Author: Saratoga TODAY

ALBANY — Capital Region native, and persons with disabilities activist, John Robinson, CEO of Our Ability, with collaboration from Syracuse University iSchool and BlueGranite, Inc., has developed a chatbot to help persons with disabilities update their professional profiles to gain access to jobs that are better suited to their abilities, called Jobs Ability. The website launched last month. 

According to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2019, only 19.3 percent of persons with disabilities were employed. These statistics have increased since the pandemic. However, a report by Accenture, found that if the number of people with disabilities in the labor force grew just 1 percent, the nation’s gross domestic product could expand by as much as $25 billion. 

“Before the development of our chatbot, certain professional networking sites would enable you to create a button to let potential employers know that the applicant has a disability,” said John Robinson, CEO of Our Ability, “but I wanted people to be able to build their profiles based on abilities, as a pathway to employment through technology.” 

An alumnus of Syracuse University, Robinson knew that the iSchool had the same passion to execute his idea. The iSchool is home to the iConsult Collaborative at Syracuse University, an experiential learning program that deploys teams of student volunteers to provide community partners with transformative information technology. Art Thomas, the iSchool’s Associate Dean for Career Services and Experiential Learning and Director of the iConsult Collaborative, first met with Robinson in the summer of 2018 to plan how to engage an iConsult team in designing the technical solution for his idea. 

BlueGranite, Inc., is the engine that created the digital path from Robinson’s idea to the iSchool’s technology. 

The process is driven by artificial intelligence; it’s a chatbot on the front end of the site enabling users to build a profile towards employment. It will ask all of the normal questions about history and preferences, but then also ask about skills and disabilities for those who are more disabled. It becomes more than just a profile; it’s the culmination of hundreds of skill questions to ensure that someone is considered as more than just a work history. 

To learn more about Our Ability and Jobs Ability, visit www.ourability.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Saratoga Bariatric Surgery and Weight-Loss Program, a service of Saratoga Hospital, has once again been awarded the Blue Distinction Center designation as part of the Blue Distinction Specialty Care program.

The designation, from BlueShield of Northeastern New York, is reserved for nationally accredited bariatric surgery programs that meet rigorous, objective standards for quality of care, patient safety and outcomes.

“Our Blue Distinction status is a source of pride for everyone on our team,” said Dmitri V. Baranov, MD, PhD, FACS, Medical Director of Saratoga Bariatric Surgery and Weight-Loss Program. “Even more important is the message our Blue Distinction designation delivers to our patients—that they can count on us for the highest quality care and the best possible outcomes throughout their weight-loss journey.”

Bariatric surgeries are among the most common elective surgeries in the U.S.—and the most effective treatment for severely obese patients. These procedures allow patients to achieve substantial, sustained weight loss. That, in turn, can improve or resolve serious obesity-related conditions, such as type 2 diabetes.

For more information about the Blue Distinction program and a list of designated facilities, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After 42 years of helping his patients recover from aches and pains, physical therapist Anthony DeMatteo has retired from the practice he founded – Saratoga Physical Therapy Associates – to focus on family and fun. 

DeMatteo leaves the practice in the hands of his long-time partners, Michael Cudahy, PT, in Saratoga Springs, and Matthew O’Neil, PT, in Malta, as well as other clinicians and staff associated with SPTA who work in both locations. 

DeMatteo established the first private PT practice outside the hospital in Saratoga and has been such an icon in the field that people would refer to “going to Tony” as a synonym for “going to PT.” 

A city of Saratoga Springs native who graduated from Saratoga Springs High School in 1974, DeMatteo, who will be 65 years old this year, played many sports as a student. He learned about PT the hard way, as a young patient, after serious baseball and football injuries. “I enjoyed helping people, I enjoyed sports, and I was thinking about a career, so I knew from the time I was in high school that I wanted to be a physical therapist,” he recalls, citing the time he broke his hip playing baseball, which put him in the hospital for several weeks, as a turning point.

For now, he’s going to get vaccinated and continue to work per diem for SPTA, and, in fact, has found a reason to go into the office every day since his official retirement, the last day of 2020. “I can’t wait to get back to life like it was pre-pandemic,” he says. “Meanwhile, I suggest that people don’t let their guard down, find safe ways to stay busy, and stay strong.”