UTICA — On March 18, members of the Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) nursing leadership team received the New York Organization of Nursing Executives and Leaders (NYONEL) Claire Murray Best Practices Award, MVHS announced. 

The team was honored for its abstract, entitled “Mohawk Valley Health System: Implementing the ABCDEF Bundle in ICU: Enacting Meaningful Change,” at the NYONEL business meeting in Tarrytown, New York, according to an MVHS news release.

Critically ill or injured patients are often the most challenging to manage due to the complex nature of their illness/injury. The use of a bundle approach to providing evidence-based care has been shown to decrease unintended consequences that can occur with hospitalization and improve quality and patient outcomes, the release explained. 

The NYONEL program committee received more than 35 submissions, and the MVHS abstract was one of six selected for the regional award.

AUBURN — The previously vacant West Middle School at 217 Genesee St. in Auburn has been redeveloped with apartments inside.

New York on April 16 announced the formal opening of West Middle School Apartments, a three-story development with 59 apartments for area residents. 

The $20 million project includes 15 units with “mental-health support services,” the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release.

“This a transformative project for the City of Auburn. West Middle School Apartments replaces a vacant and unused building with attractive and affordable homes that will strengthen the neighborhood as a whole,” Auburn Mayor Michael Quill said in Cuomo’s release.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) has provided $7.6 million in financing for the project in the form of tax-exempt bond financing and a subsidy loan. HCR’s annual federal tax-credit allocation generated $6.5 million in tax-credit equity. Additional capital funding includes $4.4 million from the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), as well as federal and state historic tax-credit equity. 

OMH is also providing long term, debt-service payments, startup funds, and ongoing services and operating funding.

West Middle School Apartments features a community room, laundry area, and on-site parking. Crews preserved many of the school’s original features, including original artwork and lockers that line the halls. In addition, the school auditorium remains intact and is available for public events. 

The “supportive-housing” residents will receive on-site services from Unity House of Cayuga County, a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 and designed to “enrich the lives of people with disabilities.” Unity House’s headquarters have transitioned into new office space in the building as well.

ITHACA — It’s described as the state’s first commercially produced beer made with “predominantly” New York–grown ingredients. 

Ithaca Beer Co. plans to launch Brew York, which will be available in both bottles and draft starting May 15, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in an April 5 news release. It will be available year-round and statewide. 

Brew York is described as a pale ale that “uses nearly 70 percent New York–grown barley and 100 percent New York hops.”

Ithaca Beer’s investment in this new product line supports Southern Tier Soaring, the region’s “strategic plan to revitalize communities and grow regional economies,” Cuomo’s office said.

Ithaca Beer created Brew York to “showcase the state’s high-quality agricultural ingredients, and highlight New York’s advancement in supply and pricing that makes it feasible for commercial brewers to commit to buying and using local ingredients,” the release contended.

Ithaca Beer, which isn’t licensed as a farm brewery, isn’t required to use local ingredients. However, the company is sourcing 66 percent of its malting barley from 1886 Malt House in Fulton and from New York Empire Malt in Champlain in Clinton County. 

The brewery is also “exceeding” New York’s 2019 farm-brewery license requirements by using 100 percent hops produced by Chimney Bluffs Hoppery in Wolcott in Wayne County and Ledyard Farms in King Ferry in Cayuga County.

The release of Brew York has been in the making for more than a decade, Dan Mitchell, president and founder of Ithaca Beer Co., said in Cuomo’s release. 

“In 2004, we introduced an all New York State hopped Double IPA while working on getting the Northeast Hop Alliance off the ground. We spent significant time in front of state legislators requesting support to bring back the once thriving [New York State] hop industry, and working closely with [the New York] Farm Bureau to raise awareness and funds. It’s been a huge boost for those of us working on projects like this to have Gov. Cuomo behind us. When I first began working on Ithaca Beer, there was definitely some support, but the governor has created incredible awareness about all the great food and beer produced in New York State, and for all the farmers who support our local efforts,” said Mitchell. 

The company’s brewery is based at 122 Ithaca Beer Drive in the town of Ithaca. It includes a taproom. Mitchell founded Ithaca Beer Co. in 1998.