(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to request an immediate investigation into the competence and performance of the Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center’s management.  Additionally, the letter requests CMS determine whether the residents of Brighton are being well protected, and whether additional personnel from federal agencies or the National Guard, or access to more personal protective equipment and testing supplies would help Brighton better contain the outbreak of COVID-19.

 “The dangers posed by COVID-19 are bad enough,” Lamb wrote.  “It is simply unacceptable that the threat to the residents of Brighton was made worse by lax oversight, especially after more than 60 members of this community had died.  If those deaths did not convince either the temporary manager or the Brighton management to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward severe mistakes, then something needs to change at Brighton, and it needs to change right away.”

 Earlier this week, Lamb was joined by Representative Mike Doyle in a letter to CMS urging additional oversight of nursing homes and senior care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Lamb also advocated for additional protections for seniors in an April 15 letter calling for the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS to collect and publicly report facility-level data on the number of long-term care residents affected by the COVID-19.  On May 4, Lamb joined with other Members of Congress to request that a portion of the $25 billion emergency funding appropriated by Congress in the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act be allocated to states specifically for the development, purchase, administration, or provision of COVID-19 diagnostic tests for long-term care facilities.

Businesses open in defiance of Pennsylvania shutdown
By MICHAEL RUBINKAM Associated Press
As swaths of Pennsylvania prepare for a limited reopening Friday, some fed-up business owners are jumping the gun and have resumed serving customers in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown order. A salon and a gym in Blair County both reopened last week, declaring Wolf had no right to keep them closed during the pandemic. Blair County has reported only 25 coronavirus infections and no deaths. In hard-hit suburban Philadelphia, barber shop owner Nichole Missino says she and her six employees are running out of money and collectively decided to reopen this Saturday. Wolf and other officials say that businesses that ignore his shutdown order risk spreading the virus.

US jobless claims set to surge again before April jobs data
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government is set Thursday to release another dire picture of the layoffs that have pummeled America’s workforce, one day before it will issue what is sure to be the worst monthly jobs report since record-keeping began seven decades ago. It will likely announce that several million more people filed for unemployment benefits last week, after more than 30 million sought aid in the previous six weeks after the coronavirus forced employers across the country to close. Most nonessential businesses remain shut down, though a majority of states have begun easing restrictions for some categories of companies.

Story by Mark Peterson

(Beaver County, PA) The Corona Virus has many  symptoms that are well known and documented like a high fever and breathing difficulties.  However, the Covid -19 pandemic also has has an undesirable side effect that isn’t quite as apparent, isolation.  For most people, being shut in and stuck in the house for weeks, as part of quarantine efforts to stop the spread of the disease, is merely an inconvenience.  But, for someone experiencing bouts of domestic violence, the stay at home orders can mean being trapped with an abuser and having the feeling like they have no options. In part one of a weekly three part series, Beaver County Radio spoke to Ann Murray from the Beaver County Women’s Center about this important issue, and how the Women’s Center is responding to and helping people in crisis during this unique situation.

Again, The Women’s Center helpline continues to be available 24 hours a day and can help provide options and support to anyone involved with domestic violence. The number once again is 724-775-0131.  Next Thursday, in part two of our series about the effects of isolation and being forced to stay at home with a potential abuser,  Beaver County Radio will speak with Ann Murray from the Women’s Center of Beaver County about therapy services that are available through the organization. For More Information, a link to the Women’s Center of Beaver County is available at beavercountyradio.com.

Gov. Wolf Outlines Plans to Create Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps to Support Fall COVID-19 Recovery Efforts

Harrisburg, PA – As Pennsylvania plans to safely reopen the economy and recover from COVID-19, Governor Tom Wolf announced the creation of the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps, ​a public service initiative that will support efforts ​this fall to increase testing and contact tracing and provide critical new job opportunities in the public health sector.

“​Our highest priority remains protecting public health and safety, but we must also look ahead to see how we can address future needs. To reopen our economy to its maximum potential, we will need to boost our ability to contain this highly transmissible virus,” Governor Wolf said. “The Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps will serve as a public service program that will expand our ability to conduct contact tracing and testing and mobilize Pennsylvanians to contain COVID-19.”

The Wolf Administration’s continued measured and careful efforts to reopen Pennsylvania will depend on our ability to expand the availability of COVID-19 testing and develop a robust infrastructure to conduct surveillance and contact tracing. This work will allow Pennsylvanians to effectively monitor and respond to new cases and quantify mitigation efforts. It will help our phased reopening efforts while ensuring that the health care system does not become overwhelmed and that the transmission of disease continues to slow.

As Pennsylvania plans to ramp up these efforts in the coming months, the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps would bring these efforts to fruition by:

• Partnering with local public health agencies, community organizations, and the nonprofit community to expand Pennsylvania’s existing testing and contract tracing initiatives;
• Leveraging additional resources to fund testing and contact tracing initiatives;
• Exploring creative ways to recruit experienced Pennsylvanians with health care and public health experience to support this initiative; and
• Coordinating existing resources deployed by the commonwealth, including community health nurses and county health departments who are currently conducting testing and contact tracing throughout the state.

The Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps ​will also provide for a unique opportunity for Pennsylvania to recruit and train COVID-19-impacted dislocated and unemployed workers into public service for contact tracing roles, which would address Pennsylvania’s health and economic needs.

To foster this new workforce, the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps would:

• Engage partners in the workforce development system, existing allied health training programs, and AmeriCorps programs to build and strengthen a public health workforce across the commonwealth;
• Leverage existing workforce development resources to recruit, train, and connect the public health workforce with employment opportunities; and
• Engage public health and health care employers to connect trained workers with long-term career opportunities.

“We have all made many sacrifices throughout this crisis and all we share a desire to move forward toward a healthier, safer and more prosperous future,” Governor Wolf said. “Through this public service initiative, Pennsylvanians will have opportunities ​in the months ahead to join a collective effort to ensure that we emerge from this pandemic a stronger commonwealth.”

New cases below 1,000 for 4th straight day in Pennsylvania
By MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is reporting below 1,000 new cases of the coronavirus for the fourth straight day, the longest such streak since the daily reports of new cases first reached four figures in early April. Cases tallied in the two months since Pennsylvania reported its first positive test now number more than 51,840, according to Wednesday’s figures from the state Department of Health. That’s an increase of 888 from Tuesday’s figures. The state reported 94 more deaths, bringing the statewide total to 3,106. All told, about 2% of the population has been tested. About one-fifth of those tests were conducted in the past week.

Locally in Beaver County we are at 471 positive cases an increase of 5 since yesterday. 2291 people have tested negative in the county and the county is up 3 deaths to 76. All 3 Deaths being reported in nursing homes in the County.

In the 3 nursing homes that are reporting positive cases in the county there are now 307 positive cases an increase of 2 since yesterday. Employee cases are up 1 to 24 and the death toll has increased by 3 to 69.