Snowmobilers contribute $860 million to New York state, according to new study

With all the singing birds and plush green of May, it seems an unusual time to discuss snowmobiling in New York state.

But a new study released this week indicates that snowmobiling delivers an economic impact of more than $860 million to the state annually. That’s according to an economic assessment by the SUNY Potsdam Institute for Applied Research.

The results of the assessment were designed to analyze what the sport of snowmobiling means to New York state’s businesses and municipalities. In comparison, a 2011 study done by the Iowa State University Department of Economics determined that snowmobiling has a $123 million economic impact in the state of Iowa.

“Our previous study shows that, even after adjusting for cost of living and other factors, snowmobiling has been a growing activity during the last decade with significant economic impact for New York state,” Dr. J. Patrick Turbett of SUNY Potsdam said.

Results of the economic assessment show that on average a New York state snowmobiler spends more than $3,000 individually every year for snowmobile-related activities. This figure does not include the $45 registration fee required for each sled every year.

Survey results broke down how much money snowmobilers spent on sleds, travel, insurance, maintenance, gasoline, clothing, service and repairs during the 2010-11 season. Distributed online and via mail, 5,916 surveys were completed. In comparison, the prior survey in 2003 returned 1,350 results.

Of course, the the 2010-11 season was much more active for snowmobilers than this past winter, which was one of the warmest on record and had miminal snowfall.

“Our Economic Impact Survey really brings into perspective how difficult this past winter was,” said Gary Broderick, president of the New York State Snowmobilers Association. “With lower than average snowfalls across the state, snowmobilers were not able to spend the amount of time on their sleds as usual and that directly leads to less money spent as well. Along our 10,500 miles of trails across New York state, there are a variety of restaurants, convenient stores, gas pumps and snowmobile dealers that rely on our sport as a source of revenue, as evident by our study.”

THE AMERICAN RED CROSS says that Mother’s Day is the perfect day to make a mother proud by giving blood to help strengthen the community blood supply.

Olean resident Beth Scanlon is living proof that blood donations can help save lives of real people in the community.

Ms. Scanlon is a teacher at Port Allegany (Pa.) Elementary School and an active mother of four children, but she wouldn’t be here today without the lifesaving help of blood collected by the American Red Cross.

“In 2009 during a very routine procedure, something went horribly wrong and I went from being a healthy active mom to someone who was fighting for her life in the ICU,” she said.

Shortly after she was released from the hospital, Ms. Scanlon realized something was wrong. She began experiencing acute abdominal pains and nausea and was rushed back to the hospital. It was then that doctors discovered that during her previous procedure bacteria had been inadvertently introduced into her bloodstream. Her body was in septic shock, which is potentially fatal.

She was admitted into the ICU, where she was treated with a combination of antibiotics and two plasma transfusions. She made a full recovery.

Today, Ms. Scanlon supports the Red Cross and thanks the volunteer blood donors who help patients in need.

“Many donors support the Red Cross through donating double red cells, but I refer to the Red Cross as the ‘double miracle’ because after a full recovery I was blessed with having twins,” Mr. Scanlon said. “The Red Cross really does help save lives. I’m living proof of that.”

Donating blood is a profound act that helps save lives. Blood is an essential component for patient care in area hospitals, and the only source of blood is a healthy, volunteer blood donor. The Red Cross asks, this spring, show your support and give back to the Olean community by donating blood. Eligible volunteer blood donors are asked to call 1-800-733-2767 or visit redcrossblood.org to find a blood drive and to make appointments.

A READER wrote a letter to the editor last week expressing thanks for people who helped save her life in Tops two years ago. The husband of a local health-care professional then sent in a letter asserting that his wife had been the one to administer CPR to Toshiko Margeson of Olean.

Ms. Margeson came into the Times Herald offices concerned that she had somehow offended someone with her letter. In the end, she merely wanted to show her thanks for the aid she received after collapsing in the local grocery store.

“For Cristy Seigel (of Cuba), who administered CPR on me, rest assured you are in our hearts,” Ms. Margeson said. “You are a hero amongst all good Samaritans. Thank you for having been there to save my life.”

Article source: http://www.oleantimesherald.com/editorial/article_6f5e2a66-9aab-11e1-8e0d-001a4bcf887a.html

Dental Insurance, but No Dentists

WE know that too many Americans can’t afford primary care and end up in the emergency room with asthma or heart failure. But in the debate over health care coverage, less attention has been paid to the fact that too many Americans also end up in the emergency room with severe tooth abscesses that keep them from eating or infections that can travel from decayed teeth to the brain and, if untreated, kill.

More than 830,000 visits to emergency rooms nationwide in 2009 were for preventable dental problems. In my state of Georgia, visits to the E.R. for oral health problems cost more than $23 million in 2007. According to more recent data from Florida, the bill exceeded $88 million. And dental disease is the No. 1 chronic childhood disease, sending more children in search of medical treatment than asthma. In a nation obsessed with high-tech medicine, people are not getting preventive care for something as simple as tooth decay.

It’s easy to understand why. Close to 50 million Americans live in rural or poor areas where dentists do not practice. Most dentists do not accept Medicaid patients. And the shortage of dentists is going to get only worse: by 2014, under the Affordable Care Act, 5.3 million more children will be entitled to dental benefits from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Little is being done — by the dental profession or by the federal or state governments — to prepare for it.

During the physician shortage of the middle of the last century, the federal government began creating about 50 new medical schools, doubling the number of graduating doctors. Today our government can and should train more dentists to address the long-term problem. But there is no guarantee that the new recruits would practice in underserved areas, and we need practitioners now.

A more immediate solution is to train dental therapists who can provide preventive care and routine procedures like sealants, fillings and simple extractions outside the confines of a traditional dentist’s office. Dental therapists are common worldwide, and yet in the United States they practice only in Alaska and Minnesota, where state law allows it. Legislation is pending in five more states.

The dental profession has resisted efforts to allow midlevel providers to deliver this kind of care, and the government has so far failed to push for the change. It must do so now. The federal government could encourage states to pass laws allowing these providers to practice by calling for demonstration projects proving their worth.

The best model for how this system can work is found in remote Alaska Native villages, many accessible only by plane, snowmobile or dogsled, where high school seniors once graduated with full sets of dentures. Unable to recruit dentists to these areas, Alaska has been training its own dental therapists.

When Alaska began the project in 2003, there were no training programs in the country, so the state first sent students to New Zealand, which had a rigorous training program for dental therapists. These therapists now travel to small clinics and schools, often carrying their equipment with them. They consult with a supervising dentist from the region but do most procedures themselves. Many were raised in the communities in which they now work, so they understand the culture, children trust them and they have quickly become local health care leaders. Thanks to the program, around 35,000 people now live in communities where there is regular access to dental care.

We have two years to prepare before millions of children will be entitled to access to dental care, and Alaska shows us the way forward. Access means more than having an insurance card; it means having professionals available to provide care. Public officials should foster the creation of these midlevel providers — and dentists should embrace the opportunity to broaden the profession so they can expand services to those in need.

Louis W. Sullivan, a physician, was the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from 1989 to 1993.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/opinion/dental-insurance-but-no-dentists.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Vt., Maine, NH open their snowmobile trails

Any snowmobile legally registered in one of the participating states is allowed on trails in all three from Friday through Sunday. All other host state regulations apply, including speed limits, youth laws and Vermont’s mandatory liability insurance.

Article source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2012/01/27/vt_maine_nh_open_their_snowmobile_trails