A rendering of the planned Nappi Longevity Institute at Upstate Medical University. The facility will be built across East Adams Street from the Upstate Cancer Center.
Sam Nappi
The Nappi Longevity Institute at Upstate Medical University — an eight-floor, 360,000-square-foot health and wellness complex — will be built at East Adams and Almond streets, across from the Upstate Cancer Center in Syracuse.
It will house services related to brain health and neurosciences, including a focus on Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, an array of wellness services will be available there under one roof, following the philosophy that preventive health and promotion of good health can help reduce hospitalizations and emergency treatment.
Carol Nappi
Upstate received a $70.6 million grant as part of the Capital Restructuring Financing Program and Essential Health Care Provider Support Program, and an additional $75 million was allocated by the state.
Sam and Carol Nappi of Jamesville donated $8 million that will support its creation and special focus. It’s the largest gift ever received by the Upstate Foundation. Construction is slated to begin this year.
Laughing gas eases childbirth pain
Upstate University Hospital added another option for mothers-to-be seeking relief from the pain of childbirth. Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is now available at the Family Birth Center.
Nitrous oxide is making a comeback in the United States, after being overshadowed by the epidural, which uses a spinal injection to block pain. The patient breathes in the nitrous oxide through a mask that she holds.
When used for labor, the mixture is half nitrous oxide and half oxygen, for a less potent mixture than what is typically used for dental procedures. Nitrous oxide has been used in Europe for years with safe outcomes for mother and child.
Saliva samples reveal concussion information
Upstate researchers, in collaboration with scientists from Penn State University, have identified a novel and accurate biomarker – from a sample of saliva — that both identifies concussion in children and predicts the length of recovery.
Results of the groundbreaking research, sponsored by Quadrant Biosciences Inc., were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2017 Meeting. The work focuses on small non-coding nucleic acid molecules in the body called microRNA.
Related research also looks at diagnosing autism through microRNA analysis from saliva samples.
Cancer center becomes part of research group
The Upstate Cancer Center joined the American Association of Cancer Institutes, which comprises 97 leading cancer research centers in North America.
This group of cancer centers help one another by sharing best practices, providing a forum for addressing common challenges and educating policy makers about the important role cancer centers play in advancing cancer discovery.
More than 2,000 new patients seek care at the Upstate Cancer Center each year, resulting in 45,000 visits to the downtown campus and additional visits to satellite locations. More than 90 board-certified physicians are part of the interdisciplinary cancer team at Upstate, and all are professors in Upstate’s College of Medicine.
Joint effort works on model village in Haiti
Upstate Medical University joins nine other SUNY campuses and five not-for-profit organizations to establish a sustainable village and learning community in Haiti that will provide resources and services for the town of Akaye.
Each campus in the collaboration was selected to bring expertise in a certain specialty to the community. Upstate, along with Stony Brook University and Nassau Community College, is part of the Health and Wellness working group.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded an $800,000 grant to this project, which will develop educational, economic and social programs and other needed services on 40 acres of land donated by a Nassau Community College professor emeritus.
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This article appears in the winter 2018 issue of Upstate Health magazine.