TWO YEARS OF PROGRESS: A closer look at efforts to combat substance use disorders & mental health awareness (series)

Published: 02/20/2019 @ 07:38 am | Updated: 02/20/2019 @ 07:40 am

TWO YEARS OF PROGRESS: Seneca continues addiction, mental health efforts

Part I: Identifying the problem, weighing current challenges When it comes to creating awareness around mental health issues and substance use disorders – officials believe positive ground has been made up in the last few years. Margaret Morse, Director of Community Services for Seneca County agrees. Morse celebrated her two-year anniversary leading community service efforts in Seneca on Jan. 31,... more

Local hospitals share millions through Excellus program

Published: 02/19/2019 @ 09:08 am | Updated: 02/19/2019 @ 09:14 am

Millions shared around local hospitals through Excellus program

Millions was shared between several local hospitals and health centers in the Finger Lakes and Central New York, according to officials with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Thirty-six upstate New York hospitals and health centers, including eight in the Finger Lakes region, last year shared $25.7 million in quality improvement incentives from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. The nonprofit health insurer’s performance incentive program... more

Reed, O’Mara, and Palmesano call on Finger Lakes Health to save Penn Yan unit

Published: 02/13/2019 @ 12:21 pm

Representative Tom Reed (R-NY), State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats), and State Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) are urging Finger Lakes Health and the state Office of Mental Health to immediately begin working together to maintain the Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hospital in Penn Yan. On Monday, Finger Lakes Health announced that no new patients are... more

FLH unit will ‘discontinue’ services on Monday, despite not yet receiving state’s OK to shut down

Published: 02/10/2019 @ 06:19 am | Updated: 02/11/2019 @ 05:40 am

Little more than a week after a spokesperson for Finger Lakes Health told FingerLakes1.com that the behavioral health unit in Penn Yan would not shut down until the state approved it – employees of Soldiers & Sailors learned Friday that care would be ‘discontinued‘ effective Monday, February 11th. Hospital spokesperson Lara Turbide confirmed the decision on Friday, and told multiple... more

Auburn Community Hospital CEO responds to lawsuits, state report

Published: 02/10/2019 @ 06:55 am | Updated: 02/10/2019 @ 06:57 am

Auburn Community Hospital denies allegations of wrongdoing brought up in lawsuits filed by former doctors and says a recent state/federal deficiency report has nothing to do with the quality of care it provides. Hospital CEO Scott Berlucchi has provided a detailed public statement on the issues that came to light over the past two weeks, the first substantive comments hospital... more

No break in battling opioid crisis in Canandaigua

Published: 02/10/2019 @ 06:52 am | Updated: 02/10/2019 @ 06:59 am

Outside the Chapin Street home of Jeff and Suzanne Marinelli, Noah’s Blessing Box is never left empty. The box Jeff crafted two years ago in memory of their son, Noah, remains filled with donations of dry and canned food, clothing, personal products and other items for anyone who needs them. With the dangerously cold temperatures, the box — and the... more

INSIDE THE FLX: Discussing mental health, substance use disorders, and progress (podcast)

Published: 02/08/2019 @ 12:27 am | Updated: 02/08/2019 @ 09:07 am

In 2018, the CDC produced new, shocking data that showed a 30 percent increase in suicide rates over the last two decades. That increase prompted a lot of discussion, dialogue, and ideas about what could be done differently to improve mental health treatment, services available, and remove stigma. Those efforts are now being realized in a number of unique, exciting... more

Ex-doctors file whistleblower lawsuits against Auburn Community Hospital

Published: 02/07/2019 @ 04:52 am | Updated: 02/07/2019 @ 04:57 am

Two separate lawsuits against Auburn Community Hospital from former doctors allege hospital administration retaliated against them for their attempts to blow the whistle on another doctor’s dangerous conduct. The lawsuits, one filed in federal court in December and another filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Cayuga County, claim similar patterns of targeted discrimination or retaliation in response to the... more

New York state budget proposal promotes mental health programs

Published: 02/07/2019 @ 04:52 am | Updated: 02/07/2019 @ 05:04 am

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s spending proposals for New York state’s mental hygiene programs are the subject of a public hearing in Albany. The Democratic governor’s $175 billion spending plan for the next fiscal year includes his ongoing efforts to reduce the number of New Yorkers who die by suicide each year. Cuomo says federal statistics show that New York state’s suicide... more

Cuomo defends RHA after Trump criticizes it during SOTU

Published: 02/06/2019 @ 04:58 am | Updated: 02/06/2019 @ 05:10 am

Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed back Tuesday against critics of New York’s new abortion-rights law, contending it does little more than codify Roe v. Wade into state law. The Democratic governor and the state Legislature have faced ongoing criticism for the passage of the Reproductive Health Act on Jan. 22 that expands the type of health-care practitioners that can perform abortions... more

Mental health in Yates: Legislature weighs in on FLH closure request

Published: 02/06/2019 @ 04:58 am | Updated: 02/06/2019 @ 05:07 am

Should a non-profit, private health care provider be required to provide a service that it is not finding to be financially viable? How can a small rural community best care for the mental health needs of its residents — adult and children? Those are two of the basic questions swirling around the community after news about Finger Lakes Health’s plans... more

New York State investing millions in healthcare projects

Published: 02/05/2019 @ 08:32 am

New York state is investing $204 million in 95 different health care projects around the state. The funding includes grants for new health care facilities, and expansions and upgrades to existing facilities. The facilities receiving funds vary from in-patient hospitals to mental health and substance abuse facilities to outpatient doctors’ offices. The money is intended to help health care providers... more

New concerns raised about behavioral health closure in Penn Yan; Finger Lakes Health says it was ‘necessary’

Published: 02/02/2019 @ 12:19 am | Updated: 02/02/2019 @ 09:42 am

Community raises concern about Acute Rehab closure, Finger Lakes Health maintains it was ‘necessary’

There was swift reaction online and around the Finger Lakes to the news that Finger Lakes Health would be shuttering its Acute Rehabilitation Unit at Geneva General Hospital and Behavioral Health Services program at Soldiers & Sailors Hospital in Penn Yan. Lara Turbide, a spokesperson for Finger Lakes Health told the Finger Lakes Times in December that Finger Lakes Health... more

Feds: Auburn Community Hospital mishandled complaints about doctor

Published: 02/02/2019 @ 09:13 am | Updated: 02/02/2019 @ 09:25 am

Auburn Community Hospital failed to take appropriate action regarding a doctor who was accused of engaging in inappropriate and dangerous behavior, including sexual harassment and “near misses” in caring for patients, according to a recent report from hospital regulators. Conducted by the state Department of Health on behalf of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, an August inspection... more

Public Health officials recommend radon testing

Published: 02/04/2019 @ 05:25 am | Updated: 02/04/2019 @ 05:28 am

Yates County Public Health along with the New York State Department of Health recommends that Yates County residents test their homes for Radon Gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 21,000 people die from Radon-induced lung cancer each year. Radon is an invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that is the leading cause of lung cancer for non-smokers and the... more

Webster student treated for whooping cough

Published: 02/01/2019 @ 04:31 am | Updated: 02/01/2019 @ 04:44 am

School leaders confirmed a case of whooping cough in the Webster Central School District. The district says a student at Spry Middle School was treated for pertussis. Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease known for uncontrollable and violent coughing. Doctors say the best protection is to get vaccinated. The district encourages any parent with concerns about their children to... more

Fourth case of measles reported in Monroe County

Published: 02/01/2019 @ 04:31 am | Updated: 02/01/2019 @ 04:45 am

A fourth case of the measles has been reported in Spencerport, the Monroe County Department of Public Health confirmed Thursday. The news comes less than week after two students from Canal View Elementary in the Spencerport school district had been diagnosed with the disease. The newest child is actually a neighbor of the two Canal View students, according to the... more

Cayuga County veterans seek answers about new Auburn outpatient clinic at forum

Published: 01/30/2019 @ 12:13 pm

Voices were raised and questions were answered at a forum on the upcoming new Auburn-based outpatient veterans clinic. Over 150 people attended the forum at the Hilton Garden Inn in Auburn Tuesday. The Syracuse Veterans Affairs Medical Center recently picked Virginia-based health clinic STG International to be the provider for an Auburn clinic over Auburn Community Hospital, which has held... more

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