By Joy Pape I’ll never forget the day I started work for Lenox Hill Hospital when I attended my first day of orientation in a lovely venue in Long Island. It had recently been merged with the North Shore Long Island Jewish (NSLIJ) Health System, now known as Northwell Health. It was the time of
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Bureaucracy Rewards Doctor’s Dedication With a Penny
To The Editor: I was deeply impressed and moved by Dr. Gary Kohl’s story, “Duty to Warn: How Big Business Runs the Healthcare Industry,” in the October 2018 issue of Westview News. My father was an internist from Germany who lived in the USA for 54 years, had an office in New Jersey as a
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Duty to Warn, Part II: How Big Business Runs the Healthcare Industry
By Gary G. Kohls, MD In this two-part series, Dr. Kohls explores how the intersection of big business and the pharmaceutical, vaccine and medical device corporations have come to rule the healthcare industry. Part one of the series appeared in the October issue of Westview. The Big Pharma propaganda campaigns are much more potent today
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Hospital Board Members Reap Sure Rewards by Serving on the Boards of Pharmaceutical Companies They Buy From
By George Capsis Oh wow—I was surprised when I heard Northwell’s CEO Michael Dowling, with his thatched hut Irish brogue, boasting about Northwell’s purchase of a successful chain of storefront doctor’s offices, with one right on 8th Street just a couple blocks from the massive “overbite” building on 7th Avenue and 12th Street. I realized
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Hospital Transformations Hearing
By Penny Mintz It has been a busy few weeks for the future of Beth Israel and hospitals in general. On October 3rd, the City Council’s Health and Hospital Committee conducted a hearing about the ongoing hospital “transformations.” Matt Siegler, a senior vice-president from the Health and Hospitals Corporation testified about the changes in our
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Duty to Warn: How Big Business Runs the Healthcare Industry
By Gary G. Kohls, MD PART ONE—In this two-part series, Dr. Kohls explores how the intersection of big business and the pharmaceutical, vaccine and medical device corporations have come to rule the healthcare industry. Part two of the series will appear in the November issue of WestView. “Corporations should not be involved in any aspect
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Northwell Opens Suite of Doctor Offices
In a move to return the range of care once offered by St. Vincent’s, West Villagers are now being offered the skills of highly qualified physicians, each expert in the major disciplines of ambulatory medicine, in offices just across the avenue from the Northwell urgent care center. The entrance to this two floor suite of
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Court to Beth Israel: “Maybe I Won’t Allow You To Close”
By Arthur Z. Schwartz Sometimes the wheels of Justice grind slowly. Back in November 2017, Westview Publisher George Capsis and I, plus the political group known as Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan, filed a lawsuit to reverse the partial closure of Beth Israel Hospital (which involved the loss of its heart surgery unit, its maternity
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Reefer Madness
By Lorraine Gibney On Sunday, August 12, 2018, the West Village Wellness Social met in the Westbeth Community Room on Bank Street. I accidently walked into the health social looking for Ilsa Gilbert for a scheduled interview; however, Ms. Gilbert and I remained in our seats, and enjoyed the music, lecture, and food. Eve Zanni
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Hospital is NOT a For-Profit—Has Duty
By Penny Mintz The Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel (CCSBI) faces an uphill battle, to say the least. People tell me, “There’s no way to stop it,” or ask me, “Isn’t it already closed?” Once, while I was seeking petition signatures (I’m running for Democratic State Committee), one woman said that Mt. Sinai/Beth Israel
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Panic Attack First Aid Kit
By Christina Raccuia Fear overwhelms us all sometimes. We feel like we’re going to die. It’s an overwhelming feeling of impending doom and we don’t know what to do except to run, as these feelings can take over. However, as crazy as this may sound the best thing to do is to stay and face
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Mt. Sinai’s Plan for Our Community
By Penny Mintz On May 22, 2018, members of the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel (CCBI) met with two staff members from the office of City Council member Keith Powers. The CCBI members were there to inform Powers about the concerns of the community regarding the threatened closure of Beth Israel Hospital and ask
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Empowering Our Aging Population
By Amy Sperling Health Advocates for Older People, a non-profit organization based in New York City, has successfully taken the lead for over 30 years in promoting a healthy lifestyle for an aging NYC population in eight locations, six days a week. Its program activities include wellness classes, educational presentations, social activities, home safety visits, all
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Community Pharmacy on the Frontlines in the Fight Against HIV
By John Kaliabakos As part of their ongoing efforts to reduce the number of new HIV cases, the New York State Department of Health and the AIDS Institute have launched a new program: Pharmacy Emergency Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV Prevention (PEP 4 HIV PREVENTION). The Department of Health has enlisted a select few pharmacies throughout
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Hospital Coalition Meets with Speaker Staff
By Penny Mintz For the past few months, a committee within the Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan (PALM) has been working diligently on organizing a coalition of community organizations aptly named the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel (CCSBI). In the interest of transparency, I must state that I am the chair of that organizing
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Marketing a Hospital
by George Capsis We have all viewed, transfixed, the TV ads from New York Presbyterian Hospital in which a former patient describes a horrendous medical condition that all the other hospitals turned their back on and then—Presbyterian performs a medical miracle and we are all smiles. So I took notice of a modest postcard that
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How Did You Sleep Last Night?
By Joy Pape Last month I wrote about sleep and how many of us have misconceptions about sleep. One misconception is we think our brain rests during sleep, when in reality, we now know it is a time our brain is actively going through needed cycles of sleep stages. I also wrote of the misconception
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Can You Spot A Killer?
By Peter Saitta DO How many times have you been suntanning with a large aluminum foil sun reflector with baby oil getting a killer tan? Most of us have and “killer” is a word I chose wisely. Statistically speaking, more than half of us will get a skin cancer because we have all been exposed
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Repetition of Unhealthy Patterns
By Christina Winholt Humans seek comfort in the familiar. Freud called this repetition ‘compulsion,’ which he famously defined as “the desire to return to an earlier state of things.” This takes form in simple tasks. Perhaps you watch your favorite movie over and over, or choose the same entrée at your top restaurant. More harmful
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Update on Beth Israel Lawsuit
By Arthur Z. Schwartz In November 2017, a lawsuit entitled Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan, George Capsis, and Arthur Schwartz v. Howard Zucker, as Commissioner of the NYS Department of Health, and Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital was filed in New York State Supreme Court. The goal: to not only stop the shutdown of Beth
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Joy’s Health Tips: How Did You Sleep Last Night?
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC As I get older, I am more aware of a certain saying almost every morning, “Waking up is hard to do.” I’ve always been a morning person, but the time I wake up is earlier, and cheerfully jumping out of bed is harder. There are several misunderstandings about sleep.
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Update on Caregiver Support Program
The Elderly Support Group is a self-help group which provides support, resources, and an opportunity to connect with other caregivers of the elderly. We are now pleased to provide additional contact information for caregivers who wish to join the Elderly Support Group. The group meets at Lenox Health Greenwich Village (Northwell), located at 30 7th
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Dr. Davis, We Need Frankness Not PR
By George Capsis I had an “Oh, wow!” moment when I read in the February 5th Villager article that Mount Sinai is “…‘leaning toward’ building an extra four floors atop its [newly proposed] mini-hospital…” This building would wrap around the shabby gray New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai at 14th Street and
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Are You Afraid of Falling?
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC If you are afraid of falling, know that you are not alone. In some ways, that fear can be helpful, but in other ways, it may not. During this time of year, I read, along with the daily weather forecast, the warnings of ice on the ground, even ‘black
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The Importance of an Impartial Health Care Needs Assessment
By Penny Mintz Newsday, the Long Island daily, ran a story on January 16th (entitled “Southside Hospital upgrades emergency room, creates more parking”) about a Northwell hospital in Bayshore that is expanding its emergency room five-fold and has been opening a new hospital unit every seven weeks for the last 18 months. Instead of enlarging
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The Village Apothecary, a Treasured Neighborhood Institution
By Anastasia Kaliabakos In 1983, Mr. Michael Konnon, a pharmacist, businessman, activist, and community leader, decided that his neighborhood desperately needed a dedicated, independent community pharmacy. He founded the Village Apothecary at 346 Bleecker Street (at West 10th Street). At that time, the West Village had become the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, affecting New
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Grateful to WestView and Northwell
Dear George Capsis, Warmest wishes to you for a bright and successful 2018! With the New Year, the Village will have a Caregiver Support Program at Northwell Health. This is thanks to you! I wrote to you before the holidays about needing a community meeting place for our Caregivers to the Elderly Support Group. You
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Seniors: Be Careful on Those “Valued” Cobblestone Streets
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC Brian and I were recently planning a trip to Greece, a country full of ancient history, and I was so excited! While studying for the trip, I became a bit concerned about what I saw. I observed people walking and exploring that amazing country, always on cobblestone streets it
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Seniors, Take Care of YOU This Holiday Season
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC The holiday season is here and, with a little planning, you can enjoy it without compromising your health. I have put together a few tips to keep in mind during the season. Make a Plan. As with anything, be it your health or wealth, pre-planning is the key. Start
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Efforts to Save the Last Health Centers of Lower Manhattan
By Penny Mintz Is Beth Israel Hospital going the way of St. Vincent’s (closed), Cabrini (closed), St. Vincent’s Midtown (closed), and Gouverneur (an out-patient center and nursing home)? Perhaps, but not if the Progressive Action for Lower Manhattan (PALM) has any say in the matter. PALM, a local chapter of the statewide New York Progressive
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Viewing the War on Drugs at Age 14
By C.A.S.E. There is an ongoing war. It’s not in some foreign nation, not one that we read about in the papers, and not one that deals with heinous weapons. It’s in our schools, classrooms, hallways, and backyards. It’s in the bedrooms of teenagers and in the park. It’s everywhere, yet most don’t see it
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A Little More of St. Vincent’s Returns: Northwell opens new ambulatory surgery center.
By George Capsis I first heard the Limerick accent of Michael J. Dowling four years ago as he stood on the stage of P.S. 41 where my wife and I had sent our three kids, and where I had been the President of the PTA. Dowling was trying to reassure a packed auditorium that the
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Don’t Let the Constitutional Convention Distract You
Dear Editors: I am very much against the Constitutional Convention, which Arthur Z. Schwartz discusses in the October 2017 issue of WestView (“Why Vote ‘Yes’ for a Constitutional Convention?”), for four reasons. There are changes we need to make but the way to do that is to defeat the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). We have
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Schwartz’s Response to Berger
I disagree with Keen Berger. I see little chance of the Constitutional Convention taking away people’s rights. It will be dominated by Democrats even if the vote for delegates splits, as per the existing Senate breakdown. A majority of the districts are Democratic, plus 15 are elected statewide. Plus, whatever they do requires a majority
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A New Twist on Eating for Your Health
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC There’s a saying that goes: You can’t be too rich or too thin. Well, this article won’t tell you how to make more money, nor will it teach you how to become thin. However, it can help you make some healthier choices, just by switching something around in the
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Rally Demands—No Beth Israel Shutdown
By Arthur Z. Schwartz The fight to keep Beth Israel open took a major step forward on September 24th. Over 100 neighbors gathered outside the hospital to demand that it cease shutting down, that services be restored, and that nothing more be done without a thorough government review of the potential consequences of a shut
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Get A Diagnosis! A Continuing Look at Low Back Pain
By Joy Pape, FNP-C CDE CILC My last article in the September 2017 issue of Westview (“Get A Diagnosis!”) got responses! Writers always love to hear from their readers so thank you! On the other hand, I’m sorry to learn that so many people live with low back pain. About 80% of adults have had
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The Financial Cost of Aging and How Diet Can Help
By Jane Sandwood The cost of healthcare in America is staggering—$3.4 trillion are spent each year. (http://cnb.cx/2vgKaZN) The average working-age person in 2010 spent $6,125 on healthcare. In comparison, the average senior (65 or older) spent $18,424—triple the amount. This cost keeps growing as you age, doubling between the ages of 70 and 90. (http://bit.ly/2j8n2CH)
