36 The QUEE NS Courier • business • october 3, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com ▶business ▶If You’re Ready to Buy a Home,We are Ready to Help. Flushing Hospital cuts ribbon on Ambulatory care center BY MELISA CHAN [email protected] A brand new ambulatory care center will soon open in Flushing Hospital. Officials cut the ribbon to the more modernized facility on Thursday, September 26. It is set to open in a few weeks, a hospital spokesperson said. “We’re shifting our focus from being a hospitalcentric The Elder Law Minute TM Planning for a Special Needs Child By Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. and Debby Rosenfeld, Esq. Creating a special needs trust is a way to provide for the needs of a disabled child without making him or her ineligible for Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) and other programs that require the recipients to have limited assets. Transferring (gifting) assets to this type of trust allows a parent, relative or friend to provide for extras that will improve the adult child’s life experience without compromising the governmental services he or she may need on a daily basis. Parents who have children with special needs often think they do not have to establish a special needs trust for their child (or children) until the child turns 18 years of age. The general thinking is that until a disabled child reaches majority age, the child is a dependent and will be supported by the parents. Once the child reaches majority age, however, he or she may require the aforementioned governmental entitlements that are only elder law available if one’s assets are below certain eligibility levels. Accordingly, it is only at that point in time, i.e., when the child reaches majority age that many people feel the need to establish a special needs trust. Nevertheless, special needs trusts are extremely versatile vehicles that can accomplish far more than protecting an individual’s access to government benefits. There are several reasons why parents should not have to wait until a child turns 18 to create such a trust. The main reason to create a special needs trust before a child turns 18 is in order to provide stability and security for the child in case something happens to the parents. This would be the same reason that parents of any children should prepare a comprehensive estate plan. In case something unforeseen happens to the parents, a plan will be in place to provide for the continued care of their loved ones. If parents of a special needs child should die unexpectedly, a previously created special needs trust will allow their assets to be held for the benefit of the child in a way that offers optimal flexibility. Parents of a minor disabled child may also want to establish a special needs trust so that other relatives or friends can gift funds to the trust for the benefit of the child. Further, older relatives who wish to leave an inheritance to the child can name the trust as the direct beneficiary. Any funds gifted over the course of the beneficiary’s childhood will accumulate in the trust and will not imperil any benefits that such child would be entitled to once he or she reaches adulthood. A special needs trust can also be created in order to purchase a life insurance policy for the benefit of the disabled child. Properly created trusts can hold the life insurance policies and manage the life insurance proceeds upon the parents’ demise. Further, a trust can also be created in order to hold the ownership of a home for the benefit of the disabled child. Creating a trust when one’s child is a minor does not necessarily mean that the trust will be funded prior to the child’s turning 18. Nonetheless, the vehicle will be available and in place in case such a need arises. This is called a ‘standby’ special needs trust. ROnald Fatoulah, ESQ, CELA* Consulting with an attorney who has an expertise in special needs planning can help parents create an individualized plan that will help maximize their children’s benefits. Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates, a law firm that exclusively concentrates in elder law, estate planning, special needs, Medicaid planning, guardianships, estate administration, trusts and wills. The firm has offices in Forest Hills, Great Neck, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Cedarhurst, NY. This article was written with the assistance of Debby Rosenfeld, Esq., a senior staff elder law attorney with the firm. Ronald Fatoullah & Associates can be reached by calling (718) 261-1700, 516-466-4422, or toll free at 1-877-ELDER-LAW or 1-877-ESTATES. system to being a patient-centric system and a life care organization,” said Flushing Hospital CEO Bruce Flanz. The new 8,900-square-foot center is located at 4500 Parsons Boulevard by the entrance of the hospital’s Medical Science Building. It will offer up a variety of services, including pediatrics, surgery, radiology and ophthalmology. Patients can also benefit from a new electronic health record system which allows them to access their own files. The new ambulatory care center replaces one that opened in the 1980s and served 90,000 patients in its last year, according to Robert Crupi, chair of the hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine. Crupi said he expects the new center, which has 12 more examination rooms, to draw in an extra 3,000 patients by the end of next year. Local elected officials said the center gives people in the community, who typically go to the hospital first for medical help, a better option. “Too many people go to the emergency room and not their doctor,” said State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky. “That’s a mistake.” Councilmember Peter Koo said he recently saw a constituent billed $1,400 for an emergency room visit. “A lot of people, when they go the emergency room, they sit there for a full day and just get prescribed Motrin,” he said. “It’s almost a waste of time for people.” He said the ambulatory care center offers more doctors and a shorter waiting time. “It’s great for the community,” Koo said. The project was largely funded through a $4 million state Heal NY grant, hospital officials said. “Through the creation of our new Ambulatory Care Center, we feel that we are providing a place where our patients can maintain their health by receiving regular, preventative care visits and avoid any serious issues that could result in unnecessary emergency department visits or hospital admissions,” Flanz said. The CEO hopes to next expand the hospital’s dental program and emergency department and create an observation area. PARTNERSHIP APPOINTS NEW PRES BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] The Long Island City Partnership has welcomed a new, yet experienced, president who will help the organization “thrive” and build the growing area. Elizabeth Lusskin, currently chief of staff and vice president of Strategic Initiatives at Polytechnic Institute of New York University, was appointed on September 25. “This is a very special time for Long Island City, which has become a hub for new development while retaining its strong industrial base, helping to reinvigorate the borough,” said Lusskin. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to build on the Long Island City Partnership’s success in supporting this ‘city within the city.’” In her new position, which she will assume on October 15, Lusskin will help strengthen connections between private and public divisions to promote Long Island City. She will help support the booming community and the accomplishments of local organizations and businesses. “Liz is well positioned to lead the Partnership and drive its mission as new investment and existing uses combine to redefine the area as one of New York City’s hottest new neighborhoods and certainly one of its most diverse,” said Gary Kesner, LIC Partnership’s board chair. “As Long Island City continues to evolve, Liz has the vision and on-point experience we need to help the Partnership to thrive.” For more than two decades Lusskin worked as an attorney with an immense experience in economic development and government services. She also served as Deputy Commissioner for Programs and Development for the City of New York Department of Small Business Services, General Counsel of the Alliance for Downtown New York, Inc., and Legislative Counsel in the New York State Office of Federal Affairs in D.C., under Governor Mario Cuomo. The State of New York M ortgage Agency offers: Up to $15,000 Down Payment Assistance 1-800-382-HOME(4663) for Housing www.sonyma.org
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