SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Source: Gregory Maizous

A Coney Island Hospital doctor was honored for her leadership in helping advance the cause of the public hospital system.

Olga Golubovskaya, an MD and an associate chair of Rehabilitation Medicine at Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway), was one of eight Brooklyn doctors and 28 city doctors overall to receive a Doctors’ Day award. Issued by the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the award recognizes doctors for their leadership and commitment to advancing the mission of the public hospital system and providing the highest quality healthcare to New Yorkers.

Dr. Golubovskaya, and the other doctors were given high praise by HHC President Alan D. Aviles.

“The physicians we honor on this Doctors’ Day are vital to the well-being of our city. They are helping to make HHC a national model of safe, efficient, and patient-centered health care delivery and care deeply about our mission to serve New Yorkers regardless of their ability to pay or immigration status,” Aviles said.

Congratulations to Dr. Golubovskaya and all the other winners for their excellent service and their recognition. Keep up the good work!

Source: SuperFantastic via Flickr

Mayor Michael Bloomberg put forward a bill this week that would force tobacco vendors to hide the cigarette packages they sell from the sight of customers, a move that burnishes his reputation as an anti-smoking regulator.

According to a report by the New York Times, Bloomberg’s latest anti-smoking initiative, which comes fresh off the heels of his unsuccessful bid to limit the serving sizes of sugary drinks, would make New York the first city in the nation to force businesses to hide their tobacco products.

“Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity, and they invite young people to experiment with tobacco,” The Times reported Bloomberg saying at a news conference.

Bloomberg also put forward a second bill that would stiffen penalties for businesses that avoid tobacco taxes by smuggling in out of state cigarettes, eliminate all tobacco-related coupons, force businesses to sell cheap cigars and cigarillos in packs of four (instead of individually) and make the minimum price for all cigarettes and little cigars $10.50.

The bills do not outright ban cigarette advertising and price displays, nor do the rules apply to tobacco specialty stores that already do not permit minors without the company of their parents. They also don’t raise the taxes on cigarettes.

The state and city taxes on packs of cigarettes, set at $5.85, are the highest in the country. As we all know, Bloomberg managed to ban smoking practically everywhere; in bars and restaurants, on beaches and in parks.

Unlike Bloomberg’s war on extra-large sugary drinks, he is sending his bills to the City Council for consideration, where he has already received early support from mayoral hopeful Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

As you might suspect, opposition from convenience store advocates have already flared up.

“We think it’s patently absurd,” Mr. [James] Calvin [president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores] said of the proposed restriction. “Can you think of any other retail business that is licensed to sell legal products that is required to hide them from the view of its customers? I can’t.”

Bloomberg also got some blowback from tobacco companies, which might challenge the city with expensive lawsuits should the proposed bills go through.

David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria, parent company of Philip Morris USA, said the company supported federal legislation banning sales to minors and through self-service. But he added, “To the extent that this proposed law would ban the display of products to adult tobacco consumers, we believe it goes too far.”

We were wondering what our readers think of Bloomberg’s latest effort to curtail the visibility of smoking in the city. Do you think he is doing a good job at protecting the health of all city residents and young people? Or do you think this is just another example of our descent into a full blown nanny-state? Let us know.

Source: eivey2 via flickr

Mayor Bloomberg’s controversial initiative to ban large sugary drinks sold at fast food joints, movie theaters and sporting events goes into effect March 12. Bloomberg is so certain that the ban will curb the epidemic of childhood obesity that he is calling for the state to enact the same measures he has set for the city, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

State officials like Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Republican Leader Dan Skelos have yet to comment on Bloomberg’s desire to extend the large sugary drink ban across the state.

Bloomberg’s remarks come a few weeks before restaurants, food carts, stadiums, movie theaters, delis and arenas are banned from selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces. Establishments that ignore the ban will be subject to heavy fines – though it’s worth noting that convenience stores and venues not overseen by the city Department of Health are exempt.

The mayor has taken a lot of heat after putting forward his plan to limit sugary drink sizes from lobbyists from the American Beverage Association (ABA) who don’t buy that city-sponsored portion-control will do anything to promote public health.

“The soda ban is exceedingly unpopular with New Yorkers. It increases the cost of doing business in the city and will have no impact on the mayor’s stated goal of reducing obesity. New Yorkers can decide for themselves what to eat and drink,” Chris Gindlesperger, a spokesman for ABA told the Journal.

Bloomberg has not backed down.

“Kids, once they get obese, they will be obese as adults. And this year, for the first time in the world, in the history of humanity, more people will die from overeating than from under-eating,” the mayor said. “So, we’re trying to do something here.”

We were wondering what our readers think of the looming large soda ban. Do you think it goes too far? Do you support it? Share your thoughts.

Source: Gregory Maizous

The following is a press release from the Health and Hospitals Corporation:

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation announced today that for the first time since Hurricane Sandy flooded its basement and first floor, causing substantial damage to its emergency department, Coney Island Hospital is again receiving ambulances for most types of cases through the City’s 911 service.

“The restoration of ambulance service brings us one step closer to our goal of restoring all services in the facility and re-establishing ourselves as the primary health care source in southern Brooklyn,” said Arthur Wagner, the hospital’s Executive Director.

“Since the storm, Coney Island has been systematically restoring services to help meet the healthcare needs of the community,” said Dr. John Maese, Chief Medical Officer. “We are delighted to again expand our much-needed services to the community and accept 911 ambulances.”

Ambulances began arriving at Coney Island on Wednesday, February 20. The hospital is accepting most types of 911 patients, including heart attacks and stroke cases. Trauma care and labor and delivery remain closed.

Repairs are ongoing at Coney Island, and its emergency department continues to function at a reduced capacity due to storm damage. However, the hospital’s Tower Building has re-opened along with most of its inpatient beds and imaging and laboratory services, and the hospital has for several weeks been admitting walk-in patients from its emergency department and patients from other HHC facilities.

It has inpatient adult psychiatric beds available, operating rooms, as well as medical/surgical and intensive care beds. All primary and specialty outpatient clinics are open, and have been operating a fleet of mobile medical vans providing primary care services and flu shots in parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island affected by Sandy.

Councilman Lew Fidler’s office asked us to share the following:

Our office is offering free flu shots later this month. This year, as always, we gave out hundreds of free flu shots in October and November but since this current flu season has been a particularly bad one, we were able to secure additional flu shots, to help constituents who may still be in need or who might be at risk.

Date: Wednesday January 30th
Time: 3pm to 7pm
Location: Councilman Fidler’s District Office – 1402 East 64th Street

To schedule a time for a free flu shot, all they have to do is call our office at (718) 241-9330 and make an appointment. It’s totally free.

Source: Maria Danalakis

FEMA has approved $103 million in aid to the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation to help fund repairs at facilities including Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway).

Senator Charles Schumer announced last week that the funding would come through, according to the Wall Street Journal, and will contribute to repairs at Bellevue Hospital, Goler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Metropolitan Hospital Center in addition to Coney Island.

The $103 million package still falls far from the $810 million HHC execs said they needed to come back from Sandy at a press conference two weeks ago. That number includes $200 million for Coney Island Hospital, and is the total estimated price for repairs, revenue loss and improvements to protect against future storms.

Regardless, the FEMA grant will help fill the coffers and keep repairs underway.

“I’ve seen the damage with my own eyes, and it was devastating. I appreciate FEMA listening to our pleas and getting these funds here quickly. This is not the end of the aid that these hospitals will need – not by a long shot – and we’ll keep fighting until the hospitals have been fully restored and they can get back to what they’re good at – helping New Yorkers heal and recover,” Schumer said Thursday.

Coney Island Hospital is currently open for most outpatient and some inpatient services. They expect to be fully operational and resuming emergency room intake within the next few months.

The “all in” costs for repairing Coney Island Hospital (2601 Ocean Parkway) and upgrading it to be better prepared for future storms is approximately $200 million, Health and Hospitals Corporation President Alan Aviles told Sheepshead Bites during a press conference yesterday.

Aviles led U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and reporters on a tour of the facility, showing off the hospital’s progress nearly two and a half months after Superstorm Sandy. The two announced that repairs to the city’s public hospitals in the wake of the storm and necessary improvements will cost $810 million – an amount included in the $51 billion aid being considered in Congress.

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We got the following e-mail about a Voorhies Avenue-based physician working with FEMA to obtain expensive replacement equipment for local doctors hit by Sandy:

Hurricane Sandy’s devastation has required our community to begin a long and difficult recovery. One of the hardest hit sectors was the medical community where many physicians have lost vital equipment. Many of these offices will not be able to continue serving the community without a “loan-free” solution. FEMA is attempting, through a collaborative effort with Dr. Daniel Branovan, to find much needed replacement equipment for local medical offices. He is currently compiling a database of equipment that local physicians desperately need. We hope to make this database as complete as possible by reaching out on a wide reaching forum such as yours. If possible, please make any kind of announcement for local physicians, who experienced losses, to email their contact information to mail@doctorbranovan.com as soon as they can so they can be informed of how to apply for replacement equipment.

Dr. Branovan is also working with Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz in trying to get FEMA to raise the $25,000 cap on the one percent interest business loans, saying that the amount wouldn’t even cover the cost of one piece of machinery in some medical offices.

Photo: Maria Danalakis

Superstorm Sandy crippled much of the New York’s infrastructure, stretching the deployment of emergency personnel and resources thin as whole sections of the city were left in the dark and rendered inoperable. New York’s hospitals are still dealing with the holes caused by Sandy’s disruption, especially by closing Coney Island Hospital, according to a report in the New York Times.

Since the storm blew over late last October, New York’s hospitals have seen a spike of emergency room patients, many being admitted in non-local centers whose staffs are pushed to the limit to deal with the influx. Doctors and nurses are working extra shifts and overtime, offices and lobbies have been converted into temporary care rooms, and extra beds are at a premium, forcing some hospitals to make emergency visits to local furniture stores to meet the demand.

Brooklyn patients, many ousted by the closure of Coney Island Hospital, have found themselves crammed into Maimonides Medical Center. Patients in Maimonides’s E.R. who normally wait four to five hours for a bed, are finding themselves waiting two to three days. According to the Times, “Almost every one of the additional 1,100 emergency patients this November compared with last November came from four ZIP codes affected by the storm and served by Coney Island Hospital, a public hospital that was closed because of storm damage.”

The Times goes on to describe the problems caused by the influx of psychiatric patients to Maimonides stemming from the closures of Coney Island Hospital and many of the adult homes shuttered by Sandy. Extra captain’s beds, which don’t have railings, had to be brought in from local furniture stores to prevent suicide attempts.

The closings of hospitals and stretching of resources and staff have severely affected the work of the doctors and surgeons as well. The Times writes that:

Obstetricians and surgeons from the closed hospitals have been particularly disadvantaged, since they are dependent on hospitals to treat their patients. Many displaced surgeons have been reduced to treating only the most desperately ill, and operating on nights and weekends, when hospitals tend to be least well staffed. “I think there’s no question that a lot of people have postponed anything that they can postpone that is elective,” said Dr. Andrew W. Brotman, senior vice president at NYU.

Source: Lisa Willner

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, which is held every December 1, Edward R. Murrow High School is displaying international AIDS Quilts all week to students.

The displaying of the quilts has become something of a tradition at Murrow, having now entered their 19th consecutive year of display. Three of the quilts are of the international variety, coming from the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz gave a speech to students on Monday, stressing the importance of preventing HIV infection through education. Other guest speakers came on behalf of the Gibb Mansion and the Lutheran Family Health Centers, commemorating those who have passed while providing valuable facts to students about the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The event, otherwise known as the AIDS Project Foundation, is hosted by the H.E.A.R.T. Club and Global Quilts. Students are scheduled to view the quilts through their health and physical education classes.

Souce: Lisa Willner