Local veterans are given the opportunity to focus on health and resilience thanks to the 100 Day Transformation Challenge program created by Saratoga County in partnership with Purebred Athletics and Dig Deep Chiropractic & Massage Therapy PLLC.
Through the Veterans Peer Connection program operating under the county Veterans Service Agency, Saratoga County is currently sponsoring 15 veterans who will participate in the 100 Day Transformation Challenge, allowing them the opportunity to learn healthy stress management tools as well as establish a community with other veterans in the program.
Saratoga Hospital Completes Update And Expansion Of Its Cardiovascular Services
Courtesy Saratoga Hospital
Saratoga Hospital recently completed a $3.25 million update and expansion of its Whitney-Hendrickson Cardiovascular & Interventional Suite to meet increased demand for advanced cardiovascular and cancer treatments.
The expansion added a second catheterization suite to support critical services, including the hospital’s 24/7 emergency interventional cardiology program and state-of-the-art minimally invasive oncology procedures.
State Adopts Programs To Raise Awareness Of The Dangers Of Synthetic Cannabinoids
A statewide plan to combat synthetic cannabinoids, also known as K-2, has been established. The multi-agency agenda includes wide-ranging prevention, education, treatment, and community engagement efforts, building upon the state’s commitment to add dozens of synthetic cannabinoids to the state’s controlled substances list.
These new initiatives will help remove these substances from circulation, raise awareness on the dangers of K-2, and provide additional guidance to healthcare providers on effective treatment and recovery services, officials said.
Plans To Build Medical Offices Adjacent To Saratoga Hospital Continue To Advance
A positive decision by the Saratoga County Planning Board represents an important step forward for Saratoga Hospital’s plans to develop medical offices in close proximity to the its main campus, hospital officials said.
At a meeting in April, the board approved a change intended to align the zoning map with the city’s comprehensive plan. That would lead to a zoning change to allow for construction of medical offices on Morgan Street.
Community Emergency Corps: Providing Ambulance Service For More Than 50 Years
©2018 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Susan E. Campbell
Imagine calling for an ambulance and wondering when it will arrive, if at all. Yet that was the reality for first response some 50 years ago.
“Each township had different response territories, and it could take a long time for an ambulance to get from one end of a territory to another,” said William Smith, a recently retired career firefighter and chief of operations for Community Emergency Corps based in Ballston Spa.
Community Emergency Corps is a nonprofit organization Smith has been a member of since 1998. Founded in 1966 by a group of concerned citizens, it provides emergency transport for the Village of Ballston Spa, Milton, the northern part of Ballston, and Middle Grove, an abutting section of Greenfield.
The Wesley Community Treats Patients Of All Ages Through Its Outpatient Therapy Program
©2018 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Rachel Phillips
For almost half a century, The Wesley Community, located at 131 Lawrence St. in Saratoga Springs, has offered care and housing for seniors and aging adults. Though the organization is well known for the services it offers to elderly patients, its outpatient therapy program is open to patients of all ages.
The Wesley community is a 36-acre, nonprofit agency offering a broad variety of services. The senior-care services the organization is known for include providing market rate, affordable housing for independent seniors, as well as enriched living apartments for seniors who desire additional support, and in-home health care services, short-term rehabilitation and long-term nursing care.
Saratoga Bariatric Surgery And Weight Loss Program Earns Designation For Quality Care
BlueShield of Northeastern New York has recognized Saratoga Hospital with a Blue Distinction Center+ designation for bariatric surgery as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.
The Saratoga Bariatric Surgery and Weight-Loss Program at Saratoga Hospital, located at 1 West Ave. Suite 300, in Saratoga Springs, is the only program in the region to have earned this national distinction.
“The Bariatric Team was elated when we heard the news,” said Dr. Dmitri Baranov, medical director of the Saratoga Bariatric Surgery and Weight-Loss Program. “We have earned the Blue Distinction Center for the last three years, but to earn the ‘plus’ distinction this year is a true testament to the quality, safety and care our dedicated team has been consistently providing for our patients at every stage of their weight-loss journey. This recognition is quite special, and we could not be more proud.”
Patient Monitoring Technology Improves Safety, Clinical Outcomes For Hospital Patients
Royal Philips, a health technology company, has integrated the Philips IntelliVue Guardian system—with automated Early Warning Scoring (EWS)—into the general care units of Saratoga Hospital to help improve patient safety and clinical outcomes.
Since implementing Philips’ patient monitoring technology, Saratoga Hospital has reduced patient transfers to the intensive care unit (ICU) by 63 percent and eliminated patient codes within its 20-bed orthopedic unit, which dropped from three or four codes per year to zero, according to the company.
Skidmore Professor Develops App That Tells User What To Eat, When They Should Exercise
Courtesy American Heart Association News
Noted researcher Dr. Paul Arciero has devoted his career to helping people get more active and eat more natural, healthier foods.
It all started in the dirt of a community garden.
“Some of my fondest childhood memories come from tending that garden with my mother,” Arciero said, recalling the hot summers harvesting in rural Connecticut. “Going there with her, tending to the earth, getting dirty – that was my introduction to healthy nourishment.”
The key themes of fitness and family continue with some of Arciero’s latest work as well. He recently developed a new app, with help from his son Nick, a developer and coder. The GenioFit app lets a person know what they should eat and when they should exercise, Arciero said. He leads exercise videos in the app, as well as guided meditations.
“GenioFit embraces all the fundamental premises and mission of the research I’ve done, the organizations I represent, and who I am,” Arciero said. “It’s imperative that we engage in lifestyle strategies that engage healthy eating and exercise. There’s a synergy that lets us derive a significantly greater benefit when the two are together.”
He has spent 25 years at Skidmore College where he is a professor of nutrition and exercise science and director of the Human Nutrition & Metabolism Laboratory.
Arciero has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific journals, but his education in the world of healthy living didn’t all come from the classroom or the laboratory.
Mental Health Organization Names Judge James Doern As Its 2017 ‘Citizen Of The Year’
Courtesy SCCCMH
The Saratoga County Citizens Committee for Mental Health (SCCCMH) named Judge James E. D. Doern as its 2017 Citizen of the Year.
Judge Doern was honored at the group’s Mental Health Matters benefit at Longfellows Restaurant on May 3.
According to the mental health organization, Judge Doern’s community commitment dates to the early 1990s, beginning with his work with Rotary and continuing through the present with his dedication to a number of advocacy and human services organizations.
As Saratoga Springs City Court Judge for 18 years, he recognized the impact of un-met mental health, addiction, housing, transportation, and employment needs on people’s ability to function happily and productively in our community. As a result, Doern has worked tirelessly to improve the scope and collaboration of the community’s services.
In 2015, he was the force behind the establishment of a monthly gathering of human service providers, the mental health and substance abuse coalition. The purpose of this group is to identify and then rectify gaps in the continuum of care.