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Yearly Archives: 2022

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Stephanie Baez will be one of the guest speakers at the event. Photo from SBU

Stony Brook University recognizes Women’s History Month with its annual celebration that highlights the achievements of women, raises awareness against bias, and promotes social action for equality. This year’s theme #BreakTheBias was adopted from International Women’s Day which is held annually on the first Tuesday in March.  Events will take place through Monday, March 28.

The university’s “Hybrid Opening Program in Celebration of International Women’s Day” will take place on Monday, March 7 at 1 p.m., ET in the Student Activities Center Ballroom A with limited seating, and will also be accessible on Zoom.  This year’s program will feature a discussion about issues facing women with three accomplished SBU alumni — Maureen Ahmed ’11, Stephanie Baez ’08 and Brooke Ellison ’12.

The program will be hosted by senior Cassandra Skolnick, a student member of the Women’s History Month Committee who is majoring in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. In addition, student moderators will be Amber Lewis, a Junior, Journalism major; Minors in Music and Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Sanjana Thahura, a  Senior, Biology major with Interdisciplinary Biology Specialization, Undergraduate College Academy Minor in Health and Wellness.  Attendees can register online to attend the opening ceremony on Zoom.

Meet the panelists:

  • Stephanie Baez

    Maureen Ahmed (‘11) is a foreign-affairs officer with the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL), where she provides policy guidance on how to advance human rights, democracy, and governance across South and Central Asia. Ahmed is also an international human rights activist and policy leader with expertise in diplomacy, foreign policy, human rights, gender, global health, HIV epidemiology, and civil society integration. Prior to DRL, she worked at the Department’s Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (O/GAC), where she managed the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) South Africa program, the United States’ largest global health assistance program  Ahmed was named a 2020 National Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project and a 2019-2020 Penn Kemble Fellow with the National Endowment of Democracy.

  • Maureen Ahmed

    Stephanie Baez (‘08) is vice president for Communications and Public Affairs at Global Strategy Group in New York, a public relations and research firm. She leads strategic communications planning initiatives that incorporate traditional and digital communications channels and platforms, as well as grassroots/grasstops components. Baez served as the communications director for Congressmen Hakeem Jeffries and John Conyers, was senior vice president of public affairs for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and was director of communications and public affairs for the Central Park Conservancy. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in Journalism.

  • Brooke Ellison

    Brooke Ellison (‘12) is an associate professor in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Behavioral and Community Health in the Stony Brook School of Health Professions. She is also director of the PhD program in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, and director of the Center for Community Engagement and Leadership Development. Ellison’s work as a researcher and scholar focuses on the ethics and policy of science and health care, particularly the intersection of disability and bioethics, and strategies to make healthcare and technology accessible to those most in need. Ellison was paralyzed from the neck down after being hit by a car while walking home from her first day of junior high school; 10 years later, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University. She received her PhD in sociology from Stony Brook in 2012, was chosen to be a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2014, and in 2017, was chosen to serve on the board of directors and executive committee of the New York Civil Liberties Union. In 2018, Brooke was named a Truman National Security Project Political Partner and was appointed to serve as a commissioner on the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission in 2020.

On Monday, March 21 (2pm, ET)  as part of the speaker series is “In Defense of All Women’s Spaces,” at Melville Library, Special Collections Seminar Room, E-2340.

Stony Brook University graduate instructor Stephanie Bonvissuto will host this discussion:

How does accessing social spaces relate to the social construction of gender and sexual identities? How can site-specific signage taken as signifiers offer a view into societal ethics and cultural ethos? What are the institutional investments in policing bodies and enforcing cis-heteronormativity? And what can queering space (and spatiality) offer in terms of the future design of ‘something else’? This talk takes as its point of departure debates around public gendered restrooms to consider the biopolitics of space, the designs of power and knowledge, and the generative connections between spatial equity and social justice.

On Monday, March 28 (between 3-5pm, ET), “Closing Program in Celebration of International Women’s Day” in the Student Activities Center Ballroom A with limited seating.

Former National Public Radio host of “The Takeaway” as well as New York Times/CNN reporter Tanzina Vega (‘96) will host.

Meet the host: 

For more than a decade, Tanzina Vega’s (‘96) journalism career  has centered on inequality in the United States through the lens of race and gender.  She’s been a reporter and producer for the New York Times and CNN where her work spanned text, digital and broadcast television.  She most recently spent three years as the first Latina weekday host of “The Takeaway” on WNYC, New York Public Radio.  Tanzina has covered many of the most consequential news events of the past decade, including multiple presidential elections, the COVID 19 pandemic, the rise of #BlackLivesMatter, Puerto Rico’s political crisis and the January 6 Capitol insurrection. In 2019 she was awarded the Robert G. McGruder Distinguished Lecture and Award from Kent State University.  Prior to that she was a fellow at the Nation Institute and a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University.  She is a distinguished graduate of the Craig Newmark School of Journalism at City University of New York where she earned Masters in Digital journalism.  She lives with her son in New York City.

For more information visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/womens-history-month/ 

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Northport senior forward Allison Soule lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule battles in the paint in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule shoots in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Longwood wins the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport freshman Claire Fitzpatrick pushes up-court in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport freshman Claire Fitzpatrick battles her way to the basket in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport freshman Claire Fitzpatrick nails a three-pointer in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior forward Allison Soule lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport sophomore Kennedy Radziul looks for the rebound in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport sophomore Kennedy Radziul lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport sophomore Kennedy Radziul looks for the rebound in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport sophomore Kennedy Radziul lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport sophomore Kennedy Radziul lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood fights her way to the basket in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood drains one of her FIVE 3-pointers in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Bica battles her way to the basket in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Bica shoots in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Rachel Mincone drives the baseline in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood looks for the rebound in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood looks for the rebound in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood lays up for two in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo
Northport senior Sophia Yearwood shoots in the Suffolk Class AA final against Longwood Mar. 5. Bill Landon photo

The Tigers of Northport, the No. 2 seed, faced the top seeded Lions of Longwood, both teams with 12-1 winning records in the Class AA final at Smithtown East High School Mar. 5. The Tigers clung to a one-point lead in the closing minutes of the third quarter holding off the Lions 43-42, but Longwood found it’s legs in the final eight minutes of play to win the game, 65-54. 

Northport senior Sophia Yearwood led her team in scoring, nailing five triples for 15 points,. Senior Allison Soule had six from the floor and a free throw for 13, and Kennedy Radziul, a sophomore, netted 11.

The win propels Longwood to the Section XI title game as the large school qualifier where they’ll face the small school winner, West Babylon, at their own home court Mar. 7.

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Director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Stony Brook Heart Institute Dr. Eric Rashba is holding the new Watchman FLX device, which provides protection from strokes for people with atrial fibrillation. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

The butterflies that color backyards are welcome companions for spring and summer. The ones that flutter towards the upper part of people’s chests can be discomforting and disconcerting.

In an effort to spread the word about the most common form of heart arrhythmia amid American Heart Month, the Stony Brook Heart Institute recently held a public discussion of Atrial fibrillation, or A-fib.

Caused by a host of factors, including diabetes, chronic high blood pressure, and advanced age, among others, A-fib can increase the risk of significant long-term health problems, including strokes.

In atrial fibrillation, the heart struggles with mechanical squeezing in the top chamber, or the atrium. Blood doesn’t leave the top part of the heart completely and it can pool and cause clots that break off and cause strokes.

Dr. Eric Rashba, who led the call and is the director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Stony Brook Heart Institute, said in an interview that A-fib is becoming increasingly prevalent.

A-fib “continues to go up rapidly as the population ages,” Rashba said. It occurs in about 10% of the population over 65. “As the population ages, we’ll see more of it.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 12.1 million people in the United States will have A-fib over the next decade.

As with many health-related issues, doctors advised residents to try to catch any signs of A-fib early, which improves the likely success of remedies like drugs and surgery.

“We prefer to intervene as early as possible in the course of A-fib,” Dr. Ibraham Almasry, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, said during a call with three other doctors. “The triggers tend to be more discreet and localized and we can target them more effectively.”

Different patients have different levels of awareness of A-fib as it’s occurring.

“Every single patient is different,” said Dr. Roger Ran, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute. Some people feel an extra beat and could be “incredibly symptomatic,” while others have fatigue, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, and dizziness.

Still other patients “don’t know they are in it and could be in A-fib all the time.”

Doctors on the call described several monitoring options to test for A-fib.

Dr. Abhijeet Singh, who is also a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, described how the technology to evaluate arrhythmias has improved over the last 20 years.

“People used to wear big devices around their necks,” Singh said on the call, which included about 150 people. “Now, the technology has advanced” and patients can wear comfortable patches for up to 14 days, which record every single heartbeat and allow people to signal when they have symptoms.

Patients can also use an extended holter monitor, which allows doctors to track their heartbeat for up to 30 days, while some patients receive implantable recorders, which doctors insert under the skin during a five-minute procedure. The battery life for those is 4.5 years.

Additionally, some phones have apps that record heartbeats that patients can send by email, Singh said. “We have come a long way in a few years.”

Dr. Roger Fan, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, added that all these technologies mean that “we are virtually guaranteed to get to the bottom” of any symptoms.

Drugs vs. surgery

Doctors offer patients with confirmed cases of A-fib two primary treatment options: drugs or surgery.

The surgical procedure is called an ablation and involves entering the body through veins in the groin and freezing or burning small areas that are interfering with the heart’s normal rhythm. The procedure breaks up the electrical signals in irregular heartbeats.

Performed under general anesthetic, the procedure generally takes two to three hours. Patients can return home the same day as the operation, Rashba said.

As with any surgery, an ablation has some risks, such as stroke or heart attack, which Rashba said are “very rare” and occur in fewer than one percent of the cases. Additionally, patients may have groin complications, although that, too, has declined as doctors have used ultrasound to visualize the blood vessels.

In extremely rare occasions, some patients also have damage to the esophagus behind the heart, said Rashba, who is also a professor of medicine.

For patients experiencing symptoms like A-fib, doctors recommended a trip to the emergency room, at least the first time.

“If it’s not going away, one, you can reassure yourself, two, you can get treatment, and three, you can get a diagnosis quickly,” said Almasry.

The Stony Brook doctors said choosing the best treatment option depends on the patient.

“Everybody has different manifestations of their A-fib,” said Fan.

Among other questions, doctors consider how dangerous the A-fib is for the patients, how severe the symptoms are, and how much they affect the quality of life.

Doctors urged residents to make the kind of healthy lifestyle choices that keep other systems functioning effectively. Almasry cited a direct correlation between obesity and A-fib.

Reducing body weight by 10%, while keeping the weight off, can reduce the likelihood of A-fib recurrence, he said.

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Unknown couple circa early 1900s enjoying fishing in the pond. Photo from MCPL

Amongst the Middle Country Public Library’s many historical artifacts are a few that explain just how far the area has come from its pastoral roots. The picture and story below comes courtesy of a collaborative effort among the librarian staff.

Gould’s Pond is both! It is a pond, a body of fresh water, but it is also known as a kettle pond. This name is used for ponds or lakes which form when very large blocks of ice left by glaciers break off, stop moving and melt. 

Photo from MCPL

This is exactly what happened when the glacier which formed Long Island reached its southernmost point on its journey down from eastern Canada over 20,000 years ago. There are many kettle ponds and lakes on Long Island, the largest of which is Lake Ronkonkoma. Lake Ronkonkoma is the largest freshwater lake on the Island, measuring approximately two miles in circumference. Fresh water has always been a valuable resource, and Gould’s Pond is one of our local treasures.

 People have always chosen to live near water, and Long Islanders were no exception. Middle Country Public Library has some historic atlases which show exactly who lived near the pond back to the late 1800s. Here is an image from Fredrick W. Beers’ “Atlas of Long Island, New York” published in 1873. The pond is represented by a circular feature at the left side of the map.

Individual family names were plotted on older maps like this one. Here we can see labeled homesteads surrounding Gould’s Pond and the names of families who lived on Hawkins Avenue, Middle Country Road, Moriches Road and Saint James and others. 

One of the earliest settlers we can name was Morgan Lewis Gould, whose home appears above the pond which bears his name. In 1886, the Town of Brookhaven paid Morgan Lewis Gould and his son, Henry Lewis Gould, $5 to maintain an unobstructed pathway connecting to the main road, four rods wide (approximately 60 feet), for public access to the pond, so residents could bring their livestock to water and to use it for general household purposes. 

Two historic houses are still situated near the Pond today, most probably the M.L. Gould and T. Scott homes shown on our 1873 map.

In later years, with home wells or piped water, this freshwater pond was used more for leisure purposes, including ice skating and fishing. But during the 1880s the pond still had a practical purpose – as a source of ice before refrigerators and freezers were commonplace.

In this case, ice from the pond was harvested. It was cut by hand from the surface of the pond and stored for later use. Two separate icehouses were built along the shores of Gould’s Pond, used to store this ice during the warmer seasons. 

The large chunks of harvested ice were tightly packed in these icehouses so they would not easily melt. Sometimes, straw or sawdust was used for insulation, and in many cases, icehouse foundations were built below ground to keep the ice frozen year-round. Research shows that after World War I, the icehouses were no longer necessary and were dismantled.

Today, Gould’s Pond is used for hiking, nature watching and fishing. A gentle hill which is popularly used for sledding lies next to the pond. This hill was most likely scooped out by that same glacier which formed the pond so many years ago. You can find Gould’s Pond at the corner of Moriches and Saint James Roads in Lake Grove, where a beautifully lettered sign marks its spot.

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Jae Ryong Kang

Update:  Jae Ryong Kang has been located, unharmed.

 Below is the original Silver Alert.

Suffolk County Police have issued a Silver Alert for a missing Melville man with Alzheimer’s disease.

Jae Ryong Kang, 89, was last seen leaving his home, located at 808 Altessa Blvd., at approximately 10:00 a.m.  Kang was driving a 2011 gray Mercedes Benz with NY license plate FJG-8145.

Kang is Asian,  5 feet 8 inches tall, 140 pounds, with white hair and brown eyes. He wears glasses.  He was last seen wearing a black coat, black corduroy pants and white sneakers.

Detectives are asking anyone with information on Kang’s location to call 911 or the Second Squad at 631-854-8252.

Silver Alert is a program implemented in Suffolk County that allows local law enforcement to share information with media outlets about individuals with special needs who have been reported missing.

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Scott McConville lays up for Kings Park in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Thomas Matonti drains a three-pointer for Kings Park in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Scott McConville shoots for Kings Park in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Scott McConville with a hook shot from the paint for Kings Park in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park junior Matthew Garside drives the lane in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park junior Matthew Garside drives the baseline in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Jon Borkowski from the line in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Jon Borkowski lays up for 2 of his team high 16 points in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Jon Borkowski lays up for 2 of his team high 16 points in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Jon Borkowski lays up for 2 of his team high 16 points in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Jon Borkowski lays up for 2 of his team high 16 points in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park head coach Chris Rube confers with Matthew Garside in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Brian Green muscles his way to the rim in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Brian Green shoots from the top of the key in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
With the game in hand Kings Park senior Andrew Plate is congratulated by his bench in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Andrew Plate nails a triple in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior Andrew Plate scores for the Kingsmen in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Photo by Bill Landon
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis goes to the rim in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis scores for the Kingsmen in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis with the rebound in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis pushes up-court in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis above the rim in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo
Kings Park senior AJ Petraitis lays up for 2 in the Suffolk small school championship game against Southampton Mar. 4 Bill Landon photo

Win or lose, both Southampton and Kings Park would live to fight another day but the bragging rights for the Section XI small school championship was at stake. Kings Park with 23 wins without a loss this season had their hands full with the 20-2 Mariners, where both teams were deadlocked at 34 all in the closing seconds of the third quarter. 

Senior Jon Borkowski provided the spark in the final eight minutes of play leading his team with 16 points to put the game away, 54-45. and with it advance to the Section XI championship title round where they’ll face the winner of the Hills East/Northport game.

Borkowski hit six field goals and four from the charity stripe of 16 points. Teammates AJ Petraitis banked 13 points and Andrew Plate netted eight.

The win propels the Kingsmen to the Section XI championship title round Monday Mar. 7 at Longwood High School. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here at https://gofan.co/app/school/NYSPHSAAXI.

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Stock photo

By Tara HiggIns

Port Jefferson Village Justice

Patricia Maureen Higgins (maiden name Phillips), was born on May 6, 1931, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the first-born child to Brigid Dunne and John Francis Phillips. She was followed by her two brothers, Jack and Bob. Pat was the salutatorian of her eighth-grade class, second only to her life-long closest friend, Aunt Gebs. 

Photo from Kate Higgins

When she was 15, Pat met Joe Higgins on a bus on the way to a dance at the Polish Hall. Five years later they were married at St. Anne’s Church. Deeply devoted to their faith, they welcomed eight children into the world. They were an inseparable union for 70 years, navigating the highs and lows and challenges that life brings. 

Joe worked long hours while mom worked equally hard at home, raising eight kids, the oldest in college, the baby in diapers, and every age and stage in between. 

The family moved to Long Island 55 years ago. Pat insisted that they move back to New Jersey the next year, but that never happened. She would joke that she lived on Long Island for 20 years before she realized that she was on the wrong side of Route 25A. She wasn’t concerned with those sorts of pretentious things; she was a much earthier woman. She took her role as homemaker seriously — the glue that held the family together. She was organized, efficient and diligent in her duties. She had a loving and unique relationship with each of her children and grandchildren. 

Pat was an insightful woman who could assess a person’s character within minutes of meeting them. She had a kind, caring demeanor that made people divulge their problems and secrets. She was an avid reader — she read the newspaper cover to cover — and enjoyed suspense novels. 

And this lady, who never left the house without her hair perfectly coiffed and her lipstick on, enjoyed her children’s sports, and was never absent from a football game, track meet, swim meet or baseball game. 

This feminine lady understood stats and splits, knew a bad baton handoff from a good one, and comprehended the seemingly endless set of rules and exceptions to rules in the game of football. 

She enjoyed the Jets since the days of Joe Namath and the Yankees, and of course, her beloved Derek Jeter. Pat also had a penchant for war movies, cowboy movies and disco music. It wasn’t unusual to get in the car after Pat had been driving it and hear ABBA or Donna Summer blaring on the radio. 

Photo from Kate Higgins

Her house was always filled with the aroma of her delicious food. There was no takeout; Pat cooked every night and could give Julia Child a few suggestions on how to make gravy. Birthday cakes were homemade from scratch with Presto flour, never a box mix, that’s just not how it was done. If you missed dinner, your dinner was left on the counter in a pie plate with a piece of tinfoil on it and your name written in perfect Catholic school penmanship. 

The only time the house didn’t smell of Pat’s delicious cooking was when she was doing a load of white wash, in which case the smell of Clorox would simultaneously burn your eyes and nose. 

Pat and Joe were devout in their faith and active members of this parish since its inception. Now, she will be reunited with those that have left this earth before her including her parents, friends, her first son Paul, who only lived 36 hours, and of course, her dear son Bob, who was taken from this world far too early. 

Pat was the beloved mother of Nancy Sardinia and her husband Ted, Patricia Paddock and her husband Ken, Tara Higgins and her husband Peter Petracca, Kathleen Higgins and her husband Joseph Farley, Joseph and his wife Marybeth, John, Paul and his wife Kate, and the late Robert and his wife Ellen; cherished grandmother of Joseph and his wife Tara, Katherine, Matthew, Marty, Marybeth, P.J., Sean, Bobby, Brigid and her husband John, Siobhan, Fiona, Julia, Colette, Aeva; and great grandmother of Liam, Emerson, and Riley; and devoted sister of Jack Phillips and his wife Sheila and Bob Phillips and the late Barbara.   

Funeral mass and burial were on Wednesday, Feb. 16 at St. James R.C. Church in Setauket where she is now North of  Route 25A.

Donations can be made to Hope House Ministries and Three Village Meals on Wheels.

Editors note: The March 3 issue of the Port Times Record published the wrong name in this obituary. This is the correct version.

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Photo courtesy of SBU Athletics

Defend the Island is a motto that the Stony Brook University men’s lacrosse team preaches, and the Seawolves lived up to that mantra last weekend as they successfully captured the first-ever Long Island Cup with a 10-6 victory over LIU. Stony Brook used a gritty defensive effort to limit the Sharks to just six goals en route to picking up its fourth-straight win on Feb. 27.

The Seawolves improved to 4-0 on the young season and are off to their best start since they began the 2017 season with the same 4-0 record. The six goals allowed are the fewest in a game since they held Hartford to six goals on April 3, 2021.

Stony Brook took a commanding 4-0 lead in the first quarter and was fueled by early goals from senior midfielder Matt Anderson, sophomore attack Dylan Pallonetti, and sophomore attack Noah Armitage. Pallonetti scored a pair of goals in the opening frame as the Seawolves took the four-goal advantage into the second quarter. 

The teams traded goals in the third quarter and Stony Brook took a 5-1 lead into the halftime break. The Seawolves’ early advantage was too much for the Sharks to overcome as Stony Brook held on to win by the final score of 10-6.

 Stony Brook’s defense held the Sharks’ top two goal scorers in check. LIU’s leading scorer Blake Behlen was limited to two goals and its second-leading scorer entering the game Jake Gillis was held scoreless. Seawolves’ senior goalie Anthony Palma stood on his head as he made 11 saves and only allowed the six goals.

 The Seawolves’ offense was led by Pallonetti who recorded a game-high five points (two goals, three assists). Armitage recorded his second hat trick of the season, while Anderson and graduate midfield Mike McCannell each scored a pair of goals.

“It’s exciting. The guys came out and competed in a great event against a good team. I am really excited about our effort – that’s the best defense that we played in probably three years that we have been here at Stony Brook. I couldn’t be prouder of those guys flying around out there,” said head coach Anthony Gilardi.

Next up, the team returns to LaValle Stadium to host Rutgers on March 5 at noon.

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METRO photo
Some medication side-effects include increased fall risk

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

This has been a particularly challenging winter here in the Northeast. Instead of snow, we’ve had a fair amount of ice and variable temperatures that caused snowy surfaces to ice over.

Many older adults are concerned about falling, thus they stayed inside and sedentary. While this addressed the immediate challenge of icy sidewalks, it may have increased their risk of falling in the future.

What drives this concern about falls? Even without icy steps and walkways, falls can be serious for older patients, where the consequences can be devastating. They can include brain injuries, hip fractures, a decrease in functional ability and a decline in physical and social activities (1). Ultimately, a fall can lead to loss of independence (2).

There are many factors. A personal history of falling in the recent past is the most prevalent. However, there are other significant factors, such as age and medication use. Some medications, like antihypertensive medications, which are used to treat high blood pressure, and psychotropic medications, which are used to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia, are of particular concern. Chronic diseases can also contribute.

Circumstances that predispose us to falls also involve weakness in upper and lower body strength, decreased vision, hearing disorders and psychological issues, such as anxiety and depression (3).

Setting yourself up for success

Of the utmost importance is exercise. But what do we mean by “exercise”? We mean exercises involving balance, strength, movement, flexibility and endurance, all of which play significant roles in fall prevention (4). The good news is that many of these can be done inside with no equipment or with items found around the home.

Footwear also needs to be addressed. Nonslip shoes are crucial indoors, and footwear that prevents sliding on ice in winter, such as slip-on ice cleats that fit over your shoes, is a must. In the home, inexpensive changes, like securing area rugs and removing other tripping hazards, can also make a big difference.

Does medication increase risk?

There are a number of medications that may heighten fall risk. As I mentioned, psychotropic drugs top the list. But what other drugs might have an impact?

High blood pressure medications have been investigated. A well-designed study showed an increase in fall risk in those who were taking high blood pressure medication (5). Those on moderate doses of blood pressure medication had the greatest risk of serious injuries from falls, a 40 percent increase.

Blood pressure medications have significant benefits in reducing the risks of cardiovascular disease and events. Thus, we need to weigh the risk-benefit ratio in older patients before stopping a medication. We also should consider whether lifestyle modifications, which play a significant role in treating this disease, can be substituted for medication (6).

The value of exercise

A meta-analysis showed that exercise significantly reduced the risk of a fall (7). It led to a 37 percent reduction in falls that resulted in injury and a 30 percent reduction in falls requiring medical attention. Even more impressive was a 61 percent reduction in fracture risk.

Remember, the lower the fracture risk, the more likely you are to remain physically independent. The author summarized that exercise not only helps to prevent falls but also fall injuries.

Unfortunately, those who have fallen before, even without injury, often develop a fear that causes them to limit their activities. This leads to a dangerous cycle of reduced balance and increased gait disorders, ultimately resulting in an increased risk of falling (8).

What types of exercise help?

Any consistent exercise program that improves balance, flexibility, and muscle tone and includes core strengthening should help you improve your balance. Among those that have been studied, tai chi, yoga and aquatic exercise have all been shown to have benefits in preventing falls and injuries from falls.

A randomized controlled trial showed that those who did an aquatic exercise program had a significant improvement in the risk of falls (9). The aim of the aquatic exercise was to improve balance, strength and mobility. Results showed a reduction in the overall number of falls and a 44 percent decline in the number of exercising patients who fell during the six-month trial, with no change in the control group.

If you don’t have a pool available, tai chi, which requires no equipment, was also shown to reduce both fall risk and fear of falling in older adults (10).

Another pilot study used modified chair yoga classes with a small assisted living population (11). Participants were those over 65 who had experienced a recent fall and had a resulting fear of falling. While the intention was to assess exercise safety, researchers found that participants had less reliance on assistive devices and three of the 16 participants were able to eliminate their use of mobility assistance devices.

Thus, our best line of defense against fall risk is prevention with exercise and reducing slipping opportunities. Should you stop medications? Not necessarily. But for those 65 and older, or for those who have arthritis and are at least 45 years old, it may mean reviewing your medication list with your doctor. Before you consider changing your blood pressure medications, review your risk-to-benefit ratio with your physician.

References: 

(1) MMWR. 2014; 63(17):379-383. (2) J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1998;53(2):M112. (3) JAMA. 1995;273(17):1348. (4) Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;9:CD007146. (5) JAMA Intern Med. 2014 Apr;174(4):588-595. (6) JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(4):577-587. (7) BMJ. 2013;347:f6234. (8) Age Ageing. 1997 May;26(3):189-193. (9) Menopause. 2013;20(10):1012-1019. (10) Mater Sociomed. 2018 Mar; 30(1): 38–42. (11) Int J Yoga. 2012 Jul-Dec; 5(2): 146–150.

Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com. 

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Ranger and Lily

This week’s shelter pets are 18-year-old Ranger (tuxedo) and 12-year-old Lily (tabby), currently up for adoption at the Smithtown Animal Shelter. These sweet seniors lost their home due to a house fire. They are bonded and would prefer to go to a home together. 

Ranger and Lily love other cats and lived with a small child. They deserve a warm lap and lots of love to enjoy their golden years. They are very healthy for their ages and just had their teeth all polished up!

 If you would like to meet Ranger and Lily, please call ahead to schedule an hour to properly interact with them in a domestic setting.

The Smithtown Animal & Adoption Shelter is located at 410 Middle Country Road, Smithtown. Visitor hours are currently Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Sundays and Wednesday evenings by appointment only). 

For more information, call 631-360-7575 or visit www.smithtownanimalshelter.com.

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