Dr. Westcott was quite an interesting character.  As Mayor of Syracuse, he welcomed President Lincoln to the city.  He was also an investor in the ill fated “Cardiff Giant” hoax.

Read the full article.

On Wednesday, June 8, 2011, Governor Cuomo signed an important piece of legislation into law that will improve public health and safety of New Yorkers statewide.

Beginning January 1, 2012, all dental offices in New York State will be required to have Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) on-site.Dentists in New York are already required to be trained to use these devices. AED’s save lives and now over 10,000 dental offices across the State will have them available. NYSDA’s support of AEDs in dental offices is a result of the indisputable evidence that they greatly improve outcomes for people experiencing cardiac arrest.

While dental offices are not a site where cardiac arrest is likely to occur, as many people frequent dental offices, the availability of an AED provides additional protection for those in a dental office who may experience an unanticipated cardiac event, regardless of the cause.

The importance of early defibrillation cannot be over-emphasized:

• The prognosis of pre-hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation is dependent on the first few minutes following the arrest
• The availability and use of AEDs has resulted in a marked increase in the effectiveness of pre-hospital CPR in saving lives
• It is estimated that an individual’s chances for survival decreases by 10% for each minute that defibrillation is delayed
• Early defibrillation has been shown to be more effective than CPR alone
• The national average for survival after sudden cardiac arrest is 5-6% without immediate defibrillation
• In metropolitan areas, the survival rates are actually lower, 1-2%, leading many communities to equip first responders with AEDs
• Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) programs have raised survival rates up to 60%

List of AED providers

Frequently Asked Questions

 

New York State Dental Association
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Medicaid Fee Schedule Changes

Medicaid Fee Update

Wednesday, May 18, 2011, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) announced the implementation date for its new fee-for-service dental fee schedules. Click here for a pdf of the new fee schedule.

• Claims submitted after May 15, 2011 will be reimbursed in accordance with the new fee schedule.
• The new schedules and accompanying policy changes are effective for all claims for dental treatment provided in dental offices and in Article 28 facilities, respectively.

As a result of NYSDA’s discussions with DOH, fees for treatment provided in Article 28 facilities were not cut by 35 percent across the board. Instead fees for individual procedures will be reimbursed at not less than 65 percent, or more than 100 percent of the office-based fee-for-service fee schedule. NYSDA now anticipates that additional increases in payments for Article 28-based treatment services may be forthcoming.

The most significant policy changes include the frequency with which reimbursement will be made for complete and partial dentures from four to eight years. The new fees do not include changes to the fees for orthodontic or pediatric treatment.

In summary, NYSDA continues to oppose any reductions in Medicaid payments to dentists which would negatively affect patient access to needed care. NYSDA persists in strongly advocating for restoration of the funds cut from the dental Medicaid program. Further, NYSDA has advised DOH that there are places where significant savings can be realized without reductions in the already inadequate fee schedule, advocating for an overhaul of the program’s administrative system that would result in immediate and additional significant savings without jeopardizing access and provider participation.
Effective April 1, 2011

Medicaid will continue to allow dentists treating patients in Article 28 facilities in operating rooms and emergency departments to submit claims for treatment services at a reduced payment level. Services may be billed at 65% of the current Medicaid dental fee-for-service fee schedule. The Department does not plan to reduce the total level of this reimbursement when the fee-for-service schedule is restructured on May 1st – although the facility based payment may undergo some realignment at that time.

Dentists providing service in the ER or in Ambulatory Surgery can bill Medicaid $87.00 for D9420 [hospital visit] for each patient served. This code can also be billed for inpatient surgery. Other specific treatment codes will be reimbursed at 65% of the current Medicaid dental fee schedule.

Dentists cannot bill the fee schedule for hospital or free-standing clinic services except orthodonture.

 

March 2011 – New York State Medicaid Update

• Billing assistance/Claims: eMedNY Call Center (800) 343-9000
• Article 28 Clinic/APG Reimbursement: E-mail: apg@health.state.ny.us or call (518) 473-2160

Amaus Dental Services of Syracuse New York has won the prestigious New York State Dental Association’s Hallmarks of Excellence Award for Community Service.

About Amaus:

Amaus Dental Services opened with one small room and portable or used dental equipment in August 2014. Its mission then and now was to provide dental care free of charge to the homeless, unemployed and uninsured of Central New York. The scope of care includes exams, x-rays, hygiene, direct restorations and most extractions (excluding impactions). The all- volunteer staff has expanded from one dentist to seven and from one hygienist to five. The number of patients treated has increased from 48 in 2014, to 712 in 2018. The value of care provided since 2014 is over $400,000.

Since 2014, the staff has included volunteer dentists, hygienists, assistants and front office personnel.  It has even included five pre-dental students; all young women, who were later accepted into dental school.  Amaus welcomes any offer of help or support to continue their mission and expand the amount of care they can provide in Central New York!

For more info on Amaus:  https://www.amausdentalservices.com/free-dental-clinic

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About the Award:

The NYSDA Hallmarks of Excellence Award recognizes outstanding local district programs in the areas of membership enhancement, education/information, community service, new dentist outreach, and legislative achievement.  The award and the plaque will be presented to Dr. David Dasher, Dental Director, Amaus Dental Services, at the NYSDA House of Delegates in June.

For more info on NYSDA:  https://www.nysdental.org/

The new deadline for the enforcement of the Part D Prescriber Enrollment is February 1, 2017. The deadline was extended to be certain that the necessary provisions are in place to minimize potential disruption of beneficiaries’ access to needed Part D medications.

This additional time will allow for prescribers to have adequate time to complete their enrollment. Documentation can be found here.

Additional information can be found on our website under FAQs and Medicare by clicking here.

Attendees for Dr. Harold Crossley’s sought-after course on street drugs were met with a surprise visit from Congressman John Katko.  Mr. Katko spoke about his commitment and efforts in Congress to end the opioid epidemic in our community. His comments echoed those of Dr. Crossley, and the two seemed to hit it off well.  Dr. Crossley even gave the congressman an honorary ADA “medal” he proudly wore for the rest of his visit.  After questions were fielded from the audience, Rep. Katko was escorted upstairs to the exhibit hall to see the exhibits and take some photos with leadership on hand.

 

6NYCRR Subpart 374-4, Standards for the Management of Elemental Mercury and Dental Amalgam Wastes at Dental Facilities (effective May 12, 2006) requires dental facilities to install dental amalgam separators; recycle dental amalgam waste and elemental mercury; and maintain records on the installed separator and recycled dental amalgam wastes.

Onondaga County WEP is in the process of inspecting dental offices and have found most operating and maintaining separators very well.  However, very few offices were following the law exactly to the letter.  As a result, a few areas of improvement were pointed out.

• Filters must be changed when full.  (Part 374-4.2 (a)(5)).
• Dentists must have amalgam waste storage containers. (Part 374-4.2 (b)). Dentists must comply with the record keeping requirements. (Part 374-4.2 (c) and (d)).
• Dentists must abide by the prohibitions contained in Part 374-4.2 (e).

More Information:

OCWA Cover Letter

Mercury Recycling for Dentists FAQs

Dental Waste Management Environmental Conservation Law

At it’s Spring meeting on May 2, 2019, the Fifth District Dental Society’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to endorse Environmental Solutions of America (ESA), a medical waste management company.  The agreement went into effect on June 4, 2019.

After hearing from Michael Moore, President of ESA at the meeting, and listening to comments from board members who have used ESA, it was decided to endorse the company.  Some of the highlights and reasons for endorsement:

• local company
• fully insured, and permitted by NYS DEC and DOT
• no contracts (cancel at any time, with no penalties)
• no hassle (annual plans are cost efficient, no extra charges for additional pickups)
• steam sterilization (RMW steam sterilized and shredded to size of a quarter)
• environmentally friendly (100% of waste turned into renewable energy, keeping plastic out of landfills)
• special annual pricing exclusive to members of the Fifth District (again…no contracts)

For more information or to get a free quote:

• call: 315-455-2629
• website: https://www.esa-rmw.com/
• email: mmoore.esa.rmw@gmail.com