PennDOT Enhances Customer Information with New Database The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that it has enhanced transparency for customers by launching a new database showing which vehicle inspection stations, inspectors, dealers, and issuing agents are under suspension for infractions of state inspection regulations and laws as well as contract violations. “Vehicle inspections, license plate issuance, registration and titling are an integral part of ensuring the safety and proper registration of all who travel our roadways, and consumers can use this new tool to help in making an informed decision about those services,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. Visit the Suspended Inspection Stations and Inspectors page to see what stations or inspectors are under suspension. Visit the Suspended Issuing Agents page for a list of dealers or issuing agents under suspension. These webpages consist of a daily up-to-date listing of suspended inspection stations, inspectors, dealers, and issuing agents within the commonwealth. Suspensions are levied upon an inspection station and/or inspector for a violation of the Pennsylvania Vehicle Equipment and Inspection regulations and/or Emissions Inspections regulations. Suspensions imposed on a station or inspector are the result of violation(s) uncovered during audits or from investigation(s) into complaints regarding a station or inspector. Suspensions only affect a business’s ability to perform vehicle safety and emission inspections, not their ability to offer other services. Dealers and issuing agents can be suspended for a variety of reasons when they infringe on the provisions of their contract with PennDOT. Approximately 17,000 safety inspection stations and approximately 7,700 emission inspection stations are registered in Pennsylvania, monitored by PennDOT Quality Assurance Officers (QAOs). Through regularly scheduled and unannounced visits to inspection stations, these QAOs ensure compliance with the regulations governing the inspectors, vehicle safety inspection and emissions inspection programs as well as the administrative requirements of these programs. They also investigate customer complaints against inspection stations or inspectors reported to PennDOT. There are approximately 8,000 dealers or issuing agents in the commonwealth contracted to provide services to customers on behalf of PennDOT. They are monitored by PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services’ Regulated Client Services Section through unannounced audits, scheduled site inspections, analysis of internal reports of title transactions and public reports of suspected wrongdoing via the website. In cases involving criminal activity by inspection stations or agents, PennDOT turns to the Pennsylvania State Police for investigations. For concerns regarding inspection stations within the 42 non-emission inspection counties, call 717-787-2895. For concerns regarding inspection stations within the 25 emission inspection counties, call 800-265-0921. You may also call or email the PennDOT tip line at 717-705-9913 or email RA-pdPennDOTTip@pa.gov. Customers with concerns with agents should call 717- 412-5300 or lodge them through a driver/vehicle contact. Follow PennDOT on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram.
The Wright Center Offers Access to Oral COVID-19 Medications In the ongoing effort to reduce COVID-19-related hospitalizations and deaths across the region, The Wright Center for Community Health is following federal and state “test-to-treat” guidelines by providing certain patients with therapeutic treatments for COVID-19 such as Pfizer’s Paxlovid. Paxlovid – which is available only by prescription – has been found to substantially decrease the chances of severe symptoms in high-risk patients such as older adults if it is started early in the course of infection, typically within five days of symptoms appearing. Individuals 12 and older who test positive for coronavirus are eligible for the treatment if they meet certain criteria, such as having an underlying medical condition that puts them at increased risk for complications. Individuals who are prescribed the treatment during a visit at The Wright Center for Community Health Mid Valley Practice in Jermyn can obtain the medication on site. At The Wright Center’s other clinics in Northeast Pennsylvania, a patient in need can have the prescription immediately sent a pharmacy supplier of Paxlovid. “Early treatment can make the difference between a relatively quick recovery and a much more difficult, potentially life-threatening, situation,” said Dr. Jignesh Sheth, chief medical officer of The Wright Center for Community Health. He noted that the health center has supplies of both Paxlovid and another antiviral medication, molnupiravir, allowing for a rapid and seamless response between a patient’s positive test result and the start of treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Paxlovid’s use in December 2021, but distribution efforts were initially spotty. Since then, Pfizer ramped up production, and the White House last month announced plans to expand access to the treatment. Paxlovid is now widely available in community pharmacies. Possible side effects of the oral antiviral include an impaired sense of taste, high blood pressure, diarrhea and muscle aches. If you are taking other medications, talk with a health care provider about potentially significant drug interactions. Paxlovid is not recommended in patients with severe kidney or liver impairment. For eligible patients, The Wright Center also continues to offer monoclonal antibody infusions – an FDA-authorized therapy that has been shown to lessen the severity of COVID-19 symptoms for certain individuals deemed at increased risk of hospitalization. Although several monoclonal antibody medicines have received the FDA’s authorization during the pandemic, only one, bebtelovimab, is currently continuing to be used because of its proven effectiveness against the omicron variant. Delivered via an intravenous “push,” the medication is administered to the patient in about two to six minutes, followed by one hour of observation in the clinic. The therapy is a one-time treatment. In total, The Wright Center has administered more than 1,400 COVID-19 monoclontal treatments in the past 18 months, helping to lower the burden on the region’s hospitals by limiting severe illness and saving lives. For more information about The Wright Center’s health services, including its COVID-19 testing and treatment options, call 570-230-0019 or visit www.thewrightcenter.org.
Greater Scranton YMCA Receives Grant from SACF On May 20th, 2022 the Greater Scranton YMCA was awarded a $14,000 Community Needs Grant from the Scranton Area Community Foundation. The grant will support aquatics staffing at the YMCA. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Greater Scranton YMCA was able to fully staff both pools in its facility and offer 283 swim lessons per session. Currently, the YMCA is only able to offer 183 swim lessons per session, a reduction of more than 600 swim lessons annually. The biggest loss, though, has been to our community, as learning to swim is one of the most important life lessons a child can learn. This grant award from the Scranton Area Community Foundation will allow the YMCA to increase lifeguard pay rates with the goal of attracting more staff, as well as retaining existing staff who need a pay increase. Adding more team members to the aquatics department will directly impact the YMCA’s capacity to provide needed services to our community, including offering an increased number of life-saving swim lessons annually, making more pool time available to members and guests, and ensuring the resources are available to implement more youth, adult and family programming. “It’s because of the generosity and support of community partners like the Scranton Area Community Foundation that the Greater Scranton YMCA is able to serve so many members of our community,” said Trish Fisher, President & CEO, Greater Scranton YMCA. “We are confident this grant award will allow our YMCA to better serve our community through aquatics programming!” For more information about aquatics programming at the Greater Scranton YMCA contact Ken Brewster, Aquatics Director, at kbrewster@greaterscrantonymca.org or call (570) 828-3112.
Wolf Administration News Wolf Administration Urges Pennsylvanians to Review Transit Options and Apply for Transportation Assistance Programs, Highlights Importance of Access to Health Care and Jobs Officials from the Pennsylvania departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Human Services (DHS) today urged Pennsylvanians to use Find My Ride (FMR) to learn about public transit options and apply for transportation assistance programs. The participants underscored transit’s critical role in getting people to work and medical appointments while connecting them to their communities. Public transportation services are available in every county in Pennsylvania, including: Shared ride service in all 67 counties;Fixed route bus service in 49 counties; andFixed route rail service in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “Transit provides a vital connection to jobs, to medical appointments, and to our communities,” said PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation Jennie Louwerse. “We urge Pennsylvanians to try transit, and we’re excited that it’s now easier to access these services.” Citizens are encouraged to use FMR Apply, an online tool which was developed collaboratively with transit agencies and streamlines the application process for the five largest transportation assistance programs in the state, including the Senior Shared Ride program, the Medical Assistance Transportation Program (MATP), ADA complementary paratransit, the Persons with Disabilities program and the Free Transit Program. Additionally, FMR Apply allows third-parties, such as a family member or healthcare provider, to apply for services on behalf of a rider. Collectively, 24.4 million trips supported by these programs were provided to Pennsylvanians in the 2020-21 fiscal year. An additional 141 million trips – including 17.7 million free senior trips – were provided through fixed route service in the 2020-21 fiscal year. Since the rollout of FMR Apply in May 2021 via transit agencies, assistance-program applications have been processed for nearly 8,000 Pennsylvanians and benefits to transit agencies, PennDOT, DHS, and customers have been considerable. Customers do not need to determine what programs they are eligible for, and this, coupled with the user-friendly application has resulted in an increase in applications submitted. Automatic data validation within the application has resulted in improved data accuracy, saving transit agencies time and money in processing applications. Transit agencies can process applications more efficiently, which allows transit users to access benefits more quickly. “The Wolf Administration is always working to make the services we provide easier to access for the people we serve, and the Find My Ride tool is an excellent example of collaboration between state agencies in making this happen,” said Andrew Barnes, Deputy Executive Secretary for DHS. “Nobody should let a lack of transportation keep you from getting to a doctor’s appointment or filling your prescription. I encourage anyone who needs transportation to their physician, pharmacy, dentist, or other necessary medical services to apply today.” DHS’ MATP program provides non-emergency medical transportation for Medicaid-eligible consumers who do not have access to transportation. MATP funds more than 9 million trips annually, and each county provides the type of transportation that is the least expensive while still meeting an individual’s needs. Contact information specific to each county MATP provider can be found at matp.pa.gov. Accessibility was a key focus when developing FMR Apply, with emphasis on validating color contrast, use of captions, use of assistive reader devices, sentence length, and reading level to evaluate the forms accessibility. User feedback has been extremely positive and has been demonstrated by the continuous increase in online applications. FMR Apply leverages Keystone Login, a single, secure user credential that can be used to log into multiple Commonwealth online services. The team that developed FMR Apply was recently recognized with a Governor’s Award for Excellence. Find My Ride’s education and application modules were developed over two years, made possible by $1 million from the Federal Transit Administration and $1 million in state transit funding. More information on public transit and alternative transportation options like ridesharing, biking, and walking, is available on PennDOT’s website. Wolf Administration Highlights Substance Use Disorder Prevention, Education Tool for Construction Industry Today, the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) joined the Associated Pennsylvania Constructors (APC) to discuss substance use disorder (SUD) in the construction industry, highlight the importance of education and prevention for employees in this field, and to remind them of available safety resources. “While not often discussed, studies have shown that, when compared to other occupations, employees in the construction field have high rates of overdose deaths,” said DDAP Secretary Jen Smith. “The risk of on-the-job injury remedied with an opioid prescription increases the chances for those in this field to develop opioid use disorder. We must ensure that employers and employees know about every resource available to them to support individuals suffering from substance use disorder.” A recent study showed that construction workers prescribed opioids for pain had a higher risk for long‐term opioid use and for developing opioid use disorder (OUD); annually, 15% of workers who were prescribed opioids became long‐term users; and, long-term users were nearly 10 times as likely to develop OUD. “The importance of employee safety and well-being cannot be overstated,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “We need to ensure that we are prioritizing both our employees’ physical and mental health and creating a safe work environment in an effort to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place.” The Wolf Administration’s Just Five initiative is a self-paced program designed to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and provide education about SUD prevention and treatment. It is displayed as six short learning modules that each take “just five” minutes to complete. The interactive lessons include: The Science of AddictionAre You at Risk?The Dangers of OpioidsSigns, Symptoms and TreatmentHow You Can HelpThe Gift of Recovery DDAP rolled out a version of Just Five to Pennsylvania commonwealth employees in May 2021 and an additional version of Just Five is now available to all of Pennsylvania’s workforce. Since roll out, the state-wide Just Five tool has had more than 11,000 new users and users have remained engaged with the lessons for an average of 13 minutes per session. Use of the Just Five website is completely confidential and voluntary, and no personal information regarding utilization of the program is shared. It can be accessed virtually from anywhere at any time with no registration required. The program is also available in English and Spanish and accessible for individuals with visual and/or hearing impairments. “Our members are committed to having safe workplaces and healthy and productive employees,” said Robert Latham, executive vice president of Associated Pennsylvania Constructors. “We utilize a wide variety of programs and activities aimed at employee wellness, including substance use prevention. We welcome Just Five as a new tool in the health and safety toolbox.” APC is a membership organization of more than 400 contractors, consulting engineers, material suppliers, manufacturers, and others with an interest in Pennsylvania’s road and bridge construction industry. DDAP operates the Get Help Now hotline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). The hotline is a trusted resource for individuals and/or their loved ones if substance use disorder treatment or resources are needed. The hotline is confidential, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and staffed by trained professionals who will connect callers to resources in their community. Callers can also be connected with funding if they need help paying for treatment. To learn more about the Wolf Administration’s efforts in combating the addiction crisis, visit ddap.pa.gov.
