Personal Health

Personal Health Same-day testing

Quick COVID-19 results now available in Tompkins County Matt Butler

After Ithaca-based Rheonix received approval from the Food and Drug Administration on a same-day testing turnaround method for COVID-19 results, they have now formed a partnership with Cayuga Health to introduce the testing to Tompkins County.

Rheonix was granted authorization from the FDA yesterday, and can now use a “rapid sample-to-answer” test system which “enables the fully automated detection of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, directly from respiratory samples.” Rheonix, which is based out of Cornell, designed the device that conducts the testing.

“We are thrilled to team with Rheonix, located right here in Ithaca. Their technology and expertise has enabled us to be able to provide same day results for COVID-19 testing – one of the quick, test turnaround times in our region,” states Martin Stallone, President & CEO of Cayuga Health. “We were successful with opening one of the first COVID-19 drive through sampling centers in our state and will continue to do what it takes to fight this epidemic and meet the healthcare needs of our community, right here.”

Testing turnaround has been one of the main obstacles of speedy COVID-19 response, as testing routinely takes between 3-5 days, and even that is a reduction from its previous norms.

“I am incredibly happy to be able to support Cayuga Health – Rheonix’s hometown health system – with their fight against this COVID-19 pandemic by giving them the ability to provide same day test results to their patients,” said Greg Galvin, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board of Directors, Rheonix Inc. “Because our fully automated system is so easy to deploy and operate, it’s a perfect solution for rapid testing in hospitals like Cayuga Health,” adds Galvin. “The faster people can get diagnosed, the faster they can get treated, and the faster we can turn the corner on this pandemic.”

“We typically see between 150-250 patients a day at the sampling center and before implementing the Rheonix system it could take a few days to get the test results back,” stated Dr. Elizabeth Plocharczyk, Specialist in Anatomical and Clinical Pathology at Cayuga Health. “Until now, we had been sending the samples to a large commercial lab for testing. With this new test method we can process around 200 samples per day, right here in the hospital. ”

The Cayuga Health/Tompkins County Sampling Center, which opened March 24, is available for drive through testing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday. People can pre-register for testing at www. cayugahealth.org and review the screening criteria.

In addition, a call center has been set up for patients who may not have access to Internet, need assistance registering, or have questions. The call center number is 607-319-5708. Individuals are strongly encouraged to pre-register prior to coming to the site.

As directed by Governor Cuomo, COVID-19 testing is free for all New Yorkers, regardless of health insurance. Rheonix device being used by Cayuga Health to deliver sameday COVID-19 test results (Photo provided)

Newspaper: Ithaca Times/Fingerlakes News Client: Georgia@ithacatimes.com 607-277-7000 x220 Kendal at Ithaca

by Betsy Schermerhorn Director, Marketing and Admissions

Vital for Life

DO SOME PATTING

Animal shelters are always looking for volunteers, and certainly, the animals can use the companionship. Many people have had beloved pets, but as they age, they may be missing that experience. Walking a happy dog and watching them enjoy the walk, smell the trees, bark at strangers, wag their tails, and look up at you with joy brings a lot of happiness to both of you. It may even help them get adopted. They are socialized, not as restless, and the stress caused by being in a noisy shelter is reduced for them. Gentle little souls like timid cats can sure use some cuddling and squeezing. Just a little love goes a long way for everyone involved.

Pet shelters in your local area depend on volunteers to keep them operational. If you are in need of some unconditional love, call your local shelter. By volunteering at a local shelter, not only are you looking after the well-being of the animals, you are looking after yours as well.

Call the marketing team at (607) 266-5300 to schedule a tour to see our facilities and learn more about lifecare at Kendal at Ithaca. Find us on the web at http://kai.kendal.org/

P.S. The Fourth of July is stressful and scary to noise-sensitive animals. Many shelters are happy to have volunteers sit near enclosures and calm the animals during the fireworks.

2230 N. Triphammer Road Ithaca, NY 14850-6513 (607) 266-5300 Toll Free: (800) 253-6325

Now open in new location! Route 13 between Ithaca and Dryden. We are open and accepting new patients. All ages. Most insurance.

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Dermatologist Finger Lakes Dermatology 607-708-1330 fingerlakesderm.com 2141 Dryden Road Freeville, NY 13068

We offer TELEMEDICINE VISITS

Most insurers are now covering telemedicine visits during this crisis, and are even waiving copays. Many insurers including Medicare, are paying for telemedicine visits across state lines. So even if you don’t live in New York, we can still see you. Just give us a call for a telemedicine / teledermatology consult, and we will take care of the rest.

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Weekend Planner Weekly guide to entertainment offerings. Editors recommended 6 top events sent to over 3000 subscribers Thursday afternoon. Banner Ads limited to 3 positions 580 x 150 Covid-19 Tompkins County will seek 91 furloughs F acing projected revenue losses over $10 million, Tompkins County will look to furlough 91 employees in the near future, according to Tompkins County Administrator Jason Molino.

The information came in a mid-year budget presentation update composed by Molino, who noted that normally he’d be preparing for next year’s budget at this time but due to the widespread economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, adjustments will have to be made for this year.

The furloughs will take a variety of forms: 51 employees will take 12 week full furloughs, meaning they will not work for that entire time period; 18 will take 12 week 50 percent furloughs, so they will work reduced hours for that period. Eight others will take six week full furloughs, and an additional 19 will take six week partial furloughs. The move, Molino said, allows the employees to take advantage of New York State unemployment benefits, which have been extended to help people who are out of work as a direct result of the pandemic.

Laying out a range of outcomes, Molino said the county is preparing for something between mild and severe loss in total state aid: mild would be $3.8 million, or a 15 percent reduction, while severe would be $7.7 million, or 30 percent. That would result in, for the “mild” case, a projected $11 million revenue shortfall, which would swell to $17.6 million under the “severe” projections.

Molino presented the information to the Tompkins County Legislature on Tuesday night after a press briefing held with members of the media Tuesday afternoon. A range of departments will be affected.

The county’s overall economic health was also discussed by Molino, though exactly how bad that will turn out isn’t clear and continues to unfold. In terms of unemployment, Molino was able to say that the number of unemployment applications from Tompkins County residents was up 3,000 percent from March 16-April 19, higher than the state average and reflective of how hard one of the strongest economies in central New York has been hit by the pandemic. Matt Butler

Email larry@ithacatimes.com or call 607-277-7000 x214 for info

SCHOOLS Continued From Page 3

layoffs—or, in Ithaca College’s case, moving forward with them already. The recent state budget has ICSD worried enough that the Board of Education penned a letter asking the federal government for more money in light of state cuts, while also approving a plan to cut the pay of spring season athletic coaches (who have been unable to work because of the closures) by 80 percent for the season.

There will at least be some Tompkins County representation in how the state proceeds with its economic reopening, as Cuomo’s selected list of over 100 advisors, announced earlier this week, includes Cornell president Martha Pollack as well as Tompkins Cortland Community College President Orinthia Montague. Matt Butler 5/20

Mikel Moss’ approach to therapy through theater

By Marjorie Z. Olds G rowing up in Ithaca, Mikel Moss loved the time he spent doing drama, and realized he could see himself in new ways when he played a role. Aside from doing theater locally, as Mikel grew up, he also had a strong interest in psychology. He knew people who had lived through trauma and pondered what psychological orientation might help them heal?

“Having the Actor’s Workshop in Ithaca is an amazing opportunity,” Moss said. “Holly Adams, a renowned local actor and drama teacher, and I spoke often. Through dramatization and support, could people work through some of their pain to begin healing? I began to believe that I could one day have a practice as a drama therapist and use theater to engage and support people’s healing.”

“Attending the New School University, a few blocks from Union Square in NYC, was

Mikel Moss has found therapy via an unusual medium: drama. (Photo provided)

terrific,” he continued. “I studied all the Creative Arts Therapy offered—art, dance, drama. Drama has an amazing way to engage people, but there is little hard data to support the viability of this type of therapy.”

As Moss delved into this field, he focused on the hard sciences, which had never been his strong point. “I wanted to study and create drama therapy, but I also needed to learn research methodology—the math and the science—to demonstrate how effective drama therapy is.”

Moss was accepted at Columbia University’s Clinical Psychology program for graduate school, one of the most competitive programs in the country. Moss asked his mother’s advice before heading back to NYC. She told him a graduate degree from Columbia was a golden ticket.

“As I began my studies, I was already planning what I wanted to do for my terminal degree (Ph.D.) to be at the top of my game. I arranged for my master’s studies to align with the research and data I would seek in my final academic program.”

Moss graduated with a master’s degree in Global Mental Health from the Teachers College at Columbia, with a triple minor in Global Mental Health and Trauma, Community Psychology, and Research Methods. All the pieces Moss had set out to weave together.

“It was a lot of work,” Moss said. “But I found I loved studying with amazing people. And while I was there, I was able to bring to

Calming Drama

life my commitment to diversity and equity. I helped organize students and community members to achieve more equitable access to scarce resources. I was elected to serve as Diversity Senator in the Student Senate. My platform focused on bringing faculty, administrators, students and community members together. ‘What do the students and community members need? How can the University help provide what they need?’ We studied the University’s responsibility to assist at-risk, underfunded local public schools in the surrounding community and local transportation; always considering those least able to afford what they needed. When schools and transportation are safe, affordable and successful, neighborhoods thrive, and students who often live in the communities surrounding the university are benefitted too.”

A friend who graduated after Moss reported that the University put a limit on the events that student organizations at the Teacher’s College could initiate after Moss graduated. But as Moss’s mother had told him, “Friction is how a fire is started.”

While completing his master’s studies at Columbia, Moss met a group of Aboriginal students and faculty touring American universities to develop opportunities for Aboriginal students to study outside of Australia. Meeting with this group of people, along with his interest in working in more diverse communities, clarified his next move:

“When I applied to the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health Ph.D. program in Australia, I knew what I wanted to study, what I wanted to learn, and what I wanted to do for my thesis project… The Admissions Committee said, ‘We love this’ [and] I was accepted.”

In Moss’s Ph.D. studies, he has developed a drama therapy approach to explore themes to help his clients heal themselves. “People know best how to heal their own pain, their loss. But using drama can help them open up to themselves, so they can find their way. The work has been intense, but it is exactly what I have wanted to do all along.”

“When I complete my Ph.D., I will have the research foundation to spread the word that Drama Therapy works.”

Home now in Ithaca, Mikel is helping out in the community in which he grew up. “I am trying to help distribute food and resources, while asking movers and shakers, “Who from the community is not in this room where we are discussing this community’s needs right now? Who are we not reaching? How can we bring them in?’ As my mother says, ‘Build a longer table, not a higher fence.’”

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