Speaking in Holley, senator says telehealth has improved healthcare access in rural areas

Photos by Tom Rivers

HOLLEY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer was at the Eastern Orleans Community center today in Holley to highlight his push to keep telehealth services fully reimbursable by Medicare.

Schumer is shown at the eastern Orleans Community center with Dr. Danielle Renodin-Mead, Chief Medical Officer of Oak Orchard Health (left), and Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, which runs the community enter in Holley.

“This helped thousands of seniors in rural areas across Upstate NY when the closest doctor is hours away access critical health care services,” Schumer said about telehealth services. “Telehealth is one of the biggest tools for supporting rural Upstate communities that face shortages of doctors. Especially for seniors who can have difficulty going to a doctor’s office due to mobility challenges, telehealth lets people get routine care without having to worry about how to get to the doctor’s office.”

Hungerford said it is “paramount” that telehealth continued to be covered by medicare and health insurers. She said telehealth has increased access to healthcare professionals for many Orleans County residents, who would often face transportation challenges to get to doctor’s appointments in person.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants telehealth services to become a permanent and accessible option for all on Medicare.

“As a key provider of health- related social needs, including facilitation of telehealth, we understand how critical telehealth is for vulnerable populations who live in rural areas with very limited transportation,” Hungerford said. “Losing the availability of payer-covered telehealth would result in people not receiving much needed care and would deteriorate positive health outcomes.”

Medicare started covering telehealth during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and has continued to cover it since. However, that authorization is due to expire Dec. 31, 2024, Schumer said. He said there is bipartisan support to keep telehealth services as fully reimbursable through Medicare.

“Telehealth services are essential in places like Orleans County; it is a lifeline for our rural areas and seniors who can’t easily travel to the doctor to get the healthcare they need and we can’t let it expire,” Schumer said.

There are 9,770 senior citizens in Orleans County covered by Medicare, Schumer said. There are 14,219 in Genesee County, and 169,605 in Monroe, he said.

“We saw telehealth surge in use during the pandemic, and we should make sure that access to your doctor is as easy as picking up your phone,” Schumer said. “I was proud to help Medicare expand telehealth services during the pandemic, but we need to act quickly to preserve this program and ensure this lifeline isn’t cut off for our seniors come 2025.”

Dr. Danielle Renodin-Mead, Chief Medical Officer of Oak Orchard Health, said telehealth has been used at Oak Orchard, including by mental health counselors as well as other healthcare professionals.

“Telehealth breaks down barriers,” she said during a news conference with Schumer.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer was joined at today’s news conference by Dr. Danielle Renodin-Mead, Chief Medical Officer of Oak Orchard Health (left); Renee Hungerford, executive director of Community Action of Orleans & Genesee, which runs the community enter in Holley; and Marc Shurtz, CEO of Orleans Community Health and Medina Memorial Hospital.

Marc Shurtz, CEO of Orleans Community Health and Medina Memorial Hospital, said telehealth is a lower-cost option for care, and often much easier to access for residents in a rural community.

“Healthcare access in rural areas is often fraught with obstacles,” Shurtz said. “Long travel distances, a shortage of specialists, limited medical resources, and transportation challenges make it difficult for our patients to receive timely, consistent care. For seniors, these challenges can be even more daunting.”

Telehealth keeps patients engaged in their health management, particularly those with chronic conditions, Shurtz said.

“As we face the Medicare cliff we know that the financial strain it could place on healthcare providers could result in fewer services for our seniors,” he said. “Telehealth allows us to continue delivering quality care in a more cost-effective way, reducing the need for emergency room visits or hospitalizations.”

MEDINA – The state budget approved last April did something that hadn’t been done in 15 years: it increased funding to towns, villages and cities for Aid and Incentives to Municipalities or AIM.

The budget increased AIM by $50 million or 7 percent from the $715 million. The boost mostly went to cities, which get 90 percent of the AIM total.

Little of the AIM funding comes to Orleans County because there isn’t a city in the county.

The Medina Village Board on Monday passed a formal resolution asking the State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul to keep the $50 million increase in AIM, which was presented in April as “Temporary Municipal Assistance.”

Medina also is calling on the state to go beyond the $50 million increase to help municipalities as they wrestle with rising costs of inflation, maintaining infrastructure, providing public safety and other services.

“The Village of Medina urges state officials to recognize the need for a long-term plan that ensures consistent and predictable increases in financial support for local governments that keep pace with inflation,” the Medina resolution states.

The “Temporary Municipal Assistance” gave towns and villages in Orleans County a slight boost in aid.

This list shows what they were getting in AIM in 2023-24, and then the additional funds approved in 2024-25:

Towns

• Albion, $46,944 plus $3,284
• Barre, $12,486 plus $873
• Carlton, $13,680 plus $957
• Clarendon, $11,416 plus $799
• Gaines, $21,323 plus $1,492
• Kendall, $21,299 plus $1,490
• Murray, $44,677 plus $3,125
• Ridgeway, $46,273 plus $3,237
• Shelby, $45,007 plus $3,149
• Yates, $10,421 plus $729

Villages

• Albion, $38,811 plus $2,715
• Holley, $17,786 plus $1,244
• Lyndonville, $6,251 plus $437
• Medina, $45,523 plus $3,185

The New York Conference of Mayors, a state-wide association representing cities and villages, is urging municipalities to pass resolutions in support of keeping the $50 million AIM increase and adding more. NYCOM last year said the state should increase the AIM total to $1.1 billion (up from the $765 million) to keep up with the cost of inflation after more than a decade of no increases until last year.

MEDINA – Decorating Medina has become a holiday tradition with dependable volunteers as reliable as the Thanksgiving turkey and arrival of Santa Claus.

The first organized effort to decorate the village was the result of an idea brought back by the late Rev. Burt Entrekin from a trip he took out of state. He had visited a town elaborately decorated for Christmas, and he thought, “Why don’t we do that in Medina?”

That was more than 45 years ago, said Mary Woodruff, a member of the committee.

Year after year, donations poured in and more decorations were added.

Sue DeHollander, Mike Carey (behind the reindeer’s antlers) and Paul Woodruff set up reindeer in Rotary Park. All are members of the Decorate Medina Committee.

It has become a tradition for the Decorate Medina Committee to transform Rotary Park the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The Medina Lions have already put up the decorations in State Street Park, done as a volunteer project for the community.

The Decorate Medina Committee conducts fundraising, accepts and funds donations for the decorations in Rotary Park, State Street Park and the wreaths and garlands which Medina’s DPW hangs over Main Street.

Takeform donated a new sign of a photo booth for families to take pictures together.

Jaye Sullivan co-chairs the Decorate Medina Committee with Eric Watson. Among its members are secretary Barb Gorham, treasurer Maureen Sanderson, Paul and Mary Woodruff, Dave Sevenski, Kevin and Sue DeHollander, Cal Tuohey, Mary Lewis and Mike Carey.

As donations are the key to updating the decorations and adding new ones, the committee annually sends out mailers seeking contributions. This year, Sullivan said they are going to put flyers in the North Pole in Rotary Park for visitors to pick up.

Donations of any amount can be sent to Decorate Medina, P.O. Box 880, Medina, 14103.

Jaye Sullivan, co-chair of the Decorate Medina Committee with Eric Watson, stands by the clock in Rotary Park as she contemplates the decorating on Sunday morning.

The most wonderful time of the year has always been possible, thanks to all the dedicated volunteers and organizations who support Decorate Medina, according to Sullivan.

“As we continue to improve, add and refurbish our many decorations, we give a heartfelt thank you to all of our many supporters,” reads a flyer being circulated by the committee. “Please help us ensure the holiday Christmas spirit continues for generations to come by including the Decorate Medina Committee on your Christmas list.”

Rotary Park is ready for the holiday season, beginning with lighting the giant Christmas tree just before the  start the Parade of Lights at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Photo by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Faith Smith, center, today accepted a $500 gift card from Save A Lot that will be used to purchase meat for the Orleans Koinonia Kitchen, which Smith has directed since it opened in June 2022 at Harvest Christian Fellowship.

Smith was nominated for the “Hometown Hero” award through Save A Lot by Dee Huntington, left, one of the OK Kitchen volunteers. They are joined at the Albion store by manager Dora Leader-Shuler.

Smith is one of six Hometown Heroes recognized by Save A Lot in the country. They nominees were listed on the Save A Lot social media and the top six with the most likes are receiving $500 gift cards.

Smith has served as volunteer director of the OK Kitchen since it opened in June 2022. She also led the community kitchen for more than a decade when it was based at Christ Episcopal Church.

The OK Kitchen serves several hundred meals every Thursday, and has expanded to frozen soups for people to take home.

The kitchen is gearing up to serve 600 to 800 Thanksgiving meals on Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. with many of those meals to be delivered to senior citizens and shut-ins, including more than 100 meals to Medina.

Huntington and her husband Rick volunteer almost every Thursday at the kitchen. They see how Smith and her husband Mike build up a team of volunteers and donors, and treat people with compassion.

The OK Kitchen has grown from serving about 100 meals a week in June 2022 to more than 600 now.

“Businesses, churches, civic organizations and individuals all come together to ‘love thy neighbor’ in so many tangible ways,” Mrs. Huntington said. “Resources arrive in many shapes and forms. The hours, the smiles, the kind words spoken, the resources shared bring a warm feeling of being cared for.”

Save A Lot also is frequent donor to the kitchen, bringing two car loads of food each month. Those food items are on a table for people to take with them after having a meal at Harvest Christian Fellowship.

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

NORTH TONAWANDA – Today Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt spoke out in opposition to a proposed rule change by the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council  that would change the 2020 Residential Code of New York State to mandate automatic sprinkler systems in new construction.

The changes proposed would adjust the automatic sprinkler system code to require that automatic sprinkler systems be installed in newly constructed one and two-family homes. In addition, sprinkler systems will be required if an addition is made to the home that creates a third story or if an attic is finished and made habitable. The sprinkler system will be required in all areas of the dwelling with exceptions for small closets, bathrooms, attics, and crawl spaces, and would need to have a temperature sensitivity range of 135 degrees to 225 degrees depending on the distance from a potential heat source such as an oven.

“Don’t forget this state is in a housing affordability crisis,” Ortt said. “Yet rather than search for common sense solutions that work for New Yorkers, unelected Albany bureaucrats are pushing another mandate that will put the opportunity of homeownership in this state even further out of reach. There is already an option to include sprinklers in homes, but the truth is most homeowners opt against it because it breaks their budget. This mandate serves no purpose other than to drive up costs and remove consumer choice.”

The New York State Builders Association estimates this mandate could increase the cost of building a home by up to $20,000-$30,000 at a time when skyrocketing construction costs continue to make it more difficult to build and drive up the costs for homebuyers.

“We need to tell Democrats in Albany enough is enough, I am calling on taxpayers to make their voices heard and sign this petition, calling on the state to strongly reconsider this mandate and the effect it will have on New Yorkers and new construction,” Ortt said.

White House photo: President Joe Biden on Monday pardoned two turkeys in a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. He was joined in the annual ceremony by John Zimmerman, chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and his son Grant.

The average cost for a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 has declined from $61.17 a year ago to $58.08, the American Farm Bureau Federation reported in its annual Thanksgiving dinner survey. In 2022, the cost was an average of $64.05.

The cost for this year is still up significantly from the $53.31 average in 2021. The cost jumped nearly $12 from 2021 to 2022, but has been coming down since then.

“Two years of declines don’t erase dramatic increases that led to a record high cost of $64.06 in 2022,” American Farm Bureau stated in a news release. “Despite the encouraging momentum, a Thanksgiving meal is still 19% higher than it was in 2019, which highlights the impact inflation has had on food prices – and farmers’ costs – since the pandemic.”

The average price for a 16-pound turkey is $25.67, which $1.60 per pound, down 6% from last year, the organization reported.

Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers checked prices Nov. 1-7, before most grocery store chains began featuring whole frozen turkeys at sharply lower prices. This year’s national average cost was calculated using surveys completed with pricing data from all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Farm Bureau volunteer shoppers checked prices in person and online using grocery store apps and websites. They looked for the best possible prices without taking advantage of special promotional coupons or combined purchase deals, American Farm Bureau stated.

The Thanksgiving dinner survey was first conducted by American Farm Bureau in 1986.

Individual Prices

• 16-pound turkey: $25.67 or $1.60 per pound (down 6.1%)
• 14-ounces of cubed stuffing mix: $4.08 (up 8.2%)
• 2 frozen pie crusts: $3.40 (down 2.9%)
• Half pint of whipping cream: $1.81 (up 4.7%)
• 1 pound of frozen peas: $1.73 (down 8.1%)
• 1 dozen dinner rolls: $4.16 (up 8.4%)
• Misc. ingredients to prepare the meal: $3.75 (down 5.1%)
• 30-ounce can of pumpkin pie mix: $4.15 (down 6.5%)
• 1 gallon of whole milk: $3.21 (down 14.3%)
• 3 pounds of sweet potatoes: $2.93 (down 26.2%)
• 1-pound veggie tray (carrots & celery): $.84 (down 6.4%)
• 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries: $2.35 (up 11.8%)

MEDINA – Russ Peters, pastor of Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship, is currently in intensive care at a hospital in Guatemala City.

Peters went to Guatemala on Nov. 11 to visit churches Alabama Full Gospel has partnered with for about 40 years, starting when Russ’s dad Terry was the pastor of the local church on Route 63 in Shelby.

One of the long-time church leaders in Guatemala recently passed away and Russ went to see that church and others in a mountainous region. It was his first trip there since the Covid pandemic. He used to go every 3-4 years, said Mike Zaidel, Alabama Full Gospel church coordinator and head elder.

Peters became gravely ill when he couldn’t hold down food or his diabetic medicines and his blood sugar rose to 500, his wife Jodi stated on social media and in a GoFundMe page. Click here to see the GoFundMe.

Peters has gall stones which caused vomiting and severe pain, leading to pancreatitis, his wife said.

Her husband was so stricken he couldn’t walk or move on his own. He was in San Cristobal, about four hours from proper medical care. Once moved to a hospital in Guatemala City, he received IV fluids, antibiotics, pain medicines and insulin.

Peters has been in the ICU for about a week. He is now walking with some assistance.

“Our faith is strong, but we are walking through a nightmare,” Mrs. Peters said. “We have limited, spotty communication and we are beside ourselves that he does not have family with him and that he is suffering.”

Russ Peters has been diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and pancreatitis. He has inflammation in the abdomen and is in a lot of pain from the pancreatitis, his wife said.

The family’s health insurance was not accepted and they have spent $13,000 so far out-of-pocket. Mrs. Peters said there will be more medical bills and travel expenses.

Photos by Tom Rivers: The Hart Hotel is one of the lodging businesses in Medina. Hart Hotel includes five rooms and two lofts on the third floor of 113 West Center St. This photo was taken on Monday evening with the village holiday decorations in the background.

MEDINA – Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation allowing the Village of Medina to collect a 2 percent “bed tax” on hotels, motels, boarding houses and short-term rentals in the village.

Hochul signed the bill on Nov. 22, culminated a process that started in 2018 with village officials looking to generate some additional money to work on infrastructure projects at the Medina Business Park and in the village to promote economic development.

The Bent’s Opera House has 10 hotel rooms available on the second floor.

The village tried for several years since 2018 to get the tax through the Legislature. State Sen. Rob Ortt had been reluctant to support a new tax, but on May 22 he sponsored the bill that passed in the Senate. Assemblyman Steve Hawley backed the legislation in the Assembly.

The legislation passed both houses of the Legislature and on Nov. 15 it was delivered to the governor’s desk. She signed it on Friday.

Village officials are awaiting more details on when it can start imposing the tax. The legislation says it takes effect “immediately” and goes until Dec. 31, 2025. The village will need the State Legislature’s and governor’s approval to renew the tax every two years.

Medina village officials will reach out to the County Treasurer and County Tourism Department for a list of Medina sites that are currently collecting a 4 percent occupancy tax for the county.

The county’s 4 percent occupancy tax generates about $100,000 a year and is used solely by the county for its tourism promotion efforts. The Medina tax would be another 2 percent on top of the county’s occupancy tax, but for hotels, motels and other lodging establishments in the village only.

The top finishers in the race included Jose Miguel Silva for males and Heather Mundion for the females.

MEDINA – Operation Honor, a local organization that assists veterans, held its 7th Annual 5K on Saturday, Nov. 9, with 50 participants and raised $5,000.

The first male finisher was Jose Miguel Silva with a time of 17:33 and the first female finisher was Heather Mundion with a time of 27:22.

The annual 5K starts and ends at the Junior Wilson Sportsman Club on Bates Road.

Operation Honor is a 501(c)3 non-profit that supports veterans in Orleans County, helping to cover utility bills, car payments, or purchasing heating pellets for veterans in need. Operation Honor has assisted one veteran with the cost of registering a wheelchair-adapted van.

The organization this year is joining in Wreaths Across America, where remembrance wreaths will be placed at the newer veterans’ section at Mount Albion Cemetery. The wreaths are $17 each and can be purchased online (click here). There will be a ceremony at the cemetery on Route 31 in Albion at noon on Dec. 14. Volunteers are welcome to help place the wreaths.

Jenn Thom, Operation Honor director, also said Salon de Coiffeur recently held a basket raffle with Operation Honor the designated beneficiary.  Salon de Coiffeur raised $2,170 for Operation Honor.