Boston College alum Erika Reineke (‘17) will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games as a part of the USA’s sailing team. 

During her time in Chestnut Hill, the 30-year-old majored in Environmental Studies and won four individual national championships as well as NEISA Conference Sailor of the Year awards. 

Reineke will compete in the women’s dinghy race on August 1 in Marseille, France. 

“I came in as a free-spirited freshman with no plan or structure and graduated gaining the ability to goal set and execute,” said Reineke while speaking to Alix Hackett on her time as an Eagle. “I wouldn’t be in the position I am today without my BC teammates or Coach [Greg] Wilkinson.”

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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — For the first time in western Pennsylvania and possibly in the nation, patients at a local hospital can choose not to be given opioids before, during and after surgeries.

Inside UPMC Shadyside Hospital, doctors are taking a unique route to managing surgical and post-op pain in some patients to help prevent opioid use disorder.

Dr. Shiv Goel, chief of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at UPMC Shadyside, said the whole team at the hospital worked to launch its opioid-free pathway in May in response to patient demand. 

“We had been seeing a lot of patients coming into the hospital for surgery asking specifically not to use opioids for their pain management. And so far, there was never any defined pathway that existed that would ensure that a patient who’s making such a request gets that option and that request is honored. For the first time, this gives the power to the patients to choose the type of pain medications they want to take for managing their pain,” Goel said.

For surgical pain, they use regional anesthesia, nerve blocks, local anesthesia or non-opioid IV medications.

For post-op pain, in addition to meds, patients can also choose from techniques like aromatherapy, acupuncture, hypnosis, music therapy and biomedical devices. The doctors help to address anxiety, which contributes to pain.

“All of that does tie into decreasing how they perceive their pain. If their anxiety goes down, they perceive pain less,” Goel said.

Amy Hartzer had a partial mastectomy for breast cancer last month.

“I’ve heard it’s as bad as dental surgery and people getting hooked on opioids. I thought, yeah, there’s an opioid-free pathway, sign me up,” Hartzer said.

Hartzer was happy to have control over her pain management, especially because she’s starting chemo in a few weeks. She didn’t want to have more complications.

“I actually had a nerve block, and the doctor explained what that would be like. And I have to be honest, I’m glad I went the opioid-free because had I not and they would have given me opioids, it would have been for no reason. I was never in a lot of pain,” she said.

Patients wear a special bracelet and stickers are added to charts so everyone is on the same page with their pain management plan.

Lead coordinator of the opioid-free pathway at UPMC Shadyside Heather Margonari says patients can opt out at any time. She said 39 patients have enrolled in the pathway in just over two months.

“Some of them do have a family history of addiction, and some of them have addiction use themselves. But there are also a lot of people that have had these opioids in the past and have had bad reactions to them with side effects,” Margonari said.

They hope this one-of-a-kind approach can prevent people from feeling the pain of opioid use disorder.

“Patients seem to be much happier on the pathway. They’re definitely more alert. And I think they also feel empowered that they’re choosing to do this opioid-free, and their wishes are being followed,” said Margonari.

“That is a problem which has been created by the health profession itself. There was a time when we started calling pain the fifth vital sign. We created unrealistic expectations for our patients. .. I think we owe it to ourselves and our patients and to our country to try to right this wrong, which was being perpetuated on all our patients,” Goel added.

People interested in learning more about this opioid-free pathway can reach out to the team at UPMC Shadyside.

MERIDEN, CT — A former historic piano factory is set to become an affordable housing development as part of a redevelopment project in Meriden’s North End.

Boston-based Trinity Financial is investing $56 million into the former Aeolian Company building at 85 Tremont Street to convert the historic property into a new 82-unit, mixed-income rental housing community.

The Aeolian Company building was a manufacturing facility for automatic player pianos established in 1887.

Dan Drazen, Vice President of Development at Trinity Financial, first identified the historic building in 2021, recognizing it as a “complex but potentially transformational project,” according to a news release.

Approximately 65 percent of the project’s funding will be sourced from low-income housing tax credit equity, and federal and state historic tax credit equity, according to the news release.

Trinity recently closed on the following sources of construction financing: $24.5 million from KeyBank, $13.4 million from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, $9.5 million from the Connecticut Department of Housing, and $4 million from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, including $1.5 million of Brownfields funding.

“Trinity Financial is excited to break ground on this mixed-income, adaptive reuse apartment project, showcasing the city of Meriden’s commitment to affordable housing and community revitalization while putting a contaminated Brownfield site back into productive use,” Drazen said in the news release.

Read more from the news release below:

“KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) is pleased to make this $27 million equity investment and nearly $25 million construction loan to Trinity’s 85 Tremont project,” said Anna Belanger, KeyBank CDLI relationship manager. “At KeyBank, we are dedicated to helping the communities where we live and work thrive. This project will drive economic revitalization for the community.”

Among the neighborhood projects linked to this redevelopment is nearly a $2.5 million upgrade to the North End Field Little League complex on Britannia Street, which included the construction of two new turf ball fields, parking and drainage/stormwater enhancements that were completed in 2023. The other project, northwest of the existing fields, will convert two adjacent, overgrown city-owned lots into a small park which will include a playscape and space for a basketball court.

“We are excited to see the revitalization of 85 Tremont moving forward,” said Steven Cardillo, President of the North End Meriden Neighborhood Association. “This redeveloped building will serve as an anchor for North Meriden and complement the city’s investments in our neighborhood athletic fields, sports courts, and playgrounds.”

Meriden Economic Developer Joe Feest said, “Together, these initiatives represent a $58.5 million public-private investment poised to revitalize nearly an entire city block in North Meriden, fostering a more active, vibrant community. We have had a great working relationship with Trinity and look forward to seeing this project completed.”

The redevelopment will repurpose a historic asset, turning it into 82 residential units designed to meet a range of income levels, as well as clean up a Brownfield property that stems from years of heavy industrial use. Fourteen units will be part of the federal Section 811 program with supportive services for households earning at or below 25 percent of the area median income (AMI), three units for households at or below 30 percent AMI, 28 units at or below 50 percent AMI, 12 units at or below 60 percent of AMI, 14 units at or below 80 percent AMI, and 11 market-rate apartments. Amenities will include a community room, kids’ playroom, fitness center, and indoor bike storage, all within walking distance of local amenities and public transportation.

“Investment in affordable housing and community revitalization allows our Connecticut residents to live in high quality housing with affordable rents,” said Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno. “Public-private partnerships that create more housing are also a smart approach to leverage finite public dollars and build key relationships for long-term sustainable collaborations to solve challenges affecting those that call Connecticut home.”

Maintaining the site’s historic significance, the building’s exterior will remain intact, while interior renovations will highlight original features such as ceiling beams and sliding metal doors.

“Trinity’s 85 Tremont project will provide safe, stable homes for families, while breathing new life into Meriden’s North End neighborhood,” Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said. “This project is exactly the type of development that we envisioned when we expanded the city’s Adaptive Reuse Overlay District in 2020. Meriden continues to provide better quality housing that residents need and deserve, while improving our neighborhoods through this extraordinary public and private partnership.”

Trinity Financial aims to secure Enterprise Green Communities certification for the project, focusing on sustainability through energy-efficient upgrades, including a new window system, high-efficiency HVAC, Energy Star appliances, LED lighting, and solar panels on the roof.

“I take great pleasure in seeing this project begin,” State Rep. Michael Quinn said. “It will offer central Connecticut residents the affordable housing that is so desperately needed to support economic development in our region.”