In the News

By Amy Neff Roth of the Observer Dispatch Ophthalmologist Dr. Patrick Costello removes cataracts, performs laser eye surgery and does cosmetic eyelid procedures at the free-standing Griffiss Eye Surgery Center in Rome. He said the center, which opened about three years ago, offers patients cheaper, faster and more convenient care than a hospital. “Everyone is highly specialized,” he explained. “Typically, I can do two-and-a-half times as many cases at the surgery center in the same amount of time. And I’m not operating any faster. It’s the turnover of the room and the efficiency.” His center is not alone. Two more local ambulatory surgery centers are in the works: an orthopedic, plastic and pain surgery center in Westmoreland and another for pain management in either Utica or Kirkland. The facilities are just the latest step in a decades-old march of services moving away from hospitals into community settings, whether that be an X-ray machine in an orthopedic surgeon’s office, chemotherapy in a doctor’s office or stitches in an urgent care center. The availability of so many services in the community raises the question: Do we still need hospitals? Anyone who’s ever had a heart attack knows the answer is yes — [...]

ROME – Before James Serour went to board-certified ophthalmologist John Costello, Jr., DO, he had trouble even seeing the chart on the wall during eye tests.  “I couldn’t even see the first letter “E” on the chart,” he said. Serour, 56, wore “coke bottle” glasses in order to see distance before Dr. Costello performed intraocular lens implant surgery on his eyes.  “It’s like night and day,” he said.  “I was so nearsighted that without glasses, everything was a blur. I would wake up at night and I couldn’t even see the clock,” he added. Dr. Costello is the first ophthalmologist in the Mohawk Valley to offer the collamer intraocular lens implant surgery, an outpatient procedure performed at Rome Memorial Hospital.  Serour was his first patient to receive the implanted lenses. A pharmacist who resides in Marcy, Serour said that he wore contact lenses for many years and that his eyes would dry out.  “I could never get the sight I wanted with contact lenses,” he said.  “I wanted better sight.” Serour was surprised at the immediate impact of the surgery.  He said that he was prepped for surgery with anesthetic eye drops and that “surgery was done within a half hour.  [...]

ROME – Ophthalmologist Patrick Costello, M.D., a practicing physician at Rome Memorial Hospital since 2004, recently became board certified as a fellow of the American Board of Ophthalmology.“Board certification allows patients and government officials to verify a physician’s credentials in a specific medical specialty,” said Dr. Costello. “This lets my patients know that I am being held to the highest academic and clinical standards,” he added.As an ophthalmologist, Dr. Costello specializes in surgical procedures including cataract surgery without stitches or needles, cosmetic and functional eyelid surgery, LASIK refractive surgery, glaucoma filtering surgery, pediatric muscle surgery and the use of lasers to treat glaucoma, diabetes and secondary cataracts. He also provides comprehensive eye care including diabetic eye care and prescribing glasses.“There have been numerous advances in ophthalmology, including the most recent innovations in implanting lenses during cataract surgery,” said Dr. Costello. “New lenses have near and distance vision and have eliminated the need for reading glasses in many patients. We just started putting these in patients here in the Mohawk Valley,” he added.Dr. Costello earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, completed his medical internship and residency at Albany Medical College and was also an instructor of ophthalmology at Albany Medical College. He is [...]

By Jolene Cleaver, The Oneida Daily Dispatch ONEIDA >> A new year, a new home. In early January, Costello Sr. - Allen Eye Associates and Costello Eye Physicians & Surgeons will both be moving into the Oneida Plaza building at 131 Main St. in Oneida. The second floor will house an expanded space for the practices - more than 11.000 square feet compared to the roughly 6,000 square feet now occupied in the space across Route 5 from Oneida Healthcare. Both practices expect to move in Jan. 10, with the first patients being seen on Jan. 13. The space is currently undergoing renovations. “I never thought we would grow to this size,” said Dr. John Costello Jr. of Costello Eye Physicians & Surgeons, while looking around what will be the reception area. There will also be more room for office employees to work. Currently even closet space is being utilized for billing at their present location, Costello Jr. said. The building will feature more exam rooms, a larger waiting room to prevent or curb “standing room only” that is a regular occurrence at their current location. There will also be a room for minor eye procedures. The practice will maintain [...]

By Ned Campbell SHERRILL Patrick Costello calls it “the nicest playground in Central New York.” The first two Sherrill Kenwood Park Festivals raised enough money to fund the $140,000 playground at Robertson Park, which was completed in June 2011. Since then, festival organizers have turned their attention to another project — building an amphitheatre at the Community Activity Center lawns to be used for local concerts and productions, as well as festivals and movie nights. “We want to do something else that we think everyone can use,” said Costello, event chairman. Over the last two years, the festival has raised about $60,000 toward the amphitheatre, which is estimated to cost $140,000 to $150,000. The fifth annual festival is set for Saturday at the Community Activity Center lawns in Sherrill, and the goal is to raise $25,000. That would be matched by the Sherrill Kenwood Community Chest for a total of $50,000. The Community Chest pledged to match $125,000 of the festival’s fundraising efforts when the event was started in 2009. Of that, there is about $25,000 left, Costello said. The festival will be open to all ages and will be kicked off with the Silver Scorcher road race, which includes [...]

SHERRILL -- The annual Sherrill Kenwood Park Festival, organized by Dr. Patrick Costello and returning to the grounds of the Community Activity Center for its third year this Saturday, has always been about "eating, drinking, being merry and listening to great music," said city resident Evan DuChene. "It's always a great time," DuChene, co-owner of Ebeneezer's Café and Creamery in Sherrill, said. "I have gotten to see a lot of friends I don't always see, and everybody always has fun." "It's just the greatest thing -- I can't say enough good about it," agreed Abe Acee, owner of the Nothin' Fancy Café and Club in Vernon. "Pat's really been building this up to something big." The event is a fundraiser to benefit renovations to the playground in Robertson Park in Sherrill, matched by funds from the Sherrill-Kenwood Community Chest. The first two years have already helped bring to the city the total reconstruction and modernization of the old playground, including the just-added foamy floor material. Ebeneezer's and Nothin' Fancy are just two of 12 select area restaurants who will bring out specialty food items to sell in two sizes at the Festival. Admission is $18 in advance or $20 at [...]

ROME — Three ophthalmologists broke ground on a new eye center in the Griffiss Business & Technology Park off Dart Circle near the Wingate Inn Friday, Oct. 22. Construction on the project, a collaboration with Rome Memorial Hospital, is expected to be completed in early 2011, according to John J. Costello, Jr., D.O., one of the principals of the project. The three ophthalmologists, Dr. Costello, his brother Patrick A. Costello, M.D., and Joseph F. Femia, M.D., will own the 12,000 square foot building, which is being constructed on a two-acre parcel. The doctors will continue to maintain their private offices at their current locations, but will perform surgery at the eye center. The new eye center, a collaborative partnership between Rome’s three ophthalmologists and the hospital, will lease approximately 6,000 square feet of the building, with the remainder available to unidentified tenants. The hospital will have a minority ownership interest in the center, Dr. Costello noted. "This joint venture will provide patients with a new state-of-the-art facility that specializes in ophthalmologic procedures, such as cataract, glaucoma and eyelid surgery," said Dr. Costello. "By having a dedicated eye center, patients won’t be inconvenienced by delays in their elective procedures that can [...]

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