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Daniel Dunaief

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By Daniel Dunaief

Close to six decades after another surgeon general urged a warning label about the link between cancer and smoking, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the current surgeon general, would like to add cancer warnings to labels for alcohol.

The third leading cause of preventable cancers after tobacco and obesity, alcohol increases the risk for at least seven types of cancer, the surgeon general recently wrote.

At the same time, less than half of the American population recognize alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.

As with the prevailing wisdom about smoking decades ago, several doctors and various studies have, until recently, indicated that moderate drinking such as a single glass of red wine for women each day and two glasses for men, have suggested a medical benefit to consuming alcohol.

Dr. Mark Solomon

“We have been misguided all these years by thinking there’s an acceptable amount of alcohol that’s safe enough to recommend,” said Dr. David Rivadeneira, Director of Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Huntington Hospital. 

Any change in required labels for alcohol would have to come from Congress, which would likely face lobbying pressure from the alcohol industry.

Local doctors, however, suggested that the potential increased risk of cancer from alcohol outweighs any potential reduction in the risk related to any cardiovascular incident or stroke.

Dr. Mark Solomon, medical director of St. Charles’ chemical dependency program, called the benefits of alcohol a “myth.”

“Anything you put in your body affects every cell in your body,” said Solomon. “It’s finally coming to the forefront that we should put labels [on alcohol]. Drinking alcohol is not some benign social activity. There are certain risks associated with that, with cancer being one of them.”

Paolo Boffetta, Associate Director for Population Sciences at the Stony Brook Cancer Center, explained that earlier studies, including one that he participated in, that showed a cardiovascular benefit to drinking had various scientific problems.

Those studies didn’t differentiate between people who quit drinking and those who never consumed alcohol.

“The category of a non drinker had an increased risk” that was above what researchers had understood because that group included a mix of people, Boffetta said.

This sampling problem suggested to Boffetta that the results of some of these studies that suggested a cardiovascular health benefit to drinking “were probably not correct.”

Boffetta, who welcomed Dr. Murthy’s recommendation to add cancer risk to a label that already warns consumers who are pregnant or who are operating a car or heavy machinery, urged researchers to continue to study the link between alcohol and cancer.

Protecting health

Dr. David Rivandeneira. Photo courtesy of Northwell Health

Dr. David Rivadeneira, director of Northwell Health Cancer Institute at Huntington who specializes in colorectal cancer, is concerned about the increased incidence of cancer among the younger population.

The current cancer rates are at levels “we’ve never seen before in patients that are less than 50 years old,” said Rivadeneira. “That is very worrisome. The issue of alcohol may have something to do with it.”

Indeed, during the worst of the lockdowns amid the Covid pandemic, some people increased their consumption of alcohol.

“Our current understanding is that alcohol is a chemical that probably has no health benefits whatsoever,” said Rivadeneira. “If anything, it’s detrimental even in small quantities.”

Rivadeneira anticipates the effect of such a discussion of the health consequences of consuming alcohol and of any future labeling on bottles may alter consumer behavior more rapidly than changes in established patterns for smoking decades ago.

“People are more likely to take ownership with regard to their own health,” he said. “They want to be healthier.”

Rivadeneira wants to give patients information that is appropriate and medically sound, giving them the option to decide if they want to incorporate this knowledge into their lifestyle.

Working with their doctors, people can decide on their overall risk profile, based on their family history, other health factors such as their weight and their history through cancer screenings such as mammographies, whether they want to reduce the kind of risk that might tip the scales through alcohol consumption, Rivadeneira said.

“I tell people, ‘You can be proactive or reactive. Here you are, you’ve got to make a decision about what you want to do. Do you want to reduce the chance of cancer and other ailments?’” Rivadeneira said.

A warning and behavior

Dr. Jana Deitch

Doctors believed a warning label on alcoholic products might alter consumer behavior.

“People are more afraid when it’s written down,” said Dr. Jana Deitch, breast surgical oncologist at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown. “If it’s on the bottle, the population will take it more seriously.”

Deitch added that everyone has to decide to what degree they are putting themselves at risk.

“It’s information that’s readily available to the general population” Deitch said.

Solomon suggested that doctors should educate their patients about the dangers of consuming alcohol.

“The medical community and physicians have to be more educated so they can start to relay this to the patient,” said Solomon. “There’ll be some kind of shock to this” because people will indicate that they have been drinking their whole lives. “It’s going to take a long time and it has to start with education from doctors.”

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Metro Creative Connection photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Good cruise ships? Sure, absolutely. Norovirus? Nope, that’s a hard pass!

Unfortunately, residents on Long Island and in many places around the country are battling higher than normal outbreaks of the stomach curdling norovirus, which sometimes afflicts people who are on cruise ships.

Norovirus has been coming “from the community, from nursing homes” and from places where large groups of people congregate, said Dr. Adrian Popp, chair of Infection Control at Huntington Hospital/ Northwell Health and associate professor of medicine at Hofstra School of Medicine.

Norovirus, with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, headache and chills, is spread through contaminated food, contaminated drinking water, unclean hands and surfaces such as counters or door handles where the virus awaits its next victim.

“It doesn’t take a lot of virus to get somebody ill,” said Popp. The usual incubation period, when someone can be contagious without knowing it, can be a day or two.

People often have these symptoms for anywhere from a day to three days.

At this point, researchers have not produced a vaccine for the virus and treatment for those with the most severe symptoms often involves fluids, either orally or intravenously if a person can’t keep anything in his or her stomach.

People who are most at risk from complications related to norovirus include senior citizens who are in poor health, people with chronic conditions, those who are immunocompromised, or people who become dehydrated quickly, doctors suggested.

When people have numerous and frequent liquid bowel movements, they should realize something is wrong, even if they are younger or in good overall health.

The emergency rooms at hospitals recognize the symptoms of the virus and can often place a person in isolation quickly, reducing the likelihood of other patients developing the illness, Popp added.

Unlike other viruses, norovirus does not respond to hand sanitizer. The virus dies in response to products containing hydrogen peroxide or to a thorough washing with soap and water.

“During COVID we had people who were a lot more careful about these sorts of protection measures,” said Popp. “Now, we’re back to baseline carelessness. People don’t wash their hands as much as they should.”

Higher reporting

Dr. Sharon Nachmann, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, believes norovirus cases have increased in part because of more testing.

“If you ask families in the past, they would say, ‘we’ve all had that stomach bug. Our relatives had it.’ No one would have said, ‘Let me go to the hospital to get tested.’”

Rapid testing means that doctors can get results quickly, leading to more immediate diagnosis and isolation.

Nachmann added that this virus is particularly infectious, with a potential patient needing only 10 particles to become sick, compared with a couple of thousand for infections from other pathogens.

Stay home!

Doctors urged those who are experiencing norovirus symptoms to work remotely, if at all possible.

“We don’t want you at work if you have six watery stools a day,” said Nachmann. “You need to stay close to a bathroom and close to home. Whatever you have, nobody wants it.”

Indeed, even at home, doctors urged people to try to isolate from family members as much as possible.

“You don’t want everyone using the same toilet and door handles,” Nachmann said.

People don’t need to use plastic utensils when they are sick. Putting forks, knives, spoons and plates in a dishwasher should protect others from contracting the virus.

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

It’s hard to come up with a short list of the pros or cons of skiing. The experience, with everything from getting there, to being there, to trekking home, is filled with, if you’ll pardon the pun, ups and downs.

I’d like to share a few observations from our recent venture to the slopes.

For starters, just being in the mountains is extraordinary. The air is fresh, clear and clean and the views of snow-capped peaks and valleys are inspiring. Of course, you have to get to those mountains, which can require anything from a long drive to a flight filled with challenges and delays.

On a recent trip, our flight to those magnificent mountains involved sitting in a row on the plane that was exceedingly hot. When I asked the flight attendant why the plane was so warm, she explained that we were likely sitting near the engines.

The way home was no picnic either, because those wonderful winter storms that bring snow caused us to have a five hour delay, coupled with another hot ride home that suggested that the entire plane must have been sitting too close to the engines. Other passengers complained that they were wearing tank tops and jeans and sweat through their pants.

Back to the positive, the chairlift experience often is an opportunity to meet interesting and compelling people during a short but jovial journey. In one such conversation, I met a precocious nine-year old boy named Stephen, who told me he and his family, including his mother with whom we rode the lift, had recently visited London and Paris. He said he liked the food better in Paris, but that the food in London had improved over the years.

“And how would you know that?” his flabbergasted and amused mother asked. 

He shrugged.

“My mom travels a lot for her work, so she’s not always around,” Stephen said. “Sometimes, we get to go with her to fun places, though.” That statement seemed to offer an interesting window into the dynamic in their household.

Those chair lift rides, however, can take longer to board and to ride than expected. The lifts can  stop at inopportune times, near a snow gun that blankets skiers and snowboarders with snow we’d prefer were beneath our feet rather than trickling down our necks. Other times, people on those lifts swing their legs back and forth, making me feel as if I’m on someone else’s suspended rocking chair.

On a trip down the slopes, the speed and movement can be exhilarating. The swishing sound of the snow and the speed of the wind, without any mechanical noise from an engine, can allow us to experience the world at higher speeds, as the sound of rushing air and sliding skis combine to form a whispering symphony. At the bottom, our tired but rejuvenated muscles can relive the excitement from our self-directed ride.

We are not the only ones on the slopes and, while we might enjoy the thrill of a high speed run, we may also brace ourselves for the possibility that other skiers or snowboarders might push themselves beyond their limits. We could become bowling pins on a mountain, as others lose control, barrel into us and knock us down.

In the moment, the great unknown over the next plateau presents the opportunity to anticipate and embrace the terrain ahead. Perhaps the untrodden snow just past the peak has perfectly packed powder, the mogul (or bump, in modern parlance) is the right height and dimensions to catch some air, or the width and steepness of the slopes is exactly as we imagine when we dream of the ideal slope.

The other side of that peak, however, may have thin cover, with grass or even exposed rock, while someone may have taken a spill just beyond what we can see, turning them into obstacles we have to avoid.

While the pieces of equipment makes it possible for us to traverse snow covered mountains deftly, they are not designed for everyday maneuvering. Walking through a parking lot in ski boots can be torture for our shins, which may take days or more to forgive us for our skiing indulgence.

And, finally, the weather can offer the kind of glorious sunshine that transports us into an Ansel Adams poster or inserts us into picture postcard, with light shimmering off the tops of mountains, causing snow covered trees to glow. Then again, Mother Nature doesn’t care how much you spent on lift tickets and is perfectly happy to throw wind, rain, sleet and snow at you from every direction.

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The Crime Victims Center Executive Director Laura Ahearn

By Daniel Dunaief

An advocate, defender, educator, legislative partner, social worker and attorney, Laura Ahearn is prepared to help during periods of extreme duress whenever needed.

Executive Director of the Crime Victims Center, Ahearn has secured orders of protection for abused women, accompanied victims to court, counseled high school students about inappropriate relationships and helped victims receive funds for survival.

For her work this year and every year for nearly three decades, Ahearn is one of TBR News Media’s People of the Year for 2024.

“I love Laura Ahearn,” said Kara Hahn, a former legislator who met Ahearn in 1999, and crafted legislation in 2015 requiring domestic violence agencies in the county to use the Jacquelyn Campbell risk assessment, to help victims understand the level of danger from abuse.

Hahn, who is currently the Deputy Regional Director for the Long Island region of New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, added that Ahearn is “one of the fiercest and most dedicated champions for the protection of children [among others] in this advocacy space and any advocacy space.”

Indeed, recently, Ahearn and the Crime Victims Center have been working with a particularly troubling case with children in a family that have endured trauma in their former home.

“When you’re dealing with child victims who are directly or physically impacted, or have witnessed it, a lot of planning goes into counseling and advocacy,” said Ahearn. “This case has impacted me more than any other case in my entire career, which is pushing 30 years.”

Most of the 40 people involved in the Crime Victims Center, which originally started out in a room in Ahearn’s home and was called Parents of Megan’s Law, have been affected by the case.

The team is working on behalf of these children, helping them with educational and counseling programs, as well as working with law enforcement.

Ahearn has brought her advocacy, messaging and support to people in numerous contexts.

“The thing you might say about [Ahearn] is that [her help] is not just from a social work position,” said Kathleen Monahan, Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University. “She’s attacking this from all different levels, from the health care perspective, from law and policy issues, treatment and from the mental health perspective.”

Ahearn not only received a Master’s in Social Work from SUNY Stony Brook, but she also earned a Juris Doctor from Touro Law, where she graduated at the top of her class.

Educational messaging

After discussing relationship violence with students, the Crime Victims Center has fielded phone calls from attendees.

“We had a call from a teenager in high school, who was unhappy with a forced kiss. She saw our program and wanted to know if that’s okay,” said Ahearn.

The CVC has also worked with students and school administrators to help recognize efforts to lure girls into prostitution.

These children “were being groomed by a person running a human trafficking ring,” said Ahearn. They came to school with expensive purses and shoes they couldn’t otherwise afford.

“If we have our eyes wide open, educating kids as young as middle schoolers, administrators and parents can protect these potential victims,” she continued.

Financial help

The Crime Victims Center has helped victims of sexual assault and domestic violence recover funds from the Office of Victim Services, which is the payer of last resort.

Victims who are cooperating with law enforcement and who have eligible expenses, which can include out of pocket medical and counseling costs or even funerals, can receive funds to pay for some of those expenses.

In an assault, if someone has their clothing damaged or their clothing is taken into evidence, the survivor provides the center with receipts for a replacement for the damaged property.

The Crime Victims Center has helped facilitate the return of nearly $8 million since it first started working on behalf of victims from the Crime Victim’s Fund, in the Office of Victim Services.

The center has helped families recover thousands of dollars in lost wages after the primary breadwinner in a household was hit in a driving while intoxicated incident.

Leading

In addition to helping victims, Ahearn leads virtual meetings during sexual assault awareness month and domestic violence awareness month.

This past October, Ahearn had just introduced Dr. Hirsch Handmaker, CEO of The CACTIS Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona during the third-annual, virtual domestic violence awareness month conference.

Handmaker was in a hospital where a fire alarm blared so loudly that he couldn’t hear the other attendees, much less focus on his discussion about traumatic brain injuries.

“She was so fabulous,” recalled Monahan about Ahearn’s response. “She handled that like water rolling off a duck’s back,” as Ahearn suggested an unscheduled break to allow Handmaker to clear the area.

Ahearn is a “beacon of light throughout the U.S. in highlighting the issue of sexual assault and domestic violence, and is one of the few individuals leading entities in collaborating and engaging law enforcement, social workers and healthcare providers,” Handmaker explained.

As an example of the awareness advocacy groups brought to law enforcement, Handmaker highlighted a change in the way police officers think about women who are wearing sunglasses.

Previously, officers might have suspected women were hiding their eyes because of drugs or other issues.

Instead, women with concussions often wear sunglasses to protect their eyes to avoid headaches caused by bright sunlight.

Handmaker started working with Ahearn this year. Ahearn has been coordinating with Monahan and Handmaker to create a concussion program with law enforcement. Ahearn is a “real champion in making that happen,” Handmaker said.

SAFE support

In addition to advocating for victims, supporting various legislation and running virtual conferences, Ahearn remains primarily focused on one task.

Ahearn “cares deeply about the outcomes for survivors,” said Wendy Linsalata, Executive Director of LI Against Domestic Violence, and a frequent collaborator with Ahearn.

Starting in Nov. of 2023, CVC partnered with Stony Brook University Hospital to have Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners ready to respond to any reports of a sexual assault.

Called SAFEs, these professionals are New York certified nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants or resident nurses.

Ahearn hopes that effort expands to ensure that these trained staff are available at every emergency department throughout Long Island.

From protecting Maggie to protecting herself

Ahearn’s reflex to protect others may have started when she was as young as 10 years old.

Laura Ahearn petting sled dogs on a trip to Alaska. Photo courtesy of Laura Ahearn

The owner of a dog named Maggie, Ahearn and her friend brought their two dogs near one another. When her friend’s territorial dog snapped at Maggie, Ahearn intervened and, to this day, has a scar on her arm.

Ahearn, whose current dog Jack comes to work as a companion and instant pet therapist, suggested that the advocacy field is rewarding, demanding and exhausting. 

“Sometimes, there are cases that take a little part of you, and a piece of your soul withers,” said Ahearn, such as the recent case with the abused children. “You must take action to replenish that area.”

To do her best for the staff and those she supports, Ahearn relies on the encouragement of her family, the love of her dog, and the opportunity to travel.

Ahearn loves animals, including birds, and enjoys fishing. This year, she took a trip to Alaska, where she had a chance to pet sled dogs.

Ahearn, Linsalata and others in the victim advocacy world urge people to reach out to any of their organizations, or to authority figures, if they are abused.

“If in your gut, you have that feeling that something is wrong, don’t underestimate what you’re feeling or thinking,” said Linsalata.

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Dr. Wiiliam Wertheim. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Medicine

By Daniel Dunaief

When Dr. William Wertheim visited Mozambique, where Stony Brook University has created the Global Health Institute, he was on a boat that got stranded in low tide.

The convivial and supportive Wertheim, who is Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine, immediately climbed out of the boat and helped push it closer to shore, waiting for the tide to come in.

Stony Brook University’s Dr. William Wertheim with Malakhi Washington. Photo by Dr. Sierra Washington

“When he was out on the Indian Ocean with some fisherman, myself and my eight-year-old son, he was very quick to roll up his sleeves and start pushing the boat ashore,” said Dr. Sierra Washington, the director of the Stony Brook Center for Global Health Equity.

Indeed, Washington suggested that pushing the boat forward became a theme for Wertheim’s visit.

TBR News Media is pleased to recognize Wertheim as a person of the year for his leadership, his deep listening skills and his ongoing commitment to the university and the surrounding communities.

For a few weeks in the spring, Wertheim’s roles and titles changed, even if the manner and his focus did not.

In June, former SBU President Maurie McInnis named Wertheim executive vice president for Stony Brook Medicine, as he shed the interim label he had taken on starting the previous October.

A few weeks later, Wertheim effectively took over for McInnis, who resigned after four years to become president of her alma mater, Yale University, when he became officer-in-charge at Stony Brook University.

“Having Wertheim named as officer-in-charge gave everybody a sigh of relief,” said Dr. Todd Griffin, vice dean for clinical affairs and vice president for clinical services.

Justin Fincher, interim chief deputy to the president and senior vice president of government and community relations, said that Wertheim, who has been at Stony Brook for 28 years, “is the epitome of the university citizen. He’s the person we all think about as a leader among leaders.”

While Wertheim was in charge of the university for about six weeks until current Interim President Richard McCormick arrived in August, he supported leadership across the campus, offering to listen or provide advice.

“He was trusting the team in place to lead,” said Fincher. “He takes his ethic of care from his training as a medical doctor and applies that in every setting and in every decision.”

Indeed, first and foremost among Wertheim’s many responsibilities and roles, he continues to serve as a practicing physician with several hundred patients.

Finding the time to see patients requires taking some extra hours. He also relies on support from other physicians and nurse practitioners who work as a team whenever he is unavailable to see his patients.

“Seeing patients is at the core of what I do,” said Wertheim. “I did go to medical school for a reason.”

A graduate of Harvard University, Wertheim earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine.

Through his medical practice, Wertheim not only helps the patients who come see him, but also recognizes and can offer solutions to challenges patients or doctors face.

“It’s one thing to hear about a problem, but another thing to have that sense that this really does affect what happens, when you’re going through the care of patients,” Wertheim said.

This year, doctors had trouble setting up appointments in one particular department, and Wertheim struggled to schedule appointments for his patients. Griffin, one of the senior leaders on Wertheim’s team, was able to assess the challenges for doctors in seeing new and follow-up patients. Under the guidance, nurse practitioners now see follow-up patients. This change cut the delay time in half in under a year.

Pulling in the same direction

Griffin has known Wertheim for 25 years and appreciates the way Wertheim has brought various efforts and initiatives together.

From left to right: Scientific and Pedagogic Director Professor Cesaltina Ferreira Lorenzon, Executive Vice President for Stony Brook Medicine Dr. William Wertheim and Dr. Sierra Washington. Photo courtesy Stony Brook University

“We are a number of different entities: the hospital, the school, physician practices,” said Griffin, suggesting that Wertheim helps all those people “pull the oars in the same direction.”

One of Wertheim’s directives that has been particularly effective involved developing a new governance structure for Stony Brook Medicine. Whereas groups had been creating strategic plans for one year, Wertheim asked them to develop a three- and five-year plan.

Wertheim also unified service lines, combining such areas as ambulatory care and hospital expertise.

By understanding how patients transition from ambulatory to hospital care, Stony Brook Medicine can ensure a smoother and more patient-centric experience.

As a leader, Wertheim makes a concerted and ongoing effort to interact with staff throughout the system, including medical assistants, front-desk representatives and janitors, to name a few.

“All those people in those services get to see him and know him,” said Griffin. “He’s not some leader in an ivory tower.”

Role reversal

Wertheim was a vice dean of the medical school a few years ago when Dr. Peter Igarashi, dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine, first arrived.

“He worked for me,” Igarashi said. “I now work for him. There’s a lesson there about be careful how you treat people who work for you.”

Igarashi is delighted that Wertheim supports the work he and others do throughout Stony Brook Medicine.

After Wertheim became interim executive vice president, he visited several clinical sites and met personally with providers.

Through these interactions, Wertheim has built “authentic personal relationships,” Igarashi said.

As a primary-care physician, Wertheim has also communicated effectively to residents and students about the importance of having a fundamental foundation of excellence.

Igarashi, who is a physician researcher, values the complementary nature of Wertheim’s strength as a clinician and educator.

Wertheim “makes it easier for us to bring the benefits from a research discovery or research program to the clinical setting so patients have access to the latest expertise,” Igarashi added.

Carol Gomes, chief executive officer/chief operating officer of Stony Brook University Hospital, has worked with Wertheim for over 20 years. She never feels like “I’m reporting to him. He always says I’m his partner.”

Dr. Bill

In addition to connecting with medical professionals, Wertheim has an ability to connect with people of different ages and in different stages of life.

When he was in Mozambique, Wertheim lived with Washington and her son Malachi, who called him “Dr. Bill.”

Wertheim was “like one of the family,” said Washington. “He’s very down to Earth and was just as easily able to have a stimulating conversation with my son as with hospital directors.”

During his visit, Wertheim and Malachi both shared their passion for the Mets.

Wertheim has been a “great ally” to the Center for Global Health Equity, Washington said, and is always available to discuss core strategic planning.

Wertheim recognized that the limitations on health care workers in Mozambique had less to do with their knowledge and skills than with supplies.

“What they lack are resources,” said Wertheim.

A talented baker

At Harvard, where he was a history and literature major, Wertheim wrote his thesis on the influence of the philosophy of William James on the literature of Robert Penn Warren, author of “All the King’s Men.”

The first time Wertheim read the book, he was on a plane flying to St. Louis. He recalls reading the first chapter, which described the governor’s driver maneuvering down a highway.
“The description is so brilliant, I paused and looked out the window and realized that I was flying over the country that was not dissimilar from what he was describing. It was an incredibly powerful moment,” he said.

As if all of his skills weren’t enough, Wertheim, who is the fifth of five brothers, is also a passionate baker.

“I’m of an age where the kitchen might have been thought of as a place for girls or women,” Wertheim said. “That wasn’t the case in my house.”

He made several mistakes, particularly with his sourdough bread, but has learned from those earlier experiences.

“It’s fun and relaxing,” Wertheim said. “When you spend a lot of time thinking about very serious things, it can be gratifying to focus in on a small task” such as kneading dough.

Gomes recalled recently receiving a croissant. She loved the “very buttery” taste.

Griffin sees overlaps between Wertheim’s medical duties and his baking abilities.

“The precision needed, following recipes being detail oriented, having the patience to bake and make it come out the way you want” is also evidence in how “careful and precise [Wertheim] is in how he engages with others. Big complicated things don’t happen overnight. He’s methodically and carefully putting down the ingredients.

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Take small, manageable steps towards a healthier life in 2025.

That, among other things, is the advice of area doctors as residents transition from purchasing presents and making meals to writing lists of New Year’s resolutions about their mental and physical health.

“Scale down what you want to do to make it feasible,” said Dr. Raja Jaber, Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine. “Don’t say you want to lose 50 pounds. It’s not going to happen. Do it step by step. Choose one or two things you want to change.”

Indeed, several local health care professionals urged people to consider setting goals that are not only achievable but can also offer residents the belief that they can continue building on their successes.

Creating smaller goals can help people “see successes more quickly and build up confidence in meeting those goals,” said Dr. Adam Gonzalez, Vice Chair of Behavioral Health and a psychologist at Stony Brook Medicine.

Gonzalez urged people to practice a relaxation response daily, where they focus on their breath, a positive image, or a word or a phrase.

For Gonzalez, the words that he uses are “persistence” and “perseverance,” which offer him encouragement to believe that things can and will get better.

Doctor visits

People who haven’t seen their doctors in a while, particularly parents who are more focused on the health of their children than on their own physical and mental health, should take the time to see a general practitioner and, if necessary, specialists.

Annual physicals provide doctors and their patients with the kinds of information that provide a baseline for how the body as a whole and specific organs like the heart, liver, and kidneys, are doing.

Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

In some households, mothers dismiss any concerns about their own health, as they focus on their children, their spouse and extended family.

“They put their health last,” said Dr. Erika Kalabacas, a primary care doctor with Northwell Health Physician Partners in Huntington. “They should not be pushing everything off. They should be putting themselves first. If they feel well and are healthy, they can help those around them.”

Staples of good health include eating well, with reduces processed foods, exercising, staying hydrated, getting sunlight, which provides vitamin D, sleeping seven to eight hours and reducing stress, Kalabacas said.

Researchers have been studying what kind of exercise and diets might work for men and women.

While intermittent fasting can help women to some degree, it is not as effective as it is for men.

It’s better, Kalabacas suggested, for women to eat breakfast as a part of three balanced and nutritious meals each day, than to skip meals in the morning.

“I tell all my patients, the two biggest things you can do to help yourself, are to reduce alcohol intake and to eat breakfast,” she said.

Skipping breakfast often comes back to haunt people later in the day, as they binge eat foods later at night that can cause heartburn and affect their sleep.

In addition to caring for her patient’s physical health, Kalabacas and her partners ask questions through a PHQ-9, or Patient Health Questionnaire, which offers indications of depression.

Kalabacas has a therapist in her office, to whom she refers patients who need help with psychological issues.

Be kind to yourself

Medical Director of Lifestyle Programs at Stony Brook Medicine, Dr. Raja Jaber. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville

Jaber suggested that people be “gentle and kind” to themselves as they set goals for the new year, without feeling the need to judge themselves constantly.

Setting a goal of only eating healthy more often than not leads to failure and disappointment.

“Being 100 percent super committed to healthy choices is so impossible to follow,” said Jaber. “That’s how people fail.”

When residents resolve never to eat sweets again, they wind up succeeding for a while and then binge. Controlling a diet requires eating a smaller piece of cake and savoring every bite, she suggested.

Becoming healthier can start by working with a supportive group who can offer encouragement.

As people age, Jaber suggested that physical fitness is the “key to longevity” or to preventing disease.

Healthier lives often start by building in specific times when people can focus on their mental health, through mindfulness exercises, or physical health, by exercising.

Mind-body connection

Doctors recognize the connection between the health of our bodies and minds.

“We know our mental and physical health are directly connected and impact one another,” Gonzalez said.

The Stony Brook psychologist urged people to make genuine social connections and engage in healthy and enjoyable activities.

“We take for granted some of these strategies that we think everyone knows,” Gonzalez said. “We might not actually be putting them into practice.”

Citing decades of research on the health benefits of the relaxation response, Gonzalez urged people to listen to an album that brings them joy, watch a funny movie, take a hot bath with a lit candle, or any of an array of actions that improve their mental health.

Some residents may also need to connect with a health professional.

Gonzalez pointed to gold-medal winners such as gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Michael Phelps, who have shared their mental health struggles and their ways of coping with them.

Practicing relaxation response helped these athletes regulate their emotions and control their mental state before engaging in competition.

Amid uncertainty around the globe and anxiety about the future, residents can benefit from focusing on their self care and their connectedness to people around them.

“We can control our presence in the community,” Gonzalez said. 

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Stephen Post

By Daniel Dunaief

Thieves come in all shapes and sizes, robbing people of valuable possessions or irreplaceable personal keepsakes.

Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and forms of dementia also rob people, taking away their memories, connections to their past and even their sense of themselves.

At times, however, people who are battling these conditions can emerge from its clutches, offering a fleeting, or even longer, connection to the person their loved ones knew, the passions they shared, and the memories that helped define a life.

In a study published in November in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Stephen Post, Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University, gathered information from surveys with 2,000 caregivers who shared their reactions to unexpected lucidity from forgetful people.

“Caregivers can find inspiration in these fleeting moments,” Post wrote in a summary of the conclusions of the study. “The research aims to guide caregivers and enhance the understanding of the enduring self-identify of deeply forgetful people, promoting compassionate care and recognizing the significance of our shared humanity.”

Such moments of clarity and awareness, at levels that can be more engaging than the typical behaviors for people suffering with various levels of forgetfulness, can be rewarding at any point, but can offer a particular gift to caregivers and families around the holidays.

Possible triggers

Post suggested that these moments of lucidity can be purely spontaneous and surprising. They  can also arise during an intervention, when a caregiver or family member provides some specific stimulation or memory trigger.

“Caregivers can sing a song that their loved ones identify with from earlier in life,” said Post. “We’ve done that here at the Long Island State Veterans Home on the Stony Brook campus.”

Several years ago, Post wrote about a room of 50 veterans, many of whom spent a good part of their days in a haze without acting or interacting with others.

When they heard “The Star Spangled Banner” or other patriotic music, as many as 70 percent reacted and started to sing the song. The duration of participation varied, with some saying a few words or a line, others singing a verse, and still others making it through the entire song, 

After the song, people who might have seemed out of reach could react to closed-ended questions. This could include choices such as whether they preferred toast or cereal for breakfast.

“A good half of them were able to respond and sometimes even carry on a brief conversation,” Post said.

Art can also help draw out forgetful relatives. Groups around the country are taking forgetful people and their caregivers to art museums in small groups. Looking at a famous or particularly evocative piece of artwork, people might express appreciation for the magnificence of a painting.

Poetry can also serve as a stimulus. Forgetful people who listen to the poems of Robert Frost or other familiar writers can respond with the next line to words deeply ingrained in their memory.

“Their affect picked up,” said Post. “They were smiling, they were excited and enthusiastic. That’s great stuff.”

These moments can provide a connection and offer joy to caregivers.

Other possible triggers include smells, such as the familiar scent of a kitchen; interactions in nature, such as the feel of snow on someone’s face; or playing with pets.

The forgetful can “respond joyfully to dogs,” said Post. “It can remind them of [a particular] dog from 30 years ago.”

Additional research

Caregivers who help forgetful people through their daily lives sometimes struggle with the question of whether “grandma is still there,” Post said. That metaphor, however, can miss the “hints” of continuing self identity.

The National Institute on Aging has funded Post’s study on what’s happening with the brain during these moments of lucidity. 

A challenge in that research, however, resides in doing PET scans or collecting other data when those moments are spontaneous and unpredictable.

The work from Post’s recent study indicates that these periods of clarity are important for the morale of caregivers, with many of them feeling uplifted from the interaction.

Post sees further opportunity for study. In his next project, he hopes to cover how to operationalize this information into an intervention. “It’s very practical, very real and can do a heck of a lot” for the forgetful and their caregivers, he said.

To be sure, some forgetful people may not respond to some or all of these cues, as the damage from their diseases may have made such outreach and actions inaccessible.

When these moments, fleeting though they may be, occur, they can be rewarding for caregivers, family members and the forgetful themselves.

Jean Mueller with her late mother Geraldine and her father Daniel.
Photo courtesy of Jean Mueller

Jean Mueller, Assistant Director of Nursing/ Project Manager in the Department of Regulatory Affairs, Patient Safety & Ethics at Stony Brook, recently spent time with her father Daniel, 95. The elder Mueller lost his wife of 74 years Geraldine several weeks ago and is in an assisted living facility.

Taking her father out was too difficult, as it could cause agitation and confusion.

“We went and had Thanksgiving dinner with him there,” Mueller said. “He seemed to really enjoy it, in the moment. He knew the food and he knew it was a holiday. He didn’t ask me where my mom was.”

The interactions can be challenging, as she sometimes feels like she’s pulling “all the strings and you don’t know what you’re going to get” when she interacts with him, she said.

Still, Mueller suggested that it doesn’t matter whether he remembers her visits.

“In the moment, he matters, it matters and he’s still a person,” she said. ‘When you get to the point where everything has been taken away from you, and you lost your independence, even if it’s for a short period of time, you can feel valued again.”

She considers it an honor to be able to share that with her father.

A former inspector in the Suffolk County Police Department and a commander of homicide, Mueller’s father has a well-known sweet tooth.

When she visits, Mueller brings an iced coffee with hazelnut syrup and half and half, a crumb cake, croissant or donut. “He’s in seventh heaven,” she said.

When he sees his family, his face “lights up,” said Mueller. 

“Even if the memories of our visit is fleeting, for those moments in time, he’s a devoted father and a valued father and grandfather who still feels our love.”

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

Words, ideas, and concepts mean different things in different contexts. Some of those differences depend on the audience. The phrase “Santa Claus is coming to town,” for example, conjures different images, ideas and reactions depending on who is hearing it. Let’s consider the reaction of different audiences:

— A group of first graders whose families celebrate Christmas: These children might immediately wonder “when, when, when” this jolly man in a red suit is going to shimmy down the chimney and deliver what they hope are their favorite presents. It can’t be soon enough for many of these children.

— Parents of those first graders: These dedicated mothers and fathers might feel pressure to produce the kind of holiday they had or the kind they wish they had when they were young. The words might trigger some anxiety, as the approaching jolly man might mean they have limited time to generate holiday joy. Where, they might wonder, are they supposed to find some of the gifts their children crave and how can these presents arrive without causing their children to wonder about the boxes at the front door?

— Retailers: Store owners are likely to start feeling cautiously optimistic, as they are every year, that Santa and his minions will shop at their stores, helping drive their bottom lines and making it possible for them to afford to provide the kind of holiday treats their own children desire.

— Workers in retail stores: They may find the phrase charming and endearing initially, and may even enjoy the endless loop of holiday songs for a while. At some point, when they can’t get a particular song out of their head, they may crave other music and other sounds that don’t remind them of twitchy children who, like me, seem to be a perfect fit for a size the store doesn’t have at that time or that doesn’t exist because it’s between two typical sizes.

— Music teachers: These people, who put in extra hours every year that often extend well beyond any contracts or employment agreements, may be trying to find ways to coax the best sounds out of young voices or out of young musicians who are learning how to play their instruments without squeaking or hitting a wrong note. This year, they may also have tried to bring something original and new to the holiday concert, either by adding a new march or song or by offering their own take on the classic, which runs the risk of alienating audiences who come to hear the familiar version.

— TV networks: While many of us are a click or two away from new movies or streaming shows that we can binge watch, some people continue to watch ongoing holiday programming. The Santa Claus song may remind them of their stock of holiday movies, as they maneuver between old favorites like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and more modern comedies, like “Elf.”

— Dentists: Okay, so I’m a little obsessed about teeth lately. If you don’t know why, check out my column from last week. Anyway, given the propensity for cookies, cakes and candy, dentists may hear those words and picture ways to help people clean their teeth in the early months of the new year.

— Health club owners: Owners of gyms may hear these six words and immediately think about all the New Year’s resolutions that follow the holidays. They may hope that the desire for a sound mind in a sound body brings more people to their gyms, where people can use their equipment to sculpt and tone their bodies or to burn off some of the desserts that topped off a family meal.

— Narcissists: These people know who they are and are probably annoyed that it took me this long to think about them. They have better things to do than to read all the way towards the end of my column. Anyway, they would like to know when someone will be as good to them as they are to everyone else. 

— People who run charities: The arrival of Santa Claus may remind people to help those less fortunate, giving them an opportunity to provide something meaningful. These dedicated residents who focus on community service may hope to bring out the kind of holiday spirit and joy that enabled Dr. Seuss’s Whos of Whoville to celebrate even without their presents.

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Brookhaven National Laboratory Director JoAnne Hewett. Photo by Jessica Rotkiewicz/BNL

By Daniel Dunaief

Instead of flying a plane through clouds and gathering data during a three to five second window of time, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory are one of three teams proposing constructing a cloud chamber.

This new research facility would allow them to control the environment and tweak it with different aerosols, enabling them to see how changes affect drizzle formation.

“This is fascinating,” said JoAnne Hewett, Director of BNL and a self-professed “science geek.”

Hewett, whose background is in theoretical physics and who came to BNL from SLAC National Accelerator Lab in Menlo Park, California, has been the director of the Upton-based lab since April of 2023.

In a celebrity podcast interview, which will be posted on TBR News Media’s website (tbrnewsmedia.com) and Spotify, Hewett addressed a wide range of issues, from updates on developing new technologies such as the Electron Ion Collider and the construction of buildings, to the return of students to the long-awaited reopening of the cafeteria.

The U.S. Department of Energy is currently considering the proposals for the cloud chamber and has taken the first steps towards initiating the project.

Hewett, who is the first woman to lead the national lab in its 77-year history, is hoping the winner will be announced this year.

More x-ray tools

In a discussion about the National Synchrotron Lightsource II, which is a circular electron accelerator ring that sends x-rays into the specialized beamlines, Hewett described a study at the recently opened High Energy X-ray Scattering beamline, or HEX.

The state-funded HEX, which is designed for battery research, recently hosted an experiment to examine the vertebrae from Triceratops.

The NSLS-II, which opened a decade ago and has produced important results in a range of fields, will continue to add beamlines. BNL recently received approval to build another eight to 12 beamlines, depending on available funding. The lab will add one beamline in 2025 and another two in 2026.

Electron-Ion Collider

BNL, meanwhile, is continuing to take important steps in planning for an Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), an ambitious $2.8 billion project the lab won the rights to construct.

The collider, which will reveal secrets of the quarks and gluons that make up atoms, will start construction in 2026 and is expected to generate data sometime in the early 2030’s.

As groups of scientists develop plans for the EIC, they apply to the government to reach various milestones.

In March of this year, the lab met a hurdle called CD3A, which provided $100 million in funding for long lead procurements for some of the parts for the 2.4 mile circumference particle collider.

The next review, called CD3B, will be in early January and will involve $50 million in funding.

The funding for these steps involves ordering parts that the lab knows will be necessary.

The EIC will address five key questions, including how does a proton acquire its spin, what is the nature of dense gluon matter, how do quarks and gluons interact within a nucleus, what is the role of gluons in generating nuclear binding energy, and how do the properties of a proton emerge from its quark and gluon constituents.

Researchers expect the results to have application in a wide range of fields, from materials science, to medicine, to creating tools for complex simulations in areas including climate change.

Return of students

After the Covid pandemic shut down visits from area primary schools, students are now returning in increasingly large numbers.

In 2023, around 22,000 students had a chance to find scientific inspiration at BNL, which is starting to approach the pre-pandemic levels of around 30,000.

School buses come to the science learning center on the campus almost every day.

In addition, BNL hosted a record number of student internships, which are typically for college-age students.

In addition to inspiring an understanding and potentially building careers in science, BNL is now opening a new facility. The science users and support center, which is just outside the gate for the lab, is a three-story building with meeting room space.

“It’s going to be a one-stop-shop” for visiting scientists who come to the lab, Hewett said. Visiting scientists can take care of details like badging and lodges, which they previously did in separate buildings.

Additionally, for staff and visitors, BNL reopened a cafeteria that had been closed for five years. The cafeteria will serve breakfast and lunch with hot food.

“That’s another milestone for the laboratory,” Hewett said. With the extended time when the cafeteria was closed, just about everything will be new on the menu. The reopening of the facility took years because of “all the legalese” in the contract, she added.

A new vision

Hewett spent the first nine months of her tenure getting to know the people and learning the culture of the lab.

She suggested she has a new vision that includes four strategic initiatives. These are: the building blocks of the universe, which includes the Electron-Ion Collider; leading in discovery with light-enabled science, which includes the National Synchrotron Lightsource II; development of the next generation information sciences, including quantum information sciences, microelectronics and artificial intelligence; and addressing environmental and societal challenges.

As for the political landscape and funding for science, Hewett suggested that new administrations always have a change in priorities.

“We’re in the business of doing science,” she said. “Science does not observe politics. It’s not red or blue: it’s just facts.”

She suggested that generally, traditional basic research tends to do fairly well.

The BNL lab director, however, is “always making a concerted effort to justify why this investment [of taxpayer dollars] is necessary,” she said. “That’s not going to change one bit.”

After a recent visit to Capitol Hill, Hewett described her relationship with the New York delegation as “great.” She appreciates how the division that affects people’s perspectives in different parts of the world and that has led to conflicts doesn’t often infect scientists or their goals.

In the field of particle physics, “you have Israelis and Palestinians literally working together side by side,” she said. “It all comes to down to the people doing the science and not the government they happen to live under.”

Hewett also continues to believe in the value of diverse experience in the workplace. “We need the best and the brightest,” she said. “I don’t care if they’re pink with purple polka dots: we want them here at the laboratory doing science for us. We want to develop the workforce of the future.”

Adding key hires

As Hewett has settled into her role, she would like to fill some important staff functions. “This is really two or three jobs that I have to get done in the time it takes to do one job,” she said. “A chief of staff is very much needed to help move some of these projects along.”

Additionally, she is looking for someone to lead research partnerships and technology transfer. “As you do the great science, you want to be able to work hand in hand with industry in order to do the development of that science,” she said.

She said this disconnect between research and industry was known as the “Valley of Death.” Institutions like BNL “do fundamental science and industry has a product, and you don’t do enough of the work to match the two with each other.”

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Richard McCormick

By Daniel Dunaief

Richard McCormick wants more.

The interim president of Stony Brook University, whose tenure started in August and is set to end in June, wants more students, more buildings, more funding for science, more interdisciplinary collaborations and, to help make much of that possible, more money from the state.

An aerial view of Stony Brook University

In a recent celebrity spotlight podcast interview, McCormick shared a vision that addressed everything from identifying scientific priorities for the next decade, to adding sufficient wastewater treatment for proposed new buildings, to ensuring sufficient funding for student education and research.

McCormick, who has had more than four decades of experience in higher education, and said he is “enjoying this position more than any other I’ve had in my whole life,” is thinking well beyond June.

This winter, McCormick is asking New York State for $1.2 billion, split evenly over the course of the next four years, to add new buildings. He will also request additional funds to upgrade buildings with deferred maintenance.

“We’re seeking significant resources from the state of New York for deferred maintenance,” McCormick said. Stony Brook has an estimated $2 billion in deferred maintenance, including buildings that house the College of Business in Harriman Hall, the School of Social Welfare and the School of Dental Medicine.

“We also need new facilities, particularly interdisciplinary research facilities,” he added.

McCormick has shared a proposal, which SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr. supports, that seeks resources for these new interdisciplinary buildings on the West and East Campuses.

“It’s going to be my main focus of effort during the winter, to obtain support for that capital facilities plan,”said McCormick.

In addition to a request for buildings, the interim president will seek funds for an operating budget and staff that can support a larger student body.

This year’s freshman class of 4,040 students is the largest to date. That makes Stony Brook stand out amid the average decline of five percent in first year enrollment at universities and colleges across the country.

“We’re a hot school right now,” McCormick said, particularly after Stony Brook climbed the 2024 ranks of colleges in US News and World Report to 58th among national universities and 26th among public universities.

The operating budget for Stony Brook, which declined in the decade that ended in 2020, has been rising. “Another pitch I’ll be making in Albany during the legislative session will be to maintain that increase,” McCormick added. The higher budget will support limiting factors such as housing, wastewater, dining and faculty.

More faculty

Stony Brook has been adding faculty recently, and would like to ensure that any increase in student enrollment doesn’t affect class sizes. “The aim will be to keep the pace of faculty appointments in line with the growth of students,” McCormick said.

The interim president plans to continue to invest in research, as well. He is making more investments in shared facilities and equipment, is providing faculty with more support in applying for federal grants, and administering those grants, and is bolstering the high powered computing capacity such research demands. Those efforts are underway under the direction of Vice President for research Kevin Gardner, who also joined Stony Brook at the beginning of August.

New initiatives

At the same time, the interim president has added several new efforts.

He has appointed a task force that is charged with exploring opportunities for greater collaboration across Nichols Road. In addition, McCormick has convened a science futures committee that will come up with the developments the university should contribute to over the next decade. 

He does not want to dictate this focus from the president’s office and is relying on this panel to “paint a bold picture of where science is going and what are the cutting edge fields Stony Brook should be investing in,” McCormick said. The group will share its vision in a public document.

McCormick is also bringing an effort he created when he was president at Rutgers University from 2002 to 2012. Called a Future Scholars Program, Stony Brook will identify about 100 students in five Southampton School Districts, who will be entering eighth grade next fall.

“We are going to put our arms around them, promise to support them with peer tutoring and mentoring, and with academic visits during the summer or the year,” he said.

In addition to ensuring that these students take college prep courses, Stony Brook will promise these students that “if you get a C in your math course, you’re going to get a call from us and you’re not going to get another C in math.” For students in this program who gain admission to Stony Brook on their merits, the university promises free tuition.

The Southampton schools are working on the process to identify these students. In the following year, the future scholars will come from five schools in the Stony Brook area. The primary criteria to find these students is promise and not grades.

A college town

McCormick would also like to develop a college town with businesses like pizza restaurants and bars.

This could be on the campus side of the railroad station and would be conceived of and created in collaboration with the private sector. The idea, he suggested, is to create a commercial district that’s within easy walking distance and which is particularly receptive to college students. McCormick would want those places to be “student friendly in every sense of the word, including their hours of operation,” he added. This, like some of his other ideas, is a longer term project that wouldn’t be completed within a year.

Concerns

McCormick shared several concerns in connection with Stony Brook and higher education.

He mentioned his worry about any future cuts in financial aid either for students in need or for scientific research. “It would be very, very hurtful not just to Stony Brook but to every university of our kind if there were significant reductions in student support or support for ongoing research, so we’re keeping an eye on that,” he said. When he speaks to members of Congress, he plans to discuss the importance of basic research, which can lead to advancements in health care and economic growth.

The interim president also believes in creating opportunities for talented students who come from a wide range of experiences and backgrounds. He recognizes that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have become a political hot button. Still, he is not going to give up on opportunities for men and women to get college educations.

He also recognizes that some students are undocumented immigrants. “We want to do everything we can to protect our students,” he said. While he believes none of these threats are imminent, he plans to remain vigilant.

As a history professor who, at one point, taught a class jointly with his father at Rutgers, McCormick hopes and prays the country can become reunited amid heated rancor. He sees the lead up to the Civil War as the closest historical parallel to the current climate.However, McCormick does not anticipate that history will repeat itself.

Despite the tension, he remains optimistic about the future of the United States based on his faith in the country.

Next president

When Stony Brook tapped McCormick as its interim president, he indicated that he would not be a candidate for the permanent role. Indeed, the announcement of his role indicated he would have this position only through June 2025.

“I agreed to that,” McCormick said. “I signed that letter,” indicating that he wouldn’t be a candidate.

Still, he would be willing to stay on as president, if that opportunity arose.

Based on his experience at Stony Brook, where he has found the culture warm, receptive and supportive, he would like to see the next president, no matter who it is, “be a nice person.”

“It is absolutely critical to the culture.”

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