Latest news with #DonnaLupardo
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New York state legislature passes bills in support of EMS: How they will boost services
New York State Assemblymembers are continuing to push legislative changes to address challenges facing Emergency Medical Service providers across the state. State Assemblymembers Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) and Joe Angelino (R-Norwich) joined Broome County EMS Coordinator Dave Tinklepaugh at a press conference on July 2 to address the status of several bills meant to support EMS providers statewide. Following the recently concluded legislative session, Lupardo announced three bills included in the "#RescueEMS" legislative package passed both houses of the state legislature. The first bill, she said, removes expenditures for EMS from the limit on real property tax levies issued by local governments, allowing municipalities to fund EMS outside of the tax cap. "Giving municipalities the option to invest more in EMS, without concern for the tax cap, will be a real game-changer for many," said Lupardo. The second bill initially designated general ambulance services as an essential service, an issue that first arose in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. An amended version of the bill passed without that provision, but it does require every municipality to conduct "an exhaustive planning process" related to emergency medical system plans. The process will require counties, cities, towns and villages to work together to assess current service levels, identify existing service gaps, and estimate costs for providing such services. The third and final bill that was passed this legislative session requires the Thruway Authority to issue emergency services permits to ambulance and fire vehicles, making them exempt from roadway tolls. "EMS is something that we view as essential, that we view as an important part of the social safety net, something that constituents rely on," Lupardo said. The legislative package awaits the signature of Gov. Kathy Hochul to become law. Previously, the "Direct Pay Bill," which was co-sponsored by Lupardo, was passed in December 2023 to allow providers to be paid directly by insurance companies for transporting out-of-network patients. In September 2024, two other bills were signed into law. The first requires Medicaid reimbursement for ambulance services when a patient is treated at the scene or when they are transported to a non-hospital healthcare setting. The second bill allowed EMS services to store and distribute blood and administer transfusions, allowing for a wider range of options for on-scene treatment. Looking forward, one of the biggest items that Lupardo said she would like to see pass is an increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rate. "Medicaid is under scrutiny right now and we're worried about cuts, but at the same time they are not getting paid what the service is costing them," she said. "That's our ultimate goal." Another pressing issue, according to Angelino, has been the slow decline of access to EMS, especially in rural areas. There has been a decrease in volunteer EMS and, as commercial ambulances continue to provide services closer to cities, rural communities don't have the same access. "If you just go up the road, 25 or 30 miles, it's very rural, very distant to the nearest hospital and commercial providers won't work out there," he said. More: Tunnel to Towers Foundation pays off mortgage of fallen Binghamton firefighter JR Gaudet With this new bill, Angelino said municipalities can now decide whether EMS is an essential service in their respective community. If they decide it is, they can exceed the 2% tax cap in order to enhance EMS coverage in rural areas. Tinklepaugh said the Broome County dispatch center received 36,000 calls for EMS coverage in 2024. As of July 1, the dispatch center has received 18,000 calls in 2025. "When we talk about the limitations within our system right now and why the legislation is so very important for us, for rescuing EMS, we're finding increased costs, we're finding stagnant insurance rates and we have less and less staff to be able to treat the communities that we serve with an increased call volume," he said. "That certainly is coming to a breaking point for us." In some areas, Tinklepaugh said, there are delays up to 30 minutes for ambulance services that need to go from their own district to neighboring districts as part of a mutual aid plan. Tinklepaugh said the end goal is making EMS an essential service, but the bills that were just passed are a step in the right direction. "I'm hoping that the agencies can truly move this forward and we can continue to provide the coverage that we have and actually enhance it and make it so needs are met for our community," he said. This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: New York state legislature passes bills supporting EMS providers
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Upstate Democrats oppose cow limit for dairy farms
(WIVT/WBGH) – Some Upstate Democrats in the New York State Assembly are pushing back on a proposal that would limit the size of dairy farms. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, who is chair of the Agriculture Committee, and three of her Democratic colleagues issued a news release this week in opposition to a proposal by downstate Democrats to end the authorization of dairy farms with more than 700 milking cows. Lupardo says she was disappointed that the bill would be crafted without consulting anyone in the dairy industry. She also says dairy farmers are some of the best stewards of the land that she knows. Lupardo added that she doesn't foresee the bill going anywhere. Eucharistic Procession makes way through Binghamton Celebrate Pride Month with an evening of laughter at Schorr Family Firehouse Stage Roosevelt reflects on the legacy of Principal Dave Chilson Mercy House prepares for $2.1 million expansion Upstate Democrats oppose cow limit for dairy farms Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Residents take home a piece of history as IBM buildings are demolished
ENDICOTT, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Endicott residents had a chance to take home a piece of IBM history on Wednesday. The Village hosted Old Building Group Brick Day. A pile of bricks was made available for people to take as souvenirs. They came from the demolition of the former IBM factory buildings at the corner of North Street and McKinley Avenue. Big Blue was founded in Endicott and was a fixture of the local community for nearly 100 years, employing as many as 20,000 workers at one time. David Brennan, who works for Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, says the brick is a great memento of our area's rich history of innovation. 'IBM is kind of what built Endicott. It is an integral part of our history, and to have a piece of what it was and a reminder of where it's going to go next is both optimistic and sentimental. It is just a good thing to have,' said Brennan. While IBM no longer has physical offices in our area, it still has some remote work employees. Demolition of the old factory buildings is nearing completion. Sneaker Drive honors the life of Noah Farrelly Residents take home a piece of history as IBM buildings are demolished Riley protecting Lisle dairy farmer betrayed by government Musicians from around the world celebrate Ukraine with free concert Rapist who killed Binghamton man in hit and run crash sentenced to prison Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
STIC calls out NYS Health Department for CDPAP problems
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Disability advocates are taking little solace in saying 'I told you so' as the New York State Health Department has badly missed its target for transitioning home care workers and recipients. State Senator Lea Webb held a news conference on Monday at the Southern Tier Independence Center, or STIC, to call out the DOH for botching the CDPAP transition to a single financial intermediary. For months, STIC and others had warned that forcing hundreds of thousands of consumers and their care givers to make the complicated switch in just three months would leave vulnerable people without the care they need. The health department admitted on Monday that at least one fifth of the state's 250,000 consumers haven't signed up with the new FI known as PPL. But even those numbers are misleading because DOH lumps those who have initiated the process in with those who have completed it. 'Because of the lack of coordination, the Senator mentioned the lack of transparency, this has caused needless stress for care recipients and home care workers alike. There was a lot of misinformation at the beginning, there was a lot of fear, a lot of confusion,' said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. Joining STIC was joined by Finger Lakes Independence Center in Ithaca and Access to Independence in Cortland. All three described horror stories of dropped calls, long wait times, an ineffective online portal and a lack of call-backs. In the 11th hour, DOH announced a month-long grace period in which care givers could get paid for April retroactively if they register by the end of the month. 'Ultimately, when they have to make the difficult decision whether or not to continue to work without pay, and support their consumers, or find work elsewhere and leave the workforce, that is going to leave people with disabilities high and dry. They're going to end up in emergency rooms, hospitalized, institutionalized, or honestly worse,' said STIC Executive Director Jennifer Watson. In its news release, DOH failed to take accountability for the crisis and once again sought to blame some of the former fiscal intermediaries for spreading false information that confused consumers. NYS Budget Extender issued Stadium 138 takes on Binghamton Restaurant Week STIC calls out NYS Health Department for CDPAP problems Local law enforcement express support for Hochul's proposal to loosen discovery reforms Marijuana packaging plant could be coming to Broome County Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local climate change activists concerned over federal cuts
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – Environmental activists are concerned about how federal cuts could impact efforts to combat climate change, to build out the clean energy jobs economy and the future of a battery research and manufacturing hub in Greater Binghamton. Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and State Senator Lea Webb joined the national organization Climate Action Campaign for a news conference in Binghamton yesterday. Lupardo and Webb say federal investments and tax incentives have helped create good paying jobs in manufacturing related to clean energy. They specifically cited the money that has helped to create the New Energy New York initiative that is working to build out a lithium-ion battery ecosystem in our area. Adam Flint, Director of Clean Energy Programs at the Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow says the cuts are short-sighted. 'We need the demand to increase by building out the market, building out batteries and, as has been said, for this country to take back in many ways technologies that we initiated many decades ago and unfortunately ceded to China and other places,' said Flint. Flint says his organization had been hoping to receive a $450,000 grant from the EPA to launch a program educating kids in K-12 schools about careers in the clean energy sector, but that funding has been put on hold. Binghamton veteran receives new roof from The Impact Project Tri-Cities Opera celebrates 75 years with Broadway tribute Super Cooper continues to save the day at 6th annual Cooperpalooza Lenten tradition returns to Saint Michael's Rec Center New York sues U.S. Education Department over $600m in cuts as feds slash $400m more for Columbia University Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
