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BATAVIA — Rochester Regional Health United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC) continues to keep its international Baby-Friendly designation after a review by Baby-Friendly USA.

UMMC received its first designation as a Baby-Friendly hospital in 2019.

This redesignation period will run until 2030. This designation shows that UMMC adheres to the highest standards of care to help mothers and their babies get off to a healthy start by having skin-to-skin care right after birth, "rooming in" or allowing healthy babies to stay in the room with their mothers during their hospital stay, and breastfeeding when babies are ready, the hospital said in a press release.

"This would never be possible without the staff," Nurse Manager of the Maternity Unit Olivia Barren told The Daily News Tuesday. "A designation is a designation, but the outpatient office and the hospital staff do this work every day and they do it so well."

These standards are built on the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, a set of evidence-based practices recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for optimal infant feeding support in the first days of a newborn's life.

The positive health effects of breastfeeding are well documented and widely recognized by health authorities throughout the world as one of the best ways to boost infants' immune systems, lower the risk of infections, and promote cognitive development. For mothers, breastfeeding supports postpartum recovery and builds a nurturing bond with their child.

"The hospital experience strongly influences a mother's ability to start and continue breastfeeding," said Shawna Radder, RN, IBCLC. "We are committed to implementing evidence-based care through the Baby-Friendly designation to ensure that mothers delivering in our facility who intend to breastfeed, as well as those who cannot or decide not to breastfeed, are fully supported."

Is it harder to get a Baby-Friendly designation for the first time or harder to retain it? Barren said both are equally hard to accomplish. On the redesignation process, UMMC dealt with retirements and turnover among staff who contributed to the designation process in 2019.

"We had people from Baby-Friendly come to our facility. They interviewed staff and dozens of patients," Barren said.

Baby-Friendly USA visited May 22-23. During staff interviews with Baby-Friendly, the two groups discussed policies UMMC has that address being baby-friendly and how to educate patients.

"They had to demonstrate a variety of breastfeeding skills and answer questions around breastfeeding support," Barren said.

The organization also called mothers after they left the hospital to ask them questions.

"A lot of it was about the education they received during their prenatal care and the care we gave them," she said. "We had absolutely no negative (feedback) from the patients."

The Baby-Friendly designation lasts five years.

UMMC joins a growing list of more than 20,000 Baby-Friendly hospitals and birth centers throughout the world, 560 of which are in the United States. These facilities provide an environment that supports breastfeeding while respecting every woman's right to make the best decision for herself and her family.

"It took awhile for us to get the results from their (Baby-Friendly USA's) visit," Barren said. She said UMMC heard the results in October and recently celebrated with the staff.

UMMC helps new families even after they leave the hospital with infant feeding classes, breastfeeding and beyond Baby Café, Lactation Education After Discharge (LEAD) Program and even a Breast/Chest Feeding Support Line at (585) 344-8104.

"United Memorial Medical Center aims to support, educate, and empower every family with the tools they need to make informed decisions. This commitment is part of our broader mission to provide exceptional care that fosters healthy families and supports long-term health outcomes," said UMMC Chief Medical Officer and OBGYN Tara Gellasch.

SYRACUSE — A strong storm system will bring enough rain to much of Upstate New York to make a dent in the drought that has sparked damaging wildfires.

The storm is also likely to drop heavy snow Thursday night and Friday morning, but only on hilltops of 2,000 feet or higher, according to the National Weather Service. Some wet snow could linger into the weekend.

Western New York could see lighter accumulations.

A strong cold front will be in the process of pushing east through the forecast area Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. Some rain may occur before more-persistent moisture occurs before Thursday morning.

Some wet snows may occur Thursday in the Southern Tier with about 3 inches possible in higher elevations, according to the NWS in Buffalo.

Lake effect snow could occur Friday.

"Any snow accumulation will again favor areas outside of the lower elevation lake plains," NWS officials said in Tuesday's forecast discussion. "Snow will be wet with low snow ratios. The still warm ground will also encourage melting of falling snow, or melting of the lower layer of snow accumulation lending to the overall low snow ratio."

Up to 2 inches of rain could fall starting Wednesday across much of Upstate New York, parts of which have been bone-dry for months, according to the National Weather Service. That rain will help reduce the fire danger, but likely won't be enough to end the monthslong drought in areas like the lower Hudson Valley.

Much of the state remains at high or very high risk of rapid spread of wildfires, including Central New York. A statewide burn ban is in effect until Nov. 30. Campfires. open cooking fires and brush burning are prohibited.

The heaviest precipitation is expected in Central New York and the Finger Lakes, which could see some lake effect snow or rain after the main storm moves through. Temperatures will likely be too warm for areas like Syracuse to see snow, but there's a 50% chance that higher elevations like the Catskills will.

If the storm's center of low pressure drifts farther east than currently forecast, more cold air could pour in from the north and bring snow to elevations of 1,500 feet, the weather service said.

"This storm has a big boom or bust potential with only a small change in surface low location," the weather service said.

Some areas of Upstate New York could see their first measurable snowfall of the year, likely at higher elevations. The most likely time for that would be Thursday night and early Friday morning, the weather service said.

The storm will also bring high winds Friday and Saturday in the Central New York area.

The combined precipitation from the rain and snow will be beneficial to drought-struck areas, the weather service said. Some areas of the Hudson Valley and Long Island haven't seen any measurable rain since September.

The lower Hudson Valley has had less than half of the normal rainfall since mid-August. Poughkeepsie has had just a total of 1 inch of rain since Sept. 1; normally, it would have seen 10 inches since then.

Even an inch of rain would help wet the leaves and twigs that form the tinder for wildfires. Cooler temperatures as November progresses also help lessen the risk of fires.

One state parks employee died while fighting the state's largest wildfire since 2008.

(Includes reporting by Daily News staff.)

PERRY — For the second time since August and third time in his odd criminal career, a former Perry man faces rape charges involving an underage girl.

Seems that history is coming back to haunt the man who once opened his own historical society.

Village Police Chief Michael Grover said Jonathon D. Bucknam, 44, was arraigned Monday on charges of third-degree rape.

An investigation revealed Bucknam had a sexual relationship with a child under age 17 for more than a year, beginning in 2021, police said.

Bucknam — whose bizarre criminal history includes a previous rape conviction —was accused this past August of having a sexual relationship with a girl under 17, two months before he was sent to prison in April 2024. He was in prison when he was charged.

Investigators said he "engaged in forcible compulsion" and was charged with third-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse.

Bucknam was in prison the first time he was charged with rape in 2017, while he was serving time for dealing drugs and welfare fraud. He was charged with having a sexual relationship with a girl under 15 years old. He was later convicted.

Bucknam's criminal history began in 2016 when he was arrested and charged with lying on Social Services forms, claiming that he rented a residence on Water Street in Perry when he actually owned the house.

A year earlier, Bucknam celebrated the grand opening of Perry Historical Society on the first floor of his residence — a former bar — touting it as the first historical society in the village.

He named himself president and began operating the society, despite the objections of others involved in the village's rich history.

He continued operating the society and attempting to get a charter, even after he was arrested again in October 2016 and charged with selling prescription medications.

Bucknam had called police to report that his drugs were stolen but an investigation revealed he had either sold or gave the drugs to another person.

During court proceedings for those charges Bucknam repeatedly lied about his military service, claiming he served several overseas tours in the Navy, including one where he received a brain injury in an explosion in Iraq.

An investigation revealed Bucknam never served overseas and, in fact, was given a bad conduct discharge for a sexual assault.

Bucknam was later sentenced to 18 months in state prison for selling drugs, a sentence that was lengthened by his conviction for third-degree rape. He violated parole in 2018 and was returned to prison.

He was released in 2020 and remains on post-release supervision until December 26, 2026, according to state department of corrections.

Bucknam was returned to prison for a parole violation in April and was released Sept. 13, according to DOCS.

Bucknam is classified as a Level 2 sex offender on the state registry.