Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Partners team up on free legal services for injured workers
The New York State (NYS) Workers’-Compensation Board has launched the Injured Workers Legal Assistance Project (IWLAP), its “first-ever” legal-assistance project to help injured workers obtain medical treatment. Under the project, injured workers can complete a simple online form maintained by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to directly request a match to an NYSBA-member attorney […]
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
The New York State (NYS) Workers’-Compensation Board has launched the Injured Workers Legal Assistance Project (IWLAP), its “first-ever” legal-assistance project to help injured workers obtain medical treatment.
Under the project, injured workers can complete a simple online form maintained by the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) to directly request a match to an NYSBA-member attorney who will represent workers with pro-bono help in certain workers’-compensation claims.
The form — hosted by NYSBA along with resources and information for attorneys interested in volunteering with NYSBA — is available at the webpage for the workers’-compensation injured workers legal assistance pro-bono project. Visit: https://nysba.org/pro-bono-services/#workers_compensation_project.
The board is partnering with the NYSBA to connect volunteer attorneys looking to assist injured workers with these claims. The partnership with NYSBA will allow for “faster processing” of representation referrals thanks to use of client intake and referral digital platforms.
In addition, this partnership will expand on recent collaboration between New York State and NYSBA’s COVID-19 pro-bono network, which has offered New Yorkers free legal assistance when seeking unemployment-insurance benefits and in probate and estate proceedings.
“The Injured Workers Legal Assistance Project gives injured workers better access to justice when they have difficulty obtaining medical care for their work-related injury or illness,” Clarissa Rodriguez, chair of the NYS Workers’ Compensation Board, said in a release. “The project helps workers with medical-only claims find legal representation, which also improves the overall operation of the workers’ compensation system.”
After identifying the need for representation of injured workers in medical-only claims, the NYS Workers’-Compensation Board created IWLAP and invited legal-service organizations to partner with it. In these medical-only claims, the insurance carrier or self-insured employer that pays the medical benefits has accepted liability but is disputing the medical treatment sought by the injured worker. These cases typically pose a challenge for injured workers seeking legal representation as “no attorney fees are awarded when there are no lost wages.”
The board provides training and support to host legal-service organizations and their volunteer attorneys. The board’s virtual hearings system, in use statewide since 2018, makes volunteering for IWLAP easier, as the system allows injured workers, attorneys/licensed representatives, and other parties to attend workers’-compensation hearings remotely through secure videoconferencing.
Users can log in once and move from one hearing to another, anywhere in the state, eliminating travel and reducing time spent away from work. The virtual-hearing system has allowed the Board to continue holding hearings uninterrupted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
IWLAP launched in November 2020 in partnership with the New York State Unified Court System’s attorney emeritus program (AEP). It also involved two host legal-service nonprofit organizations — The Legal Project, based in Albany and the Worker Justice Center, which has offices in Rochester, Kingston, and White Plains.
More than 60 injured workers across New York state have been offered free legal assistance and more than a dozen have consulted with and retained pro-bono counsel in that effort.
The AEP, administered in part by Fordham University School of Law, helps recruit volunteer attorneys who assist injured-worker clients through one of the host organizations. AEP, The Legal Project, and the Worker Justice Center will collaborate with NYSBA and the NYS Workers’-Compensation Board to continue identifying volunteer attorneys and injured workers in need of assistance.

New interim dean starts at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A woman who once served as an intensive-care unit nurse at St. Joseph’s is now the interim dean of the College of Nursing. St. Joseph’s Health has named Susan Berger to the post. Berger has served on the governing board for the College of Nursing for the past seven years and as
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A woman who once served as an intensive-care unit nurse at St. Joseph’s is now the interim dean of the College of Nursing. St. Joseph’s Health has named Susan Berger to the post.
Berger has served on the governing board for the College of Nursing for the past seven years and as the board chair since January, per a May 3 news release from St. Joseph’s. Her first nursing job when she moved to Syracuse 40 years ago was in the St. Joseph’s intensive-care unit.
Prior to this appointment, Berger most recently served for 29 years as director of health services at Cazenovia College, including 15 as executive VP and COO.
Marianne Markowitz was dean of the St. Joseph’s College of Nursing before retiring in December, Kelly Quinn, public relations and network communications manager at St. Joseph’s Health, tells CNYBJ in an email. AnneMarie Walker-Czyz, who is now the president and CEO of Rome Health, served as the acting dean for the College of Nursing following Markowitz’s departure, Quinn adds.
As the new interim dean of St. Joseph’s College of Nursing, Berger will handle the daily management of the college; focus on faculty development, curriculum, and shared-governance design; and assist with the search for a more permanent dean.
“Dr. Berger brings with her a wealth of management experience in higher education,” Leslie Paul Luke, president and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health, said in the release. “We are confident that she will provide outstanding leadership and counsel to faculty, staff, and students, while we continue the search for a more permanent dean.”
Berger is a registered nurse and nurse practitioner. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from Syracuse University. Berger also earned her doctorate in education — with a concentration in higher-education leadership — from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California.

Oswego Health offers RN tuition-assistance program, emergency-services residency
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Health is offering its employees some perks to provide incentive to keep workers offering health care locally. They include an RN (registered nurse) tuition-assistance program and an emergency-services residency. RN tuition-assistance program Oswego Health is offering its employees an RN tuition-assistance program if they’re “looking to advance their training as a
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
OSWEGO, N.Y. — Oswego Health is offering its employees some perks to provide incentive to keep workers offering health care locally.
They include an RN (registered nurse) tuition-assistance program and an emergency-services residency.
RN tuition-assistance program
Oswego Health is offering its employees an RN tuition-assistance program if they’re “looking to advance their training as a registered nurse.”
The program will reimburse employees up to $10,000 per year as they pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing or a master’s degree in nursing, per a May 3 announcement from the health system.
“We know firsthand that a highly-educated nursing workforce strengthens the quality of care provided to patients,” Marquand Brown, VP of human resources at Oswego Health, said. “Since launching this program at the start of 2020 we’ve already had [19] employees receive tuition assistance, totaling over $75,000 in funding towards their education.”
Oswego Health cites information from the Washington, D.C.–based American Association of Colleges of Nursing as a reason for this program.
The organization has said that “the U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of RNs that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers age and the need for health care grows. Compounding the problem is the fact that nursing schools across the country are struggling to expand capacity to meet the rising demand for care given the national move toward health-care reform.”
Oswego Health also sees the tuition-assistance program as a “unique” perk to “entice” health-care workers to provide care locally.
Stacy Stevens is among those who recently graduated after participating in the program. “When the RN tuition-assistance program became available, I was already halfway through receiving my [associate degree] in nursing,” Stevens said. “Honestly, I was just going to power through, but this program gave me much-needed financial relief. I saved so much money and headache by not having to take out a personal loan. This program is such a benefit for anyone who wants to grow in their career while working.”

Emergency-services residency
Oswego Health also recently launched another new program, which it calls an emergency-services residency.
This program offers on-the-job training for graduate nurses through a 12-month residency with a three-month critical care rotation. Throughout the “fully compensated” residency, candidates will have more than 150 hours of classroom education including pharmacology, IV therapy, telemetry, critical care, a trauma-nursing core course (TNCC), and emergency nursing pediatric course (ENPC), “all with structured clinical orientation with experienced preceptors.”
The program offers the opportunity to advance from a graduate nurse (GN) to RN2 at the completion of residency.
“As a small community health-care system, our employees have opportunities for advancement across varying divisions, however, we knew we needed to identify programs that would personally benefit employees,” Melissa Purtell, director of nursing, said. “Whether that be helping to support their continuing education through tuition assistance or the experience of a residency program right out of college.”
Oswego Health has so far had five employees complete the residency program.

JULIAN SPRINGER recently joined Colgate University as its new director of physical education and recreation and chair of physical education. Springer — who brings 16 years of higher-education experience within athletics, student affairs, and collegiate coaching — comes to Colgate from Bradley University, after serving two years there as the director of basketball operations. Prior
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
JULIAN SPRINGER recently joined Colgate University as its new director of physical education and recreation and chair of physical education. Springer — who brings 16 years of higher-education experience within athletics, student affairs, and collegiate coaching — comes to Colgate from Bradley University, after serving two years there as the director of basketball operations. Prior to Bradley, Springer spent time in Birmingham, Alabama, working in student affairs at UAB while also serving as the interim head basketball coach and head men’s and women’s cross-country coach at Lawson State Community College. He also worked for the Southeastern Conference at its headquarters in Birmingham during his time in Alabama. Springer served as the assistant director of student-athlete development/operations for men’s basketball at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Prior to NIU, Springer was director of athletics at Malcolm X College, where he led a department that consisted of eight athletic programs. Springer coached basketball at the collegiate level for 13 years, including five years in Division I. Throughout his career, Springer has also served as a director of academic support services, assistant department chair for physical education, academic advisor, and adjunct professor. Springer, a native of Chicago, has a bachelor’s degree in recreation from Southern Illinois University. He earned his master’s degree from Central Michigan University in athletic administration and another master’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation from Jackson State University. He also earned a doctoral degree in higher education and student affairs from NIU.

JOE ORLANDO has joined S.E.E.D. Planning Group as an investment analyst in the firm’s Binghamton office. Before joining S.E.E.D., he worked at the Vanguard Group as a fixed-income associate. Orlando will be working alongside Fred Costantino, chief investment officer, aiding the investment management team with investment research, reporting, trading, and providing analysis to the financial
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
JOE ORLANDO has joined S.E.E.D. Planning Group as an investment analyst in the firm’s Binghamton office. Before joining S.E.E.D., he worked at the Vanguard Group as a fixed-income associate. Orlando will be working alongside Fred Costantino, chief investment officer, aiding the investment management team with investment research, reporting, trading, and providing analysis to the financial planners. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Binghamton University and his MBA from Coastal Carolina.

EMMANUEL NWOGU, D.O. has joined the medical staff of Carthage Area Hospital as an OB/GYN provider. He is located at Women’s Way to Wellness Clinic on North Mechanic Street in Carthage. Nwogu graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008, followed by a residency at St. John Episcopal Hospital in Queens; Trinitas Regional
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
EMMANUEL NWOGU, D.O. has joined the medical staff of Carthage Area Hospital as an OB/GYN provider. He is located at Women’s Way to Wellness Clinic on North Mechanic Street in Carthage. Nwogu graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008, followed by a residency at St. John Episcopal Hospital in Queens; Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey; and South Nassau Community Hospital on Long Island. Prior to his arrival at Carthage, he worked as an obstetrics and gynecology attending physician at Columbia Memorial Health in Hudson, New York. His other previous work experience includes Massena Memorial Hospital, St. Regis Mohawk Health Center in Hogansburg, and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.

JENNA HIESTAND, M.D. has joined St. Joseph’s Health on the inpatient psychiatry team. In her new role, she joins a team of physicians to provide psychiatric care to the community. Hiestand is a board-certified psychiatrist with more than 17 years of clinical experience. Prior to joining St. Joseph’s Health, she served as chief medical officer
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
JENNA HIESTAND, M.D. has joined St. Joseph’s Health on the inpatient psychiatry team. In her new role, she joins a team of physicians to provide psychiatric care to the community. Hiestand is a board-certified psychiatrist with more than 17 years of clinical experience. Prior to joining St. Joseph’s Health, she served as chief medical officer for Alaska Behavioral Health, a certified community behavioral- health center with offices in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. She also served as the medical director of behavioral-health services at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, Alaska, where she was responsible for inpatient psychiatry, residential substance-use treatment, and outpatient services. Prior to that, Hiestand spent seven years in Oregon and held supervisory roles at Oregon State Hospital in Salem and Kaiser Permanente Northwest in Portland. She earned her doctor of medicine degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1999, and her bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology from Tulane University in New Orleans. Hiestand completed a psychiatry residency in 2003 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with the Washington University School of Medicine. Hiestand is seeing patients at St. Joseph’s Health Hospital.

SARA GIANNI has joined Gilroy Kernan & Gilroy Inc. (GKG) of New Hartford as a strategic client manager. Gianni works in the firm’s employee-benefits division. She will work with employers across New York to establish and maintain benefits programs. Gianni brings more than a decade of experience. Prior to coming to GKG, she held industry
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SARA GIANNI has joined Gilroy Kernan & Gilroy Inc. (GKG) of New Hartford as a strategic client manager. Gianni works in the firm’s employee-benefits division. She will work with employers across New York to establish and maintain benefits programs. Gianni brings more than a decade of experience. Prior to coming to GKG, she held industry positions in the Rochester marketplace. KYLE CAIRNS has joined GKG as a client advocate. Cairns joins the firm’s commercial lines division. He brings experience in both workers’ compensation and account management. Cairns is a graduate of Utica College with a master’s degree in health care administration.

SRCTec, LLC has hired ROBERT CHARLESWORTH as director of life cycle management. In this role, he will lead life cycle management, sustainment, and service activities for all the enterprise’s products and programs and will also be instrumental in fostering continued business expansion and advancing the company’s focus on long-term sustainment. Charlesworth brings years of industry
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SRCTec, LLC has hired ROBERT CHARLESWORTH as director of life cycle management. In this role, he will lead life cycle management, sustainment, and service activities for all the enterprise’s products and programs and will also be instrumental in fostering continued business expansion and advancing the company’s focus on long-term sustainment. Charlesworth brings years of industry knowledge and military experience and will play an important role in ensuring the safety of U.S. military personnel. He joins SRCTec from the New York Army National Guard, where he served as Commander of the 27th brigade, providing executive management of the organization’s operations, security, and logistics. Charlesworth is also a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has extensive experience working with military executives at the Pentagon. He holds a bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering and master’s degrees in both project management and national-security strategy. Charlesworth is active in several veterans’ service organizations, specifically volunteering in assisting transitioning veterans.

Syracuse law professor Reed named dean of Georgia State College of Law
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — LaVonda Reed — associate provost for faculty affairs and professor of law at Syracuse University — has been named the first African
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.