Infertility: Not Only A Woman's Struggle

Women are often the first to undergo a battery of tests when conception is slow to happen, but nearly half of all infertility problems are directly attributed to the male. Although low sperm count is the most frequent culprit, surveys reveal that only 17 percent of men ever get tested.

Dr. Lani Burkman, fertility advocate and founder of LifeCell Dx, says testing is important, but there are also several things men can do to help boost fertility naturally:

1. Eat zinc and selenium-rich foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seafood, nuts and low-fat proteins help boost zinc and selenium levels. Selenium has been found to contribute to healthy sperm, while a zinc deficiency may contribute to reduced fertility.

2. Avoid alcohol and caffeine. Drinking alcohol and caffeine can affect male fertility. Burkman advises limiting caffeine to one cup per day, avoiding energy drinks, and avoiding alcohol intake before and while trying to conceive. She says moderate exercise can also help keep hormones happy, manage weight, and lower stress, all of which boost fertility.

3. Limit exposure to heat and chemicals. Exposure to excessive heat and chemicals, such as pesticides, fertilizers and radiation can lower sperm count. Using a laptop computer on the lap can also reduce fertility due to heat exposure.

4. Get some definitive answers. A recent survey conducted by SpermCheck, which manufactures home tests for sperm count found that 83 percent of men who are planning or trying to conceive assume they are fertile. "Most men make this assumption, but around half actually may have issues," says Dr. Burkman.

If you think you may have issues that affect your fertility, Dr. Burkman recommends making an appointment for a comprehensive sperm and fertility analysis. She explains that standard semen analysis can tell you the number of sperm, but cannot tell you if the sperm are fertile. At LifeCell Dx advanced semen analysis provides comprehensive sperm and fertility testing that is 90% reliable in predicting a man’s ability to produce a pregnancy.

Fortunately for Western New Yorkers, Dr. Burkman is located in Amherst. However, she is helping people all over the world. To learn more about Dr. Burkman’s pioneering work in fertility, including the past 12 years of research and development that has led to breakthroughs she is now able to offer to patients visit www.lifecelldx.com.

WNY Resource:
Lani Burkman, M.D., C.L.S.
LifeCell Dx
606 North French Road, Suite 6
Buffalo, New York 14228

716-408-3306
866-999-3296

Roswell Park Cancer Institute Launches Interactive iPad Application

Cancer center launches digital version of Roswellness magazine, enhances resources for mobile users

BUFFALO, NY — Embracing the expanded possibilities of how people are receiving their information in a technological age, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is sharing information on two new electronic platforms: a digital edition of its Roswellness consumer magazine and a mobile website optimized for smartphone users.  

“Taking advantage of new technology tools is attractive because they enable significant cost savings, along with broader reach, thus enhancing our ability to share information,” said Roswell Park President and CEO Donald L. Trump, MD. “These web- and application-based tools are interactive and more engaging than conventional print communications, and they give us even better ways to tell our story, share with the reader what we do and recommend to them resource links they should know about.”

RPCI is one of the first healthcare organizations to create an interactive digital publication. Roswellness, a print product since its inception, is now created using the same technology major publications like Time and Sports Illustrated use to craft their digital editions. The magazine’s first digital issue, “Redefining Survivorship,” available to all iPad users, was launched this month with the tagline “Touch. Learn. Live.” To download, users can go to the iPad App Store; select the “Roswellness: Redefining Survivorship” issue, and click on “Free” to begin download. When the download is complete, users can go to Library and click on the cover graphic to launch the interactive publication.

“Going digital with the magazine allowed us to create a fuller, more dynamic user experience,” said Julie Wesolowski,Roswellness editor, who will be demonstrating the publication in the Survivorship Tent at The Ride For Roswell June 22–23 at the University at Buffalo. “We incorporated lots of interactive elements into this first digital edition — an animated cover design, slide shows, video, maps and social media feeds. With all those elements at our disposal, we were able to include incredible resources for Ride For Roswell participants and volunteers.”

The new mobile website, launching June 25, will allow iPhone and Android smartphone users to access all content from RPCI’s website in a format optimized for mobile devices.

“Our trending over the years has shown an increase in our customers moving to our web-based applications, and now we’re seeing more than 10,000 users a month accessing RoswellPark.org from mobile phones,” says Laurel DiBrog, Vice President of Marketing, Planning and Public Affairs, “so our goal will be to continue to enable users to get all the functionality of our main site — information and navigational tools for our patients and our other audiences, job listings and application forms, clinical trials — in a format that’s more convenient and easier to read from those devices.”

Great Lakes Health Receives $15 Million for Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Care

New facility on ECMC Health Campus consolidates services

            BUFFALO, NY – June 18, 2012 – Great Lakes Health today announced that New York’s Health Department approved a $15 million grant to help Erie County Medical Center and Kaleida Health consolidate mental health and drug dependency treatment in one $25 million Regional Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (COE) at ECMC.

The new center, announced as a concept Feb. 13, 2012, is a physician-driven collaboration between ECMC and Kaleida. It will create a state-of-the-art, comprehensive psychiatric emergency program and new inpatient facilities to serve mental health patients in the Western New York community. 

“The HEAL-NY grant will help us create a Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health on the ECMC Health Campus, create a new and improved facility for the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program (CPEP), and continue our collaborative relationship for the good of our patients,” said Kaleida President and CEO James R. Kaskie. “Collaboration creates synergies and synergies get things done.”

“This is another tangible example of leveraging the talents, infrastructure, clinical expertise of both ECMC and Kaleida to benefit our community and the patients we serve,” he added.

The consolidated model will combine the resources of the ECMC and Buffalo General Medical Center behavioral health programs and will create a single, 180-bed inpatient psychiatric program. It will also continue ECMC’s current 22 detoxification beds and 20 inpatient chemical dependency rehabilitation beds.

The plan also calls for continuing ECMC’s and Kaleida’s Main Street outpatient clinics, along with clinics in Lancaster and North Buffalo. The state’s Healthcare Efficiency and Affordability Law-21 [HEAL-NY] funding significantly moves the project forward.

ECMC Corp. and Kaleida Health will fund the remaining $10 million. The new center, planned to open in March 2014, would expand ECMC’s current emergency behavioral health facilities from 6,500 square feet to 16,000 square feet.

“This center provides an opportunity to develop better quality, consolidated programs of emergency, outpatient, and inpatient services with one focus: the patients,” said ECMC CEO Jody L. Lomeo. “It will be state-of-the-art, and will deliver the care the mentally ill in our community deserve. That care will improve by having all our collective expert physicians and staff in one place and this is another example of the success of Great Lakes Health.”

Mental health care in Western New York, like the rest of the state, is fragmented and costly to the state’s Medicaid payment system. In the last 20 years, the Buffalo Psychiatric Center went from 1,200 beds to 160 and the Gowanda Psychiatric and West Seneca Developmental centers closed.

Other inpatient facilities downsized or closed in recent years and while outpatient services exist, there is a lack of coordination among community providers. Psychiatrists are also in short supply throughout the region.

This combination of factors created a crisis for mental health patients and their families in Western New York. Mentally ill and chemically dependent patients in crisis are, many times, forced to find care in crowded hospital emergency rooms, which leads to more costly episodic inpatient care and unsafe conditions for clinical staff.Dr 

            Dr. Yogesh Bakhai, ECMC Chief of Service of Psychiatry and Dr. Maria Cartegena, medical director, Buffalo General's Department of Inpatient Behavioral Health & Psychiatry, will lead this initiative.

“The region has needed a Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health for years,” said Dr. Bakhai. “Not only do we need to expand our facilities to meet the growing demand, we need to bring together the talents of the region to focus on creating a better model for our patients.”

“This project is solely about the needs of patients,” said Dr. Cartagena. “We recognize that creating exceptional quality care for our patients is not necessarily about a particular location, but about the dedication and expertise of the treatment team.”

“As a regional center for psychiatric care, ECMC has the facility and the room to expand our comprehensive services. Additionally, this would allow us to bring the expertise of our physicians and staff together with ECMC's experienced physicians and staff to create a true collaborative effort. The development of a center of excellence in psychiatry would most definitely improve the quality of care for behavioral health patients for generations to come.”

The integrated model will combine the current outpatient volumes of 44,300 annual visits at ECMC and Kaleida’s 68,829 annual visits with services provided onsite at ECMC and at its community-based locations.

Currently, ECMC has 132 licensed inpatient psychiatric beds with 2,297 discharges in 2011 and 57 inpatient rehabilitation/detoxification beds with 1,621 discharges in 2011. Buffalo General Medical Center has 91 licensed inpatient beds with 2,307 annual discharges.

This consolidation represents the third major initiative of Great Lakes Health System to merge the services of ECMC and Kaleida. The first created the Gates Vascular Institute on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in collaboration with the University at Buffalo and the second being the Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation & Kidney Care on ECMC’s campus, both HEAL-funded initiatives to restructure and right size the region’s health care.  

New Memory Cafe For Caregivers

Erie County Caregiver Coalition launches monthly Memory Café events
for family caregivers and their loved ones who have dementia.

Family caregivers often find themselves, and their loved one who has dementia, left out of previously enjoyed social activities. They sit home, wishing they could do something “normal” such as go to a movie or out with friends, but that may no longer be possible if dementia has taken away their loved ones’ ability to function comfortably and appropriately in a social setting.  Memory Cafés are a place where family caregivers and their memory impaired loved ones can gather for shared fun activities.  Caregivers will be able to join their family member in planned activities, or take a few minutes to sit back, relax and chat with others who understand the responsibilities of caregiving. There is no cost.  Refreshments are provided and friendships will be made in a low stress, dementia friendly setting.   A Memory Café afternoon and a Memory Café Movie will be held each month at Weinberg Campus in Amherst and at Our Lady of Victory Senior Neighborhood in Lackawanna.   For more information, call Erie County Department of Senior Services: (716) 858-2177 or e-mail: caregiver@erie.gov.  A flier listing the dates and times for 2012 can be downloaded under the Caregiving tab at: www2.erie.gov/seniorservices.

Concierge Dental Group Cuts Ribbon For Contemporary Office Williamsville Neighbors Help Open New Dental Facility

Buffalo, NY (June 4, 2012) --- Concierge Dental Group, PLLC will celebrate its opening at a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 12, 2012 at 5 p.m. at 33 Melrose Road in Williamsville, New York with staff, neighbors, and community officials in attendance.

Concierge Dental Group, led by Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer and Dr. Julia Oppenheimer, will open the doors to a modernized office in Williamsville, NY on June 12, 2012 and become the newest premiere location for dental care in Williamsville. The collaboration of improvements in dental technology and special attention to patient desire will provide patients with a comfortable dental experience from Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer and his wife and partner, Dr. Julia Oppenheimer. The office features an array of advanced dental technologies including automated biofilm elimination systems, cone beam 3-D x-rays and a digital optical impression scanning system all of which enhance patient safety and comfort.

“We wanted our patients to have a customer service experience of a five star hotel, as well as extraordinary dental care integrating technology rarely found in any office anywhere.” says Dr. Oppenheimer. “In creating this tranquil and sophisticated environment we utilize aromatherapy and fine art featuring many well known local artists."

Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer focuses on minimally invasive dental implant and mini dental implant treatment and is a key opinion leader in the field. All stages of the implant procedure are completed in the office, a rare characteristic of dental offices in WNY. Dr. Oppenheimer designed a dental operating room for hands-on training to accommodate observation by dentists seeking continuing education. The operating room is equipped with a medical grade, high definition video camera for viewing surgery details in the onsite conference room or streaming via webcast to anywhere in the world.

“My top priority has always been providing my patients with 'concierge' treatment from start to finish. It’s what distinguishes us from everyone else. Most dentists’ only work hard learning new techniques and treatments, my staff and I also work to make our patients feel appreciated. We know our patients deserve it and opening this quality facility provides the perfect environment for It.” explains Dr. Oppenheimer.

About Concierge Dental Group, PLLC: Quality dental care provided by Dr. Benjamin Oppenheimer and Dr. Julia Oppenheimer serving Williamsville, Amherst, Niagara Falls, and Buffalo and making patients excited to smile again. The practice is devoted to minimally invasive implant, cosmetic and general dentistry. Concierge Dental Group, PLLC provides a wide array of dental care including Mini Dental Implants, Dental Implants, Ceramic Crowns and Veneers, and more. Visit www.drmdi.com for more information.

People Inc. Lilly Senior Living in Blasdell Hosts Open House and Yard Sale

People Inc. Lilly Senior Living in Blasdell Hosts Open House and Yard Sale

Applications Accepted for Affordable and Safe Apartments

If your mom or dad is looking for affordable housing or if you are a senior looking to downsize, consider People Inc.’s Lilly Senior Living. To showcase its apartment building, People Inc. Lilly Senior Living will host an Open House and Multi-family Yard Sale on Friday, June 8, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at 36 Arthur Avenue in Blasdell (border of South Buffalo). The affordable senior living complex is conveniently located to restaurants, Hamburg shopping district, McKinley Mall, Erie County Fairgrounds and churches.

Whether thinking of downsizing, removing the burden of owning a home or renting an overly expensed apartment, People Inc.’s Lilly Senior Living provides seniors the chance to live affordably. Apartments are for individuals age 62 and older who meet federally mandated income guidelines. Applications are being accepted and tours will be available during the Open House.

A multi-family yard sale will be held in conjunction with the Open House event. Household goods, furniture, books, games, clothing and more will be available for sale. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the tenant fund to support activities.

For more information about the Open House or Multi-family Yard Sale, call 716-821-1230.

People Inc. manages 17 senior apartment locations throughout Western New York providing safe, affordable housing for seniors age 62 and older who meet income requirements. For more information about other locations, call 716-817-9090.

People Inc. is a not-for-profit health and human services agency providing programs and services to more than 10,000 people with special needs, their families, and seniors throughout Western New York. Since 1971, People Inc. has assisted individuals to achieve greater degrees of independence and productivity.