Step Into Your Brilliance

Just a reminder that if you haven’t RSVP’d yet, please remember to do so for “Step Into Your Brilliance x 2,” the second workshop hosted by Innovative Placements featuring Sarah Haykel, Professional Certified Life Coach and Movement/Dance Specialist onWednesday, January 8^th 2014 at 6:30 p.m.  You’ll not want to miss this workshop, especially if you didn’t attend the first one! If you attended the first workshop, we invite you back again as Sarah imparts new information, picking up right where we left off and reinforcing some of the valuable tips learned last time.

Place: Ashker’s Juice Bar & Café on 1002 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo NY 14222

Time:  6:00 p.m. – 6:30 mingling/networking with fresh juice samples and appetizers

            6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Step Into Your Brilliance workshop followed by Q&A

Free and open to the public to attend…goodwill donations accepted but truly, only if you feel moved to do so in the moment or can afford itJ

Workshop Purpose:

·         Welcoming What’s Present

·         Body Centered Awareness: Learn to Trust your Inner Guidance

·         “Free to Be” Process

·         Empowerment: Identifying triggers and going from lack to wholeness in all areas of your life

·         Sharing your special gifts and talents with the world; become even more of an inspiring role model for others.

Please RSVP at the latest by this Monday, January 6^th if you’d like to attend!

Sarah Haykel is an activist for personal growth and transformation as a professional certified life coach and movement/dance specialist, supporting clients in greater body centered awareness for personal empowerment, and optimal health and wellbeing in all areas of life. 

Sarah acquired her BFA in Painting from SUNY Fredonia and is a Professional Certified Life Coach through Coaching for Transformation, an ICF accredited training program. Training and dancing throughout the world, Sarah specializes in Latin dances of the Caribbean, Breakdancing, Freestyle Hip-Hop and Movement Improvisation, which she refers to as Sacred Movement. Sarah is also an Alternatives to Violence Project trained facilitator and has her Reiki 1 attunement.

Most recently, Sarah and her twin sister Laura Haykel were chosen as one of 12 distinguished speakers for the TedxBuffaloWomen Conference held on Thursday, December 5^th at the Buffalo & Erie Public Downtown Library.

Hope to see you at this fun, informative, playful and empowering event. Again, please RSVP no later than Monday, Jan. 6^th – there’s no better way to kick off 2014 than with new ideas, inspiration and empowerment!

Beware of Frostbite: Tips from a Local Emergency Room Physician

With temperatures dropping into the single digits, Western New Yorkers need to be smart when venturing outside. There's a higher potential for frostbite; hours or even minutes spent unprotected in the cold can cause you serious injury.

Layers will help you to stay warm, but if any part of your body is exposed, you run the risk of frost bite. While you can get frost bite in minutes, hypothermia, which is the cooling of your core body temperature, usually takes longer.

"Your body's natural response is to send less blood to the surface because it wants to keep the warm blood in the middle of your body and not send it out to get cold and prevent hypothermia, that decreased circulation makes that skin more vulnerable to actually freezing," said Dr. Raquel Martin, Chief of Emergency Medicine at Kenmore Mercy Hospital.

Warning signs of frostbite

• White or grayish-yellow skin

• Skin that feels unusually firm or waxy

• Numbness

 Warning signs of hypothermia
• Shivering, exhaustion
• Confusion, fumbling hands
• Memory loss, slurred speech
• Drowsiness

Dr. Martin recommends, “Spend a little too much time outside, even if it's not that cold out and you could wind up taking a trip to the emergency room. Cooling your body temperature just one or two degrees colder than normal could be very serious and you should seek medical care.”

Leaving as little skin exposed to the cold as possible is the best way to prevent long term harm.

She recommends that if frostbite does strike, lukewarm water is the best treatment, not sitting in front of a warm fire. While alcohol may make you feel warmer, it actually harms the body’s temperature controls and makes you oblivious to the harm that the cold is causing you.

These Are Not Your Grandmother's Retirement Homes

Getting Older at Canterbury Woods Ain’t What it Used to Be!

by Annette Pinder

As baby boomers enter retirement age, there is increased demand for services that meet their needs. “Our residents want to live in an environment where they feel comfortable, fulfilled, engaged, and, above all else, cared for,” says President and CEO Rob Wallace.

Wallace says, “Canterbury Woods caters to people age 62 and over. Our singular focus is to provide our residents and their families a dynamic and fulfilling culture, with amenities and services that are second to none, as well as the peace of mind that comes with knowing they can receive the care they need and deserve, all in one community.”

The day I visited Canterbury Woods I felt as though I was on a luxury cruise as I observed people examining artwork in the clubhouse over drinks with friends, and a young family and their children sharing lunch with grandma and grandpa. After perusing the lunch the menu, I decided on a shrimp cocktail, salmon and squash.

Considering there are more Americans over 65 than in any other point in history, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there is a greater demand for high-end active-living communities than ever before. The health benefits of these communities include:

Companionship. When adult children are busy raising their own families, and friends and co-workers aren’t as accessible due to retirement, it’s a great time to forge new relationships and participate in new activities with those who have similar interests.

Easier Lifestyle. Imagine living in a home that offers worry-free living, complete with interior and exterior maintenance, 24-hour security and even room service if desired!

Activity-based fun. Activities include a workout room, game center, heated indoor saltwater pool and spa, yoga and Tai Chi, art and swim classes, a cultural arts studio, library and media center, planned recreational and cultural activities, and so much more. Should residents prefer solo activities, there are walking paths, nature trails, formal Zen gardens, winter gardens and greenhouses, and a meditation room. And if you’re interested in an ongoing learning there’s always Canterbury University!

Other services. Guest suites, room service, and a salon, are available. When it’s time to transition from an active-lifestyle home to one that has nursing staff or assisted living the transition is seamless for that stage of life too.

“Canterbury Woods offers the premier retirement living experience in Western New York,” says Wallace.

Now Wallace is looking forward to the ability to offer luxury senior living at the site of the former Millard Fillmore Gates Circle Hospital in Buffalo. Plans for the new location call for approximately 50 independent living apartments and five assisted living units for those who prefer a city setting.

WNY Resource:
Canterbury Woods is owned and operated by Episcopal Church Home and Affiliates and is the region’s first continuing care retirement community, featuring 40 patio homes and 203 luxury apartments on 62 acres in Williamsville. For a complimentary, no obligation private tour, call 716-929-5817 or email sfranco@echa.org.

Statler Center ready to start 2014 training schedule

The National Statler Center for Careers in Hospitality Service 

A Program of the Olmsted Center for Sight

As we near the end of 2013, we are gearing up for the start of the first National Statler Center training program in 2014.  While a few seats wait to be filled for our forty-fourth Statler class and twelfth STEC class, we are excited to welcome people from eight different states for the first round of our hospitality and contact center/customer service curriculum, beginning on January 15.

As a reminder, there are three more sessions to be offered in 2014, including a fall session to be held in Albany, NY, allowing for easy access to people in eastern New York State and into surrounding Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

Training Calendar 2014

 

Statler Hospitality Training Program                                               

Buffalo, NY   --      January 15-March 27                              
Buffalo, NY   --      April 30-July 10
Albany, NY   --       September 10-November 20

STEC Customer Service & Contact Center Program                    

Buffalo, NY   --      February 6-March 27
Buffalo, NY   --      May 22-July 10                             

Albany, NY   --       October 2-November 20

Openings exist for each of the upcoming programs. If you or someone you know would be able to take advantage of our unique training, NOW is a great time to contact us.

Go to “How to Apply for Enrollment” at www.StatlerCenter.org or contact Patrick Keyes at 716-888-4526 or PKeyes@StatlerCenter.org

As seen in the Buffalo News

Statler Grad Ray Zylinski, a newcomer to the Olmsted call center, notices an increase in the number of holiday calls.

Statler Grad Sterling Smalley, right. And Bruce Seals, left, take calls in Olmsted Contact Center. 

Counselors come from Utah to learn about Statler Center

A lot of effort is put into recruiting students and courting state counselors with the message of the National Statler Center’s unique training and placement efforts, including travel, tours, conference calls and more.

In early December, we were thrilled to welcome Steve Price and Everette Bacon all the way from Salt Lake City, UT, to Buffalo, the take part in a day long tour, orientation and conversation with the Statler Center staff about our program and what we can do to provide training for some of the blind and visually impaired residents of Utah. They first learned about our program during a visit from Renee DiFlavio over the summer – she made worthwhile detour during her westward vacation. Thanks to her presentation, important conversations paved the way for our colleagues in Utah to visit Buffalo!

The visit proved educational for both parties, and we anticipate hosting many future students from Utah. We hope this is the start of a long and fruitful relationship. To our new friends in Utah, we say Welcome to the Statler family!

Developing ties to an expanding community

One of the growing initiatives at the Olmsted Center for Sight and the National Statler Center is the effort to continue to heighten awareness of the important work that we do among the general population. Through fraternal, business, and social groups, members of the Olmsted and Statler Management team are out and about in the community to change our image from being the “best kept secret” in Buffalo to being a thriving part of the Western New York landscape.

If you work for a company that engages in philanthropic activity, or is looking for qualified entry-level workers and could accommodate hiring Statler Center graduates or people going through the Olmsted Center’s rehab training, come check us out and learn what we can do! Maybe your business can take advantage of our call center capacity to answer after-hours and weekend calls, or to help with volume – if so, arrange to see our call center operation and learn how we can help.

With such a vast and varying pool of services provided by OCS and the Statler Center, we encourage you to help us gain the recognition we continue to strive toward in the Western New York community. For more information, contact Chaunci Hinton at 716-888-4629 orCHinton@StatlerCenter.org. 

  

Disabled Veterans Eligible for Statler Training

The National Statler Center has been approved by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to provide employment training and placement services for disabled veterans. With full support from Veterans Affairs, Statler encourages all disabled veterans to contact Patrick Keyes at Statler to discuss enrollment. Reach Patrick at (716-888-4526) or pkeyes@StatlerCenter.org and please spread this word to the disabled veterans you know.

 

 

Open House of “ECMC Surgical Center”

BUFFALO, NEW YORK; December 30, 2013—Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) Corporation today held an open house of the expansion of its operating rooms in the new ECMC Surgical Center, including two new state-of-the-art operating suites with related recovery and surgical service space. The operating suite is 25,000 square feet in size and includes two additional “shelled” operating rooms prepared for future expansion.

The ECMC Surgical Center is located on the first floor of the new Ambulatory Centerbuilding on the ECMC Health Campus. The new operating room suites in a separate building include the latest technology for minimally invasive procedures, on-site diagnostic pathology, pre-operative and post-operative private patient “bays,” and a PeriOptimum patient tracking system to communicate real-time patient status to families and the healthcare team.

The new suites are needed because of significant increases in ECMC’s surgical volume in recent years. This is specifically related to an increase in emergency room volume; consolidation of all Great Lakes Health transplantation programs for kidney and pancreas transplantation on the ECMC Health Campus; and an increase in surgical volume generated from the hiring of/partnering with new surgeons and physicians. ECMC has also seen significant surgical growth in orthopedics and has started a new plastic and reconstructive surgery service, including head and neck and breast cancer surgery.

“This opening completes one more exciting expansion as we continue to grow and provide the best patient experience for our community,” said ECMC CEO Jody L. Lomeo. “This expansion along with other developments on the ECMC Health Campus has accounted for more than $200 million in patient-focused capital improvements and investments on our Grider Street campus in the last few years.”

ECMC’s Outpatient Dialysis Center is also located on the ground floor of theAmbulatory Center building, and medical office space on the second and third floors is in the final phase of construction.

The Regional Center of Excellence for Transplantation and Kidney Care is now entering its third year of operation. Last February, ECMC dedicated the new Terrace View Long-Term Care Facility, moving the former Erie County nursing home from Alden to the ECMC Health Campus. In recent months, ECMC also completed a re-design of its front entrance roadways for more efficient traffic flow and an expansion of its parking facilities. Early in 2014, ECMC will open its all new Behavioral Health Center of Excellence on the ECMC Health Campus.

The home and the centers of excellence are part of a five-year, $200 million project on ECMC’s Health Campus that when complete will provide good-paying jobs and health-focused economic development centered on Buffalo’s East Side.

Transformation of ECMC’s Health Campus, which now has 550 beds and had 63,918 ER visits in 2012, actually began in June 2010. ECMC used $2.9 million to expand its Emergency Department, with eight new trauma exam rooms and two new trauma surgical suites within the medical center building. ECMC is already home to the state’s top-rated Adult Regional Trauma Center.

With an estimated overall economic impact on the region of $750 million, ECMC has not required any operating subsidy from the county since 2008.

What Bystanders Should Know About CPR and Why

Read an interview and watch the video published on MedPageToday.com featuring Chair UB Department of Medicne, Dr. Anne B. Curis,

Thomas O’Connor, MD, Anesthesiologist, Joins Invisionhealth

Board Certified Anesthesiologist Thomas O'Connor, will be joining InvisionHealth as their Chief of Anesthesiology on January 1, 2014. Dr. Tom O'Connor earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Notre Dame University and his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His post-graduate training in internal medicine was at the Buffalo General Hospital and  in anesthesia at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dr. O'Connor served in the US Air Force as chief of anesthesia at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida. Since his return to Buffalo in 1976 he has served as chairman of anesthesia at three area hospitals including Kenmore Mercy where he continues to work as a staff anesthesiologist.

Dr. O'Connor  has served as principal investigator for several studies dealing with the prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting and he  has presented his technique for management of the difficult airway at local and national meetings. 

In addition to the NY State and Erie County Medical Societies, Dr. O'Connor is a member of the Catholic Medical Association and the Society for Airway Management.

For more information regarding InvisionHealth, please visit www.invisionhealth.com or call 716-631-3555.

AMHERST MEALS ON WHEELS SUPPLYING ELDERLY & HOMEBOUND WITH EMERGENCY FOOD KITS FOR WINTER WEATHER AHEAD

Keeping Our Community Safe and Nourished During the Winter Months

Amherst, New York – Amherst Meals on Wheels (AMOW) has prepared and distributedemergency food kits to elderly and homebound clients in Amherst in preparation for winter weather. The kits contain a 3-day supply of food and have been given to clients for over 20 years. The food items were donated by the Williamsville East Field Hockey Team and from the Food Pantry at the Amherst Center for Senior Services. Members and staff at the center regularly donate food to the Food Pantry to keep it stocked.

In addition, AMOW provides the Town of Amherst Police and Engineering Departments with a supply of emergency kits to deliver during winter storms or power outages that include bottled water, a flashlight with batteries, hand warmers, a whistle, first aid supplies, emergency procedures brochure and a Winter Safety Information Guide.

When roads are closed and streets are impassable, AMOW puts their phone tree into action – contacting all of their 260 clients to check on them and be sure they have enough food and medicine. If a client is in need, AMOW contacts the Amherst Police and they then deliver a kit to the client’s home.

Amherst Meals on Wheels serves approximately 260 homebound, elderly or handicappedAmherst residents every weekday. Meals are prepared and packaged fresh each day at theAmherst Senior Center and delivered by a group of dedicated volunteers.

The program provides two nutritious meals a day, delivered directly to the recipient’s home, plus the reassurance of a volunteer’s friendly visit. Clients pay a nominal fee for this service, and Amherst Meals on Wheels relies upon fund-raising events to keep costs low. The agency welcomes all contributions and new volunteers.

For more information, please call Amherst Meals on Wheels at 636-3065. The AmherstSenior Center is located at 370 John James Audubon Parkway in Amherst.

Looking for a unique holiday gift idea? Check out the Museum of disAILITY for One-of-a-kind Gifts

Looking for that unique gift on your shopping list this holiday season? Look no further than the charming Museum Store located inside the Museum of disABILITY History.

The Museum Store offers merchandise made by individuals of People Inc. Day Habilitation programs. Individuals have created unique items such as silk scarves, wooden pens, jewelry, cement garden turtles, hand painted wine glasses and pillows. Each item is lovingly hand-made and no two items are the same. Holiday cards are also for sale with designs made by individuals served by People Inc.

Many items are now 50 percent off, including: Braille jewelry, Nike golf balls, scented candles and apparel. The Abandoned Asylums of New England coffee table book and 2014 calendar make great gifts for architecture and photography enthusiasts! Several different books are for sale, including children’s books from the Ivan the Invacar series.

In addition to the many hand-crafted and one-of-a-kind items from the Museum Store, the gift of a Museum of disABILITY History Membership makes an ideal gift for family and friends. There are five different levels of memberships, with each receiving a variety of perks.

Community members are encouraged to visit the Museum of disABILITY History to see the latest exhibits. All profits from the store benefit the Museum of disABILITY History’s educational outreach programs.

Gift wrapping is also available for only $1.00 per gift (five gifts per person). Customers can even bring in gifts that were bought from other places and staff will wrap them. The Museum Store is open in conjunction with the Museum gallery space, Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 3826 Main Street in Buffalo.

People Inc. is a not-for-profit health and human services agency providing programs and services to more than 12,000 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.

The Museum of disABILITY History, a project of People Inc., is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and display of artifacts relating to the history of people with disabilities. The mission is to tell the story of the lives, triumphs, and struggles of people with disabilities as well as society’s reactions. The Museum of disABILITY History, located at 3826 Main Street in Buffalo, NY, offers educational exhibits, programs and activities that expand community awareness.

NY State of Health Enrollment Deadline Nears

Individuals who are planning to buy health coverage through the NY State of Health marketplace have until December 23^rd to do so if they want coverage to start on New Year’s Day.

Dec. 23, 2013, is the deadline for individuals to enroll in a health insurance plan in the marketplace for coverage to begin on Jan. 1, 2014. You can still enroll in a plan until the end of March, but coverage will start on or after Feb. 1, 2014.

NY State of Health at nystateofhealth.ny.gov is the online marketplace where you can shop, compare and enroll in a new health plan.

“It’s not too late for individuals to do their homework and enroll in a health plan that participates in the marketplace,” said Art Wingerter, president, Univera Healthcare. “So far, we’ve been impressed by the number of individuals who’ve researched their options and called us or used our online tools.”

In October and November, more than 3,000 people used the Univera Healthcare online tax credit calculator. About 6,000 individuals also visited the company’s online provider finder tool. Many individuals use the provider finder tool to determine whether their doctors and hospitals are part of the Univera Healthcare network. The health insurer’s call center daily handles hundreds of marketplace-related phone calls.

To research your options:
· Learn about health insurance. Watch videos or read up at http://www.youtube.com/user/Univerahealthcare, univerahealthcare.com/findcoverage, ornystateofhealth.ny.gov.

· See if you’re eligible for financial help. Your premium may be reduced if your household income is below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $45,960 for individuals or $94,200 for a family of four. For help, go to chooseunivera.com/TCCalculator.

· Determine your health care needs. List your typical health services and costs in a given year. Use the list to pick a plan that fits your needs. If you go to the doctor a lot, for example, you may want a plan with lower copays for doctor visits.

· See which health plan works with your doctor. It can be costly to see a doctor, pharmacy or hospital that’s not in a health plan’s “network.” You may need to check this information with your provider or health insurer. For help, go to univerahealthcare.com/findprovider.

· Consider all costs. Consider all health plan costs, such as premiums, deductibles and copays.
Individuals who have marketplace-related questions, including inquiries about non-subsidized coverage, can call Univera Healthcare at 1-888-370-6947.