Category Archives: Health & Fitness

Fort Hudson Nursing Center will receive $800,000 through a New York State grant to increase training capacity in healthcare facilities.  This highly competitive program was open to all nursing homes, hospitals, and diagnostic and treatment centers in New York. Only a small percentage of applications were approved for a portion of the $22.5 million available statewide over a two-year period.

Fort Hudson’s successful grant application provides two opportunities for furthering health careers during 2024 and 2025.  The first provides funding for current Fort Hudson certified nursing assistants to pursue their nursing degree. In addition to covering tuition and fees, selected students will have a reduced work schedule during the program with supplemental financial support

The second program will provide paid training for new certified nursing assistants just entering the field. Fort Hudson has offered free training and currently offers several classes throughout the year.  This grant extends the training opportunities to evening programs, with all trainees paid during the training period. In addition, there is substantial investment in post-training mentor oversight and support for both certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses as they begin their new careers

Amanda Waite, Nursing Center Administrator, stated “Fort Hudson is committed to supporting its talented workforce and creating opportunities for those who wish to pursue advancement. Our goal is to open doors for those who might otherwise be unable to take this step and be a partner in their future success at Fort Hudson.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Looking into the year ahead, Glens Falls Hospital is expanding or introducing several services designed to help improve the experience of being a patient in, or a visitor to, the hospital, according to President and CEO Paul Scimeca. 

“We are very proud of the care we provide,” said Scimeca. “We are a safety net for a very large service area, which covers 6,000 square miles of the Adirondacks.”

Many patients funneling down to Glens Falls Hospital from this large region need care for age-related medical conditions, reflecting the demographics of the general population. 

Others have behavioral issues to address and few places to go. To benefit this segment of the community, Scimeca said the hospital is in the process of relocating its Behavioral Health Crisis Unit so that it can be expanded from seven beds to 13.

Two Albany Med Health System facilities—Saratoga Hospital and Glens Falls Hospital—have earned high grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group for fall 2022.  

The two hospitals lead the Capital Region, with grades of A for Saratoga Hospital and B for Glens Falls Hospital. These high marks place both hospitals in the top 25 percent of New York state facilities for this report. 

The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care.

“Our Leapfrog score reflects our culture of safety and 24/7 commitment to protecting patients from preventable harm and errors,” Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Jill J. VanKuren said. “The A grade is a tribute to our team and a source of assurance to our patients, who can be confident they’re receiving care at one of New York’s safest hospitals.” 

By Jill Nagy

For people unable to go to Grounded on Glen, Kayla Kraft’s meditation studio, the studio can come to you. Kraft has transformed a former school bus into a movable meditation studio.

The bus was completely gutted from top to bottom, Kraft said. It now has vinyl planking on the floor and mock subway tile on the walls. It is outfitted with lights, heat, generator power, and diffusers. It can accommodate up to six participants at a time.

The bus is parked behind Grounded on Glen, the non-mobile studio at 282 Glen St. in Glens Falls, “all set up and ready for you to come on the bus,” Kraft said. 

“We go wherever,” she said, with a focus on school systems, health care facilities, and first responders. The aim is to promote relaxation through meditation, yoga, and similar modalities.

“We just launched in September,” Kraft said, “and we got really busy.”

By Jill Nagy

Behavioral Health Services North has solidified its presence in Queensbury by purchasing the building it had been occupying as a tenant. 

The organization, based in Plattsburgh, took over the mental health and substance treatment services previously provided by Glens Falls Hospital.

Behavioral Services North became a sub-tenant in the offices the hospital had been renting. On July 30, they closed on the purchase of the 36,000-square-foot office building at 25 Willowbrook Road from developer Rich Schermerhorn. The purchase price was $2.85 million.

“We’re really excited to be in Washington and Warren counties to serve a population in need of services,” said David LePage, chief financial officer of Behavioral Sciences. 

Currently, they are serving approximately 1,400 clients in Washington and Warren counties and they have waiting lists for both mental health and substance abuse care, he added.  The COVID pandemic has “only made it worse,” increasing the need for services.

By Christine Graf
According to national data, doctors in the United States logged more than 1 billion virtual telemedicine appointments during 2020. Its usage peaked in April at which time 69 percent of all patient visits were virtual.
At Glens Falls Hospital, no telemedicine system was in place when the COVID-19 pandemic began. As a result, administrators had to scramble to get a system in place.
“This was all new to all of us,” said Patti Hammond, vice president for physician practice management. “One of the reasons was that the insurance companies including Medicare were not paying for virtual visits as though it was an in-person visit. Because of COVID, there were some emergency approvals, and the insurance companies said they would pay for that visit just as though the patient was in your office setting.”
In a matter of 48 hours, Glens Falls Hospital had a telemedicine system up and running. The hospital uses the Doxy.me platform and pays a monthly fee for each provider who uses the tool.
“Because we are a health care organization, we had to have a system that was HIPPA compliant. You can’t just do a Zoom call,” said Hammond.
Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, a group of more than 250 providers practicing out of 20-plus locations, implemented a telemedicine platform in the spring of 2019.

By Maria Savino
Tis’ the season for health and wellness resolutions. While there is no shortage of diet plans and exercise regimes to follow in a New Year, I believe the most important aspect to achieve any health goal is the mindset you have going into it.
Many wellness resolutions are created from a place of lack and restriction.
For example: “I am going to cut out processed foods,” “I’m going to give up soda” or “I am going to stop sitting all day.”
Although these goals have positive intentions, the mindset behind them is not setting anyone up for success.
As a health coach, I instruct clients to set wellness goals from the mindset of positivity and addition, rather than restriction and subtraction. This mindset shift is a key component of their long term success for two reasons.
The first reason pertains to how we are naturally wired. As human beings, it never feels good when things are taken away or restricted, especially if those things have given you a sense of comfort or happiness in the past. For example, overeating can be a form of comfort, binge watching hours of television can provide stress relief, or grabbing that afternoon chocolate bar can promote a sense of joy during an otherwise dull or stressful day.

By Jill Nagy
“We’re breathing in a lot of stuff in the air that we cannot see,” said Patrick Schmidt, vice president of sales at Air Pro Solutions, a new business selling, installing and servicing air filtration systems.
When he and other member of his sales staff visit a potential customer, they bring along an air quality meter that can measure that “stuff in the air” and then show it disappearing as one of the company’s Air Box filters goes to work.
Air Pro, located at 229 Washington St. in Saratoga Springs, services an area including Saratoga and Albany counties, the Glens Falls area and the North Country. They are independent dealers for Air Box units manufactured in the Carolinas. Currently, the company employs three sales people and two service people.