Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
593 Columbia Turnpike
East Greenbush, NY
April 12, 2018
Members Attending (12): Andy Leyhane, Murray Forth, Pat Bailey, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Rodriguez, Dick Drumm, Ray Hannan, Bil Dowd, April Dowd, Charlie Foote, Phil Kellerman, Terry Brewer.
Guests (4): Lou and Pat Rubenstein, Kevin Leyden, Pamela Sawchuk.
Announcements/Business
OPENING — President-Elect Andy Leyhane, presiding in place of Roberto Martinez, welcomed members and guests. Twelve members were in attendance, the minimum for a quorum.
THANK YOU — The club received a thank-you note from member Carol Orvis for the sympathy card and floral arrangement sent to her after the death of her younger brother.
NEW MEMBER INDUCTION — We will be welcoming new Rotarians and Rotaractors in a joint induction ceremony at our Thursday, May 3, dinner meeting. Membership pins have been awarded for everyone on the list. … Rotaract held a happy hour social at Wolff’s Biergarten in Albany on Monday evening that raised more than $200 for the Freedom From Fistula Foundation. Click here for details.
RONALD McDONALD HOUSE — We still are lining up the kitchen volunteers for the April breakfast and May dinner SRC teams will be preparing at the facility. A final invitation to participate has been sent to the Danes Rotaract club. If we do not hear from them ASAP, we will ask club members to fill out the roster so planning can move forward.
TREE PLANTING PROJECT — As part of District 7190’s portion of the Rotary global tree planting project, we will work with Columbia High School in refreshing the Star of Hope memorial area at the East Greenbush Public Library. And, members are encouraged to plant a tree as an individual effort.
SHELTERBOX SPECIAL OFFER — Bill Dowd, the club’s ShelterBox liaison, reported on a special matching funds effort scheduled for May 1 and 2. Each dollar, up to $100 per person, pledged online during that specific period will be matched by a foundation. He noted that many SRC members do not contribute to ShelterBox each year because they may think they have to purchase an entire $1,000 box. However, he emphasized that even a donation of $1, $5, or $10 is appreciated, and this special matching funds plan will double the impact of each dollar given. Details are available on the club website by clicking here.
ROTARY HOME COOKING — Reservations are full for this Saturday’s surf-and-turf event being hosted by Murray and Maggie Forth. The May event in the series will be “An International Wine & Cheese Tasting” at Roberto’s residence, co-hosted with him by Bill Dowd and Jim Leyhane. Please contact any of those three people if you would like to attend. Guests are welcome.
ROTARY’S GOT TALENT / RECYCLING DAY — The talent show and social event being sponsored by the District’s Next Gen Committee on Thursday, May 3, at Lucky Strike in Crossgates Mall, is seeking program advertisers. Terry Brewer moved, and Bill Dowd seconded, that we buy a half-page ad. However, during discussion April Dowd suggested we take out a full-page ad using the flyer for our “Recycling & Shredding Day III” event that will be held the Saturday after the talent show. She said that will help us reach a broader cross-section of potential recyclers. The amended motion was passed without dissent.
NEXT MEETINGS — On Thursday, April 19, at 7 a.m. at the Greenbush YMCA, Principal Mike Harkin will speak to the breakfast group on plans for ties between Columbia High School and SRC and the Rotary Exchange program. And, at the 6:15 p.m. dinner meeting at Quigley’s, District 7190 Foundation Chair Sue Austin will present “The Rotary Foundation Explained.”
PROGRAM: “What’s New at Albany Med?”
Kevin Leyden is a senior vice president at Albany Medical Center “charged with developing non-traditional partnerships and alliances to leverage existing assets and generate new revenue.”
He reviewed AMC’s position in the region’s medical universe, where it is the only Level 1 trauma center in 25 New York and two adjacent New England counties.
He said AMC President James Barba embarked on an effort several years ago to better serve the 16,000 children treated at the facility each year.
Part of that is to provide them with better care without exposing them to some of the harsher aspects of emergency services. And, part of it is the creation of a new pediatric trauma center to open this summer, the only such facility in the region. The $50 million project has been funded by both private and public money.
That is not the only new initiative at AMC. Three years ago, it began a new effort to become an incubator for bio-tech research to complement its other prongs — being a treatment facility and a teaching college. He showed a video that described the facility — called the Biomedical Acceleration and Commercialization Center (BACC). It facilitates research and development efforts combining engineering, science, health, and technology with partners such as RPI. They are looking to increase partnerships possibly with Siena College, Union College, and others.
Kevin also spoke about the “Executive Health Program” that allows plan members a form of “concierge” medicine within AMC. For a $995 fee, members receive such things as: access to expedited appointment scheduling; a broad range of services such as urinalysis, prostate exam, pap smear and pelvic exam, blood chemistry, etc.; long-distance assistance linking up with medical care while on the road; a “nurse navigator” coordinating their care; and an atmosphere more like a luxury hotel than a hospital.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 