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LICH May Close in March

By on February 9, 2011 in Government, Health, News

A decision by officials in Governor Cuomo’s administration to delay release of funds needed to finance the merger of Long Island College Hospital with SUNY Downstate Medical Center may have doomed the local health care facility, which could be forced to shut down next month.

New York Times: A struggling Brooklyn hospital is making plans to shut down in March after a decision by the Cuomo administration to delay grants to help finance a merger intended to rescue the institution, officials said on Wednesday. Continue Reading →

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Rabid Raccoon Found in Prospect Park

By on December 7, 2010 in Health, Park Slope, Pets

A dead raccoon found on 10th St. & Prospect Park West on December 2nd has tested positive for rabies, according to the NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene. Park visitors and pet owners are advised to be aware and remain cautious when visiting the park. Pets are at a greater risk since they are more likely to come in contact with wildlife. Owners are encouraged to make sure that their pets are up-to-date with rabies shots, to keep dogs leashed at all times when visiting the park and to avoid approaching or feeding wild animals. Bites or sightings of sick, diseased or injured animals should be reported to 311.

More information on rabies and how to avoid it can be found on the Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene’s web site.

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LICH Doc Cautions Against “Vampire Fillers”

By on October 30, 2010 in Health

Aging baby boomers, like your correspondent, may be a hot market for the latest wrinkle eradication technique. As reported by the Daily News, “vampire fillers” involve taking blood from the patient, centrifuging out the red cells, then injecting the remaining platelet-rich plasma into the wrinkled area. However, a dermatologist affiliated with Long Island College Hospital urges caution before undergoing such a procedure.

Daily News: Dr. David Avram, a dermatologist at Long Island College Hospital who also has a private practice, notes that it takes about three months for the “vampire” filler to work. (He does not offer them, but knows doctors who do.)

“There’s not a lot of data on it yet as an effective treatment, and the main gist is that more studies need to be done,” Avram said. “I would not have patients rush into having this done yet since we already have fillers that work very well and that we know are safe.”

Is there really, as noted elsewhere in the Daily News piece, an “aesthetic dermatologist” at Lenox Hill named Doris Day?

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State Approval of LICH/SUNY Merger May Come Tomorrow

By on October 13, 2010 in Government, Health, News

See BHB for details.

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Fresh Fruit CSA Accepting New Members

By on August 2, 2010 in Carroll Gardens, Food, Health

Sample Full Share

Want farm fresh fruit at an affordable price? Here’s your chance to stock up your fridge AND support a local farm! Red Jacket Orchards is offering a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) to locals. Become a member and pay a farm upfront for a share of produce that you can pick up at a nearby distribution spot once a week. Not only do you get high quality fruit at a cheaper price, but a CSA also guarantees revenue for the farm. From August through November, members are provided with the best produce the farm has to offer, like peaches, plums, pears, apples, grapes, and even jams and juices.

Unlike most markets,  CSA allows the consumer to learn about the farm heir food comes from, as well as the people who produce it. While most vegetable CSAs are sold out in the city, this fruit CSA is completely new and accepting new members!

Interested? Half shares are $13 and full shares are $22. The Brooklyn pickup center is at Brooklyn Pharmacy and Soda Fountain at 513 Henry Street in Carroll Gardens on Tuesdays from August 10th through November 9th 4-6:45pm. To see a sample share list and more information on membership visit http://redjacketorchardscsa.wordpress.com/ or email redjacketorchards@gmail.com.
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CHB Chief Correspondent Featured on WCBS

By on June 16, 2010 in Blog Posts, Health, News

New York may soon become the first state to ban minors from tanning salons. Let’s hear it for the Empire State! With new research showing that even a single tanning booth session can increase the risk of melanoma by 75%, it’s high time that stricter regulations were placed on the salons.

WCBS Medical reporter Dr. Holly Phillips put together this story on the proposed ban. Malignant melanoma is the deadliest of skin cancers, and your friendly correspondent happens to be one of the few lucky survivors. Long-time local readers know that since 2008, I’ve kept people up to date on the latest news about skin cancer at groinstrong.com – with the help of WCBS, we’re reaching a much wider audience to educate about the risks – and the simple measures to prevent – advanced skin cancer.

Check out the video below and read the full story here.

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Bloomie and Ray Tell Kids to Eat Yum-O Goodness at P.S. 29

By on May 13, 2010 in Featured, Health

Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Quinn and food celebrity Rachael Ray were at P.S. 29 today.  Their mission – getting kids to eat better and to find out “where their food comes from”.

From the NYC press release:

The Mayor announced new efforts that will help address these obstacles including:

Launching a new mini-grant program (grants of $500-$1,000) this fall for schools in need of funds to start a garden.
Creating a website for schools, being designed by GrowNYC, to be launched by this fall with resources including:
Additional technical assistance provided by GrowNYC and GreenThumb.
Information on how to locate and connect to local community gardens.
Complimentary programming provided by City and nonprofit partners.
Information for teachers on how to incorporate garden instruction into existing curricula to maximize their academic impact.
Expanding the “Garden to Café” pilot program from 25 schools to more than 50 schools in the 2010 school year. The program’s goal is to connect school gardening and lunch menus through seasonal harvest events and educational activities. PS 29 is one of the initial Garden to Café sites and the school uses what is grown in the garden in its salad bar and to create recipes for special events.
Starting a teen intern program to take care of school gardens during the summer months. NYC Service will also help coordinate volunteers to care for the gardens.

Full press release here.

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Cobble Hill Claims Last Baby Born at St. Vincent’s

By on April 28, 2010 in Blog Posts, Health, News

Breaking news from the CHB Tip Jar! Cobble Hill resident Joetta Maue has informed CHB that she is the mother of the last baby born at Manhattan’s St. Vincent’s Hospital before its recent closure:

I am writing as the mother of the last baby born at St. Vincent’s Hospital. My son was born April 20, being the official last baby born at the historic hospital and delaying the closing of the maternity and NICU by almost a week. He was born to an emergency c-section after 30 hours of labor, 25 of which were at home in an all natural home birth. We with controversy were admitted to the hospital…
As the only patients in both the maternity ward and the NICU we had an amazing experience with an amazing staff of caregivers.
Congratulations to Joetta on her new (and healthy) baby boy! Score one for the nabe.

Photo: “Mother and Child” by Henry Essenhigh Corke via National Media Museum flickr photostream

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More Nabe Hijinks: DPH Mustache-Net Crackdown in Cobble Hill

By on April 1, 2010 in Blog Posts, Food, Health, Hipsters

Oh noes! Our right to whimsical facial hair must be protected!

Quick! Someone call Daniel Squadron!!

Image and the following report from Chow.com:

The artisanal cocktail movement suffered heavy casualties last night, when New York City Department of Health officials cited several restaurants in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn for old-timey facial hair code violations. For people preparing food and drink, state law requires that beards, sideburns, and mustaches be protected by a “mustache net.” However, in recent years, a trend toward aggressive nostalgia in the hospitality industry has encouraged whimsical mustaches at the expense of hygiene. There is often an equally compromising accumulation of Victorian clutter: phonographs, velvet flocked wallpaper, tarnished medical equipment, and pinned butterfly wings that officials warn can attract dust and crumbs.

The crackdown was a surprise to restaurant employees—one bartender apparently panicked and attempted to hide behind a taxidermied warthog. However, many of those cited have remained defiant.

“I’d be happy to have my staff wear mustache nets—if I could find a sustainable source,” said a representative of one of the establishments targeted in the raid. “And so far, I have not found a mustache net farm whose mustache netting practices I believe in.”

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Breaking News: Gowanus Canal officially named Superfund site

By on March 2, 2010 in Blog Posts, Health, Maritime, News

This morning, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would declare the Gowanus Canal a federal Superfund site. Read NY Times coverage here.

The Brooklyn Paper: The controversial designation sets into motion a half-billion-dollar, decade-long federally overseen clean-up of the polluted waterway, which cuts a sclerotic artery through the gentrifying heart of Brownstone Brooklyn. But it also raises questions about whether developers, who currently yearn to build residential housing in the canal zone, will ever exhibit quite the same ardor now that the area has been deemed one of the most polluted places in the country.

“This site has a very long legacy of toxic pollution that plagues this urban waterway,” said Judith Enck, the EPA’s regional director. “And because of that, the EPA is saying it is adding the Gowanus Canal to the federal Superfund list. We believe it will get us the most efficient and comprehensive cleanup of this waterway.”

Enck started her statement by declaring that taxpayers should rest easy that the feds went with a Superfund designation, which sets into motion a process of getting restitution from responsible polluters.

“The goal of Superfund is to ensure that polluters pay for cleanup, not the taxpayer,” she said.

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