The team celebrates their win after Sunday's game. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics
The Seawolves used a gritty performance to secure their first-ever CAA win on Oct. 2 as they knocked off William & Mary in a five-set thriller. Stony Brook was paced by the trio of Leoni Kunz, Abby Campbell, and Kali Moore who all finished the match with 15 or more kills.
After capturing the first two sets, the Seawolves dropped the next two as the Tribe forced a deciding fifth set. Stony Brook overpowered William & Mary in the deciding set behind Kunz and Moore who tallied two kills apiece en route to a 15-8 win in the frame.
The Seawolves left Williamsburg, Va. with a spilt after falling in straight sets yesterday afternoon to the Tribe. Stony Brook bounced back on Sunday to pick up its first-ever win against William & Mary by the final set scores of 25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 14-25, 15-8.
With the win, the Seawolves improve to a perfect 4-0 in matches that go five sets this season. Prior to today’s five-set thriller, Stony Brook knocked off Fordham (Aug. 28 at home), Georgetown (Sep. 3 at home), and Seton Hall (Sep. 11 on a neutral court) in five sets. Today’s victory was the Seawolves’ first road win in five sets since September 7, 2019, when they defeated Georgetown.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the fight in our group. Coming back and working our way out of a poor performance yesterday is tough on short turnaround and being able to grit this out after some mid-match stress is huge. We definitely still had some moments we weren’t executing great and I think feeling that struggle and being able to grit out a W is something we needed to feel,” said head coach Kristin Belzung.
Join Stony Brook Medicine for a free screening of the Oscar-nominated film “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” followed by a panel discussion via Zoom or in person at Stony Brook University Hospital, Health Sciences Tower, Level 3, Lecture Hall 6, 101 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook on Thursday, Oct. 6 from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
WHAT:
In October, the U.S. Department of Labor increases awareness of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), which celebrates the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities past and present. To recognize NDEAM, Stony Brook Medicine is holding a free film screening and panel discussion of the Sundance Film Festival winning documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.” The film shows how a summer camp experience in the 1970s shaped the disabilities rights movement. Led by Maria Hensley-Spera, LCSWR, Outpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Stony Brook Medicine, a paraplegic herself, the event promises to be an engaging, informative, and enlightening evening. Following the screening, the esteemed group of panelists will discuss the film and the lives of people with disabilities today. Participants can attend in person or virtually via zoom.
FILM DESCRIPTION:
In the early 70s, teenagers with disabilities faced a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization. Camp Jened, a ramshackle camp “for the handicapped” (a term no longer used) in the Catskills, NY, exploded those confines. Jened was their freewheeling Utopia, a place where campers experienced liberation and full inclusion as human beings. Their bonds endured as many migrated West to Berkeley, California — a hotbed of activism where friends from Camp Jened realized that disruption, civil disobedience, and political participation could change the future for millions. And did.
MODERATOR:
Elizabeth Bojsza, MFA, Alda-certified facilitator at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science®, Assistant Professor of Practice & program head for the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Communicating Science at the School of Communication and Journalism, Stony Brook University
PANELISTS:
Judith E. Heumann, Lifelong advocate and leader of disability rights movement, teacher & author
Michelle Nario-Redmond, PhD, Author & Professor of Psychology & Biomedical Humanities, Hiram College
Jeanie Waters, Paralympian wheelchair sports athlete and civil rights attorney
Brooke Ellison, PhD, MPP, Science, healthcare policy & ethics expert, author & Associate Professor, Stony Brook University
Jacob Greene, BFA, Graphic Designer of socks for autism awareness & recent graduate of New York Institute of Technolog
Idle Hour, the mansion and estate of William Kissam Vanderbilt
(1849-1920), which became Dowling College in 1968
Vanderbilt Museum Archives photo
Gift is Significant Part of Dowling College’s Special Collection
The Suffolk County VanderbiltMuseum has received the largest donation of archival materials since its inception in 1950. The gift, donated by the Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve, includes materials from the former Dowling College and Vanderbilt Historical Society collections, comprising photographs, maps, and written correspondence. The donation marks a significant moment in the broader historical community’s efforts to preserve and promote the heritage of the region.
This donation will aid researchers and historians in forming an understanding of late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century Long Island, and it will greatly augment the kinds of programming that can be offered by the Vanderbilt, Suffolk County’s first museum and public park.
Paul Rubery, Director of Curatorial Affairs at the VanderbiltMuseum, and Janet Soley, President of the Friends of Connetquot, worked alongside New York State and Suffolk County officials to determine the best way to preserve the content of these archives for future generations. They established that, because the VanderbiltMuseum aims to interpret the totality of the Vanderbilt family’s contributions to the development of Long Island, Centerport would be the ideal resting place for the wide-ranging collections.
All items donated by the Friends of Connetquot are now being processed and digitized by staff at the VanderbiltMuseum. These measures put to rest what some once regarded as the uncertain fate and future of a vast collection of historical materials assembled in Oakdale by local historians and academic archivists.
Dowling College Materials
Dowling College was established in 1968 at Idle Hour, the former mansionand 900-acre estate built in 1900 for William Kissam Vanderbilt (1849-1920). Vanderbilt was the father of William K. Vanderbilt II (1878-1944), who created the Eagle’s Nest estate, home of the Suffolk County VanderbiltMuseum.
Dowling College’s paper records were in jeopardy when the school ceased operations in 2016. Nearly a year later, its administrative and collegiate archives were transferred to Adelphi College, the college’s former parent institution. This arrangement spoke to Adelphi’s mission and directly benefited the wide network of Dowling alumni in the region. However, certain items were not covered in the original agreement between Adelphi and RSR Consulting, LLC—the company charged with liquidating assets in the bankruptcy proceedings—and those materials were folded into the listing placed up for bankruptcy auction.
The bankruptcy sale of Dowling’s assets was complicated by false starts and unrealized transactions. After the initial deal with Princeton Educational Center failed to transpire, Mercury International, LLC, acquired the property in 2017 for $26.1 million. During Mercury’s ownership, a representative from that company offered boxed materials in good condition to the Friends of Connetquot. For Mercury, the campus property and outbuildings were the primary concern, not the papers still left in many areas of the campus. Mercury ceased ownership of the property in December 2021, when the Chinese state-owned enterprise China Orient Asset Management purchased a majority stake in their parent company for $42 million.
The items given to the Friends of Connetquot—and now, through their donation, to the Suffolk County VanderbiltMuseum—include the Muriel Vanderbilt, National Dairy, and Peace Haven collections.
Additional Material
Additional sections of the archives donated by Friends of Connetquot were acquired by that organization at auction. The Friends of Connetquot is dedicated to the preservation, conservation, and history of the 3,473-acre State Park Preserve, with the legacy of the South Side Sportsmen’s Club as their primary focus. The Sportsmen’s Club was among the elite social clubs of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, claiming presidents and titans of business among its membership.
Below are brief descriptions of the collections donated to the Suffolk County VanderbiltMuseum by the Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve. To increase access to public history and stimulate interest in Long Island’s heritage, the VanderbiltMuseum will make them available online in the coming months.
Muriel Vanderbilt Collection: Muriel Vanderbilt was the daughter of William Kissam Vanderbilt II and Virginia Graham Fair. She was an American socialite and an accomplished breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.
The Muriel Vanderbilt collection contains personal photographs and other materials that she donated to Dowling College in 1970. Some collection highlights include wedding and engagement photographs, in which Muriel wears the bridal veil of Marie Antoinette; extensive documentation of horse stables and rodeos; images of family members; and architectural photography of breathtaking estates.
Above, the stage at Peace Haven, one of the uses of the Idle Hour estate before it became Dowling College. Vanderbilt Museum Archives photo
Peace Haven Cult: The collection associated with the Peace Haven Cult is among the most unique archives on Long Island. In 1937, a group called the Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians purchased William Kissam Vanderbilt’s Idle Hour and renamed it “Peace Haven.” Founded by James Bernard Schafer, a doctor from North Dakota, the Master Metaphysicians integrated behaviorist psychology, Christian spiritualism, and mediative techniques to achieve certain personal goals. The cult caught the attention of the international press during the custody proceedings over “Baby Jean.”
“Baby Jean” was central to the cult’s ambitions. The Master Metaphysicians informally adopted “Baby Jean” from her mother, a local waitress, and placed her at the center of a grand metaphysical experiment. Schafer maintained that he could give the child eternal life with an exclusively plant-based diet and protection from negative stimuli. The Master Metaphysicians returned “Baby Jean” to her birth parents after less than a year, and her mother eventually filed a legal suit against the cult.
National Dairy Collection: After serving as the headquarters for the Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians, the Idle Hour estate was acquired by National Dairy Research Labs. National Dairy, which would eventually become Kraft Foods, purchased the estate’s mansion, carriage house, and twenty-three acres of land in 1947. The collection features photographs of the interior and exterior of the buildings at the time of sale, extensive documentation of the newly created research laboratories, and some press materials.
Bronco Charlie’s Collection: Bronco Charlie’s was a family restaurant located in Oakdale. Its owner, “Bronco” Charlie Miller, was a revered storyteller who claimed that he was the youngest ever rider on the Pony Express. Although many of his stories were undoubtedly fanciful, his tremendous life was chronicled in a range of print media. Highlights from the Bronco Charlie Collection include plates, menus, photographs, and correspondence.
Artists’ Colony Collection: Founded in 1926 on the grounds of the William Kissam Vanderbilt I’s summer estate, the Idle Hour Artists’ Colony was inspired by other prominent cultural communities like Yaddo, McDowell, and the Barbizon. Lucy Thompson, a socialite and the wife of a wealthy oil merchant from Texas, purchased the property and renovated its stables and outbuildings to accommodate a theater, restaurant, and artist studios. Highlights from the Artists’ Colony Collection include a map of the colony, real estate listings from the 1920s, and a watercolor from one of the original artists.
Sometimes art can be used as a way to raise awareness about issues that affect us in our daily lives. Such is the case with the Art League of Long Island’s latest exhibit, Time’s Running Out: An iPhonography and 3D(isaster) Sculpture Exhibition, which presents a body of digital photographic artwork and trash sculpture highlighting the contrast between nature’s beauty and the environmental pollution and decay found throughout the country, including on Long Island’s roadways, parks, and beaches.
‘Not A Jellyfish’ by Scott Schneider
Created by Scott Schneider of Toxic/Nature Studios®, the eye-opening show will be on view in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery from Oct. 1 to 28.
“Toxic/Nature Studios® features environmental photography that celebrates the majesty of nature and laments its demise, in small moments. Using close-up macro techniques, the photographs express my appreciation for and concern about the environment,” said Schneider. “As we become increasingly distracted by our devices, we tend to overlook small disasters beneath our feet. Likewise, we can fail to notice the beautiful moments present in nature. Beauty can also be found in the rust, decay, and textures of everyday objects.”
Schneider chose to take all photos byiPhone, “thereby leveraging the power of technology to observe rather than to distract,” he said. The artist then created archival, digital pigment prints using environmentally friendly inks on bamboo paper, which is highly sustainable.
In addition to photographs, the exhibit will also feature a series of sculptural pieces Schneider calls 3D(isasters). “This thought-provoking artwork is designed to challenge the viewer to make sense of the quantity of litter displayed in a #finditfillit container,” he explained.
‘Dead See’ by Scott Schneider
Schneider hopes the exhibit will inspire others to notice the world around them and to take action to preserve its natural beauty. “We can’t do this while plugged in and tuned out,” he said.
“That’s why I ask viewers to unplug, look around, and get the small picture. By turning off our blinders of technology, and noticing the small detail of a piece of litter, a fallen petal, or an interesting bit of rust, we can then look up and notice the big picture, which is that the world needs our help.”
The community is invited to an opening reception on Oct. 1from 1 to 3 p.m. Viewing hours through Oct. 28 are Tuesdays andThursdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. For more information call 631-462-5400 or visit www.artleagueli.org.
The Reboli Center’s October Artisan of the Month is Renee Fondacaro: candlemaker and founder of Old Field Apothecary. Fondacaro founded the company in 2020, with the goal of creating beautiful, clean, naturally scented candles and home accessories.
Old Field Apothecary candle
An artisan and registered nurse with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SUNY Oneonta and a Nursing degree from Syracuse University, Fondacaro creates natural, handmade products with ingredients sourced sustainably. As a two-time cancer survivor, this aspect of her business is very important to her.
“Our mission at Old Field Apothecary is to create hand poured, small batch candles, wax melts and home accessories with captivating scents, beautiful minimalist designs, and the best ingredients. All products are made from a luxurious vegan wax blend made of natural coconut and apricot. Coconut and apricot waxes are gluten free, toxin free, paraben free, phthalate free, and come from renewable sources. The entire blend utilizes only FDA approved waxes,” said Fondacaro. In addition, all candles have a crackling wooden wick and each candle is wicked, poured and labeled by hand.
Lois Reboli, a founder of the Reboli Center, said, “Renee has had a pop-up store at the Center in the past and it is wonderful that she is the Artisan for October. With the holidays just around the corner, this is an excellent opportunity for residents to shop for their homes, as well as for gifts for family and friends.”
The Reboli Center is located at 64 Main Street in Stony Brook, and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11am-5pm and on Sunday from 1pm-5pm. Admission is free. For more information, please call 631-751-7707 or visit www.ReboliCenter.org
“We can safely assume that one of the greatest threats to existence on the planet is distancing from the natural world.”
Karen Lloyd’s collection Abundance: Nature in Recovery (Bloomsbury Publishing) asks us to “bend closer” in viewing the planet. She wants the reader to see “the holes humans have created” during this current geological age (the Anthropocene). She uses her observations to “work out what [she’s] not been looking at but should have seen.” The book balances a healthy wonder with the perception of the losses incurred during the modern era and the destruction caused by human beings’ willful intent or, at the very least, ignorance.
In fourteen intriguing essays, she addresses a host of issues. She concedes that often problems are “hyperobjects”— concepts, ideas, and things that are so vast as to evade intellectual and emotional grasp. These include the biosphere, climate breakdown, evolution, capitalism, and politics. What makes her writing exceptional is that while she acknowledges this limitation, it has not stopped her from exploring them with insight and depth, offering both simple and breathtaking awareness.
The book is unique in its point of view. It is not a traditional dissection of environmental issues. Instead, it is a mosaic of thoughts and experiences. Lloyd focuses on the ecological but draws on art, photography, poetry, history, and personal anecdotes to build her case. Hers is an unusual, affecting, and effective approach. Her language is vivid and rich, even dealing with the depletion of the landscape and the entanglement resulting from modern encroachment. But, always, her anthem is that the natural world should be the center of our existence.
Her consideration of wildlife drives much of Abundance. She regards animals both as they are and in an anthropomorphized stage. When describing eight American brown pelicans rescued from an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, she sees, “the disposition of the pelicans is that of a Pieta, although without the central protagonist.” For Lloyd, the “act to save birds and other species from ruination caused by humans is not only a profound sense of engagement with our imagination but illustrates that human agency is also the dynamic of repair.”
She cites a range of examples of organizations repairing the damage, like the Wolves in the Netherlands Project, which is about coexistence. Here, Lloyd brings up the issue of doing as opposed to “we can talk about anything as long as we don’t have to live with it.” She details her scrutiny of birds and beavers and the many impacts of the “man-made mess.” Each account, whether pastoral or harrowing, is a visceral reminder to witness: “At what point did it begin to form, this void inside us that caused us to forget how to see?”
Engagement is the cornerstone and foundation, urging people to let their children experience the natural world and not through a screen. She recounts her adventures with a contrast of hard facts and beautiful metaphors, frank observations, and lyrical expression. As indicated, Lloyd highlights the human need for comparison. “To make allegiances between images and ideas. To render the metaphysical, the supra-human in form and word.” Thus, vultures look like Lawrence Olivier got up as Richard the third. Lapwings sport Robin Hood caps. A black-winged stilt summons the image of Audrey Hepburn. A pair of hoopoes flare like Incan gods. Her frustration with misinformation reveals a wit that tips towards gallows humor as in the discussion of Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, followed by hilarious but pointed imaginary discussion between beavers fleeing their home.
Enjoying a plate of olives on a beautiful Friday night, she wants to forget the danger new olive plantations represent to the bird population because of the drying of the land. She learns that wind turbines designed to fight climate change pose are a threat to the avian population. “… Electricity is progress, and green energy is more progress still. Even though there will always be a cost, I’ve chosen to be more upfront with myself about this. I still want electricity. I still want to eat olives.”
She is unusual and unusually brave in her honesty and continues to unpack the big questions. Whether meditating on the extinction of a species in our time, analyzing agribusiness, or pondering predator control, she never loses sight of the contradictions and complexities. There is raw bravery in both her awe and exasperation.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: “Consider the situation from all sides. Keep hold of the bigger picture. Tune out the interference and the white noise. Tune in to the ways and means in which the landscape communicates. Pay attention to what it needs to perform its work efficiently.” Lloyd’s thoughts, hopes, and perspectives are complicated. But they are a valuable reminder to open our eyes and minds to the world we have … while we still have it.
Pick up a copy online at www.Amazon.com or www.BarnesandNoble.comm.
Stony Brook University’s Staller Center for the Arts, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook welcomes the Peking Acrobats featuring The Shanghai Circus on the Main Stage on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. Combining time-honored Chinese music and groundbreaking special effects to create an environment that mirrors the festive pageantry of a Chinese Carnival, The Peking Acrobats are set to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime evening of exuberant entertainment. Fun for the whole family! Tickets range from $39 to $68. To order, call 632-2787 or visit www.stallercenter.com.
REVIEWS
“If daring and dexterity turn you on, this is a show that will probably twist you around in your seat. It’s amazing and exciting!”
~ New York Post
“All 26 members of this troupe are amazing athletes with grace and charisma in addition to their razor-sharp precision-everything entertainment should be!”
~ Dance Insider
“Amazing! Zounds! The vocabulary of exclamation seeks expression as the medium of awed and surprised reaction to the wondrous feats of THE PEKING ACROBATS! In their graceful efforts, these brightly costumed tumblers, acrobats, cyclists, jugglers, and clever clowns provide 90 minutes of family fun that infuses springtime in New York with an extra measure of joy.”
~ New York Times
“Tumblers, contortionists, jugglers…OH MY! The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its Pops series with a show of dazzling athleticism and jaw-dropping beauty Friday night, courtesy of world-renowned PEKING ACROBATS! ”
~ Winnipeg Free Press, Canada
“…At no time have we seen anything like the Peking Acrobats. Feats of clowning, dexterity, grace, strength and coordination rippled from the stage in a series of pleasurable waves. One was left waterlogged in wonder.”
~ Chicago Tribune
“…’A’ is for acrobats and astounding, amusing, audacious and accomplished, accurate and attractive and admirable, all of which describe, though not completely, The Peking Acrobats.”
~ Variety
“…Nearly everything The Peking Acrobats did last night was amazing – and stunning and breathtaking and WOW!”
~ Seattle Times
“…The Peking Acrobats regularly passed from the seemingly impossible to the virtually unbelievable.”
The Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue, Huntington, joins with the Folk Music Society of Huntington in presenting the NorthShore Original Open Mic (NOOM) three Wednesday nights each month, beginning October 12. The open mic series, to be held in the Cinema’s Sky Room, is set for 7 p.m. with open mic sign-up beginning at 6:30 p.m. Although it is free to attend, donations will be sought and gratefully accepted.
“It’s our pleasure to continue the ever-deepening partnership between the Cinema Arts Centre and two pillars of Long Island music scene – the Folk Music Society of Huntington and NorthShore Original Open Mic (NOOM),” said Dylan Skolnick, co-director of the Cinema Arts Centre.
“The Folk Music Society of Huntington’s monthly Hard Luck Café series has been a mainstay of our programming for many years, bringing some of the country’s best folk music performers to dedicated folk fans here in Huntington. With the introduction of a weekly open mic night we are delighted to offer even more opportunities for music lovers and artists to come together, as well as a space where seasoned performers can try out their newest original pieces and where up-and-coming musicians can get used to performing for a crowd,” Skolnick added.
“NOOM is thrilled to partner with the Folk Music Society of Huntington and the Cinema Arts Centre and lay the groundwork for a weekly opportunity for original songwriters and performers to present their original songs in a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere,” said Toby Tobias, a Huntington-based singer-songwriter who launched the open mic series at a small coffee shop in Northport in the fall of 2013.
One of the longest running weekly original open mics on Long Island, NOOM has reincarnated itself at quite a few North Shore locations through the years — most recently at Finley’s in Huntington. Although the COVID-19 pandemic precluded NOOM from taking place in-person since March 2020, songwriter Richard Parr has been livestreaming the open mic every week since then and will also be playing a major role when it resumes in-person.
“We invite singer-songwriters of varying skill levels and those who love live music, to gather at the Cinema Arts Centre to listen to songwriters, dedicated to the craft of writing and singing their songs, play and talk about their original music in an environment of goodwill and open-mindedness,” said Tobias. He noted that each NOOM will also include a featured 20-minute performance by a known/emerging local or touring songwriter starting at around 8 p.m. “I am very excited to be a part of this,” he said.
MichaelKornfeld, longtime president of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, shares their excitement. “FMSH is delighted to extend its partnerships with both NOOM and the Cinema Arts Centre and to help provide opportunities for local singer-songwriters to share their music with our community,” he said. “NOOM has been an Acoustic Ally of FMSH for a number of years. We’ve cross-promoted each other’s events and presented a couple of joint livestreams over the past two years.”
Affording local artists opportunities to share their talents with appreciative audiences in an intimate listening room atmosphere was the initial impetus behind the nonprofit presenting organization’s Hard Luck Café concert series many years ago, Kornfeld noted. That series now features a mix of local, regional and national touring artists. The Cinema Arts Centre has partnered with the Folk Music Society of Huntington and hosted the monthly Hard Luck Café concerts in its Sky Room for more than a decade. That series resumes on October 19 with featured act No Fuss and Feathers and will take place on the third Wednesday of each month, from 7-9:30/10 p.m. An open mic also precedes most Hard Luck Café concerts.
Skilled nursing care is a high level of care that can only be provided by trained and licensed professionals, such as registered nurses, licensed professional nurses, medical directors, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists.
Skilled care is short-term and helps people get back on their feet after injury or illness. Skilled nursing facilities are residential centers that provide nursing and rehabilitative services to patients on a short-term or long-term basis. Examples of the services provided at a skilled nursing facility include wound care, medication administration, physical and occupational therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation.
Generally, patients who are admitted to skilled nursing facilities are recovering from surgery, injury, or acute illness, but a skilled nursing environment may also be appropriate for individuals suffering from chronic conditions that require constant medical supervision. If you or a loved one is interested in using Medicare for skilled nursing, though, there are specific admission requirements set by the federal government:
• The individual has Medicare Part A (hospital insurance) with a valid benefit period. The benefit period will start from the date of admission to a hospital or skilled nursing facility and last for up to 60 days after the end of the stay.
• The individual has a qualifying hospital stay. This generally means at least three in- patient days in a hospital.
• The doctor has recommended skilled nursing care for the individual on a daily basis. The care must be provided by skilled nurses and therapists or under their supervision and should be related to the condition that was attended to during the qualifying hospital stay.
• The individual is admitted to a skilled nursing facility that is certified by Medicare. A skilled nursing facility must meet strict criteria to maintain its Medicare certification.
Usually, the skilled nursing care services covered by Medicare include the room charges, provided that it is a semi-private or shared room, meals at the facility, and any nutritional counseling, as well as costs of medication, medical supplies, medical social services, and ambulance transportation. It also covers rehabilitative services that are required to recover from the condition, such as physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and speech therapy.
Medicare generally offers coverage for up to 100 days of treatment in a skilled nursing facility. Note that if the patient refuses the daily skilled care or therapy as recommended by the doctor, then the coverage by Medicare may be denied for the rest of the stay at the skilled nursing facility. Many patients are advised that they will not get the full 100 days of Medicare benefits because they had reached a “plateau” or that they failed to improve. This is known as the Improvement Standard and was a “rule of thumb” used to evaluate Medicare patients.
Applying the Improvement Standard resulted in the denial of much needed skilled care for thousands of Medicare patients. The denials were based on a finding that there was no likelihood of improvement in the patient’s condition. This standard ignored the fact that the patients needed skilled care in order to maintain their current state of health and to prevent them from deteriorating. More often than not, if the patient was not improving, Medicare coverage was denied. While this standard was widely used, it was inconsistent with Medicare law and regulations.
A court case brought by Medicare beneficiaries and national organizations against the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Jimmo v Sebelius) sought to change this. The plaintiffs argued that even though the term “plateau” does not appear in the Medicare regulations, it is this term that is often used and relied upon to deny coverage. The appropriate standard should be: will the covered services “maintain the current condition or prevent or slow further deterioration,” not whether the individual was showing signs improvement.
As a result of this litigation and the settlement on Jan. 24, 2013, patients should be able to continue receiving services provided by Medicare, even where improvement in the patient’s condition cannot be documented. However, the old standard continues to be used. Patients and their advocates should educate themselves on the correct standard to make sure coverage is not cut prematurely.
Nancy Burner, Esq. is the founder and managing partner at Burner Law Group, P.C with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, New York City and East Hampton.
In fourteen intriguing essays, she addresses a host of issues. She concedes that often problems are “hyperobjects”— concepts, ideas, and things that are so vast as to evade intellectual and emotional grasp. These include the biosphere, climate breakdown, evolution, capitalism, and politics. What makes her writing exceptional is that while she acknowledges this limitation, it has not stopped her from exploring them with insight and depth, offering both simple and breathtaking awareness.
REVIEWS
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