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.

Harrisburg, PA – On the morning of September 11, 2001, Col. Paul J. Evanko, then head of the Pennsylvania State Police now retired, raced to a state emergency command center as soon as he heard the first plane had hit the World Trade Center in Manhattan. What he did not know is how he and his colleagues would be drawn into the attacks minutes later when the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a rural field in western Pennsylvania.

“Witness to History” features Evanko’s actual handwritten field notes from the morning of 9/11. These unique documents, which Evanko donated to the Pennsylvania State Archives in 2016, are on public display for the very first time. They detail the rapid unfolding of events and offer a minute-by-minute accounting of decisions made to secure the crash site and protect Pennsylvanians.

“Witness to History” is copresented by the Pennsylvania State Archives and The State Museum of Pennsylvania, both bureaus of the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (PHMC), the commonwealth’s official history agency. WITF Public Media, a contributing partner in the exhibit, provided video commentary from Evanko.

“Witness to History” opens on Thursday, September 9, 2021, and is on display through Sunday, January 2, 2022.

For more information on the documents on display in the exhibition, read “Col. Paul J. Evanko’s Field Notes from 9/11” in the Summer 2021 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage.

For a detailed account on 9/11 from the perspective of Governor Tom Ridge, read “The Man for the Moment: Tom Ridge and the 9/11 Inflection Point,” also in the Summer 2021 issue of Pennsylvania Heritage.

ABOUT THE STATE MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA

The State Museum of Pennsylvania, adjacent to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, is one of 24 historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission as part of the Pennsylvania Trails of History. The State Museum offers expansive collections interpreting Pennsylvania’s fascinating heritage. With exhibits examining the dawn of geologic time, the Native American experience, the colonial and revolutionary eras, a pivotal Civil War battleground, and the commonwealth’s vast industrial age, The State Museum demonstrates that Pennsylvania’s story is America’s story.

Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday, 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Admission is $7 for adults (ages 12-64), $6 for senior citizens (ages 65 and up), and $5 for children (ages 1-11).

The State Museum has joined other museums across the country in Museums for All. This program enables low-income families to visit participating museums for a nominal fee of $2 per person with the presentation of an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card and identification. This offer is for general admission only and excludes special programs or events.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is returning to the White House Monday to address the nation on the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan. This, as the planned withdrawal of American forces turned deadly at Kabul’s airport Monday as thousands tried to flee Afghanistan a day after the Taliban’s takeover of the country. The White House says Biden will travel back to Washington from the Camp David presidential retreat to speak to the nation. It will be his first public remarks on the Afghanistan situation in nearly a week. Senior U.S. military officials say the chaos at the airport left seven people dead Monday, including some who fell from a departing American military transport jet.