Oneida Indian Nation opens new community center

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ONEIDA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation recently formally opened its new 90,000-square-foot Mary C. Winder Community Center and Box Lacrosse Arena, providing a first look to its members. Located within the Oneida Neighborhoods project, the center offers resources to support cultural engagement and community building for the Oneida Indian Nation and represents a historic […]

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ONEIDA, N.Y. — The Oneida Indian Nation recently formally opened its new 90,000-square-foot Mary C. Winder Community Center and Box Lacrosse Arena, providing a first look to its members.

Located within the Oneida Neighborhoods project, the center offers resources to support cultural engagement and community building for the Oneida Indian Nation and represents a historic investment in strengthening the community.

“The Mary C. Winder Community Center is a profound statement to all who see it on the vibrancy of our community and proof that by restoring our homelands, we have brought to life the dreams of our ancestors,” Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in a press release announcing the grand opening. “It represents our incredible history in this region spanning from time immemorial until today and shows that we will always be here until the end of time. The Oneida people can take great pride in this incredible symbol of our resiliency and legacy today and for generations to come.”

The grand-opening ceremony on June 28 included raising the Oneida Indian Nation flag outside the community center along with a community breakfast in the center’s multipurpose room and a Haudenosaunee social dance exhibition in the new field house. The field house includes a box-lacrosse field that honors the role of the game in the Oneida and Haudenosaunee culture.

Halbritter and the center’s general manager, Nichola Diaz, shared remarks with those in attendance. Members were also able to tour the facility and sign up to access its amenities.

Those amenities include areas for Oneida language education and cultural programming, community gathering spaces, a library, an Oneida historical exhibit, an accessible swimming pool, a gymnasium with fitness center and running track, and a children’s play area.

Ahead of the grand opening, Oneida Indian Nation Representative Ray Halbritter welcomed U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to visit the center as part of her listening tour with several tribal nations in New York state.

The Oneida Indian Nation has about 1,000 enrolled members. The nation’s enterprises, which employ more than 5,000 people, including Turning Stone Resort Casino, YBR Casino & Sports Book, Point Place Casino, The Lake House at Sylvan Beach, The Cove at Sylvan Beach, Maple Leaf Markets, SavOn Convenience stores, Verona Collective, an RV park, and marinas.

Proceeds from those enterprises help provide essential services to members including housing, health care, and education incentives and programs.

Wynn Hospital recertified as comprehensive stroke center

Health Care, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

UTICA, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Health System’s (MVHS) Wynn Hospital was recently recertified as a comprehensive stroke center by the New York State Department of Health and Det Norsek Veritas (DNV) Healthcare. The designation was originally awarded to MVHS’s St. Luke’s campus in July 2021 and was reaffirmed five days after the move to the

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The designation was originally awarded to MVHS’s St. Luke’s campus in July 2021 and was reaffirmed five days after the move to the Wynn Hospital last October.

Surveyors from DNV Healthcare visited MVHS for its annual certification during a two-day stop, where surveyors reviewed records and protocols, talked with patients and staff, and toured the Wynn Hospital, according to an MVHS news release.

The certificate is based on standards set for by the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association and affirms that the hospital addresses the full spectrum of stroke care including diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and education and also establishes clear metrics to evaluate outcomes.

“With stroke care, you must have the best clinicians and resources, but also the ability to act organizationally with extreme efficiency because of the time-critical nature of these events,” MVHS Stroke and Neuroendovascular Surgery Director Varun V. Reddy said in the release. “This certification from DNV Healthcare and NYS DOH validates all the effort we have put into this program to ensure the health and safety of our patients.”

Comprehensive stroke centers are typically the largest and best-equipped hospitals in a given geographical area that can treat any kind of stroke or complication.

“We are so proud of our entire stroke team for again achieving this significant designation,” MVHS President/CEO Darlene Stromstad said. “Being a comprehensive stroke center means that the Wynn Hospital provides the same level of advanced stroke care that can be found in many larger cities and health systems across the country. And we are doing this right here in our community.”

The stroke team, working with its emergency medical services and hospital partners, uses standardized and timely protocols along with RapidAI advanced imaging to ensure stroke patients are diagnosed quickly and are treated within 60 minutes of arrival in the emergency department. Therapies include clot busting TNK and catheter-based interventional stroke-rescue technology.

DNV Healthcare is a global independent certification assurance and risk-management provider that operates in more than 100 countries to advance safety and sustainable performance and set industry benchmarks.

MVHS is the seventh comprehensive stroke center in upstate New York and the only one located between Syracuse and Albany. As of 2022, there are only 297 comprehensive stroke centers in the U.S. Of those, only 12 including the Wynn Hospital, are thrombectomy-capable — meaning they are able to surgically remove a blood clot in an artery.

Vitagliano named Utica market president at Excellus

Health Care, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Mohawk Valley, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

UTICA, N.Y. — Antonio Vitagliano is the new regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Utica market, the nonprofit health insurer recently announced. With the promotion, Vitagliano is expanding his current role as senior VP of provider network engagement. “Over his 30-plus-year career at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Tony has built strong relationships with providers, members, employers,

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UTICA, N.Y. — Antonio Vitagliano is the new regional president of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Utica market, the nonprofit health insurer recently announced.

With the promotion, Vitagliano is expanding his current role as senior VP of provider network engagement.

“Over his 30-plus-year career at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Tony has built strong relationships with providers, members, employers, brokers, and leaders in the Utica area,” Excellus President/CEO Jim Reed said in a news release. “As a lifelong resident of the Mohawk Valley, Tony brings with him the knowledge and appreciation of the local community he will serve.”

In his expanded role as regional president, Vitagliano combines his leadership of provider networks with the additional responsibility of supporting and maintaining business, quality health, and sales in the Mohawk Valley and North Country. Excellus employs about 500 people in the Utica area.

Vitagliano succeeds Eve Van de Wal, who retired from the role at the end of April.

During his time at Excellus, Vitagliano has held positions in finance and marketing before becoming regional VP of network management in the Utica and Central New York regions and vice president of network management and operations.

He serves the community in a variety of ways including as a board member of the CNY Vision Alliance. He previously served on several local boards and associations including the former Mohawk Valley Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of the Mohawk Valley, New Hartford Youth Hockey Association; the Children’s Museum, and the Central New York Regional Health Information Organization. Vitagliano is a recipient of the Mohawk Valley 40 Under 40 award and a fellow of the Academy of Healthcare Management.

He is a current member of the Princeton University Alumni Schools Committee and contributed to the New York State North Country Health System Redesign Committee, Reimagine NY Commission, Medicaid redesign.

Vitagliano holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University and MBA from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business.

Excellus BlueCross BlueShield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and has 1.5 million upstate New York members.

Area organizations serving refugees receive federal funding

Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

The Refugee Support Services Program, funded by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, has awarded $20 million in funding to 17 community-based organizations that help refugees, including several across Central New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced. The American Civic Association, Inc. in Binghamton received $148,742, The Center in Utica received $1.56 million, and Catholic Charities

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Onondaga County hotels see slight drop in guests in May

Subscriber Only, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism

SYRACUSE — Onondaga County hotels registered a decline in overnight guests in May, but saw improvements in two other key benchmarks of business performance in the month. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in Central New York’s largest county dipped 1.4 percent to 62.9 percent in the fifth month of

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New York AG announces CNY funding from settlement with JUUL over youth vaping

Health Care, Education & Training, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Counties in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, the North Country, and Southern Tier, along with BOCES in each region, are getting millions from the state’s settlement with JUUL Labs Inc. for its role in the youth vaping “epidemic.” Central New York is getting $4.7 million; the Mohawk Valley, $3.4 million; the North

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Central New York is getting
$4.7 million; the Mohawk Valley, $3.4 million; the North Country, more than $3 million; and the Southern Tier, $4.5 million.

The regional money is part of the $462 million multistate settlement with JUUL, New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in announcing the awards.

James announced the Central New York dollar amount during a June 18 visit to Public Service Leadership Academy at Fowler High School in Syracuse.

The youth vaping led to a “dangerous rise” in underage e-cigarette use nationwide, according to James.

Altogether, New York was awarded a total of $112.7 million through the settlement, which the attorney general is distributing to every county, Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and the five largest cities in the state to support programs that will help reduce and prevent underage vaping.

“Like the big tech companies that have fueled a mental health crisis among young people with their addictive products, JUUL marketed its dangerous and addictive vapes to children, putting millions at risk,” James contended in a news release. “Across our state, e-cigarette use among kids spiked after JUUL hit the market. I’m proud that my office ensured JUUL paid for the damage they did to young people. The funds we secured will help schools and communities in Central New York fight back against the youth vaping epidemic. I thank all of my partners in government for their partnership in this effort to protect our children.”

James sued JUUL in November 2019 for what she said was its “deceptive and misleading marketing that glamorized vaping and targeted young people.”

Funding distribution

Central New York Counties

Cayuga County — $397,684.96
Cortland County —$276,771.10
Madison County — $396,519.43
Onondaga County — $1,452,272.89
Oswego County — $582,809.54

School Districts / BOCES

Syracuse City School District — $322,481.76
Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES — $188,908.33
Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES — $857,352.80
CiTi BOCES in Oswego —$299,339.81

Mohawk Valley Counties

Fulton County — $377,149.09
Herkimer County — $338,122.50
Montgomery County — $302,440.88
Oneida County — $849,282.44
Otsego County — $257,184.58
Schoharie County — $255,547.66

BOCES

Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery BOCES — $244,033.35
Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES — $146,946.02
Madison-Oneida BOCES — $231,265.86
Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES — $355,157.99
Otsego-Delaware-Schoharie-Greene BOCES — $123,038.86

North Country Counties

Clinton County — $398,962.14
Essex County — $278,594.49
Franklin County — $372,792.31
Hamilton County — $181,640.73
Jefferson County — $531,347.19
Lewis County — $261,994.63
Saint Lawrence County — $383,711.63

BOCES

Clinton-Essex-Warren-Washington BOCES — $226,598.54
Franklin-Essex-Hamilton BOCES — $128,010.19
Jefferson-Lewis-Oneida-Hamilton-Herkimer BOCES — $368,831
Saint Lawrence-Lewis BOCES — $232,632.83

Southern Tier Counties

Broome County — $596,588.77
Chemung County — $509,170.60
Chenango County — $351,784.56
Delaware County — $315,519.52
Schuyler County — $216,589.36
Steuben County — $450,048.88
Tioga County — $323,674.26
Tompkins County — $473,932.88

BOCES

Broome-Delaware-Tioga BOCES — $464,006.41
Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego BOCES — $184,030.60
Greater Southern Tier BOCES — $439,444.00
Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES — $183,380.64

Bassett selected for initiative to improve care for older adults

Health Care, Subscriber Only

COOPERSTOWN — Bassett Healthcare Network was recently chosen to join a group of 30 health systems across the country in the Age-Friendly System-Wide Spread Collaborative led by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Participating health systems, which also include Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, Gracy Health in Atlanta, and Mount Sinai Health System in New York

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Participating health systems, which also include Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, Gracy Health in Atlanta, and Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, will accelerate and spread adoption of evidence-based, high-quality care for older adults across all their sites and care settings.

“Age-Friendly Health Systems are an influential framework for individualized, compassionate care for our 65 and older population, many with multiple chronic conditions,” Bassett Healthcare Network Director of Quality Laura Palada said in a news release. “We are privileged to have been chosen to participate in this collaborative effort to better serve one of our largest growing and most vulnerable populations of patients. It is also important to bring the perspective of rural health care to the conversation.”

Age-Friendly Health Systems aim to follow an essential set of evidence-based practices, cause no harm, and align with what matters to older adults and their caregivers.

The four essential elements of an Age-Friendly Health System are:

• What Matters – know and align care with each older adult’s specific outcome goals and care preferences;

• Medication – use age-friendly medication that do not interfere with what matters to the patient;

• Mentation – prevent, identify, treat, and manage dementia, depression, and delirium across care settings; and

• Mobility – ensure older adults move safely every day.

Bassett Healthcare Network earned the initiative’s Committed to Care Excellence designation in 2023 after demonstrating reliable practice of those essential elements in all five of its hospitals.

Now, during the 18-month collaboration, Bassett will build on its progress and test changes to ensure those elements are provided equitably as a standard practice as older adults receive care across its entire system.

“We are honored to have Bassett Healthcare Network participating in this collaborative and applaud their dedication to equitably delivering age-friendly care as older adults and their family caregivers receive care across their practices, hospitals, and nursing homes,” Institute for Healthcare Improvement VP Leslie Pelton said. “This is an exciting and ambitious endeavor and a testament to the increasing importance of the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement as we prepare our health systems and workforce to provide excellent care to the growing older adult population.”

Since 2018, the movement has recognized 3,907 care settings as age-friendly.

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of the John A. Hartford Foundation and Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Along with its five corporately affiliated hospitals, Bassett Healthcare network also includes school-based health centers, community-based health centers, and skilled-nursing facilities, and provides services to a 5,600-square-mile region in upstate New York.

Northeast College teams with Canisius to ease transfers

Education & Training, Health Care, Subscriber Only

SENECA FALLS — Northeast College of Health Sciences in Seneca Falls is working with Canisius University in Buffalo to allow eligible Canisius students to more easily transfer into a chiropractic program at Northeast College. The collaboration guarantees that Canisius students can seamlessly transition into Northeast’s doctor of chiropractic program, Canisius said in its June 17

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The collaboration guarantees that Canisius students can seamlessly transition into Northeast’s doctor of chiropractic program, Canisius said in its June 17 announcement.

Canisius students need to meet specific program requirements while earning bachelor’s degrees in sports and exercise healthcare or health and wellness.

The accelerated 4+3 option enables students to earn their bachelor’s degree from Canisius and doctorate degree from Northeast a full year earlier than it would take to earn each degree separately, “saving students time and money.”

In addition, Canisius students are eligible for merit scholarships from Northeast, based on their academic standings, per the Canisius announcement.

“With job growth in allied healthcare professions projected to grow faster than average in the next 10 years, Canisius is excited to partner with Northeast College to offer students a clear and accessible pathway to graduate study in chiropractic care,” Karl Kozlowski, professor and chair of the department of kinesiology at Canisius, said in the school’s announcement.

“We are honored to partner with Canisius University to create academic opportunities for even more students and provide pathways that will allow them to seamlessly enter our Doctor of Chiropractic Program,” Michael Mestan, president of Northeast College of Health Sciences, said. “We look forward to welcoming Canisius students who want to become future doctors and leaders in healthcare.”

The Northeast College of Health Sciences in Seneca Falls was founded in 1919 and focuses on the education and training of health-care professionals. The school offers graduate and undergraduate academic programs in areas such as chiropractic, nutrition, human anatomy instruction, massage therapy, and the imaging sciences.

New York home sales fall more than 4 percent in May

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — New York realtors sold 8,465 previously owned homes in May, down 4.1 percent from the 8,826 existing homes they sold in the year-ago month, as mortgage rates remained at elevated levels. Pending sales slid by a similar amount in April, foreshadowing further declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months.

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ALBANY — New York realtors sold 8,465 previously owned homes in May, down 4.1 percent from the 8,826 existing homes they sold in the year-ago month, as mortgage rates remained at elevated levels.

Pending sales slid by a similar amount in April, foreshadowing further declines in closed home sales in the next couple of months. That’s according to the May housing report that the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) issued on June 21.

“Home sales dropped across New York State in May as mortgage rates continued to remain above 7 percent,” NYSAR said to open its housing report.

NYSAR cites Freddie Mac as indicating mortgage rates hit as high as 7.22 percent in May and settled at an average monthly rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage of 7.06 percent. A year ago, at this time, the interest rate stood at 6.43 percent. Freddie Mac is the more common way of referring to the Virginia–based Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

New York sales data

Pending home sales in New York totaled 10,537 in May, a decrease of 4 percent compared from the 10,981 pending sales in the same month in 2023, according to the NYSAR data.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of May stood at 2.9 months, down more than 6 percent from the 3.1 months’ supply at the end of May 2023, per NYSAR’s report. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered a balanced market, the association said.

The inventory of homes for sale totaled 26,076 in May, a decline of 10.8 percent from the May 2023 figure of 29,236.

Amid continued tight supply, home prices continued to rise. The May 2024 statewide median sales price was $422,500, up 8.3 percent from the May 2023 median sales price of $390,000.

New listings of homes for sale in the Empire State rose 2.1 percent to 15,265 in May from 14,957 in the year-prior month.

All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York, and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

NYSOFA expands initiatives to combat loneliness, age-related issues

Health Care, Law, Accounting & Taxes, New York News, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) has started phase six of its animatronic pet initiative and the second phase of its intergenerational game project. Both efforts are in partnership with Pawtucket, Rhode Island–based Ageless Innovation, delivering 4,725 animatronic pets and games to older adults through New York State’s aging

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ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) has started phase six of its animatronic pet initiative and the second phase of its intergenerational game project.

Both efforts are in partnership with Pawtucket, Rhode Island–based Ageless Innovation, delivering 4,725 animatronic pets and games to older adults through New York State’s aging network, per NYSOFA’s June 4 announcement.

Since 2018, NYSOFA has distributed 31,500 animatronic pets to older adults who are socially isolated and lonely — a program that has since been replicated in more than 30 states. NYSOFA said.

The life-like animatronic pets are designed to make realistic sounds and motions, providing comfort and companionship to older adults. Data show that the pets are making “a positive impact.” NYSOFA found that 75 percent of older adults receiving these pets reported a reduction/significant reduction in loneliness as well as a 75 percent decrease in pain.

The Joy for All games include Scrabble Bingo, Trivial Pursuit Generations, and Game of Life Generations. The games, which launched in 2023 in partnership with Hasbro, have been “reimagined to be even more fun and better suit the needs” of the older-adult community, the office contends. Features include larger fonts and intergenerational gameplay and storylines.

In 2024, Ageless Innovation anticipates adding more game titles to its portfolio, expanding its licensed partnership with Hasbro to continue launching “innovative, reimagined” games for its audience.

“NYSOFA, in partnership with our aging services network, is proud to continue these initiatives that are helping thousands of New Yorkers across the state,” Greg Olsen, director of NYSOFA said, in the office’s announcement. “We’ve initiated multiple innovative solutions, bolstered by technology, to connect people, provide companionship, and significantly reduce isolation and its consequences. Proudly, I can say data shows our efforts are working and exceeding expectations. We are proud of our six-year partnership with the team at Ageless Innovation and the Association on Aging in New York.”

Susan Schrader, program director of the Community Health Center of the North Country said she has “seen first-hand the power of these pets” in the hands of lonely older adults.

“One individual immediately comes to mind: a 97-year-old woman with well-established dementia. While well cared for at home, she exhibited boredom and confusion, spending many hours in front of a TV that she couldn’t see because of her condition,” Schrader said. “She received an animatronic cat while on hospice care – and it was transformational. Protective and nurturing of her newfound companion, she petted it, tended to its paws, and talked to it every time it meowed. That is the power of pets.”

NYSOFA says it works with area agencies on aging and community partners to identify individuals who are isolated and lonely and could benefit from receiving pets. The initiative has been supported in recent state budgets as part of a package of “innovative” programs through NYSOFA to address social isolation and provide support for caregivers.

Individuals who are interested can contact their local office for the aging or can use New York’s discount code NYS20 at website http://joyforall.com/.

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