When Christopher K. Pendergast was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease, he was told he had three years to live. He lived 28 years instead. And what a 28 years they were.
Chris Pendergast
Chris, who died on Oct. 14 at age 71, went on to found the ALS Ride for Life in 1997, raising over $10 million for ALS research. The Center for ALS at Stony Brook Medicine now bears his name. And along the way, he met with everyone from U.S. Presidents to legislators to the manager of the New York Yankees. It was all part of his unending quest to help others.
“I want to make a difference,” said the elementary schoolteacher from Miller Place. “I want the extra few years I have to count for something.”
Did he ever.
Chris knew what he was up against. He disdained the term “survivor,” because he knew he would not survive. Instead, he preferred saying that he had lived with ALS for “X” number of years.
On the day he died, his family issued a media statement, saying, “Our dad, despite all odds, lived life just how he wanted until his last morning. He fought ALS bravely for 28 years and dedicated 23 of those years raising awareness and funds for ALS. He touched so many lives but at the end of the day, he was just ‘our dad’ who happened to do remarkable things.”
It wasn’t just by happenstance.
Over the course of 28 years, Chris advocated for patients with ALS, driven to raise funds for ALS research, awareness and patient care through the Ride for Life. He met with other patients with ALS privately and offered them his insights and his friendship for the difficult journey that he knew lay ahead.
Although a quadriplegic, on a ventilator, and using an eye-gaze computer to communicate, Chris remained active with the Ride in his final days.
“Chris taught us much about the range of possibilities of individuals with ALS, about humanity, and the art of what is possible,” said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President, Health Sciences, and Dean, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. “His legacy as a trailblazing ALS advocate through the Ride for Life organization and his work at Stony Brook will last for generations to come.”
Based on his work, Chris received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the ALS Association. The ALS Center at Stony Brook Medicine was renamed the Stony Brook Neuromuscular Disease and Christopher Pendergast ALS Center of Excellence in his honor.
“We are proud to have known Chris as a friend, colleague and warrior against ALS,” Dr. Kaushansky said. “We will continue to work to find a cure for ALS, in honor of his life and vision.”
As the percentage of positive tests throughout the county continues its rapid climb to about 3.5% from around 1% in the last 10 days, Suffolk County has started its first school-based testing in Hampton Bays and Riverhead.
Those two school districts, where county and school officials are testing students who have received permission from their parents, recently started testing students for COVID-19 in an effort to monitor and reduce the spread of the virus.
Hampton Bays has a 6.5% positive testing rate over the last five days, while Riverhead has a 5.6% positive rate for that same period, according to County Executive Steve Bellone (D).
About 400 tests for students, teachers and faculty in Hampton Bays, which started on Thursday, Nov. 19, will be administered before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Four employees from Suffolk County are on site to administer the rapid tests, which provide results within 15 minutes.
“The goal in launching this free school-based testing program is to be proactive in an effort to get control of these numbers in the county,” Bellone said on a conference call with reporters. More testing will help the county locate the potential source of community spread, helping to enable schools and businesses to remain open.
The school testing is part of a “comprehensive effort to get our arms around these nubmers and stop the surge in the county,” Bellone said.
The Riverhead tests will start on Friday, Nov. 20. The county hasn’t determined how many tests it will administer at that location. The Riverhead and Hampton Bays testing kits came from New York State.
Additional pop up testing will occur in the Hamptons Bays that Stony Brook South Shore Hospital will administer over the next two weeks, which will continue on an as-needed basis.
Bellone said the spread of positive tests is occurring throughout the county and isn’t localized in any one region.
“What we’re seeing is the spread is happening everywhere across the county,” Bellone said. “The announcement today is part of a larger, comprehensive effort to get community spread under control.”
While schools in Manhattan have closed in response to a rise in positive tests, Bellone said concerted efforts in the county may prevent the eastern part of Long Island from the same fate.
These efforts include increasing the number of contact tracers to 150 today from just 30 before this surge began. The Suffolk County Police Department is also increasing enforcement around the holiday about social host laws and gathering limits below 10 people. The Suffolk County Department of Health is also working through social media to remind residents about their public health responsibilities.
Bellone reiterated that some of the increase in cases in the county came from gatherings around Halloween. With Thanksgiving next week, which typically brings multiple generations of families together, the result from these gatherings could continue to increase the number of positive tests.
Bellone said the county would continue to follow local data. If other communities also have positive test rates above the average in the county over a long enough period of time, the county will “engage with those school districts” as it has with Hampton Bays and Riverhead, Bellone said.
At this point, the county has no plans to conduct additional testing after Thanksgiving.
“We’re not seeing the spread happening inside the school,” Bellone said. “The effort we are engaged in today is part of a larger, comprehensive effort trying to get a handle on this in the county. It’s not, per se, an issue about the schools. We are looking at certain communities” where the positive rate is above the average for the community.
The county executive said he would provide data about the school-based testing once it was collected.
To quash guilt about Thanksgiving meal indiscretions, many of us will resolve to exercise to burn off the calories from this seismic meal and the smaller, calorically dense aftershock meals, whether with a vigorous family football game or with a more modest walk.
Unfortunately, exercise without dietary changes may not actually help many people lose weight, no matter what the intensity or the duration (1). If it does help, it may only modestly reduce fat mass and weight for the majority of people. However, it may be helpful with weight maintenance. Ultimately, it may be more important to reconsider what you are eating than to succumb to the rationalization that you can eat with abandon during the holidays and work it off later.
Don’t give up on exercise just yet, though. There is very good news: Exercise does have beneficial effects on a wide range of conditions, including chronic kidney disease, cognitive decline, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, fatigue, insomnia and depression.
Let’s look at the evidence.
Exercise for weight loss
The well-known weight-loss paradigm is that when more calories are burned than consumed, we will tip the scale in favor of weight loss. The greater the negative balance with exercise, the greater the loss. However, study results say otherwise. They show that in premenopausal women there was neither weight nor fat loss from exercise (2). This involved 81 women over a short duration, 12 weeks. All of the women were overweight to obese, although there was great variability in weight.
However, more than two-thirds of the women (55) gained a mean of 1 kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, of fat mass by the end of the study. There were a few who gained 10 pounds of predominantly fat. A fair amount of variability was seen among the participants, ranging from significant weight loss to substantial weight gain. These women were told to exercise at the American College of Sports Medicine’s optimal level of intensity (3). This is to walk 30 minutes on a treadmill three times a week at 70 percent VO2max — maximum oxygen consumption during exercise — or, in other words, a moderately intense pace.
The good news is that the women were in better aerobic shape by the end of the study. Also, women who had lost weight at the four-week mark were more likely to continue to do so by the end of the study. This was a preliminary study, so no definitive conclusions can be made.
Other studies have shown modest weight loss. For instance, in a meta-analysis involving 14 randomized controlled trials, results showed that there was a disappointing amount of weight loss with exercise alone (4). In six months, patients lost a mean of 1.6 kilograms, or 3.5 pounds, and at 12 months, participants lost 1.7 kilograms, or about 3.75 pounds.
Exercise and weight maintenance
However, exercise may be valuable in weight maintenance, according to observational studies. Premenopausal women who exercised at least 30 minutes a day were significantly less likely to regain lost weight (5). When exercise was added to diet, women were able to maintain 30 percent more weight loss than with diet alone after a year in a prospective study (6).
Exercise and disease
As just one example of exercise’s impact on disease, let’s look at chronic kidney disease (CKD), which affects 15 percent, or one in seven, adults in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (7).
Trial results showed that walking regularly could reduce the risk of kidney replacement therapy and death in patients who have moderate to severe CKD, stages 3-5 (8). Yes, this includes stage 3, which most likely is asymptomatic. There was a 21 percent reduction in the risk of kidney replacement therapy and a 33 percent reduction in the risk of death when walkers were compared to non-walkers.
Walking had an impressive impact; results were based on a dose-response curve. In other words, the more frequently patients walked during the week, the better the probability of preventing complications. Those who walked between one and two times per week had 17 and 19 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement therapy, respectively, while those who walked at least seven times per week saw 44 and 59 percent reductions in death and kidney replacement. These are substantial results. The authors concluded that the effectiveness of walking on CKD was independent of kidney function, age or other diseases.
Therefore, while it is important to enjoy the holidays, remember that food choices will have the greatest impact on our weight and body composition. However, exercise can help maintain weight loss and is extremely beneficial for preventing progression of chronic diseases, such as CKD.
So, by all means, exercise during the holidays, but also focus on more nutrient-dense foods. At a minimum, strike a balance rather than eating purely calorically dense foods. You won’t be able to exercise them away.
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.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. File photo by Alex Petroski
On the night before Thanksgiving, high school and college students typically come together to reconnect, share stories and share a drink.
This year, as COVID-19 cases climb throughout the U.S., including in Suffolk County, County Executive Steve Bellone (D), along with the Suffolk County Police Department and local enforcement offices, are discouraging gatherings that might cause further spread of the virus.
Enforcement efforts will using social host laws, which fine residents for allowing underage drinking, and state-mandated gathering restrictions, which combined, could lead to “serious consequences,” Bellone said on a conference call with reporters Nov. 17.
“No matter where you are or what you are doing, social distancing and mask guidelines must be followed,” Bellone said. “We’ve come too far to go back now.”
With new state restrictions that limit the sale of alcohol after 10 p.m. through bars and restaurants, Bellone said enforcement efforts would be on the look out for gatherings at private residences. Some of these viral spreading events have occurred during smaller gatherings.
“The spread of COVID-19 at these types of parties is very, very real,” Bellone said. “We’ve seen it countless times. We all need to take personal responsibility,” which includes parents who need to comply with social host laws and the state’s gathering limits in homes.
Bellone announced a partnership between the Suffolk County Department of Health and the nonprofit Partners in Prevention, which is starting a social media campaign to inform the community about social host laws. Bellone called this information “critical” leading up to Thanksgiving celebrations.
While Suffolk County enforcement efforts will respond to calls about larger group gatherings, Bellone said police would use “common sense” and would not be “going door to door to check on the number of individuals in a house.”
As for the infection rates, the numbers continue to rise, returning to levels not seen in months.
“We expect our numbers [of positive tests] to be around 400 today,” Bellone said. The positivity rate is about 3.4 percent, while the number of people hospitalized with symptoms related to the virus approaching 100.
“We have not been above 100 since June 18,” Bellone said. In the last 24 hours, the number of people who have required hospitalization from the virus increased by 16.
While the virus has exhausted people physically and mentally, the county cannot “jeopardize our continued economic recovery” and the health of the population by stepping back from measures such as social distancing, mask wearing and hand washing that proved so effective in reducing the spread earlier this year, Bellone said.
“Now is the time to double down on common sense measures that work,” he added.
Some of the positive tests are coming from people in nursing homes, who are among the most vulnerable population.
“With the nursing homes, that is obviously a big concern,” Bellone said. The county is “making sure they have the PPE [personal protective equipment] they need.”
The Department of Health is staying in close contact with these facilities as cases continue to climb.
Bellone urged residents who dined at a Friendly’s restaurant in Riverhead on Nov. 5 or 6 to monitor their symptoms for the next two weeks. Six adults who worked at the restaurant have tested positive for the virus.
Anyone who is exhibiting symptoms of the virus, which include fever, a runny nose, lost of taste or smell, fatigue, shortness of breath, can find a testing site at suffolkcountyny.gov/covid19.
Separately, when asked about the possibility of schools closing in response to the increasing incidence of positive tests, Bellone urged schools to remain open at this testing level.
“We are not seeing the spread happening in the schools,” Bellone said. “The protocols being put in place and the execution in the schools has really worked.”
Stony Brook students performed self mouth swab COVID-19 tests before leaving for home. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Stony Brook students and faculty have been utilizing the campus’ quick, free saliva swab testing to stay clear of the Coronavirus before holiday break.
Stony Brook University student volunteers, from left, Elah Ginsburg, Patricia Indelicato and Emily Lam help test students before they leave for Thanksgiving. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Although students will not be returning to campus after the Thanksgiving holiday, the university began implementing swab testing sites on three parts of campus for commuter students, residents and faculty.
Earlier this month, Marisa Bisiani, assistant vice president for student health, wellness, and prevention services issued a message to students concerning COVID testing and the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We are committed to maintaining the health and safety of our campus community,” she said. “This includes requiring COVID testing for students who, like you, live off-campus, but may come to campus for an in-person class, work on campus or visit campus facilities.”
In accordance with SUNY policy, all commuter students must complete a COVID test within the 10-day period prior to the start of the break.
“As many COVID cases are asymptomatic, meaning you can be infected, and unknowingly and unintentionally spread the disease to others, we want you to know your health status before Thanksgiving to help keep you and your family safe,” she added.
Faculty and students who are on campus from Nov. 9 through Nov. 20 must get tested. If a student will not be on campus at that time, they must fill out an exemption form online.
After scheduling an appointment online, students are able to visit the Student Activity Center, the Health Sciences Center Galleria and for East End students, at the Stony Brook Southampton campus’ student center. There they receive a mouth swab and safely hand it over to the workers for testing. Results come back two to five days after the swab.
“We get over 150 tests done a day,” said Elah Ginsberg, a sophomore on campus who works at the testing site. “Yesterday we have 300 come by.”
The need for quick testing on campus began early last month, with new requirements that faculty, staff and commuter students to get checked for the virus.
“All commuters have to get their cheeks swabbed,” Emily Lam, a senior volunteer at the site, said. “I think it’s way safer and ensures that they’re healthy when they come to campus.”
Patricia Indelicato, health administration coordinator on campus, said she loves that this opportunity is so easily available. “It’s great and it’s helping to keep the community safe.”
Lauren Crennan, who works at the university’s undergraduate college, said that although it’s required for her to get tested, she doesn’t mind doing it one bit.
“I’m happy that they’re doing it,” she said. “It gives me a peace of mind and it’s an easy two-minute walk from my office.”
The head of pediatrics at Stony Brook Children's Hospital said current restrictions on daily life has not meant young people have not been exposed to normal childhood diseases. Stock photo
The school and day care mixing bowl of bacterial and viral illnesses has changed. As schools, day-care centers, clubs, sports teams and other organizations change the way they manage group gatherings amid the pandemic, the game of illness tag children seem to play has slowed.
“We are seeing potentially less viral illnesses thus far in the sense that we have not seen an increase yet in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV,” said Christy Beneri, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. “We are still waiting to see what happens with the flu.”
The chance of children contracting some of those illnesses would likely be less this year amid the infection control measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the disease responsible for the pandemic.
Beneri said children are getting somewhat fewer infections, although doctors are still seeing strep throat, ear infections and pneumonia.
Viral-induced asthma visits have declined at Stony Brook. Children who have asthma are still seeking medical attention, particularly if their condition doesn’t have a viral trigger.
At the same time, the effects of social isolation, uncertainty about the future, and household anxiety has triggered an additional mental health burden, particularly for adolescents.
Pediatricians are “asking patients more about those issues,” she said. “We maybe didn’t ask as much as we should have in the past.”
Even though children generally have less contact with their contemporaries this year, they are still developing illnesses, as their immune system receives challenges from microbes through dirt, pet saliva and other sources.
The dynamic is “slightly different in terms of getting some of these viruses from other people, [but] there are still pathogens in their environment,” she said.
In the current environment, with positive tests for COVID-19 setting new national daily records, Beneri said it is important to practice infection control measures in certain settings, which will impact what children are exposed to over time.
The cultural shift from sending children who might have mild symptoms to school to keeping children home for the good of their fellow students and staff has helped reduce the spread of COVID and other potential infections.
“We’ve taken a step back from what makes sense not just for my child, but for others my child might be exposing,” Beneri said. The decision about whether to send a child who might be battling an illness, cold or minor discomfort to school “is not just about us. It’s about those in our communities and, hopefully, there’s a better recognition” about the impact an infected child can have.
Some of the infection control measures, such as hand hygiene and staying home when children are sick should continue even after companies start providing a COVID-19 vaccine.
At this point, with the virus still prevalent in the community and country, she said acute care visits are declining, as parents are managing at home and are watching and waiting to see how their children recover from any infection.
As a parent, Beneri is dealing with the disappointment and disruption of life in the pandemic for her seven-year-old daughter. Twice, the family has had to cancel a trip to Disney World and has scheduled it for a third time.
Once the worst of the pandemic passes and children get back together again, the pediatric program director said there might be an increase in certain infections, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the county will see horrific outbreaks.
With the approach of Thanksgiving and the December holidays, Beneri urges families to be creative about gatherings. She suggested that smaller groups might want to get together over two weekends, rather than all gathering at the same time.
As for advice to schools, Beneri urges people to remain mindful of their activities outside of school.
“It’d be a shame to have to close schools,” Beneri said.
Beneri added people can celebrate milestones like turning 16, but they should not have a 40-person event in the current environment.
Simple strategies can improve health for everyone around the table
By David Dunaief, M.D.
Dr. David Dunaief
Many of us give thanks for good health on Thanksgiving. This is especially relevant this year. While eating healthy may be furthest from our minds during the holidays, it is so important.
Instead of making Thanksgiving a holiday of regret, eating foods that cause weight gain, fatigue and that increase your risk for chronic diseases, you can reverse this trend while maintaining the traditional theme of a festive meal.
What can we do to turn Thanksgiving into a bonanza of good health? Phytochemicals (plant nutrients) called carotenoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and are found mostly in fruits and vegetables. Carotenoids make up a family of more than 600 different substances, such as beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene and beta-cryptoxanthin (1).
Carotenoids help to prevent and potentially reverse diseases, such as breast cancer; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease; age-related macular degeneration; and cardiovascular disease — heart disease and stroke. Foods that contain these substances are orange, yellow and red vegetables and fruits, and dark green leafy vegetables. Examples include sweet potato, acorn squash, summer squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, carrots, cooked pumpkin, spinach, kale, papayas, tangerines, tomatoes and Brussels sprouts.
Let’s look at the evidence.
Breast cancer
We know that breast cancer risk is high among U.S.-born women, where the average lifetime risk of getting breast cancer is 12.8 percent (2). In a meta-analysis (a group of eighteen prospective studies), results show that women who consumed higher levels of carotenoids, such as alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein and zeaxanthin, had significantly reduced risk of developing estrogen-negative breast cancer (3).
Lou Gehrig’s disease
ALS is a disabling and feared disease. Unfortunately, there are no effective treatments for reversing this disease. Therefore, we need to work double time in trying to prevent its occurrence. In a meta-analysis of five prestigious observational studies, including The Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, results showed that people with the greatest amount of carotenoids in their blood from foods like spinach, kale and carrots had a decreased risk of developing ALS and/or delaying the onset of the disease (4). This study involved over 1 million people with more than 1,000 who developed ALS.
Those who were in the highest carotenoid level quintile had a 25 percent reduction in risk, compared to those in the lowest quintile. According to the authors, the beneficial effects may be due to antioxidant activity and more efficient function of the power source of the cell: the mitochondrion.
Strategies for healthy holiday eating
METRO photo
Despite the knowledge that healthy eating has long-term positive effects, there are obstacles to healthy eating. Two critical factors are presentation and perception.
Vegetables are often prepared in either an unappetizing way — steamed to the point of no return – or smothered in cheese, negating their benefits, but clearing our consciences.
Many consider Thanksgiving a time to indulge and not think about the repercussions. Plant-based foods like whole grains, leafy greens and fruits are relegated to side dishes or afterthoughts. Why is it so important to change our mindsets? There are significant short-term consequences of gorging ourselves.
Not surprisingly, people tend to gain weight from Thanksgiving to New Year. This is when most gain the predominant amount of weight for the entire year. However, most do not lose the weight they gain during this time (5). If you can fend off weight gain during the holidays, think of the possibilities for the rest of the year.
Also, if you are obese and sedentary, you may already have heart disease. Overeating at a single meal increases your risk of heart attack over the near term, according to the American Heart Association (6). However, with a little Thanksgiving planning, you can reap significant benefits:
Make healthy, plant-based dishes part of the main course. You don’t have to forgo signature dishes, but add to tradition by adding mouthwatering vegetable-based dishes.
Improve vegetable options. Most people don’t like grilled chicken without any seasoning. Why should vegetables be different? In my family, we season vegetables and make sauces to drizzle over them. Good resources for appealing dishes can be found at PCRM.org, DrFuhrman.com, mouthwateringvegan.com, and many other resources.
Replace refined grains. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that replacing wheat or refined grains with whole wheat and whole grains significantly reduced central fat, or fat around the belly (7). Not only did participants lose subcutaneous fat found just below the skin, but also visceral adipose tissue, the fat that lines organs and causes chronic diseases such as cancer. For even better results, consider substituting riced or mashed cauliflower for rice or potatoes.
Create a healthy environment.Instead of putting out creamy dips, cheese platters and candies as snacks, choose whole grain brown rice crackers, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and healthy dips like hummus and salsa. Help people choose wisely.
Offer healthy dessert options. Options might include dairy-free pumpkin pudding and fruit salad.
The goal should be to increase your nutrient-dense choices and decrease your empty-calorie foods. You don’t have to be perfect, but improvements during this time period have a tremendous impact — they set the tone for the coming year and put you on a path to success. Why not turn this holiday into an opportunity to de-stress, rest, and reverse or prevent chronic disease?
References:
(1) Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2010;50(8):728–760. (2) SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2016, National Cancer Institute. (3) Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Mar; 95(3): 713–725. (4) Ann Neurol 2013;73:236–245. (5) N Engl J Med 2000; 342:861-867. (6) www.heart.org. (7) Am J Clin Nutr 2010 Nov;92(5):1165-71.
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.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Just as many areas in the rest of the country are experiencing a rise in positive tests for the coroanvirus, Suffolk County has now completed a week in which the numbers have climbed quickly.
The seven-day moving average of new cases is over 300, compared with an average of 119 the prior week.
“For a full week, we’ve seen an alarming spike in new COVID-19 cases,” County Executive Steve Bellone (D) said on a conference call with reporters.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has issued new guidelines starting this evening for restaurants, bars and fitness centers. Starting at 10 pm, each of those businesses is required to close from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Restaurants are allowed to offer curbside dining for pick up only after 10 p.m., but they can’t serve alcohol after that time.
At the same time, gatherings are limited to 10 people, in part because smaller collections of people have contributed to the rise in positive tests.
Starting today, the county will also deploy six teams, consisting of one fire marshal and one staff member from consumer affairs to boost ongoing compliance.
These teams will speak with businesses about new restrictions. The first focus will be on gaining compliance and informing and educating the public. These new teams will have the authority to issue citations if they “detect or observe egregious violations,” Bellone said.
These new restrictions are the first in the county since the spring.
“We don’t want to see new restrictions take effect that will slow the recovery more,” Bellone said. “That will all be dependent on what we do in the next couple of weeks.”
The county has a “short window” in which to get these numbers under control, the county executive continued.
The county has activated 200 additional case investigators and has 1,000 contact traces following up on positive tests within the county.
The goal is to get index cases as quickly as possible within a 24-hour period, Bellone added, to reduce the spread of the virus.
Bellone urged people to avoid gatherings this weekend to the greatest extent possible.
“We are entering a dangerous period for this virus,” Bellone said. “We have long talked about the possibility of a second wave in the fall. It very much feels like that’s where we are.”
With two weeks left until Thanksgiving, Bellone reminded residents that the time to quarantine is limited.
People need to follow best practices, which includes social distancing, mask wearing and hand sanitizing, even as the weather gets colder and residents spend more time indoors.
“No one wants their Thanksgiving gathering to be the next super spreader event,” Bellone said.
The Port Jefferson school board voted Tuesday to start its 4-person in person learning schedule Jan. 11 next year. Photo from meeting video
In its Nov. 10 meeting, the Port Jefferson School District Board of Education decided to open up the middle and high schools for more in-person learning starting in January, though plans may be complicated by rising infection rates.
The board voted 4-3 against a plan to start rolling in students on a staggered, weekly basis Dec. 8. The board then voted 5-2 to have all students in grades six through 12 start back Jan. 11. Trustees Rene Tidwell and Ryan Walker both voted “no” on the plan.
Superintendent Jessica Schmettan said this would also mandate the installation of desk shields. The district already authorized the purchase of desk shields at $135,000. Those shields are expected sometime around the third week of November. In addition, ICT students will begin four-day instruction immediately.
In this plan, Mondays would remain a remote-learning day with office hours and asynchronous instruction. Tuesday through Friday would then become in-person for all students. Desks and desk shields would be sanitized at the end of each school day, and then on Mondays any lingering haze left from the sanitizer would be removed.
“We got a lot of parent feedback as to why 11th-graders should be in as it helps their college careers, why middle school students should be in — we recognize that all students benefit from in-person learning,” the superintendent said. “The how and the when is something we’re having a lot of discussion on.”
She said it would take from five to 10 days to install all desk shields in the two schools.
A survey of 513 parents in the district revealed that just over 88% said they would like to send their child to four days of instruction. Another 7%, or about 36 families, said they were using the full remote option and would continue that way.
In that same survey, 65% of parents said they would like to see students go to four days as soon as possible. While other families wished the district to start this plan in January or February, a little over 10 percent, or about 56 families, said they wished the school to continue with the hybrid model.
Almost 60% of parents surveyed want children to return all at once, while another 24% want kids phased in with smaller groups.
Students were similarly polled, and most, just over 67%, also wanted to be back in school four days a week, though only 42% said it should be as soon as possible.
While most school staff would like to see children back in school for more days, just a little over 50% of the 94 surveyed want to see students brought in with staggered groups.
A representative from the Port Jefferson Teachers’ Association also spoke at the meeting, asking the district to bring in experts from local hospitals when considering reopening, and mentioned the district would gain little if it brought back students after Thanksgiving, as it would only be a limited number of days before Christmas.
“Overwhelmingly, our staff want our kids back in the building — they want them back four days a week,” the superintendent said. “The biggest question becomes how and when.”
Tidwell expressed some concerns over how well students will be protected by the desk shields, noting that they do not necessarily stop all of the aerosolized virus. She said it’s likely to also see upticks in cases after the holidays, and the district should hold off until after December or after the holidays.
“We can’t ignore what’s happening in Suffolk County,” she said.
Currently, the infection rate in New York has breached 3%, higher than any other time it’s been in the past few months. Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) has said the jump in infections may be because of Halloween, but state officials also blame restaurants that sell alcohol, gyms and home gatherings. New restrictions are already in place.
Walker said he trusts the administration to do what needs to be done, but the board would have to be conscientious before the decided date. He said he would like to see the school district go ahead with these plans.
“My position really hasn’t changed,” he said. “When we come up with a date, we look at the data immediately preceding that date to see if it’s safe. If we don’t think it’s safe, we’re not going to go ahead with it. What I worry about though, if we do decide on a date, if nothing changes from where it is currently … are we then going to push the pause button again and again and again? If you’re not secure in sending your kids in now, I don’t think possibly you’re ever going to be secure in bringing in your kids.”
Board vice president, Tracy Zamek, said the toll of keeping kids in this current model is doing harm.
“Our kids are not doing well, in my opinion,” she said. “If the school is ready and the numbers are OK, then we need to get the kids back in.”
Assistant superintendent, Christine Austen, said the schools’ social workers are working on reports for how students are currently doing.
Schmettan said other districts in the area have set dates and then pushed back those dates, and they could do the same thing.
“The really difficult part, we can set that date for whatever the date may be but infection rates, closures — things are going to change,” she said. “Regardless of whatever benchmark or milestone we shoot for, there is a possibility it is diverted.”
Wading River resident Bill McGrath donates blood at the NYBC location in Terryville. Photo by Julianne Mosher
Local hospitals are in need of blood, and they are joining forces with New York Blood Center to get the word out that a donation could save a life.
Dr. James Cassin, dental resident at St. Charles Hospital’s Dental Clinic, donating blood Nov. 10 at St. Charles Hospital’s Blood Drive. Photo from St. Charles
According to Andrea Cefarelli, senior executive director at New York Blood Center, because of the current pandemic, there is a huge shortage across the country with no sign of any more supplies incoming.
“This is a chronic deficit in blood donations so we’re trying to raise awareness,” she said.
Cefarelli explained that before the pandemic, 75% of blood donations came from the community.
“We came to you in your place of work, place of worship and schools,” she said. “It was super easy to donate blood.”
According to its Facebook page, NYBC provides lifesaving blood products and services to nearly 200 hospitals in New York, New Jersey, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and parts of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
But because of COVID-19, people aren’t going out to donate, especially since blood drives at schools, colleges, offices and other community groups have been canceled.
“Post-pandemic we’re running far fewer community blood drives and so it’s not quite as convenient,” Cefarelli said. “We have a deficit of 8,000 donations per month.”
According to NYBC, New York’s health care system requires 1,500 donations each day to treat patients ranging from trauma victims to newborns to cancer patients. The lack of blood donations is “particularly dangerous given the looming uncertainty surrounding the pandemic’s trajectory over the course of this winter,” she said.
Pre-pandemic, NYBC would host 550 community blood drives every month, but it is currently hosting just 280 blood drives per month.
To make up for lost blood, NYBC has teamed up with local and regional hospitals including Northwell Health and Catholic Health Services of Long Island to spread the word and ask people to donate.
“The lack of blood donations has caused shortages of blood types to be available in our blood bank which provides lifesaving blood to all the patients we serve within the community,” said Jon Zenker, the administrative director of Huntington Hospital’s laboratory. “We urge all members of the community who are able to donate blood to help us overcome this critical shortage so that we can continue to serve our patients and provide them with the highest quality of care.”
Greg Slater, a spokesperson with Catholic Health Services, said they have taken extra safety precautions to make people feel comfortable during COVID times.
“It takes a little bit of time to do, but it can be a lifesaving thing for someone else,” he said.
Cefarelli said the lack of first-time donors is also down because of the lack of blood drives in school. She is encouraging young people to lend a helping hand.
“If you bring a son or daughter who’s a first-time donor, who doesn’t have that school experience, we’re welcoming that,” she said. “Making it a fun and safe experience is super important to us.”
She’s also reminding people that blood drives are safe and can be hosted in a socially distanced fashion.
“We have churches, businesses and even some schools realizing that we can host a blood drive that is safe and socially distant,” she said. “We want other organizations to consider hosting a drive.”
Right now, donors can make an appointment online at any NYBC blood collection center. Upon arrival, their temperatures are checked, and masks are required.
Stony Brook University Hospital is also accepting blood donations at their own personal blood bank. According to Linda Pugliese, blood bank donor recruiter at the hospital, every day (except for Sunday) is a blood drive there.
“All of the whole blood and platelets that are donated in the hospital blood bank, stay at the hospital, and help provide patients with the blood products they need,” she said. “Donating at the Stony Brook University Hospital Blood Bank is truly an example of community service.”
Since they are not affiliated with NYBC, SBUH’s blood supply is currently stable, but their demand has reached pre-COVID-19 levels. “There is a critical need to meet the challenges for blood donations created by the pandemic,” she said.
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