Family Hospice 25th Annual Golf Benefit a Success

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Events | 0 comments

Family Hospice and Palliative Care held its 25th annual Golf Benefit Monday May 7 at Valley Brook Country Club in McMurray. More than 110 golfers took part in the event that benefits the non-profit hospice’s patient and family services. Since its inception in 1988, the Family Hospice Golf Benefit has raised more than $1.6 million.

At the Family Hospice and Palliative Care Golf Benefit May 7 are Rona Nesbit of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Maureen Haggarty of Family Hospice, and U.S. District Judge Maurice Cohill.

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RPH Summer Lecture Series: For Seniors, Family Members, & Caregivers

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Events | 0 comments

The RP Home, in collaboration with the Aging Institute of the University of Pittsburgh, will be hosting three early evening seminars this spring and summer which will address important issues facing seniors, their family and caregivers. Please note the times for each. Light refreshments will be served. RSVPs are encouraged by emailing: Rebecca King or calling 412-321-4139. See the ad below for further details.

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Global Links Provides Unique Volunteering Opportunities for Youth

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Volunteerism | 0 comments

A nurse in scrubs at a hospital in Guatemala. Photo by Rebecca Droke for Global Links

By Kathleen Ganster

Young folks today are pretty savvy when it comes to other cultures and other environments. Many want to reach out to help others not as lucky as themselves, but they may lack the knowledge and resources to find good volunteer opportunities.

Others lack the number of hours many organizations want from volunteer workers.

Global Links, a local organization with international outreach, provides the perfect venue for these enterprising young men and women.

In a nutshell, Global Links is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit created in 1989 with a basic mission to take surplus medical supplies and provide them to underserved populations in neighboring countries.

According to Angela Garcia, Deputy Director, Global Links partners with existing organizations such as the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) by providing them with these medical supplies. “We don’t want to duplicate efforts, so we work with organzations who already have established programs and provide the services. We provide the equipment and supplies to them.”

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County Health Department Honors Students for Science Fair Projects

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Awards | 0 comments

The Allegheny County Health Department honored three students with awards for outstanding projects at the 73rd annual Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair held in March at the Carnegie Science Center.

The Health Department, in its 21st year as an award sponsor, recognized the following students:

  • Julia Zenkevich, an 8th grader at Sacred Heart Elementary School in Shadyside, in the environmental health category, for a project titled “Acid Rock.”
  • Aditi Chattopadhyay, a 7th grader at Fort Couch Middle School in Upper St. Clair, in the public health category, for a project titled “Reckoning the Effectiveness of Flu Vaccine.”
  • Jennifer Hofmann, a 10th grader at North Allegheny Intermediate High School in McCandless, in the air quality category, for a project titled “Study of the Relationship between Atmospheric Ozone and UV Radiation.”

The winners and their projects are posted on the Allegheny County Health Department’s web site at www.achd.net.

 

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Lee Initiatives’ Health and Wellness Endowment Awards Grant to Windber Medical Center

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Awards | 0 comments

The trustees of the Lee Initiatives’ Health and Wellness Endowment announced a grant has been awarded to Windber Medical Center in the amount of $25,000 for additional colonoscopy equipment and community outreach education. The goals of the project are to raise community awareness and educate the community on the need for regular screenings for colorectal disorders.

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Elder Law & Estate Planning: Can I Save My Home for My Daughter?

Posted by on May 10, 2012 in Eldercare, Elderly | 0 comments

Frank Petrich

Julian Gray

By Julian E. Gray and Frank A. Petrich

Three years ago, Mrs. Jones’ daughter, Susan, one of her three children, gave up her job in California & moved back to Pittsburgh to care for both of her parents. Mr. Jones died two years ago and Mrs. Jones’ physical condition has deteriorated to the point that she cannot leave her house by herself.

Mrs. Jones’ intent is to name Susan in her will as recipient of Mrs. Jones’ house to repay Susan for the sacrifices Susan has made in returning home to care for her parents. However, it is becoming clear that Mrs. Jones may have to go to a nursing facility because of her deteriorating physical condition. The question Mrs. Jones wants answered is what she can do to help ensure that Susan can own and live in the family home after Mrs. Jones no longer resides there, either due to her admission to a nursing facility or death.

Yes, parents can leave their home to a child by naming that child as a recipient of the house in the parents’ will. However, if Mrs. Jones were to do so, and prior to her death, needed to enter a nursing facility and have all or a portion of that nursing care paid for by Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance program, the state would make a claim (called “Estate Recovery”) against those assets in Mrs. Jones’ estate being distributed under her will (Mrs. Jones’ probate estate).

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Physician Reentry

Posted by on May 9, 2012 in Healthcare Executives | 0 comments

By Timothy Lesaca, MD

The American Medical Association defines physician reentry as the return to clinical practice in the discipline in which one has been trained or certified after an extended period of clinical inactivity not resulting from discipline or impairment.

Physicians take leave of absence from clinical practice for many reasons, including family caretaking responsibilities, personal health reasons, career dissatisfaction, pursuit of alternative careers, and retirement. The actual number of reentering physicians is unknown due to lack of data, as the majority of state medical boards do not require that physicians see patients as a requirement for relicensure. It is nonetheless estimated by the AMA that about 10,000 physicians could reenter clinical practice in the U.S each year.

Physicians wishing to return to practice after a period of clinical inactivity can experience difficulties due to the lack of a standardized reentry process. There is no continuity among state medical boards regarding reentry policy. Only 30 state medical boards actually have a policy on physician reentry. The average length of time out of practice after which some state boards require physicians to complete a reentry program is three years, but the range is wide, from 18 months to 10 years.

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Windber Medical Center Welcomes New VP of Nursing

Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Nursing | 0 comments

Mary Lee Dadey

Windber Medical Center welcomes Mary Lee Dadey as the Vice President of Nursing Services.  Ms. Dadey is a native of Johnstown with over 20 years of progressive nursing and health care leadership experience. She will serve as the hospital’s Chief Nurse Executive, as well as oversee the Medical Center’s physician practices and other related departments and services.

Ms. Dadey received her Master’s in Business Administration from St. Francis University and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh.  She is a member of the American Academy of Medical Administrators, American Organization of Nurse Executives, American Academy of Critical Care Nurses and the Greater Johnstown Chapter of the American Academy of Critical Care Nurses.

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Managing Complex Chronic Illness: Trajectories and Transitions

Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Events | 0 comments

6th Annual Clinical Practice Forum

Hospice and Palliative Nurse Association (HPNA)
September 14-15, 2012
Sheraton Station Square Hotel, Pittsburgh PA
412-787-9301 or visit www.HPNA.org

HNPA is a unique membership organization with individual membership levels for the Advanced Practitioner, Generalist Nurse, LP/VN, Nursing Assistant and Associate (non-nursing). HPNA’s nursing expertise makes them the authority in the area for the specialty nursing resources, information, and direction. HPNA supports the nursing team’s compassionate work with the patient and their family as they journey through the experience of life-limiting illness. 

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OR Scrubs—A Struggle for Most

Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Medical Supplies | 0 comments

By Jason Lehrke

Can you imagine going to the grocery store and not being able to find a cart?  Or finding only carts with missing wheels or ones that were covered with sticky filth?  Thankfully that scenario rarely happens because the grocery store understands that it will lose customers… immediately and forever…if they didn’t provide clean, well-functioning carts whenever they were needed.  Their incentive is clear and competition requires them to comply with this basic market requirement.

A similar situation takes place every day in many U.S. hospitals with the inability to provide scrubs to clinicians that are professional, clean, and – most importantly – available whenever needed.  For decades, hospitals have provided, or at least attempted to provide, scrubs for their physicians and nurses in surgical and diagnostic areas.  Because of a misalignment of incentives for the multiple parties involved in the provision of these scrubs, the simple promises of availability, cleanliness and appearance go unfulfilled.

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