Profit vs. Patient: Reclaiming Compassion in an ROI-Driven Healthcare World

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

Return on investment (ROI) is not generally associated with the healthcare sector by-passing bystanders; however, it is increasingly being used as a tool to evaluate the value for money of health interventions. 

Given its high potential to inform and shape future health policies, a comprehensive understanding of ROI analysis and what constitutes an appropriate ROI in healthcare is vital to ensure an appropriate balance between economic requirements and compassionate, human-centric care. 

Essentially, oversight is required to ensure patient care is not compromised in favour of earnings, as the ongoing battle between necessary economic efficiency and the fundamental duty to prioritise patients over profit takes place.

The Impact Of Financial Performance Requirements On Private Healthcare

The pressure for financial performance in the private healthcare sector can lead to a complex array of issues. While more financially stable institutions are better positioned to invest in quality improvements, those under pressure are caught in a vicious cycle of cost-cutting that harms patient care. This can include:

  • Compromised quality: Hospitals under financial duress may implement cost-cutting measures, such as reducing staffing levels or postponing investments in equipment or facilities. This can negatively impact patient care, as it often creates longer wait times and poorer quality of care. 
  • “Time-starved” care: When staff levels are reduced, it often means less time is spent with patients. Rushed appointments can result in missed details or a failure to address all patient concerns, while also increasing the likelihood of healthcare worker burnout, which can also negatively impact patient outcomes. 
  • Reduced access to services: To manage costs, private hospitals may close facilities or downgrade services in critical areas such as mental health, maternity, and reconstructive surgery, making it harder for patients to access required care. 
  • Increased costs and public system strain: When private healthcare becomes less accessible or affordable, patients may elect to drop their cover and seek care via the public health system, increasing the burden on the already strained public infrastructure. For-profit hospitals also tend to focus on more lucrative services (such as elective surgeries) to ensure a higher ROI, and during a crisis, demand for these services often drops. This can put private hospitals at financial risk as well. 

On the flip side, when a positive ROI is reported, hospitals can improve the quality of patient care through new technologies, the recruitment of skilled staff, and the creation of reliable systems to enhance the patient experience. 

Is “Return On Investment” The Right Way To Approach Healthcare Review?

The primary concern with an ROI approach to healthcare review is that it often fails to acknowledge wider organisational benefits beyond the monetary.

Modifications to the ROI methodology have been attempted; however, it often details non-monetisable programme benefits as additional (not primary) benefits. This clearly demonstrates that, while only a small fraction of healthcare quality improvement (QI) initiatives are actually monetisable, there is still a general belief that only these should be seen as ROI. 

Non-monetisable, compassionate benefits that result in better patient outcomes and greater staff retention are highly valued by most organisations, so, unsurprisingly, many consider the current, prominent ROI approach an oversimplification. 

Many other industries have already rebranded ROI (marketing and commercial services often use “return-on-quality” or “value-on-investment”), and there are calls for a deeper understanding and reconciliation of healthcare views on ROI to better align with the realities of the sector.

Profit vs. Patient: Reclaiming Compassion in an ROI-Driven Healthcare World

Photo: Unsplash.com

Interestingly, and despite current processes, compassionate care and ROI are not mutually exclusive. 

While metrics such as direct cost savings from reduced errors and litigation are readily apparent in the bottom line, compassionate care resulting from advanced technologies or well-supported staff can shorten patients’ length of stay and reduce the likelihood of readmission. These measures also save staff members time while avoiding overtime, improve employee retention, and increase patient morale. While not as tangible as errors or litigation nor as easily assigned a dollar amount, these returns are meaningful for patients and healthcare facilities.

Ultimately, both quantitative and qualitative, and financial and human impacts should be considered in equal measure when assessing ROI, alongside an “spend less but spend smarter” attitude. ROI needs to be considered through the logic of contextual appropriateness, and given healthcare’s complex social environment, consisting of actions and interactions from humans, technologies, processes, and systems, it can become tricky, fast. 

Future-Thinking: How To Set Up The System For Success

Alongside a review of how ROI is assessed in healthcare beyond monetary value, future-proofing the workforce is another key component to ensuring compassionate care is prioritized. Specialised training, such as that found in an accelerated nursing program, is evolving to teach emotional intelligence and patient-centred advocacy as core clinical skills for the modern era.

Education that deliberately focuses on compassion, empathy, communication, and ethical decision-making will ensure healthcare professionals view patients as people first, not a means to make a profit. It is linked to better health outcomes, increases patient satisfaction and trust, reduces stress for patients and professionals, and teaches holistic care that addresses emotional, social, and physical needs. 

For healthcare professionals, it reduces the risk of burnout through improved job satisfaction, which in turn reduces the likelihood of staff turnover – a more easily measurable ROI. 

By combining an ROI review with patient-centered education, the healthcare industry can reclaim compassion. ROI that recognises non-monetary benefits will improve outcomes for healthcare providers, healthcare professionals, and patients alike, while fostering the importance of compassionate care through education ensures that future generations of workers will embrace and advocate for the ideal. 

Together, these approaches can create a system in which economic sustainability and proper care are not competing priorities but mutually achievable goals. 

 

Disclaimer: The views in this article are based on the author’s analysis and industry observations. Claims regarding ROI in healthcare are theoretical and may vary depending on institutions, regulations, and market conditions. This article does not guarantee specific outcomes or financial performance and should not be considered professional advice.

The AirlineSim Rebuild: Five Months to Fix a Decade of UI Debt

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: Valeria Varlamova, Project Manager at Phenomenon Studio, March 13, 2026

Key Takeaways:

  • AirlineSim is a long-running, real-money, browser-based airline management simulation with a loyal user base that has used it for 10+ years. Redesigning such a product posed significant risks compared to typical SaaS redesigns.
  • Phenomenon Studio completed the full product redesign in five months using modern technologies, including Vite, React, TypeScript, SCSS, Framer Motion, React Router, and Redux.
  • Key outcomes included faster time-to-market for new features, a scalable UI architecture, and measurable increases in user engagement, particularly in flight-scheduling and market-analysis flows.
  • This project serves as a case study for how legacy simulation products can modernize without alienating the community that made them successful in the first place.

AirlineSim, a German-developed airline management simulation with a loyal community, posed a unique challenge for redesign. Unlike typical products, AirlineSim had users who had grown accustomed to its quirks. Redesigning such a product required balancing improvement with maintaining a loyal user base that had adapted to the interface over the years.

The challenge wasn’t simply technical. The AirlineSim codebase had accumulated frontend debt due to its legacy. Built before React and TypeScript, the system had fragmented state management and inconsistent UI patterns across modules like fleet management, route planning, and financial reporting. Despite these issues, users had grown accustomed to them and found workarounds, making the challenge less about fixing failures and more about improving an established system.

Choosing the Tech Stack

Given the complexity of AirlineSim, we had to carefully choose tools that would not only modernize the product but also ensure its long-term scalability. Here’s why we chose our tools:

  1. Vite: The existing build setup was slow, making iteration time-consuming. With a five-month timeline, Vite drastically improved development speed by reducing hot-reload times from 8 seconds to under 0.6 seconds, enabling more frequent testing.
  2. TypeScript: Given the complexity of tracking game state like aircraft positions, market demand, and financial models, we chose TypeScript for its strict typing, ensuring data consistency and preventing visual bugs that could affect strategic decisions.
  3. Framer Motion: Framer Motion allowed us to create smooth animations to help players recognize changes in the game environment. This improved decision-making speed, with users spotting market changes 40% faster in animated states compared to static ones.

Research Before Design: Understanding User Needs

Rather than rushing into design, we dedicated the first three weeks to user research. We didn’t rely on surveys; instead, we conducted task-based sessions where users narrated their decision-making processes. This helped us understand how players interact with the system, what data they prioritize, and where the pain points were.

We mapped out 64 interaction steps during a typical gameplay session, covering tasks like route planning, aircraft management, and pricing decisions. After the redesign, this process was streamlined to 38 steps, without removing any features—just eliminating unnecessary steps.

Designing the Dashboard

The dashboard is the heart of AirlineSim. Players use it to manage flights, aircraft, staff, and market competition. The old dashboard was inconsistent and inefficient, leading to delays in decision-making. Our redesign focused on three key principles:

  1. Prioritize most-used data: We placed key metrics, such as route performance, at the top of the dashboard to ensure they were immediately accessible.
  2. Warnings before confirmations: If a scheduled flight would operate at a loss, the interface displayed a warning before players confirmed the schedule, reducing costly mistakes.
  3. One-click undo: The psychological cost of making mistakes in a live simulation with financial consequences is high. We included an easy undo function to reduce hesitation and improve decision-making speed.

Phased Rollout: Redesigning Incrementally

One of the key risks in redesigning a product with a loyal user base is overwhelming them with a major change all at once. To mitigate this, we used a phased rollout. We began by launching the scheduling module, then gathered feedback, made adjustments, and proceeded to other modules like financial reporting and market analysis. This gradual approach helped users adapt to changes without feeling alienated.

Avoiding Common Redesign Mistakes

Through years of experience, we’ve identified several common mistakes that often lead to the failure of redesign projects. Here’s how we avoided them:

  1. Designing for power users: It’s common to design based on feedback from vocal users, but this often leads to overlooking the needs of new and intermediate players. We made sure to balance the needs of all users, ensuring that both veterans and newcomers could navigate the system.
  2. State management as an afterthought: It’s easy to focus on the visual aspects and neglect the underlying data architecture. In our case, Redux was used to manage game state and ensure stability across the interface.
  3. Big bang launch: Launching a complete redesign all at once can be overwhelming for users. We avoided this by releasing new features incrementally, allowing users to get comfortable with each change before moving on to the next.
  4. Ignoring mobile optimization: Simulation games are often thought of as desktop-only, but many players play them on their mobile devices. Our redesign included full responsive breakpoints, leading to a measurable increase in mobile usage.

Results: Impact and Outcomes

After five months, the redesigned AirlineSim launched with several significant outcomes:

  • Faster time-to-market for new features: The scalable UI architecture enabled faster feature development.
  • Deeper engagement: Players spent more time in the game, particularly in flight scheduling and market analysis modules, due to the streamlined workflow.
  • Increased user retention: With an incremental rollout and continuous feedback loops, we saw higher retention among the loyal user base.

Comparing Redesign Approaches

The AirlineSim Rebuild: Five Months to Fix a Decade of UI Debt

Lessons Learned

The AirlineSim rebuild taught us several valuable lessons about redesigning complex digital products:

  1. User research is essential: We spent three weeks understanding the user before starting design work. This research phase ensured that we were optimizing for real user needs, not just aesthetic preferences.
  2. Phased rollouts work best for existing products: Incremental changes helped us retain the loyal user base while improving the system.
  3. State management matters: Ensuring a robust architecture from the start was crucial to the project’s success.
  4. Mobile optimization is key: Even for traditionally desktop-centric products, ensuring mobile compatibility is essential for user engagement.

Redesigning AirlineSim was a challenge that required careful balance between modernizing the product and keeping its loyal user base engaged. By using user research, state management tools like Redux, and a phased rollout strategy, we successfully transformed the product into a more scalable, user-friendly experience. The result was faster development cycles, improved user engagement, and a product that was prepared for the future.

In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers: A Novel About Time, Power, and the Cost of Knowing Too Much

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: Elowen Gray

Some novels treat time travel as a spectacle. In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers treats it as a burden.

Written by Laurence G. Cripe, the novel unfolds as a quiet, unsettling exploration of what might happen when history begins to misbehave and when a small, largely invisible group is tasked with keeping the damage contained. Set against the backdrop of Cold War paranoia, covert investigations, and unexplained anomalies, the story resists the usual tropes of science fiction. There are no flashy gadgets, no heroic certainty, and no clear victories. Instead, Laurence offers something far more unsettling: a world where reality occasionally fractures, and the people who notice are forced to lie in order to keep everything else intact.

At its heart, In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers is primarily about responsibility, who carries it, how it can affect people, and what it costs to protect a future that may never know you existed.

Inspiration For The Book

Laurence’s fascination with history is evident from the opening pages. The novel repeatedly circles moments that are familiar, such as Cold War investigations, nuclear testing, and unexplained military artifacts, only to suggest that the official explanations may not tell the whole story. Planes strike invisible barriers. Aircraft appear that seem to defy logic. Weapons surface that history insists were never built.

The book imagines a world in which history occasionally produces anomalies, objects, people, and events that may not belong to our timeline at all. Rather than celebrating this, Laurence frames it as deeply destabilizing. The past, once breached, becomes unpredictable. Evidence doesn’t always add up. Records fail. And truth becomes something not easily handled.

This approach reflects a core idea running through the novel: that some truths might not be safe to share. When the characters confront events that “defy physical properties,” they don’t rush to expose them. They suppress them. They document them. They bury them under layers of plausible denial. Not because they are villains, but because they believe the alternative could potentially be worse.

The Journey: A Quiet War Fought in the Shadows

The novel’s central figure, Gary DalPorto, is not a superhero or a brilliant eccentric scientist. He is a methodical investigator, shaped by war, bureaucracy, and long experience navigating institutions that prefer convenient explanations over uncomfortable realities.

DalPorto moves through a series of encounters that feel deceptively ordinary, including interviews, fishing trips, and conversations over drinks. Yet each scene carries the weight of something unsaid. The danger in In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers is rarely announced. It emerges gradually, in the form of subtle inconsistencies, people who know too much, and deaths that don’t make sense.

Laurence’s prose reinforces this atmosphere. Dialogue often sounds casual, even humorous, until the implications become apparent. A throwaway comment reveals a technological impossibility. A familiar object behaves in a way it shouldn’t. A man dies in a manner that suggests physics itself has begun to behave strangely.

Rather than building toward a single explosive revelation, the novel gradually accumulates pressure. It feels like reading classified files that were never meant to be assembled into a single narrative. This slow-burn approach mirrors the reality faced by the characters themselves: they never see the whole picture, only fragments that suggest something vast and deeply wrong.

Meaning: Ethics, Control, and the Price of Intervention

What ultimately distinguishes In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers is its moral restraint.

The novel repeatedly confronts the idea that intervention, even well-intentioned intervention, may create consequences that cannot be fully predicted. The people attempting to “patch” history are not omniscient. They operate with incomplete data, limited authority, and constant fear that someone else, perhaps from another timeline entirely, is already manipulating events for their own ends.

This leads to one of the book’s most compelling ideas: that history could already be under maintenance. That what we perceive as accidents, cover-ups, or unsolved mysteries might be the visible seams of a much larger effort to keep reality from unraveling.

Yet Laurence never presents this as something that provides reassurance. The quiet tragedy of the novel lies in the isolation of those who know. To carry this responsibility is to live without recognition, without certainty, and often without safety. The guardians of time are not celebrated; they are erased, discredited, or killed.

In this sense, In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers becomes a meditation on power itself. Knowledge can be dangerous, control appears temporary, and the act of “fixing” something may simply push the damage elsewhere.

A Thoughtful Contribution to the Genre

Although this is Laurence’s first published novel, it does not read like a debut. The confidence of the voice, the discipline of the structure, and the refusal to over-explain suggest an author more interested in asking questions than showcasing ideas.

In Pursuit of the Time Tamperers belongs to a tradition of science fiction that treats speculative concepts as ethical stress tests. It asks readers not just to imagine what might be possible, but to consider what should be done and who gets to decide.

By the time the final pages arrive, the reader is left with a lingering unease rather than closure. And that seems intentional. In a world where time itself may be compromised, certainty is the one luxury no one can afford.

Merritt Davis about Discipline Before Glamour: A Different Road Into Modeling

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: Alva Ree

When most people imagine the start of a modeling career, they picture someone being discovered at a mall, attending fashion school, or growing up surrounded by the glamour of the industry. My story looks a little different. Modeling didn’t start as a lifelong plan for me. In fact, it came into my life while I was focused on a completely different, non-traditional career.

For a long time, my daily routine had nothing to do with fashion shoots, castings, or studio lights. My schedule revolved around a job that most people would never associate with modeling. It was demanding, practical, and far removed from the glossy images you see in magazines. The work required discipline, long hours, and a strong work ethic, qualities that I didn’t realize would eventually help me in front of the camera.

Modeling wasn’t about being perfect. It was about presence. About telling a story without words. About walking into a room and owning the space you stand in.

The idea of modeling first came up through casual encouragement from people around me. Friends, coworkers, and even strangers would occasionally comment that I should try modeling. At first, I brushed it off. I didn’t have professional photos, agency connections, or any experience in front of a camera. It felt like a completely different world from the one I was used to. Eventually, curiosity got the best of me.

I started by researching the industry, learning about portfolios, photographers, and how castings work. The more I learned, the more I realized that modeling wasn’t just about appearance, it was also about confidence, presence, and storytelling.

My first photoshoot was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Standing in front of the camera felt very different from my normal work environment. There were lights, direction from the photographer, and the constant awareness that every movement mattered. At first, I felt awkward and unsure of myself. But as the shoot continued, something changed.

I started to relax and enjoy the process. What surprised me most was how much my non-traditional job had already prepared me. That job taught me discipline, patience, and the ability to perform under pressure. In modeling, those same qualities are incredibly valuable. Photoshoots can last for hours, require constant adjustments, and demand focus the entire time. Having a strong work ethic made it easier for me to adapt.

Merritt Davis about Discipline Before Glamour: A Different Road Into Modeling

Photo Courtesy: Merritt Davis

Another unexpected advantage was the perspective my background gave me. Because I didn’t grow up in the fashion industry, I approached modeling with a fresh mindset. I wasn’t trying to fit into someone else’s expectations. Instead, I focused on being authentic and bringing my own personality into each shoot.

Balancing two different worlds hasn’t always been easy. On one hand, I have a career that is structured, practical, and often physically demanding. On the other hand, modeling is creative, unpredictable, and constantly changing. Some days, I move directly from a regular work shift to preparing for a photoshoot or casting.

But that contrast is also what makes the journey exciting.

My non-traditional job keeps me grounded and reminds me where I started. It also gives me a unique story that sets me apart. In an industry where many people follow similar paths, having a different background can actually become a strength.

Merritt Davis about Discipline Before Glamour: A Different Road Into Modeling

Photo Courtesy: Merritt Davis

As I continue developing my modeling career, I’m still learning with every shoot and every opportunity. Building a portfolio, networking with photographers, and gaining experience takes time. There’s no instant success, but that’s part of the process.

What matters most to me is growth. Each step forward, whether it’s a new photoshoot, a collaboration, or simply becoming more confident in front of the camera, is a milestone.

Looking back, I never imagined I would step into the modeling world while working in a completely different field. Yet that unexpected combination is exactly what makes my journey meaningful. It proves that there isn’t only one path into modeling. Sometimes the most interesting stories begin in places no one would expect, including your own everyday job.

AI Trust Cannot Be Generated. It Has to Be Earned.

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: Dr. Tamara Patzer

The tools capable of producing convincing synthetic content, fabricated images, AI-generated expert commentary, and manufactured social proof are widely available. They are in the hands of marketers, content farms, and increasingly sophisticated bad actors in various industries.

The question is no longer whether AI-generated synthetic content will flood the information space. It is already here. The question is what your audience and the AI systems your audience relies on can use to distinguish real from fabricated.

The answer is unsettling: often, they cannot.

Human perception has not evolved to detect synthetic imagery or AI-generated content at scale. The tools that generate this content have outpaced our biological ability to identify it. Which means the burden of proof has shifted.

In the current environment, the absence of verifiable signals of authenticity can be read by humans and by AI systems alike as evidence of inauthenticity. This is the new operating reality for every business, expert, and institution that depends on being trusted.

The institutions, experts, brands, and voices that will likely be trusted in an AI-saturated information environment are the ones who have built verifiable credibility before the flood arrives. Named authorship on indexed publications. Institutional affiliations that can be cross-referenced. A documented body of work that predates any single news cycle. Media appearances with traceable records. Credentials that exist in multiple independent systems.

AI itself has become the primary gatekeeper of trust.

When someone searches for an expert, an answer, or a source, artificial intelligence in search engines, in answer engines, and in recommendation systems makes the first determination of who is credible. That determination is not based on who claims authority. It is based on who has built the signal trail that AI systems are trained to recognize as authoritative: consistent, cited, verified, attributed, and indexed over time.

This matters for every business operating in a competitive information environment, which is every business.

Markets, industries, and professional categories are all information environments where attention and trust are contested. Competitors are generating synthetic content. Content farms are flooding search results. AI-produced commentary is appearing under invented names and fabricated credentials. The volume of synthetic authority signals is increasing faster than audiences can evaluate them.

The businesses and professionals that appear to be winning in this environment are not winning by generating more content. They are winning by having built an authoritative record that is difficult to replicate because it was constructed over time, in real publications, under real names, with real credentials that exist across multiple independent and verifiable systems.

Synthetic authority can be manufactured quickly. Real authority takes time to develop. That asymmetry can offer the most durable competitive advantage available in an AI-mediated trust economy.

The disinformation problem that is playing out at the highest levels of the global information environment is already filtering down into every market and every industry where attention and trust determine outcomes.

Your answer to that environment is not necessarily better synthetic content. It is an authority record that is not easily faked because it was built before anyone thought to fabricate it.

Publish consistently. Get indexed. Get cited. Get on record.

Because when your audience and the AI systems they rely on look for someone to trust on your topic, the question will not be who sounds most credible in this moment. It will be who has the longest, clearest, most verifiable trail of actually being credible over time.

That trail is built one published idea at a time.

The ideal time to start may have been before the flood. The second-best time is today.

Dr. Tamara Patzer is a behavioral marketing analyst, authority architect, Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, and publisher. She is the founder of Blue Ocean Authority Publishing and Daily Success Media Network, creator of the AI Suggestibility™ framework and the Answer Engine Authority System™, a member of the Poynter Institute, and a former adjunct faculty member at the University of South Florida, State College of Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast University. She has spoken at NASDAQ, the Harvard Faculty Club, and Microsoft.

Anastasia Kataurova: The Milan Beauty Artist Behind Europe’s Elegant Destination Weddings

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: Alva Ree

In luxury beauty, the difference between simply looking good and truly unforgettable often lies in the details. Behind Europe’s refined beauty experiences stands International Beauty Services, a Milan-based agency founded by Anastasia Kataurova that approaches beauty not just as a service, but as the architecture of a complete image.

From high-profile events and editorial productions to private celebrations and brand collaborations, the agency has built a reputation for creating sophisticated, curated looks for international clients across Europe.

For Kataurova, beauty has always been about more than technique. She began her professional journey in 2005 as a makeup artist. In 2025, she opens her own Agency.

“Makeup was my first love,” she says. “But very quickly I realized that beauty is not just about makeup itself. It’s about the entire image and how a person feels when they look in the mirror.” Driven by this philosophy, she expanded her expertise beyond makeup to include hairstyling and full-image creation. Over time, this approach became her signature, where makeup, hair, fashion, and personality merge into a balanced and elegant aesthetic.

A defining chapter in her career began in 2009, when she moved to Milan, one of the world’s most influential fashion capitals. Immersed in the city’s creative environment, she deepened her studies in styling and image creation while building an international clientele.

“Milan teaches you to think about beauty differently,” Kataurova explains. “It’s about understanding style, atmosphere, and individuality.”

Today, Milan remains both her home and the headquarters of International Beauty Services, from where the agency operates across Italy and internationally in Switzerland, France, Germany, and Austria.

Kataurova’s work has appeared in Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue. She has also provided services at prestigious events such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival, where fast-paced environments demand creativity and precision.

While weddings remain a key part of the agency’s portfolio, International Beauty Services offers services for a wide range of occasions. The team regularly works at private celebrations, including birthdays, anniversaries, gala dinners, and exclusive social events, helping clients feel confident and elegant during these meaningful moments.

The agency also collaborates with fashion and lifestyle brands on lookbooks, advertising campaigns, and editorial shoots, combining fashion styling with beauty artistry to produce visually compelling imagery.

What distinguishes International Beauty Services is its comprehensive approach. Rather than simply providing makeup or hairstyling, the agency focuses on the image’s architecture. Depending on client needs, it can assemble a complete creative team, including professional stylists, hairstylists, and makeup artists. When necessary, the team also assists in selecting photographers to ensure the final result reflects the intended aesthetic.

Among the locations where the agency operates are some of Europe’s most iconic destinations. The elegant villas of Lake Como, the historic estates of Tuscany, the breathtaking Amalfi Coast, and the timeless elegance of Rome attract international clients. Other remarkable spots include Liguria’s colorful seaside villages, Sicily’s cultural richness, and the dramatic alpine landscapes of the Dolomites.

A unique feature of the agency is its mobility and multilingual team. Specialists from International Beauty Services can travel to client locations across Europe, offering flexibility and personalized service, and communicate fluently in multiple languages to accommodate international clients.

Education is another focus. Through International Beauty Services, Kataurova offers professional makeup training and private masterclasses for aspiring artists and individuals seeking to enhance their personal beauty skills.

Another signature service is personalized beauty shopping in Milan, where clients are guided through carefully selected boutiques and beauty spaces to discover products, colors, and styles that complement their image. Corporate beauty services are also a growing area. Companies invite the team to prepare executives, speakers, and teams for conferences, brand presentations, and professional events.

With over twenty years of experience, Anastasia Kataurova has transformed her personal passion into an international brand. Through International Beauty Services, she continues to provide refined beauty experiences across Europe, combining creativity, precision, and a modern sense of elegance.

The Body Restoration Method: How Mira Moore Is Shaping Post-Liposuction and Postpartum Recovery

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By Alva Ree

The wellness industry in New York is constantly evolving, but some specialists stand out by introducing a completely new perspective on body care. 

Mira Moore, a New York-based massage therapist and body restoration specialist with more than 20 years of experience, has built her reputation on working with women’s bodies after major physiological changes — from cosmetic surgery to childbirth.

Originally from Russia, Moore relocated to the United States, where her expertise and unique bodywork techniques led to her receiving a U.S. green card under the extraordinary ability category in massage therapy. Today she works with women who are looking not only for aesthetic improvements but also for deeper body recovery.

We spoke with Moore about her method and the importance of specialized bodywork for women.

Q: What inspired you to specialize in women’s body restoration?

For many years I worked as a massage therapist and noticed that women’s bodies go through incredibly complex transformations. Pregnancy, childbirth, hormonal changes, and cosmetic surgeries such as liposuction create unique physiological conditions. Unfortunately, many practitioners are not trained to understand these changes. I realized there was a need for a more specialized approach focused specifically on the female body.

The Body Restoration Method: How Mira Moore Is Shaping Post-Liposuction and Postpartum Recovery

Photo Courtesy: Elena Kapucin

Q: Why is post-liposuction care so important?

Liposuction is often perceived as a purely aesthetic procedure, but it significantly affects the lymphatic system and connective tissue. Without proper recovery, women can develop fibrosis, swelling, and uneven skin texture. Specialized massage techniques help stimulate lymphatic flow, soften scar tissue, and support proper healing. Recovery is just as important as the surgery itself.

Q: How does your method differ from traditional massage?

Traditional massage often focuses on relaxation or muscle tension. My method is based on understanding how the lymphatic system, fascia, and skin interact after surgical procedures or hormonal changes. It combines lymphatic drainage techniques, sculpting massage, and connective tissue work to restore balance in the body. The goal is not just relaxation but structural improvement and long-term results.

Q: Do women also come to you after childbirth?

Yes, very often. After pregnancy, the body goes through dramatic changes — the abdominal wall, lymphatic circulation, and posture all shift. Gentle but targeted bodywork can help women restore circulation, reduce fluid retention, and support tissue recovery. Many women don’t realize that bodywork can be an important part of postpartum care.

The Body Restoration Method: How Mira Moore Is Shaping Post-Liposuction and Postpartum Recovery

Photo Courtesy: Elena Kapucin

Q: What mistakes do people make when trying to recover their body after surgery or weight changes?

One of the biggest mistakes is expecting immediate results without giving the body proper support. Another is relying only on devices or machines. Technology can help, but the human touch is extremely important. Skilled manual work allows the therapist to feel the tissue and adjust techniques in real time.

Q: What role does experience play in bodywork?

Experience is everything. The hands of a therapist develop sensitivity over time. You learn to understand how tissue responds, how the lymphatic system behaves, and how to guide the body toward recovery. That knowledge cannot be replaced by technology.

Q: What motivates you most in your work?

Helping women reconnect with their bodies. Many women come to me feeling frustrated after surgery or weight changes. When they begin to see improvement and feel comfortable in their bodies again, it’s incredibly rewarding.

As body restoration becomes a growing focus in the wellness industry, specialists like Mira Moore are helping redefine how women approach recovery and self-care.

Bio

Mira Moore is a New York-based body restoration specialist and massage educator with more than 20 years of experience working with the female body. She is the creator of a proprietary body restoration method focused on post-liposuction and postpartum recovery. Originally from Russia, Moore later moved to the United States, where she received a U.S. green card under the extraordinary ability category for her work in massage therapy.

The Two Words That Hold a Life Together

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

In Kerry Espey’s Not Yet, a small phrase becomes a grammar of love, limits, and longing

There are phrases that parents repeat because they work, not because they are profound. “Shoes.” “Hands.” “Look at me.” And then there are phrases that keep returning, quietly changing their meaning as the years change ours. “Not yet” is one of those. It begins as a practical delay, a pause before lunch, a check before a bike ride, and ends up, in the way language sometimes does, carrying a lifetime of tenderness.

That is the premise and the emotional engine of Not Yet, a new picture book by Kerry Espey, an educator who has written what she calls a true story about her mother and herself. The book matters now not because it announces a trend, but because it answers one: the growing need for children’s literature that doesn’t flinch from complicated feelings, and for adult readers who understand that picture books can be small, potent vessels for grief, caretaking, and memory.

Espey’s choice is deceptively simple: she builds the book around repetition. “Not yet,” the mother says, and the phrase returns with an almost musical cadence. It’s easy to underestimate the artistic risk of that move. Repetition can become rote. It can flatten a story into a lesson. But in Not Yet, the refrain does what refrains do in good songs: it gathers new weight each time it comes back.

In the earliest pages, “not yet” is the voice of safety and responsibility. A child wants to move faster than her world can safely allow. A mother slows the tempo. The phrase does not arrive as scolding; it arrives as a structure that feels like care. “Not yet,” the mother says at one point. “First, I need to meet this boy. I need to make sure he will treat you well and bring you home on time.” The line is plainspoken, almost ordinary, and that ordinariness is the point. In Espey’s hands, protection isn’t dramatic; it’s a practiced habit.

What makes Not Yet quietly arresting is how it allows the same phrase to mature alongside the girl who hears it. The refrain begins as a pause imposed from above. Later, it becomes a pause that the reader recognizes as necessary, the difference between impatience and readiness, between wanting and being able. Without leaning on plot mechanics, the book traces a familiar arc: a child grows into independence, and the rules that once felt like obstacles begin to read as the scaffolding of a life.

Espey’s creation story is embedded in the book’s posture: it reads as if written against disappearance. In the author’s note, she frames the project as an act of holding close to keeping love alive through memory, of cherishing “the quiet moments,” of recognizing how deeply love shapes who we become. That is not marketing language; it’s an ethic. The book’s attention is trained on small rituals, the kind that rarely make it into family lore because they don’t announce themselves as important until later.

The prose mirrors that ethic. Espey writes in short, clear sentences meant to be read aloud, yet they carry an adult clarity about what repetition does to memory. The pacing is measured; the emotional voltage rises not through twists but through accumulation. The structure of the return of a phrase across changing circumstances is a child-friendly version of something literary fiction has long known: that a motif can do the work of time.

If the book has an ambition, it is to make “not yet” feel like a form of love rather than a deprivation. That is a difficult task in a culture that trains children to interpret waiting as punishment and adults to interpret waiting as failure. Espey’s risk is that the refrain could come across as sentimental. But the book avoids that trap by refusing to glamorize. The love here is not ornate. It is practical, repetitive, sometimes imperfect, and therefore believable.

Near the book’s most emotionally charged section, the phrase turns from boundary to plea. “Please God, not yet,” the girl prays. The line lands because it does not explain itself. It doesn’t need to. Almost anyone who has sat beside a loved one in uncertainty understands the instinct: to bargain for time, to ask language to do what it can’t.

A good picture book does not simply “teach” a child; it offers a shared atmosphere in which an adult and a child can sit together and feel something true. Not Yet is that kind of book that invites families to talk about patience and independence, but also about caretaking, tenderness, and the way love keeps reappearing in the phrases we once thought were only instructions.

In the end, the brilliance of “not yet” is that it refuses finality. It is neither yes nor no, neither promise nor refusal. It is a small hinge between now and later, between the life you have and the life that is coming. Espey’s book understands that the hinge is the place where much of living happens and where, if we’re lucky, much of love does, too.

Future Restaurant Building Uses New Composite Brick to Speed Build and Provide Authentic Looks in the Center of Bay Shore, Long Island

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By: James Carlson, Senior Territory Manager – New York, Tando Composites 

Bay Shore, Long Island – The vibe in downtown Bay Shore, Long Island, NY, is heating up with new restaurants and shops cropping up in many of the older row buildings. One renovation project includes two buildings located near the town’s George S. King Park and gazebo on Main Street. The buildings are owned by local veterinarians, Doctors Carlos and Gilbert Cintron of Twins Veterinary Hospital, located around the corner, and are expected to house a Mediterranean cafe and Ramen Noodle Shop, with a rooftop deck facing the Great South Bay canal.

A hamlet of Islip, Bay Shore is among Long Island’s coastal towns experiencing a steady revival, especially around its walkable Main Street. With the marina and ferry to Fire Island nearby, the area attracts both locals and visitors looking for food, shopping, and charm. As more row buildings are updated, projects like this one are enhancing the neighborhood’s curb appeal while maintaining its historic character.

According to Chris Squires of CJS Building Services, the job scope included the building wall framing and exterior façade, while the interior will be done later by the tenants. He said the buildings are creating a buzz because the brick used on the knee wall and top exterior walls went up incredibly fast. The crew used a composite brick from Tando Composites called TandoStone® ProBrick®. The project used approximately 3,000 square feet of ProBrick for the 3-story buildings. An extension of the TandoStone product line, ProBrick offers the undeniable realism of brick, with outstanding durability, and fast, easy installation. 

Future Restaurant Building Uses New Composite Brick to Speed Build and Provide Authentic Looks in the Center of Bay Shore, Long Island

Photo Courtesy: ProBrick (The building blends in well with the other brick buildings.)

Squires explained that ProBrick delivers greater value and affordability than traditional brick, with savings in jobsite time and efficiency – not to mention that it is installed like siding. 

“This worked out perfectly for the building owners and the neighborhood,” said Squires. “The TandoStone ProBrick is a real game-changer as a product that truly looks like brick but without the time, labor, mortar, and dry times.” 

Squires explained that after conducting a cost analysis, TandoStone ProBrick proved to be significantly faster to install. Additionally, he used his own siding crew instead of hiring a mason, which improved profit margins and simplified project management. Unlike traditional brick, ProBrick eliminates the need for over-ordering because it is virtually unbreakable during transport or installation.

Future Restaurant Building Uses New Composite Brick to Speed Build and Provide Authentic Looks in the Center of Bay Shore, Long Island

Photo Courtesy: ProBrick (Modern design trends include a mixed material look, with composite brick shown as an accent, with white trim moulding and siding.)

“When you have the starter strip and panels placed, you get on a roll and just nail it in,” he said. “There’s no brick laying, mortar mixing and applying, or waiting for anything to dry. The time savings are real – three days vs. four to five weeks. It really adds up, and time is money.”

Squires’ crew also used PVC columns in white that offset the brick for a sharp, classic look. 

“Because we are in the center of town, people come up to us all day and ask about the job, including a union bricklayer, amazed at how fast it was going up by a siding crew,” said Squires. “I explained that it’s a composite brick that looks like the real thing, but installs in panels, with no mortar. He took a sample!”

Squires added that the crew loved it, and the owners are extremely happy that it came in on time and on budget without masonry delays. 

Qurtuba’s Transformation: Enhancing UX and Improving User Satisfaction With Phenomenon Studio

NY Weekly Staff on March 18, 2026

By Valeria Varlamova, Project Manager, Phenomenon Studio

Key Takeaways:

  • A web design agency’s redesign significantly improved user satisfaction with key features, addressing past frustrations with progress tracking. 
  • Learning productivity and engagement saw noticeable improvements post-launch. 
  • The technology stack included modern tools like TypeScript, React, Vite, MUI, Redux, Firebase, and Auth0, chosen specifically to meet product needs. 

Qurtuba is an online school platform serving students in Johannesburg, South Africa. The platform’s user interface (UI) had accumulated significant friction over the years, leading to frustration for both students and teachers. Our challenge was to redesign the platform while preserving its functionality and keeping its loyal user base intact, all without taking the platform offline.

The Initial State: A Platform Struggling with UX

Before the redesign, Qurtuba’s platform, although operational, presented various inefficiencies. Students had difficulty accessing their progress data, which was buried under multiple menu layers. Teachers encountered cumbersome workflows that required numerous steps to grade assignments. These issues created friction that affected user engagement and overall effectiveness.

The UX Audit: Identifying Core Problems

During the audit, we found that the primary UX issues weren’t a lack of features but rather the poor design of the existing ones. For example, the progress-tracking feature required navigating through several menu layers, which often led to confusion. Similarly, the grading workflow for teachers was unnecessarily complex, with many steps required to complete a task.

The audit revealed that Qurtuba’s platform wasn’t designed with the users’ needs in mind. Instead, it reflected the perspectives of the developers who built it. This disconnect led to unnecessary friction and hindered the platform’s ability to serve its users effectively.

Choosing the Right Tech Stack

Given the complexity of the project, we carefully selected a technology stack that aligned with Qurtuba’s specific requirements.

  • React with TypeScript: React’s component-based structure was ideal, while TypeScript ensured consistency and minimized errors that could disrupt the user experience. 
  • Vite: Vite accelerated the development cycle, allowing us to test and iterate more quickly. 
  • MUI: MUI’s accessible components helped ensure that the platform was usable by students with varying needs, laying a strong foundation for accessibility. 
  • Firebase & Auth0: Firebase allowed for real-time data synchronization, while Auth0 provided secure, flexible authentication for users with different roles. 

Redesigning the Platform: Streamlining the Experience

The redesign focused on addressing the most significant sources of friction and improving usability.

  • Student Dashboard: The dashboard was simplified, reducing the number of interactions required to view key information and making it easier for students to track their progress. 
  • Teacher Grading Workflow: We streamlined the grading workflow, significantly reducing the time teachers spend entering grades and freeing up more time for teaching. 
  • Teacher-Student Communication: The communication process was made more efficient, with a faster response time and a simpler interface for providing feedback. 

Phased Rollout: Minimizing Disruption

To prevent overwhelming users with too many changes at once, we implemented a phased rollout strategy. Rather than launching the entire platform redesign at once, we introduced new features incrementally. This approach allowed users to adapt to the changes more smoothly and provided an opportunity to gather feedback and make adjustments as needed.

Results and Impact

After the redesign, we saw significant improvements across various aspects of the platform. User satisfaction increased, particularly with features related to progress tracking, and learning productivity improved noticeably. Teachers were able to work more efficiently, and students engaged with the platform more effectively.

Lessons Learned

This project reinforced the importance of a user-centered design approach, particularly for educational platforms. Key lessons included:

  • The Importance of User Research: Taking the time to understand user needs before designing a solution is crucial for effective outcomes. 
  • Phased Rollouts Work Best for Existing Products: Gradual changes help users adjust to new features without feeling overwhelmed. 
  • Streamlining Processes Increases Efficiency: Reducing unnecessary steps can significantly improve both teacher and student productivity. 

Redesigning Qurtuba was a challenging but rewarding experience. By focusing on improving usability and reducing friction, we created a platform that better serves its users. The result wasn’t a dramatic transformation, but rather the result of methodically addressing key issues and making the platform more intuitive and efficient.

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