The Island Now Features Meal Deliveries to Local Hospitals

Apr 21, 2020

Many healthcare workers are at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, making it nearly impossible to manage everyday priorities like finding time for a meal. Now, NYITCOM students have launched the Help Our Heroes initiative, a volunteer program that provides items and services such as personal protective equipment (PPE), hospital food deliveries, grocery shopping, childcare, and pet care for these workers. Led by third-year medical student Sarah Korn, the initiative is managed by five student committees that oversee the various volunteer activities. The program’s initiative “Meals from Med Students,” which collaborates with local restaurants to deliver meals to area hospitals, was recently featured in local media outlet The Island Now.

 

Riley Quoted on Empathy in Physicians Practice

Apr 20, 2020

Comments from Bernadette Riley, D.O., director of the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome/Hypermobility Treatment Center and associate professor, NYITCOM, have been included in an online slideshow by medical news outlet Physicians Practice. Riley notes how clinicians can use telemedicine to establish empathy with their patients, stating:

"I am someone whose face is expressive. The positive of this is that the patient is aware I care, the negative is that my face can also show anxiety and fear. So I must keep my facial expressions in check."

Riley and the Center’s team have been using telemedicine during the COVID-19 outbreak to stay in contact with their patients, some of whom are at a higher risk for infection due to their condition.

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NYITCOM Early Graduation Featured in The DO

Apr 16, 2020

NYITCOM was featured in an article in The DO, the American Osteopathic Association's news outlet, on osteopathic medical schools allowing students to graduate early and join the frontlines against COVID-19.  

“As a healthcare institution, we have a responsibility to step in when there is a crisis,” said Jerry Balentine, D.O., dean of NYITCOM and vice president for health sciences and medical affairs. “At the same time, our students showed an incredible level of interest in volunteering and helping out. As a dean, this is a really proud moment for me, to see so many of my students stepping up to the plate.”

 

Mechanical Engineering Research Featured in Trade Media

Apr 11, 2020

Computer simulation research from Milan Toma, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and an undergraduate student has been featured in Supercomputing Online News and Medical Express. As noted in the coverage, abusive head trauma like that of Shaken Baby Syndrome is the leading cause of fatal brain injuries in children under two. Now, Toma and his team have developed computational simulations to help clinicians and caregivers better understand the impact of these injuries. 

"One instance of abusive head trauma could include as many as 80 shakes. Our findings demonstrate that the cerebrospinal fluid is only 'designed' to protect the brain for the first shake," says Toma. "By considering simulations like these, clinicians can better predict the short- and long-term effects of abusive head trauma and more accurately assess the victim's health."

Similar coverage also appeared in ACM TechNews.

 

NBC.com Quotes Hospitality Expert on COVID-19 Restaurant Impact

Apr 10, 2020

James Henry Dunne, J.D., assistant professor of hospitality studies, was quoted in an NBC.com story on how Americans can support small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19. Dunne notes that even restaurants that traditionally don’t offer pick-up meals or delivery are now getting in on the action. Where the law permits (or has been loosened, as in New York), many restaurants are also touting alcoholic beverages along with to-go meals, “and in some cases even selling grocery items like paper goods and cuts of beef, on an informal basis,” he says.

 

Gibb Shares Home Disinfection Advice in Local Newspapers

Apr 09, 2020

Home disinfection advice from Bryan Gibb, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological and chemical sciences, appeared in several regional newspapers including the Manhattan Times, The Bronx Free Press, and News Break. Gibb shares his thoughts on the likelihood of picking up the virus from surfaces, the best way to disinfect your home, and what to do if someone in your household tests positive.

"It’s unnecessary to disinfect everything you buy from the grocery store, leave packages outside for a day, or conduct excessive cleaning of your home. Most transmissions of pathogens from contaminated surfaces or food are due to touching your face with your hands or eating contaminated food," says Gibb. "The best way to prevent any type of infection from these surfaces is by washing your hands regularly and properly cooking your food. I recommend that everyone wash their hands immediately after returning from the grocery store, when you put your food away, unpack an Amazon box, etc. Proper hand-washing, avoiding touching your face, and reducing exposure by staying at home as much as possible are the best ways to avoid contracting COVID-19."

 

Haar Cautions Byrdie's Readers to Be Skeptical of Medical Medium Diet Claims

Apr 08, 2020

As seen in Byrdie, School of Health Professions nutrition expert Mindy Haar, Ph.D., debunks claims that the Medical Medium Diet helps to detox the liver, noting that these claims are not backed by science. Haar adds that the diet, which relies mainly on fruits and vegetables, may also cause deficiencies of essential nutrients and proteins.

“Protein is essential for maintenance and repair of body tissues,” she says. “While a typical American diet usually includes more protein than needed, this plan puts one in danger of protein deficiency. No other diet component can take over the role of nine essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein that we get solely from food.”

 

Wall Street Journal References NYITCOM Vaccine Research

Apr 05, 2020

The Wall Street Journal mentioned NYITCOM biomedical research, which compared nations’ BCG vaccination policies with their COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates, in an article on the impact of the coronavirus in Venezuela. The NYITCOM study found that a significant positive correlation between the year when universal BCG vaccination policies were adopted and the country’s mortality rate.

As the article states, “Venezuela seems to have had a universal BCG vaccination policy in the mid-20th century. If the study’s analysis is correct, the nation may be spared the worst of Covid19.”

 

As Seen in Newsday: Harper Comments on Early COVID-19 Transmission

Apr 04, 2020

Brian Harper, M.D., chief medical officer of New York Institute of Technology’s Academic Health Centers, shared his public health expertise in Newsday’s coverage of how drastically life has changed on Long Island since the first COVID-19 case.

The article reflects on the first week of March, when popular restaurants and bars on Long Island were packed, students brushed against each other in school hallways, and there was no outward sign that the virus would spread widely within the United States. Looking back, Harper notes, “My sense is it was here, and it was present, and it was being transmitted. After doing more testing, then you begin to realize how many we had.”

 

Cohn Advises on Grocery Outlet Credit Cards in WalletHub

Apr 02, 2020

School of Management Professor Deborah Y. Cohn, Ph.D., gives her expert opinion in a WalletHub post about the value of co-branded grocery store credit cards. Cohn describes the benefits stores reap from their co-branded credit cards: “increased loyalty, increased volume and dollars spent at the store, and decreased processing costs to the retailer for credit card use.” Grocery stores without a co-branded credit card, she says, are not following best practices.

Asked about stores' use of coupons, a traditional method of marketing groceries, Cohn points out that stores can employ both coupons and a co-branded credit card. “These two money-saving programs for consumers can work in conjunction with each other,” she says.