Category Archives: Insurance / Medical Services

The state Department of Health (DOH) has again recognized Albany Medical Center Hospital and Glens Falls Hospital as Centers of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease (CEAD), and has awarded $2.35 million to each hospital in state funding over a five-year period.

As Centers of Excellence, Albany Med and Glens Falls Hospital serve as comprehensive resources to the healthcare community, providing diagnostic and consultative services to primary care providers in diagnosing patients, development of comprehensive care plans, assistance with the management of complex patient situations, and referrals of patients to specialty care.

Officials said their membership in the Albany Med Health System will allow Albany Med and Glens Falls Hospital to share resources and educational opportunities, making their services even more accessible to the people of our region and patients of the system, which also includes Columbia Memorial Health, Saratoga Hospital, and the Visiting Nurses Association of Albany.

“Alzheimer’s Disease is such a difficult diagnosis for patients and families – but programs like those offered by CEAD at Glens Falls Hospital and Albany Medical Center offer hope and tangible resources,” said Glens Falls Hospital Interim President and CEO Paul Scimeca. “Once again, the partnership with the Albany Med Health System preserves the local touch so important to the North Country while adding the strength of the region’s only tertiary care and teaching hospital.”

By Susan Elise Campbell

When Manuel Astruc, M.D., expanded his psychiatric practice years ago from a solo office to one with four nurse practitioners and specialists, he said “the pattern shift would have a bigger impact on the mental health of the community.” 

Now Astruc has introduced a new modality, the first in Saratoga County, that he believes will have the same positive effect. The little-known TMS technology he has acquired has been FDA approved for more than 10 years. 

“Mental health in the workplace and the impact of depression on company production is a problem,” he said.

According to the Center for Disease Control, “the percent of physician office visits with depression indicated on the medical record is 10.6” and “the percent of emergency department visits with depression indicated on the medical record is 11.2.”

“Even medical professionals and therapists don’t know it’s available,” said Astruc, who has lived and practiced in the Saratoga area for more than 26 years.

TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, a machine that stimulates deep areas of the brain and “advances the treatment of mental health disorders without medications or side effects,” he said.

One reason many sufferers of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and addiction have been unaware of the existence of TMS therapy is because it is expensive to bring into a psychiatric practice and costly to use in terms of time and manpower, according to Astruc. 

“The typical course of treatment takes four to six weeks with five visits per week,” said Dr. Astruc. “That is time-intensive for the practice as every-day visits put demands on staff.”

Dr. Andrew W. Garner, director of Adirondack Direct Primary Care in Glens Falls, has developed a membership-based model for his practice at 8 Harrison Ave.

Adirondack Direct Primary Care  is “a concierge level membership model” of care that provides patients with “prompt, personalized, high quality, physician-only medical care” for $100 per month, says Garner in a press release.

The fee for patients age 16-25 is $40 per month. Membership includes all office visit costs. No insurance is required, but patients maintain their health insurance for hospitalization and other services they may require.

He is accepting new patients.

“There is value to this model way beyond the dollar spent,” he said, noting it is “Priceless when you need care.”

He said the service allows a smaller patient panel that allows Dr. Garner to spend more time with patients to provide highly personalized, coordinated and comprehensive care to get to the root cause of problems.

SUNY Empire State College students, alumni, faculty, and staff are creating opportunities to support those in need in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From sewing masks to organizing blood drives and donating computers, to establishing a fund to assist students, the SUNY Empire community is ramping up its efforts across the state, officials said.

“It’s incredible how people have found helping others as a way to cope with this situation,” said college President Jim Malatras. “The giving back, the genuine concern for our neighbors, and the outpouring of support is overwhelming, and I expect it will only grow in the weeks to come.”

As reports of a global personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage began to come in, SUNY Empire alumnus David Theobald, CEO of Stat Staff Professionals (SSP) in Saratoga Springs, and his team not only donated their remaining N95 masks, they began to create hand-sewn masks. These colorful masks have been shared with SSP staff, family members, and clinical staff throughout the community.

BY BRIAN M. JOHNSON, MBA, CLTC

The COVID-19 crisis is an event like no other in our lifetime. It is forcing us to live life in a new way. In some cases we feel we have lost control of our future and lives.

Fear of the unknown and perceived loss of control are just two of the issues all of us are dealing with in our personal lives and in business. It’s now safe to say there will be no going “back to normal.” Instead, what we are currently experiencing IS the new normal and it will be this way for a while. So, how do you protect your business, operate during this unprecedented crisis, and emerge stronger on the other side?

There are myriad of insurance policies that address this concern such as business interruption coverage, disability insurance and business overhead expense insurance to name a few. However, I’m talking about an insurance that protects your most valuable asset, your people. Everyone in an organization plays integral role in the survival of a company.