Category Archives: Health & Fitness

Two Albany Med Health System facilities—Saratoga Hospital and Glens Falls Hospital—have earned high grades for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group for fall 2022.  

The two hospitals lead the Capital Region, with grades of A for Saratoga Hospital and B for Glens Falls Hospital. These high marks place both hospitals in the top 25 percent of New York state facilities for this report. 

The Leapfrog Group is a nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for health care consumers and purchasers, using their collective influence to foster positive change in U.S. health care.

“Our Leapfrog score reflects our culture of safety and 24/7 commitment to protecting patients from preventable harm and errors,” Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Jill J. VanKuren said. “The A grade is a tribute to our team and a source of assurance to our patients, who can be confident they’re receiving care at one of New York’s safest hospitals.” 

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade assigns letter grades twice a year to nearly 3,000 U.S. general hospitals based on over 30 measures of patient safety. Thirty percent of U.S. hospitals earned the highest rating of A. Twenty-eight percent earned a B.

The Flower & Fruit Mission of Saratoga Hospital is donating $225,000 to buy new labor and delivery beds to enhance the childbirth experience at the hospital’s Mother/Baby Unit.

 Flower & Fruit Mission President Stephanie Collins announced the gift in December at the annual Snow Ball, the organization’s signature holiday party. The event netted $30,000 and honored recently retired Saratoga Hospital President and CEO Angelo Calbone for his 16 years of service to the hospital and the community.

 The new beds will put the finishing touches on a $2.7 million unit renovation, which created a modern, comfortable birthing environment rooted in best practices for maternity care. The $225,000 is in addition to a previous Flower & Fruit Mission gift of $250,000 for the renovation.

 “The Flower & Fruit Mission has helped shape women’s health care in Saratoga County for more than a century,” said Sarah Bunzey, RN, director of Women’s Health Services at Saratoga Hospital. “Every mother who delivers at Saratoga Hospital—and every baby born here—benefits from the Mission’s foresight and extraordinary generosity.”

By Jill Nagy

With the acquisition of Goodemote Physical Therapy in Saratoga Springs, Capital Area Physical Therapy and Wellness, headquartered in Malta, has grown to three offices (the third, in Queensbury).

Within a month, it will have 13 physical therapists on staff and eight administrators.

The practice began in 2013, with only two therapists, Dr. Andrew Gaetano and Dr. Evan Marsh, who had been college classmates.  

 “We did everything, at first,” Marsh said, from greeting patients to cleaning the restrooms. “But, slowly and surely, it been to grow.”

Currently, the practice sees approximately 1,400 patient visits a month in Malta; about 500 (but “growing steadily”) in Queensbury; and 750 a month in Saratoga Springs, said Marsh.

The practice is “growing back” after cutbacks that became necessary during the COVID pandemic. 

By Jill nagy

Laura Newey, a nurse practitioner with additional training in medical aesthetics, recently moved her practice to the Blackmer Building at 28 Clinton St. in Saratoga Springs. 

The business, called Bellatas Medical Aesthetics, provides skin care, including botox treatments, microneedling, and treatment of skin pigmentation issues.

Bellatas is a made-up word meaning the state of being beautiful (bella), according to the owner’s husband and marketing person, David Newey. Her practice is a level beyond that of a non-RN aesthetician, but not at the level of a dermatologist or plastic surgeon, he said. But dermatologists and plastic surgeons incorporate aspects of medical aesthetics in their medical practices.

The most popular treatment at the Bellatas spa is botox, injections of low doses of the botulism toxin, used to smooth wrinkles and tighten skin. Newey recently added microneedling treatments, which uses a machine called Morpheus 8, that lightly pierces the skin with multiple needles, resurfacing the skin, promoting collagen growth, and reducing wrinkles. 

By Christine Graf

Heather Lofink, a local Licensed Mental Health Counselor, is on a mission to help athletes reach their maximum potential. 

A Saratoga Springs native, Lofink worked at St. Peter’s Addiction Recovery Center before opening her own private practice in the One Roof health care building at 58 Henry St. in Saratoga Springs in February 2021.

“I put my calendar out three weeks before I opened, and I was full before I officially opened my door,” said Lofink. “I’ve been full since the day I opened, and I probably turn away three to five people a week who are reaching out for help. That’s really hard.” 

Lofink is trained in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a psychotherapy treatment endorsed by the American Psychological Association and Word Health Organization. EMDR is designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories. 

After receiving her initial training in EMDR, she completed a sports performance EMDR course. At the time, her teenaged son was in the midst of a baseball batting slump, she said. Despite attending clinics and working with batting coaches, he was still struggling at the plate. It wasn’t until Lofink started to work with him, applying what she had learned in her trainings, that things finally improved.

Jenna Lord, director of nursing at Wesley Health Care Center, has received the 2021 Professional of the Year Award from LeadingAge New York. 

The Professional of the Year Award recognizes contributions of a professional working in the aging healthcare field toward the well-being of the elderly or chronically ill in his or her community. The award nomination is open to any long-term care, housing and services professional who demonstrates civic involvement as well as professional dedication, accomplishment and field expertise.

 “The Wesley Community congratulates Jenna on this outstanding recognition as the 2021 LeadingAge New York Professional of the Year,” said The Wesley Community CEO J. Brian Nealon. “Jenna consistently exhibits outstanding leadership and helps us provide compassionate senior care to our residents and their families. We are grateful to have her on our team.”

Lord is responsible for leading and supervising the nursing staff and overseeing the care provided to residents at the Wesley Health Care Center. She has extensive health care experience and has been an active member of the Wesley Health Care Center team since 2008. 

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award and to be recognized by my peers, administrators and LeadingAge New York as ‘professional of the year.’ I would not be able to achieve anything without the amazing team at Wesley,” said Lord. “Working alongside so many talented nurses, and caring for the aging, is something I consider a privilege.”

Lord’s dedication to the profession led to her recognition as Registered Nurse of the Year at Wesley Health Care Center in 2018. She received the honor following numerous peer nominations and an extensive review by a panel of administrators at The Wesley Community.