(Photo Courtesy of Highmark)

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Highmark announced today it has closed on its transaction to acquire full ownership of Gateway Health Plan, Inc. (Gateway Health), a leading managed care organization dedicated to caring for the total health of its members following receipt of the necessary state regulatory approvals. Highmark had previously held a 50 percent ownership interest in Gateway Health, created in 1992 through a partnership between Highmark and Mercy Health.  The terms of the agreement with Mercy Health, a subsidiary of Trinity Health, were not disclosed.

“Through our Medicaid and Medicare programs, Gateway Health has long focused on coordinating health care that goes beyond doctors and medicine to deliver whole person care,” said Karen Hanlon, chief operating officer, Highmark Health, and interim president and chief executive officer for Gateway Health. “With this agreement, we can now fully leverage Highmark’s innovative Living Health model to deliver a more coordinated, personalized, technology-enabled experience for our members.”

In addition to an improved member experience, consumers will be able to select Highmark Wholecare Medicare and Medicaid products branded Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield. Highmark Wholecare is the new trade name for Gateway Health and its products were formerly offered as Gateway Health products.

According to Hanlon, Gateway Health will also tap into Highmark innovations and programming to better address behavioral health and socioeconomic challenges for more than 355,000 members across Pennsylvania.

Deborah Rice-Johnson, president, Highmark Health Plan, noted that Highmark’s mission is to create a remarkable health experience, freeing people to be their best. “This acquisition will help us further our mission and better serve current and future Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania,” she said.

(Story and photos/video by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

(New Brighton, PA) A protest happened outside of New Brighton Middle School around 11 AM Tuesday morning. Adults and children could be seen displaying Unmask PA and other related signs involving parental choice in a parking lot across the street from the school. They are playing music as well. One man was seen out front of the school wearing a plastic unicorn suit holding a sign that said “Where was covid over the weekend”. The demonstration moved down the street to another lot that wasn’t on school property a couple of hours later.  The Wolf Administration’s mandate for masks in public schools went into effect today. A video can be seen below that was recorded on the Beaver County Radio Facebook Page Live:

(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Pa State Police at the Rivers Casino are reporting that they charged an unnamed 20-year-old female from Mc Kees Rocks with carrying a false ID and gaining entry to the casino on Sunday Night at 10 PM. No further information was released about the incident.

(Wayne Twp., Lawrence County , Pa.) Pa State Police in New Castle are reporting that they were called to the scene of a two vehicle accident at the intersection of Pittsburgh Road and Pa. Route 65 in Wayne Twp. Lawrence County Sunday morning at 11:00 AM.
Troopers report that 78-year-old James Johns of Harmony was attempting to pull the 2019 Chevy Colorado he was driving out from Pittsburgh Road when he struck a 2017 Chrysler Pacifica, that was being driven North on Pa 65 by 70-year-old Nancy Shanor from Elwood City. 71-year-old George Shanor was a passenger in the vehicle. Both Shanor’s were treated on the scene and refused transport to the hospital. Johns was charged with a stop violation by State Police.

Keystone State News Connection

September 7, 2021

Emily Scott

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania’s creeks and rivers flooded at historic levels last week after Tropical Storm Ida decimated the Northeast. In the future, PA could be more prepared to handle these extreme weather events, based on recommendations in its state Forest Action Plan.

The report says forests can play a key role in decreasing stormwater runoff, which can contaminate water and cause flooding.

Planting trees along waterways, known as riparian buffers, can also be a solution to flood risks similar to what was seen in PA due to Ida, said Ellen Shultzabarger – director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Forestry Bureau.

“So planting trees reduces those impacts that flooding can have in a resource or a community,” said Shultzabarger, “and lessens that environmental runoff that normally would be there when there aren’t trees and vegetation. So they provide such a great way of providing resilience in those large weather events.”

Pennsylvania’s forests cover nearly 60% of the state. The 2008 Farm Bill tasked states with assessing their forest resources and developing strategies to address long-term needs within the forest system that promote sustainability.

The once-a-decade state forest plan also addresses the importance of trees in cities, areas often without a lot of shade.

Sarah Corcoran, conservation program manager at the Pennsylvania chapter of the Sierra Club, said trees in urban areas can play an important role in dealing with hotter days and capturing pollutants in the air due to climate change.

“The temperature in a city is generally a few degrees warmer than outside of the city because there aren’t as many green spaces to absorb the heat,” said Corcoran. “The more green spaces you have, the more trees that you have, the cooler the city overall is going to be.”

Over 75% of Pennsylvania’s population resides in urban areas. The U.S. Forest Service also recommends planting trees in urban watersheds to reduce soil erosion and sediment in streams, and improve water quality.

PennDOT announced roadway improvement work on Interstate 79 in Glenfield, Sewickley Hills and Franklin Park boroughs, and Kilbuck, Aleppo, and Ohio townships will begin Tuesday night, September 7 weather permitting.

Lane restrictions and shoulder closures will occur in both directions of I-79 between the Neville Island Bridge and I-279 weeknights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. through late November. One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained during operations.

Crews will conduct joint sealing, pavement marking installation, crossover and emergency pull-off construction, and lighting upgrades. The work is in advance of the long-term traffic pattern change in 2022.

Future improvements include four bridge deck replacements, one bridge preservation, milling and resurfacing, preservation work on seven sign structures, installation of five new ITS signs, guide rail improvements, signage updates, and pavement marking installation. Crossovers will occur on I-79 in 2022 and 2023 for bridge deck replacement work. The majority of the project will conclude in the fall of 2023.

(Chippewa Township, Pa.) — Local law enforcement is on a search for a man considered dangerous. Mike Giles was being required to wear an ankle bracelet to ensure he remained at home while awaiting trail.  He was charged by North Sewickley Township Police on Sunday with multiple felonies including burglary, criminal trespassing/breaking into structure, theft by unlawful taking, and receiving stolen property.  He has also been arrested numerous times in recent years for similar offenses. Giles managed to cut off the bracelet and leave his home. Call 911 if you have any information on his whereabouts. Chippewa Police have advised not to approach him.

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — When negotiations failed to produce a new contract at a Volvo plant in Virginia this spring, its 2,900 workers went on strike. The company soon dangled what looked like a tempting offer: Pay raises. Signing bonuses. Lower-priced health care. Yet the workers overwhelmingly rejected the proposal. And then a second one, too. Finally, they approved a third offer that provided even higher raises, plus lump-sum bonuses. For the union, it was a breakthrough that wouldn’t likely have happened as recently as last year — before the pandemic spawned a worker shortage that’s left some of America’s long-beleaguered union members feeling more confident this Labor Day than they have in years.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban say they have seized the last province not in their control after their blitz through Afghanistan last month. They overran forces who had opposed their takeover. According to witnesses, thousands of Taliban fighters charged into eight districts of Panjshir province overnight. A Taliban spokesman confirmed Monday that the province was now held by their fighters. Experts had doubted that the holdout efforts could succeed long-term. The Taliban’s rapid advance through Afghanistan met little resistance in the final days of America’s 20-year war in the country. The U.S. withdrew its last troops a week ago and ended a harrowing airlift to evacuate Western citizens and their Afghan allies.