Surrounded by the natural beauty of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, enjoy musical guidance from composer and concert pianist Murray Hidary.
On July 30th, people from all over the five boroughs will be taking a Silenthike. The event is a concept by MindTravel – an immersive music and meditation experience company created by the aforementioned Murray Hidary. During the SilentHike session, each participant will wear wireless headphones and hike through the garden with soothing music and thoughtful commentary from Hidary.
Photos provided by MindTravel
Hidary’s talents don’t simply include musical composition, he also delivers compelling Tedx Talks and is a former tech guru with a passion for physics. He draws on his expertise across all these disciplines to create his MindTravel concept. As a child, he developed a deep love for music and discovered the power of music when it was the only thing that helped him heal after the tragic loss of his sister in a motorcycle accident.
Silenthikes and Silentwalks are a form of meditation in motion, providing a relaxing and thoughtful experience for all participants. While typical meditation is an isolated retreat, Silenthikes look to expand that concept and develop a sense of being present in the world around us.
All the components of the experience – music, words, silence, visual cues – are meant to work synergistically to help participants connect with their innermost thoughts and develop a deeper connection with the world around them.
To purchase tickets and participate in this unique and wonderful experience, visit this link.
Directed by Tony-Award-winner Pam MacKinnon, Toni Stone began Off-Broadway preview performances on May 23rd and officially opened on June 20th, but it has been in the works since 2013. The play is based on the book Curveball, The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone by Martha Ackmann and tells the story of the first woman to go pro in the Negro Leagues.
Photos from Roundabout Theatre.
West Virginia native Toni Stone never understood why she wasn’t allowed to play with the boys. She had the athletic ability, including a great arm, but the league only saw her gender and did not welcome her with open arms. The show follows the story of Stone going pro and preaches her lessons of staying in the game, playing hard, playing smart and playing your own game.
In the show, April Matthis is Toni Stone, and she was truly born to play the role. Matthis brought so much life to the historical figure and made the audience feel like they were getting to know the real Toni. Alongside her incredible cast fulfilling the roles of Stretch, Alberga, Spec, Woody and more, the Indianapolis Clowns had incredible humor and personality. Several members of the cast filled multiple rolls, which added quite a bit of humor.
Toni Stone’s world premiere is a part of the Roundabout Company’s New Play Initiative, which is a way for the company to develop and produce works by significant writers and artists. The Roundabout Underground program provides up-and-coming playwrights with plentiful artistic and financial resources to stage their debut productions in the City of Dreams.
The show’s creative team consists of s Camille A. Brown
(Choreography), Riccardo Hernandez (Sets), Allen Lee Hughes (Lights), Dede
Ayite (Costumes), Daniel Baker & Aaron Meicht (Original Music & Sound
Design).
Roundabout Theatre Company is a not-for-profit company that truly celebrates the power of theatre; they produce both familiar and less-known plays and musicals. Roundabout has made it one of their goals to discover and support talented playwrights and build an educational, easily accessible theatre experience.
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To purchase tickets for Toni Stone at the Laura
Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre,
visit the Roundabout Theatre Company
website or call 217-719-1300. Prices range from $79-$89.
Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or looking for an afternoon getaway, Manhattan By Sail is a premier experience for anyone who enjoys nautical exploration or feeling the sea breeze. Manhattan By Sail has two boats – Clipper City and Shearwater, which are both owned by Captain Thomas Berton.
On Wednesday, July 17th, Shearwater celebrated her 90th birthday with a Mayoral Proclamation Presentation and awed passengers with her historic significance. From a distance, the classic schooner yacht may not look her age, but she has been named a national landmark. Upon closer inspection, passengers are able to witness the detailed artistry that went into making this ship.
In its ninety years, the vessel has survived a great number of historical events. Shearwater was the last luxury yacht built in Maine, right before the Stock Market crash in 1929. In her time, she’s sailed the Pacific, won classic yacht races all around the globe and has survived multiple events and catastrophes in New York, including 9/11. One can truly tune-in with the history of the sailboat while onboard.
Immerse yourself in a beautiful, yet historic yachting experience. Sailing with the legendary classic schooner, Shearwater, whisps you along for smooth sailing and an intimate ride into the past. Passengers find themselves immersed in the Gatsby-era and intricate designs of the ship, and have the chance to explore the deck below, designed for stays during elegant and adventurous journeys. The history can be seen in the perfectly preserved design.
Sailing with Shearwater includes a complimentary drink service, along with observing the talented, knowledgeable boat crew. The engaging experience can only be described as refreshing and transformative. Find yourself relaxed as the Gilded-age sailboat and the captain cruise you along the modern-day New York skyline.
For more information on Manhattan By Sail and to book a cruise aboard Shearwater, check out their website.
We are currently nine days into arguably the most important month of the year, July, also known as National Ice Cream month. With National Ice Cream Day being just around the corner on July 21st, it’s only right that we express our love for My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream.
My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream is premium-quality ice cream that is wrapped in a silky, pillowy mochi/rice dough. They offer all of the classic ice cream flavors such as Cookies & Cream, Sweet Mango and Double Chocolate, and they even offer new, unusual Vanilla Blueberry, Dulce de Leche and S’mores.
Our personal favorite flavor is Vanilla Blueberry. The delectable ice cream-filled dough satisfied our team’s craving for something sweet that feels like summer. Each bite was as delicious as the last and provided a new layer of extravagant flavor to meet our tastebuds while still only providing us with 4% of our total daily fat.
If you’re hoping to cool off and indulge, look no further. My/Mo Mochi Ice Cream is available at many of your local retailers. Find your closest vendor here!
NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital is an essential part of the Downtown community. We talked with Dr. Adam Vella and Dr. Brenna Framer about the specializations of a pediatric doctor, the responsibilities at the hospital, the impact of toxicology and more.
Dr.
Vella is the Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian
Lower Manhattan Hospital, Director of Quality Assurance for the Division of
Pediatric Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical
Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, and Assistant
Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine (interim) at Weill Cornell Medicine.
What an impressive lineup of titles.
Brooklyn-born
Dr. Vella was initially inclined to becoming a doctor of veterinary medicine
because in high school he read a series of books by James Herriot about a
veterinarian with a large animal practice, and this piqued his interest. Once
he realized that veterinarians in New York focused on more cats and dogs than
horses and cows, he started looking for other ways to explore the medical
field, and he applied to be a premedical student. While he was studying the
basic premedical sciences, he realized that he always enjoyed working with
children and decided to rethink his plan.
Downtown:
What makes pediatric emergency medicine different from pediatric internists and
why did you choose this path?
Adam
Vella: Great question. I am the type of person that is happiest
when solving a problem. In this country, general pediatrics tends to focus more
on well-child care meaning anticipatory guidance about health and vaccinations,
and although I do practice a lot of what would be considered primary care while
seeing patients in the emergency department, I enjoy working under the pressure
of an emergency situation. For this reason, I decided to do an additional
three-year fellowship to specialize in pediatric emergency medicine, which was
one of the best decisions I have made thus far. I love the energy of emergency
medicine and the challenges of establishing relationships with patients and
families when they are most in need.
DT:
What are your responsibilities as director of pediatric emergency medicine at
NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital?
AV:
As director of the pediatric emergency department at NYP
Lower Manhattan Hospital I am responsible for the care of children in
emergencies. Whether the care goes well or not as expected I am ultimately
responsible. I recently started in this role in January of 2019 after directing
the pediatric emergency department at Mount Sinai for the past 10 years and am
happy to report that I have a fantastic team of physicians and nurses along
with amazing support staff. NYP Lower Manhattan Hospital is a unique place as
it truly is a community hospital functioning within the context of the largest
health care system in New York City. There is a small town feel to the place
where we all know each other well and work closely together but still have
access to the best specialists in New York. I think it is the best of both
worlds.
DT:
What does it mean to be the director of quality assurance for your department?
AV:
As I have matured as a practitioner I have been increasingly
interested in health care improvement. I served as editor-in-chief for a
publication titled Pediatric Emergency Medicine Practice for five years and
this really opened my eyes to the importance of practicing evidence-based
medicine and keeping abreast of the most recent literature related to any given
health care condition. When I decided to leave Mount Sinai for NYP Lower
Manhattan Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine, I wanted to craft a position
that would include this interest. Directing quality for my department means
that I am in the role of scrutinizing our practice to assure that we are
offering the highest quality evidence-based medical care to our patients. This
involves tracking measures of quality, which I have implemented, as well as
liaising with the quality leadership of NewYork-Presbyterian. I review cases to
make sure we have systems in place to protect our patients from errors in
practice. In this way, I am able to influence the care of all of the patients
seen rather than just those I have seen personally. In fact, I have already
implemented changes that will change the practice across the entire health care
system, which I think is an amazing opportunity.
DT:
How is it different to work in the pediatric department of a large hospital
than to work in a children’s hospital?
AV:
Another great question, and yes, it is different, I agree.
Really it is all about advocacy for our patients. At times within the context
of a large hospital, the pediatric-friendly focus can be lost in the system. At
NewYork-Presbyterian, we are constantly advocating for our youngest patients
within this large, complex hospital system. As pediatricians, we need to lead
the way in advocating for their interests so that they are not lost in the
shuffle. I trained at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in my fellowship and was
able to experience a hospital dedicated entirely to pediatric care. I strive to
deliver that same level of service to our patients here within the largest
health care system in New York.
DT:
What have you discovered about the city in your work move from Uptown to
Downtown?
AV: Well, to be honest, I work both uptown and downtown. I direct quality in pediatric emergency medicine for NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine on the Upper East Side, as well as at NYP Lower Manhattan Hospital, and working clinically at both sites. The downtown site is different in that is serves a very diverse population, including providing health care to a large Chinese population, as we are the closest hospital to Chinatown. In addition, I am seeing many tourists who are traveling from around the world to visit historic sites such as One World Trade, the 9/11 memorial and museum, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, the South Street Seaport and the Brooklyn Bridge. I have truly enjoyed providing health care to this group and showing them how nice New Yorkers can be! I am also amazed by the growing community of young families moving into the financial district as it develops along with amazing new schools which have moved into our neighborhood.
Following
our interview with Dr. Adam Vella, we also had the opportunity to ask Dr.
Brenna Farmer a few questions about her medical career and what she is
currently accomplishing through her knowledge of toxicology.
Dr.
Farmer is the assistant professor of clinical emergency medicine at Weill
Cornell Medicine and Site Director of the Emergency Department at NewYork-Presbyterian
Lower Manhattan Hospital. She has a natural inclination towards science and
enjoyed every medical field when she was training but found that her true
calling was emergency medicine because she wanted a specialty that allowed her
to see and help patients of all ages with a variety of different problems that
require different procedures. Now in her line of work, she is able to care for
patients with urgent care problems (lacerations, joint sprains, upper
respiratory tract infections, etc.) as well as emergency conditions (heart
attacks, bloodstream infections, strokes, or trauma) while still providing
treatment for many pediatric, obstetrical, gynecologic and surgical conditions.
Downtown:
How did studying toxicology help you in this path?
Brenna
Farmer: My Emergency Medicine training gives me an outstanding
understanding of the pathophysiology of many disease processes, allowing me to
treat critically ill or injured patients. Medical toxicology builds on my
understanding of pathophysiology, by giving me more knowledge on rare or
adverse drug side effects, expert training in the care of overdoses,
envenomations, and other poisons.
DT:
What are your responsibilities as director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian
Lower Manhattan Hospital?
BF:
I oversee the day-to-day operations of the Emergency
Department (ED), ensuring our physicians can continue to provide care to anyone
in need, no matter what time of day or night. I work closely with nursing and
other healthcare specialists, including primary care physicians, surgeons and
gynecologists, to ensure patients get the definitive care that they need for
whatever problem they have.
DT:
How did you get so involved with patient safety?
BF:
Patient safety and quality is a passion of mine as a
physician. My dad suffered tremendously after a medical error led to a long
hospitalization, followed by physical rehabilitation with multiple physical and
occupational therapy sessions. I realized that someone has to advocate for
patients when they themselves can’t, and medical processes need to be evaluated
to find areas for improvement. As necessary, new processes need to be developed
to make certain care is provided equitably, efficiently, and follows
evidenced-based, scientific practice.
DT:
What things do you make sure your department does in terms of patient safety?
BF:
Every day, we huddle as a team to discuss any challenges of
the day related to improvement processes, staffing, new processes or resources.
We also include a message about how to best provide patients with a first-class
experience. In addition, care teams are formed to maintain continuity of care
for all patients. In many instances, these teams consist of a nurse, physician,
patient care tech, and sometimes physician assistants. This structure allows us
to continuously communicate a patient’s plan of care, treatments we are
implementing, and if there are any concerns. Teams also spend time training and
preparing for how to handle rare emergencies should they occur. Clinicians in
the ED also routinely participate in educational sessions across all
disciplines (nursing, physicians, and technicians). This form of continuing
education helps staff perform procedures safely, with the correct equipment, at
the appropriate time and during the proper situation. Another priority for our
team is to know that when they raise a concern, that it will always be heard
and addressed.
DT:
How is NYP Lower Manhattan Hospital promoting patient safety, quality
improvement, and medication safety?
BF:
This is accomplished by continually working to improve
processes with focuses on safety, quality, and evidence-based care, and by also
working in teams across the healthcare continuum, to ensure patients are kept
front and center. In addition, teams review cases to assess for any concerns to
help provide the best possible care to patients. Our NewYork-Presbyterian
Department of Quality and Department of Pharmacy are always seeking ways to
improve and continue to offer patients the best care possible.
DT:
What can people do at home to practice medication safety?
BF:
Everyone needs to know what medications they take and why
they take them. Keep a list or set of pictures of medication bottles in your
phone that can be shown to any provider. The information on the bottles (name
of prescription, dose and instructions) is extremely helpful to all healthcare
providers because it helps clinicians keep patient health records current. I
also recommend storing medications out of reach of children, preferably locked
away, so that unintentional exposures do not happen. When grandparents come to
visit, store their medications out of reach from children and locked away. Do
not keep medications in your purse or pocket, they should always be out of
reach of those not prescribed to take the medication. Everyone needs to know
Poison Control’s phone number: 1-800-222-1222. Do not keep left-over narcotic
medications in your home. Take them to pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, or even
police stations, with disposal bins. This helps reduce illegal and uncontrolled
access to medications that could potentially harm others.
On Saturday, June 29th, the Downtown team attended Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center’s 13th Annual “GET WILD” Benefit. This exquisite gala was hosted at the beautiful and aromatic private garden of Joan and Bernard Carl in Southampton, New York with the sole intention of raising money and awareness for the organization.
This is Valentin(o/a). He/she was found on Valentine’s Day and is one of many rescue animals at EAWRC.
At the benefit, guests were met with live music, refreshing cocktails and wine, and a silent auction, which featured luxurious inventory from one-of-a-kind art and unbelievable getaways to a Waterdrinker gift card and a “bird lover” basket. The event also featured a few spokespersons that educated the crowd on success stories about critters that the organization has rescued and released back into the wild. Needless to say, all proceeds from the auction benefitted the organization and in turn, the surrounding wildlife.
Our Downtown team was honored to be part of the event and was excited to learn more about the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center. The center is Eastern Long Island’s only wildlife hospital; it is a non-profit organization with an aspiring mission. Their goal is “to preserve & protect our region’s native wildlife by providing rehabilitation services and education to raise public awareness of the factors that threaten its abundance and diversity”. The hospital is intended exclusively for wild animals, and unlike a veterinary hospital, many factors such as ambient noises or smells aren’t an issue for the wildlife that is recovering within.
The Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center is situated on a greenbelt of public land, totaling several thousand acres on the eastern end of Long Island. That being said, it is the perfect setting for a wildlife rehabilitation center. Every day, the facility is faced with the task of obtaining and treating wounded wild animals. Every animal holds a unique story, and though some of the team may be tempted to care the animals for longer, the center abides by strict rules of release.
Downtown had an amazing opportunity to talk to Amanda Daley from Evelyn Alexander about her role and experiences with the rescue center:
Downtown: What is your position at the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center and how many years have you been with the organization?
Amanda Daley: My title is Office Manager, but like all of us here, I wear many hats. With only a small staff, we have to operate as a team which means we jump in to help wherever help is needed. From working our fundraisers, to feeding animals, to laundry duty, we are all willing to contribute to the success of the Center. After almost 5 years here, I have learned so much more about, not only wildlife but also the effort that must be expended to sustain a non-profit.
DT: What is your favorite part about being involved with the rescue center?
AD: I am lucky in that I have so many “favorite” parts of my job. I love the comradery here and the sense of being part of a common goal. As far as specific tasks, my job includes running a wildlife rescue hotline that answers calls regarding wildlife 24/7. It is rewarding to know that I helped an animal in distress and often, a person in distress as well. I feel that I am making a contribution, however small, to the health of our planet.
DT: How much money was raised?
AD: “Get Wild” is our largest fundraiser and on average, it generates about a quarter of our annual budget. We operate with a yearly cost of approximately $775,000 at this point. Because we continue to grow (around 2000 animals admitted last year), our costs increase from year to year. We rely on this fundraiser to offset a large portion of our operating budget, and without the generosity of our supporters, we would not be able to help so many animals.
DT: Does Evelyn Alexander have any upcoming events that people should know about?
AD: Our next event is at Centro Trattoria and Bar in Hampton Bays on July 16th from 6-8pm. This is our 3rd year running the event with Centro and Beth Stern. Our presenting sponsor for the event is Daniel Gale, Sotheby’s International Realty. Ancona Levine Attorneys, Grand Gate Capital, Hampton Standard Kitchen, Market and Bar, Good Ground Animal Hospital and Despatch of Southampton also lend their support. Centro generously provides the hors d’ouevres and cocktails for the open bar, great prizes are donated for the auction and all of the proceeds go to the Center. We take the education birds and everyone has a blast. It’s a favorite of mine. Tickets are available through Eventbrite!
DT: What is the best way for people to help out?
AD:Donations! We do not receive government funding, so in order to maintain the hospital, support from the public is critical. Attending our events and spreading the word about the work we do helps us tremendously. We have a Wishlist on Amazon, and we run supply drives through our Facebook page and newsletter for things we use daily in the hospital like paper towels and bleach. Every contribution helps!
