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UPMC expanding orthopaedics services in Central Pa.

UPMC Orthopaedic Care in Central Pennsylvania is expanding its services in the region to include a new fracture care program. 

The program offers services to diagnose and treat traumatic orthopaedic injuries ranging from simple breaks to complex fractures in patients of all ages.

Matthew Garner, M.D., an orthopaedic trauma surgeon and Central Pennsylvania native, has joined UPMC Orthopaedic Care in Central Pa. and will lead the new fracture care program. 

“As a native of Central Pa. with roots in the Lancaster and Altoona areas, I’m looking forward to continuing to practice in and care for the community that I call home,” Garner said in a statement. “My colleagues from UPMC Orthopaedic Care across Central Pa. are known for their exceptional quality and outcomes, and I’m looking forward to joining their ranks and bringing a new service to the region.”

Garner joins a team of specialists, physicians, and clinicians at UPMC Orthopaedic Care in Central Pa. who offer care across Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, York, Lancaster, Lebanon, Juniata, Franklin, Adams, and parts of Snyder counties.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Garner to the orthopaedics team, and we’re excited about his leadership in developing our new fracture care program,” said Kyle McGill, executive administrator, UPMC Orthopaedic Care, UPMC in Central Pa.

“Traumatic injuries are life-altering events. Dr. Garner understands each patient has specific needs and challenges, and builds a relationship with them, personalizing their care to ensure they have an exceptional experience. Their goals are his goals, and he does whatever he can to get them back to doing what they enjoy most in life.”

Garner received his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, and fellowship trainings at Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, Wash., and Lindenhof Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.

Garner is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and is a member of the American Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 

Harrisburg area again ranked as great place to retire

On the heels of U.S News and World Report ranking the Harrisburg metro area as an attractive retirement destination, StorageCafe is getting into the act, too.

In its rating of the top 100 metro areas in the nation for retirees, Harrisburg-Carlisle comes in 16th.

StorageCafe, an online platform that provides storage unit listings across the U.S., was prompted to compile the list by the 3.6 million baby boomers turning 65 this year who may be thinking about where they want to retire.

Metro areas were evaluated for their age-friendliness across criteria ranging from cost of living and access to health care to the local tax burden, safety and the availability of recreational activities.

Why are some of the reasons Harrisburg-Carlisle does well?

Seniors make up 29% of the adult population, while 16% of multifamily accommodation is age 55+ communities “that are designed specifically to cater to a more relaxed, yet engaging lifestyle,” StorageCafe said.

Also, Harrisburg-Carlisle seniors have an average income of $28,194 and “reasonable cost of living.”

Aura Michelle Mogosanu, a communications specialist with Storage Café, wrote in an email that the approximately 600,000-person Harrisburg-Carlisle metropolitan area beat out such places as Miami, Honolulu and San Diego.

“Harrisburg-Carlisle scores particularly well with its provision of health care and social assistance, ranking in the top 20 for this aspect, and it is also in the top 25 for its reasonable house prices. Where the metropolitan area scored best, however, was for safely, getting third place nationwide based on FBI figures. Weather-wise, the area doesn’t have the extreme summers, which can be problematic for seniors and which penalized some places in the ranking. Slightly above average life expectancies … add to the fact that, overall, the place is an option that retirees should consider.”

Among the 20 metro areas that scored highest, most are in the Northeast or Florida, as expected. No. 1 is Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida.

But other regions are represented, too, including the Midwest.

Two of the top five – Cleveland-Elyria and Dayton-Kettering – are in Ohio and two of the top 12 – Milwaukee-Waukesha and Madison – are in Wisconsin.

Paula Wolf is a freelance writer

Harrisburg-based LGBT Center celebrates anniversary, honors community leaders

Harrisburg-based LGBT Center of Central PA hosted “FAB 2022: Connecting with the Past & Celebrating the Future” last Saturday at Hershey Lodge. The annual gala celebrated 16 years of the LGBT’s work in Central Pennsylvania, honored community leaders, and invited attendees to become involved in the work of the LGBT Center. 

This year’s FAB awardees include the following: 

  • Dr. Tyler Titus – Movement Leadership Award  
  • Michelle & Trum Simmons – Legacy Award  
  • Amy Keisling – Local Spotlight Award  
  • Dre Ceja – Creatives for Change Award 
  • Alexis Zeno Torres – Volunteer of the Year Award  
  • Brady Pappas – Rising Star Award 

 

The Movement Leadership Award recognizes an individual, group, or organization whose work at the statewide or national level is advancing LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion within the movement and provides a model to strive towards in work being done in Central Pennsylvania. Awardee Dr. Titus is a Licensed Professional Counselor and in November 2017 became the first openly transgender elected official in the State of Pennsylvania. Dr. Titus is serving a term as co-vice chair of the State’s first Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. 

 

The Legacy Award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and personal dedication over a significant period of time in furthering the work of local LGBTQ+ communities. Co-recipient Michelle Simmons is a member of the LGBTQ & Allies Committee and co-chair of the Anti-rascist & Racial Justice Task Force. Trum Simmons taught at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) for more than four decades. As senior professor of English and Journalism, he developed and taught the course introduction to LGBTQ studies. 

 

The Local Spotlight Award recognizes an individual, group, or organization whose work is significantly contributing to building connected, engaged, and resilient LGBTQ+ communities in Central Pennsylvania. Recipient Amy Keisling is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the Coordinator for the Pediatric and Adolescent Gender Health Clinic at Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. 

 

Creatives for Change Award recognizes an individual, group, or organization who is cultivating community through artistic expression, providing unique opportunities for LGBTQ+ people to create and participate in art in a healing, joyful, and impactful way. Awardee Dre Ceja is a multimedia artist who creates physical and digital art. 

 

The Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes and individual who has dedicated a significant amount of their personal time and energy as a volunteer to further the work of the LGBT Center. Awardee Alexis Zeno Torres is a full-time HACC student working toward a degree in Business Administration. 

 

The Rising Star Award recognizes an individual or group who has recently emerged as a leader and has begun to make a mark within the local LGBTQ+ communities through significant contributions in a short period of time. Recipient Brady Pappas is an artist and digital creator bases in Lancaster. 

 

The gala event also recognized founding members of the LGBT Center and acknowledged the 10th anniversary of the LGBT History Project. Established in 2006, the LGBT Center serves more than 2,000 people every year across Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties. 

Urology of Central PA joins UPMC

 

Urology of Central PA is joining UPMC effective July 1. Its UCPA Surgery Center in Harrisburg will be renamed to UPMC Community Surgery Center. PHOTO/PROVIDED

Urology of Central PA (UCPA), a urology practice with locations in Camp Hill, Newport and Millersburg and a surgery center in Harrisburg, will be joining UPMC as UPMC Urology of Central PA on July 1.

The Pittsburgh-based health system announced on Wednesday that the practice would be joining its network of providers along with its Harrisburg-based UCPA Surgery Center, which will be renamed to UPMC Community Surgery Center.

UCPA specializes in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of urological conditions, including pediatric cases.

“Urology of Central PA providers have a stellar reputation and long history of providing top quality, convenient urologic care. We are pleased to welcome these compassionate and skilled specialists to our UPMC network,” said Philip Guarneschelli, president of UPMC in Central Pa.

Both providers and transitioning staff will become UPMC employees on July 1 with no changes for existing and new patients who already have appointments with the practice.

No changes are expected regarding phone numbers, hours of operations or existing locations either, according to UPMC.

“UPMC and the providers at Urology of Central PA share common interests and core values including patient-centered, quality urologic care,” said Dr. R. Scott Owens, of Urology of Central PA. “By working with UPMC in a new capacity, we can provide additional services to patients through advanced technology, increased comprehensive care for chronic and acute illnesses, additional specialists, and access to health education, programs and other services.”

Central PA residents were well informed about the pandemic, felt overloaded by the information

Midstate residents were mostly well informed on what was needed to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic but were overwhelmed with worries about mixed messages and distrust of some sources, according to researchers at the Penn State College of Medicine.

The Hershey-based medical college announced this week that its researchers recently published the results of a March 2020 survey from nearly 6,000 people living in central Pennsylvania.

The goal of the study was to determine if residents had stayed informed about COVID-19, where they received their information from, their willingness to work with public health recommendations and their level of trust in information sources.

Researchers found that four out of five survey respondents were likely to have “adequate” knowledge about the pandemic, with 43% of respondents indicating government websites as their most trusted source of information and 27% pointing to news media.

Despite the high percentage of education around the virus, researchers found that people didn’t trust certain sources and were concerned about mixed messages in the early days of the pandemic.

“Panic and pandemic fatigue are real problems, especially when it comes to health communication,” said Dr. Robert Lennon, associate professor of family and community medicine at the College of Medicine and adjunct faculty at Penn State Law. “An important question to ask is, when the time comes for key information to be communicated, will people be able to hear the messages public health officials and government leaders try to send amidst so many competing and conflicting messages?”

In an open-ended response section of the surveys, respondents expressed three key worries, including: fears that they or their family would contract COVID-19; public health concerns like asymptomatic spread of the virus and community members not practicing social distancing; and worries about economic and social disruptions.

“We found that some people had negative feelings about how the pandemic was portrayed in the news,” said Dr. Lauren Van Scoy, professor of medicine, humanities and public health sciences. “Others were concerned that people had politicized the pandemic response and expressed a distrust of information provided by the executive branch of the government.”

The results of the survey were published in Annals of Family Medicine, a peer-reviewed journal, last week.

The researchers noted that one place the study was lacking was in responses from racial and ethnic minorities. Survey data shows that there were possible knowledge disparities among those groups, according to the college.

Pittsburgh consulting firm Procopia adds central region director

Heather Maneval, central regional director at Procopia Nonprofit Consulting.

Pittsburgh-based consulting firm Procopia Nonprofit Consulting recently announced the hiring of its first central region director.

Procopia is a full-service consulting firm that partners with organizations to help with growth, strategy and organizational culture. The firm’s clients include the YWCA, Evangelical Community Hospital and Elizabethtown College.

Heather Maneval, former vice president of advancement at the York County History Center and chief development officer at YWCA York, will support the firm’s work with nonprofits in the midstate.

“The team at Procopia supported me in hitting my fundraising goals when I was a client. Now, I can help agencies in Central Pennsylvania achieve the same results,” Maneval said in a statement on Procopia’s Linkedin post.

The firm wrote in the post that Maneval brings with her expertise in board development, individual giving and events and will help Procopia further its goals with its nonprofit clients.

Virtual Artsfest

Join the City of Harrisburg for this virtual experience supporting the arts! An online marketplace will be available to shop handcrafted wares from nearly 200 juried artisans, several of which will be offering special discounts during the festival. There will be a series of videos featuring musical performances, artisan demonstrations, cooking tutorials, dance lessons, art-centric kids activities and more. Filmfest will feature 12 short experimental and international curated films.

The festival will go live on Saturday, May 23 at www.harrisburgpa.gov/artsfest. You can also follow the Facebook event for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/637738657053967/. All activities are free to participate.

This is the 52nd year of this juried art show and the 1st year it has gone virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Harrisburg is proud to continue this celebration of the arts in a virtual format and looks forward to returning to Riverfront Park for the 2021 festival.

Virtual Artsfest

Join the City of Harrisburg for this virtual experience supporting the arts! An online marketplace will be available to shop handcrafted wares from nearly 200 juried artisans, several of which will be offering special discounts during the festival. There will be a series of videos featuring musical performances, artisan demonstrations, cooking tutorials, dance lessons, art-centric kids activities and more. Filmfest will feature 12 short experimental and international curated films.

The festival will go live on Saturday, May 23 at www.harrisburgpa.gov/artsfest. You can also follow the Facebook event for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/637738657053967/. All activities are free to participate.

This is the 52nd year of this juried art show and the 1st year it has gone virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Harrisburg is proud to continue this celebration of the arts in a virtual format and looks forward to returning to Riverfront Park for the 2021 festival.

Dickinson College Children’s Center Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

The Annual Children’s Center Pancake Breakfast will be held on, Saturday, February 8th,from 8-11am in the Dickinson College HUB Social Hall. All are welcome! There will be plenty to do for adults and kids! A silent auction with over 50 vendors, face-painting, crafts and games. As well as demos from CPYB, Soccer Shots, and Yoga. Tickets for the breakfast are $9/adults and $5/children (2-12). There will also be a Scholastic Book Fair, and visits from mascots including Rascal and Members 1st. Tickets include ALL of these fun activities including, all you can eat pancakes, sausage, eggs, applesauce and drinks. Come out to enjoy time with family and friends for a wonderful breakfast then wander around downtown Carlisle for the Ice Fest!