News from Around the Region

Blair County
Dialysis provider U.S. Renal Care Inc. opened a new dialysis center in Altoona, Pa. May 5. The new center in Altoona will provide dialysis treatment to 100 patients and create 20 new medical, nursing, administrative and technical jobs. The Altoona center is the third facility in Central Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Renal Care, joining centers in Huntington and Everett. The facility will serve patients within a 25-mile radius, reducing the commute that some patients previously traveled, according to U.S. Renal Care.
--- Nephrology News and Issues

Dauphin County
National nonprofit The Joint Commission has awarded PinnacleHealth System’s diabetes program its Gold Seal of Approval for health care quality, making the program the first diabetes program in Pennsylvania to receive the recognition.Specifically, the Oakbrook Terrace Illinois-based organization awarded disease-specific care certification to Pinnacle for its advanced inpatient diabetes-management program, Pinnacle said. The Harrisburg-based system’s program is one of only 20 nationwide to gain the certification, it said.
-- Central Penn Business Journal

Cumberland County
Fresenius Medical Care will be the first tenant in the new Hawk Acres Business Park being developed in South Lebanon Township. The new 124,000 square foot building will be a distribution center for medical products and devices related to dialysis.                     
--The Patriot-News

Lehigh County
Brian De Angelis, is a recent recipient of the Governor's Award for Excellence.  Brian is employed by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and manages a Pennsylvania Wine and Spirits Store. When one of his employees was diagnosed with a hereditary kidney disease, two other employees volunteered to be tested as potential donors. Neither was a viable match. Brian also volunteered to be tested and was found to be a match.  Going well beyond expectations of a colleague and with a full understanding of the risks involved, he donated a kidney to a fellow public servant. Brian’s act epitomizes generosity and personal sacrifice. His former employee is now in good health and has been promoted to a position in another store. Read full story

Lancaster County
Just a few years ago, the public was told the safest way to dispose of expired and unused medicine was to flush it down the toilet or throw it out in the trash. We now know that those practices have contributed to pharmaceuticals entering the nation's waterways and eventually getting into drinking water supplies.As part of a nationwide push for better disposal of what's in medicine cabinets, Darrenkamp's Pharmacy in Mount Joy and Elizabethtown has become the first in the state to initiate a free disposal program for the public. Read full story.
--Lancaster Intelligencer Journal

Across Central Pennsylvania..
A health insurer with a presence in Pennsylvania is the first to receive a federal reprimand for what officials term "unreasonably high premium increases."  Everence Insurance, affiliated with the Mennonite Church, received a letter Monday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services scolding the company for a 12 percent rate increase for its small business clients that went into effect Oct. 1, 2011. The company's corporate headquarters is in Goshen, Ind., but it has multiple offices in Pennsylvania, including in Scottdale, Westmoreland County, and Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County. Read full story
---- The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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