(Beaver Falls, PA.) Tune into 1230 WBVP, 1460 WMBA, 99.3 FM, and beavercountyradio.com at 9:35 a.m. today  April 30, 2020 during Teleforum with Frank Sparks. U.S. Representative for the 17th District Conor Lamb will be Frank’s guest via telephone to talk about the possibility for a new Economic Relief Package, House Speaker Pelosi announcing yesterday that a new Committee for the Coronovirus is being formed, his thoughts on not returning to session and also his Tele-Town Hall that he will be hosting later today.

Gov. Wolf Signs Two Bills into Law, Vetoes Flawed Telemedicine Bill, Releases Cross-Agency Guidance for Telehealth

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today signed into law two bills: House Bill 1869 allows for National Guard members called to active duty to be covered under the Heart and Lung Act if they contract COVID-19 while performing their duties, and House Bill 752 provides for the Game Commission to pay a fair market value for land in Allegheny County.

Gov. Wolf also vetoed Senate Bill 857, a telemedicine bill that passed the Senate unanimously last year before being amended to an untenable version last week in the House.

“I supported a prior printer’s number of the bill, but as amended in the House of Representatives, this legislation arbitrarily restricts the use of telemedicine for certain doctor-patient interactions,” Gov. Wolf said. “As amended, this bill interferes with women’s health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians.”

The full veto memo can be found as a PDF here or on Scribd.

In addition to the telemedicine bill veto, the governor released cross-agency guidance on telehealth, citing its importance as a health care delivery option during COVID-19 and as providing it pertains to his authority under the Disaster Declaration signed in early March.

Given the potential for widespread transmission of COVID-19 across Pennsylvania and to limit its spread, many health care providers and patients are expanding use of telehealth rather than in-person health care services.

Today, the governor announced cross-agency guidance on steps taken to ensure that patients in need of vital health care services are receiving them in a timely, appropriate manner. Multiple state agencies are involved in providing expanded telehealth services, including the departments of State, Health, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Human Services and the Insurance Department.

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

Over  3 years has passed  and Boos Development has been meeting with the city  to get approval  an auto parts store  to locate in the city.  It became official last night  when a zoning change was  approved  from R-1 to C-2 for 2732 Broadhead Road to be the future  site of O’Reilly Auto Parts..Councilman Matt Mottes  asked the Boos Development representative to  bring a grocery store to downtown Aliquippa. The representative said that he will work with code and zoning officer James Bologna  to see where one can be located.

Press the play button below to hear Sandy’s Report:

(Aliquippa, Pa.) Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

At last night’s Aliquippa Council’s work session  meeting a moment of silence was observed to honor the memory of Chief Robert Sealock. Sgt. John Lane was  named    Acting Police Chief. He accepted the position  and assumes the post immediately. Mayor Dwan B. Walker  said he’s quarterbacking everything. He said Chief Sealock would be proud of him being in charge.

Virtual ICU Model Plays Key Role in AHN Pandemic Response Planning

Partnership with Mercy Virtual Increases ICU Capacity at Four Network Hospitals

PITTSBURGH (Apr. 30, 2020) – Increasing critical care capacity has been a central priority of hospitals and health systems that are responding to or preparing for possible surges of patients experiencing the worst effects of COVID-19. In both Pittsburgh and Erie, Allegheny Health Network (AHN) is taking advantage of an innovative critical care telehealth solution developed by St. Louis-based Mercy Virtual to meet this pressing need.

Following progressive implementation over the last year of Mercy Virtual’s ‘vICU’ capabilities at AHN’s Jefferson, Allegheny Valley and Canonsburg hospitals, the Network last week also launched the program at Saint Vincent Hospital. The partnership has expanded AHN’s ICU capacity by more than 60 beds overall, with the potential to increase capacity by 50 additional beds if needed.

A subsidiary of the St. Louis-based health system Mercy, Mercy Virtual is a nationally recognized leader in the development and delivery of telehealth solutions to hospitals around the country.

Through state-of-the-art telecommunication and remote patient monitoring technology located in each ICU room at these four AHN hospitals, board-certified intensivists based at Mercy’s Virtual Care Center seamlessly interact and collaborate with AHN clinical staff to provide an additional layer of 24/7 ICU patient care support.

Patient vital signs are continuously monitored by Mercy Virtual clinicians via secure, encrypted connections, while the program’s two-way, high-definition cameras are only activated during patient observations by the Mercy Virtual clinicians and during their engagement with the onsite clinical teams.

According to Anil Singh, MD, MPH, MMM, FCCP, Executive Medical Director of Clinical Transformation at Highmark Health and System Division Director of Critical Care at AHN, the partnership with Mercy Virtual has taken on new meaning in the setting of a pandemic as hospitals work to harness every resource at their disposal to care for critically-ill patients.

“Our collaboration with Mercy Virtual has strengthened the quality and scope of critical care services that we provide at our community hospitals, enabling many more of our patients to receive the advanced care they need closer to home,” said Dr. Singh. “Today, this partnership has even greater significance as we scale operations across our network in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In caring for those with COVID-19, Dr. Singh says the continuous stream of real-time patient data enables more informed decision making which ultimately enhances the safety of frontline caregivers. If staffing needs should increase, the supplemental care provided via vICU ensures the same levels of high-quality critical care.

As AHN prepares for possible surges of patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization in the weeks and months ahead, he says that plans are underway to create even more ICU beds at Allegheny Valley, Jefferson and Saint Vincent hospitals using the telehealth model.

“The success of our efforts in virtual care is directly linked to forward-thinking partners like Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health. Together, we are able to constantly challenge the status quo in order to provide patients with the highest quality care. AHN’s patients are fortunate to have such strong leaders who are actively changing the approach to health care, while maintaining their focus on them,” said Ashok Palagiri, MD, Vice President of Mercy Virtual Inpatient Services.

In addition to critical care telehealth, AHN has significantly expanded its use of telemedicine across all components of its primary and specialty care programs in an effort to continue providing patients with safe, high-quality care amid the pandemic.

AHN is currently facilitating more than 3,000 telemedicine visits each day. Patients can request a virtual care appointment using AHN’s patient portal known as MyChart.

Gilead drug proves effective against coronavirus in US study
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE AP Chief Medical Writer
U.S. government officials say an experimental drug has proved effective against the new coronavirus in a major study. Gilead Sciences’s remdesivir is the first treatment to pass such a strict test against the virus, which has killed more than 218,000 people since it emerged late last year. The study was led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and tested remdesivir versus usual care in more than 1,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients around the world. Results released Wednesday showed the drug reduced the time to recovery by 31%, or four days on average, compared to usual care. It is given through an IV and interferes with the virus’s ability to copy its genetic material.

Trump trade office adds Amazon to ‘notorious markets’ list
By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States for the first time added five of Amazon’s overseas operations to its list of “notorious markets” where pirated goods are sold. The e-commerce giant dismissed the move as part of the Trump administration’s “personal vendetta” against it. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Wednesday added the Amazon domains in Canada, France, Germany, India and the United Kingdom to its annual blacklist. USTR cited complaints from U.S. businesses that consumers can’t easily tell who is selling items on the Amazon platforms and that the e-commerce company’s procedures for removing counterfeit goods “can be lengthy and burdensome.” President Donald Trump has clashed repeatedly with Amazon and its founder, Jeff Bezos.

Federal social distancing guidelines to expire

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says the federal government will not be extending its social distancing guidelines when they expire Thursday at the end of the month.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the coronavirus guidelines will be “fading out” because of work that governors are doing in their states.

Vice President Mike Pence said the guidelines issued 45 days ago have been incorporated into guidance provided to the states on how they can begin the process of gradually reopening their economies.

The guidelines – which were originally supposed to last 15 days and were then extended another 30 – included encouraging Americans to work from home and avoid restaurants and discretionary travel as well as telling older Americans and those with serious underlying health conditions to isolate themselves