SYRACUSE — Upstate Medical University on May 1 conducted its first-ever virtual commencement, conferring degrees on 419 students who graduated from Upstate’s four colleges.

The event was originally set for May 3 at the SRC Arena on the Onondaga Community College campus, but since the COVID-19 pandemic, all large gatherings have been canceled, “necessitating the virtual ceremony,” Upstate Medical said.

Dr. Mantosh Dewan, interim president of Upstate Medical University, the college deans, and other speakers “emphasized commencement’s unique circumstances” and praised members of the Class of 2020 for their “resilience and dedication” to a field centered on helping others.

“More than ever, we need each and every one of you,” Dewan said. “Close your eyes and walk across a splendid stage and out into a temporarily troubled world as a graduate and a hero.”

Dewan discussed the global coronavirus pandemic and how the Class of 2020 will be called upon as humanitarians as well as medical professionals.

“Today we watch with pride as you commence onto an even bigger stage and embrace wonderful new roles,” said Dewan. “These roles will call for the best in you. You are going out into a scary world, not to do a job, but to follow your profession; to fulfill your higher calling, to pursue your dreams of changing the world. You are everyday heroes that we so desperately need.”

Featured speaker

Dr. Howard Zucker, New York’s health commissioner, served as the ceremony’s featured speaker. 

The health commissioner has been a big part of the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response and was Upstate’s commencement speaker in 2019 as well. 

Zucker highlighted Upstate graduates’ efforts during the pandemic including 65 students who graduated early to assist with medical efforts near New York City and those in Syracuse who were researching emerging COVID-19 literature and providing in-person support to clinicians “on the front lines.”

“You are embracing new professions at a moment of incredible public need that did not exist a year ago when I addressed the class that came before you,” Zucker said.

Zucker praised Upstate’s joint commencement involving graduates from the colleges of nursing, health professions, medicine, and graduate studies. He said it represented health-care’s “necessary and growing focus on collaboration, which has proven beneficial in the state’s fight against COVID-19.”

“The future I see for health care is not one of complacency but of resiliency and ingenuity and that’s what we have seen on the front lines fighting this pandemic in New York state,” Zucker said. “We have seen incredible resourcefulness, the strength derived from compassionate peer support; an unflagging dedication to making the system work better in the future.”

Additional speakers

Upstate’s virtual commencement broadcast, included a live-chat feature where the more than 1,000 people viewing could also express congratulations to the graduates. The ceremony included a message from Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, who encouraged the graduates to stay and work in Central New York. 

College deans at Upstate Medical also addressed the graduates. They included Julie White, dean of student affairs; Tammy Austin-Ketch, dean of the College of Nursing; Katherine Beissner, dean of the College of Health Professions; Dr. Lawrence Chin, dean of the College of Medicine; and Mark Schmitt, dean of the College of Graduate Studies. 

The student speakers included Heather Bedard from the College of Nursing; Amber Walker from the College of Health Professions; Yaa Takyiwaa and Dr. Jared Sweeney from the College of Medicine; and Adam Blanden from the College of Graduate Studies.     

Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH) on May 1 announced it is now ready to restart elective surgical procedures.

In collaboration with its physicians, RMH says it redesigned workflows to test patients for COVID-19 before surgery. It is also designating separate entrances, elevators, units, and staff for patients’ “enhanced safety,” Mark Murphy, president and CEO of RMH, said in a release. 

The hospital is now scheduling surgeries. Elective surgical procedures that are available at RMH range from minimally invasive spine surgery to laparoscopic hernia repair. 

The hospital’s plan was developed in accordance with the guidance from the New York State Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American College of Surgeons.

“We now have the capability to do rapid on-site COVID-19 testing to test patients prior to a surgical procedure to minimize risks,” Murphy said. “In addition, our teams have refined our workflows and processes to enhance the hospital’s already stringent infection prevention strategies.” 

These procedures include using drive-through specimen collection to test for COVID-19 prior to surgery, along with designating a separate entrance and elevator for patients to use on the day of surgery to limit their encounters with other people.

In addition, Rome Memorial Hospital is also assigning patients to a surgical unit on a different floor separate from patients who may be hospitalized with an infectious disease.

The hospital is also utilizing staffing patterns that ensure staff assigned to care for suspected or positive COVID-19 patients do not “float” into a unit caring for any elective-surgery patient.

“We have been consistently screening everyone who enters our facility, including patients and staff, for fever and respiratory symptoms. In addition, masks or face covers are required,” said Murphy. “This proactive approach has enabled us to successfully protect our patients, staff, and community through the COVID pandemic.”

RMH also assembled a physician council to “prioritize” patients who have been awaiting surgery based upon their “clinical indication,” according to Murphy. 

“Because each patient’s surgical circumstances are unique, we have been working closely with our physicians to support them in determining the best timing of surgery,” he noted.

Oneida Health 

Oneida Health on May 4 announced that it is resuming performing outpatient, elective procedures at its hospital. 

The hospital will have to validate that those the people seeking the surgeries have met the criteria that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) released on April 29, Oneida Health said in a news release.

All patients who are scheduled to have an outpatient procedure will be required to have a pre-screening test for the coronavirus at the hospital’s drive-thru testing center, three days prior to their procedure. Patients will also complete a screening assessment on the day of their appointment. To limit exposure, Oneida Health is providing direct pathways to private rooms for surgical patients, “enforcing strict social distancing, proper PPE, and enhanced cleaning protocol to remain proactive.”

“While some hospitals in New York State have been heavily impacted by COVID-19 patients, we have not,” Gene Morreale, president and CEO of Oneida Health, said in a release. “When we have admitted a COVID-19 patient in our facility, we have isolated them to designated areas with dedicated staff. This has worked extremely well and as a result, all patients, both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19, have received exceptional care.” 

In addition to capacity requirements, hospitals are also required to have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), staffing, COVID-19 testing, and also establish a multi-disciplinary committee to “ensure appropriate prioritization” of elective procedures.

With the resumption of elective procedures, Oneida Health Hospital will also be performing non-urgent endoscopies in its hospital along with a range of surgical procedures in its ambulatory care center. 

Oswego Health

Oswego Health is planning to reopen many of its outpatient locations starting May 18, with the expectation to resume elective surgeries on June 1, Dr. Duane Tull, chief medical officer, said in a May 5 news release. 

“This allows us ample time to ensure the collection of more PPE and to increase our testing ability so that all procedures can safely proceed,” said Tull. “At present, Oswego Health has only had three positive COVID-19 patients in our hospital so the risk of proceeding with elective cases is less than surrounding hospitals with higher volumes. We are anxious to resume all of our surgeries and service, but we want to do this correctly. If we can procure adequate PPE supplies and testing, we may begin sooner, but all things must be done correctly and safely. Though the risk is reduced, we will not put either staff or patients at risk in any way.”                   

SYRACUSE — Crouse Health has received a vital fiscal shot in the arm now that it has restarted elective surgeries.

The Syracuse–based health system was slated to resume outpatient elective surgeries and procedures on May 7, now that the state has allowed them in our region and across much of upstate New York.

Crouse had halted the moneymaking procedures on March 17, “several days ahead of a state mandate calling for cancellation for the safety of patients, staff and visitors” and to create capacity for COVID-19 patients. 

As a result, Crouse Health said it has been losing $300,000 in revenue per day. In response, the health system furloughed 211 workers and reduced work schedules to part-time for 148 employees, Robert Allen, VP of communications and government affairs at Crouse Health, tells CNYBJ.

Elective surgeries are a big part of the health-services Crouse Health provides Central New Yorkers. Crouse Hospital performed 13,000 elective surgical procedures in 2019, Allen notes.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on April 29 announced that 35 counties in the state have been approved to resume elective outpatient treatments. Onondaga County is one of them.

Crouse has been working with physician and administrative leadership from surgical services, cardiac services, neurosciences, interventional radiology, and infection control to develop a phased-in plan to resume elective outpatient surgeries and procedures, Dr. Seth Kronenberg, COO and chief medical officer of Crouse Health, said in a release. 

The hospital’s restart plan has been developed with guidance from the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Crouse has adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) available and has capacity to accommodate elective outpatient surgery volume, according to Kronenberg. 

“The state lifted restrictions due to the low COVID-19 transmission rate within Onondaga County,” Kronenberg said. “As people resume activities, Crouse will remain prepared at all times in the event of increased COVID-19 activity in the community and surrounding area.”

Patients who had cancelled procedures are being contacted to reschedule, Dr. Tom Hartzheim, chief of surgery at Crouse Health, said. 

“Resuming elective outpatient surgeries will allow patients access to necessary treatment for significant underlying conditions,” he added.

Under the state’s directive, patients scheduled for elective surgical procedures are required to be tested for COVID-19 three days prior to their procedure and “will be encouraged to limit contact with others between the test and their procedure,” Crouse Health said.