The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Inside Press

White Plains Hospital Ranks Among the Top 5% Nationally for Safety

by

White Plains Hospital announced today that it has been awarded the Patient Safety Excellence Award™ and Outstanding Patient Experience Award™ from Healthgrades. The Hospital is one of only two in New York and 79 across the nation to receive top honors in both categories. With these awards, White Plains Hospital ranks among the top 5% in the nation for patient safety and among the top 15% for patient experience.

Healthgrades analyzed more than 4,500 institutions, with safety honors given to those who scored highly in 13 quality measures determined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Patient experience scores were based on patients’ perceptions of their hospital care, from cleanliness and noise levels to medication explanations and staff responsiveness. This is the 9th time White Plains Hospital has received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award.

“We are honored to continue to be consistently ranked among the top hospitals in the nation for quality care,” said Dr. Rafael E. Torres, Chief Quality Officer at White Plains Hospital. “Quality, safety, and the patient experience are at the center of everything we do and to receive these awards from Healthgrades highlights the efforts of our entire staff to deliver exceptional patient care.”

“We commend White Plains Hospital for going above and beyond to provide a best-in-class care experience for patients during their hospital stay,” said Brad Bowman, MD, chief medical officer and head of data sciences at Healthgrades. “White Plains Hospital’s dedication to superior patient care is particularly impressive given recent declines in patient satisfaction scores across the country. We look forward to their continued leadership and commitment to ensuring the health and wellness of all patients.”

In addition to the Patient Safety Excellence Award and Outstanding Patient Experience Award, earlier this year Healthgrades named White Plains Hospital one of “America’s Best Hospitals for Coronary Intervention.” A full list of White Plains Hospital’s accreditations and awards can be found here.

About White Plains Hospital  

White Plains Hospital is a proud member of the Montefiore Health System, serving as its tertiary hub of advanced care in the Hudson Valley. The Hospital is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. White Plains Hospital has outpatient medical facilities across Westchester, including multispecialty practices in Armonk, Hawthorne, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Rye Brook, Somers, Yonkers and Yorktown Heights; and Scarsdale Medical Group locations in Harrison and Scarsdale.

The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and in 2023, White Plains Hospital received another 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – the highest distinction offered by that federal agency for the second consecutive year. In addition, the Hospital received its third Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a distinction held by only two percent of hospitals in the country. In 2023, White Plains Hospital was awarded an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group for the 10th consecutive time.

https://www.wphospital.org/

Holocaust Survivors Join HHREC Speakers Bureau

by

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) of White Plains, NY has announced three Holocaust Survivors have joined their Speakers Bureau.

Dr. Victor Borden (lower right above) is the son of Holocaust survivors Rywen (Roman) and Mina Bornsztajin (Bronstein), who were born and raised in Lodz, Poland from prosperous families. Victor tells the chilling story of his parents’ journey that started in Poland, as they survived imprisonment in the Soviet Union and eventually immigrated to America, where their son enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a physician.

Ernest “Ernie” Brod (upper left) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1938. As a young boy he had to confront the grim realities of his father being among the first Jews killed in the early days of the Holocaust and seeing his brother sent off on a Kindertransport to England. A series of near miracles saved him and his mother from serving time in a concentration camp, and they made their way to Lisbon, Portugal before they finally immigrated to America in 1941. Ernie tells the story of how he and his family struggled to survive and eventually resettle in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn where he met his brother for the first time. A lawyer by training, he has spent the past 40 years as a corporate investigator and has been widely recognized as a leading expert in the field.

Charles Srebnik (upper right) is a Holocaust Survivor who was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1934 to Maria and Leon Srebnik. On May 10, 1940 German forces invaded Belgium, and by October the occupying military government began instituting anti-Jewish measures. His family went into hiding to escape the German onslaught by living at a cottage overlooking a lake near Genval.

Charles shares his story of being saved by a Catholic priest by hiding in orphanages to survive and eventually immigrating with his mother to America.

“We are very pleased to have such distinguished Holocaust Survivors who are witnesses to history join our Speakers Bureau and share their experiences with area high school and college students, and people who gather in our local communities.” said Millie Jasper, Executive Director, HHREC. “here stories will endure as they are of historical significance, and we need to hear them today more than ever.“

For more information about the HHREC Speakers Bureau, and to schedule an appearance at area schools, synagogues, churches and civic centers visit HHRECNY.org  

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in White Plains New York that serves schools, synagogues, colleges, churches and civic centers in Westchester and the greater Hudson Valley area. The HHREC Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. HHREC works with teachers and students to help schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, the HHREC has brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights violations to more than 3,000 teachers, and through them to thousands of students. For more information visit www.hhrecny.org call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org

 

Friends of White Plains Hospital’s Annual Luncheon to Feature Best-Selling Author Laura Schroff

by

Laura Schroff, best-selling author of An Invisible Thread, will be the featured speaker at The Friends of White Plains Hospital’s annual luncheon, to be held on April 3 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Fenway Golf Club, located at 384 Old Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale.A former advertising sales executive who worked at several major media companies and publications, including Time Inc. and People, Ms. Schroff’s book, An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny, became a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. The theme of her address at the Friends’ luncheon is “How the Power of Friendship Can Make a Difference.”

Throughout the year, the Friends of White Plains Hospital are instrumental in reinforcing the Hospital’s mission through volunteer work, fundraising and outreach around the Hospital’s life-saving programs and initiatives. Annual events of the Friends of White Plains Hospital include the spring luncheon, G3 – Girls Got Game, and the Hospital’s Fall Gala.

Individual tickets for the event are $150. For more information on ticket pricing and sponsorships, click here, call 914-681-2264 or email plaine@wphospital.org.

About White Plains Hospital  

White Plains Hospital is a proud member of the Montefiore Health System, serving as its tertiary hub of advanced care in the Hudson Valley. The Hospital is a 292-bed not-for-profit health care organization with the primary mission of providing exceptional acute and preventive medical care to all people who live in, work in or visit Westchester County and its surrounding areas. White Plains Hospital has outpatient medical facilities across Westchester, including multispecialty practices in Armonk, Hawthorne, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Rye Brook, Somers, Yonkers and Yorktown Heights; and Scarsdale Medical Group locations in Harrison and Scarsdale.

The Hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission and in 2023, White Plains Hospital received another 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) – the highest distinction offered by that federal agency for the second consecutive year. In addition, the Hospital received its third Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a distinction held by only two percent of hospitals in the country. White Plains Hospital has consistently received the Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades®, and in 2023 was awarded an “A” Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group for the 10th consecutive time.

News Courtesy of White Plains Hospital sources.

https://www.wphospital.org/

 

Local Authors Publish Book about the Holocaust

by

THE AUTHORS: Top row (L-R): Debby Ziering, Gloria Lazar, Melanie Roher, Dennis Schoen, Michelle Griffenberg, Ziporah Janowski, Pat Gaston, Joan Poulin. Bottom row (L-R): Helen Rubel, Vivian Pronin, Tina Goldman,* Julie Lowy,* Mónica Mandell.    **These two participants continue to research and develop their stories. Their narratives do not appear in the book.

A group of local second-generation Holocaust survivors have written and published a book documenting their families’ experiences during World War II. Testaments of Courage in the Holocaust is a compilation of true stories told by the authors that describes the courage and resilience of their family members who escaped the Nazis’ final solution.

“Putting this book together was a labor of love for me – a gift to the dear friends I met when I joined a Storykeeping Workshop sponsored by the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center.” said Melanie Roher, one of the authors of the book. “When I listened to everyone’s stories during the class, I wanted to remember them, and not lose them over time. It has been a joy to work with each of my classmates, whose parents’ stories now live on these pages.”

L-R: Hella, Oma, Opa, Lore and Ilse Neuhaus

Roher lives in White Plains, NY, and she is a member of the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) GenerationsForward Speakers Bureau, a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors who appear at area schools, synagogues, churches, and other community events. HHREC Memory Keepers are trained speakers who tell their family’s story from their next generation perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories of witness.

Other local authors whose stories appear in the book include Pat Gaston (Irvington), Tina Goldman (Ossining), Michelle Griffenberg (Tarrytown), Ziporah Janowski (Croton on the Hudson), Gloria Lazar (Tarrytown), Joan Poulin (Somers), Vivian Pronin (Hastings-on-Hudson) Helen Rubel (Irvington), Dennis Schoen (Fairlawn, NJ), and Debby Ziering (Greenwich, CT.)

Werner Satz’s German passport issued in 1938.

In the book Forward written by Lazar, she describes her experience working with fellow authors. “The personal histories in this book reflect months and years of research and reflection by a group of second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors, and in one case, a child Holocaust survivor. During the winter and spring of 2019 we met in a workshop each week and engaged in the arduous process of dissecting and writing our family histories. We searched through letters, diaries, photographs, audio, and video tapes – every form of record – to uncover the struggle, displacement and survival of our family members who emigrated to the United States from almost every country in Europe where Jews were hunted by the Nazis. They are remembered by daughters, sons and grandchildren determined to document the courage of these brave individuals who escaped the Nazis’ final solution. The difficult journeys taken by our families reflect the ultimate triumph of the human spirit against the inhumane efforts by the Nazis to eliminate the Jews of Europe. We honor these brave men and women whose DNA we possess and whose spirit we hope to illuminate in our stories.“

The book is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Testaments-Courage-Holocaust-Children-Survivors/dp/B0C87SSX3L and is available for teachers to utilize in their classrooms from the HHREC Anna & Nicholas Elefant Library in White Plains.

Five contributors to the book are scheduled to appear on the HHREC Memory Keeper Story Hour Wednesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. For more information about HHREC GenerationsForward Memory Keepers speakers and other education programs, events and resources offered by HHREC, visit HHRECNY.org. 

Meier Janowski’s mother Chana and her brother (white beard) sitting at the head of the table, with their extended family before the war.

 

News & Photos Courtesy of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center

Skyla Schreter Dance Performance Benefit Coming to Chappaqua Performing Arts Center on March 22

by

Friday March 22nd at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center

480 N Bedford Ave, Chappaqua NY 10514

8pm GA | 7pm VIP

Skyla Schreter Dance is a genre-defying dance company led by Choreographer and Artistic Director Skyla Schreter. Born and raised in Chappaqua, NY, Skyla was invited to the world-renowned School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of 9. Following years of performances with New York City Ballet before the age of 17, Skyla went on to join the Boston Ballet, and then to join the internationally acclaimed San Francisco Ballet. Skyla’s choreography has been commissioned and presented by prestigious New York festivals such as the Hudson Valley Dance Festival and the Fire Island Dance Festival, events produced by Dancers Responding to AIDS, a program of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids. Skyla has also received national recognition for her dance films, which she has produced, directed and choreographed. She is a 2024 grant recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts Award for Choreography and has been selected for the New York State Danceforce Choreographer’s Initiative Award for 2024. Skyla is also a Professor of Dance at Vassar College.

On March 22, 2024 the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center in Chappaqua, NY will be hosting a fundraising event to benefit Skyla Schreter Dance, raising funds to support the creation and presentation of the company’s upcoming new works – to be performed throughout the Hudson Valley and NYC. The Skyla Schreter Dance Performance Benefit is a rare opportunity to see world-class professional dance in Westchester, and to be a vital part of supporting an innovative, female choreographer-led dance company as they continue their ascent with their uniquely ground-breaking performances. 

The Benefit will include a World Premiere performance of Skyla Schreter’s newest dance piece, “The Flock” – never before presented publicly. Following the performance will be a moderated artist panel with the dancers and collaborating artists of Skyla Schreter Dance. There will be a cash bar and a Silent Auction featuring original paintings by Skyla Schreter Dance collaborating artists Michelle Silver and Aaron Sanders, exclusively available for bidding at the Performance Benefit.

Tickets available at: https://ssdbenefit.bpt.me

                   ~ VIP $100 | GA $60 ~

Press contact: skylaschreterdance@gmail.com

Learn More at skylaschreterdance.com/benefit, and on Instagram @skylaschreter.dance

 

News & Photos Courtesy of Skyla Schreter Dance