Yellow Dot Program provides first responders with critical information Posted on April 26, 2017 by Dakota PikeGLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK (April 25, 2017) –Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home and the Fulton County Sheriffs’ Office have announced a partnership to bring the New York State Sheriffs’ Association’s Yellow Dot Program to Fulton County.Yellow Dot is a free program designed to help first responders provide life-saving medical attention during the first “golden hour” after a crash or other emergency.The Yellow Dot kit contains a medical information card and a Yellow Dot decal. Participants complete the card, attach a recent photo, place it in the glove compartment of their vehicle and place the Yellow Dot decal on the rear driver’s side window, and at their home’s main entry door. First responders arriving at the scene of an emergency will be alerted by the Yellow Dot decal to look for the medical information card in the glove compartment, or in the home’s freezer.“If an individual is involved in an accident or medical emergency, first responders will see the yellow dot and locate the medical packet in either the glove box or freezer in the home,’ said Fulton County Sheriff Richard C. Giardino. “While the freezer seems unusual, the program uses one set location to insure all individual’s information can be found quickly, rather than people leaving the medical packet anywhere they want.”Yellow Dot kits will be distributed through Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing upon discharge.“The Nathan Littauer Foundation, the charitable arm of Nathan Littauer Hospital, supports this project to increase patient’s safety in their homes and vehicles,” added Geoffrey Peck, Vice President, Executive Director/Nathan Littauer Foundation.Funded by the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, the Yellow Dot Program is a free service available to individuals of all ages. In Fulton County, Yellow Dot kits will be available through the Fulton County Sheriffs’ Office. For information about the Yellow Dot Program, or to schedule a community presentation, please contact the Sheriff’s Office at 518-736-2100. Additional information is available at http://nysheriffs.org/yellowdot.
Littauer and American Renal Associates set the foundation for Fulton County dialysis center Posted on June 17, 2016 by Dakota PikeGLOVERSVILLE – Nathan Littauer Hospital, in partnership with American Renal Associates, is proud to announce the “foundation setting” for its new state-of-the-art dialysis center in Gloversville. The new facility in Fulton County will offer the latest technology for the care and comfort of patients suffering from kidney disease. On Friday, June 17, Nathan Littauer Hospital administrators, together with Dr. Soo Lee and Dr. Hani Shahata of American Renal Associates and local dignitaries, ceremoniously set the foundation as the construction of the center got underway. “We are very excited about this venture with Littauer,” said Dr. Lee. “Dialysis is an essential service, and it will be a tremendous advantage to patients in Fulton County and beyond the region.” The new dialysis center at Nathan Littauer Hospital will be the first dialysis center in Fulton County and one of the few dialysis centers in the nation attached to both a hospital and a nursing home. The center is fully prepared to serve all local patients suffering from kidney disease on an outpatient basis. “Drs. Lee and Shahata of American Renal Associates share our mission of providing world-class healthcare services to Fulton County,” said Laurence E. Kelly, president and CEO of Nathan Littauer Hospital. “Our ongoing partnership with these extraordinary doctors will increase our capacity to better serve our neighbors.” Littauer expects the dialysis center to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from kidney disease. Many dialysis patients have to travel hours for a treatment that can last up to four hours, three times a week. It is Littauer’s mission to provide world-class healthcare locally. Although the new dialysis center is an outpatient facility, Littauer has filed an application with the New York State Department of Health to offer dialysis to patients admitted to the hospital. The facility fully expects approval for this request. As stated, the Gloversville dialysis project is unique to the area since it is adjacent to a nursing home. According to Dr. Shahata, many nursing homes cannot offer dialysis services due to the time, frequency, and transportation costs. The new 7,000-square-foot facility will house 12 dialysis stations, with one isolation station, and will treat approximately 60 patients a week. The total cost from start to finish is $3.5 million. Littauer anticipates being in the test phase by Dec. 1, and being open for dialysis by Jan. 1, 2017. “This is the right project, at the right time, with the right partners,” confirmed Kelly.From left: Leslie Beadle, Vice President, Administrator/NLH Nursing Home; Geoff Peck, Executive Director, Nathan Littauer Foundation; Laurence E. Kelly, President and CEO, Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home; Dr. Irina Gelman, director of the Fulton County Public Health Department; Dr. Soo Lee, American Renal Association; Jean Wilkinson, Littauer Auxiliary; Brian Hanaburgh, Chairman, Littauer Board of Directors; Janine Dykeman, Board Chair, Nathan Littauer Foundation and Mark Kilmer, President, Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of CommerceLaurence E. Kelly, President and CEO, Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home, left, together with Dr. Soo Lee, American Renal Association stand together on the new dialysis center construction site in Gloversville
NATHAN LITTAUER HOSPITAL PROJECTS AWARDED STATE SUPPORT THROUGH MOHAWK VALLEY REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Posted on December 21, 2015 by Dakota PikeGLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. – Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home’s goal of delivering dialysis care and expanding their primary care footprint is getting closer to becoming a reality. On Dec. 10, when Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the 2015 Regional Economic Development Council Awards, several important projects for Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home (NLH) were awarded critical support from New York State. The hospital is slated to receive $740,000 from Empire State Development (ESD) to expand its primary care services and to contribute towards the cost of building a dialysis care facility. The funds will help offset the significant investment the hospital is making to bring the projects to fruition.The hospital submitted Consolidated Funding Applications (CFA) to the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council and ESD earlier this year with two goals in mind: to expand primary care and to provide comprehensive renal health care at Nathan Littauer’s Hospital campus. In addition to the dialysis center, two applications were submitted in response to the burgeoning demand for Littauer’s primary care.Laurence E. Kelly, Nathan Littauer’s CEO and President stated, “Primary care is vital to our population health goals. We have a hugely successful primary care practice spanning almost 50 miles. It is a formula we would like to replicate for underserved communities.” One such goal is to build a new Primary and Specialty Care Center in the village of Fonda.“The Certificate of Need for our Fonda project was approved on Dec. 12,” explained Kelly. He added, “We had a lot of good news this month.”The renal dialysis care center, when completed, will provide critical access to dialysis care in Fulton, Montgomery and Hamilton counties and the surrounding rural communities. “With the prevalence of kidney disease in our area the center will fill an important need,” said Kelly.Geoff Peck, Vice President and Executive Director of the Nathan Littauer Foundation stated, “Traveling long distances to receive primary care and in particular, dialysis care is not only a financial burden it is also an emotional and physical burden on our patients and their families. Kidney failure disproportionally afflicts minorities and the disposed.” He concluded, “So this project is wonderful for the community because it will drastically improve the quality of life of our neighbors.”In August, Littauer announced a relationship with a national provider of outpatient dialysis services and nephrology care and two local physicians Hani Shahata, M.D. and Soo Gil Lee, M.D. The new center will be one of the few dialysis centers with direct access to a nursing home and a hospital. New York State approved the Certificate of Need for the project this fall.“It is exciting to think of the lives that will improve with these projects,” said Kelly. “Thursday’s announcement by the Governor is a wonderful endorsement of that vision.”“Nathan Littauer is grateful to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Empire State Development, Mohawk Regional Economic Development Council and the Fulton County Planning Department,” said Kelly.More information about the announcement can be found at: https://www.ny.gov/sites/ny.gov/files/atoms/files/REDCAwardsBooklet2015.pdfXXXAbout Nathan Littauer Nathan Littauer Hospital and Nursing Home is a full-service, 74 bed acute care hospital with an 84 bed skilled nursing home. For 121 years, Nathan Littauer has provided safe, high-quality health and wellness services with a focus on securing appropriate new technologies for people residing in Upstate New York. Over the years, the hospital has expanded its services to offer health care that is comprehensive, accessible, and relevant to the needs of the communities they serve.
The Ferguson Fund supports two Littauer nurses Posted on August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 by Dakota PikeRecently, the Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson and Robert A. Ferguson Fund for Education scholarship award was presented at Nathan Littauer Hospital & Nursing Home. Scholarships of $2,500 each were granted to Jennifer Elmendorf, RN, and Danielle McDuffee, LPN, both employees at Littauer.Jennifer Elmendorf serves Nathan Littauer Hospital as an assistant manager and registered nurse in the Emergency Care Center. With her family present, Elmendorf explained how honored she felt to receive the Ferguson Scholarship. She is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in nursing.Danielle McDuffee is an LPN who also works in Littauer’s Emergency Care Center. “I am so honored to receive the scholarship this year,” said McDuffee. “I reapplied for the award this year, and I’m so happy I remained persistent. The scholarship is going to be a big help in furthering my health care career.” McDuffee is pursuing her RN through Mohawk Valley Community College.“We are honored by the Fergusons commitment to this scholarship fund,” said Nathan Littauer Foundation Executive Director Geoffrey Peck. He added that the Fergusons enjoy the opportunity to personally present the awards. “They meet the scholars, learn about their families, their work and how advancing their education will impact patient care.”Dr. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson is a Gloversville native and a recently retired Professor of the Department of Sociology at Columbia University. Her husband, Dr. Robert A. Ferguson, is the George Edward Woodberry Professor in Law, Literature and Criticism at Columbia Law School. They own a home in Gloversville and are active in community. The Ferguson Fund continues a family tradition of support to the hospital. Priscilla’s father, Richard B. Parkhurst, served as a longtime member and officer on the Nathan Littauer Hospital Board of Directors.“It was inspiring to meet the two scholarship recipients this year” said Priscilla. “Both of these local young ladies are extremely hardworking, and have chosen to further their careers, all while raising a family.”Inspired by the diligence of the two scholarship recipients, Robert added, “We are great supporters of Gloversville, and of Nathan Littauer as a key institution in Fulton County. We hope that by giving back to this community, others will recognize the importance and do the same.”As educators, Priscilla and Robert appreciate that learning never ends, and they know that the need for incremental learning is especially important and exciting in the medical field where necessary advances in health care take place. They also feel it is a good way to serve the community generally. Just as Littauer employees are the heart and soul of the hospital, so the hospital itself helps sustain Gloversville as a vital and desirable place to live. Priscilla and Robert expect to grow the Ferguson Fund to the point where it can help many employees advance their careers through continuing education while furthering the goals of ever better and safer patient care.“We need the best and brightest minds to enter and remain in the field of healthcare,” said Littauer President and CEO Laurence Kelly. “The field of healthcare must have our finest and most prepared people. This scholarship ensures that its recipients will have the support to do so. It is hard to anticipate the demands that will be placed on hospitals in the future, but this scholarship helps us prepare our workforce for whatever that future will be.”From left: NL Foundation Executive Director Geoffrey Peck, Jennifer Elmendorf, Dr. Robert A. Ferguson, Dr. Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, Danielle McDuffee. and NLH President and CEO Laurence E. Kelly
WOW! Technology meets comfort at Littauer Posted on March 25, 2015April 1, 2015 by Dakota PikeNathan Littauer brings unique technology to the areaOnce again, Littauer has brought cutting-edge diagnostic imaging to the region. The hospital added the latest MRI technology to their main campus. A new suite was constructed to house the Optima MR450w with GEM, the latest in an advanced system from GE Healthcare. The system is designed to help maximize patient comfort while delivering uncompromised image quality.“This latest MRI is both patient and clinician friendly while producing leading-edge imagery,” states Director of Imaging/Cardiopulmonary Services Dwayne Eberle at Nathan Littauer Hospital.“The image quality at Littauer is of the highest quality anywhere. You could not get a better image at another major hospital. And good imagery means a better diagnosis,” said Littauer’s Chief of Radiology Dr. John Mastrangelo.The GE Optima* MR450w’s innovative wide bore design allows more space for added patient comfort. The table surface with different cushion densities is designed to alleviate pressure points, and a new coil array that offers feet-first imaging for all exam types. “Our Diagnostic Team is committed to making people feel as comfortable as possible. We understand these are stressful tests. That is why my staff is committed to making people feel comfortable. The more comfortable a patient feels the better images we get” said Littauer’s Chief of Radiology Dr. John Mastrangelo.In addition, GE’s Optima MR450w includes Silent Scan, a revolutionary new technique that makes some exams as quiet as a whisper.“Nathan Littauer has always been a leader in bringing new diagnostic imaging to this area,” said Cheryl McGrattan, Littauer Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “People with migraines or people who are claustrophobic will be especially happy to hear this news.”Funding for MRI was made in part by donations from the Nathan Littauer Foundation. “The community response to this MRI project was overwhelming. Clearly, people are committed to keeping Littauer in the forefront of technology. ” said Geoffrey Peck, Nathan Littauer Foundation Executive Director. He added, “We are so grateful to the donors who saw the need in our community and responded so generously.”To learn more or to schedule services, contact Littauer’s Diagnostic Imaging Department at (518) 773-5520, or go to www.nlh.orgPhoto – Littauer Patient Coordinator Keri Calhoun assists a patient for a scan in Littauer’s Optima MR450w with GEM, the latest in an advanced system from GE Healthcare
