‘This is a big step to make sure the service remains sustainable’

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Orleans Community Health has announced Lake Plains Dialysis on West Center Street Extension will be closing by March 31 and will merge with its Batavia location.

MEDINA – Orleans Community Health has announced plans to consolidate its dialysis services by merging its Lake Plains Dialysis in Medina with Lake Plains Dialysis-Batavia, effective March 31.

This strategic move will bring all dialysis services under one roof in Batavia, enhancing sustainability, efficiency and long-term access to high-quality, life-sustaining care for patients across the region, the hospital said in a press release from Scott Robinson, director of marketing.

The Medina site has been open about 25 years. The move comes after a comprehensive evaluation of resources, facility needs and financial sustainability, the hospital said. The consolidation allows Orleans Community Health to focus investments and clinical expertise in a single, modernized setting, while ensuring uninterrupted dialysis care for patients.

“Our priority throughout this process is continuity of care,” said Marc Shurtz, chief executive officer at Orleans Community Health. “By combining services in Batavia, we can strengthen our dialysis program, maintain high standards of care and ensure patients continue to receive the treatment they depend on without interruption.”

All patients currently receiving dialysis care at the Medina location will be welcomed at Lake Plains Dialysis in Batavia, located at 587 East Main St. Additionally, and importantly, all team members currently working at Lake Plains Dialysis-Medina are being offered positions as part of this transition, reinforcing Orleans Community Health’s commitment to both its patients and its workforce.

To provide transparency and answer questions from patients, families, staff and community members, Orleans Community Health will host a public meeting at Medina Memorial Hospital from 3 to 4 p.m. Jan. 28. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about the service consolidation, transition process and ongoing support available.

“We value the relationships built with our patients and remain committed to supporting each individual through this transition,” said Joanna Miller, vice president of renal services at Orleans Community Health. “This consolidation positions our dialysis services for long-term stability, while keeping patient care at the center of every decision.”

“This is a big step to make sure the service remains sustainable,” Robinson said. “For the team at Medina, they’re invaluable. We’re hoping they all transfer to the new location. We’re also supplying additional information to patients, in hopes they can also continue care with us in Batavia.”

Additionally, Robinson added that healthcare continues to change nationwide, and dialysis care requires specialized staffing, equipment and infrastructure. By bringing services together in Batavia, Robinson said it strengthens clinical support and staffing coverage, improves operational efficiency, ensures long-term sustainability of dialysis services and continues delivering high-quality, patient-centered care.

The hospital stresses patients will still receive safe, high-quality dialysis care from the dedicated team, with the added benefit of consolidated resources and support services.

They also insist the Batavia dialysis location has adequate space, equipment and staffing capacity to safely accommodate current and transitioning patients.

Care teams will work closely with patients to minimize disruption in their dialysis schedule. While some scheduling adjustments may be needed, every effort will be made to maintain consistency and convenience.

Transportation options will be available for nursing home patients. The Medina team will continue coordinating transportation needs with partner agencies to ensure access to care.

Robinson stresses that Medina patients will be supported throughout the transition. Their dialysis and care coordination teams will provide clear communication about timing and next steps, assistance with scheduling and ongoing clinical support during the transition.

He added that offering positions to the entire Medina dialysis team is a top priority.

“Our focus is on continuity of care,” Robinson said. “Dialysis team members remain an essential part of delivering services, and staffing plans are designed to support both team members and patient needs.”

Patients and families with questions or concerns are urged to speak directly with their dialysis care team or contact Orleans Community Health for additional support and information.

Jimmer’s brother Andrew will attempt 50-mile ‘Beast of Burden’ run in Lockport as fundraiser

Jimmer Szatkowski and his brother Andrew of Medina are shown at Fenway Park when the two went to a Pearl Jam concert in September 2024.

A Medina native who was diagnosed with ALS about five years ago has now raised more than $500,000 for ALS research.

Jimmer Szatkowski, 53, was diagnosed in March 2021. He has raised $532,633, which has been directed to the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital. To donate to ALS research through Jimmer Szatkowski’s fundraising page, click here.

His brother Andrew Szatkowski of Medina has helped with several of the fundraisers and is planning another one when he attempts running the Beast of Burden 50-mile run on Feb. 7 from Lockport to Middleport, running the loop twice that day. That race is known as one of the most challenging in Western New York.

Jimmer graduated from Medina in 1990. He now lives in Central New York and opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Upstate New York in 2018 in Cicero. He continues to be a part of the restaurant’s daily operations.

Jimmer responded to a few questions about living with ALS. He said he is most grateful for being able to see his daughter Samantha and son Jack graduate from college. He also watched Jack become an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Jimmer also is grateful to see younger son Hunter grow up.

He is very thankful to have experience five more Christmases and see so many more thrilling Buffalo Bills games since his diagnosis. ALS has taken his mobility and ability to verbally speak.

He remains deeply motivated to remain active and present for his wife, Betty, and their children, and to continue “fulfilling my purpose as a Chick-Fil-A operator.”

ALS has taught him valuable lessons in patience and humility, Jimmer said.

His experiences growing up in Medina, helped make him strong to withstand the battle with ALS.

“Dying is easy, Living is Hard,” he responded when asked about a life lesson from living with ALS.

Provided photos: The varsity winterguard involves includes 14 students in grades 9 to 12 and their show is “Dreams.”

Courtesy of Medina Mustang Boosters

Medina opened its winterguard season  on Jan 17th with a competition at Marcus Whitman HS in Rushville, Ontario County.

Winterguard is a hybrid art form that combines elements of music, dance and military-like precision marching in a competitive arena for a total entertainment package. WG started about 30 years ago and involves the manipulation (spins, tosses, flips) of equipment (flags, rifles, sabers) while moving around the performance space.

Medina is sponsoring 2 guard units this season – junior varsity and varsity.

Both guards competed at Marcus Whitman on Saturday. The JV guard came in 1st in the cadet class. The varsity guard came in 2nd out of 3 in the A1 class.

Both will compete again on Saturday, Jan 24th at Orchard Park.

The junior varsity winterguard includes 14 members from 5th to 8th grade who started practicing in mid-November.  Three students have joined for the first time. Their show is “The Big Cheese” about a day at the races.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Breakout Band performed on Friday night to about 125 people at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.

The band plays many classic rock songs. From left include Gary Withey, Timothy Stoll and Alan Biano. John Lynch, not pictured, plays the drums.

Lee-Whedon has offered the “Finally Fridays!” concert series during the winter since 2002.

The season usually goes to early March but this year will only be during January due to the library’s expansion project that is under construction.

The Breakout Band kept the crowd entertained on a wintry Friday night.

The Creek Bend Band opened the series on Jan. 2, followed by Tom Keefer & Celtic Cross on Jan. 9.

There are two more concerts that begin at 7 p.m. with the Hennan Brothers on Jan. 23 and Doc’s Pocket Change on Jan. 30.

There is no charge for admission. The concerts received funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. Go Art! administers that funding for the state.

This group worked together on a puzzle while listening to the music. From left include Georgia Thomas and Barb Hancock with Fred Cavers at right. Thomas said sometimes “The Puzzle Group” can put together a 1,000-piece puzzle in an hour. This trip put together a 300-piece puzzle on Friday evening.

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Ian and Claudia perform on aerial silks at the Clifford Wise Intermediate School. Billy Martin’s Cole All Star Circus did two shows on Friday at Clifford Wise with some of the proceeds going to the Orleans Community Health Foundation.

Ian and Claudia showcased strength, flexibility and balance in their performance on the aerial silks.

The circus is led by Billy Martin, who is now in his 49^th season of leading the circus. He and his group of a dozen perform go to about 150 schools each year. Their 2026 season started on Jan. 9 in Coudersport, Pa.

They have three more shows in Orleans County:

• Albion Elementary School on Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
• Holley Elementary School on Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
• Kendall High School Gym on Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m.

Children 12 years and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.  Adults at the door are $20 each. Each school offers a special $5 discount on advance adult tickets, which reduces the cost to $15 per adult.

Sophia performs a juggling routine.

These kids are delighted watching a performer in the show ring.

Jake McPherson of Medina and his son Connor, age 9, get their photo taken with one of the circus’s stars, Slinko. This year marks Slinko’s 25^th season.

Tatyana Johnson, 9, gets her face painted as the Lady Bug character during intermission at the circus.

The Fudi sisters juggled hats, pins and hoops as part of their routine.

MEDINA – Clementine Gold Group, which is fielding a survey on the Western New York Digital Coalition’s behalf, will be at the Canal Village Farmer’s Market on Saturday.

With the support of a grant from the New York State ConnectAll Office, the WNY Digital Equity Coalition is conducting the regional survey of digital literacy across all of Western New York’s eight counties.

This survey will give them community-level information about digital skill levels which is not available from any other source, and will guide digital literacy programs, support grant applications and provide information which advocates can use to ensure everyone in Western New York has the ability to make full use of computers and the internet.

Mark Glasgow, director of Engagement and Strategic Insights for the Clementine Gold Group, requested permission to have a presence at the market this week, said Chris Busch, chair of Orleans Renaissance Group, which sponsors the market.

Glasglow explained the brief survey helps measure digital skills across WNY, especially among groups most impacted by digital exclusion.

“Your event is a strong opportunity to reach residents whose experiences should be represented,” Glasglow said in an e-mail to market manager Gail Miller.

Along with the brief survey, Glasglow said they will have raffle tickets and candy to offer visitors.

The Canal Village Farmers’ Market supports local nonprofit organizations by providing them with free space at the market, Miller said.

“We recognize it can be challenging for nonprofits to reach the community members who most need their services,” Miller explained. “By offering a no-cost space at the market on Saturdays to share information, we hope to strengthen community connections and ensure valuable resources are more accessible to those who need them.”

Some examples of non-profit groups which have taken advantage of free space at the market are Orleans Community Health, Hospice of Orleans, PAWS, Friends of Iroquois Wildlife Refuge and many more. Space may be reserved by contacting canalvillagemarket@gmail.com.

Market hours are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the basement of the former NAPA building at 345 North Main St. Ample parking is available in the canal basin and on Main Street.

Medina Triennial trying to finalize sites for big art initiative from June to September

Photos by Tom Rivers: Leaders of the Medina Triennial attended Monday’s Medina Village Board meeting to ask the board for its approval to place three art installations at village sites – State Street Park, Rotary Park and Gulf Street Park. Matt Hollenback is the Triennial’s head producer and Karin Laansoo is the co-artistic director.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the article listed four of the artists’ names. Those names have since been removed because the Medina Triennial said it could jeopardize the sponsorships for the installations. The names of the artists will be released in March or April.

MEDINA – The village will be hosting a major arts event from June to September that is expected to bring 50,000 visitors to the community.

The debut of the Medina Triennial will feature works from 35 different artists at 12 sites in the community.

Leaders of the Triennial want at least three of the installations to be at village parks. The Medina Village Board will decide at its Jan. 26 whether it approves having installations at State Street Park, Rotary Park and Gulf Street Park.

The Triennial will have insurance for the installations during the event from June 6 to Sept. 7. Some of the artists would be willing to have the installations stay permanently in Medina, said Karin Laansoo, co-artistic director for the Triennial.

Karin Laansoo, co-artistic for the Medina Triennial, said several renown artists have projects coming to Medina. Laansoo is working to firm up all the locations to house the art installations. She wants they all within a 15-minute walk of each other.

She and Matt Hollenback, the Triennial’s head producer, attended Monday’s Village Board meeting to ask for the board’s approval for having the installations on village-owned land. The board will decided on Jan. 26 and also take comments from the public.

At State Street Park, the Triennial wants to have barnacles resting on top of four slate boulders. Barnacles are strong indicators of water quality and the sculpture symbolizes the power of natural materials to filter and purify water. The sculpture will be created in Buffalo and transported into Medina.

The artist making this sculpture created a similar piece for a biennial in the United Kingdom, Laansoo said.

At Gulf Street Park, an artist wants to create a sculpture stacked with stone pillars. The artist is working with students from the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. They want to locate unused Medina Sandstone, scan that in 3D and assemble the stone into precise sculptures through computational processes.

Mark Prawel, a Medina village trustee, said the sculpture will result in extra work for the DPW to mow around the objects.

At Rotary Park, the Triennial wants to feature a shed-like sculpture filled with handmade objects for birds, including nesting materials and perches.

The shed is 7 feet tall and about 4 ½ feet wide. The sculpture will have a protective plexiglass screen attached to the front to protect the contents inside. Laansoo said this sculpture is whimsical and shows the artists’ sense of humor.

The Triennial is looking for a location for a footprint walkway that will be a pathway with a message. While the walkway is constructed, there will be performers singing the popular Erie Canal song, “Low Bridge Every Down.”

The Triennial is an initiative of the New York Power Authority and the State Canal Corporation as part of an effort to revitalize the Erie Canal. This year will be the debut of the Medina Triennial, with a second triennial to follow in 2029.

An initial group of artists will be announced in early March, with the complete list released in April. More than a third of the included artists will be from Western New York and the Rust Belt, Medina Triennial officials said.

Group will make debut performance at Memorial Day Parade

MEDINA – The school district will be starting a the Medina Mini-Mustang Band in early March, with the group of fifth- and sixth-graders to make their debut performance during the Memorial Day Parade on May 25.

Medina typically has 80 to 100 students in the marching band in grade 7 to 12. The Mini-Mustang Band will give the elementary students a taste of the marching band, and hopefully encourage more of them to join the Mustang Band as they get older and enter seventh grade.

The Mini-Mustang Band will be led by Kyla Leno-Denise and Andrea Busch, who are both assistant band directors of the Mustang Band.

Leno-Denise is the junior high band director and a general music teacher. Busch teaches primary school music and also directs the Glee Club.

The Mini-Mustang Band will rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 p.m. They will wear a uniform T-shirt for Memorial Day.

Leno-Denise and Busch said the band gives students two more hours a week on their instruments and will prepare them to join the band, which they said is a source of community pride for Medina.

The Board of Education on Tuesday approved the Mini-Mustang Band. Leno-Denise and Busch said they will be reaching out to students and families about being part of the new band.

Medina music teachers went over their very active music program at the district during Tuesday’s board meeting.

They also highlighted another new initiative, a jazz performance at Lyndonville on April 24. “A Night of Jazz” will feature performances by Lyndonville, Medina and likely other districts in the county. It is a concert put on by the Orleans County Music Educators Association. Some of the teachers also are expected to perform.

The jazz concert is expected to be hosted by other districts in the county in the future.

MEDINA – The Medina unified bowling team, which has won several Section 6 titles since it started in 2018, is welcoming Roy-Hart students on the team.

The Medina Board of Education on Tuesday approved an intermunicipal cooperation agreement with Roy-Hart, allowing R-H students to be on Medina’s unified bowling team this school year.

The season is starting now and runs until mid-March. There will be 18-20 students from both school districts on the team, which includes special education and general ed students.

Roy-Hart will be responsible for transportation for its students and will also pay Medina school district $337 for each student-athlete on the team. This is the first time Roy-Hart students will be on Medina’s unified bowling team.