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STEVEN J. SINOPOLI, CPA has joined Grossman St. Amour CPAs as senior manager in the firm’s Tax Services Group. He practices in the areas of multi‐state tax preparation for individuals, partnerships, S‐Corporations, and fiduciary entities. His clients include medical and dental practices. Sinopoli prepares and reviews financial statements and quarterly payroll-tax returns. He also engages […]
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STEVEN J. SINOPOLI, CPA has joined Grossman St. Amour CPAs as senior manager in the firm’s Tax Services Group. He practices in the areas of multi‐state tax preparation for individuals, partnerships, S‐Corporations, and fiduciary entities. His clients include medical and dental practices. Sinopoli prepares and reviews financial statements and quarterly payroll-tax returns. He also engages in tax planning for individuals and businesses and analyzes clients’ accounting information to advise clients on their best business decisions. Sinopoli is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is a graduate of Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
KATIE A. KAIM, CPA has joined Grossman St. Amour as supervisor in the Tax Services Group. Her areas of practice include audit and attest engagements, financial-statement preparation, bookkeeping, and tax-return preparation for individuals, corporations, and partnerships. Her industry areas include manufacturing and retail distribution, physicians and medical-practice groups, not‐for-profits, construction and real estate, individuals, and employee-benefit plans. Kaim is a graduate of Binghamton University’s School of Management with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Southern Tier Chapter of NextGen CPAs.
MATTHEW J. POTERALSKI has joined the firm as staff accountant in the Tax Services Group. He previously completed the Grossman St. Amour Student Internship Program in the Tax Services Group. Poteralski practices in the areas of income-tax return preparation, corporate tax-return preparation, payroll and sales-tax return preparation, financial-statement preparation, and bookkeeping for businesses and individuals. He previously completed the Grossman St. Amour Student Internship Program in the Tax Services Group. Poteralski is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a member of Beta Alpha Psi, and the Accounting Society.
BRYAN T. CZARNECKI has joined the firm as staff accountant in the Audit Services Group. He previously completed the Grossman St. Amour Student Internship Program in the Audit Services Group. Czarnecki practices in the areas of audit and attest engagements and financial-statement preparation. He works with not‐for‐profit organizations. Czarnecki is a graduate of SUNY Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA. He completed the Grossman St. Amour CPAs Student Internship Program.
Fust Charles Chambers LLP has promoted the following individuals, who continue to service the firm’s manufacturing, distribution, health care, not-for-profit, and other closely held business clients. BRANDON T. MESSECAR, CPA, has been promoted to audit manager. He joined the firm in 2016. Messecar received his bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting from SUNY Oswego. CHRISTOPHER
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Fust Charles Chambers LLP has promoted the following individuals, who continue to service the firm’s manufacturing, distribution, health care, not-for-profit, and other closely held business clients. BRANDON T. MESSECAR, CPA, has been promoted to audit manager. He joined the firm in 2016. Messecar received his bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting from SUNY Oswego. CHRISTOPHER E. TIMMONS, CPA, has also been elevated to audit manager. Timmons joined the firm in 2016. He received his bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting from SUNY Oswego. JACQUELINE C. ROMEO, CPA, has been promoted to senior audit associate. Romeo joined the firm in 2019. She earned her bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting from SUNY Oswego.

Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing- communications firm, has hired BETHANY MERLIN, of Syracuse, as an assistant account manager. Prior to joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Merlin was a marketing coordinator at Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Boston. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing communication from Emerson College.
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Pinckney Hugo Group, a full-service marketing- communications firm, has hired BETHANY MERLIN, of Syracuse, as an assistant account manager. Prior to joining Pinckney Hugo Group, Merlin was a marketing coordinator at Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty in Boston. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing communication from Emerson College.
MISTY MASON was promoted to banking solutions representative at Solvay Bank’s State Tower branch in downtown Syracuse. She started her career with Solvay Bank in 2019 at the DeWitt branch. Most recently, she served as head teller.
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MISTY MASON was promoted to banking solutions representative at Solvay Bank’s State Tower branch in downtown Syracuse. She started her career with Solvay Bank in 2019 at the DeWitt branch. Most recently, she served as head teller.

LORRAINE A. LADD-FALANGA has joined The Center for Wound Healing at Oswego Health. Ladd-Falanga will see patients at the center, which offers treatments including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative-pressure therapies, bioengineered tissues, and biosynthetic to reintroduce the body’s innate ability to heal. Ladd-Falanga brings more than 20 years of experience and is no stranger to Oswego
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LORRAINE A. LADD-FALANGA has joined The Center for Wound Healing at Oswego Health. Ladd-Falanga will see patients at the center, which offers treatments including hyperbaric oxygen therapy, negative-pressure therapies, bioengineered tissues, and biosynthetic to reintroduce the body’s innate ability to heal. Ladd-Falanga brings more than 20 years of experience and is no stranger to Oswego Health. Throughout her career, she held various positions at Oswego Hospital including nurse practitioner in the Emergency Department and serving as a hospitalist. She’s worked throughout Central New York at the major health-care systems and most recently was a nurse practitioner at Delphi Healthcare, where she provided medical care to patients requiring admissions. Ladd-Falanga is a New York State-licensed registered nurse, registered vascular technologist and cardiac sonographer. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Oswego Health’s brand-new primary care practice, Lakeview Primary Care, recently welcomed experienced family nurse practitioner (FNP), NATHANIEL FARDEN. Licensed in 2010 as a registered nurse (RN), Farden, earned his bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2012 from Western University. He joined Oswego Health as an RN in the Emergency Department in 2015, then later transitioned as a utilization RN in case management in 2016 while continuing his schooling. In 2019, Farden received licensure as an FNP and worked per diem with the Oswego Health Hospitalist team as an NP.

MELISSA SCHMIDT has joined Upstate Urology at Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) as a certified family nurse practitioner, where she will provide care to patients of all ages. Schmidt has more than 10 years of nursing experience at MVHS in inpatient post-operative care and vascular surgery. Schmidt earned her master’s family nurse practitioner degree from
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MELISSA SCHMIDT has joined Upstate Urology at Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) as a certified family nurse practitioner, where she will provide care to patients of all ages. Schmidt has more than 10 years of nursing experience at MVHS in inpatient post-operative care and vascular surgery. Schmidt earned her master’s family nurse practitioner degree from Utica College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Jacksonville University in Florida.
SVETLANA PETROVETS, MD, has joined the MVHS Medical Group medical office in Washington Mills, where she provides primary-care services to patients of all ages. Petrovets earned her medical degree from the Grodno State Medical University in Grodno, Belarus. She performed her residency at the St. Elizabeth Family Medicine Residency Program in Utica. She also earned both her bachelor’s degree in nursing and her master’s nurse practitioner degree in from SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Marcy. Dr. Petrovets has eight years of experience as a pediatrician in her home country of Belarus. She began her career at MVHS as a registered nurse, where she worked for five years. After completing a year as a family nurse practitioner, she started her residency at the Sister Rose Vincent Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Petrovets is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. She is a member of the American Medical Association and American Academy of Family Physicians.

REBECCA SCOTT recently joined Raymour & Flanigan as its new senior brand manager. Her focus will be on product marketing, brand purpose/cause marketing, brand communications and PR, and overseeing influencer marketing. Scott has years of experience working in integrated marketing. She previously worked for more than seven years at integrated-marketing communications firm, Pinckney Hugo Group
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REBECCA SCOTT recently joined Raymour & Flanigan as its new senior brand manager. Her focus will be on product marketing, brand purpose/cause marketing, brand communications and PR, and overseeing influencer marketing. Scott has years of experience working in integrated marketing. She previously worked for more than seven years at integrated-marketing communications firm, Pinckney Hugo Group in Syracuse. Scott is a Syracuse native and graduate of Syracuse University.

AmeriCU opens education and administrative center in Clay
CLAY, N.Y. — AmeriCU has opened an administrative and education center at 7466 Oswego Road in Clay. The new, multi-use facility will provide credit-union employees

Pinnacle Employee Services expands with in-house recruiting division
DeWITT, N.Y. — Pinnacle Employee Services says it has expanded its services with the addition of an in-house recruiting division called Pinnacle Talent Solutions. Pinnacle Employee Services, a professional employer organization, is located at 5845 Widewaters Parkway in DeWitt. The firm hired Charlotte Dieroff as director of recruiting to offer its clients and potential clients
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DeWITT, N.Y. — Pinnacle Employee Services says it has expanded its services with the addition of an in-house recruiting division called Pinnacle Talent Solutions.
Pinnacle Employee Services, a professional employer organization, is located at 5845 Widewaters Parkway in DeWitt.
The firm hired Charlotte Dieroff as director of recruiting to offer its clients and potential clients a way to expand their employee count, “helping them land solid, professionally vetted talent that fits their needs,” Pinnacle said.
As of now, Dieroff is the sole member of the recruiting division, says Elizabeth Higman, Pinnacle’s marketing and branding manager.
“With her experience and skills for finding the right candidates, she has already been able to fill multiple positions both in-house at Pinnacle and for her clients within the last few months of its inception,” Higman said in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry.
When asked if Pinnacle has plans for additional hiring for the new division, Higman said that the company will eventually hire additional employees for the new division to help review résumés and keep its database organized.
“Pinnacle Employee Services has grown exponentially over the past few years. Being able to offer additional services further solidifies our dedication to helping our clients,” Mark Pietrowski, CEO of Pinnacle Employee Services, said of the firm’s addition of a recruiting division.
Pinnacle Employee Services has 15 employees. Pinnacle Employee Services is part of the Pinnacle Family of Companies, whose subsidiaries include investments, 401(k), 403(b), insurance, and portfolio management, with more than 100 employees total, according to Higman.
About Dieroff
Dieroff started her career in the food industry, having studied food science at Cornell University. She joined International Food Network (now Eurofins) that developed products for the consumer-goods market, with clients that include SlimFast, Häagen-Dazs, and McNeil.
Dieroff transitioned from hands-on product development to client management and business development before deciding to move to the recruiting industry.
With Pinnacle Talent Solutions, she’s focusing on both internal and external placements across industries that include health care, finance, manufacturing, architecture, and engineering.
“I really enjoy working with our local clients, helping them expand their teams, and capitalizing on the synergies we have here at the Pinnacle Family of Companies,” Dieroff said. “By getting to know our clients first-hand, we are better able to find talent that aligns with their needs.”
Also reacts to new mental-health survey data Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says it has raised the minimum wage for all its employees to $18 per hour, up from $15 an hour. At the same time, the Rochester–based Excellus, Central New York’s largest health insurer, is also reacting to new data about the pandemic’s impact on
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Also reacts to new mental-health survey data
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield says it has raised the minimum wage for all its employees to $18 per hour, up from $15 an hour.
At the same time, the Rochester–based Excellus, Central New York’s largest health insurer, is also reacting to new data about the pandemic’s impact on mental health and the role telemedicine is playing to help those affected.
Wage increase
Increasing the minimum wage to $18 an hour will result in salary increases for 639 Excellus employees across upstate New York, or about 15 percent of the health plan’s total workforce.
“We hope an increase in the minimum wage will have a meaningful impact on employees and their families and help us remain competitive when attracting and retaining top talent,” Jim Reed, president and CEO of Excellus, said in a release.
Employees receiving raises include about 389 making below $18 per hour and 250 earning just above that amount. Many of these employees work in customer service, member enrollment, claims processing, clinical support, provider-network credentialing, or in the print and mail room.
Excellus employs about 4,000 employees across 39 counties of upstate New York, including 960 in Central New York.
Pandemic impact on mental health
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 41 percent of adults report struggling with mental health or substance use, which is up from 20 percent in the time before the pandemic.
In addition, nearly one in three adults now report having symptoms of anxiety or depression.
“Behind the masks, people are hurting,” Dr. Geoffrey Hopkins, senior medical director for behavioral health at Excellus, said. “As we approach another year of living with COVID-19, even more attention needs to be paid to mental health challenges as our country wrestles with finding its new normal.”
The National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the CDC, is monitoring the situation. In April 2020, it partnered with the Census Bureau to conduct an ongoing household pulse survey designed to complement the ability of the federal statistical system to quickly respond to, and provide relevant information about, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
The survey is collecting information on symptoms of anxiety and depression experienced by participants. Results have been consistent since the pandemic began, with 30.8 percent of respondents reporting symptoms of anxiety and depression in phase one of the survey conducted from April 23 to May 5, 2020, and 27.3 percent reporting symptoms in a later survey phase from Sept. 29 to Oct. 11, 2021.
For comparison, a similar pre-COVID National Health Interview Survey conducted in 2019 found just 10.8 percent of adults aged 18 and over reported symptoms of anxiety disorder or depressive disorder.
“If there’s any good news since the start of COVID, it’s that Americans have embraced telemedicine, with its increased access to behavioral-health services,” Hopkins said. “Patients can see a specific behavioral-health provider on an ongoing basis from the privacy of their home, where they feel comfortable and can call at their convenience.”
He also points out that, in areas that have a shortage of behavioral-health professionals, especially those who treat children and adolescents, telemedicine offers patients access to behavioral-health services that otherwise may not have been readily available to them.
Specialists providing care via telemedicine for behavioral-health treatment include psychiatrists, social workers, psychologists, counselors, and nurse practitioners. Services include treatment of mental health conditions such as generalized anxiety disorders, major depressive disorders, dysthymic disorders, posttraumatic stress disorders, and adjustment disorders. Substance use disorders treated by telemedicine providers include opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder.
“If you’re dealing with mental health issues or substance use, speak with your primary care doctor, or ask your health insurer to help you find a behavioral-health provider,” Hopkins said. “You can get through this, you’re not alone, and you don’t have to suffer in silence behind your mask.”
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