Wages can’t be garnished, liens placed on homes for medical bills

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday signed legislation (S.6522A/A.7363A) to protect patients facing steep medical bills that can lead to wage garnishment or liens against their property.

“No one should face the threat of losing their home or falling into further debt after seeking medical care,” Governor Hochul said. “I’m proud to sign legislation today that will end this harmful and predatory collection practice to help protect New Yorkers from these unfair penalties. With medical debt a burden for far too many, this is an important step to address this crucial issue.”

Legislation (S.6522A/A.7363A) amends the civil practice law and rules to prohibit health care providers from placing home liens on an individual’s primary residence or garnishing wages to collect on medical debt.

Nearly half of American adults struggle to afford health care costs, and more than 50,000 New Yorkers have been sued for medical debt over the past five years; this problem is most pervasive in Upstate New York.

Previously, hospitals or health care providers had been able to impose and enforce liens on a patient’s primary residence to satisfy a judgment in a medical debt lawsuit, leading to housing instability and devastating financial consequences for vulnerable New Yorkers.

“New Yorkers should not fear losing their homes or livelihoods as a result of seeking medical care, especially during such challenging financial times,” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “I want to thank Governor Hochul for signing my bill into law to protect New Yorkers from facing liens on their homes or wage garnishment by medical institutions in their effort to collect medical debt. We must work together to eradicate medical debt from our State and I am thrilled that we are taking this important first step.”

Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments

‘Tis the season to bundle up, spend more time indoors, and enjoy family and friends over the holiday season. Unfortunately for some, it is also the time of colds, flu, Covid-19 and RSV.

We are already seeing an increase in flu activity across Genesee and Orleans counties. (Editor’s Note: The state Department of Health’s weekly flu tracker on Friday reported there are 7 active flu cases in Orleans and 29 in Genesee.)

Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every year.

“The flu vaccine is a safe and effective way to reduce the spread of the flu in the community, as well as decrease the risk of severe symptoms,” stated Paul Pettit, Public Health Director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health).

For those who are more at risk of serious complications of these respiratory viruses, it is important to talk with your primary care provider about the best way to protect themselves from illness. If you are sick, stay home! Wash your hands and sanitize shared items frequently. Take care of yourself by eating healthful foods, getting good sleep, regular exercise and drinking plenty of water, non-caffeinated or non-alcoholic beverages. If you are a smoker or someone who vapes, that increases your risk of upper respiratory viruses.

If you are at high risk, consider that the more people you are exposed to, the more likely you are to get a virus. During this time of year, it is important to stay connected with family and friends, so be creative in how you do that. If the weather is good, spend time with family outdoors snowshoeing, hiking, and cross-country skiing.

For more information about the flu activity in New York State, click here.

Provided photo: From left include Halee Potter, United Memorial Medical Center’s outreach and education specialist; Julie Calvert, community engagement coordinator for Tobacco-Free GOW; and Renee Hungerford, executive director/CEO of Community Action of Orleans and Genesee County.

Press Release, Tobacco-Free GOW

The Great American Smokeout, observed on November 17 this year, was a day Tobacco-Free Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming partnered with the American Cancer Society, United Memorial Medical Center and Community Action of Orleans and Genesee to help our community commit to quitting tobacco products.

“The most important thing smokers and vapers can do to improve their health is to quit smoking cigarettes and using other tobacco products,” said Martin Mahoney, MD, PhD, professor of oncology and smoking cessation specialist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Most people know the devastating impact of tobacco. Yet 34 million American adults still smoke cigarettes.

In New York State, smoking kills about 22,000 adult smokers every year. Another 650,000 adults in NYS live with smoking-related illnesses including poor reproductive outcomes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

The efforts of Tobacco-Free GOW, Community Action, UMMC, health systems, as well as state and local legislation, have led to record low smoking rates among adults and youths.

The adult cigarette smoking rate in New York State achieved a new low of 12 percent in 2020, a rate lower than the U.S. average of 15.5 percent. Among young adults, ages 18 to 24, the smoking rate is even lower, at 5.5 percent.

Despite these milestones, approximately 1.7 million adults in New York State still smoke. Adults with poor mental health, less than a high school education or annual incomes of less than $25,000 smoke at much higher rates than the general adult population.

To help reduce smoking rates during Great American Smokeout events this week and beyond, Community Action provided support and resources to people in the Holley Community Center wishing to quit. Team members distributed information kits on smoking cessation and how to get help quitting.

“Community Action of Orleans and Genesee is committed to help improve the health and wellness of our community members,” said Renee Hungerford, executive director/CEO. “We are proud to partner with Tobacco-Free GOW and UMMC’s Cancer Prevention Program in raising awareness of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout campaign.”

The Great American Smokeout is a national event that promotes tobacco and vape cessation by encouraging people to quit even for one day. It was founded to help tobacco and e-cigarette users begin a cessation journey.

Support is available for Western New Yorkers who want to quit. The New York State Smokers’ Quitline is a confidential service for all New York State residents who wish to overcome tobacco use, including e-cigarettes. Residents of all ages may contact the Quitline for support and educational materials.

Free offerings include individualized coaching and assistance with quit-planning from experienced Quit Coaches, text and chat support and free stop-smoking medications such as nicotine patches or nicotine gum for those 18 and older. In addition, the Quitline encourages teens and young adults (ages 13-24) to text “DROPTHEVAPE” to 88709 to join “This Is Quitting,” a free texting support program for help with quitting vaping. Visit nysmokefree.com anytime for more information or call 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487) seven days a week, beginning at 9 a.m.

Photo and information from Oak Orchard Health

ROCHESTER — Karen Kinter, Oak Orchard Health’s interim CEO, joined public health and government leaders in Monroe County recently to help launch the “Keep Your Holidays Healthy” campaign. (Kinter is shown in top photo at right while Adam Bello, Monroe County executive, speaks during a news conference.)

The campaign emphasizes the need for flu shots and Covid vaccines.

“Covid precautions greatly reduced flu cases the past few years,” Bello said.

However, that isn’t the case this year. National data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that flu hospitalizations for this time of year are at the highest level since 2010.

That is one reason why Oak Orchard Health has a program for walk-in flu shots and for the Pfizer Bivalent Covid Booster for ages 12-plus for its patients. Check the Oak Orchard website for the most up-to-date information.

“Oak Orchard Health’s focus is to keep its patients and the community healthy, particularly during the holidays,” Kinter said. “It’s also important to keep our patients out of the hospital and one way is to get their updated vaccines, including the flu shot.”

During the campaign announcement, she joined Bello, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, and Dr. Michael Mendoza, Monroe County Public Health commissioner.

Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments

November is designated as Lung Cancer Awareness month, a global effort to reduce stigma for a disease that affects both smokers and non‐smokers and takes more lives annually than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers – combined.

Smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer, but lung cancer can occur in people that have never smoked. Other risk factors including being exposed to secondhand smoke, having a family history of lung cancer, exposure to asbestos, and exposure to radon gas. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an estimate of 21,000 Americans die from radon-related lung cancer every year.

The leading cause of lung cancer amongst non-smokers is radon exposure. Radon is a clear, odorless, tasteless radioactive gas that is naturally found in the Earth. Radon dissolves in groundwater, and forms pockets under homes and buildings.

The primary method of radon exposure is through cracks in home foundations, new or old. In fact, one fifth of all houses in the United States have dangerous levels of radon. According to the EPA, if you smoke and live in a home with high radon levels, your risk for developing lung cancer significantly increases.

Homes with a radon level over 4 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/l) need to be evaluated by a Certified Radon Mitigator to determine the type of radon reduction system that may need to be installed.

“By knowing your homes radon level and reducing it if necessary, you can protect you and your family,” said Paul Pettit, Public Health Director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health).

Testing for radon is fast and inexpensive, and is the only way to determine the radon levels in your home. GO Health encourages residents to test for radon when buying a home, doing a major renovation, every 2 years if there is a mitigation system installed or every 5 years otherwise.

When purchasing a new house, make sure the seller completes a radon test kit and has the results available. If you are building a new home, make sure to have radon-resistant construction features installed and tested prior to moving in.

You can purchase a short-term radon test kit from your local hardware store or through a radon-testing laboratory.

For more information about radon visit, click here.

‘A small amount of fentanyl, smaller than the tip of a pencil can kill someone. This is a serious issue that impacts our children, our families and our community.’ – Paul Pettit, public health director

Press Release, Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments

The United States has passed a grim, heartbreaking milestone: a record number of Americans are dying as a result of a drug overdose.

Between April 2020 and April 2021, drugs – mostly synthetic opioids such as fentanyl – took the lives of more than 100,000 of our sons and daughters, loved ones and neighbors, community members, and friends. During the same 12-month period, eleven people died in Genesee County from opioid overdoses, and fentanyl was involved in all of these deaths.

This rise in opioid overdoses across the U.S. is largely due to illicit fentanyl contaminating street drugs. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is FDA-approved as a patch or lozenge for the treatment of severe pain.

Fentanyl is at least 50 times more potent than heroin. Most recent cases of fentanyl-related harm, overdose, and death in the U.S. are linked to illegally made fentanyl that is mixed into drugs like counterfeit painkillers and benzodiazepines, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Fentanyl has also been detected in fake pills that look like candy.

“A small amount of fentanyl, smaller than the tip of a pencil can kill someone,” stated Paul Pettit, Public Health Director for Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments (GO Health). “This is a serious issue that impacts our children, our families and our community.”

Because we have an unregulated and criminalized drug supply, there is no way to tell if a street drug someone is using is 100% safe. This means that someone may use a product that they believe their body is able to tolerate, but it may actually be much stronger than they expect due to being contaminated with fentanyl, without knowing.

The opioid crisis is not confined to a particular subset of our population. The epidemic affects wealthy and poor, black and white, rural and urban, and every corner of Genesee County.

HEALing Our Communities

The street drug supply has always been unpredictable and inconsistent – this is especially true now. People who use drugs should assume overdose risk no matter what drug they’re using, and practice as much harm reduction as consistently possible. Our community should also practice harm reduction strategies by:

• Knowing the signs of an overdose.
• Carrying naloxone and knowing how to use it.
• Looking out for others in the community and administering naloxone if you suspect an overdose!

By following these harm reduction strategies, together, we can HEAL our communities and reduce preventable overdose deaths.

To learn more about fentanyl and naloxone, visit:

• HEALing Communities Study Website: www.HealTogetherNY.org/Genesee
• GOW Opioid Taskforce Website: www.gowopioidtaskforce.org
• GO Health Facebook: www.facebook.com/GOHealthNY