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LOOK INSIDE
Holiday Wrapping Paper Contest drawn by our young readers
East Meadow rings in the holidays
Blankets, books for NUMC patients
Santa’s coming to Salisbury F.D.
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VOL. 21 NO. 50
DECEMBER 9 - 15, 2021
Working to ease patients’ pain at NUMC The clinic combines the knowledge of physicians from the departments of Physical A pain clinic that was Medicine and Rehabilitation, launched at Nassau University Anesthesiology, Neurosurgery Medical Center in East Meadow and Musculoskeletal Radiology. in September 2020 has grown “A lot of patients who we deal over the last year and a quarter. with don’t have access to this The clinic, which started with care elsewhere,” Weinberg said. e i g h t p at i e n t s a “. . . The benefit that week, now has 30 to we have is that any 35, NUMC doctors patient in the hospisaid. tal is easily referred NUMC’s Intervento us.” tional Pain Clinic, Once patients launched by Dr. Paul have been evaluated, Weinberg, of the their treatments are Department of Anesdecided after doctors thesiology, and Dr. consider the severity Paul Pipia, of the and tenacity of the Department of Physpain. Instead of ical Medicine and ingested medicines, Dr. Vinay Kudur Rehabilitation, offers treatments can multidisciplinary include topical meditreatments to help reduce and cations, minimally invasive proeliminate pain without medica- cedures like joint injections and tion. implantable devices, spinal and “We’ve had a lot of success epidural injections, cryotherapy with the clinic,” Pipia said. “We (cold therapy), stem-cell therapy, don’t have many patients on medication management, and advanced pain medication now. physical therapy and rehabilitaOur goal is to get them off of tion. pain medication and get them “Our approach is not to be back to a more productive life.” using narcotics but to use other “There was a growing need medicines such as numbing for alternative pain treatment medications and steroid medicaoptions,” he said, “and we were tions to solve the problem rather missing that part.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
By MALLORY WILSON mwilson@liherald.com
Sue Grieco/Herald
COUSINS ARIANNA, LEFT, and Mila LaRosa, both 8, waited eagerly for Santa to call their names at Borelli’s restaurant, during a breakfast hosted by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Military families share a hot meal and a visit with Santa By MALLORY WILSON mwilson@liherald.com
Vinny Cafiso, of East Meadow, said helping military members and veterans is dear to his heart. On Sunday, Cafiso helped host a breakfast with Santa for local military families at Borrelli’s restaurant in East Meadow, attended by about 30 children. Cafiso and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization found-
ed in 1819 that is focused on helping those in need, put the breakfast together. The organization’s creed is “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the or phan.” T he name derives from the types of men who formed the organization. “My son’s in the military; my father and father-in-law were in the military,” Cafiso said. “I don’t think enough is done for the veterans.” This is the first year that
the group held a breakfast for military families or those who live in the Mitchel Manor military housing development in East Meadow. “When I found out that they wanted to do this, I thought it was such a great idea,” said Allison Vardakis, of East Meadow. “Normally, depending on where you’re stationed, you will have a USO near you, and they would do something like this, CONTINUED ON PAGE 12