UPSTATE CARDIOLOGY CONTINUES TO GROW

Our united exper tise brings you advanced technology and streamlined care. As par t of the Upstate Cardiovascular Group, we provide connec tions to research and surgical care.

Our Upstate Cardiology Team Continues

TO GROW.

P H YS I C I A N S

F RO M TO P L E F T:

Dana C. Aiello, MD

Larr y S Charlamb, MD

Mark J Charlamb, MD

Christopher A. Nardone, MD

Michael Fischi, MD

Charles Perla, MD

Theresa Waters, DO

Andrew M Weinberg, DO

Timothy D. Ford, MD

Rober t L Carhar t, Jr , MD

Debanik Chaudhuri, MD

Hani Kozman, MD

Sakti Pada Mook herjee, MD

Amy Tucker, MD

Daniel Villarreal, MD population is not primarily driven by retirees moving to warmer climes. The exodus from New York doesn’t correlate with other northeastern states with equally cold climates. None of the New England states but Rhode Island have experienced more moving out than moving in.

Onondaga County has seen an increase in older adults correlating with Syracuse’s uptick: 29% in the past 10 years, accounting for 19,000 people totaling 85,000.

The swift increase of older adults in Syracuse and Onondaga County mirrors that of the state. A decade earlier, 14% of New Yorkers were 65plus. As of 2021, that has surged to 18% while those under 65 decreased by 2.6%, totaling almost 3.5 million, a figure larger than the entire population of 21 states.

Typically, older adults need more community resources for healthcare and support in activities of daily living than younger people. That is particularly true for those with limited financial resources. The Center for an Urban Future report revealed that 21.6% of older adults live in poverty in Syracuse, trailing only the Bronx (25%) and Rochester (21.7%). Across New York, the rate of poverty among 65-plussers increased by 37.4% between 2011 and 2021, undoing years of declines in senior poverty rates. This may be in part explained as a statistical anomaly, as in recent years, those financially able to move out of state have left behind more older adults who lack the means.

Supporting older adults as their needs increases includes several strategies, such as providing more funding for non profits serving older adults; developing more options for affordable housing; and cultivating strategies to address social needs including transportation, food and medical care access, elder abuse and mental health issues.

JoAnne Spoto Decker, commissioner of the Onondaga County Department of Adult & Long Term Care Services (DALTCS), said that her department has been aware of the growth of the number of older adults Onondaga County.

“The core programming offered through DALTCS currently addresses the graying trend: caregiver services, assistance with HEAP and other income stretching programs such as SNAP and the Medicare Savings Program,” Decker said. “Expanded inhome services for the elderly addresses homecare and respite for those over the age of 60 years and who do not participate in the Medicaid program.

Nutrition services oversees more than 25 senior dining sites located throughout the county, in addition to their expansive home delivered meals program and nutrition counseling. Complimenting nutrition services is a series of evidence-based health promotion programming designed to support the aging process.”

Other programs include chronic disease self-management, peer support for adults with Type 2 diabetes, chronic pain self-management, walk with ease and tai chi for arthritis.

Decker added that the NY Connects program offers options counseling to those seeking information and assistance on long-term care services and supports for people of any age.

“Adult Protective Services (APS), available to persons age 18 and older, involves intake, investigation and assessment of referrals of abuse, neglect and financial exploitation of impaired vulnerable adults who live in the community,” Decker said. “APS caseworkers develop service plans for eligible clients to remedy abuse or to address their unmet essential needs.”

DALTCS’ Senior Health And Resource Partnership Project (SHARP) provides to adults 60 and older counseling and community-based services that promote physical and emotional wellbeing. These include care facilitation, aging assessments and services, mental health referrals and substance use counseling referrals.

During the pandemic, resources like senior centers closed or shifted to virtual formats. Many of these have restarted meeting in person or continue with virtual programming to address isolation.

DALTCS is also piloting ElliQ, a proactive, voice-operated care companion to foster senior independence and promote wellbeing.

Decker is not certain the “gray shift” will stay that way in CNY considering Micron’s coming $100 billion investment in the community, as potentially tens of thousands of new families will move to the area to fill the company’s new positions.

“Seniors will continue to be a vital part of our community and the Department of Adult & Long Term Care Services and Onondaga County government will continue to focus on supporting their needs now and always,” Decker said.

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Horses

Helping Horses, Helping People — For 20 Years, and Counting

Sunshine Horses in Clay has adopted over 250 horses since its inception in 2003. Volunteers work seven days a week to rehabilitate and retrain them

By Mary Beth Roach

Just as dawn begins to break, volunteers arrive at the nonprofit Sunshine Horses facility in Clay, having traveled from various points across Onondaga County, to tend to the 24 horses stabled there.

They are part of a corps of people who take care of these animals, which are retired Standardbred harnessracing horses and rescues that come to the barn on Verplank Road to be rehabilitated or retrained for different equestrian principles.

Since starting in 2003, Sunshine Horses Inc. has adopted out more than 250 horses. The 501 (c) (3) organization turns 20 this year.

On one particular day, 13 women, all 55 or better, came in about 7 a.m., ready to feed the animals, make sure they got their meds, take them out to the pastures to get some exercise, muck their stalls and more. Most of them wrap up their duties by 11:30 a.m.

Another crew of volunteers comes in in the afternoon to bring in those horses that are out in the pasture, feed and groom them. Most volunteers will work one shift a week, although some opt to come several times a week. This schedule goes on seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, even on holidays.

In addition to their tasks, volunteers also assist in schooling the horses, helping them get used to saddles and people, since so many have come from the field of harnessracing. The volunteers receive a good deal of training at the onset, and they are paired with mentors who teach them the ropes. They also offer clinics and have guest speakers. There’s a separate group of volunteers who take on various maintenance responsibilities.

Although these early-morning hours might be a daunting commitment for some, the women on this one morning were all smiles, joking with each other and, of course, taking care of the horses.

This group of women joined Sunshine Horses for different reasons, but the common thread is their love of horses.

Dianne Sestak, 61, has been part of the group for about 11 years. She became an empty-nester at 50 years of age and had a cancer diagnosis. “It was one of those things that make you think,” she said.

A Texas native and current Bridgeport resident, she had always loved horses, so when she heard about Sunshine Horses, she checked it out. “Life’s too short. You have to do what you want to do. It was something that just needed to happen for me. It changed my world,” Sestak said.

Mona Hamblin, 60, of Cicero, joined Sunshine Horses recently because she wanted to do “something outside my comfort zone.” She refers to herself as the newbie, but yet has already found benefits from her involvement, appreciating the relationship with the volunteers and the horses.

“It gives back 100%,” she said.

When Anna Renfrew retired a few years ago, she said her plan was to take care of her elderly parents. However, they both died within a year. She recalled thinking, “Now what I am going to do with myself?”

She wanted to stay busy and looked at different possibilities. She, too, always loved horses, and when she learned of the organization, she decided to give it a try. “Once I did, I loved it,” she said.

A volunteer at Sunshine Horses since 2015, the 72-year-old Clay resident noted that the experience has allowed her to make new friends and stay “farm fit.”

A one-time schoolteacher, Chris Rowland, 64, of Liverpool, had no retirement plans. Now, she’s not only a volunteer, she’s a horse owner, having adopted one of the Sunshine horses. She had come across the place while out visiting garage sales one day. She said she had wanted a horse since she was a child, so she inquired about the need of volunteers. She was at an orientation the following week.

“Just being around the horses has been such a blessing,” she said, further explaining that the connection one makes with the animal is so endearing.

These volunteers’ comments underscore the sign in the Sunshine Horses barn — “Helping Horses. Helping People.”

Sunshine Horses Inc. is 100% volunteer-driven and of the approximate 300 volunteers, about half of them tend the horses, while others take on fundraising and event duties. It is funded solely by funds and donations, according to its website.

Events Help Fund

Sunshine Horses

Sunshine Farms, founded in 2003 at the New York State Fairgrounds, celebrates its 20th year this year. After moving a few times in the past, it is now located at 3721 Verplank Road in Clay.

One of the major fundraising events for Sunshine Horses is the Kentucky Derby Gala on May 6. Other events include a garage sale on May 19 and 20; the Strawberry Shortcake Run and open house on June 17; the annual tack sale on July 21 and 22; and the Uptown Hoedown in October, on a date to be determined.

Those wishing to support this 501 (c) (3) organization can help in its capital campaign, volunteer, sponsor a horse, provide funding for the veterinarian fund, or attend one or more of the group’s events.

For more information, visit www.sunshinefarms.org.