Mohawk Valley EDGE names new board chair and directors

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ROME, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley EDGE, a not-for-profit corporation that works to strengthen and grow the Mohawk Valley’s economy, announced the appointment of Justin Hummel as chair of the board of directors and the election of three new board directors. Hummel was first elected as an MV EDGE director in 2016. He serves as CEO […]

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LGS names two new board members, announces officers

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DeWITT, N.Y. — Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS), a nonprofit that offers a yearlong civic-leadership training program, recently announced that two community members have joined its board of directors. The two new board members are Bishop Colette Matthews-Carter of Interfaith Works and Joseph Rocco, III of Bowers & Company. They will each serve a three-year term.

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Ask Rusty: Can I Get Survivor Benefits While Still Working?

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Dear Rusty: I lost my wife several years ago and I qualified for Social Security spousal benefits. Unfortunately, because of my income, I have not been able to take advantage of this benefit. I am currently 64 and still working. I believe I have until the age of 70 to receive this. Is there any

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Dear Rusty: I lost my wife several years ago and I qualified for Social Security spousal benefits. Unfortunately, because of my income, I have not been able to take advantage of this benefit. I am currently 64 and still working. I believe I have until the age of 70 to receive this. Is there any way to claim any of this before I start taking my Social Security in a couple of years?

Signed: Working Widower

Dear Working Widower: Your entitlement to surviving spouse benefits from your wife actually never expires so, you can wait until you stop working full time, or until you reach your full retirement age (FRA), to claim your benefit as a widower.

Social Security’s “earnings test” lasts until you reach your FRA, which, for you, is 66 years and 8 months. That is the age at which your earnings from working will no longer affect your Social Security (SS) benefit. So, you can simply defer claiming your survivor benefit until you reach your FRA, or until you stop working full time and won’t exceed the annual earnings limit (the earnings limit changes yearly; for 2023 it is $21,240). But there is no way to avoid the earnings test if you’re collecting SS benefits of any kind before you reach your full retirement age. If you collect your surviving spouse benefit early and exceed the earnings limit, the Social Security Administration will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the limit (half of what you exceed the limit by), and if your work earnings are high enough it can temporarily disqualify you from receiving SS benefits. The penalty for exceeding the earnings limit is also less severe in the year you reach your FRA.

You might take some comfort in knowing, anyway, that taking your survivor benefit before your FRA would mean it would be reduced (by 4.75 percent for each full year early) but waiting until you reach your FRA to claim it would mean you’ll get 100 percent of the survivor benefit you’re entitled to (the same amount your wife was entitled to when she died). And you can claim your survivor benefit (only) first and collect that, while allowing your personal SS retirement amount to continue to grow, up to age 70 if you wish. You should strive to maximize whichever benefit will be highest — your own, or your survivor benefit — and collect that benefit for the rest of your life. If you choose to claim your survivor benefit at your FRA and switch to your own higher amount at 70, your personal SS retirement benefit at 70 will be almost 27 percent more than it will be at your full retirement age. That would be a good way to avoid the earnings test, maximize both benefits, and secure the highest possible Social Security benefit for as long as you live.

Whether waiting until 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit makes sense depends on whether it will be higher at age 70 than your survivor benefit at your FRA, and on your life expectancy. Average life expectancy for a man your current age is about 84 and you would break even moneywise at about age 81 if you wait until age 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit. So, you’d get the most in cumulative lifetime benefits by waiting until your FRA to claim your survivor benefit and — if it will be higher — waiting until you’re 70 to claim your own SS retirement benefit. The choice is yours to make but longevity is the key, so you should carefully assess your potential life expectancy, including your family history, your current health, and your lifestyle to help you decide.

Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.

Bassett expands school-based clinic program to new school district in 2023

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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — It’s been 30 years since Bassett Healthcare Network launched its first school-based health clinic at Delaware Academy Central School in Delhi. Today, the program includes 21 clinics in 17 school districts across four counties, with more than 7,000 children enrolled in the program. Later this year, Bassett will open its 22nd clinic

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Later this year, Bassett will open its 22nd clinic in its 18th school district — the Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School District.

“Schools come to us,” says Jane Hamilton, RN, school-based health practice manager at Bassett. “We don’t seek them out.” Schools do need to meet certain space specifications in order to have a clinic, do all the necessary renovations to the space, and secure funding for the first few years the clinic is open to cover operating costs, she adds. Bassett, in turn, will hire a team to staff the clinic.

Hamilton anticipates the newest clinic will open in the fourth quarter.

The school-based clinics, located in areas where many children live at or below the poverty level, provide primary health services to students enrolled in the program. The enrollment process is as easy as filling out some paperwork, providing insurance information if there is any, and consenting to Bassett treating the child.

The clinics tackle two big concerns head on, says Dr. Chris Kjolhede, co-director of the program. Those concerns — or barriers to care — are poverty and transportation.

By locating clinics directly in the schools in low-income areas, Bassett removes both of those barriers. “The bus drives the kids to the school every day and drives them home,” Kjolhede says.

This access to care is also a big benefit to the region’s employers as parents do not need to take time off of work to take their children to the doctor for routine care like check-ups or immunizations. Those can all be managed at the clinic without parents being present.

The clinics are really about prevention and education, Hamilton says. For example, clinic staff are working to educate parents on the HPV vaccine, which can help prevent oral cancer.

According to Kjolhede, a survey showed that as many as 35 percent of parents in New York don’t believe in required vaccines. So that education component, especially regarding vaccine safety and effectiveness, is important.

The clinics also provide access to dental and mental-health care. Many of the clinics are using technology to connect students with care for medication follow-ups, concussion clearance, and ongoing management of certain chronic conditions, such as asthma via tele-visits, Hamilton says. This eliminates the need for parents to transport their children, sometimes two or more hours away, for these types of specialist appointments.

Kjolhede says Bassett sometimes encounters concerns about the clinics, particularly that they might replace school nurses or take patients away from other primary-care providers. Neither is true, he says. The clinics work hand-in-hand with the school nurses, who provide a different service to students.

As for other primary-care providers, Kjolhede says Bassett tries to collaborate with them to ensure all children have timely access to care. “Any care is better than no care, and some of these kids would get no care,” if the clinics weren’t there, he contends.

Loretto opens new memory special-care unit

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SYRACUSE — Loretto has opened a new memory special-care unit at Loretto Health & Rehabilitation at 700 E. Brighton Ave. in Syracuse. The organization said it took this step on Jan. 2 as “the demand for dedicated memory-care services in Central New York has continued to increase, far beyond what our community can currently support.”

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SYRACUSE — Loretto has opened a new memory special-care unit at Loretto Health & Rehabilitation at 700 E. Brighton Ave. in Syracuse.

The organization said it took this step on Jan. 2 as “the demand for dedicated memory-care services in Central New York has continued to increase, far beyond what our community can currently support.”

With the support of some grant funding, Loretto has invested $750,000 in renovating an entire floor of its main campus to support the needs of those in the most-advanced stages of dementia.

After nine months of planning followed by three months of construction, the new 12th floor unit will offer 30 individual rooms for long-term, memory-care residents.

The addition of this new unit will allow Loretto to provide dementia care to even more residents while they live “as independently as possible.” Loretto says it has successfully used several of these features over the past three years, since it opened a memory-care unit on the 11th floor of the building, before the pandemic hit in 2019.

Loretto says the unit will use what it describes as an “emerging Montessori care philosophy,” with the unit filled with cues and memory supports that enable individuals to care for themselves, others, and their community. Staff in this unit will undergo a detailed training program to prepare the team to deliver this Montessori-based approach to specialized care.

Loretto estimates that more than one-third of residents across its system have a diagnosis of dementia and that number is expected to increase. About 410,000 people aged 65 and older are currently living with Alzheimer’s in New York state and that figure is expected to grow by nearly 15 percent by 2025.

Additionally, Loretto recently completed a needs assessment of Central New York’s aging population and created an action plan to address unmet needs. That effort led to the expansion of Loretto’s dedicated memory-care space to meet the increased demand for dementia services.

Loretto describes itself as the fourth-largest health-care provider and the sixth-largest employer in Central New York. The agency has about 2,500 employees at its 19 locations delivering care to close to 10,000 people of all ages, income levels, and care needs in Onondaga and Cayuga counties annually.

Space design

The memory-care space incorporates technologies and designs “from the most cutting-edge approach to memory care,” Loretto said.

They include elevators, doors, and walls camouflaged with landscapes and familiar home scenes to trigger memories, direct residents, and keep the patients safe.

The space also has a “neighborhood-feel,” complete with unique doors, house numbers and exterior porch lights for each resident’s room to enhance recognition.

It also has a dedicated gathering room to encourage activity-based family visits and other gathering areas that reflect park settings to bring the outside “in,” so residents still feel connected to the outdoors.

In addition, the space has wayfinding cues to make walking more enjoyable, allowing residents a “level of independence.”

It also has lighting and window treatments to optimize use of natural light, and sensory stimulation through touch, sounds, and a scent system to help residents feel calm and “remember simple pleasures.”

The space also has special flooring that mitigates fall risk, is gentle on joints, and allows residents to walk safely and comfortably. It also has specialized chairs and recliners to assist in maintaining independence and supporting postural and functional needs.

The new technologies include the It’s Never Too Late (“iN2L”) program, along with animatronic pets, and a dedicated music room.

Excellus names three new members of senior leadership team

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UTICA, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield announced it has recently appointed three new members of its senior leadership team. Mona Chitre was named president of pharmacy solutions in addition to her role as chief pharmacy officer. In her expanded role, she will focus on delivering clinically sound pharmacy solutions to enable growth and diversification and

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UTICA, N.Y. — Excellus BlueCross BlueShield announced it has recently appointed three new members of its senior leadership team.

Mona Chitre was named president of pharmacy solutions in addition to her role as chief pharmacy officer. In her expanded role, she will focus on delivering clinically sound pharmacy solutions to enable growth and diversification and bolster investments and innovation in all areas of the pharmacy landscape. She joined Excellus in 2000. Under Chitre’s leadership, the pharmacy program developed numerous programs to improve the health and well-being of the communities it serves, Excellus contends, including the RxConcierge savings outreach program and initiatives focusing on generic medications, medication adherence, and specialty medications.

Dr. Lisa Harris was appointed senior VP and corporate medical director, where she will work closely with senior leaders to drive engagement, innovation, clinical quality, equitable access, and affordability, the health insurer said. Harris, who joined Excellus in 2018, will also focus on enabling efficiency and satisfaction. She previously served as VP of medical affairs for commercial lines of business, where she served as a clinical liaison for the commercial side of business and leading the clinical-affordability strategy.

Tony Vitagliano has been named senior VP of provider-network engagement. In this role, he will continue to focus on the health plan’s provider-partnership strategy in addition to leading the areas of payment integrity, medical policy, and risk adjustment. Vitagliano, who joined Excellus in 1993, will also serve as a member of the health plan executive team. He began his career there as an actuarial analyst and held several positions. Mostly recently, he served as VP of provider-network management and operations, where Vitagliano led teams dedicated to provider contracting, provider relations, value-based payments, and reimbursement.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is a nonprofit health plan with 1.5 million members in upstate New York and more than 4,000 employees.

New medical spa opens at Slocum-Dickson

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UTICA, N.Y. — Consumers looking for medical-spa treatments have a new option now that Dr. Stephan Barrientos has opened his Elite Medical Spa & Wellness Institute practice at Slocum-Dickson Medical Group. “We want to make sure we’re bringing the medicine back into med spa,” Barrientos says of what sets his new spa apart from competitors.

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“We want to make sure we’re bringing the medicine back into med spa,” Barrientos says of what sets his new spa apart from competitors. Not many spas are physician run, let alone run by a plastic surgeon, he notes. It helps him guide patients to ensure they are receiving appropriate treatments.

Elite Medical Spa & Wellness Institute serves as an extension of Barrientos’ plastic-surgery practice, providing concierge-style surgery, facial, and body-aesthetics services including injectables for weight loss and hydration, radiofrequency microneedling, facials, and PDO threading, which uses sutures that dissolve over time to provide a face lift.

Demand has risen for med-spa services as various procedures have become more affordable and accessible, Barrientos says.

“We actually are filling up our days,” he says of the spas bookings since opening on Dec. 12. “We are getting tons of people coming in through our promotionals as well as from the medical practice.” The spa runs a variety of weekly and month discount promotions.

The spa is currently open Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. each day. Along with Barrientos, a nurse practitioner and a facial aesthetician are on staff.

Located at 117 Business Park Drive in the LaPolla and Ford Business Park in Utica, the spa features six treatment rooms, each dedicated to a separate treatment, as well as a lobby area. The lobby features TVs showing before and after pictures for various treatments.

“It’s tranquil,” Barrientos says of the space. “We have our spa music going. It’s really nice.” He leases the space from Slocum-Dickson, which also houses pediatrics and other specialty services in the building.

While the spa is only open three days a week currently, Barrientos expects to expand business hours as demand rises further. He is in the process of outlining an external marketing strategy with Slocum-Dickson.

Currently, Slocum-Dickson promotes the spa on its own website, Facebook, and Instagram, but Barrientos expects the spa will soon have its own pages.

Barrientos specializes in general and reconstructive plastic surgery with a concentration in pediatric reconstructive and craniofacial surgery, according to the Slocum-Dickson website.

He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2009 and completed his plastic-surgery residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He also completed a wound fellowship at Winthrop University Hospital/NYULangone in Mineola and a pediatric craniofacial fellowship at the Craniofacial Center in Dallas, Texas.

Bassett Cancer Institute rolls out new treatment option

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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The Bassett Cancer Institute now offers Lutathera as a treatment for neuroendocrine cancer, also known as carcinoid tumor. Lutathera is a pharmaceutical radiation therapy that helps improve outcomes for patients with this rare cancer, according to Bassett Healthcare Network. “First and foremost, this is great news for patients with this cancer,” Dr.

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Upstate Medical develops new Lyme & tick-borne disease center

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University will use federal grant funding of nearly $900,000 to develop a Lyme and tick-borne disease treatment center. The health system says the center is possible because of a federal grant secured by U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.), and the now-retired U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus), per

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate Medical University will use federal grant funding of nearly $900,000 to develop a Lyme and tick-borne disease treatment center.

The health system says the center is possible because of a federal grant secured by U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.), and the now-retired U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus), per its online news release.

Upstate Medical will use the $898,000 grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) for the design, construction, and equipment costs associated with establishing the center. HRSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The center will “centralize and supplement” Upstate’s existing resources for combatting tick-borne disease. They include the Vector Biocontainment Laboratory, which is devoted to studying both vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens. The preexisting expertise will allow Upstate Medical to use the federal funding for the project to cover necessary capital investments, the health system said.

Dr. Kristopher Paolino — assistant professor of microbiology and immunology who specializes in Lyme disease care — said an increasing number of ticks in New York are found to be carrying Lyme and other diseases. This center will advance Upstate’s treatment and research for tick-borne diseases.

“We have an increased numbers of patients who require treatment for tick-borne diseases and we need better education, not only for patients, but [also] for providers on how to identify some of these diseases we are seeing,” Paolino said. “Having a Lyme disease and tick-borne disease clinical center would be a way to provide patients and providers the tools they need to protect themselves and also encourage patients to seek appropriate treatment in a timely manner. The longer someone goes with untreated Lyme disease the more likely they are going to have chronic symptoms.”

Paolino said the key to the new center will be its multidisciplinary approach.

Proposed represented specialties will reflect the symptoms and ailments that patients battle and they include infectious diseases, rheumatology, neurology, physical and occupational therapy, pain management, psychiatry, and integrative medicine.

Upstate Medical says it will have additional specialties involved as required.” Using this approach, the health system contends its diagnostic and treatment plans will be highly coordinated, will improve care efficiency, and move patients toward faster recovery.

The organization will use existing office space for the clinical care suite. Plans for the space could include state-of-the-art telemedicine capabilities, including the “most advanced technology” for virtual teaching and training. They also include the existing Ted talk space at the CNY Biotech Accelerator “to be leveraged to help share knowledge with clinicians at institutions across the nation and world.”

Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University, echoed Paolino’s concern about the alarming rise of Lyme and other deadly and debilitating tick-borne diseases across the U.S., with “some of the most rapid spread” happening in Central New York.

The tick-surveillance program at Upstate has tested more than 27,000 ticks since it began in 2019. About one-third of those ticks have been found to carry one or more pathogens or disease-causing organisms, per its release.

Auburn Hospital cancer center project gets funding boost

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AUBURN, N.Y. — After breaking ground on its new cancer center back in November, Auburn Community Hospital is moving forward with $2 million in federal funding for the project. The hospital will also utilize a portion of the money to buy medical equipment for cancer diagnostics. The $2 million is part of the end-of-year spending

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AUBURN, N.Y. — After breaking ground on its new cancer center back in November, Auburn Community Hospital is moving forward with $2 million in federal funding for the project.

The hospital will also utilize a portion of the money to buy medical equipment for cancer diagnostics.

The $2 million is part of the end-of-year spending package, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) announced on Dec. 22.

“Auburn Community Hospital will soon have a modern, state-of-the art cancer treatment center, and now thanks to funding we secured in the federal budget they will purchase lifesaving medical equipment — like a new PET-CT Scanner,” Schumer said in a release. “Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Cayuga County and this new center will be a one-stop shop to help patients get the top-notch care they need in their own community.”

The senators explained that Auburn Community Hospital (ACH) is building a new 12,000-square-foot cancer center that broke ground in November. As of now, 80 percent of residents in Cayuga County have to travel more than 25 miles for medical-oncology services. The expansion will add radiation-oncology services and many other lifesaving cancer treatments and diagnostic services closer to home for area residents, Schumer’s office said.

“This funding will allow ACH to purchase state-of- the-art medical technology and make building improvements that will support our new cancer center,” Scott Berlucchi, president and CEO of Auburn Community Hospital, said in Schumer’s release. “The new cancer center will provide necessary care for the leading cause of premature death in Cayuga County. The center will provide essential care for the local community that they would otherwise have to travel long distances for and will increase employment.”

The federal funding Schumer and Gillibrand secured as a congressionally directed spending request in the fiscal year 2023 (FY23) budget will help support and facilitate this new expansion. Specifically, it will assist the hospital with key infrastructure and renovations like adding critical new parking spots to accommodate the increased patient load, as well as help purchase a new PET-CT Scanner for pre-diagnostic testing. The PET-CT scanner will allow doctors, especially cancer surgeons, to determine the exact location of a tumor in relation to an organ or spinal column.

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