July 31st, 2009
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There are men in my life—and life in my men!”
--The indomitable Mae West
ADDITIONAL QUOTE OF THE WEEK…
”I am the toast of two continents: Greenland and Antarctica.”
--The equally indomitable Dorothy Parker
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MEETING OPENING: Paul Rosen, substituting for our tardy, newly-elected President,
opened our weekly meeting with a display of great brio and gusto
..
SALUTE TO OUR FLAG, PATRIOTIC ANTHEM, AND PRAYER: The Salute to Our Flag was led by an excited Sy Yuter, the patriotic song by an equally ebullient Peter Garth, and this portion of our proceedings was concluded with a stirring appeal for Divine Guidance from the Rt. Reverend John Herzog.
PRESIDENT’S REMARKS: As mentioned before, inasmuch as our Chapter President was delayed on business, the indefatigable Rod Ertischek called for Happy Thoughts and Significant Community News. The response was overwhelming.
HAPPY THOUGHTS AND ANNOUCEMENT OF COMMUNITY NEWS: Eleanor Yuter happily announced that she has discontinued a debilitating drug, Paul Rosen that a local restaurant’s troubles with Briarcliff’s Village Board had flamed up anew and went on to inform us that Dunkin’ Donuts had opened a store located between UPS and Squire’s “All You Can Eat For A Reasonable Sum” Restaurant. Sy Yuter bounced back to remind us to bring food to next week’s meeting for the Food Pantry drive. Frances Chu reminded us to look at our new blog site, Dr. Ken-Ichi announced that he was happy to be with us, as did our guest speaker. Other announcements of events were made, but due to a racket made by the unruly table next to ours, I could not make them out.
NEXT WEEK’S SPEAKER: We will learn together the identity of next week’s speaker.
But you can be sure that he or she will be outstanding.
THIS WEEK’S SPEAKER: Our speaker this week was Keith Safian, President and CEO of Phelps Hospital. His subject: the Universal Health Care Debate.\
Mr. Safian was most interesting on the subject of the changing face of medical practices. He started by pointing out interesting statistics for Phelps Hospital in 2008: 1,106 births, 473 medical procedures, and a record-high revenue stream of $165,377,000. In that year,there were 284,567 Phelps outpatients (more than 20,000 a month!), the Phelps campus has grown by leaps and bounds, and a newly-expanded child-care center has been opened. He spoke about the current critical nursing shortage, the crisis in infant-care, and Phelps’s need for a fully-functioning Emergency Department. A campaign aimed at raising 20 million dollars is in progress to remedy those situations.
Although he did not need to, Mr. Safian underscored the different and vital ways in which Phelps Hospital serves our community.
They are many.
It was an excellent talk, and one that was greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Mr. Safian!
DRAWING: The winners of this week’s lottery were kept secret.
THE CONCLUSION OF OUR MEETING: Our weekly meeting ended precisely at 1:32 pm, with a fly-over of 200 Navy jets and the launching of a secret rocket.
Respectfully submitted by
Recording Secretary, Don Wilde
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7/31 Attendance - Robert Amsterdam, Frances Chu, Antonia Conte, Dean Dykeman, Zenith Eidel, Rodney Ertischek, Marie Fuesy, Peter Garth, John Herzog, Rachel Leihbacher, Geraldine Mahoney, Ernest Pacchiana, Fiala Portnoy, Vladimir Portnoy, Paul Rosen, Ken-Ichi Shimazu, Carl Weiner, Donald Wilde, Elinor Yuter, Sy Yuter
