The University of Scranton Plans for Return to Fully In-Person Classes in Fall The University of Scranton announced plans to return to fully in-person classes for the fall semester and will begin to open the campus to in-person camps and conferences beginning this summer. The University will adhere to capacity limits established by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and will continue to follow other health and safety requirements, which include social distancing and mask wearing. The campus will remain closed to the general public through the summer. “Since the pandemic began, the University planned and adapted based on state and federal guidance and directives, the best available scientific advice, and circumstances within our campus and surrounding community,” said Jeff Gingerich, Ph.D., acting president, noting the University’s planning placed “the health and safety of our community at the center of our decisions.” “We have succeeded thus far in responding to the pandemic because our care and concern for each other has inspired personal responsibility and sacrifice,” said Dr. Gingerich in an announcement sent to the University community announcing plans for the fall and summer. “I am confident that our love for each other and for the University will continue to inspire the best in us as we strive to remain Royals Safe Together.” The University plans to offer undergraduate and graduate classes fully in-person in the fall 2021 semester, which begins August 30. The University will continue to offer graduate programs online that have been traditionally offered in that format. An in-person Fall Welcome Weekend is being planned for Saturday and Sunday, August 28 and 29, and in-person summer orientation sessions are being planned for the Class of 2025. This summer, the University will offer some in-person classes and laboratories, University-sponsored summer programs, and conferences and camps conducted by outside community groups and organizations. On-campus admissions tours will continue to be offered. Additional information will be shared in the coming weeks, with more details about campus safety requirements as adaptions are made to the University’s Royals Safe Together Plan to follow updated guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Royals Safe Together plan will continue to updated in the months ahead as the situation related to the pandemic continues to develop.
Lackawanna College Plans for Return to In-Person Instruction for Fall 2021 After a year of adapting to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic through virtual and hybrid courses, Lackawanna College is planning a return to normal, in-person classes for the Fall 2021 semester. “We are deciding to return to normal operations as soon as possible, based on the advice of state medical and public health experts, along with Lackawanna’s internal COVID-19 taskforce and with the support of our Board of Trustees,” said Dr. Jill Murray, Lackawanna College President. “We are grateful to all of our students, faculty and staff who have worked together to ensure safety on our main campus and at all of our satellite centers.” During the 2020–2021 academic year, Lackawanna College implemented policies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at all College locations. Ongoing mitigation efforts include daily self-assessments, contact tracing, masking requirements and the installation of air filtration systems and cleaning measures. Lackawanna College’s COVID-19 taskforce will continue to monitor the pandemic and maintain all existing health and safety precautions. Any future changes to the fall return plan will be dependent on the pandemic, vaccination distribution and state and local guideline recommendation changes. Learn more at www.lackawanna.edu.
FDA Grants Breakthrough Device Designation to Tempus in Collaboration With Geisinger Tempus, a leader in artificial intelligence and precision medicine, today announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the company Breakthrough Device Designation for its ECG Analysis Platform. The platform, developed in collaboration with Geisinger, aids clinicians in identifying patients at increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AFib) or atrial flutter. Breakthrough Designation entitles the platform to an expedited regulatory process. The platform was designated as a Breakthrough Device for use with patients 40 years of age and older, without pre-existing or concurrent AFib or atrial flutter, and who are at elevated risk of stroke based on a commonly used clinical stroke risk assessment tool (i.e., CHA₂DS₂-VASc score of ≥4). The device analyzes the results of a 12-lead ECG administered as part of routine care to provide clinicians with insight into a patient’s risk of future atrial fibrillation and/or atrial flutter events. When interpreted in conjunction with other available clinical information this can support clinicians in pursuing early and proactive diagnoses of AFib and atrial flutter with the goal of enabling improved clinical management of these conditions and their associated health risks. AFib, which is a leading cause of stroke, is frequently unrecognized and untreated. Currently, there are no available devices to help physicians identify asymptomatic patients without a known history of cardiac arrhythmia who are at increased risk of future AFib, which carries other health risks including stroke and death. The Tempus ECG Analysis Platform is tackling that challenge by analyzing results of a widely used clinical test, the 12-lead ECG, with software that identifies patients at increased risk of developing AFib or atrial flutter within the next 12 months. A team of Geisinger and Tempus scientists and clinicians recently published a related study in Circulation, which showed that artificial intelligence can predict risk of new AFib and AFib-related stroke. For this research study, the combined team of data scientists and medical researchers used 1.6 million ECGs to train a deep neural network to predict, among people without a previous history of AFib, who would develop it within the next 12 months. In people with no history of AFib that went on to have an AFib-related stroke, nearly two thirds would have been predicted to be at high-risk before the stroke. “In granting our request for Breakthrough Device designation, the FDA is helping bring the power of artificial intelligence to patients, with new, smarter tools that can support clinicians in predicting future clinical events,” said Joel Dudley, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Tempus. “Every year, hundreds of millions of ECGs are performed in the U.S. to detect cardiac abnormalities as part of routine clinical care. We are making ECGs smarter so that they can also identify the risk of future clinical events of interest, such as AFib, thus enabling clinicians to act earlier in the course of disease and improve patient outcomes.” “Much of what we do as clinicians relies on predicting the future. Geisinger and Tempus are working together to make smarter, more accurate predictions about future clinical events,” said Brandon Fornwalt, MD, Ph.D., Chair of Geisinger’s Department of Translational Data Science and Informatics. “This is ultimately about helping patients and fulfilling the promise of precision health by supporting clinical decision making with additional patient-specific information, and we are excited that the FDA recognizes the importance of this work.” The FDA’s Breakthrough Device Program was established to accelerate the availability of transformative medical devices to patients and healthcare providers by speeding up their development, assessment and review, while preserving the statutory standards for premarket review and authorization. Designation is awarded to innovative devices that provide more effective diagnosis or treatment of life-threatening conditions and that offer significant advantages over the existing standard of care, where no approved or cleared alternatives exist, and where early device availability is in patients’ best interests.
The Wright Center: Alzheimer’s and Dementia Webinar Join the Wright Center for Community Health for a webinar: “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia” on Wednesday April 14, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. In the United States alone, more than 5 million individuals are living with Alzheimer’s and 16 million are serving as their unpaid caregivers. The disease is a global crisis that impacts numerous families right here in our community. However, no one has to face this disease alone or without information. The Alzheimer’s Association® has created an education program covering the basics of Alzheimer’s and dementia to provide a general overview for people who are facing a diagnosis as well as those who wish to be informed. The free one-hour Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia program: ● Explores the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia ● Examines what happens in a brain affected by Alzheimer’s ● Details the risk factors for and three general stages of the disease ● Identifies FDA-approved treatments available to treat some symptoms ● Looks ahead to what’s on the horizon for Alzheimer’s research ● Offers helpful Alzheimer’s Association resources The program is via Zoom and attendance is free but registration is required. Register below or call our 24/7 helpline for registration assistance 800-272-3900. Once you register, a link to the Zoom meeting will be sent to your email a few days before the program. REGISTER
NBT To Host Cybersecurity Webinar Series for Business Leaders NBT Bank will host a four-week webinar series educating business leaders on the latest information surrounding all facets of addressing cyber threats from awareness to prevention and response. Presenters will include NBT Bank’s Director of Information Security Terra Carnrike-Granata, Director of Cash Management & Government Banking Margaret Scopelianos, Information Security Manager Andrew Frisbie and NBT Insurance Agency President Tucker Lounsbury. The events are free to attend, and guests may join one or all sessions. The Current State of Cybersecurity: Protecting the Intangible on Friday, April 16, will educate on why and how cyber criminals are targeting businesses for financial gain. Common threats discussed will include business email compromise and ransomware. Are You Covered? Proactive Controls You Need Now on Friday, April 23, will outline how to integrate cyber liability insurance into your cybersecurity program while also leveraging banking controls to protect your financial assets.After A Breach: Effective Incident Response on Friday, April 30, the team will share the fundamentals of incident response planning, and tips on how to respond to a ransomware attack or an email account takeover in Microsoft 365.Cybercrime Survivors: Stories & Lessons Learned on Friday, May 7, will feature a virtual roundtable hosted by all four of our presenters. Together, the team will discuss valuable lessons from actual cyber-attacks, as well as answer questions submitted on topics from cybersecurity to cash management and more. To register, visit www.nbtbank.com/CybersecurityRSVP.
PennDOT Accepting Unsolicited Public-Private Partnership Proposals Until April 30 The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Office of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) announced today that it is accepting unsolicited proposals for transportation projects from the private sector through April 30. The submission period applies to PennDOT-owned projects and infrastructure. During this period, the private sector can submit proposals offering innovative ways to deliver transportation projects across a variety of modes including roads, bridges, rail, aviation, and ports. Proposals can also include more efficient models to manage existing transportation-related services and programs. Unsolicited proposals are being accepted through 11:59 PM on April 30. Instructions on how to submit a project and information on the unsolicited proposal review process can be found on the state’s P3 website, www.P3.pa.gov. PennDOT holds an unsolicited proposal period in April and October each year. The private sector may also submit applications for non-PennDOT-owned assets directly to the P3 board during this time. Transportation entities outside of the governor’s jurisdiction, such as transit authorities, may establish their own timelines or accept proposals year-round. The state’s P3 law allows PennDOT and other transportation authorities and commissions to partner with private companies to participate in delivering, maintaining, and financing transportation-related projects. As part of the P3 law, the seven-member Public Private Transportation Partnership Board was appointed to examine and approve potential public-private transportation projects. If the board determines a state operation would be more cost-effectively administered by a private company, the company will be authorized to submit a proposal and enter into a contract to either completely or partially take over that operation for a defined period of time. The next unsolicited proposal acceptance period will occur in October. To learn more about P3 in Pennsylvania, including active projects, visit www.P3.pa.gov.
Marywood University to Hold a Virtual Music Information Session Marywood University will hold a Virtual Music Information Session on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, at 7 p.m. This information session is free and open to anyone who wishes to learn more about Marywood University’s Music Programs. To register, visit marywood.edu/progs/ug/music-performance. The only educational institution in Northeast Pennsylvania that offers bachelor of music degrees, Marywood University provides all the benefits of larger schools, but with great flexibility, more individual attention, and a friendly, welcoming campus. For additional information about Marywood University’s Virtual Music Information Session, please visit marywood.edu/mtd, or call the Office of Admissions, at (570) 348-6234.
House Unanimously Passes Boback Bill Updating Family Caregiver Support Act Rep. Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Wyoming) announced the unanimous House passage of her bill, House Bill 464, that would expand the criteria of the Family Caregiver Support Program to mirror federal eligibility standards. “This bill is not only important to caregivers and their families in my district, but all of Pennsylvania,” said Boback. “Expanding the protections that are provided for under the Family Caregiver Support Act, and removing maximum reimbursement rates for out-of-pocket expenses, home medications and assistive device expenses, is necessary. Changes to this act have not occurred in roughly 25 years and I am proud to see this legislation moving forward. Enactment of this bill will enable Pennsylvania to further assist those across the Commonwealth who need it most.” Act 204 of 1990, the Family Caregiver Support Program, aims to ease the stresses of caregiving by supporting the well-being of the caregivers. Those providing care for older adults or those with Alzheimer’s Disease or related disorders, grandparents raising grandchildren, and grandparents raising adult children living with disability may be eligible to receive supports under the program. The bill to expand the program now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Young Professionals Executive Challenge Are you looking to make a difference in your community? The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Young Professionals Executive Challenge is an 8-week fundraising competition among young professionals locally in the Northeast PA area and nationwide. All funds raised support the 2021 Scranton Volunteer Hosted Light The Night Walk being held on September 25 at Nay Aug Park. Being a part of LLS matters and as a Young Professional Challenger, you have the exclusive opportunity to earn LinkedIn Endorsements from LLS for your critical skills. You can be a part of a future world without cancer. Your investment of time and dollars to fund life-saving treatment means that each day we are closer to finding a cure not only for blood cancer but all cancers. The mission of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Through the Young Professionals Executive Challenge, you are raising critical funds to support LLS’s mission. Upon commitment to the Young Professionals Executive Challenge, you will receive the following LinkedIn endorsements: Strategic Planning, Critical Thinking, and Persuasion. Once you raise $2,500, you will receive the Leadership endorsement. Upon raising $5,000, you will receive a unique skill endorsement: Creativity, collaboration, public speaking, etc… In addition to LinkedIn endorsements, Challengers who raise $5,000 will also receive recognition in an online Buzzfeed article. Those Challengers that raise $10,000 will be included in the 2022 Executive Challenger Forbes Ad. For more information, please email Jessica.Kutza@lls.org or call 610-462-3650.
