Health

Planned Parenthood Organizations Merging

Alex Crichton — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:18:47 +0000

Planned Parenthood of the Rochester/Syracuse Region and Planned Parenthood of Western New York are merging, and the outgoing CEO of the local agency says it will be a stronger organization as a result.
Jim Stewart says this puts together the strengths of two very effective organizations in a single entity that is strengthened for the future.
He says between the two organizations, they serve about 36-thousand patients, 50 thousand education clients, and locally about 14-hundred survivors of sexual assault.

URMC Lab Mixes Medicine and Engineering to Tackle Challenges in Vascular Surgery

Kate O'Connell — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:06 +0000

Abdominal aortic aneurysms are one of the top ten causes of death in men over the age of 55, and upstate New York has higher rates of this condition than the rest of the country.

Researchers are now working on patient-specific diagnosis and treatment for the condition.

Doctor: "Celebrity's Double Mastectomy a Shared Reality for Many Local Women"

LeShea Agnew — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:55:38 +0000

Celebrity actress Angelina Jolie recently underwent a double mastectomy after learning she had an increased risk for breast cancer. A doctor at the University of Rochester's Medical Center says this is the same life-changing decision thousands of women in our area are forced to make every year.

Lakeside Lays Off More than 300

Randy Gorbman — Tue, 14 May 2013 17:48:39 +0000

A now-closed Brockport hospital has provided more information about the recent layoffs there.

Lakeside Hospital, which closed in April, has filed paperwork with the State Labor Department informing them that 343 people were laid off as a result of the hospital closing.

In addition, hospital officials say that about 25 more workers will be laid off over the next two to six months as their administrative work is wrapped up.

Lakeside also informed the state that eleven jobs at the Beikirch Care Center were cut.

Ban On Smoking Includes More Places In State Parks

Randy Gorbman — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:10:22 +0000

(AP) — Smoking will be banned in more places within New York state parks this summer.

The governor's office announced Friday that the state is expanding the number of smoke-free areas at state parks, pools and historic sites, including many of New York's popular beaches.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo says residents should be able to enjoy the outdoors "free of pollution from secondhand smoke."

Brooks Fires Monroe Community Hospital Director

Randy Gorbman — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:15:44 +0000

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks has fired the executive director of Monroe Community Hospital.

Todd Spring was removed from that job Friday after a state report accused him of mistreating a patient there by taking his wheelchair away.

Brooks says she fired Spring after an independent review of hospital practices and procedures. She says it is apparent that Spring did not live up to her standards for excellence in care at the county nursing home.

Health Department Director Explains Reasons for Retirement

LeShea Agnew — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:37:01 +0000

After heading the Monroe County Department of Public Health for 23 years, Dr. Andrew Doniger says he's ready to turn over the reigns.

62-year-old Doniger announced his retirement Thurday. His last day on the job is May 23rd.

Monroe County Executive Awaits Independent Report on County Nursing Home

Alex Crichton & Randy Gorbman — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:50:26 +0000

Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks says she is awaiting results of an independent analysis of the county’s nursing home in connection with the alleged mistreatment of a patient there.

The Executive Director of Monroe County hospital, Todd Spring, is accused in a state report of mistreating a patient there by taking his wheelchair away.

Democrats in the county legislature called for Spring to step down. Brooks says she doesn’t make decisions about personnel based on politics, but wants to provide a reasoned, measured response to a state survey of that hospital.

U of R named Center for AIDS Research

Beth Adams — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:09:25 +0000

The University of Rochester has been named a Center for AIDS Research by the National Institutes of Health. The designation will bring $7.5 million more in funding to local HIV/AIDS research into the prevention, detection and treatment of the disease.

DEC Investigates Fish Kills In Irondequoit Bay

Randy Gorbman — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:06:26 +0000

Scientists for the DEC are trying to determine what is causing hundreds of fish to die in Irondequoit Bay.

State officials say they have received several complaints about fish kills on Irondequoit Bay since late April. A fish biologist inspected the north end of the bay last month, and collected samples which were sent to Cornell University for further study.