to allocate the rest, for groceries, gas and other typical costs of living. With a budget to guide your spending, you remove the guesswork from living within your means. The current health and economic crisis is a stark reminder of the importance of an emergency fund. Financial experts recommend your slush fund cover a minimum of three to six months worth of expenses. (This is in addition to your retirement account or other long-term savings.) Consider keeping your emergency funds in a separate checking or money market account so they are not blended with your regular finances. If you have an
Reduce discretionary emergency fund, you can tap these resources as a last resort to prevent late payments.
You may find it necessary to decrease your budget for clothing, travel, eating out from a professional and entertainment. If you’re struggling with where you can tighten your belt, look at your spending habits and flag recent “optional” purchases. For example, quarantine living has caused many of us to do more online shopping and order takeout more frequently, but both of which can quickly add up. Slash the apps that eat away at your bank account. A financial adviser can be a resource during times of uncertainty, especially if you have investments and have begun retirement planning. If your circumstances are dire, there are financial counselors who can help you get out of debt and avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy. Consider creative ways to save, such as buying in bulk, splitting groceries with a friend Take the long view et when you need it, to help you stay afloat.
Seek financial guidance
The current circumstances are unusual.
Review income tax withholding It’s difficult to predict when things will return to some form of normalcy. Frugal living is a wise approach that will help you get through
these challenging economic times.
