SYRACUSE — Upstate University Hospital has earned certification as a “comprehensive stroke center” from Milford, Ohio–based DNV GL Healthcare Inc. (DNV), a hospital accreditation organization.

 

DNV notified Upstate of the designation Jan. 16, and the hospital held a ceremonial event to acknowledge the certification on Jan. 20. 

 

DNV Healthcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of Norway–based Det Norske Veritus, a global organization with 8,600 employees in more than 100 countries.

 

The designation reflects the highest level of care and treatment that hospitals can provide for serious stroke events.

 

Upstate University Hospital is the only hospital in Central New York to earn such a designation from DNV for its stroke care, according to a Jan. 20 news release from the hospital. 

 

Kaleida Health in Buffalo is the only other hospital in New York state that DNV has designated as a comprehensive stroke center. 

 

The certification is a “great honor” because it is a “long process,” says Dr. Julius Gene Latorre, medical director of the stroke program at Upstate.

 

“We started gathering our data sometime between September and October. And that’s the data from the last year or so. And then we applied in November,” says Latorre. He spoke with CNYBJ on Jan. 30.

 

A hospital has to demonstrate that it has data indicating that it’s taking care of patients, he adds.

 

“You have to show that you are … monitoring the quality of care that you deliver and that you’re able to continue providing the quality care that you’re able to evaluate your performance,” says Latorre.

 

In its evaluation, a hospital has to find out if it executed the care of the stroke patient properly, if it was “appropriate,” and did the care “benefit the patient or not,” says Latorre.

 

“For Upstate to be certified as a stroke center, it’s kind of like a stamp of approval that we are doing a very good job,” he says.

 

The comprehensive stroke center designation, the “highest-level” designation available, Upstate said, signifies that it “meets the most exacting standards” for treating the “most complex” stroke cases at any time.

 

“…Most importantly, this comprehensive designation underscores the team approach that Upstate takes to treating stroke. From EMS providers to nurses, to pharmacists to surgeons, to technicians and social workers, all of these highly trained medical professionals mobilize at the first notification that a patient is en route with a possible stroke,” Dr. John McCabe, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, said in the hospital’s news release

 

Meeting guidelines

Hospitals must meet dozens of guidelines to receive the DNV’s comprehensive stroke center designation, according to Upstate. 

 

They must document rapid assessment of stroke patients in the emergency department and administer clot-busting drugs within 60 minutes, says Latorre.

 

Hospitals also must have a specific stroke team in place, consisting of neurologists and neurosurgeons, diagnostic radiologists, and other critical-care specialists within 10 to 15 minutes, he adds.

 

They must also complete diagnostic tests within 60 minutes of patients’ arrival to the emergency department and must have special imaging available and complete CT scans for candidates treated with tPA within 45 minutes. tPA is short for tissue plasminogen activator, which is the only treatment for ischemic strokes that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has approved, according to the website of the American Heart Association.

 

In addition, hospitals must have a dedicated Neuro-ICU (intensive care unit) staffed with board-certified physicians in neurocritical care and must provide rehabilitation, physical therapy, and speech services, Upstate said.

 

Hospitals must also maintain community programs to educate public on stroke-prevention efforts and warning signs and symptoms of stroke.

 

They must participate in clinical research aimed at improving stroke care of patients.

 

An interdisciplinary stroke committee oversees Upstate’s stroke care, the hospital said. The committee includes staff from neurology, neurocritical care, neurosurgery, emergency department, area EMS providers, radiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, laboratory services, neuroscience nursing, cardiology, pharmacy and spiritual care, according to Upstate.

 

Accreditation and certification in health care provide “much more than recognition,” Yehuda Dror, president of DNV Healthcare, said in the Upstate University Hospital news release. 

 

“These programs help establish standards of excellence and best practices that directly impact patients’ lives,” he said.    

 

 

 

SYRACUSE –– About six weeks after its grand opening on March 1, the co-owner of the Asia Food Market at 1449 Erie Blvd. E. says his business has already generated about $300,000 in sales.

 

Qing Li, 45, co-owns the new market with his business partner, Rockey Ren. 

 

Li says his store averages more than 1,000 customers on weekdays and 1,500 to 2,000 customers on weekends.

 

“We’re busy now,” Li says. “Early mornings [especially], we have a rush.”

 

The 25,000-square-foot space, which used to be home to Stevens Office Interiors, is now owned by Ren Li Trading Inc., according to Onondaga County’s online property records. The property is assessed at $974,200 for this year. Its full market value is nearly $1.2 million.

 

 Asia Food Market offers fresh live seafood, prepared and frozen foods, fruits and vegetables, sauces and spices, cookware, and roasted pig and duck. Li says he plans to add a Cantonese-style, dim sum dine-in restaurant on the second floor in four to five months.

 

Li says his goal is to offer a comprehensive Asian food experience for his market’s growing customer base.

 

“We try to provide a convenient spot for people,” Li says.

 

Li and Ren opened a similar market, also called Asia Food Market, near Rochester 10 years ago. Li says many of his customers used to drive up to two hours to shop at the Rochester store. They came from as far as Oswego and Watertown, and wanted a closer location.

 

That’s when Li explored the idea of opening a market in Syracuse.

 

“They always [said] you need a location in Central New York,” he says regarding his traveling customers. “We hope now we can get people in Binghamton to drive up.”

 

Li contends that the growing Asian population in Syracuse, particularly at Syracuse University (SU), will help his new business venture to succeed. 

 

Asians make up 3.4 percent of the Onondaga County population, according to a 2013 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau. In the city of Syracuse, Asians accounted for 5.5 percent of the population, as of 2010, the bureau reported. 

 

SU has about 1,350 Asian American students and 2,300 international students hailing from countries in East Asia, according to SU data. Li says he’s been seeing a steady flow of SU students shopping at the market.

 

 “They like real Chinese food, something close to their home style,” he says.

 

But the market’s target audience isn’t just Asians or Asian Americans, Li says. He wants the store to be for everyone who enjoys Asian food. 

 

Competing with other Asian markets

Asia Food Market’s direct competitors are just down the road. Eastern Supermarket, located at 2406 Erie Blvd. E., and Han’s Oriental Grocery, at 2731 Erie Blvd. E., sell similar Asian foods. However, Li says he isn’t worried about the competition.

 

What differentiates his store, Li says, is that it will be a one-stop shop for all East Asian food, whether it’s Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, or Filipino cuisine. In comparison, Han’s Oriental Grocery sells mostly Korean food. And while Eastern Supermarket sells a similar variety of East Asian foods, its store is not as large as Asia Food Market. Also, neither Han’s nor Eastern Supermarket has an eatery component that serves prepared Asian food.

 

 

Inside the market

A variety of fruits and vegetables line the black shelves upon entering the Asia Food Market. From gingers and squash to pears and lettuce, customers can buy the produce in bulk or pay by the pound. 

 

On the right side of the store, large quantities of seafood are displayed prominently on ice. This part of the market offers different types of fish, lobsters, and crabs, which employees will help clean and prepare for the customer. Behind the counter are blue tanks with live fish and other seafood from which customers can choose.

 

Past the aisles of canned, prepared foods and sauces is a small bakery with baked goods, breads, and sweets. Next to the bakery are whole smoked hogs, roast ducks, and roast pork hanging up behind a small display glass. The barbecued meats are cooked in a smoker, located in the back of the market. When a customer orders the meats, an employee will immediately chop it up and neatly arrange it in a box for the customer to take home.

 

Adjacent to the bakery is a small lounge area with tables and couches, where customers can sit down to eat or take a break from grocery shopping.

 

Li’s market is staffed by a diverse group of 18 employees, including six part-time workers. He says he employs a mix of workers, including those of Burmese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese descent.

 

Moving forward

The Asia Food Markets in Rochester and Syracuse are the first business ventures for Li and Ren. The co-owners, who are both originally from Southern China, had no prior restaurant managing experience before opening in Rochester 10 years ago, according to Li. But he says he is happy with what he deems a successful first few weeks in the Syracuse market. Li says he’s now focused on expanding the customer base here.

 

Part of his strategy is offering more items that customers like and eliminating things they don’t like. Right now, the fresh seafood seems to be a hit, Li says. He also sees growing popularity with the smoked barbecue meats.

 

“We’re pretty successful on the roast duck and roast pig,” he says. “The demand was high.” Li says he’s also thinking about adding one additional smoker to meet the demand. 

 

Another strategy is promoting the market across the Central New York area. Li says most people hear about the store by word of mouth. Others know about it through the Internet and apps like WeChat, a social mobile texting and communication app developed in China.

 

“Right now, we are on a soft opening,” he says. “We plan to do promotions next month.”

 

So far, Li and Ren plan to stick with their two current Asia Food Markets, but they are not ruling out opening more in the future.

 

“If we [are] successful here, we may open more,” Li says.

 

Asia Food Market is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.        

 

 

 

Consumer sentiment in upstate New York rose to 81.9 in March, from 77.5 in the last measurement in November.

 

That’s according to the latest survey the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) released April 8.

 

Upstate’s overall-sentiment index of 81.9 is a combination of the current sentiment and future-sentiment components. Upstate’s current-sentiment index of 90.6 increased 8.7 points from November, while the future-sentiment level rose 1.7 at 76.4, according to the SRI data.

 

The nearly 9-point jump in the upstate current sentiment is a “dramatic increase,” says Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director.

 

Upstate’s overall sentiment was 4.5 points below the statewide consumer-sentiment level of 86.4, which rose 2.4 points compared to November, SRI said.

 

New York’s current-sentiment level, at 91.3, represents an eight-year high, according to SRI.

 

“It sounds dramatic [but] it’s coming off very low figures,” says Lonnstrom.

 

Lonnstrom believes gas prices drove the increase in the current component of the statewide and upstate-sentiment reading.

 

“If we go back a year ago, 57 percent of New Yorkers felt gas prices were having a negative impact on their family budget. That’s now down to 37 percent,” says Lonnstrom.

 

He called the 20 percent drop “incredible,” which he believes was reflected in the upstate sentiment figures.

 

Lonnstrom also points to other pieces of “good news” during the first quarter, including the stock market’s performance, the economic forecasts have been “fairly positive,” and the job market, though “a little weak” last month, has generally been “on the positive side” as well.

 

When compared with the previous three years, the state’s overall-confidence sentiment of 86.4 is up 12.5 points from March 2014; up 11.9 points from March 2013; and has increased 10.1 points from March 2012, according to SRI data. The sentiment index measured 59.7 in March 2009, SRI said.

 

In March, statewide respondents’ buying plans rose 5.3 points to 18.9 percent for cars and trucks; edged up 1.3 points to 8.1 percent for homes; and increased 3.9 points to 19.6 percent for major home improvements. 

 

Lonnstrom called the buying-plan figures for cars and homes “outstanding.”

 

“We’ve got one out of five New Yorkers planning to buy a car or truck in the next six months. That’s pretty dramatic,” he says.

Consumers don’t buy homes every six months, but one out of 12 New Yorkers are planning to buy a home, and one out of five are planning to make home improvements.

 

“It looks like they’re going to improve their homes so they can sell [them] and buy another one,” says Lonnstrom with a chuckle.

 

Buying plans were down 4 points to 40.6 percent for consumer electronics; and decreased 1.3 points to 22.5 percent for furniture.

 

The March measurements for buying plans are in comparison to the measurements last taken in November, SRI said. 

 

Lonnstrom in November told CNYBJ that SRI will conduct surveys to measure consumer sentiment in New York on a quarterly basis following a budget review. It had conducted the surveys monthly since their inception in 1999.

 

Gas and food prices

In SRI’s analysis of gas and food prices, 48 percent of upstate respondents said the price of gas was having a serious impact on their monthly budgets, which is the same as the last measurement in November and down from 59 percent in July.

 

In addition, 37 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about the price of gas, down from 41 percent in November and 51 percent in July 2014, according to SRI.

 

When asked about food prices, 66 percent of upstate respondents indicated the price of groceries was having a serious impact on their finances, down from 71 percent in November and 68 percent in July of last year.

 

At the same time, 64 percent of statewide respondents indicated concern about the price of food, down 5 percentage points from November and down 3 percentage points from July, according to the SRI data.

 

Unlike the gas concern, the food-price concern focuses on several different products, says Lonnstrom.

 

“One may go up, one may go down. You go to the supermarket, you’re walking out of there with 50 different items,” he says.

 

Gas is one product that people purchase maybe once or twice per week, so consumers see the effect of price fluctuations.

 

“Even if there was a decline in food prices, it takes … longer to work through the food chain, whereas gas prices are kind of an instant thing,” he adds.

 

SRI conducted its survey of consumer sentiment in March by random telephone calls to 804 New York residents over the age of 18. 

 

As consumer sentiment is expressed as an index number developed after statistical calculations to a series of questions, “margin of error” does not apply, SRI said.

 

Buying plans, which are shown as a percentage based on answers to specific questions, have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 points, SRI said.         

 

 

AUBURN — Image Agent, an Auburn–based creative and design-service agency, has launched FLX Wraps, which it’s describing as a new division. 

 

The firm operates at 26 Osborne St. in Auburn.

 

FLX Wraps provides graphics for vehicles, such as company vans or personal vehicles. FLX is short for Finger Lakes.

 

Image Agent can handle the work “in-house,” says Brian Redfield, the firm’s sole owner.

 

“It’s a seamless service that we can provide,” he says.

 

Redfield spoke with CNYBJ on April 8. 

 

Image Agent started considering the FLX Wrap service near the end of 2014. 

 

“It just seemed the right time with the signs and with spring coming along,” he adds. 

 

The company created a website totally dedicated to FLX Wraps, on which it describes the division as “the premier large-format graphics and vehicle wrap specialists in Cayuga County.”

 

Image Agent may consider launching additional visual services using the FLX brand, says Redfield.

 

Besides its vehicle-wrapping division, Image Agent also offers branding assistance for companies through logo and graphic design, brand and social-media marketing, website development, and ecommerce assistance. 

 

The services could include production of business cards and brochures.

 

Image Agent also produces displays and signs with an eco-solvent, large-format printer. 

 

“So basically we can print to adhesive vinyl, banner material, canvas … a lot of different materials can go through the printer,” says Redfield. 

 

About Image Agent

Founded in 2007, Redfield first operated his company in a small space in Port Byron and grew its client base before moving to its current location in Auburn in early 2013.

 

The small business has four employees, including Redfield. The employee count includes one part-time worker, he says.

 

He doesn’t anticipate adding any new employees in 2015, but “it depends on how the business progresses.”

 

Image Agent leases the space from Dave Seneca, manager at Auburn Furniture Service Inc. located next door to Image Agent, Redfield says. 

 

He declined to disclose his firm’s revenue information and any projections for 2015, saying only that Image Agent’s revenue has “increased each year.” 

 

The company started serving a large client for whom it produced “a lot” of signs, which helped grow its revenue in 2014, he says. Image Agent is also in discussions with another client that could be a “game changer” for his firm’s sales.

 

Image Agent services mostly commercial clients and currently has between 80 and 90 clients. They include Pango Mobile Parking, which services the city of Auburn; Kohilo Wind, LLC of Jordan; and TerikTech Corp., an Auburn–based, audio-video installation company. 

 

Image Agent handled a van wrap for TerikTech, according to the Image Agent website. 

 

The firm doesn’t advertise. It services mostly “referral-based” clients and repeat customers as well, according to Redfield. 

 

Redfield, a Cortland native, started the business because he had been handling freelance jobs in the same field while living on Long Island. 

 

When he and his wife returned to Central New York, he was having trouble finding “the type of opportunity he was looking for” in the design industry.

 

“I decided to open my own company,” he says. “It was … a natural progression.”

 

Redfield graduated from Cortland High School in 1998 before earning an associate degree in communications at Herkimer in 2000. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in multimedia and design from Briarcliffe College on Long Island in 2004.