Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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I’m Listening: Family finds mission in NY doctor’s death
Shining the spotlight on mental health needs of health care workers
This interview is part of Entercom’s “I’m Listening” Campaign for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention. If you are in a crisis or have a family member or friend who needs help, you are not alone: Call 800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741 for immediate help.
According to Jennifer Feist, her sister, Dr. Lorna Breen was in the middle of “a firestorm of illness” in March and early April dealing with COVID-19 at her Manhattan hospital and simply “couldn’t do it anymore.”
Dr. Breen’s suicide in late April grabbed headlines in The New York Times, shining a spotlight on the crisis of physician suicide, a crisis her sister said she never knew existed. As a result, Feist, a Charlottesville, Virginia attorney co-founded (with her husband Corey Feist) the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, dedicated to protecting the well-being of physicians and health care professionals.
The foundations website says Dr. Breen spent her career in practice at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan and became the director of the emergency room at the Allen Hospital in 2008. It was in that same emergency room, early in 2020 that the COVID pandemic hit hard. Dr. Breen’s father, also a physician, told the Times how his daughter described for him “an onslaught of patients who were dying before they could even be taken out of ambulances.”
Feist sat down for an interview with us for the Entercom “I’m Listening” program, aimed at removing the stigma of asking for mental health help. Dr. Breen’s family had no idea she was struggling so badly early in the year. They knew the pandemic was beginning to arrive and they knew Lorna was working almost nonstop. Dr. Breen had no medical history of mental issues, no challenges that anyone knew of with anxiety and depression. Her risk factor for suicide was “she was a physician.”
Feist said it was the perfect storm.
“She was an emergency room physician in a global pandemic in the worst place in the world to be doing the worst job,” Feist said. In the middle of her work, Dr. Breen even contracted COVID-19, but was back at work within days of having been cleared to return. The spiral seemed to continue for Dr. Breen. She took a leave of absence and traveled to Virginia to seek help there. She died by suicide in late April.
Today, Feist and her husband are advocates for mental health care for front line medical professionals.
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“This is a real crisis and I didn’t know about it until my sister died,” Feist said.
“Physician suicide is at a crisis point in this country as is nurse suicide,” Feist added, pointing out that the rate of burnout anxiety and depression self-reported are “off the charts.”
The Feists’ are working with Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on a bi-partisan bill in the U.S. Senate called the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. A companion bill for the House is also in the works. Both bills are aimed at preventing physician burnout, suicide in the medical profession, and providing mental health care for professionals who need it in the health care industry.
Feist said, “I believe there is a culture stigma in the community that says ‘you have to be tough, you can’t be a snowflake to get in here. Don’t say you need help. Don’t say you are scared. Don’t say you are worried.’ That’s got to change.”
The foundation is also focused on reforming the culture in medicine, including the licensing and credentialing process for doctors and residents.
“There is no shame. This is part of life,” says Feist. “It’s important what we learn and what we do about it.”
We asked what we all could do to help our health care providers. Feist said it could be as simple as reaching out to your own doctor or health professional to ask them how they may be doing in this stressful time. She says she often wondered what would have happened if someone would have asked that of Dr. Lorna Breen when they noticed she was struggling.
Feist says you can also help by supporting the foundation at www.DrLornaBreen.org and use the #StandWithLorna hashtag on social media.
https://omny.fm/shows/880-weekly-rewind/how-talk-has-the-power-to-save-lives
“I’d like to see health care organizations; I’d like to see hospitals; I’d like to see the hospital where my sister worked; others like that to provide mental health support, not just when there is a crisis and the house is on fire, but before there is a crisis,” Feist said. “Let’s provide the support for these people that they need.”
Neil A. Carousso executive produced Entercom New York’s video content for “I’m Listening LIVE,” which aired and was published across the digital platforms of WCBS-AM, WFAN-AM & FM, WCBS-FM, WNSH-FM, WNEW-FM, WNYL-FM and WINS-AM.
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Retailers Find Pandemic Success In Livestreaming E-Commerce
In Best Of, Entertainment, Featured, Guest, Interview, Latest, News Stories, Technology, The World, Top NewsBy Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Livestreaming e-commerce is the new hot trend that is changing the way retailers sell now and it’s leading to profitability for some business owners who had been struggling to survive.
“They can sort of take consumers inside their brand,” said NTWRK president Moksha Fitzgibbons on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank.
He told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso that his video app became a marketplace for retailers small and large to become what “Shark Tank” investor and FUBU founder Daymond John called a virtual “events space” on WCBS 880.
“NTWRK became, really emerged, as that place that consumers can go every day to be entertained, to be educated and get access to that highly desired product,” Fitzgibbons said.
The startup doubled its sales from March to April and he expects growth of 600-700 percent year-over-year after seeing the value of connecting brands with willing buyers that purchase products on the NTWRK app as they watch and interact with owners and influencers live.
NTWRK was founded in 2018. Fitzgibbons joined the company in October 2019 after a couple stints at Complex Networks where he served as chief revenue officer before moving to Valence Media as CRO where he played an integral role in the merger of Media Rights Capital, Dick Clark Productions, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.
“Millennials have the most wealth of any generation before them, they aren’t embracing more expensive responsibilities like home ownership and things of that nature, so they’re spending on consumer products, and we’re connecting with them in a medium that’s endemic to them,” said Fitzgibbons.
It’s not only a pandemic pivot, but also a way to grow a retail business – an industry that’s been battered by the growing convenience of e-commerce, the health crisis and recession.
Fitzgibbons, who will lend his expertise to business owners of various industries on the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast on Thursday, October 15, told Connolly and Carousso about how one Manhattan designer, Jeff Staple, has benefited from using NTWRK the past six months.
“What we offer him is an opportunity for him to reach a massive audience outside of New York City, which is his core, and introduce the brand to new consumers and ultimately drive new revenues for him,” he said.
This speaks to customer behavior over the past decade that’s been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic and its related retail shutdowns. Fitzgibbons told WCBS 880 he saw engagement with younger customers, who are willing to spend, increase since March. He believes that could be credited to how customers have been trained subconsciously to buy necessities on e-commerce websites like Amazon for convenience rather than go to the store.
“The same will be true with NTWRK, although, we will be curated and have a point of view and sort of be that Barneys/Dover Street-type of experience for this demographic,” he said.
Business owners are encouraged to make their own video content out of their home or store, but NTWRK also offers a video production team and a studio where they collaborate with social media influencers and celebrities to endorse products on a livestream that is watched by prospective customers whom the video app service finds for the retailer.
Moksha Fitzgibbons will share how any business owner can earn a substantial return on investment through livestream e-commerce at the WCBS BNB Bank Virtual Business Breakfast on Thursday, October 15 at 9 AM. Share your questions for Moksha, Joe Connolly and the panel by leaving a message on our listener line at (877) 987-WCBS, and follow the prompts, and we may use your question during the event.
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Business Leaders Urge Officials To Clean Up NYC For Economic Recovery
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Business leaders say they need New York City’s quality of life to be improved and rent relief in order to recover and create new jobs.
“We have to have people on one page, feeling that the city is coming back (and) we’re not going back to the bad old ’70s,” said Kathryn S. Wylde, president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for New York City.
She spoke with Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, after the nonprofit organization wrote a letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, copying New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and City Comptroller Scott Stringer, calling on them to improve “quality of life” in the Big Apple. More than 160 business leaders signed the letter, including the heads of the local Chambers of Commerce and executives from Citigroup, MasterCard, Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs and Macy’s.
“There is widespread anxiety over public safety, cleanliness and other quality of life issues that are contributing to deteriorating conditions in commercial districts and neighborhoods across the five boroughs,” the letter dated September 10, 2020 reads.
They say rising crime and anxiety over public health are fueling low consumer confidence and uncertainty. The business leaders say they need the government’s assistance to fix the issues that will encourage their workers that they can return safely.
“From a business community standpoint, we believe that’s the first step to economic recovery, because that’s the feedback we’re getting,” Wylde told WCBS 880.
The lifeblood of the city is mass transit, she said, emphasizing that workers will not return to the office until the MTA’s problems are solved. It is currently in a budget crisis, accelerated by record low ridership. MTA Chairman Pat Foye claims the agency needs $12 billion to fill the hole.
“The city will not come back to life, and this is all five boroughs, until trust in mass transit is restored and that’s going to take continued funding,” she said.
Among the Partnership for New York City’s priorities are improving mass transit and infrastructure. She has heard from commuters who are not confident in its cleanliness and reliability.
Only 26 percent of employees are believe they will return to the office by the end of the year, as of mid-August; that’s down from an expectation of 33 percent in May, according to the Partnership for New York City, which surveys workers.
But, some businesses will not return either. Commercial rent has consistently risen over the past decade of economic prosperity, but now, there are no businesses willing to take over a high rent lease.
“This was the crisis that we were facing for the last couple of years before the COVID, because of the inflated values and because of the very high real estate taxes in New York, which get passed along to tenants,” Wylde told Connolly and Carousso, noting, “A third of your rent is just to pay real estate taxes.”
She said costs must come down to spur growth and attract new businesses to the city as the jobs for the future are being developed now.
Hear about new job creation, resilient industries and New York City’s recovery plan from business leaders on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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Downtown Brooklyn Looks to Attract Top Talent in a Post-Pandemic World
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — In an eerily quiet dark age of New York City, which was the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April, economic development groups see the light at the end of the tunnel as they reimagine and prepare for the post-pandemic workplace.
Regina Myer is the president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, which sees an opportunity to become an innovation hub by attracting talented young professionals who live in walking distance to the growing number of technology, manufacturing and media companies.
“We’re studying specific streets among Fulton Street, Livingston and Willoughby to see how we can really make those environments more pedestrian friendly,” she said.
She told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, about her experience leading the Brooklyn Bridge Park for a decade in which she spearheaded the joint initiative with the City to develop Willoughby Square Park that is set to open in 2022. A portion of the 1.15-acre green space opened last year in Downtown Brooklyn; some workplaces there feature individual air conditioning units, which are essential in the COVID-19 era.
“I want to do the same thing here in Downtown,” she said.
Myer told WCBS 880 “shared streets” create space for workers, cyclists and pedestrians and improve the quality of life. She believes that sparks better business practices. The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership developed their blueprint from the model of major cities, including Pittsburgh, Seattle and Barcelona.
“We want amenities that enhance our businesses like outdoor seating, we want it to be very clean, and people feel comfortable,” she said.
Myer was the senior vice president for planning and design at the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, which counts HBO, SAP, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, and Neiman Marcus among its tenants.
But the difference between Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn, she said, is that the outer borough relies on foot traffic from locals. Employers find their workers live nearby rather than commuting from the suburbs.
“When companies decide to locate in Downtown Brooklyn, they know they are accessing a tremendous amount of talent from throughout the borough,” said Myer.
Foot traffic is key for Downtown Brooklyn businesses to thrive, and right now, survive. Myer told Connolly and Carousso foot traffic is down 50 percent on weekdays, and is 20 percent higher on weekends due to tourist activity that ticked up this summer since the transmission rate of COVID-19 reached pandemic lows in New York City.
She believes a coronavirus vaccine and therapeutics are the answer for consumer confidence.
“I want to open, too,” Myer responded to the fact that most business groups, including the Chamber of Commerce, are demanding a full reopening as businesses close with tens of millions of Americans unemployed.
“I just know that people have to feel comfortable doing so,” she added.
Citing efficiency in remote work, Myer sees companies will usher in a new age of economic growth, and is encouraging businesses to consider locating in Downtown Brooklyn.
Hear about the opportunity Regina Myer sees for Downtown Brooklyn to lead in the local economic recovery and attract growing new businesses, plus new ways to sell your product or service on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
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Pandemic Gap Year: Firms Providing Job Training, Career Development For Students Taking Semester Off
By Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Since the so-called “college experience” will be non-existent for the 2020-21 school year, some students are taking a gap year to find themselves in a job that provides career training and development.
Mohammed Alshatti, an entrepreneurship major at Hofstra University, told Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by BNB Bank, he is taking six months off to learn on-the-job training from his mother and sister who own food businesses in Kuwait.
“I feel like taking a gap year will allow me to focus more on the long-term goals,” the 21 year old explained.
His mother owns a bakery with eight employees in Kuwait while his sister operates a vegan restaurant.
“I gained a lot,” said Alshatti who is matching his studies from classes at Hofstra with practical experience in marketing and management.
“In a way, corona(virus) was very unfortunate, but I like to look at the positive aspect of it,” he said.
Alshatti told Connolly and Carousso he is “not too big of a fan” of online classes, which factored into his decision to get a jump-start in his career.
“Gaining connections is a huge part of, in my opinion, going to college,” he said, noting that those studying the same major as him will become his peers in the workforce.
Alshatti is not alone in taking a hiatus from expensive higher education to pursue career opportunities.
Dan Guido, co-founder and chief executive officer of Trail of Bits, told WCBS 880 that 1,000 college students applied for paid remote internships this summer to fill 10 openings at his cyber security firm in Manhattan.
“Whether you’re going to school in the fall or not, you should find something that you’re interested in and take every opportunity to master it,” he offered, adding, “Mastery ends up being a really easy way of finding someone that’s worth hiring.”
Trail of Bits’ internships are for skilled students interested in software engineering and cloud security, which are tenants of the firm’s portfolio. Guido assigns interns a project exclusive to them that the company publishes.
“They help the company build our brand and contribute something back while also giving a résumé builder to the students,” he said.
Trail of Bits worked with Zoom Video Communications to secure its infrastructure after breaches in March and April.
While in-person training is hard to replicate with its 70 employees working from home, Guido focuses on communication among his workers via Slack and virtual meetings. He even encourages his workers to talk about their projects with each other and socialize on video calls since that aspect of interpersonal collaboration is lost amid the pandemic.
“When we actually do have these video conferences, we make sure that there’s a norm that all the cameras are turned on since the mere exposure effect of seeing someone’s face ends up helping you relate to them,” he said.
Hear about the career training opportunities for students entering the labor force on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight Podcast on the RADIO.COM app or on the media player above.
