Event in Knoxville considered Celebration of Creativity in the World

Photo courtesy of Medina Central School – Medina’s Destination Imagination team includes, from left: Jack Masse, Layna Valoria, Mary Flores, Abigail Newman, Margaret Klotzbach, Elle Gross and Nate Sherman.

Press Release, Medina Central School

MEDINA – After achieving honors for creativity, teamwork and innovation in regional and state academic tournaments, Medina High School has earned the right to compete in Destination Imagination’s Global Finals, the world’s largest celebration of student creativity, to be held May 25-28 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Medina team members include Jack Masse, Abigail Newman, Layna Valoria, Margaret Klotzbach, Elle Gross, Mary Flores and Nate Sherman.

They will compete with other teams in Get A Clue, one of seven, open-ended challenges that require students to apply science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills, in addition to their talents in improvisation, theater arts, writing, project management, communication, innovation, teamwork, community service and social entrepreneurship.

“The team is so excited,” said Nicole Goyette, district coordinator. “They have worked since second grade as a team toward this goal. We are extremely proud of them.”

The Medina team is among more than 8,000 students representing more than 1,400 teams that will advance to Global Finals, which will be held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville May 25-28.

“It’s amazing to see students from all over the state come together to showcase their talents and teamwork,” said Julie Webber, Medina High School Principal. “It was awesome to see the teamwork displayed by our Medina students over the past several months of preparation. I know their excitement and energy will continue to the Global competition.”

This year, 150,000 students have participated in Destination Imagination tournaments throughout the U.S. and 30 countries in hopes of earning a spot at the Global Finals competition in May.

“The Destination Imagination program is a fun, hands-on system of learning that fosters students’ creativity, courage and curiosity,” said Chuck Cadle, CEO of Destination Imagination. “Quantitative reasoning, collaborative problem solving, risk taking, collaboration, presentations and thinking on your feet are some of the important skills learned in the program.”

Destination Imagination is a leader in project-based learning opportunities that blend STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education with the arts and social entrepreneurship. Its academic challenges are designed to teach kids how to think, not what to think, and then present their solutions at regional and state tournaments.

Each year, DI competitions begin with a regional tournament, where team solutions are assessed by a panel of trained appraisers, ranging from educators to artists to engineers. Each team solution is scored on a variety of elements, including originality, workmanship, presentation and teamwork. Teams with the highest scores advance to the Affiliate (state or country) tournaments. The top-tiered teams from the Affiliate tournaments advance to Global Finals.

For more information about Global Finals, click here.

Provided photo – Sue Birch, director of environmental services at Medina Memorial Hospital, reviews an infection control monitoring report to validate cleanliness.

Press Release, Medina Memorial Hospital

MEDINA – Infections acquired in health-care settings are the most frequent adverse event in health care. Even those facilities that follow recommended infection control and antibiotic use practices are at risk if they receive patients who carry these germs from other facilities or enter the hospital with an already existing infection.

Late last year, a local public report, based on hospital acquired infection data collected from October 2013 through September 2014 (data that was a year old) showed Medina Memorial Hospital to have a higher than normal number of hospital acquired infections.

This generated an intensive performance improvement in 2014 to review and identify the source of the high numbers. Our efforts have resulted in the implementation of cutting-edge processes.

One key finding was that patients entering the hospital with an existing infection were not always being identified. This resulted in the infections being reported as a hospital acquired infections, even though they were not.

The hospital’s entire infection control protocol was reviewed. This includes the use of standardized protocols, performing blood cultures on admission to identify and begin treatment of exiting infections, following correct hand-washing procedures, cleaning of equipment such as blood pressure cuffs etc. between patients, the types of disinfectant being used, staff and patient education, and ongoing monitoring.

A cleaning verification system was also added to the infection surveillance program to verify the effectiveness of cleaning. Surfaces can be swabbed and measured by a device that measures any germs present and verify that optimal levels of cleanliness are met.

“This is a wonderful device to be added to our infection control surveillance,” said Karrie Mikits, RN, director of infection control. “Patient health depends on the cleanliness of the healthcare environment. This system can quickly and easily evaluate the effectiveness of cleaning materials and chemicals, and measure the effectiveness of standardized cleaning protocols. The software application that is part of the system allows us to track cleaning verification results, quickly identify problem areas, compare multiple facilities or areas, and generate reports for management and record keeping. We get objective measurement of surface cleanliness with on-the-spot feedback on cleaning effectiveness. We can even swab hands to determine the effectiveness of hand washing.”

This aggressive infection control protocol has produced exceptional outcomes. For the most recent reporting period this year, the highest level of improvement possible has been achieved – there were zero hospital acquired infections.

In the reporting period before this, after the aggressive approach to infection control was first initiated, there was a 71.4% improvement in hospital acquired infections.

This time we are at zero, demonstrating that our dedicated staff are continuing to work diligently every day to provide the best possible patient experience in all aspects of their stay with us.

Provided photo, Congressman Chris Collins’ Office  – Brittany Bearss of Medina is congratulated by Congressman Chris Collins for her honorable mention in the 2016 Congressional Art Competition. Collins met with students Saturday during a reception at GCC in Batavia. Another Medina student, Grace Flores, was unable to attend the reception.

Two Medina students were among four honorees in the 2016 Congressional Art Contest for the 27th Congressional District.

Grace Flores of Medina High School won the runner up in the contest, behind only Angelina Miconi of Batavia High School, the first place winner. The honorable mentions went to Brittany Bearss of Medina High School and Alexis Mele of Clarence High School.
“The Congressional Art Competition is the perfect opportunity to see firsthand the qualities of creativity and originality that our local high school artists demonstrate in their artwork,” Collins said.

This year’s Congressional Art Competition displayed the artwork of 85 high school students in the Roz Steiner Art Gallery at Genesee Community College. The 2016 winner, Angelina Miconi, will receive a round trip flight to Washington, D.C. and will join hundreds of high school artists nationwide to see their artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

Collins extended his appreciation to Genesee Community College and President James Sunser, the art competition judges, Roz Steiner Art Gallery Director Mary Jo Whitman and Photography & Art Instructor Joe Ziolkowski, and all of the teachers, parents, and students who participated in this year’s Congressional Art Competition.

Photos courtesy of Monica Silversmith

MEDINA – Students at Medina Central School on April 2 put on a carnival, spaghetti dinner and basket raffle to benefit the family of Karissa D’Ambrosia, a 9-year-old who sadly passed away on March 4. The former Oak Orchard Elementary student was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

The top photo shows the basket raffle with, from left: Christina Rivera, Emily Silversmith and Sherri Bensley.

Karissa was initially diagnosed with AML in late August 2013. She did not complete her planned therapy course due to life-threatening infections. She had a relapse of AML in March 2015, and received a bone marrow transplant in May 2015. Then in January 2016, Karissa’s leukemia returned. The benefit on April 2 raised enough money to pay for a headstone for Karissa.

The JV lacrosse team helped with the benefit on April 2. The group includes, front: Mason Eick. Second row, from left: Colby Petrie, Wesley Hughes, Blair Prest, Zach Blount, Christian Silversmith, Chase Prest, Da’Ron Bellan, Joe Gates, Ethan Leonard, and Alex Strickland. Row three: Rhett Wagner as Maverick, Kyson Bellan, Luke Wilson, Bobby Geiger, Dylan Weese, Mason Pecoraro and Tim Roy.

Ian Joseph, Medina FFA Co-Treasurer, serves beverages.

Monica Silversmith, one of the benefit organizers, thanked the Medina community for supporting the benefit.

“The community had given so much,” Silversmith said. “So many businesses, teachers, friends and family had donated. Anywhere from spaghetti to sauce and paper products to drinks and baskets were donated. Most everything was donated. We had well over 115 baskets for the raffle.”

Silversmith also said many students volunteered to make the event a success.

“We had a free carnival for the kids that the FFA and JV lacrosse team took care of it all,” she said. “They cooked, cleaned and played with the kids. There is no way we could have done it without them. Mr. Eick, whom is the FFA teacher and JV Lacrosse coach, made it mandatory but the fun those kids had I think they enjoyed it just as much.”

FFA member Jake Bensley runs one of the carnival games.