G OOD THINGS

Casino Hosts Blood Donation

In partnership with the New York Blood Center, nearly 40 Empire City Casino employees, community members and guests donated blood that will help 114 local patients in need.

The blood drive at the casino was supported by state, county and local elected o cials from around the region. With New York’s health-care system requiring nearly 2,000 donations daily to address the needs of the community, Empire City’s blood drive resulted in nearly 40 donations that will make it to local area hospitals to treat up to 114 patients in need.

“At Empire City by MGM Resorts, we pride ourselves on supporting organizations that provide direct services towards residents in the local communities in which we operate, as well as where our employees reside,” said Ed Domingo, senior vice president and general manager.

“Thank you to Empire City for setting up a blood donation drive in Yonkers this month. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Blood is essential to helping us,” said Westchester County Legislature Minority Leader James Nolan. “This life-saving procedure starts with all of us doing our part. Be the reason for someone’s heartbeat.”

Pediatric Nurses Selected For Fellowships

Blythedale Children’s Hospital at95 Bradhurst Ave. inValhalla announced that Jill M. Wegener, M.S.N., R.N., senior vice president, chief nursing o cer and Kara Dyer-Dombroski M.S.N., R.N., director of nursing, have been selected for the Johnson & Johnson Nurse Innovation Fellowship Program (JJNIF), facilitated by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and the Wharton School.

Only 10 teams of nurse leaders from health systems across the country have been selected for the program, which challenges participants to address a real-world challenge their health system or hospital is facing using human-centered design and business and leadership principles specific to innovation.

Wegener describes the fellowship as a “covet- ed opportunity to address a care-deficit impacting medically complex, fragile children across the United States.”

“We are seeking the partnership, mentorship and guidance to help us create a center of excellence program for transitioning medically complex children home into a medically competent community,” she said. “We want to establish that vitally important roadmap that all children’s hospitals and facilities across the United States can implement to ensure their patients will discharge home safely.”

The year-long program will conclude in May 2024 at which time fellows will present the problem they are addressing and their recommended solution.