PITTSBURGH (AP) — A former employee of a western Pennsylvania hospital accused of secretly filming patients and co-workers in a bathroom has been sentenced to 11 to 22 months in jail. An Allegheny County judge also ordered 53-year-old Guy Caley of Canonsburg to spend 10 years on probation and to register as a sex offender for 15 years after his release. The former West Penn Hospital medical technician pleaded guilty in May to 89 felony and misdemeanor counts of intercepting communications and invasion of privacy. In court Monday, he called his actions “reprehensible, hurtful, inexcusable.”

The Sheriff’s Office of Beaver County is warning residents of a jury duty phone scam.  The office reported that a woman in Montgomery county received a phone call stating that she missed jury duty and needed to contact the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or face arrest.  The woman called back the number that was left to her in a voicemail, and she was contacted again from a different number.  The Sheriff’s Office wants residents to know that they should call back any number claiming to be law enforcement to verify that it is in fact a law enforcement agency.  Phone scammers have been known in the past to clone phone numbers to appear legitimate when they show up on caller ID.

Harrisburg, PA –

Federal data representing all 67 counties:

• According to the CDC, as of Sunday, Aug. 15, Pennsylvania ranks 5^th among all 50 states for total doses administered.
• According to the CDC, as of Sunday, Aug. 15, 64.3% of Pennsylvanians age 18 and older are fully vaccinated.

 

Statewide data representing the 66 counties within the Department of Health’s vaccine jurisdiction:

• Pennsylvania’s vaccine dashboard was updated on Friday, July 9 to more accurately reflect the number of people who are partially and fully vaccinated in each county outside of Philadelphia, along with demographics of those receiving vaccine. For state-to-state comparisons, refer to the CDC vaccine data tracker.
• Vaccine providers have administered 11,899,922 total vaccine doses as of Monday, Aug. 16.
• 5,826,058 people are fully vaccinated; with 52,551 vaccinations administered yesterday and a seven-day moving average of more than 14,900 people per day receiving vaccinations.

The department continues to urge Pennsylvanians to follow CDC guidance for wearing a mask where required by law, rule and regulations, including healthcare, local business and workplace guidance. For the protection of themselves and others, individuals who have not yet been vaccinated or are partially vaccinated are still encouraged to wear a mask when in public. CDC also recommends all individuals wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission.

Harrisburg, PA – In its July 2021 report, the Pennsylvania Department of Health notes that nursing home surveyors conducted 466 inspections, including 289 complaint investigations, of 329 separate nursing homes. Of these inspections, 30 were COVID-19-specific investigations. There were five new sanctions finalized against nursing care facilities in the past month resulting in a total of $40,150 in fines.

“Throughout the COVID-19 response, the department has continued to investigate any complaint made to the department to ensure  residents receive the best quality of care,” Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said. “We encourage staff, residents and visitors, if you see something, please say something by contacting the department.”

Individuals can file complaints about a nursing home with the department in several ways: anonymously by calling 1-800-254-5164, filling out the online complaint form, emailing c-ncomplai@pa.gov, or sending the complaint in the mail to the department.

The inspections include information on nursing home patient care and building inspections. If a facility is cited for not following regulations during the survey, it must submit a plan of correction that includes what will be done to fix the issue(s) and a completion date for the resolution. The department will conduct a surprise follow-up inspection to ensure issues are resolved. Surveys are posted to the website 41 days after the survey is completed.

The Department of Health also conducts surveys on behalf of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). These surveys include federal certification and recertification, complaint surveys, building safety surveys and others.

The department also may issue sanctions that could include a civil penalty, a ban on admissions, a license being revoked, or a facility being put on a provisional license, which requires, among other things, being subject to additional inspections. A provisional license can be renewed no more than three times. The department can return the facility to a regular license if it is satisfied that all issues have been corrected and it is warranted.

The department maintains a searchable database, which allows the public to view patient care surveys, building safety surveys, size of the nursing home, type of ownership and additional information about each of the nursing homes in the state. The department oversees 692 nursing homes with more than 88,000 beds in Pennsylvania, in addition to other facilities, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, home care agencies and others.

The Wolf Administration has taken a three-pillar approach to protecting the vulnerable residents living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities (LTCF) from COVID-19:

• Ensuring resident safety through testing, education, and resources;
• Preventing and mitigating outbreaks; and
• Working in partnership with state agencies, local health departments and long-term care facility operators.

To best understand COVID-19 impact in nursing homes, the department requires facilities to self-report the cumulative number of cases and deaths of staff and residents to the department. To access that data, along with county level data, visit the department’s LTCF data page.

On August 12, the Department of Health set a minimum goal for all nursing homes to have at least 80 percent of staff fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Oct. 1, 2021, to help vulnerable residents. Currently in Pennsylvania, 12.5 percent of facilities have staff vaccinated at or above 80 percent. You can find the vaccination status of all current nursing home staff and residents reported from the nursing home facility to the CMS on our dashboard to easily analyze this self-reported data to the federal government.

While residents and staff at skilled nursing facilities are receiving vaccine, it is essential that everyone remain vigilant regarding the potential spread of COVID-19 in congregate care facilities.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

(Hopewell Township, PA) Regardless of what one group of parents doesn’t want, their children to wear masks in school and on the buses, the district is following CDC guidelines, according to Acting Superintendent Robert Kartychak.  He said “During the level of transmission which is high in the county, everyone is to be masked, this is an attempt to keep students in their seats  in school in front of our teaching staff.”

The upcoming school board meeting has been changed to Tuesday, August 24 at 6 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The meeting was originally scheduled for Monday.

Center Township Supervisors adopted their new updated dog ordinance Monday night prepared by Solicitor Nicholas Urick. The new ordinance  went into effect today. Residents can pick up a copy of the ordinance in the township office between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

PA State Police in Gibsonia released information regarding an accident that occurred in North Sewickley Township last Tuesday. The accident occurred on Interstate 76 at mile marker 15.2. Driver, 43 year old Chad Myers of Ellwood City, was traveling west in the right lane in a Chevy Malibu when he lost control on wet roadway and struck a Mazda CX5 traveling in the left lane, which was operated by 86 year old George Fitel, and contained one passenger. Myers was able to drive away from the scene after receiving a citation, Fitel’s vehicle had to be towed.

(Story and photos by Matt Drzik)

No token of gratitude can compare to that of sacrifice for friend, for neighbor, or for country, but the commemoration and honor towards one Beaver County hero who sacrificed it all will now be permanently emblazoned in Hookstown.

The Hookstown Post Office on Mill Street was officially dedicated in honor of Sgt. Dylan J. Elchin, who was killed in combat during a tour of duty in Afghanistan back in 2018. Since then, the Vanport Bridge and the Hookstown Post Office have been renamed in Elchin’s honor.

This renaming of the post office was authorized by the United States Congress, and Congressman Conor Lamb (who co-authored the measure) was on hand with Elchin’s family and community to honor the Purple Heart recipient.

“While Dylan is the one that made that choice, it is your family and this community that created him, inspired him to make a choice like that and raised him to be that kind of man,” Lamb said. “So what I think you deserve to hear from all of us today, but particularly from someone who represents your national government, is that we would not be the country that want to be or say we are without families like yours who are willing to raise children like Dylan.”

Also in attendance were Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning, Air Force Colonel John Robinson, United States Postal Service district manager Kathy Hand, and representatives from the offices of Senators Bob Casey & Pat Toomey.

Photos from the unveiling can be seen below.

As families across the country start sending their children to school, AAA East Central has launched its annual School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign to encourage parents to talk about the importance of school zone safety with their children and teen drivers. Motorists are advised to take extra caution when traveling through school zones or near school buses.

“Everyone needs to keep the lives of young students in mind as they make their way through school zones, especially near crosswalks,” says Terri Rae Anthony, safety advisor for AAA East Central. “School zone speed limits, crossing guards, and markings on buses are in place to save lives, and need to be followed by motorists.”

AAA’s annual School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign stresses how important it is for motorists to make changes to their daily commute to avoid dangerous situations. Even the simple act of slowing down can go a long way towards saving the lives of students. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 20 mph is about two-thirds less likely to be killed as compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 30 mph. Moreover, about 1 of 5 of children 14 and younger that die in traffic crashes are pedestrians.

AAA East Central also offers the following advice for motorists to keep children safe as they navigate their way through school zones:

• Plan ahead. Leave early for your destination and build in extra time for congestion. This will cut down on stress from running late.
• Ditch distractions. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles the chances of crashing.
• Stay alert. Don’t rush into and out of driveways. Expect pedestrians on the sidewalk, especially around schools and in neighborhoods.
• Brake for buses. It may be tempting to drive around a stopped school bus; not only is it dangerous – it’s against the law.
• Watch for bikes. Children on bicycles are often unpredictable, so expect the unexpected. Slow down and allow at least four feet of passing distance between your vehicle and bicyclists.
• Look for AAA School Safety Patrollers. With more than 600,000 AAA School Safety Patrollers at 31,000 schools across the country, they’re a sure sign that you’re approaching a school zone.

About the AAA’s School’s Open – Drive Carefully campaign:
The campaign was launched nationally in 1946 to help reduce the number of school-related pedestrian injuries and fatalities. The campaign kicks off each fall and continues throughout the school year to remind motorists to watch out for children as they travel to and from school.