Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center took one step closer to completing the enhancement of the Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center during a small, physically distanced beam-topping ceremony on March 31.

The $80 million investment brings world-class cancer care closer to home for patients and their support systems, which is critical in improving outcomes for those battling cancer. Since 2008, Geisinger has invested more than $325 million into better and more accessible care for people in Luzerne County. This latest update to the Henry Cancer Center means patients in northeastern Pennsylvania won’t need to seek advanced cancer care in cities like Philadelphia and New York. 

“Managing the spread of COVID-19 in our communities has been our main focus this past year, but today we are proud to take a moment to further our mission of making better health easier for the communities we serve,” said Jaewon Ryu, M.D., J.D., Geisinger’s president and CEO. “This commitment in Luzerne County ensures our neighbors in northeastern Pennsylvania can stay close to home for the most advanced, life-saving cancer care. It’s the fulfillment of the vision that the Henry family and Geisinger established 30 years ago.”

The 92,150-square-foot, four-story cancer center expansion will boost state-of-the-art care by constructing an 18-bed inpatient unit to serve patients who formerly had to seek care outside the region, like those with complex blood cancers such as leukemias and aggressive lymphomas. Consolidation of treatment services under one roof at the cancer center will produce a more centralized care model for patients, which delivers more efficient care services, a better patient experience and improved outcomes. A redesigned reception and lounge area, along with a new 51-bay infusion center, which doubles the previous number of bays used for chemotherapy and other intravenous treatments, will improve accessibility to care by reducing wait times and increasing availability for appointments. All of these enhancements complement a comprehensive cancer program that already features technology like CyberKnife, a highly targeted radiation treatment otherwise unavailable outside of major metropolitan areas like Philadelphia or New York.

The expansion project also includes a new, modern façade and lobby at the hospital’s main entrance, and the more-inviting entryway will include a retail pharmacy, healthy food options, and a specialty retail boutique offering products commonly used by patients in cancer treatment. All of these additional amenities and services have been designed with patient comfort, convenience and wellness in mind.

These additions at the Henry Cancer Center, which opened in 1992 thanks in part to a transformative gift from long-time donors Frank M. and Dorothea Henry, will bolster a cancer program that already offers advanced, individualized care delivered by multidisciplinary teams of hematologists and medical oncologists, genetic counselors, nutritionists, social services professionals, spiritual care counselors and an entire surgical suite of specially trained providers. These teams provide a comprehensive suite of services including: chemotherapy, infusion therapy, sophisticated imaging, comprehensive lab services, pharmacy services, palliative medicine, and research and clinical trials.

“For nearly three decades, Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center has developed a program that brings exceptional cancer care to northeastern Pennsylvania residents,” said Rajiv Panikkar, M.D., chair of the Geisinger Cancer Institute. “This project is another step forward. We are expanding cancer services for our neighbors and their caretakers, providing what they need in their own community.”

The investment reinforces Geisinger’s pledge to offer the best quality care to northeastern Pennsylvanians.

“When our patients enter Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, they’ll know they’re getting world-class care in the same hospital that’s taken care of generations of people in the region,” said Ron Beer, chief administrative officer of Geisinger’s northeast region. “Our patients will no longer have to travel outside our region for advanced cancer treatment, thanks to the continued support of our community. The Henry family’s vision for state-of-the-art cancer care in northeastern Pennsylvania has changed the lives of countless members of our communities, and that vision lives on today.”

For more information on cancer care at Geisinger, visit Geisinger.org/cancerexpansion.

Lackawanna County police departments, in cooperation with the Lackawanna County Police Traffic Services Project, will join the Pennsylvania State Police and over 200 municipal police agencies to conduct a targeted aggressive-driving enforcement wave through April 25, 2021.

The Lackawanna County Police Traffic Services Project is administered by the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office and supports traffic enforcement activities in the county.

As part of the Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project, the wave will concentrate on reducing the number of aggressive driving related crashes, injuries, and deaths on roadways throughout the state. Any aggressive driver stopped by police will receive a ticket.  

The enforcement wave will focus on speeding, distracted driving, and work zone awareness. Motorists exhibiting other unsafe behaviors such as driving too fast for conditions, following too closely, or other aggressive actions will also be cited.

Municipal police agencies that participated in last year’s campaign wrote 43,349 citations, including 22,353 for speeding, 1,003 for occupant protection violations, 3,077 for red light violations, and 126 impaired driving arrests. 

The enforcement is part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Aggressive Driving Enforcement and Education Project and is funded by part of the department’s investment of federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

For more information on aggressive driving, visit PennDOT.gov/Safety.

Golden Technologies announced that Alyssa Golden has been named Content Coordinator in the Marketing Department. Alyssa previously served as Marketing Assistant on the team since last fall. She will continue to support all divisions in her activities. Alyssa is the first third-generation Golden to work at the family-owned business.

In her new role, Alyssa is responsible for leading the ongoing strategy to develop written and video content for use on social media and other digital marketing platforms. Delivering engaging content is more important than ever to help grow Golden’s following on multiple social media channels to drive traffic to the company website and build overall brand awareness of all product lines.  

“Over the past few months, Alyssa has impressed the Marketing team with her dedication, passion, and eagerness to learn all she can about the company,” said C.J. Copley, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. “We look forward to her bringing her creativity and enthusiasm to developing content,” he added.

Alyssa will continue to produce the monthly employee newsletter, the Golden Voice, which highlights employee milestones, recent community relations activities, upcoming events, and new product launches to help boost company knowledge as well as company comradery by showing how all employees work for a common goal – helping people live better lives thanks to Golden products.

Alyssa will also create monthly editions of a new Retailer Rundown digital newsletter for retailers that will include product information and updates, articles on how to effectively market Golden products, and news on other marketing initiatives and promotional offers.

Prior to joining Golden, Alyssa served as a Marketing Intern at Universal Music Group in Philadelphia, PA. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Berklee College of Music and a master’s degree in Communication from Drexel University. Alyssa is also a freelance Event Vocalist performing live locally and nationally at professional sporting events. Visit www.goldentech.com for more information.

A new program at Tobyhanna Army Depot helps Airmen worldwide defend the people and property of the U.S. Air Force.

The depot recently onboarded the Base Defense Operations Center workload (BDOC), a shelterized command and control center that serves as the central hub for Air Force base protection systems. Staffed 24 hours a day, the BDOC’s staff monitors all aspects of installation/location security, including physical security, radio transmission and flight line activity.  The workload was acquired through a collaborative effort with the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and the Air Force Security Forces Center. 

The acquisition of the new mission is directly aligned with Tobyhanna’s long-range strategic plan, dubbed Toby 2028.  The plan, which focuses on posturing the depot to be competitive in the year 2028, has lines of effort dedicated to expanding an already diverse portfolio as well as securing new workload.  BDOC represents growth for the depot’s enduring support to the U.S. Air Force, which includes a variety of range threat and missile guidance and control programs.

Unlike other depot programs that focus on repairing legacy equipment, BDOC is a cross-organizational new production effort. Assets originate at Berg, an expandable shelter manufacturer in Spokane, WA, then are shipped to Tobyhanna. Depot artisans populate the blank shelter with a host of electronic equipment and required cables, wiring, and hardware. Finally, the BDOC travels to an SAIC facility near Ft. Bliss in Texas, where final integration of the Harris radio suite is completed. Prior to hand-off to the Air Force, SAIC technicians conduct extensive final testing to ensure a quality product.

Donald Vozzi, chief of the Systems Integration and Support (SIS) directorate’s Electronic Shelter Systems Branch, says the workload requires inputs from many members of Team Tobyhanna.

“Getting this system out the door requires inputs from many different SIS organizations.  Items are fabricated in both SIS machine shops, and our co-workers in the System Assembly Branch provide kitting support.  We also couldn’t do it without the fantastic support we received from Production Engineering, Production Management and Quality,” they said.  Project Manager Anthony Capone agreed.

“This team has been doing a great job from the get-go, which is especially impressive because BDOC is like no other program I’ve worked on here at Tobyhanna.”

While the program is currently funded for 24 assets, Project Manager Anthony Capone says he expects the workload will increase in the future.

“Both the Air Force and SAIC are pleased with our work.  We are confident BDOC will be the first step towards many more partnerships allowing Team Tobyhanna to better support the Air Force.” 

Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna’s Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C5ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.

Tobyhanna’s unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our joint warfighters. About 4,000 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command’s mission is to empower the Soldier with winning C5ISR capabilities.

Marywood University was recently notified that it has earned top ranking for Best Online Master’s in Higher Education Degree Programs by Intelligent.com. Additionally, Marywood University received a unique distinction for Best Catholic University.

The comprehensive research guide is based on an assessment of more than 1,200 accredited colleges and universities. Analyzing 195 schools, on a scale of 0-100, with only 54 schools making it to the final ranking list, Intelligent.com evaluated colleges and universities on the basis of curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment. The 2021 rankings were then calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment, and leading third-party evaluations.

Marywood University’s fully online Master’s of Higher Education Administration program prepares students for a variety of careers in public and private colleges and universities. Marywood’s faculty are dedicated to providing opportunities for building connections, and assisting students in determining which functional area to pursue by focusing on professional development throughout the program.

For additional information about Marywood University’s Masters of Higher Education Administration program, please visit marywood.edu/education/graduate-programs/ms_higher_education_administration.html, or call the Office of Admissions, at (570) 348-6234. For more information about Intelligent.com, The Best Online Master’s in High Education Degree Programs, please visit intelligent.com/best-online-masters-in-higher-education-degree-programs/.