Category Archives: Health / Community Services

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.

By Susan E. Campbell

Women’s Health, part of the Hudson Headwaters Health Network, reopened its doors on April 6 following months of interior renovation.

The changes make the center at 90 South St. in Glens Falls “an optimal experience” with more comprehensive services for women and their families, according to practice leader Sally Howard.

“We expanded up and down,” said Howard, who has been with the practice for three years. “The physical expansion of the facility creates an environment where patients and providers feel they will get the best care.” 

Hudson Headwaters Health Network has centers from Champlain down to Moreau and west to North Creek. The recently re-named Women’s Health became a part of the network  in 2013, said Dr. Ted Denious, who co-leads it with Dr. Danielle Goertzen.

By Christine Graf

Medical device manufacturer AngioDynamics is experiencing a decline in sales as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the three months prior to the pandemic, the company reported sales of $69.8 million. This represented a 6.5 percent increase compared to the prior-year quarter, according to the company. The growth was in all three of its business units—oncology, vascular interventions and therapies, and vascular access.

Officials said sales for medical device manufacturers began to plummet after hospitals were forced to postpone non-essential surgeries—surgeries that are able to be delayed without placing undue risk to the current or future health of a patient. These surgeries typically account for 40 to 50 percent of revenue at U.S. hospital.

“Because our customers are healthcare providers, many of the cases we support have been reclassified as elective,” said AngioDynamics communications director Saleem Cheeks.