Category Archives: Health / Community Services

Over 20 environmental organizations and sustainably oriented businesses exhibited at the year’s Glens Falls Earth Day celebration, sponsored by Sustainable PR, the City of Glens Falls and the Crandall Public Library. 

They brought with them interactive learning activities that were engaging for all ages, and the variety captured the interest of over 100 community members, organizers said.

“Our Earth Day planning team has received nothing but praise for this year’s lineup,” said Tony DeFazio of Sustainable PR.  “We wanted to expand our reach this year and incorporate more family-friendly exhibits to broaden our audience and that’s what we did.”

In addition to eco-conscious exhibitors, the event marked the grand opening of the city’s vertical farm. Dr. Jeff Flagg, the city’s economic development director, gave tours of the facility to more than 50 people, including representatives from Saga City, Glens Falls’ sister city in Japan. 

By Paul Post

A new facility offering day programs for people with traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s and dementia is now open, after a three-year delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It replaces a facility that was in Fort Edward.

STRIVE, which stands for Supportive Techniques for Rebuilding Independence & Vital Experiences, is a program of nonprofit AIM Services that supports people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, including those with traumatic brain injuries and those looking for nursing home transition or diversion.

 STRIVE is for people in Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties, but participants may also come from the immediate Capital Region along with Fulton and Montgomery counties as well.

AIM is headquartered at 4227 Route 50 in Wilton, near the intersections of Old Gick and Ingersoll roads. Previously, STRIVE was housed at a somewhat remote location in Fort Edward, which presented transportation obstacles for many people.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) has verified Albany Medical Center as a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center. 

Glens Falls Hospital is part of the Albany Med heath care system.

The Massry Family Children’s Emergency Center, which opened in 2018 as the region’s only designated pediatric emergency department, is the referral center for all seriously ill and injured children in a 25-county area of northeastern New York and western New England. Physicians in the center are fellowship-trained and board-certified in the specialty of pediatric emergency medicine.

The Level 1 verification is the highest a hospital can attain and comes after a rigorous review by the ACS Committee on Trauma to ensure the hospital is meeting all aspects of trauma care, prevention, rehabilitation, and more.

“The comprehensive and expert care provided to pediatric trauma patients at Albany Medical Center is second to none,” said Dr. Dennis P. McKenna, president and CEO of the Albany Med Health System. “As the region’s only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, we are demonstrating our commitment to elevate the level of critical and emergency care provided to our youngest patients.”

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce will present a workshop about employee burnout 7:30-9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 17, at SUNY Adirondack, Scoville Learning Center, 640 Bay Road, Queensbury.

The ARCC Workplace Health & Wellness Council is coordinating “Stop, Drop and Roll: Addressing Burnout in the Workplace.” Sue McManus, executive director of Adirondack Employee Assistance Program will be the presenter.

As a follow up to the discussion from last year’s event Reclaim Your Brain, audience feedback requested further discussion around the issue of burnout in the workplace, how to identify it and how to address it, ARCC officials said. 

The discussion will assist in defining and identifying burnout, creating mindfulness exercises, enhancing the understanding of vicarious and collective trauma, providing tips on having difficult conversations about fatigue in the workplace, and discussing what employees can do to recover.

McManus is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and certified employee assistance professional (CEAP). She has 40 years of experience in the mental wellness and addiction field, serving in many roles in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

The Workplace Health & Wellness Council of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) will presents an event dedicated to the mental health and wellness in the workplace.

The session is scheduled for 7:30-9 a.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Queensbury Hotel, 88 Ridge St., Glens Falls.

The speakers will be Sue McManus, program director with the Employee Assistance Program of the Adirondacks. She is a licensed registered mental nurse (RMN), and is also a qualified substance abuse professional. She has had a 38-year career in mental health and addiction services both overseas and in the United States.

The topic is “Reclaim Your Brain,” addressing the collective trauma of the past few years in dealing with the COVID pandemic—what it means for individuals, employees, community members and business owners. Sue McManus received her RMN license from the Broadland School of Nursing, Norwich England, her bachelor’s in clinical and counseling psychology from San Jose State University, California, and her master’s in social work (MSW) from SUNY Albany.

Glens Falls Hospital has been awarded full certification to the ISO 9001, a widely-accepted quality management system of DNV Healthcare USA Inc.

 “Glens Falls Hospital is dedicated to providing the safest and most effective healthcare services possible,” said Paul Scimeca, interim president and CEO of Glens Falls Hospital. “ISO 9001 certification not only reflects that mission but helps to empower it. The certificate is just a piece of paper, but the effort required to achieve it fundamentally transforms the way we do business. ISO 9001 is ideally suited to the complex, people-intensive challenges of running a hospital.”

 “Glens Falls Hospital has worked hard to achieve this certification, and they have done so with unwavering commitment from their top leadership to make their hospital the best it can be,” says Patrick Horine, president of DNV Healthcare USA Inc. “ISO 9001 certification isn’t just an award or trophy for something you’ve done. It is public evidence that you are at the top of your game with an obvious plan in place to make excellence an everyday objective.”

AIM Services Inc. has launched an I Am AIM 2021 annual campaign to raise funds and awareness for its programs.

The agency is one of the area’s largest providers of services to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. The campaign theme will highlight its commitment to empowering values of individuality, inclusion, independence, and integrity among their staff, their community, and in the lives of the people they support.

Services are provided in Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.

Officials said that over the course of 2021, I Am AIM will create opportunities for fundraising and engagement, including a new “I Am AIM” sweatshirt campaign, annual events such as Croquet on the Green and Vin Le Soir, various fundraising appeals, and other community collaborations to raise awareness and highlight the spirit behind the campaign.

“In my short time here at AIM, I am already so moved by how we truly embody our core values of inclusion, independence, individuality, and integrity,” said chief development and communications officer Bo Goliber. “This is part of what makes our approach to supporting individuals so innovative. It’s exciting to think about raising awareness and educating the community about that important aspect of our work and include them in our continued success.”

In continuation of AIM’s 2021 fundraising efforts, they will host their eighth annual Croquet on the Green, Garden Party & Picnic in the Park. This outdoor party and croquet tournament for all levels is scheduled to be in-person at Gavin Park on Tuesday, Aug. 3.

By Jill Nagy

After the stress of seeing to the needs of a seriously ill, hospitalized, child, a family really needs a break. Beginning this summer, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Capital Region will offer them exactly that: a long weekend in a cottage in Lake George, all expenses paid.

The respite will take place at the Krantz Cottage, a two-story cottage at 161 Ottawa St. in the middle of downtown Lake George. The formal project name is the Ronald McDonald Family Retreat at Krantz Cottage.

“We are very excited about this program, the first of its kind,” said David Jacobsen, chief executive officer of the regional Ronald McDonald organization. “We intend to replicate it in other areas.”

The building is the site of the former law office of the late Howard Krantz, a former village attorney.

The organization purchased the building from Krantz’s widow “with a large donation back,” and is in the process of renovating it. The inside has been completely gutted and is being rebuilt as two apartments. The exterior, now light blue clapboard, will be refinished in vinyl faux cedar shake shingles.

The first floor will be handicapped accessible for wheelchairs and people with other mobility aids. For the first year, the cottage will be available to one family at a time with the second floor occupied by housing caretakers, Jacobsen said. In the future, when COVID restrictions are eased, two families at a time will be able to use the cottage and caretakers will be hired from the local community.

The cottage will operate year-round but Jacobsen expects the greatest demand to be from July to October.  Families will be able to stay at the cottage from Saturday to Wednesday. Then, it will be cleaned and restocked for the next family.

The village mayor, chamber of commerce, neighbors, and other members of the community have all pitched in to help with the project.