SUNY Upstate

A confirmed case of the Zika Virus in Oneida County has prompted Senator Chuck Schumer to urge his congressional colleagues to approve nearly two billion dollars in emergency funding to fight the epidemic.  He made his plea Wednesday at SUNY  Upstate, which has already done significant work with mosquito-borne illnesses.

You might say it was the first day of school Thursday for SUNY Upstate Medical University’s new president.  Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena has spent the past three months or so getting to know the university and the community it serves.  She calls the transition between her appointment in September and today "marvelous."

"I've been anticipating the first day, and I'm thrilled."          

She says one of her themes is to connect science and education to the work they need to do at Upstate.  She says there has to be a focus on tackling Syracuse’s high rate of poverty. 

  Celebrating 50 years of leadership, all of Upstate University Hospital’s former CEO’s returned to be recognized for their work that helped the hospital become what it is today. The six leaders in attendance date back to when the hospital was originally founded in 1964.

Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse has been accredited as a Comprehensive Stroke Center by DNV Healthcare in Buffalo.  It’s only one of two hospitals state-wide to receive the status.  Upstate has expanded its Stroke care with medical technology that allows for real-time brain images and a specialized suite used by neurosurgeons for more severe cases. Director Dr. Julius Jean Latorre says that strokes are complex; however, his team is ready.

Most Central New Yorkers probably picture an ultrasound machine as large unit in a dark room at a hospital or doctor's office.  Well, advances in technology have shrunk the devices to about the size of a tablet, and they're small enough to carry in the tight confines of a rescue helicopter.    Director of EMS Education at SUNY Upstate Christian Knutsen says ultrasound machines once relegated to hospitals have come a long way from the large units that radiologists struggled to read not that long ago.    EMS professionals Monday got hands-on training with the portable units on real patients.

Upstate University Hospital is hoping to save time and money for both its health care centers and its patients through technology. The institution has reached a milestone implementing Electronic Medical Records.  

The waiting and anxiety is over for about 150 fourth-year SUNY Upstate medical school students Friday who learned where they’ll begin their residencies.  

They opened envelopes as part of the annual rite of passage called “match day.”  The students we spoke to all received their first choices.  

Class co-president Dan Harris is one of five who will complete their residencies at St. Joseph's hospital in Syracuse.  Other facts about this graduation class: 

Syracuse-area hospitals say they’re facing a shortage of a crucial sterilization product that could delay surgeries.   There appears to be a major disruption in the supply chain of a biologic known as Sterrad biologic indicator made by Advanced Sterilization Products, which is used to sterilize surgical equipment and tools. The hospitals alerted Senator Chuck Schumer of the problem.   

Schumer stopped by SUNY Upstate Medical University Monday to call attention to the matter and demand more accountability from the manufacturer and the FDA.