Western Pennsylvania Healthcare News

Covering healthcare news in the Pittsburgh region and beyond.

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Genesis Medical Associates Physicians Complete Another Medical Mission to Honduras

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Dr. Robert Potter

Dr. Robert Potter

Dr. Robert Potter has completed his 13th successful Honduras Hope Mission.  One of the founders of Genesis Medical Associates, Inc. the largest still independent primary care physicians group serving the Greater North Hills, he was joined by wife Cindy, a pediatric physical therapist, fellow Genesis physician Dr. Dan Grob, Dr. Grob’s daughter Paige and 20 other volunteers in their February visit.

Sponsored through the auspices of several churches in the North Hills, they annually visit the people of La Villa de San Francisco.

“All of our participants pay all of their expenses including air fare, room and board,” said Dr. Potter.  “Any donation to our 501c3 goes directly to the care of needy Hondurans.”

“It’s a rural, agricultural village with few paved roads, little electricity and limited access to water,” added Dr. Potter, the lead physician on the medical team.  “We stay a week and each volunteer carries 100 pounds of supplies for villagers.  We provide over-the-counter medicines, clothing, canes, baby clothes, antifungal creams, steroid shots, prescriptions for diabetes and high blood pressure medication and water filters.”



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North Hills Community Outreach Lends a Helping Hand to People In Financial Crisis

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Sharon Wolf

Sharon Wolf, Executive Director of NHCO

By Daniel Casciato

A financial crisis can strike anyone at any time and when people find themselves in hardship, they can reach out to organizations such as North Hills Community Outreach (NHCO) for assistance. For Sharon Wolf, executive director of NHCO, one of the most gratifying parts of her job is seeing people who have received help from the organization come back to return the favor.

“Once some people are back on their feet, they want to give back and help others,” she says. “They will either contribute financially, donate items or volunteer their time. I find it very meaningful when someone tells me they hit a rough patch several years ago and North Hills Community Outreach was able to help them through it. As a result, they now want to give back in whatever way they can.”

NHCO offers nearly two dozen programs to help people in hardship, crisis, and poverty in the North Hills community, including:

Food Pantry Program: As a member agency of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, NHCO operates three food pantries, providing food to nearly 700 families each month.

Utilities and Emergencies: NHCO might be able to help qualifying families struggling to pay for utility bills by connecting them to various programs that offer aid.

WorkAble Employment Services: This free employment counseling and career mentoring program helps those who have been laid off from a job they had for a long time re-market their skills to get back into the job market. Career mentors and volunteer mentors offer assistance and advice to aid them in the job search process.

 

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Photo caption: North Hills Community Outreach conducts several Sharing Projects annually, including a Back-to-School collection. Local children in need receive new backpacks full of school supplies so they can start the school year off right. 

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Brother’s Brother Foundation Expands to Help More in Need

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By Henry Lipput

It all started with the “peace gun.”

Dr. Robert Hingson, a renowned anesthesiologist in hospitals across the country for 50 years, invented the peace gun as a means of providing needle-less inoculations to as many as a thousand people an hour.  From 1958 to 1980, the organization he founded, the Brother’s Brother Foundation (BBF), immunized more than 10 million people — and has grown to be one of the largest international relief and development foundations in the United States.

BBF is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit that promotes international health and education by distributing donated medical and educational resources.  Since 1958, they have sent medical supplies to over 145 countries around the world.  Just last year, BBF distributed nearly 3,000 tons of medical supplies, textbooks, and food to more than 66 countries.

rother’s Brother Foundation/Northern Virginia...Grand Opening Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, July 27, 2013, from left to right: Drew Harvey (Trustee), Charles Stout (Advisory Trustee), Amy Hammer (Advisory Trustee), Austin Henry (Secretary), B.J. Leber (Chair), Luke Hingson (President), Dr. Barry Byer (Trustee), Cindy Kilgore (Advisory Trustee), John Tymitz (Trustee), Joseph Senko (Treasurer), Walter Fowler (Vice Chair), Lance Kann (Advisory Trustee)

rother’s Brother Foundation/Northern Virginia…Grand Opening Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony, July 27, 2013, from left to right:
Drew Harvey (Trustee), Charles Stout (Advisory Trustee), Amy Hammer (Advisory Trustee), Austin Henry (Secretary), B.J. Leber (Chair), Luke Hingson (President),
Dr. Barry Byer (Trustee), Cindy Kilgore (Advisory Trustee), John Tymitz (Trustee), Joseph Senko (Treasurer), Walter Fowler (Vice Chair), Lance Kann (Advisory Trustee)

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Leading a Mission with Vision

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Feinberg Glen

Glen Feinberg

A Spotlight on Glen Feinberg

An amazing place…these heartfelt words from a guest of Family House truly captures the intent and spirit of Family House, as a “home away from home” for those facing a medical crisis and seeking treatment in Pittsburgh. For nearly 3 decades, Family House has been an integral part of the Pittsburgh community, offering affordable, safe and comfortable accommodations for those facing catastrophic situations, thus reducing the emotional and financial stress for people facing a desperate medical crisis.

Family House is one of the largest hospital hospitality houses in the country. Since 1983 over 137,000 people from all over the world have stayed at Family House while seeking medical attention at one of Pittsburgh’s prominent hospitals. This year Family House will celebrate 30 years of service.

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New Friendship Circle Pittsburgh

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We recently became aware of another wonderful organization in Pittsburgh for our readers to check out, Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh. The Friendship Circle, established in Pittsburgh’s Jewish Community in 2006, is dedicated to helping children and young adults with special needs to become more fully integrated into the broader community. Since 1994, Friendship Circles have been created in more than 60 cities around the world.

The program allows children and young adults with special needs to enjoy the company of teenage and young adult volunteers in a full range of social activities.The Friendship Circle aims to enrich the lives of all participants through mutually advantageous interactions, creating lasting friendships which consequently strengthen both the Jewish and greater community.

Check out their video below.