SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Healthcare Is Preserving And Saving Life

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Back when I started as a reporter on Long Island in 1962, my newspaper, the Babylon Town Leader, covered a story about a woman refused admittance to Lakeside Hospital in Copiague because she didn’t have medical insurance. She returned to her car—and died in it. 

That little private hospital is no more. Lakeside Hospital, which began as Nassau/Suffolk General Hospital in 1939, closed in 1975.  

Since then, there has been the rise of great, new medical centers here.

Stony Brook University Medical Center was the first and also became a multi-school site for health education. I reported on the creation of this at the daily Long Island Press in the 1960s and 70s. Stony Brook was directed by the state to establish a hospital as well as a School of Medicine, School of Nursing and School of Dental Medicine.

How to do this was beyond the knowledge of the university’s two top administrators, both nuclear physicists. Thus Dr. Edmund Pellegrino was hired as a university vice president and School of Medicine dean. He was a medical visionary. He told me he saw medicine as having become a business, a commodity. His dream for the proposed hospital was for it to be patient-centered, personal and nurturing. He said that medicine should be a moral enterprise with a doctor having a “covenant” with his or her patients. And he wanted health education not narrowly focused but embracing the humanities and social sciences.  

Before Dr. Pellegrino left Stony Brook to eventually become president of the Catholic University of America, he created the culture for health care and education at Stony Brook.

As the years have gone by, I’ve been treated by doctors at Stony Brook, and not for minor things. Last year, after falling on my head causing huge twin hematomas to form in my skull, I was operated on by a superb neurosurgeon, Dr. Charles Mikell. He drilled holes—as scary as that sounds—in my head to successfully drain the deposits of blood and fluid. 

Seven years ago I had two successful operations at Stony Brook for bladder cancer performed by world-class urologist Dr. Howard Adler. They were followed by treatments based on immunotherapy using—and this is a standard treatment—tuberculosis bacteria to stimulate the immune system and prevent a recurrence. There’s been no recurrence, most happily.

Now there’s been the rise of another medical center covering this region, Northwell Health. It came about with the merger of Long Island Jewish Medical Center and North Shore Health System in 1997. The private Northwell Health and the public Stony Brook compete—with Stony Brook in recent times merging with Southampton Hospital and affiliating with Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. Northwell has a network today of 23 affiliated hospitals and other health facilities stretching throughout the New York Metro Area. It is linked to Hofstra University. Major hospitals part of the Northwell network in Suffolk include Mather in Port Jefferson; Southside Hospital in Bay Shore; Huntington Hospital; and Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead.

I was recently treated at Peconic Bay for cataract removal. Optometrists advised that I needed the surgery. Eyeglasses, even with new prescriptions, weren’t doing it.

I received a strong recommendation about East End Eye and its lead ophthalmologist, Dr. Scott Sheren. He has been president of the Suffolk County Ophthalmological Society and medical staff president at Peconic Bay. He’s director of the Robert Merriam Rogers Center for Eye Surgery at Peconic Bay. 

He’s an extraordinary physician, highly competent and warm. A concern I had involved taking the medicine Flomax. Google—that font of oft-alarming medical information—warns about complications in cataract surgery for people who take Flomax. Dr. Sheren assured me that he would take special care. And he did, removing the cataract from one eye in January, the cataract from the other two weeks ago. It was amazing how after the first cataract was removed and a new lens inserted, when the bandage over the eye was removed the next morning I could see through the “fixed” eye with perfect focus and white was bright white. Looking through the other eye, still with a cataract, everything was yellowish. Now, with both eyes cataract-free, the world is clear.

     There have not only been great advances in medical care—the emergence of two big medical centers here—but huge advances in medical science here and elsewhere. Two close friends—one fitted with a pacemaker, the other with two stents after a heart attack, both done at Stony Brook—say they would be dead without the treatments developed several decades ago.

    The burning issue about health care is how as a society we can best pay for it. (My preference is “Medicare for all.”) Health care is about the most important use of money that exists—preserving and saving life.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - "Balloons Blow...Don't Let Them Go"

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

 The East Hampton Town Board had taken a blow against balloons. A town law barring the intentional release of balloons has been unanimously passed. It follows action by the Suffolk County—back in 2005—prohibiting the mass release of 25 or more balloons filled with helium or other “lighter-than-air” gasses. 

The East Hampton law is tougher—it bars the release of any number of balloons. It zeroes in on balloons “made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene or nylon fabric that can be inflated or filled with a gas such as helium, hydrogen and nitrous oxide…”

“Balloons waste natural resources, litter our communities, pollute our waterways and kill wildlife,” says the measure passed 5-to-0 on February 7.

Exceptions are made for “balloons released indoors,” “hot air balloons that are recovered after launching,” and “balloons used for the purpose of carrying scientific instrumentation.”

The balloon business as represented by the New Jersey-based The Balloon Council, with a vested interest in its product, is not happy with what East Hampton has done.

A leading proponent of the East Hampton law was Susan McGraw Keber, a dedicated environmentalist and member of the East Hampton Trustees which has jurisdiction over the town’s waterfront. At the town board meeting, she presented the board with a proclamation from children of the Give It Back Club at the Montauk School. 

East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, the measure’s sponsor, said the town wants “to make people aware all across the country that when you release a balloon it has serious consequences.” How serious was outlined by those testifying before the board.

Kimberly Durham, necropsy program coordinator of the Hampton Bays-based Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, said: “I have observed the horrific consequences of discarded balloons on marine wildlife.” Marine life can’t distinguish between balloons in the water and jellyfish, a food source.

Some released balloons drift back to shore. Colleen Henn with the Surfrider Foundation told that board about the beach clean-ups it has conducted and balloon litter along the coast.

Lorna O’Hara, public information director of The Balloon Council, told WABC-TV/7 of the East Hampton law: “We prefer education over legislation.”

The county law—in which children also played a part—took form when then Suffolk Legislator Lynne Nowick of St. James received a letter from some elementary school students about helium-filled balloons falling into waterways and being mistaken for jellyfish by sea animals which ingested the balloons and died. They noted that Connecticut, because of this problem, had banned mass balloon releases and suggested the same sort of thing be done here.

Ms. Nowick got to work, did research, found that balloons represented the most common form of floating garbage within 200 miles from shore and, indeed, regularly kill marine life, especially turtles. She introduced the bill to prohibit mass balloon releases in Suffolk. The measure speaks of how “research has indicated that marine life and animals ingest these as they appear near the surface because they believe they are spotting jellyfish or other edible resources.” They then “either choke on the balloon or the balloon will form an intestinal obstruction either of which will sentence these animals and marine life to a painful death.” 

These balloons, further, are a “source of pollution.”

Enter The Balloon Council. As it says on its website, www.theballoonccouncil.org: “An industry has grown from a handful of small manufacturing companies…to one that now produces products that are an integral part of festivities in this county and abroad. At the time that TBC was established, several state legislators were considering well-intentioned but ill-conceived laws which would have severely limited consumer’s rights to obtain full enjoyment from balloons.” It trumpets: “The Balloon Council—Affirming America’s Ongoing Love Affair with Balloons.”  

The Balloon Council sought to stop the Suffolk measure but legislators resisted and enacted it. Ms. Nowick, after completing the maximum 12-year term allowed for Suffolk legislators, was elected and since re-elected to the Smithtown Town Board.

The organization, Balloons Blow, based in Florida, advocates alternatives to releasing balloons. “There are many safe, fun, and eye-catching alternatives to balloons for parties, memorials, fundraisers, and more!” it says on its website, www.ballooonsblow.org. It presents many. “As we become more aware of our personal impacts on the environment people are ditching single-use, wasteful products for earth-friendly, reusable and exciting alternatives.”

“Balloons Blow…Don’t Let Them Go,” it declares.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - "It's Drill Baby Spill" Offshore Drilling

By Karl Grossman

It’s been decades since a fisherman out of Montauk told me about seeing a ship east of Long Island similar to those he had seen searching for oil in the Gulf of Mexico when he was a shrimper there. I telephoned oil company after company and each gave a firm denial about having any interest in looking for petroleum off Long Island.

That was until a PR man from Gulf called back and said, yes, his company was looking for oil and gas off Long Island—and was involved in a consortium of 32 oil companies (many of which earlier issued denials).

It was my first experience in oil industry honesty—an oxymoron.

Then, after breaking the story as an investigative reporter for the daily Long Island Press about the oil industry seeking to drill in the offshore Atlantic, there were years of staying on the story. I traveled the Atlantic Coast including in 1971 getting onto the first off-shore drilling rig set up in the Atlantic, off Nova Scotia. The riskiness of offshore drilling was obvious on that rig. There were spherical capsules to eject workers in emergencies. And a rescue boat went round-and-round 24-hours-a-day. The man from Shell Canada said: “We treat every foot of hole like a potential disaster.” 

You might recall seeing movies from years ago about oil drilling in the west and the drill hitting a “gusher” and it raining oil on happy workers. But on an offshore rig that “gusher” would be raining oil on the sea and life in it and then the oil would move to shore. 

In the ‘70s there were the weeks of public hearings I covered at state houses in Boston, Massachusetts and Trenton, New Jersey, and also hearings on Long Island. I traveled down the coast to the Florida Keys, its turquoise waters on the agenda of the oil industry, too.

The Suffolk County executive through most of the 1970s, John V.N. Klein of Smithtown, was a leading opponent in Suffolk of offshore oil drilling.

Congressional action blocked drilling in the Atlantic off the U.S. But now under the Trump administration the push is on again. The New York State Legislature has just passed a bill prohibiting drilling in state coastal waters. But that’s only three nautical miles out. However, the measures bars development of infrastructure such as pipelines to service oil and gas drilling.

  A co-sponsor of the measure, State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. of Sag Harbor, says: “Tourism is a major economic driver for Long Island; we also have very viable commercial and recreational fishing industries. The proposal for offshore drilling threatens both our economy and our environment,” 

What has changed since I got that tip from the Montauk fisherman in 1970?

The U.S. is now awash in oil—why gasoline is being sold for a little over $2 a gallon. And the U.S. has become the world’s leading producer of oil and gas. This is largely due to hydraulic fracturing or fracking, also an extremely polluting technology, contaminating water supplies with 600 chemicals used for breaking apart underground shale formations for oil and gas. Further, fracking causes gas to migrate into water tables and then water with gas in it coming out of faucets and erupting in flames when lit with a match. Also, many of the 600 chemicals are cancer-causing. 

Climate change is now a crisis. Cities, counties and states—and overseas many nations—are pushing for 100 percent renewable energy in a few short years, and this can be accomplished. Vehicles powered by electricity, hydrogen, fuel cells and other clean sources are the future, not petroleum-powered vehicles. The burning of fossil fuel in cars, trucks and power plants is the leading cause of climate change, global warming.

Meanwhile, it still costs 10 times more to do offshore drilling than to drill for oil on-shore. Why spend billions for extracting oil and gas instead of further implementing clean, green, renewable sources? Renewables are worldwide the fastest-growing energy sources.

Moreover, the claim of the oil industry that it can safely drill for oil and gas offshore has been demonstrated to be baloney. It’s drill-baby-spill.  

An excellent essay on that was published this month on the Ocean Conservancy website (www.oceanconservancy.org): “What Have We Learned From 50 Years Of Offshore Oil Disasters?” is its headline, with a sub-head: “As oil spills get bigger, Congress’ responses have gotten smaller.” The article by Michael LeVine focuses on the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969, the Exxon Valdez spill of 1989 and the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig and the massive spill that followed in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in history, so far. There have been an enormous number of smaller spills.

These three big “spills evidence a clear and troubling pattern—a major offshore oil disaster occurs in the United States every two decades,” states the article. “Each spill is worse than the last, increasing from 3 million to 11 million to 210 million gallons spilled.”

Offshore oil drilling: regularly disastrous—and unnecessary.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books. 

Kings Park History - Howard Orphanage And Industrial School 1911-1918

Article is written for the Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum 99 Old Dock Road Kings Park, NY 11754.

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From 1911-1918 the Howard Orphanage and Industrial School mortgaged farmland from the Jewish Industrial Aid Society, also known as Indian Head Stock Farm in Kings Park, NY located on Indian Head Road.  The school would teach African American orphaned children life skills, such as, reading, writing, sewing, cooking, woodcarving and more. 

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From 1911-1912 Mary Eliza Mahoney, was the director. She was the first African American Professional Nurse, a Boston Suffragette, as well as, one of the first women in Boston to vote after the passing of the 19th Amendment. 

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By 1912, the school was looked at as the Tuskegee of the North.  Through the years, there was fundraising to keep the orphanage going. Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, during the winter of 1918 pipes at the school froze and many children suffered from the affects.

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To learn more about historic Kings Park, call 631-269-3305 for an appointment to visit the Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum or goto www.KPHeritageMuseum.net.

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Article is written for the Leo P. Ostebo Kings Park Heritage Museum 99 Old Dock Road Kings Park, NY 11754.

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Beginning of the Orphanage at Kings Park

https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53949906/?terms=howard%2Borphan%2Bkings%2Bpark

Fundraiser for the Howard Orphanage

https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/53950253/?terms=howard%2Borphan%2Bkings%2Bpark

Considered the Tusgegee of the North

https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/54446264/?terms=howard%2Borphan%2Bkings%2Bpark%2Btuskegee%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnorth

Orphanage Closed Newspaper Article

https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/55298948/?terms=howard%2Borphan%2Bkings%2Bpark

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - 'Silent Spring' A Fable For Tomorrow

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, published in 1962, is acknowledged as instrumental in the creation of the modern environmental movement. What isn’t fully realized, however, is the role of Long Islanders—and a lawsuit with as its lead plaintiff the great environmentalist from Suffolk County, Robert Cushman Murphy, in helping inform Ms. Carson of the threat pesticides pose to life.

The title of Silent Spring is laid out in its introduction, “A Fable for Tomorrow.” It starts, “There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings. The town lay in the midst of a checkerboard of prosperous farms, with fields of grain and hillsides of orchards where, in spring, white clouds of bloom drifted above the green fields.” 

But, Ms. Carson writes “Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change. Some evil spell had settled on the community: mysterious maladies swept the flocks of chicken, the cattle and sheep sickened and died. Everywhere was a shadow of death. The farmers spoke of much illness among their families. In the town the doctors had become more and more puzzled by new kinds of sickness appearing among their patients.”

“There was a strange stillness. The birds, for example—where had they gone?”

It was a silent spring. “No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world,” states Ms. Carson. “The people had done it themselves.”

The special focus of Silent Spring is the super-deadly pesticide DDT which as a result of the book was banned in the United States.

In the 1950s, Marjorie Spock began teaching at the Waldorf School in Garden City and with a friend, Mary T. Richards, established a large garden at their home in Brookville. They grew food by the biodynamic method. This was particularly important for Ms. Richards who required a diet of organic produce because of her chemical sensitivities.

Then the U.S. government and the state conducted massive aerial spraying of DDT on Long Island to kill gypsy moths. The food in their garden was rendered contaminated for them and they sued. Other Long Islanders, including Mr. Murphy, of Old Field,  joined in litigation.

In 1958, a trial lasting over 22 days—referred to by the press as “The Long Island Spray Trial”—was held in federal court. There were 50 expert witnesses who testified about the dangers of DDT, 2,000 pages of testimony. The judge ruled for the government.

But “Murphy v. Benson” (the plaintiffs led by Mr. Murphy versus U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ezra Taft Benson and other officials) went to the U.S. Supreme Court to get the judge’s ruling overturned. They “lost the battle but won the war,” Ms. Spock later said as plaintiffs for the first time were given the right to enjoin the government to force it to provide a full scientific review prior to a proposed action affecting the environment.

Meanwhile, Ms. Spock conducted correspondence with Ms. Carson and advised her of the progress of the case and the evidence gathered. (Ms. Spock was a younger sister of famed “baby doctor” Benjamin Spock.) Between the “Long Island Spray Trial” and other information Ms. Carson was getting—notably about bird kills caused by DDT—the basis for Silent Spring was provided.

St. John’s University Professor Richard Hammond has called Mr. Murphy “a key figure in the fight against DDT.” He not only took the litigation path but formed Citizens Against Mass Poisoning. It was one of Mr. Murphy’s battles for the environment, internationally and on Long Island. Mr. Murphy, the Lamont Curator of birds at the American Museum of Natural History, authored Fish Shape Paumanok: Nature and Man on Long Island which I believe is the finest book on Long Island’s environment ever written. (I was fortunate to meet him in the early 1960s when I wrote extensively about the four-lane highway public works czar Robert Moses pushed to build on Fire Island and Mr. Murphy was among the leaders of those challenging and finally stopping the road in favor of a Fire Island National Seashore.) Paumanok is the native American name for Long Island.

I use Silent Spring as a text in the Environmental Journalism class that I’ve taught for decades. The assault on life by chemicals Ms. Carson wrote about is far from over. In Suffolk, the county long sprayed DDT with abandon but with it outlawed has gone to another problematic pesticide, methoprene, to kill mosquitoes.

Also, Ms. Carson was enormously concerned about the lethal dangers of nuclear technology warning about “the most dangerous materials that have existed in all of earth’s history, the by-products of atomic fission.” (She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the midst of writing Silent Spring and died in 1964.) Now, despite the atomic catastrophes at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, the U.S. Congress just passed—by 361 to 10 in the House, a “voice vote” in the Senate—the “Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act” which seeks to revive and expand nuclear power in the U.S. And President Trump signed it. We still have very far to go.

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.