In case you missed it: Upstate news roundup
Medical delivery drones take flight
Upstate is using drones through the Medical Autonomous Machines Program, which also includes robots that are used in the hospitals, to ferry medications among its campuses.
The Upstate Outpatient Pharmacy receives medication orders, fills the prescription and secures it in a delivery bag that is placed inside the drone’s cargo hold. The drone flies about 30 miles per hour at 240 feet in the air, bypassing automobile traffic. When the drone arrives at a designated area outside the hospital, it lowers the delivery in a yellow bag that is retrieved by a technician.
It’s one example of the way drones can be used in health care, said hospital Chief Executive Officer Robert Corona, DO. “The hospital already delivers medications to a nearby residence for housing vulnerable individuals, and we look to expand this program, especially as technology advances.”
Upstate’s drone operator, Causey Aviation Unmanned, is only the fifth operator in the United States to obtain a specialized Part 135 certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration, which allows it to provide deliveries for health care.
New space opens for patient care across from hospital
More than a dozen medical services are offered within expansive clinical space at the new Nappi Wellness Institute, a five-story, almost 210,000-square-foot building across from Upstate University Hospital in downtown Syracuse. It’s named for Sam and Carol Nappi, whose $8 million gift to the Upstate Foundation is the largest monetary gift in the foundation’s history.
Cancer care comes to Verona
The Upstate Cancer Center at Verona. Photo by William MuellerThe Upstate Cancer Center at Verona is a new, 30,000-square-foot facility that offers expanded diagnostic and treatment services for all cancers.
Located at the intersection of routes 365 and 31, the center is on Oneida Indian Nation land, a first for the Oneidas and the state of New York. The site provides medical oncology, radiation therapy, surgical subspecialties, radiology, and lab and pharmacy services.
Respect for health care workers
Leaders from Upstate and other hospitals and health systems across Central New York launched a new collaborative effort called Respect and Heal, aimed at ensuring the safe and respectful treatment of health care workers.
The campaign comes at a time when incidents of violent, disrespectful and disruptive behavior aimed at health care workers is on the rise, even though the vast majority of patients and families are grateful for the care they receive.
Upstate University Hospital’s chief executive officer, Robert Corona, DO, says Respect and Heal is meant to ensure “that all staff will be treated with respect, that there will be zero tolerance of any threat and that any violence against frontline staff will be met with the full enforcement of the law.”
This article appears in the 2024 Upstate Health magazine, Issue 1.
