NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — The Sitrin Health Care Center of New Hartford plans to open a 32-bed, long-term care unit for people who have neurodegenerative diseases, such as Huntington’s Disease (HD).

The expansion, which Sitrin expects to open in January 2016, will create 40 jobs, the organization said in a news release Thursday.

Sitrin is partnering with the New York State Department of Health (DOH) on this inpatient program, which it says will be the “only one of its kind in Upstate [New York].”

The state Health Department has approved $2 million in funding to help Sitrin pay for the launch and program-development operating costs for the new program.

Besides the program development, Sitrin also has to renovate a former skilled-nursing unit on the second floor of its health-care center, where it will locate the new unit.

The health-care organization says the renovation, and the purchase and installation of specialized equipment and furnishings, will cost about $1 million.

Sitrin isn’t permitted to use DOH grant funding for the renovation and equipments costs, the organization said in response to an inquiry from CNYBJ.

To help offset equipment costs, the New York State Office of Community Renewal awarded Sitrin a grant $350,000. Sitrin has also launched a development campaign to raise the additional $650,000, the organization said.

Sitrin shares the DOH’s vision of providing New York residents who have Huntington’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases access to “comprehensive and coordinated” inpatient and outpatient services within the state and “during the continuum of their illnesses,” Christa Serafin, president and CEO of Sitrin, said in the news release.

“Sitrin, in conjunction with the DOH, is collaborating with experts across the industry and throughout the state to form a strong foundation to improve care and quality of life for persons with Huntington’s Disease and other neurodegenerative motor-function disorders,” Serafin said.

The DOH selected Serafin to serve on its newly formed neurodegenerative diseases advisory committee.

Serafin, along with other members of this group, has been working on establishing standards of care, program development and training, environment design, community and family outreach, and research and innovation on the care of neurodegenerative diseases.

Sitrin contends the need for services to treat people with Huntington’s Disease “has never been greater.”

HD is a hereditary, degenerative brain disorder that currently has no cure.

The organization cites DOH statistics that indicate more than 100 New York residents dealing with HD are residing throughout the state in long-term care facilities “that are not dedicated to treating HD patients,” Sitrin said.

In addition, 55 New York residents are living in out-of-state facilities due to lack of HD facilities in New York, the organization added.

Sitrin will follow the principles that the New York City–based Huntington’s Disease Society of America has established, which include “embracing the commitment” to provide coordinated clinical care and access to ancillary therapies; “compassionate” social work and genetic counseling; peer networking; and opportunities to participate in research “that may someday lead to a cure,” the organization said.

DeWITT, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield reported an operating loss of $55 million last year, which it attributed primarily to losses in its Medicaid Managed Care line of business.

Despite the operating loss, Excellus posted net income of $24 million in 2014, due to “stronger-than-expected” investment income, the insurer said in a news release issued Friday. The release provided highlights of its annual financial statement that it filed the same day with the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Excellus, Central New York’s largest health insurer, reported that it generated $5.9 billion in total premium revenue last year, and it paid out 88 percent of that, or $5.2 billion, for medical-benefit claims.

Excellus said it paid $137 million in added federal taxes in 2014 through the federal Affordable Care Act, which also contributed to its operating loss. The company paid out a total of $488 million in state and federal taxes during the year, according to the release.

Excellus said its current health-plan reserves amount to $1.2 billion, or $857, per insured member.

Excellus is the largest division of its parent company, Rochester–based Lifetime Healthcare Companies.

Excellus’ Central New York headquarters is in DeWitt.

SYRACUSE — What began as a small student-run custom-apparel startup business on two college campuses has grown to include 45 campuses across the U.S., including Syracuse University (SU).

Fresh Prints, now based in New York City, sells custom T-shirts, sweatshirts, other apparel, and accessories to college students. It is run almost entirely by students.

Its branch at SU has generated more than $135,000 in revenue in two years, says Shaan Baren, the Syracuse campus manager at Fresh Prints, and an SU senior. 

“We make anything from T-shirts to beanies to socks, shot glasses to tumblers,” says Baren, who is majoring in sport management, with a minor in finance. 

“Anything you want, we can do. I’ve done an order for all of them.”

Fresh Prints specializes in making apparel for fraternities and sororities, which comprise most of the company’s clients, Baren says. He also works with sports clubs, intramural teams, and campus charities. 

The Syracuse branch of the business has generated about $137,000 in revenue since its January 2013 start, Baren says. He’s generated 110 customer orders, with an average of 85 shirts sold per order. Last semester, he says he produced $50,000 in sales. So far, in 2015, he has already generated $45,000 in sales. “And the semester isn’t over yet,” he says.

Baren’s start for Fresh Prints began through his cousin David Portnoy, who persuaded Baren to start and manage Fresh Prints at Syracuse University. Portnoy, the business’s first campus manager at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), generated $350,000 in sales, according to Baren. 

“He ended up making so much money from Fresh Prints that he was able to pay back his parents for tuition,” Baren says about his cousin. “He enjoyed doing it so much.”

Baren started with the business in 2012 and sold $12,000 worth of goods through 14 orders. By 2014, the Syracuse operation had produced the second highest revenue in the entire company, behind Penn, where the company began, according to Baren.

“They only beat me by a couple thousand bucks,” Baren quips.

Baren says he reached out to hundreds of people on the SU campus, ranging from fraternities and sororities to student organizations. His first order was with his own fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

“I started reaching out to presidents of each organization,” Baren says. “I pretty much hit [up] every single person I could think of, University Union (the programming board of SU), student government. About half didn’t respond to me at all.”

How he works

Baren works by himself, usually from his apartment. He also works during his lunch break from his spring-semester internship with the Syracuse Chiefs baseball team. 

In a typical day, he says he receives at least 50 emails, 20 text messages, and five phone calls about Fresh Prints. 

The process for creating the clothing begins with an order, usually from a fraternity or sorority for apparel to be worn at a campus event. Baren then reaches out to one of the company’s 15 artists, who help design the clothes. 

When the designer finishes the mockup, Baren confirms the order and sends it to a printing company. Fresh Prints’ main printer is located in St. Louis. But, Baren prefers to go with a Philadelphia–based screen-printing company called Tee Vision Printing, because it offers two-day shipping. Fresh Prints also works with suppliers, such as alphabroder, TSC Apparel, and Bodek and Rhodes, Baren says. 

The competition

Fresh Prints’ main custom-apparel competitors are Custom Ink, based in northern Virginia, and Ohio–based University Tees, Baren says. Another competitor for him is Holy Shirt!, a custom-apparel firm based in Syracuse

Baren says one of the key ways Fresh Prints competes for business is by matching competitors’ prices. That’s part of the philosophy the company’s co-owners, 

Jacob Goodman and Josh Arbit, believe will win over clients and keep them coming back.

 “Jacob and Josh strongly believe that if I get someone’s business the first time and they’re happy, and everything runs smoothly, they’ll want to order from us in the future,” Baren says.

Baren is set to graduate from Syracuse University in May. With his impending departure, he is looking to train a new manager to take over the Syracuse operation. 

He says he has a few people in mind — students from his fraternity and family friends from home — who are interested in taking over when he leaves.

“My goal is that they improve on it,” Baren says. “Take the [book of business] that I’ve created in the past 2 ½ years and build on it.”

How the company started 

Fresh Prints (www.freshprintsshop.com) was started in 2009 by Jason Israel, a student at Penn, and Sasha Sherman, who attended Washington University in St. Louis, according to Baren. In 2011, Goodman and Arbit, two graduates of Washington University in St. Louis, bought the company and moved its headquarters to New York City. 

Fresh Prints last year generated $900,000 in revenue, up from $500,000 the year before, says Goodman, who handles the company’s finances. The business expects to generate between $2 million and $3 million in revenue this year. Fresh Prints has 70 employees in total, including 45 campus managers and 15 designers, according to Goodman.