(File Photo of Pittsburgh Police Cruiser)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff
(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Three Pittsburgh Police marked vehicles caught fire early this morning in the department’s Training Academy parking lot located at 900 N. Lincoln Avenue on the city’s northside. The fire was first reported around 3 a.m. and officials think that the fires are suspicious and were set on purpose. They are planning to use privately owned surveillance cameras in the area to see how the vehicles caught fire. Thankfully no one was injured in the incident.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The Beaver Falls City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday evening, with a slighted eye towards the holiday season.

The city approved for its annual trick-or-treat times, agreeing unanimously on the block of 6:00 to 8:00 PM on Halloween Day–October 31–for the handing out of candy and other treats. A similar event, however, was tabled; the “Trunk Or Treat” to be held by BCBH Early Intervention on October 22 was held away from a vote until a designated time was decided upon. Council felt that it wanted the organization to have the best opportunity to gather townspeople for the event, and to not have it conflict with other events taking place on that Saturday.

Council also approved the pension calculations for retired officer Michael Seybert–who retired on August 22–and the resignation and separation agreement for officer Christopher Tessmer, effective on September 23. The council also approved general fund expenditures and transactions at a total of $311,733.37, along with approval for the allocation of funds to the city’s three pension plans and additional funds to support the Fire Relief Association.

Beaver County Solicitor Garen Fedeles was present at the meeting, filling in for the absent Beaver Falls Solicitor Shannon Steele; Fedeles spoke about the upcoming Act 57 of 2022 regarding tax penalties for new homeowners taking effect soon. City Manager Charles Jones announced that two new restaurants–BF BBQ and Taste Of The Caribbean–will be opening to the public this weekend. Jones says that there’s more on the way: “I’m getting inquiries every week about businesses that want to relocate here or open up, so that’s good stuff.”

The next Beaver Falls City Council meeting is scheduled for October 11 at 7:00 PM.

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff

(Big Beaver, Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are reporting that they were called to the scene of a one vehicle accident at 11:30 PM Sunday night along the Pa Turnpike at mile marker 13.1 in Big Beaver.

Troopers reported upon arriving and investigating that it was learned that a 2015 Dodge Charger that was being operated by 63-year-old Clarence Dufford of Ellwood City was traveling eastbound in the right lane at an unsafe speed and Dufford lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle traveled across the left lane and struck the center concrete barrier. After impact the vehicle traveled counter clockwise and hit the center concrete barrier a second time and can to a final rest between the left and right lane facing south.

Dufford was not injured in the accident but was cited by State Police for driving a vehicle at an unsafe speed.

(Photo of Gov Wolf Speaking at the announcement courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is spending $45 million to add three new state parks. Officials are set to announce Tuesday the parks will be at a nature preserve in Tunkhannock, on Big Elk Creek in the Philadelphia suburbs and along the Susquehanna River near Wrightsville. Together they’ll add about 3,400 acres to Pennsylvania’s existing system of 121 state parks. The three new parks’ final names haven’t been determined. They are expected to be fully operational by the end of 2026. New state funding is also helping develop a park where people can use motorized vehicles south of Hazleton and to preserve the state’s large collection of geologic core samples.

(Photo provided with release)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.)  Allegheny Health Network (AHN) patients now have a new option for self-scheduling a doctor’s appointment – by booking online, right from their computers or smartphones, in just minutes.

AHN is now one of just a few large health systems in the country to offer self-scheduling for primary and specialty services. According to HealthLeaders magazine, about 88% of health systems see patient self-scheduling as a top access and investment priority, but only about 3% currently have that capability – and only a few are actually acting on those plans, the magazine reported in July 2022.

“At AHN, we know that exceptional care isn’t just about providing outstanding medicine – it’s about breaking down barriers to care and providing better access and an easier experience for our patients,” said Deborah Duffy, Senior Vice President, Virtual Health and Access for AHN. “Online self-scheduling eliminates a lot of the hassle involved in making a doctor’s appointment.”

In other words, less time on the phone with call centers or reception desks.

When patients visit AHN.org’s “Find Care” portal (findcare.ahn.org) and search for a primary care provider or a specialist, the search will return a list of providers. Many of those provider bios now feature a “make an appointment” button beside the provider’s name.

By clicking on the “make an appointment” button, patients will be taken to the provider’s online scheduling tool, which shows the provider’s short-term availability and next available appointment.

From there, the online booking tool directs the patients to a decision tree and asks them a series of questions (reason for visit, date of birth, and a few others related to insurance coverage) and then asks them to select an available appointment window. Lastly, the tool asks the patient to confirm the appointment.

The technology interacts seamlessly with AHN’s MyChart patient portal. After the appointment is confirmed through the “Find Care” tool, the patient receives an immediate MyChart notification.

“Patients are telling us they want more autonomy, and more tools like these,” Duffy said. “As a network, we are committed to delivering consumer-friendly technologies that allow patients to access health care on their own terms.”

Caregivers are enthusiastic about AHN’s new self-scheduling option. Historically, physician practices have been resistant to giving up control of their appointment books, but at AHN, practices have collaborated with the network’s access and IT teams every step of the way, on this and other access-improvement initiatives

“Our physicians understand that providing world-class medicine is only one part of the care equation,” said Donald Whiting, MD, Chief Medical Officer for AHN. “Ensuring convenient access to our providers allows patients to more easily take advantage of the many medical services that we offer. Our new self-scheduling technology is a game-changer for both patients and caregivers.”

AHN has partnered with DocASAP, a leading patient access and engagement platform, to implement the new self-scheduling system. DocASAP, a part of Optum, which serves a variety of health systems and health plans nationally, is based in Virginia.

To date, more than 2,000 patients have successfully self-scheduled their own AHN physician appointments using the new option, which launched this summer. Currently, patients may self-schedule primary care, orthopedic, and OB/GYN appointments. More specialties, including cardiology, will be added in the near future.

“As an industry, we need to meet people where they are – and increasingly, they are online,” Duffy said. “This is a truly patient-centered access advancement, and it has the potential to improve health and well-being in meaningful ways.”

Patients can also continue to request appointments via email through their MyChart app, or by calling 412-DOCTORS in the Pittsburgh area (814-CONNECT in the Erie region).

(File Photo)

Story by Sandy Giordano, Beaver County Radio News
(Hopewell Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) The Hopewell Township Board of  Commissioners approved the coffee house ‘A BREWED AWAKENING’S conditional use for its Brodhead Road location . Solicitor Mike Jones  presented a written decision to have the coffee shop in Barbara Michna’s hair salon, GET PAMPERED.  She must abide   by the commissioners, and planning and zoning board stipulations. She is currently a commissioner and did not take part in any decisions concerning the site. She must remove a  dumpster or move it out of sight. A  clear sight triangle must be maintained and no vehicles should be parked there. The building code inspector  must come and inspect, Solicitor Jones said.