Policy in action to reduce air pollution

By Joe Losito and Mhairi Moorhead
BengalNews Reporters

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority as well as the Department of Environmental Conservation have worked together to enforce a new law regarding the idling policy.

The goal of the policy is to cut down the level of emissions by limiting the amount of time that drivers at the Peace Bridge can idle their engines.

“Basically it does not allow any cars or trucks to idle in the U.S. plaza or at secondary parking areas,” said Matthew Davison, spokesman for the Peace Bridge Authority.

According to the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, a community-based organization that informs residents on how to prevent and reduce pollution, the five-minute idling policy has gone unnoticed to drivers at the Peace Bridge and the idling of trucks still remains a problem for the air quality on the West Side.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority said that they put up signs in the plaza to notify drivers that there is no idling allowed and have also put up information on their website.

“Most folks are already compliant, and don’t want to idle their vehicles anyways for gas reasons,” said Davison. “People are pretty good when they get here, once they see the signs. I’m hopeful they will just turn off their cars and trucks.”

However, the new policy has forced some truck drivers to idle on West Side dead-end streets instead of waiting at the Peace Bridge.

“A lot of the time, the backup at the bridge is too long so they don’t want to wait so they just pull off and idle,” said Soto. “It is mandated by the government for them to only drive 12 hours and then they have to take a break and the closest break is all the way in Cheektowaga. So if they can’t drive there they just come to these streets and take a nap.”

A 2011 study conducted by Dr. Lwebuga-Mukasas, professor of Medicine at the University of Buffalo found that nearly 45 percent of West Side households reported at least one case of chronic respiratory illness or asthma.

“The challenge,” said Erin Heaney, director of the Clean Air Coalition, “is that even people who have medical degrees are not being schooled in the public health stuff that we know.” 

Natasha Soto and Erin Heaney,  Clean Air Coalition 


The Clean Air Coalition has worked together with the Department of Environmental Conservation to set up air quality monitors throughout Western New York in order to monitor the air quality in highly polluted areas.  

“We think that people shouldn’t get sick because of where they live,” said Heaney.

The state also plans to expand the Peace Bridge plaza, which would create more room for cars and trucks that are waiting, as well as decreasing the traffic at the border. The plan to expand is underway as the state has already purchased the Episcopal Home on the corner of Busti Avenue and Rhode Island Street.

Along the streets close to the projected expansion area are signs on the front lawns of people who either support the expansion or are against it. This illustrates the tension in the area in regards to the positives and negatives of this proposal.

The increase in noise and pollution levels poses a threat to the area that could cause property values to decrease. However, more jobs would be created for the construction of the project.  

The air quality study is currently ongoing in the area. It is questioned whether the winter season will change the amount of drivers idling due to the decreasing temperatures. Edited by Jennine Taberski

West Side locations host flu shot clinics

By Kevin Freiheit and Melissa Kania
BengalNews Reporters
As the beginning of flu season rolls around, residents on the West Side of Buffalo may be searching for places that offer vaccinations to the public.
 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that everyone six months of age or older should become vaccinated against the flu, particularly if they are considered part of a ‘high-risk’ group. Influenza and its related complications result in approximately 226,000 hospitalizations and over 23,600 deaths yearly in the United States.
 Nicholas Matteliano, pharmacy manager at the Rite Aid located at 291 W. Ferry St., said it is important that people get a flu shot every 12 months.
 “The vaccine is reformulated every year and usually becomes available in late August,” Matteliano said.

Pharmacy Manager Nicholas Matteliano talks about the process of getting a flu shot at the Rite Aid location at 291 West Ferry St.:

 This year’s vaccine contains three components to protect against three different flu viruses. One component will protect against H1N1-like viruses that spread nationwide last year. Another component will protect against influenza-B viruses, and the last will protect against an H3N2 virus, according to the CDC.
 “The vaccine usually lasts eight months, which is why everyone should get one each year,” Matteliano said.
 The CDC said flu season typically begins in late October, peaks in the United States in January or February, and lasts until as late as May. Symptoms of the flu include fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, headaches and fatigue.
 In addition, the flu is contagious, and because symptoms do not start until one to four days after the virus enters the body, infected people may pass on the flu before they know they are sick.
 Other places on the West Side are also offering vaccinations.
 “Students can call and schedule an appointment, and pay a $25 fee,” said a representative of Jericho Road Family Practice, which is located at 184 Barton St.
The Belle Center, 104 Maryland St., offered a flu clinic earlier this year.
 “We had a flu clinic in September with Catholic Health and Charities Network, in conjunction with Holy Cross Church,” said Callie Johnson, marketing director at the Belle Center.
 An additional flu and screenings clinic will be held Oct. 21 from 3-5 p.m. at The Sisters of St. Mary Residence, 245 Lafayette Ave. The clinic is being held through Catholic Health and will offer flu shots at no out-of-pocket cost.
 Information about other clinics being offered through Catholic Health can be found here. For more information, contact Liz Reiser at 885-0357.
 As an overall evaluation of the public, Matteliano said that there are certain groups of people who may need the flu shot more than others.
 “There are some higher risk people that I highly recommend get the vaccine,” Matteliano said. “People that are pregnant or have diabetes are at a much higher risk.”
 Children younger than five, adults 65 years of age or older, and people of any age who have certain medical conditions, including asthma, heart disease or a weakened immune system, are also considered part of the high-risk group, according to the New York State Department of Health.
 Although most people will only need to get vaccinated once, children between six months and eight years of age who have never received a seasonal flu vaccine will need to get two doses of the vaccine, spaced at least four weeks apart.
Side effects of the vaccination exist, but are rare.
 “The worst side effect is a flu-like symptom, but the occurrence is below one percent,” Matteliano said. “The most common side effect is a sore arm.”
 The CDC recommends that people get vaccinated as soon as possible, because it takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that will protect against the influenza virus.
 “It doesn’t just protect you, it protects others around you,” Matteliano said.

Edited by Mike Meiler

MenuCalc helps local bakery stay healthy

By Mike Meiler and Julia Merulla
BengalNews Reporters
 The smell of fresh-baked bread hits the nose upon entrance to Five Points Bakery on Buffalo’s West Side.
 Gooey cinnamon rolls, covered in icing, are among the baked goods sitting in glass cases at the front counter.
 At this bakery, the cinnamon rolls are the healthiest sweet treat available, with 300 calories — plus 12 grams of protein and 24 percent of the daily value of fiber.

Kevin Gardner of Five Points Bakery

 Kevin Gardner, who owns Five Points Bakery, has been using the computer program MenuCalc to figure out the nutritional values of the products he sells. It’s part of the Healthy Choices Program, an initiative launched about a year ago that allows restaurants to discover the nutritional value of their menu items so they can make that information available to customers.
 Five Points Bakery was one of 200 businesses in Erie County that received a free trial version of the computer software, which normally costs $540 a year at minimum, and is one of two on the West Side that is as participating. Marco’s Italian Restaurant is also involved but could not be reached for comment.
 Cheryll Moore of the Erie County Department of Health confirmed that Five Points and Marco’s were the only West Side businesses in the process of determining calorie contents for their menu items.
 “Unless it’s gonna make them more money, they won’t do it. Unless it’s a law, they won’t do it,” she said of businesses that opted not to participate in the program. “It’s balancing finances with the right choice.”
 The Healthy Choices Program is voluntary, but Moore said she expects that more independent restaurants will begin to use the MenuCalc software after Jan. 1, 2013, when chain restaurants with 20 or more locations will be required to provide nutrition facts.
 Gardner said he analyzed his ciabatta bread, multigrain bread and cinnamon rolls because customers frequently inquired about nutritional values for those items. With the trial program, each business can input up to four recipes for analysis, which can then be adjusted as many times as needed until the business is satisfied with the numbers.
 Moore said the initiative is not intended to force restaurants to change their recipes.
 “The point of the Healthy Choices Program is to allow people to take into account what they’re eating on a daily basis,” she said.
 Five Points specializes in whole-grain baked goods that are prepared with natural ingredients that are often produced locally. In Gardner’s case, modifying the recipes to make them as healthy as possible fits in with satisfying his customers’ needs.
 “That’s an edge we have over every other bakery… Our stuff is a treat but it’s really good for you,” Gardner said. “Regardless of the cost, if we can get the information, if we can modify our recipes to make them even a little more attractive than they are now… I think it would generate a lot of new business for us.”
 “It is really healthy for a bakery,” Gardner also added. “That’s the reason we wanted to get into it, because I think people would be shocked to see that it’s not empty calories,” Gardner said.
 Moore indicated that cultural differences might have contributed to the lack of participation from West Side businesses, because some cultures view nutrition differently.
 “I’m not going to tell the Spanish community not to eat all that rice,” Moore said. “It’s a staple of their culture.”
 Moore added that she would like to see more cultural restaurants getting involved.
 The lack of involvement could also be chalked up to lack of awareness. Moore said businesses were contacted when the program began, but owners of some West Side businesses said they had not heard of the initiative, including Boomerang's Bar and Grill and Sweetness 7 Cafe.
 Sweetness 7 Café’s owner Prish Moran said that although many of her food items are high in calories, it doesn’t necessarily make them unhealthy, as some may assume, if nutrition facts were offered at her establishment.
 “I just feel strongly that when people are eating fresh, homemade food the calories are going to be much different than with processed food,” she said, adding there is a significant nutritional difference between the cafe’s 400-calorie egg sandwich, made with free-range eggs, and its fast-food counterpart.
 Moran also said recipe variation, such as adding extra butter on top of an item, could make calculated nutritional values inaccurate.
 Nutritional information is still not available at Five Points, because Gardner would like to have all the labels done for his 30 or so menu items, then incorporate the change into a marketing campaign.
 But with a business like Five Points Bakery, the process of calculating nutritional information can become tricky.
 Some items in the bakery, such as eggs, oil and wheat, do not match the standards of those found in the MenuCalc program. Though MenuCalc offers subcategories of items, sometimes it does not allow Gardner to distinguish his specific product from the standard one.

 Kevin Gardner speaks about a weak point of MenuCalc:


 In order to increase accuracy in the calculations, Gardner would have to pay $600 to have each additional item analyzed in a lab. But still, he wants to.
 “I’m going to do it, because it’s a part of a larger whole,” he said, “just like looking at nutritional information on a product can’t be a person’s whole basis for what they eat. But it is a part of it: People do want to know the calories, even if it’s not exact.”
-- Edited by Kaitlin Fritz

Union protests closing of Mattina health center

By Allison Dunckle, Ariel Hofher and Sharvonne Williams

Bengal News Reporters

Union protesters at the Mattina health center

                  The gloomy and dismal afternoon of April 4 matched the mood of hundreds of protesting union members, health care employees and West Side residents who weathered the storm to get their voices heard.

                  The public outcry was directed toward Kaleida Health, a large non-profit Western New York health care provider that recently decided to shut down the Judge Joseph S. Mattina Community Health Center, an important medical facility and resource for West Side residents. Budget cuts, federal health reforms and loss of revenue.  have left Kaleida unable to continue to provide services at the center’s 300 Niagara St. location.  The decision to close was not warmly embraced within the community.   

                  “Kaleida Health has been less than honest in the plans for this clinic,” said John E. Klein, president of the CWA Local 1168. “This is the fourth time in four years that they have tried to close. We feel that they have lied to politicians, patients and the community.”

                  The Northwest Buffalo Community Health Center is expected to take over Kaleida’s ownership of the health center with an emphasis on stronger primary care services, according to a press release provided by Michael Hughes, vice president for Marketing, Public Relations and Government Affairs at Kaleida Health.  According to the release, Northwest will provide mental health and substance abuse services as well as other primary and preventive care to patients of all ages and incomes. 

 Ellicott District Councilmember Darius Pridgen speaks about concern over new ownership of the Mattina health center:

                  However, Klein said that Kaleida has not been upfront with their dealings with Northwest to take over the clinic.

                   “Up until a month ago, they denied that there was any plan, but internal paperwork shows they were working on it for several months,” he said

                  Cori Gambini, a registered nurse and executive vice president of the CWA Local 1168, does not expect Northwest will be as accommodating for lower-income West Side patients as Kaleida.

                   “(Northwest) doesn’t see walk-ins, and at least 40 patients a day are walk ins,” she said.  “These patients need quick access to care. They have to have insurance to be able to get services at Northwest.”                  

                  Klein said that Kaleida has also closed over a dozen clinics within the last four years that serve “a high Medicaid cliental.”

                  “This area needs more services than we currently have and I feel in the short term

this will not be good for the West Side residents,” Klein said.                  

                  Marsha Wells, registered nurse at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital, was one of the protestors who hoped the rally would “raise awareness… mostly of how bad closing this particular (health center) is going to effect Buffalo and the people who live here.”                  

                  According to Wells, at least 50 of the 200 employees of the health center will lose their jobs, and those who stay will be knocked down from full time to part time per diem at with reduced pay and benefits.

                  “This is a real loss for the community,” she said.

No contract, firefighters cover own health

By Paul Kasprzak and Chris Koss
Bengal News Reporters

When the alarm sounds inside the firehouse of Engine 19, a flurry of activity begins as the firefighters rush onto Forest Avenue. They reach the scene on the West Side, running into a burning building to beat back the roaring inferno.

They attack the flames from inside, trying their best to keep damage minimal; of course fire is an unpredictable and uncontrollable animal. Firefighters like the ones on Engine 19 take risks few others are asked to take.

“If a firefighter is injured on duty, the City of Buffalo is responsible for his medical coverage, his doctor bills, everything,” said Daniel Cunningham, the Buffalo Professional Firefighters Association Local 282 representative. “Unfortunately, in this business sometimes your health degenerates and you can’t pinpoint it to a certain injury.”

Cunningham said that until a contract is negotiated and consummated, the City of Buffalo is responsible for every 282 Firefighters Union member who changes to the 901 plan, including their co-pays and premiums.

This will cost the City of Buffalo more money to keep putting off negotiations with the fire department. However, Cunningham said that if the City of Buffalo was to sit and negotiate they would more than likely go back to what the contract called for before.

“We do a different job than white collar workers, we do a different job than the streets workers. (In) the history of the City of Buffalo, fire and police have always had better health coverage,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham has urged firefighters to change from basic health plans they may be on, to the premium 901 plan offered by the city in order to get better coverage. Firefighters declined comment because a gag order was issued. 

“The 901 traditional health care plan, the most expensive health care plan, is the best plan that’s available out there,” Cunningham said.

Firefighters currently have three plans to choose from, all provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield. There are two basic level plans; the 201 and 201 plus. The 901 plan is the higher-level plan.

“The 201 plan restricts what doctors you can go to. You have to get permission to go see another doctor. (With) 901, you are unlimited to who you can go to,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham said that a judge awarded firefighters free health insurance from the City of Buffalo, however, firefighters are currently paying their own costs with the expectation of being paid back once a new agreement is reached. This was awarded in 2004 after the city dropped to one health care provider.

            Any new firefighters             would have to pay a percentage of their health care costs. Cunningham said that new firefighters pay 25 percent if they are single and 15 percent if they are married for the basic 201 plan.

Over time firefighters pay less and less. If they upgrade to the 901 plan, however, they must pay a percentage again until they have reached a certain number of years on the job.

            “Municipalities are like other employers, they are feeling the crunch of health care costs, and many of them are looking to trim down the number of options that are being offered to their employees,” said Leslie Moran, senior vice president of New York Health Plan Association. 

In 2004, the City of Buffalo forced firefighters to accept one health care provider, which was Blue Cross Blue Shield. Prior to the change they had the option of choosing between four companies: Univera Healthcare, Independent Health and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

            “Every member of local 282 is entitled to if they wish to take the most expensive plan, for free of course,” Cunningham said. “Unjustly the city is charging them.”

Councilmen David Rivera and Darius Pridgen were unavailable for comment on the issue.

 Edited by Mike Chiari and Tim Daniels

Health clinic gets national accreditation

By Tony Fiorello
and Darryl Granger
Bengal News reporters
 For over ten years, Jericho Road Family Practice on Barton Street has been providing patient-centered medical services to refugee families throughout the West Side. This approach to healthcare allows Jericho Road to take a proactive role in treating its patients by identifying people who are considered at risk in the community and targeting them for support.
  This month, the practice was awarded the highest accreditation in patient-centered medical home standards by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, or NCQA. The recognition is a major achievement for the small practice and might make Jericho Road eligible for more funding.
  “We don’t have sufficient resources to meet all the needs that come through our door,” says Brett Lawton, chief operating officer of Jericho Road Family Practice. “The additional revenue would help us to hire patient educators that speak the language of our patients.”
  Jericho Road Family Ministries, the sister organization of the practice, helps out by providing refugees with social needs while the practice deals with health care.

Jericho Road COO Brett Lawton defines patient-centered medical practice:


  “We do our own screening… we’re looking for people that are interested in building a better life and not wanting to be on Social Services,” said director of partner development Eric Budin.
  The process of someone coming from another country to the United States can be long and difficult.
  “Refugees come to the United States and are hooked up with a resettlement agency, and the agency provides the person with basic needs and helps them work on job skills and English as a second language,” Budin said.
  “After six months,” he continued, “the benefits that they receive from federal government agencies fall off. We then help them with the post-resettlement process by picking up after the agency.”
  Refugees choose to come to Buffalo because it is an ideal city for them to start their new lives, said Suzy Derksen, program support coordinator.

  “They choose to come to Buffalo because of the services we provide for them,” Derksen said. “Most refugees settle in small to mid-sized cities because settling in a large city like Los Angeles or New York would be difficult for them.”
  With Buffalo growing as a popular destination for refugees, the accreditation of Jericho Road means the practice can expand to help the incoming population. Currently, many patients are turned away because the practice simply doesn’t have the manpower to help all who need it.
Most of the patients visiting Jericho Road receive Medicaid assistance, but the group also provides health services to individuals who may not be able to pay for it.
  Jericho Road Family Practice also prides itself on its ability to take a proactive role in the community.
The practice takes the time to find the people who are most at risk in the community, giving it the patient-centered medical home designation. Although the Practice is now eligible for more funding, the funding itself may not be available as recent government budget cuts are threatening funding to these medical centers.
  “When you add up all the cuts that are proposed…everyone of them affects our organization,” Budin said.

Edited by Michael Meiler and Samantha Murphy

Shelters offer health care to homeless

By Allison Jagow and Patrick Simons
Bengal News reporters
 Winter is approaching at a rapid pace and with that comes the cold and flu season. Shelters like Loaves and Fishes and Friends of Night People exist to provide health services to those who need it most, and have no real means of providing it for themselves.

Friends of Night People Joseph Heary in medical exam room

 Friends of Night People has been lending helping hands to those who need it in Buffalo for over 40 years. Established in 1969, originally on Chippewa Street, Friends of Night People was first organized by the Rev. John Russell, as a crisis services and suicide prevention center.
 “I just think it was a marvelous way to bring people together from all walks of life to share their humanity and their pain to give acceptance and love to each other,” Russell said.
 Now located at 394 Hudson St., at the corner of Wadsworth, Friends of Night People has developed into an organization that provides food, clothing and medical services to anyone in need, including the homeless, poor, mentally ill and addicted.
 “People deserve a level of dignity, care and respect, no matter what position they’re in in their life at that moment, whether it’s homelessness, whether it’s short on money, don’t have enough food,” said Joseph Heary, the current executive director at Friends of Night People. “It’s just people taking care of people, is what our organization is really all about.”
 In addition to providing clothing and hot meals 365 days a year, the organization also offers medical services on a weekly basis. Students from the UB School of Medicine and independent doctors volunteer their time and efforts at Friends of Night People to offer services in general medicine, podiatry and optometry. During each clinic, the organization serves about 20 to 25 people—some by appointment and others as walk-in patients, Heary said.
 Heary, who has been the executive director at Friends of Night People for a little over three years, was once a member of the corporate world. He said that he wanted a job with a more meaningful outcome, aside from just making a penny.

Joseph Heary, on the work of Friends of Night People:


 Loaves and Fishes Dining Room is another local organization that offers services to the homeless or people in need. Located at 875 Elmwood Ave., Loaves and Fishes offers a lunch service Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It also occasionally offers a few health services.
 The Niagara County Community College nursing program comes in during November and holds three workshops on topics such as hypertension, hypothermia, diabetes and alcoholism. Anne Harrington, program coordinator for Loaves and Fishes, said the workshops give the clients a more comfortable and non-threatening surrounding to discuss their health issues.
 “They really do get through to a lot of people. And I know this year, at least two people went right to the doctor after that. So if only those two people went, it’s still a good thing,” said Harrington.
 Loaves and Fishes also held a program in 2009 that offered health insurance to people in need. It teamed up with Univera Healthcare and Medicaid to try to get as many people as possible to sign up for the healthcare coverage, according to Harrington. They - GR also host occasional health clinics that offer flu shots, blood pressure screenings and general health information.
  “The staff that comes here is doing it really out of their compassion for mankind, and fellow human beings who are in need of some assistance,” Heary said.
Loaves and Fishes and Friends of Night People both offer a warm shelter, warm food, and health screenings to treat and prevent sickness.

Edited by Heidi Friend