18 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JULY 2020
LI REOPENING FROM CORONAVIRUS SHUTDOWN
Plexiglass barriers between cashiers
and customers aren’t likely to go anywhere
soon. With restaurants at limited
capacity, reservations are recommended.
And businesses such as barbershops
and salons typically shifted to by-appointment
models, rather than relying
on crowded waiting rooms.
“Some companies are considering ways
to incorporate some degree of telecommuting
into their new business models,”
Alessi-Miceli adds.
Telecommuting is more common in part
because technology is now more widespread.
At Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk
offices, as the region entered phase
two, all office workers were still allowed
to work from home. And telemedicine
transformed medicine, as virtual visits
made house calls more common.
“The use of telehealth exploded during
the crisis, especially for the treatment of
mental health issues,” says Janine Logan,
spokeswoman for the Nassau-Suffolk
Hospital Council and the Suburban
Hospital Alliance of New York State.
“Rules and restrictions around the use
of telehealth for all health services were
relaxed during the pandemic and are
still, for the most part, in place.”
Linda Taylor, CEO of Visiting Nurse
Service and Hospice of Suffolk, says
her group is using telehealth to conduct
more virtual visits, often including
family members.
“This benefits our ability to safeguard
our patients and staff by minimizing
face-to-face contact between home
visits and maximizing our ability to
monitor patient symptoms and progress,”
she says of online visits, including
review of medication, side effects,
interactions and effectiveness.
Some companies are changing their business
model, offering services that may be
more in demand during the new normal.
WizdomOne Group, a wealth advisory
firm and employee benefits company
in Islandia, launched “WizdomWorks,”
providing office space to those who may
not need much, if any, square footage.
Marisa Morgillo, a marketing consultant
for WizdomOne Group, says “the ability
to work more remotely” is making many
people rethink sometimes costly conventional
office space.
Through WizdomWorks, she says, “various
professionals and entrepreneurs”
can work and “share ideas and connections”
and space, rather than leasing
traditional space.
“WizdomWorks will be offering this
philosophy to those who are looking for
a fresh atmosphere and start to the ‘new
norm,’” Morgillo adds, saying spaces “will
be available to lease by startups, entrepreneurs
and established professionals.”
Real estate and construction have been returning
to their new normal, which may
have a different look and feel as brokers
rely more on virtual house showings.
Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk, meanwhile,
isn’t bringing volunteer builders
back just yet.
“We have restarted construction with paid
staff only,” says Habitat for Humanity of
Suffolk CEO Lee Silberman. “We do not anticipate
allowing volunteer groups to come
out to our worksites until Labor Day.”
Revenue could go down at businesses
such as barbershops, restaurants, and
others, due to lower volume. Even Habitat
for Humanity of Suffolk, for instance,
expects to build fewer homes.
“Not having volunteers severely impacts
our ability to work on multiple houses at
the same time,” Silberman says.
PRESS BUSINESS
continued from page 17
“We’re witnessing a gradual return to normalcy,”
says Terri Alessi-Miceli.
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