WPCNR HEALTH NEWS. By Westchester County Roving Correspondent Nancy King. January 31, 2012:

CSEA workers at the Westchester County Medical Center held another press conference Tuesday.   Workers who attended were mostly employed at the Behavioral Health Center and who were recently laid off from their positions after BHC was privatized by Liberty Health Care Corporation.  This time, there are about 150 jobs on the chopping block, although Liberty and the WMC have invited current employees to re-apply for their jobs.  

According to Patrick Roche, a Senior Psychiatric Aide who has been employed by the WMC for 29 years, he would be eligible to retain his employ at the new hourly rate of 15.00.  He would also have the opportunity to purchase his healthcare through an HMO.  Westchester Medical Center Employees currently do not contribute to their health care benefits.

According to union leaders John Staino and Peter Piazza, negotiations with the Medical Center are at an impasse following a breakdown in talks with NYNSA (nurses union).  CSEA leaders expressed dismay that even after they offered concessions in their contract negotiations, hospital brass declined to meet to find a resolution to the problem.

Union leaders and those employees of the Behavioral Health Center, distributed a flier today citing a long history of problems that Liberty Health Care has had while overseeing other facilities.   Reports of high turnover rate, salaries that may be as low as 12.00 an hour and unsupervised patients were highlighted in the document.

However, the most unusual aspect of this press conference was the presence of not only three County Police Cars and officers, but a presence also by a number of the Medical Center’s own security staff.  Further away from the press conference, administrative staff could be seen in small groups observing the conference.   County Police Officers, explained to President Staino that because there was no permit filed, they would be unable to conduct the press conference on hospital property or on the road directly across the street which is Westchester County owned property. 

In the meantime, it appears that Westchester Medical Center in its entity as a public benefits corporation is being disassembled one piece at a time.  Prescription for Westchester residents; don’t get sick.

WPCNR GREEN NEWS. January 24, 2012:

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has approved the White Plains measures to cap, seal and close the Gedney Landfill, Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti told WPCNR Monday. The Commissioner said he received final approval from the DEC in a letter Friday.

White Plains Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti

The plan was devised by the Commissioner in several versions over the last six years under the auspices of the NYSDEC. It came about based on a series of test well readings measuring the amount of Tri-Chloral-Ethylene (TCE) contamination below ground beginning in 2006.

After the series readings, the Commissioner of Public Works working with consultants devised a recommended plan to cap the dump on the surface and on its sides to prevent escape of an underground TCE pocket sixteen feet below the surface that has been polluting the Mamaroneck River for over 35 years. The TCE pocket was created by disposal of dry cleaning agents in the dump for many decades.

As part of the plan, the city will  resurface the Our Lady of Sorrows Softball field adjacent the dump, to avoid users of the field from any contact with contaminated soil, according to the DEC)  below the surface of the field, or adjacent to the field..

Commissioner Nicoletti told WPCNR bids will be requested shortly, and he expected the work to begin by June, 2012.

Previously the Commissioner has speculated the project could cost the city $8 to $10 Million with the state reimbursing the city approximately $2 Million.

WPCNR BLACK COFFEE  News & Comment by WPCNR Westchester County Roving Correspondent, Nancy King. January 9, 2011:

Michael D. Israel, CEO of the Westchester Health Care Corporation, a public benefits corporation DBA Westchester County Medical Center appears to be continuing with his plan to turn the WMC into a not for profit institution even if he has to disassemble it one piece at a time.  Since taking over as CEO of the medical center in 2007, Israel has cut the following programs and services.

WPCNR County Clarion Ledger. Special to WPCNR. January 5, 2011:

An informed source has told WPCNR, the Chief Executive Officer of Westchester County Medical Center, Michael Israel has announced the Behavioral Health Center  (mental health unit) at the Medical Center  will be privatized in the next two months. A total of 150 current employees are now being reported as affected and will be given the opportunity to apply for their old jobs with the new manager, Liberty Healthcare Corporation. The new arrangement was announced in this memo, obtained by WPCNR:

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. Special to WPCNR from Nancy King, County Roving Correspondent. November 21, 2011:

Members of the New York State Nurses Association and members of CSEA local 9201 staged a demonstration Monday on the grounds of the Westchester Medical Center.   Union leaders state that they are fed up with hospital CEO Michael Israel and claim that over the past several years, he has quietly cut many of the vital services that the hospital once provided.  These cuts have included the Taylor Care Facility that once housed long term and rehabilitative care.  Most recently, Israel and the board eliminated the Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program, a mobile mental health crisis unit that responded to the community with first responders. 

WPCNR THE WHISTLEBLOWER. From a WPCNR Correspondent. October 5, 2011:

WPCNR received a call from an expert fish hobbyist who keeps Japenese fighting fish in their home. The Betta fancier was distressed by a visit to Wal Mart in downtown White Plains over the weekend, noticing  Japanese Betta fish for sale there appeared to be in poor condition, in unsavory water, and notified Wal Mart officials at the store of the situation, in hopes the store could improve care of the fish they sell.

Photograph White Plains Wal Mart betta fish October 1, 2011.

The correspondent noticed the Wal Mart Bettas had split fins, floated listlessly at the bottom of their containers which were filled with cloudy water. The split-fin condition, our correspondent says, is a sign the fish are in poor health, and is concerned that Wal Mart is not providing or selling healthy betta fish. The correspondent felt that the fish were living creatures that deserved an effort by the store at keeping them in a healthy environment.

Here is our correspondent’s report after revisiting the store Monday of this week:

WPCNR BOOK CHAT. October 5, 2011:

If you stop by Starbucks at Renaissance Square in downtown White Plains, New York, USA,  the chatty, high energy morning manager, Theresa McCarty serves you with efficiency and a smile.

But, did you know she is "The Cook of Champions," accomplished personal chef, having been Yankee Manager Joe Torre's personal cook for Joe and his family for years?  Now, she's also a published author having held a book signing this week for her new cook-philospher book, Step Up to the Plate: My Recipes for Life.

Theresa McCarty  Philosopher-Chef

Her new cookbook, Step Up to the Plate has a unique niche. In addition to Ms.McCarty's insights as to how to make the most of yourself and be ready to seize opportunities she shares everyday and special day recipes she made for Joe Torre's family and many Yankee greats you'll recognize. 

What is significant and helpful about the easy-to-follow recipes for dishes (45 of them) she prepared in a special way for the Torres, they were prepared with special ingredients that help the body fight cancer with the same tasty result. As many know, Mr.Torre, having contracted prostate cancer and survived it, and together with Ms. McCarty and his nutritionist, the author prepared dishes he enjoyed prepared with powerful, documented cancer-fighting incredients and nutrients.  

She  gives you definitions of key cancer-fighting ingredients and weaves them into staple dishes  as well as appetizers, desserts, hors d'oeuvres.  Drop on by Starbuck's any weekday morning in downtown White Plains New York USA and discuss her book with her and how they can help you prepare fare that is tasty, mainstream, hearty and helps your body strengthen itself against cancer.

WPCNR THE GREEN NEWS. September 28, 2011:

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation press officer Wendy Rosenbach informed WPCNR the department will be giving final approval to a plan for the city to close the Gedney Landfill “shortly,” Rosenbach told WPCNR, with a few minor changes..

Final approval for capping the dump and prevention of TCE leakage into the Mamroneck River adjacent the dump, will allow Commissioner of Public Works Joseph Nicoletti to send the entire project out for bid, which has not been done yet, pending the final approval, (as recently told WPCNR by City Chief of Staff John Callahan).

Estimates for the closure plan two years ago set the cost to the city as $8 to $10 Million, which may raise city debt service in the new budget.

The Final Approval will also allow the city to begin its total resodding of the Our Lady of Sorrows baseball field adjacent the dump to create a soil buffer between the TCE-contaminated soil in the field and athletes playing on the surface.

WPCNR SEWER TIMES. From the Westchester County Department of Health. (EDITED) September 13, 2011:

 It has happened again. A sewage plant pump breakdown released a day flow of raw untreated sewage into Mamaroneck Harbor, the Health Department announced today.

The Westchester County Department of Health has issued a boater and beach advisory due to a sewage discharge at the West Basin Pump Station next to Harbor Island Park. The discharge was discovered Monday evening and ended this morning after the county Department of Environmental Facilities repaired a pump that had failed.

The advisory, along with telephone notification to the marinas and beaches, is being made because an estimated 162,000 gallons of untreated sewage entered Long Island Sound due to the pump failure.

As a precaution, Mamaroneck beaches have been advised to remain closed and people who use the waters for recreational purposes should avoid direct contact with the water until further notice at the following Mamaroneck locations: Harbor Island Park Beach, Mamaroneck Beach and Yacht Club, Shore Acres Club, Beach Point Club, Orienta Beach Club, Derecktor Boat Yard, Brewer Post Road Boat Yard Marina, Mamaroneck Municipal Marina, Nichols Yacht Yard, Mamaroneck Boat and Motors, and McMichael’s Boat Yard. 

The county health department is sampling the water today. Once results are received and evaluated, the health department will determine whether to reopen the beaches and lift the advisory.

WPCNR WATER WATCH. From the Westchester County Department of Health. September 11, 2011;

Residents of Elmsford, Greenburgh, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown and the Valhalla Grasslands campus can resume routine water use today. The Westchester County Department of Health had advised residents in these communities to restrict their water use from Friday evening through this morning due to impacts from recent storms.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has advised the health department that it reopened the Catskill Aqueduct this morning. The NYCDEP had closed the aqueduct due to high fecal coliform levels on Friday evening, which limited water capacity in the aforementioned communities.

The county health department is also notifying residents through its reverse-911 telephone system.

For more information, residents should contact their water supplier.

WPCNR ENVIRONMENTAL EAGLE. From Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. September 10,  2011:

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner assured residents Friday evening that the town drinking water is safe. He objected to his town residents being notified by robocalls to conserve water without the call making it clear the water is safe to drink. (See Mr. Feiner's e-mail to residents later in this report.) 

Feiner assured Greeburgh residents are only being asked to conserve water usage, after he received many calls on his home answering machine in response to robocalls from the County Department of Health telling residents to conserve water. The call did not make clear tap water in Greenburgh is safe to drink.

In the official press release from Westchester County to Elmsford, Greeburgh, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown and Grasslands, the county does not make clear the water is safe to drink, in Feiner's opinion. He also expresses shock that his office was not made aware of the robocalls.

The press release from the county reads as follows:

Residents of Elmsford, Greenburgh, Irvington, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown and the Grasslands campus, which is served by Water District No. 3, were strongly advised by the County Department of Health Friday evening to restrict their water use now through Sunday morning due to impacts from heavy rains and saturated ground caused by Hurricane Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. 

WPCNR WATER WATCH. From the County Department of Health. 9:30 P.M. August 12, 2011:

The Westchester County Department of Health advises swimmers, boaters, windsurfers, kayakers and other recreational water users that they should continue to avoid direct contact with the Hudson River until further notice.

The Village of Ossining reported today that it had completed repairs on a village sewer main damaged by a fallen tree.  The health department estimates there had been an ongoing sewage discharge of 1.5 million gallons per day of sewage due to the sewer main break reported by Ossining on Thursday.

 The county health department also has advised the two Hudson River beaches in Westchester, Croton Point Park Beach and Philipse Manor Beach, that they must remain closed.

Results from beach water quality samples taken Thursday by the county health department were available this evening and showed unacceptable levels of bacteria.

 The Health Department will continue to monitor the situation and will update this advisory when possible.

For more information regarding the repaired sewer main, contact the Village of Ossining.

WPCNR WATER WATCH. From the New York City Department of Environment Protection (Edited) August 2, 2011:

WPCNR WATER WATCH. From the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. July 29, 2011:

The New York City Health Department Thursday evening lifted the beach pollution advisory for Sea Gate in Brooklyn as well as the beach closure notices for South Beach, Midland Beach and Cedar Grove Beach in Staten Island.

The Thursday evening announcement brings to a close the massive raw sewage pollution of the Hudson River north to Ossining and south to the environs of New York Harbor after 8 Days. The raw sewage had to be pumped untreated into the Hudson River due to a fire at the 135th Street and 12th Avenue sewage treatment plant, and the lack of backup systems at the plant to continue the treatment process.

The most recent water quality sampling indicates that bacteria levels found at these locations and in New York Harbor has returned to acceptable levels.

Additionally, the Health Department has determined that recreational activities may resume in the Hudson River, the East River from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge to Verrazano Bridge, the Harlem River and the Kill Van Kull to the Goethals Bridge.

These waterways are now fit for recreational activities that entail possible direct contact with water.

Consuming fish caught from these areas is again permissible, provided that individuals follow the New York State guidelines for consumption of fish caught in New York City waterways. That information can be found at http://www.health.state.ny.us/environmental/outdoors/fish/docs/down_state_advisories.pdf.

Warning signs at beaches and kayak launches will be removed as a result.

 Specific beach information continues to be available to the public through website postings at the City’s beach website www.nyc.gov/health/beach, at www.nyc.gov under NYC Right to Know, and at www.nyc.gov/health, the City Information Hotline 311, and those who have signed up to Notify NYC will receive up to date status information relating to public beaches via Twitter, RSS, email and SMS.

WPCNR WATER WATCH. JULY 27, 2011:

The Westchester County Department of Health lifted its advisory for the Hudson River in Westchester this morning.

Residents can now resume all recreational water activities along the Hudson River in Westchester.  This includes swimming, fishing, windsurfing, kayaking and jet skiing.

 The Westchester County Department of Health is lifting the advisory based on the results of Hudson River sampling performed by the Westchester County Department of Health to date.  This advisory originally followed a fire that took the New York City North River Waste Water Treatment Plant out of service last week. The treatment plant is located at W. 135^th Street and 12^th Avenue in New York City.

The Health Department will resume its routine water sampling of the Hudson River.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection will be providing updates on the situation as needed at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/home/home.shtml.