Western Pennsylvania Healthcare News
Covering healthcare news in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.
Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh is seeking volunteers in the following professional specialty areas for a free dental clinic for children and adults July 26-27, 2019, at PPG Paints Arena:
Survivor’s Outdoor Experience (SOE) presents the first Pittsburgh-based “Healing Adventure” at the Chatham University Eden Hall campus June 28th – 30th, 2019. All participants attend free of charge.
Survivor’s Outdoor Experience is a 501 © (3) non-profit educational and recreational organization run solely by volunteers. Founded by 15-year brain cancer survivor, Jack Ganster, this program was developed to provide cancer survivors of all ages an opportunity to learn about the benefits of living a healthy and active lifestyle. The program provides a curriculum of informative presentations balanced with recreational activities. The goal is to assist participants in gaining strength, hope, and a sense of the future.
Ganster is a Richland Township native who now lives in Port Angeles, WA. SOE has hosted seven successful Healing Adventure Retreats in Port Angles and Ganster wanted to bring the experience to his hometown.
The Healing Adventure will bring a small group of participants together in a remarkable setting to enjoy a weekend that will be one to remember. Participants will include individuals that have been diagnosed with cancer and a companion (if they choose to be accompanied).
[Read more…]By Phillip Miller
The prognosis for rural hospitals is not a positive one. According to the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, 90 rural hospitals have closed nationwide since 2010. A 2015 study sponsored by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) indicates that 673 rural hospitals, or one in three, is under financial duress, with 210 at risk of closure.
There are various reasons why rural hospitals are struggling, a key one being lack of physicians willing to practice in rural areas. The NRHA reports that approximately 1,000 physicians a year discontinue rural practice due to retirement, relocation, disability or death, while only about 700 take their place.
The result is that access to medical services in rural areas continues to decline. As of July, 2018 there were 6,739 Health Care Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for primary care in the United States, about double the number identified by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 15 years ago. Over 65 million people live in a primary care HPSA and 67 percent of HPSAs are in rural areas. The ratio of primary care providers to patients in these areas is less than one per 3,000. HRSA projects it would take over 17,000 additional primary care clinicians to achieve a ratio of one primary care doctor per 3,000 patients in the nation’s 6,700-plus HPSAs.
[Read more…]By Tony Villiotti
No wristbands. No ribbons. No celebrity ads. Virtually no public awareness. An epidemic that is almost completely ignored. I’m talking about Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and its sibling, Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). The National Institute of Health estimates that 30-40% of Americans have NAFLD. That’s about 100 million people. For about 20 million or so of those people NAFLD will progress to NASH.
This situation is progressively getting worse. The incidence of NAFLD and NASH will increase right along that of diabetes and obesity. Some experts estimate that there will be a 60%+ increase in NASH by 2030. Too often those most at risk are unaware of the potentially fatal consequences over time when a fatty liver diagnosis is left unaddressed and not treated as the serious health concern the medical community is now realizing it truly is. Risk factors include diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and genetics. The insidious part of this is that there are typically no symptoms so most people don’t know they are affected.
[Read more…]Sitting on 32 beautifully landscaped acres, Providence Point consists of a variety of one- and two-bedroom residential living apartments ranging in size from 761 to 2,100+ square feet, and a neighborhood of single family patio homes, ranging from 1,589 to more than 4,000 square feet. Residents have space beyond luxury and will soon have the highly anticipated Hamilton Tower, opening in late summer 2019.
More than two-thirds of the apartment residences in Providence Point’s new residential building, Hamilton Tower, have been reserved, and construction is on schedule for the 70 new one and two-bedroom residential living apartments.
In addition to award-winning interior finishes and thoughtful architectural features, Providence Point has 28 choices of residential floor plans and the capability for residents to personalize their choice. Lifestyle amenities include: beautiful entrance with concierge service, indoor heated swimming pool and whirlpool, living rooms and meeting rooms with a serene water wall and cozy fireplace, cocktail lounge, bank, library, card room, billiards room, movie theater, underbuilding parking, woodworking shop, day spa, and dining venues, including bistro, casual, outdoor, and fine dining.
[Read more…]