By Richard Brodsky Imagine having it all: the perfect wife and family, a successful architectural career, and athletic prowess as a marathon runner. Then imagine having to tell your wife that your life is a myth and that you are not only bisexual but HIV-positive, too. That was back in 1997. My wife chose to
By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D. The rise of the COVID-19 coronavirus is concerning for the HIV/AIDS community. Whichever way you slice it, HIV/AIDS is a serious kick to the immune system—and New York City is home to one of the largest populations of HIV/AIDS patients in the America. The speaker of our city council is openly
Service Line: Orthopaedics Thought Leader: Dr. Daniel Seidman A strain and sprain can look and feel similar. No matter how many times you roll, bend or twist your ankle, it can be hard to tell the difference between the two. If you think you have a minor or moderate sprain or strain, you can treat
By Gail Evans On December 3rd I met with 85-year-old George Held in his West Village apartment to interview him about aging. He taught in the English Department at Queens College for 35 years and was a Fulbright lecturer in Czechoslovakia under Soviet rule. Held is also a prolific poet, editor, translator, essayist and book
CAP Beauty, NEW YORK FLAGSHIP + SPA 238 West 10 Street, New York, NY 10014 (212) 227-1088 A facial at CAP Beauty is a full-sensory experience leaving one feeling extremely relaxed, nurtured and looking great. Esthetician/healer Crystal Greene provided me with a deep facial massage and treatments from CAP Beauty’s select arsenal of all-natural and
By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D., and Drew Davis Thank you to all those who joined Research Foundation to Cure AIDS (RFTCA) at the Free From AIDS Gala on World AIDS Day 2019. We put forward an unforgettable night for supporters of a cure and we’d be honored if you, too, would team up with us. If
As many of you know, WestView News is the brainchild of George Capsis, and the paper’s offices are located at 69 Charles Street. So we’re going to poke some gentle fun at the New York Post by having our very own Page 69. This will be an occasional column reporting on the glamorous doings of Village
By Kambiz Shekdar Thirty-forty years ago, thousands of gay men were abandoned and left to die of AIDS in New York City’s St. Vincent’s Hospital. On the occasion of World AIDS Day, Research Foundation to Cure AIDS (RFTCA) announced plans to build its AIDS cure incubator at the former site of the St. Vincent’s AIDS
THOUSANDS MARCH TO A SINGLE MESSAGE – CURE AIDS: The 2019 Gay Pride Parade marchers advance toward what had been St. Vincent’s Hospital’s main building (on the right), where thousands died, and the Northwell Medical complex (across the street on the left) which may house a laboratory to cure AIDS. Photo by Ismael Ramirez. By George Capsis
By Gail Evans My husband and I are in our eighties and, yes, we’re slowing down. We tire more easily, take longer for daily chores, and complain about aches and pains. Still, we’re getting by. But what if our health changed or we suffered a life-changing illness? We and our concerned family would face a
By John Kaliabakos Hundreds of community pharmacists held rallies across New York State on October 23 to stand with Governor Cuomo and support legislation containing the nation’s toughest protections from prescription drug middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Village Apothecary was proud to stand alongside other independent pharmacies in the quest for fairness in
By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D. In a crowded 2020 presidential race, taking the lead on curing AIDS may offer candidates an opportunity to differentiate themselves and resonate with voters across multiple key demographics. More than 1.1 million LGBT, African-American, Latino and female Americans are living with HIV/AIDS today. Where does each candidate stand on curing AIDS?
By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D. The upcoming town hall among U.S. presidential candidates on October 10th will focus on LGBT issues. The choice to address AIDS in this debate could surprise and disrupt the current HIV/AIDS landscape. It’s remarkable that during the last presidential election, a coalition of AIDS activists adopted the following (invalid) consensus position:
I have been practicing internal medicine for 24 years and have seen a lot of change. I started after HMOs were already around, so I was not in medical practice when a physician billed a patient and the insurance company sent a check for that amount (or a portion of it). HMOs were conceived when
IMAGES ON SOCIAL MEDIA POSTED BY THE SAN DIEGO LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER, @mxdavidmx and @darrow81. In a first of its kind, Facebook has been co-opted to advertise a pharmaceutical drug. Like Russian influence on the U.S. election, the use of social media targeted at vulnerable populations raises important questions. By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D.
By D. Cascardo, MA, MPA, CFP Although many Americans have insurance that covers most of the prescription drugs they take, many more do not have any insurance or have ridiculously high co-payments with the plans they do have. Those who need to take “brand name” drugs rather than generics, may find those drugs are not
By Kambiz Shekdar, Ph.D. Since the 1980’s, the emphasis in the medical community has largely been on treating or preventing AIDS—not curing it. However, recent advances have created new opportunities to develop a global cure, which could end AIDS for good. Logically, the goal with any infectious disease must be to nip it in the
By Karen Rempel Dozens of Pride Parade spectators stopped by for a photo op at the Research Foundation to Cure Aids (RFTCA) display on Seventh Avenue, near the 9/11 Memorial Tiles display. All genders and no-genders were welcomed to wear the crown and carry the torch for the cure to AIDS. RFTCA President and Founder
Six patients who received life-saving care from the first responders of Northwell Health’s emergency medical services (EMS) came back during EMS Week to personally thank the medical professionals who helped save their lives. Sam Swartz (center), who was shocked back to life after his heart stopped while en route to Lenox Health Greenwich Village during a harrowing day in
We have been told that the Lenox Hill Nortwell Health Center on 7th Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets has four hospital beds to complement its state of the art Emergency Room. On June 23rd, I unfortunately got an inside tour while recovering from an allergic reaction to something I ate. I was treated in
By Karen Rempel The Crisis Text Line is a free service founded by West Village resident Nancy Lublin. Nancy explains, “People in crisis can text for help just like you would text a friend. We wanted to make it fast and easy. So you text 741741 and you’re connected to a trained, empathetic crisis counselor
By The West 13th Street Alliance The West 13th Street Alliance announces a unique pilot program for July/August 2019 for neighborhood seniors, elders, old hippies (or whatever folks want to call themselves!), to enjoy an array of activities at The Church of the Village, The Integral Yoga Institute, and Lenox Health Greenwich Village, all founding
By Penny Mintz It is hard to pry information from Mt. Sinai. On Wednesday, May 15, 2019, members of the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel met, for the second consecutive month, in front of the main entrance to Beth Israel Hospital. The CCSBI wants to see the restoration of the hospital services, that were
By David Parker I’m David Parker and I’ve suffered with severe depression and anxiety since I was a young child. Fifteen years ago I was living alone in London having separated from my then wife, and I was suffering through an extreme bout of depression. I recalled a friend’s advice that if bad thoughts were
By Penny Mintz It seems that most people are completely unaware that Mt. Sinai intends to close the Beth Israel building on 16th Street and First Avenue. On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 16, 2019, four committed members of the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel joined me at the corner of 16th Street and
By Ede Rothaus A “Win, Win, Win.” How many times do we hear of—well—anything that actually matches that description? (Anything that meets that criteria?) Good news! A new program created by New York City’s Department of Health does. And people taking medication for high blood pressure, farmers at Greenmarkets in all five boroughs, and local
By Arthur Z. Schwartz Last month I wrote about a woman referred to my office by WestView who, besides being terrorized by her landlord, had been contacted by Adult Protective Services (APS) and was now more scared of APS putting her in a nursing home than she was of her landlord. APS, which is part
By Penny Mintz Beth Israel Members of the Community Coalition to Save Beth Israel met at Assemblyman Harvey Epstein’s office on February 7, 2019, to discuss the newest development in the ongoing Beth Israel saga. As an active member of PALM (Progressive Action of Lower Manhattan), Harvey Epstein had been instrumental in the creation of
By Dr. Peter Saitta Our city during the holiday season is a very special place. Streets are filled with Christmas cheer, Santa is on his sleigh, and shop windows are magnificently dressed for the occasion. But the freezing cold air and bitter winds of our famous New York winters can sting, irritate, and dry your skin, all of which
By Joy Pape Many people have some confusion about the difference between an emergency room and an urgent care facility. Even I, a health care provider, wanted to clear up some confusion. So once again, I reached out to Dr. Warren Licht, Vice President of Ambulatory Operations for the Western Region of Northwell Health and
Dear Assembly Speaker Carl B. Heastie and Assemblymember Richard N. Gottfried, I am glad to learn that reproductive rights bills have passed. However, I’m very surprised to learn something about the reproductive rights legislation I had never imagined—namely that it covers abortion only within 24 weeks, and only for fetal nonviability or serious risk to
George, I just read your “Somebody Just Shot My Neighbor” article in the January issue. As the editor of this paper, the person who wrote this story, someone who has been well informed on numerous occasions about exactly what Lenox Health is, someone as well that has visited the site on multiple occasions and have
By Carol Yost In an article on Friday, January 11th, published in collaboration with the nonprofit journalism publication ProPublica, the New York Times reported that the nonprofit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, after being dogged by scandal, is officially taking steps to eliminate possible conflicts of interest. Earlier reports by the Times and ProPublica had generated
By Susan Elrich, MD Many, many New Yorkers suffer from headaches at one point in their lives, and do not know how to approach managing them. There are different kinds of headaches and different causes for them, so treatments vary. Headache types discussed here include migraine and tension-type headaches. Cluster and other headaches are beyond
Dear George, I had a similar experience with billing from Northwell as described by Steve Hicks in your December, 2018, issue. In March of this year my young adult son awoke on a Sunday morning with what appeared to be ‘pink eye’ or conjunctivitis. As it was a Sunday we went to Lenox Hill Greenwich
By Penny Mintz The changes in store for Beth Israel are temporarily on hold. Mt. Sinai is deferring its application to the Department of Health for a certificate of need, which the state must approve before the changes can be made. According to Arthur Schwartz, who is pursuing a lawsuit against Mt. Sinai and the
By Siggy Raible What follows is one reader’s very accurate portrait of a typical emergency situation. What seems to be left out in talking about the logistics of getting a patient from 13th Street to Lenox Hill is the pain and anxiety of the patient. I know because I had an identical experience. I had
By Jane Heil Usyk How would you like to be able to phone your doctor and get someone real on the other end, your doctor or his/her nurse, and make an appointment for a few days in the future without having to wait interminably for recorded messages not intended for you, and numerous irrelevant instructions? How
