Governor Tom Corbett and First Lady Susan Corbett recognized eight outstanding women as this year’s Distinguished Daughters of Pennsylvania.

The women were honored at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg where they were presented with medals and citations for their achievements.

“The exceptional accomplishments of this talented group of women bring both honor and respect to Pennsylvania,” Corbett said. “I am grateful for their continued commitment to making our state a better place.”

This year’s award recipients are:

*   Joan Myers Brown, Philadelphia
*   JoAnne Epps, Shamong, N.J.
*   Silvia Ferretti, D.O., Erie
*   Pat Halpin-Murphy, Ambler
*   Judith Thomas Horgan, Pittsburgh
*   Feather O’Connor Houstoun, Philadelphia
*   Kathleen Marshall, New York, N.Y.
*   Suzanne Yenchko, Lemoyne

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The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) today announced the appointment of Andrew W. Carter as president and chief executive officer, effective December 12. Carter succeeds Carolyn F. Scanlan, who will retire from HAP on December 31 after nearly 18 years with the organization.

Carter comes to HAP from the Washington, DC-based Visiting Nurse Associations of America, where he has served as president and chief executive officer since 2007. From 2001–2007, he was president of the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, and in the previous seven years he was principal of Carter Consulting, Inc. Carter brings knowledge of hospitals, patient care across the provider continuum, state and federal government oversight of health care, Medicaid and Medicare, and association leadership.

“Andy comes to HAP at a time of significant change for our members and for health care,” said Garry L. Scheib, HAP chairman and chief operating officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “The rollout of health care reform, ever-increasing pressures on state and federal budgets, an ever-changing political environment, and the imperative to continue improving patient safety and quality of care will present unprecedented challenges for Pennsylvania’s hospitals.

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Another sad loss for the healthcare community. From the Post-Gazette: “Sharon Ann Stevick felt good helping people — whether it was serving as director of the Allegheny County Department of Aging or as deputy executive director of the county’s Kane Regional Centers, or making funny fleece hats for family Christmas gifts.”  Rest in peace, Sharon. You can read the tribute in today’s Post-Gazette.

Waynesburg University’s fully accredited Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program now offers two degree plans implemented to better accommodate the needs of the working professional.

The University’s DNP Program, offering a terminal professional degree that focuses on the clinical aspects of nursing rather than academic research, can now be completed through a three-year or a four-year track.

“The four-year degree plan for the DNP Program was created because we really listen to the feedback that our students give us,” said Dave Mariner, dean of Graduate Studies at Waynesburg University. “Our DNP students are juggling family, demanding careers and school. The four-year option allows students to have a little more time to manage their priorities.”

In addition to a new degree plan, the DNP Program recently named Dr. Kimberly Stephens and Dr. Kimberly Whiteman co-directors of the Program.

“I strive to make our program high-quality and to honor the Christian mission of the University,” Dr. Whiteman said. “I want to help students acquire the knowledge and skills they need to lead in the complex health care environment.”

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Photo Credit: Lance McCord

The Allegheny County Health Department is joining with the Allegheny County Immunization Coalition in a campaign to encourage more health care workers at 18 local hospitals to get vaccinated against the flu.

The campaign, Flatline the Flu, aims to increase health care worker vaccination rates at nine UPMC hospitals – Children’s, Magee-Womens, McKeesport, Mercy, Montefiore/Presbyterian/WPIC, Passavant, Shadyside, St. Margaret’s and UPMC East; four West Penn Allegheny Health System hospitals – Allegheny General, Forbes Regional, Allegheny Valley, and West Penn; and five other hospitals in Allegheny County – Jefferson, Sewickley, Ohio Valley, St. Clair and the VA hospital in Oakland.

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Suzanne Wilcox English has been appointed vice president of marketing and communications at Saint Vincent College effective July 1, according to an announcement by Br. Norman W. Hipps, O.S.B., president.

In the newly-created position, she will be responsible for leading the College in developing an integrated marketing and communication effort directed at student recruitment in meeting enrollment challenges and prospective donors in meeting fund raising goals.

“I look forward to working with members of the College community to highlight the unique attributes of a Saint Vincent education and determine how best to communicate them to today’s teens as well as more mature students,” Ms. English commented. “My goal is to work together with talented faculty, staff and students across campus to develop a clear and cohesive message so that Saint Vincent speaks with a unified voice that clearly articulates its strengths.”

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The ACHIEVA Family of Organizations recently welcomed its newly elected officers. Each member comes with a full resume of accomplishments and credentials.

New members include:

ACHIEVA Board, Chairperson, William Lestitian—Bill is the CEO/Managing Shareholder for Rothman Gordon. He also heads the Corporate & Business Department of the firm. Using his experience as a Certified Public Accountant he works closely with family-owned businesses on mergers & acquisitions, employment matters, shareholder disputes and helps clients through difficult litigation. He is a native of Pittsburgh and is very active in the community. He has been named a Fast Tracker by the Pittsburgh Business Times and Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year by the Allegheny Bar Association.

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Hospital News, the region’s only monthly health care newspaper, offers advertisers a highly targeted, affluent, and powerful readership that desires and appreciates the newspaper’s hard-hitting editorial perspective. Our publication reports in-depth on the trends, issues and people that impact the region’s health care industry. With a monthly production cycle, this means a long shelf life and encourages thorough readership by today’s busy executives who can be overwhelmed by information. Hospital News is an attractive, informative publication that readers typically pass along to co-workers, meaning your ad receives multiple exposures, a real bonus to advertisers.

Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center welcomes Emergency Medicine physician Michael Galuska, MD to its team. A Johnstown native, Dr. Galuska is a recently separated veteran of the United States Navy Medical Corps and most recently worked at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in California.  He remains a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy’s Individual Ready Reserve.

Board certified in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Galuska attended medical school at Penn State University College of Medicine and completed the York Hospital Emergency Medicine Residency Program where he served as Chief Resident.  Prior to medical school, he earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biology from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown as a summa cum laude graduate.

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The Alliance for Excellence in Hospice and Palliative Nursing (The Alliance) has announced that Sara (Sally) K. Welsh MSN, RN, NEA-BC has been named its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  The Alliance includes the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN ^®), and the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF).  Ms. Welsh received her BSN from Armstrong State College in Savannah, GA and MSN in Administration from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA. Sally holds a Nurse Executive, Advanced credential from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.  Sally is from Savannah, Georgia and will begin her new role with The Alliance organizations on June 4, 2012.

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Daniel Edmundowicz, MD, MS, FACC, has been named Professor of Medicine, Section Chief of Cardiology, and Vice Chair of Program Development, Department of Medicine, effective June 1, 2012. Most recently, Dr. Edmundowicz served as Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Passavant Hospital.

Board-certified in Cardiology, Internal Medicine, and Nuclear Cardiology, Dr. Edmundowicz’s research interests include dyslipidemias, diagnostic protocols in preventive cardiology, and subclinical vascular disease detection – identifying individuals who are at high risk of cardiac events and intervening at the early stage through cholesterol and lipoprotein management, and other lifestyle approaches to disease prevention.

“Dr. Edmundowicz has a record of applying his medical expertise in the areas of preventive and diagnostic cardiology to deliver quality care to patients, produce award-winning pieces of clinical research, and deliver insightful instruction to students in the academic setting,” said Gerard J. Criner, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine. “With his appointment, Temple is poised to solidify its existing reputation as a center for quality patient care, innovative clinical research, and nationally recognized medical instruction.”

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By P. Piero D.D.S.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) claims the life of one American every 37 seconds according to the American Heart Association’s 2009 Heart and Stroke Statistical Update.

CVD includes an assortment of diseases that are often used (or misused) in reference to the general term “heart disease”. Among those are Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries caused by Arteriosclerosis, calcium deposits, and/or Atherosclerosis fat deposits), Heart Attack (sudden death of part of the heart), Stroke (damage to part of the brain caused by lack of blood oxygen or leakage of blood outside the vessel walls), Arrhythmia (abnormal rhythm or rate of heart beat), Angina (heavy, tight squeezing pain in the chest), Hypertension (high blood pressure), Congestive Heart Failure (weak heart pumping action causing a buildup of fluid lungs and other body tissues).

There are risk factors for CVD that one can’t control. These include age, gender, and family history. Roughly 80% of the people who die of heart disease are 65 and older, but it is the leading cause of death for all Americans over the age of 35. And those with a parent with heart disease are at a higher risk of developing the disease themselves.

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