Geisinger Continuing Walk-In COVID-19 Vaccines this Week Geisinger continues to offer walk-in and by-appointment COVID-19 vaccine events this week at its four vaccine centers. Walk-in COVID-19 vaccinations will be available: Thursday, July 8, at Geisinger Jersey Shore Hospital, 1020 Thompson St., Jersey Shore, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Friday, July 9, at the Geisinger Hughes Center Vaccine Center, 9 Stearns Lane, Danville, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.Friday, July 9, at the Geisinger CenterPoint Vaccine Center, 300 Keystone Ave., Pittston, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition to the vaccine centers, COVID-19 vaccines are available by appointment at Geisinger Philipsburg in Centre County. Geisinger is offering the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at all locations, which is a two-dose vaccine administered 21 days apart. The vaccines are available to anyone age 12 and over, but those under 18 years old must have a parent or legal guardian with them during vaccination. If needed, members of Geisinger’s pediatric team will be on hand to answer questions and to assist with the vaccinations. Appointments for a vaccine at Geisinger Philipsburg or at one of the vaccine centers can be made through myGeisinger or by calling 570-284-3657. To check on additional walk-in vaccine days and times, and for more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit geisinger.org/COVIDVax.
Johnson College Offers Program to OVR High School Students Johnson College is offering an Automotive industry-driven career exploration experience to high school students enrolled in the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). This program will be held from July 26 through August 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Johnson College campus and industry partner locations. Students will have an opportunity to dive into a college experience and develop skills to prepare them for success on and off a college campus. They will also receive exposure to the automotive industry. The second week of the program will run from 9 a.m. to noon and will take place at different industry partner locations allow students to shadow local automotive industries and gain first-hand knowledge and experience. For more information and to register, email Tim Frank, Academic Program Specialist at Johnson College, at tfrank@johnson.edu. This event is free for students enrolled in the OVR program.
Saint Joseph’s Center Summer Fest 2021 Saint Joseph’s Center is pleased to announce Summer Fest 2021! This year’s events include the WNEP Telethon, Go Joe 24 & Ride Along, and the Chicken Dinner Drive-Thru. WNEP’s Telethon will be aired on July 24th from 8pm – 10pm with heart-warming stories featuring those who benefit directly from the mission and services. Go Joe 24 will include a Ride Along portion with multiple community events that range from Family Fun Nights to Indoor Cycling at area gyms. Register early to get your Go Joe shirt while supplies last. The Chicken Dinner Drive-Thru will be held on July 25th from Noon – 5pm. Tickets are $15 each and are required in advance! Get your tickets early- last year’s dinners sold out! “Tricky Trays” basket raffle will begin July 21st and run until August 4th. Go to stjosephscenter.org for tickets & more information.
Spacetime Mead & Cider Works Label Competition Space Time Mead & Cider Works is sponsoring its 3rd Annual Label Art Competition. All proceeds from the contest will go to the Everhart Museum. Prizes will be given to the winners. This year’s theme is the “Overview Effect” – a shift in perspective, attributed to astronauts “experiencing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, “hanging in the void”, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere.” “I found by talking with our customers, vendors, and family that there has been a realignment of priorities as a result of the pandemic and other transformative events that occurred in the past year.” Says Dan Schreffler. “The change in day-to-day interactions, recovering from serious illnesses, accidents, and other losses have forced us to question how we spend our time and challenge us to make positive quality of life changes.” The competition entry deadline is August 1, 2021. The winner will be announced in August. All official competition rules, forms and dates can be found by visiting http://www.spacetimemeadworks.com/labelcompetition.html.
Michelle Kowalewski Promoted to Commercial Loan Officer II at HNB David Raven, President and CEO of The Honesdale National Bank, announced Michelle Kowalewski has been promoted to Commercial Loan Officer II. In making the statement, Raven noted, “Michelle understands our values as a company and contributes to the support of our community day in and day out.” He said, “The Northern Susquehanna County market is a fresh focus of HNB and we have no doubt she will continue to provide strong service to our customers in her new role.” In her current role, Kowalewski is Mortgage Advisor at the Hallstead Office and assists customers and employees with daily functions as well as helping with mortgage recommendations. Originally from Montrose, Michelle received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Agricultural Business Management from Penn State University. She has been in the financial industry for 6 years. Previously, she worked as an Agricultural Loan Officer for AgChoice Farm Credit in Northeastern, PA. She will continue to provide her expertise as Commercial Loan Officer II at HNB. In mentioning her career with the bank, she said “I am excited to return back to commercial lending after working in residential mortgage lending for two years.” She mentioned, “I hope to continue HNB’s expansion in the Susquehanna County market area and strengthen existing relationships with our current customers.” Outside of the bank, Michelle is an active member of local clubs and organizations, serving as Organizational Club Leader of the Born to Show 4-H Club, President of the Susquehanna County 4-H Livestock Committee, member of the Susquehanna County Youth Program Advisory Committee. Member of the Harford Agricultural Society, Youth advisor for the Susquehanna County Jr. Holstein Club, and a member of St. Mary’s Church, in Kirkwood, NY. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys serving as a 4-H Club leader, attending her kids’ sports events and 4-H activities, camping, and is eager to attend Penn State football games again this fall. For more information on HNB’s products and services, visit www.hnbbank.bank.
Foster & Lynn Friess Donation to Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Spirit of Hope Celebration Ambassador, Matt Beynon, presented the Cancer Institute with a $100,000 check in December as a year-end blessing from Lynnette and Foster Friess of Jackson, WY, to support the Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. Foster Friess, a Wyoming businessman and philanthropist died on May 27th in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 81. Matt Beynon is part of the Board of Ambassadors, a group of community volunteers that hosts an annual Spirit of Hope Celebration in November at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Proceeds from the event benefit the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps low income and un/underinsured individuals in northeast Pennsylvania get their recommended colorectal, breast, cervical, and lung cancer screenings.
Lackawanna Students Earn National PBL Awards Six Lackawanna College students competed alongside nearly 800 of the country’s top business students in the 2021 Future Business Leaders of America – Phi Beta Lambda (FBLA-PBL) National Leadership Conference (NLC) held virtually between June 24-27. Several Falcons placed in the top ten in their respective categories. The students had previously competed and won between first and third place in state competitions, also held online in April 2021, qualifying them to advance to nationals. At the NLC, Business graduate Jillian Martin ’21, of Berwick, and Accounting major Brian Davis, of Scranton, partnered to earn fourth place in the business category. Current Professional Studies bachelor’s degree student Mason Kay ’19, of Clarks Summit, earned fifth place in Digital Media. Current Accounting bachelor’s major Sara Kellerman ’17, of Honesdale, obtained seventh place in Accounting for Professionals. Brittany Flynn ’21, of Mayfield, placed eighth in Sports Management and Marketing and ninth in Contemporary Sports Issues. Scranton native Kelly Kuzma ’21 also competed in the national event. College faculty and staff supporting PBL include advisor Carolyn Chupko, co-advisors Suzanne Cercone and Karen Lipnichan, and Pennsylvania PBL State Advisor Beverly O’Hora. PBL is the college division of FBLA with over 8,000 members and more than 350 chapters, helping students prepare for careers in business. As PBL’s mission is to “prepare students to become community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career preparation and leadership experiences,” Lackawanna’s chapter is open to students of all majors.
Two Geisinger Hospitals Ranked Among Newsweek’s World’s Best Smart Hospitals Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center made Newsweek’s 2021 list of World’s Best Smart Hospitals for their commitment to innovation and advancement in health care. Only 250 hospitals worldwide were recognized, and Geisinger Wyoming Valley and Geisinger Medical Center ranked 119th and 149th, respectively. They are among only seven hospitals recognized in Pennsylvania and just 89 hospitals selected in the United States. Both medical centers are the only hospitals in their service areas to make the list, and they’re the only two Pennsylvania hospitals recognized outside of Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Ranked hospitals were evaluated on five criteria: digital surgery, digital imaging, artificial intelligence (AI), telehealth and electronic medical records. More than 13,000 votes from hospital managers and health care professionals with backgrounds in health care technology were considered, and every nominated hospital was thoroughly researched and validated by a team of analysts at Newsweek. Geisinger has long embraced utilization of technology to improve quality of care, catalyze research, and make communication with providers and use of services easier for the patients and members it serves. Robotic-assisted surgeries allow a higher degree of precision, smaller incisions, less scarring, less pain and discomfort, and the ability to treat areas difficult to reach with the human hand. At Geisinger, the da Vinci Surgical System® is used for less-invasive general surgery, colorectal surgery, thoracic surgery, surgical oncology procedures, OBGYN procedures and urology surgery. Mako® robotic arm-assisted surgery is used to perform partial and total knee replacements and total hip replacements, and Geisinger is the sole provider of Mako joint replacement surgery in the region it serves. “We value the use of digital systems in our surgical procedures because we know more precise, less invasive surgery leads to better outcomes and shorter recovery times for our patients,” said Ron Beer, chief administrative officer for Geisinger’s northeast region. “We’re honored to be among Newsweek’s World’s Best Smart Hospitals, because it’s a reflection of our continued effort to provide the best possible care, closer to home, for our patients and members.” Advanced imaging is used in a variety of diagnostic and surgical procedures at Geisinger. These include the cardiac catheterization labs where severe heart attacks and other cardiovascular issues are identified and treated swiftly, and the Comprehensive Stroke Centers — namely Geisinger Medical Center and Geisinger Wyoming Valley — that care for patients with complex strokes and neurovascular conditions. A robust electronic medical record and advancements in AI and machine learning are at the heart of research initiatives to detect risk of conditions like atrial fibrillation (A-fib) and even death. An innovative ECG Analysis Platform to detect A-fib risk, developed by Tempus in collaboration with Geisinger, was granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year. Geisinger is also using AI to improve imaging accuracy, diagnosis and follow-up care. A collaboration between Geisinger and Medial EarlySign to predict hospital admissions and complications was recently named runner-up out of more than 300 entries in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services AI Health Outcomes Challenge. Telemedicine has been a critical tool in some areas of care delivery for years at Geisinger, but the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic accelerated use of the technology across the system. Since March 2020, Geisinger has enhanced its capability to conduct telemedicine visits and now offers telehealth consultation in 72 specialties. “When the pandemic began, we expanded our telemedicine capacity to keep our patients safe by making sure they were able to keep their primary care and regular specialty appointments without exposure to COVID-19 infection,” said Megan Brosious, chief administrative officer in Geisinger’s central region. “We already knew telemedicine works, but we’ve learned it has more applications than we thought, has vast potential to reveal new and innovative ways of caring for our patients and members, and aligns with our vision of making better health easier for the communities we serve.”
Johnson College Immersive College Experience Program Johnson College is offering an Immersive College Experience to high school students enrolled in the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR). This program will be held from July 19 through July 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Johnson College campus. Students will gain knowledge about the college application process, financial aid, how to succeed on and off a college campus, and will participate in STEM activities. The interactive STEM activities will provide a learning experience that fosters creativity while teaching invaluable technical skills. They will include an introduction to programming, robotics, coding, and other aspects of STEM. For more information and to register, email Tim Frank, Academic Program Specialist at Johnson College at tfrank@johnson.edu. This event is free for students enrolled in the OVR program.
