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2009-2016 Casey Jones, Transformation Initiative for Building Healthy Communities

Through Healthy Families. Permission is granted to reproduce for personal or noncommercial uses only.

Sections Available in the attached Calendar of Events:

UPDATED THIS WEEK: Special Activities: Upcoming primarily free activities
listed by day over the next several months.
Ongoing Scheduled Activities: Primarily free activities held regularly each week
or month.
Area Ministries for Those Who are Struggling. GriefShare, DivorceCare,
Celebrate Recovery, Mending Hearts.
Day Trip Destination Sites: Free admission sites for individual and family outings.
E-Update ResourcesTM: Accompanying Information About Services, Including
Employment Resources, for Individuals and Families.
UPDATED THIS WEEK: Calendar of Events - Please Submit Additions Today
Upcoming Activities The following items are detailed in the accompanying Calendar of
Events and are in addition to those described within this E-Update. They will be occurring
during the current two-week period or are newly listed as part of the longer term Calendar.
These activities are provided for both personal use and printing out and sharing with others
through suggested posting on public and employee bulletin boards, hard copies or e-mail.

Updated: This Weeks Calendar of Events Activities (Found in Calendar of Events)

Camps Cadet Various Pennsylvania Locations.
Personalities, Practices and Churches from the Reformation Era Ispeaker Series
New Holland.
Walking Girls to Success Series Honey Brook.
Bird Walks Audubon.
Parenting and Children Time Pottstown.
Art Classes Kennett Square.
Longs Park Summer Concert Series Lancaster.
Parent Cafes Pottstown.
Gospel Roller Coaster Upper Darby.
Personal Finance Classes Pottstown and Norristown.
American Revolution History Events King of Prussia (Valley Forge).
PA CareerLink and Job Search Services Area Counties.
Spring Reading and Children Programs Area Libraries.
Look Good, Feel Better for Women Various Locations.
Pardons and Expungements Workshop Coatesville.
County Commissioners Conversations Lansdale and Bryn Mawr.
Minimize Your Risk of Stroke Seminar Pottstown.
Caregivers Workshop Kennett Square.
Mental Health First Aid Training West Chester.
Doggie Date Walk Atlglen.
Bullying and Harassment Chat-n-Chew West Chester.
Acoustic Guitar Concert Phoenixville.
Fireworks and Car Show Oxford
Veterans Luncheon Media.
Old Time Gospel Radio Hour Performance New Holland.

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Summer Concert Green Lane.

Updated: Next Weeks Calendar of Events Activities (Found in Calendar of Events)

Camps Cadet Various Pennsylvania Locations.
Personalities, Practices and Churches from the Reformation Era Ispeaker Series
New Holland.
Walking Girls to Success Series Honey Brook.
Bird Walks Audubon.
Art Classes Kennett Square.
Longs Park Summer Concert Series Lancaster.
Parent Cafes Pottstown.
Gospel Roller Coaster Upper Darby.
Personal Finance Classes Pottstown and Norristown.
American Revolution History Events King of Prussia (Valley Forge).
PA CareerLink and Job Search Services Area Counties.
Spring Reading and Children Programs Area Libraries.
Look Good, Feel Better for Women Various Locations.
314th Infantry Memorial Service King of Prussia (Valley Forge).
Memorial Day Parade Kennett Square.
Parade and Community Day Trappe-Collegeville.
Memorial Day Observance King of Prussia (Valley Forge).
Prescribe-A-Trail Walk Phoenixville.
Art History Presentation with Song and Dance Exton.
Health and Wellness University West Chester.
Shingles Clinic West Chester.
Strawberry Festival Coatesville.
World War II Author Presentation Phoenixville.
National Weather Service Skywarn Spotter Training Limerick.
Volunteer Fair Exton.
Civil War Enactments Schwenksville.
Come Out and Play Family Day West Chester.
National Trails Day King of Prussia (Valley Forge).
Resolution Hike Atglen.
Community and Trails Celebration Exton.
New: Future Weeks Events and Activities (View in Calendar of Events)
Personalities, Practices and Churches from the Reformation Era Ispeaker Series
New Holland.
GSK Science in the Summer Southeastern Pennsylvania libraries.
State Rep. Toepel Healthy Living Expo Green Lane.
The Lady in the Van Movie Night Phoenixville.
Musical Memories Concert for Individuals with Memory Loss and Dementia and
Caregivers New Holland.
Medicare 101 Workshop Phoenixville.
Joe Kenney Keyboard Concert Phoenixville.
Youth Choir Tour Preview West Chester.
Latino Festival Phoenixville.

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Activities Submission - Organizations are encouraged to submit information about ongoing services and activities, along with special events, as soon as possible after establishing a
date to maximize publicity and to help individuals and other organizations with planning
processes for their own events.
Formats for submission should be similar to and include all information as that shown on the
current, accompanying Calendar of Events. Further information about submissions appears
at the end of this E-Update and the Calendar. Information should be submitted to
bps461@msn.com. Don't let your important activity be left unknown.

RECEIVE NEWS FASTER!

Many of the stories that appear in this E-Update, along with many others that dont meet
our publications criteria, first appear during the prior week on our Transformation Initiative
and Transformation Initiative Emergency Preparedness Facebook pages.
For information faster for Facebook users, Like and Follow our Pages at
www.facebook.com/TransformationIni and
www.facebook.com/TransformationInitiative.EmergencyPreparedness.
You dont need to be a Facebook user to access basic information on Pages, but do need to
become a free Facebook user to Share the information and obtain updates.

NEW THIS WEEK: Workforce Development Board Seeks Local Plan Comments
Through Friday, May 27
The Chester County Workforce Development Board (WDB) will receive public comments on
its 2016 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Transitional Local Plan through
4 p.m. May 27.
Comments on the document, which outlines goals and objectives developed by the WDB to
support the region and state workforce development strategic visions and goals can be
e-mailed to ccwib@chesco.org or delivered to the Board at 601 Westtown Road - Suite 365,
West Chester, PA 19380.
Additional information is available at www.chesco.org/159/Workforce-Development-Board or
(610) 344-6900.

NEW THIS WEEK: Surf and Rip Current Forecasts Now Available
National Weather Service (NWS) has started publishing its summertime surf and rip current
forecasts through September 30.
Main components of this forecast, in addition to a rip current risk, include weather
conditions, ultraviolet rays (UV) index, surf wave height and water temperatures.
The report is available at www.weather.gov/phi/surfrip4, with a video on the dangers of rip
currents, which can be dangerous and potentially deadly, even on nice days, at
www.oceantoday.noaa.gov//htt//www.weather.gov/phi/surfrip4.

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NEW THIS WEEK: Area Counties to Receive $5.3 Million for Traffic Light
Imprvements
Five area counties are big winners under a $12 million Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation plan to help state municipalities upgrade traffic signals under a Green LightGo program.
Governor Wolf has announced that Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster and Montgomery
counties will receive some $5.3 million for 44 projects out of 109 that will be funded statewide.
Made possible under Act 89, the states transportation funding plan, the program
establishes partnership agreements between municipalities and PennDOT whereby local
governments can request up to 50-percent funding for traffic-signal projects.
During this fiscal year, grants can be used for installing light-emitting diode (LED)
technology, performing regional operations such as re-timing, developing special event
plans and monitoring traffic signals, as well as upgrading traffic signals to the latest
technologies.$368,859 for 20 projects.
Further information and the projects list are available at www.governor.pa.gov/governorwolf-announces-12-million-in-green-light-go-traffic-signal-improvement-funding.

NEW THIS WEEK: Schuylkill River Heritage Area Has $590 Million Annual Impact
The Schuylkill River Heritage Area generates $590 million annually in impact for the region,
according to an Economic Impact Study.
It also found the area supports 6,134 jobs and generates $37.7 million in state and local tax
revenue, primarily as a result of tourism related activities.
The Schuylkill River Heritage Area, one of 49 in the country, encompasses the Schuylkill
River watershed through Philadelphia, Chester, Montgomery, Berks, and Schuylkill
counties.
The document is available at http://files.ctctcdn.com/c471d8a7001/9afb4657-651a-4bdb87b9-3fb37dfa4f8c.pdf.

NEW THIS WEEK: Motorcycle Deaths Jump in U.S., Not Pennsylvania

Motorcycle fatalities jumped 10 percent nationwide last year but Pennsylvania and New
Jersey didn't follow the trend.
The national Governors Highway Safety Association says that preliminary numbers from the
states show an increase from 4,548 motorcycle deaths in 2014 to 5,010 last year.
Lack of helmet use, alcohol involvement, speeding and invalid licensure continue to be the
leading causes of motorcycle crashes and deaths, the organization reports, saying that use
of helmets would reduce deaths by 37 percent.
In Pennsylvania, motorcycle deaths dropped from 186 to 179, or a four percent decrease
between 2014 and 2015, with New Jersey sinking 20 percent, from 61 to 49.

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Delaware saw the largest area increase of 33 percent, but on much smaller numbers of 15
and 20 deaths. Maryland recorded a seven percent increase, from 69 to 64.
Further information and the report are available at
www.ghsa.org/html/media/pressreleases/2016/20160519motorcycles.html.

NEW THIS WEEK: Over $2 Million in State Grants Go to Rail Improvements

Area projects will receive more than $2 million of the $36 million that the Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation (PennDOT) has awarded to improve rail lines state-wide.
An estimated 9,200 jobs will be created and over 39,000 retained state-wide over the next
five years due to thirty-one state-wide rail projects being funded under two PennDOTmanaged grant programs, with five awards designated in this region.
Further information, including a list of awards, is available at www.governor.pa.gov/wolfadministration-announces-new-rail-projects-that-will-create-retain-48000-jobs-throughstate-investment.

NEW THIS WEEK: Free Nonprofit Conference Scheduled Monday, June 13

TriCounty Community Network (TCN) will host an information and educadtion conference for
nonprofits from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 13, at The Hill School Center for the Arts,
800 Beeach Street, Pottstown.
Ira Koretsky, president of The Chief Storyteller, a boutique marketing and sales consulting
firm, will deliver the keynote address, with nonprofit management workshops and
organizations providing services to nonprofits also available.
Further information and required registration are available at
www.eventbrite.com/e/nonprofit-conference-2016-tickets-22738670977 or (610) 850-0181.

NEW LAST WEEK: Police Save Over 350 Lives State-wide with Anti-Overdose Drug;
Most Are in Area Counties
Over 350 lives have been saved to date in this
area by police officers administering Naloxone to
reverse opioid overdoses among drug users, with
most of the saves state-wide occurring in our
extended reporting area.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol
Programs is reporting that nearly 40 percent of the
state drug overdose reversals have occurred in
Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and Chester
counties. All but Montgomery County are reported
to have all county police departments having
Naloxone available to administer.
Delaware County is tops in the state, with 184 saves, followed by York with 170,
Philadelphia with 117, Bucks 84, Lancaster 61, Montgomery 57 and Chester 46. Berks
County, which has had three saves is described as only having partial coverage or is
preparing to launch.

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Naloxone, a drug administered by nasal spray or injection, reverses opioid overdoses,

including heroin. As previously reported, it now is available to any individual through a
state-wide prescription from the state physician general, although all drug stores don't
currently dispense.
Earlier this month, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan announced that Acme
Markets now is stocking the drug at all county supermarket pharmacies and will be
continuing to roll it out in other areas. Some drugstore chains started dispensing the drug
last year.
Information in regard to Naloxone use, including background, data for emergency services
personnel, a Friends and Family Guidance Toolkit, a list of pharmacies dispensing the drug
in each county, and more is available at
www.ddap.pa.gov/overdose/Pages/Naloxone_Reversal.aspx#.VzYaZ-QaL-s.

NEW LAST WEEK: Area Counties Lead in Sexual Offender Cases

Area counties account for more than 20 percent
of all sexual offender cases in Pennsylvania,
with all five in the top ten.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania
Courts (AOPC) reports that during the past
three calendar years cumulatively Lancaster
County was the third highest, followed by
Delaware in fourth place, Montgomery in sixth,
Berks in eighth and Chester in 10th in the
number of cases. Philadelphia was tops with
707, or 14.87 percent of the state total, followed by Allegheny County with 447, or 9.4
percent.
The total number of individuals sentenced as sexual offenders between January 1, 2013,
and December 31, 2015, was 4,225, charged with 16,987 offenses, AOPC reports.
Of sexual offenders sentenced, 51 percent were between the ages of 19 and 35, with 44
percent being charged with sexual abuse of children.
The number of cases has increased dramatically state-wide in the three-year period with
new mandated reporting laws going into effect. Cases state-wide rose from 1,124 in 2013,
to 1,703 in 2013 and 1,929 last year, or a more than 70% increase during the period.
In this reporting area:
Lancaster County (July 1, 2015), estimated Census Bureau population of 536,624),
there were 76 cases in 2013, 71 in 2015 and 110 last year for a total of 257 or 5.4
percent of the state-wide total.
Delaware County (563,894): 38, 79 and 98 for a total of 215 or 4.52 percent of the
total.
Montgomery (819,264): 33, 60, 82 - 175 (3.68 percent).
Berks (415,271): 54, 46, 64 - 164 (3.45 percent).
Chester (515,939): 29, 31, 48 - 108 (2.27 percent).

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Further information and demographics are available at www.pacourts.us/news-andstatistics/news?Article=899.

NEW LAST WEEK: Police Ramp Up Click It or Ticket Seatbelt Use Efforts
Dozens of municipal police departments state
police across southeast Pennsylvania are
engaged in a statewide Click It Or Ticket
seatbelt enforcement mobilization through June
5, including Memorial Day weekend.
Police will focus on roadways with high unbelted
crashes, injuries and deaths by initiating a
combination of enforcement and public
awareness activities, according to the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
All vehicle occupants under 18 years of age must wear a seat belt, officials said, with drivers
and front-seat passengers over 18 years old who are cited for another traffic violation
receiving a second ticket if they are unbuckled.
Pennsylvania recorded another decrease in seat belt use in 2015 with an observed rate of
83.6%, the lowest since 2005, PennDOT reports, with officials saying that proper use of a
seat belt can increase chances of surviving a crash by up to 60 percent.
According to PennDOT data there were 3,440 crashes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware,
Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in 2015 in which people were not wearing seat belts,
with 64 people dying in those incidents.
Further information about PennDOTs seat belt efforts is available at JustDrivePA.com.

NEW LAST WEEK: State Focusing on 2018 Managed Long-Term Care Changes
A new managed long term services and supports system, to take effect in January 2018,
already is drawing attention in Southeastern Pennsylvania with significant changes in the
way older residents and those with disabilities receive care.
Community Health Choices, to be rolled out first in Southwestern Pennsylvania next year,
will be directed toward keeping individuals in their communities instead of nursing homes
and other assisted living facilities.
The Brandywine and Phoenixville Community health foundations hosted an information
session in West Chester for Chester County providers and others interested in
improvements to the healthcare system, with others being held in the five-county 2018
implementation area.
Jennifer Burnett, deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
Office of Long-term Living, said the general population is underprepared for long-term care,
most get into it due to a medical emergency, and information currently is very confusing
and the system very difficult to navigate.

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She said that just over half of individuals in long term care now are being cared for in
community settings versus nursing homes, but local care is the desire of 95 percent of the
population.
Successful implementation of the new system, described several times at the meeting as
having potential to be either being a major improvement or a disaster, will depend on
proper education of the public and providers along with other factors, speakers said.
Further information on Community Health Choices is available at
www.dhs.pa.gov/citizens/communityhealthchoices/#.Vzp8aeQaL-s.

NEW LAST WEEK: Pottstown Area Churches Coming Together for Regional Unity
A growing number of churches in the Pottstown
area are coming together to focus on unifying the
church regionally, with pastors and leaders
gathering twice a month and hundreds of
Christians participating on Pentecost Sunday for a
combined Night of Praise.
The May 15 gathering at The Hill School in
Pottstown, the second held by the group,
observed the post-Easter descent of the Holy
Spirit on the apostles of Jesus Christ. Additional
prayer and praise gatherings are being planned for
at least three times a year.
The Netzer movement, derived from the Hebrew word for shoot or branch, is designed to
assist churches and members to grow in combining a shared faith in the Trinity and
equipping for work of ministry, rather than highlighting theological differences.
Further information is available at www.netzer.org. and
www.facebook.com/TransformationIni/photos/pcb.1053512131380704/1053511344714116
/?type=3&theater or (484) 222-0125.

NEW LAST WEEK: Chester Countys State of Its Women Reported

Chester County Fund for Women and Girls has released its latest Blueprint Report, a needs
assessment of county females.
The 176-page document, presented by Allison Turner, department chair and associate
professor in the Department of Public Policy and Administration at West Chester University,
updates a 2010 report, delving into Employment and Earnings, Poverty and Opportunity,
Health and Well-Being, Work and Family, Reproductive Rights, Violence and Safety, and
Political Participation.
A copy of the report, along with a summary, is available at
www.ccwomenandgirls.org/research.

NEW LAST WEEK: Frozen Food Recalls Grow Due to Listeria Potentials
Tons of frozen foods, originally starting with frozen vegetables and fruits and now meats,
are involved in expanding recalls from multiple sources due to listeria concerns.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the disease primarily affects
older adults, pregnant women, newborns, and adults with weakened immune systems,
although others can be affected. It is caused by eating food contaminated with the
bacterium Listeria monocytogenes and is considered an important public health problem in
the United States.
A current list of recalls is available at www.foodsafety.gov/recalls/index.html, where one
also can sign up for automatic alerts.
Further information on listeria is available at www.cdc.gov/listeria/index.html.

NEW LAST WEEK: Social Security Administration Reveals Top 2015 Baby Names
Noah, Liam and Mason are the top boy names for 2015,
says the federal Social Security Administration, with
Emma, Olivia and Sophia being the most popular for
girls.
In Pennsylvania, the rankings are a bit different. A
complete list of the top 10 names nationwide, by state,
the top five in each of the last 100 years, and more are
available at www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames.

NEW LAST WEEK: Zika Virus Response Plan Developed

Plans are underway to bolster surveillance, mitigation, and response efforts for the Zika
virus, although risks of contracting it in Pennsylvania are termed "very low".
Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Environmental Protection have announced a
Pennsylvania Zika Virus Response Plan that outlines the phases of education, surveillance,
and response activities that will occur for various levels of mosquito activity within the
commonwealth as well as triggers based on the presence of the virus within the state.
The phases range from the current situation of a moderate level of travel-associated cases
to potential widespread local transmission by mosquitos.
The agencies noted the only confirmed cases in Pennsylvania of Zika, which is identified as
being of danger to unborn children, are in individuals who contracted the virus while visiting
one of the areas where the virus is actively spreading.
They say, however, that "once warmer temperatures arrive in the commonwealth and
remain in place throughout the summer months, the risk of limited local transmission of
Zika virus by the type of mosquitos that potentially carry it will increase."
Additional information, including the response plan, is available at
www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Health-Details.aspx?newsid=307.

Free Income Tax Service Nets $9.6 Million in Lanco Refunds

United Way of Lancaster County is reporting that its free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) initiative garnered a major jump in help to individuals this year, assisting over 7,300
individuals in obtaining $9.6 million in refunds.

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More than 200 community members, students, and retirees volunteered more than 15,000
hours at 15 VITA tax sites across the county during the tax season to prepare free tax
returns for income eligible families.
The result was 7,369 no-cost tax returns, up 21 percent from 2015, with filings resulting in
$9.6 million in refunds to local residents, $1.9 million or 24 percent more, than last year.
The agency estimates it saved clients approximately $1.5 million in taxpayer fees.
Further information on the results is available at www.uwlanc.org/united-way-lancastercounty%E2%80%99s-vita-program-brings-96-million-tax-refunds-local-taxpayers.

Acme Markets to Offer NARCAN for Opioid Overdose Mitigation

Acme Markets has moved to broaden availability of NARCAN, a nasal spray to counteract
overdoses from opioids, including heroin, that have led to a significant increase in deaths
throughout both Pennsylvania and the United States.
The supermarket chain, in cooperation with the Delaware County District Attorneys Office
has rolled out availability of the drug in its in-store pharmacies in that county under a
Pennsylvania Physician General standing order that allows dissemination to the general
public without an individual prescription and will be expanding availability to all its
Pennsylvania stores. Some other drug stores have made it available since last fall.
Further information is available at www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delaware-countyand-acme-work-together-to-improve-community-access-to-naloxone-300261854.html.

Some Addicts Now Using Diarrhea Drug for Legal High That Can be Fatal
A new study says that some addicts now are turning to the diarrhea drug Imodium for a
high, with it becoming a growing problem in the United States.
There has been a 71 percent increase between 2011 and 2014 in calls to poison control
centers in regard to abuse and misuse of loperamide, the key ingredient, in the drug.
Further information is available at www.healthfinder.gov/News/Article.aspx?id=710652.

May Be Biggest Patient Safety Issue

Researchers at John Hopkins University School of Medicine say that 25 years of data is
showing that diagnostic errors, versus surgical mistakes or medication overdoses, have
accounted for the largest fraction of claims, the most severe patient harm, and the highest
total of penalty payouts.
The study reports that diagnostic errors could easily be the biggest patient and medical
malpractice problem in the United States, accounting for more than $38 billion in payouts in
the past quarter century.
Further information is available at
www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/diagnostic_errors_more_common_costly_a
nd_harmful_than_treatment_mistakes.

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Great American Cleanup of PA Underway Through Tuesday, May 31

Annual Great American Cleanup of PA, in which 128,000 volunteers collected six million
pounds of litter last year from Pennsylvanias roads, trails and shorelines, is in effect
through May 31.
During this period registered events can obtain free cleanup supplies, such as bags, gloves
and vests, from the Pennsylvania Department of Transporation (PennDOT) and Keep
America Beautiful. In addition, during Pick It Up PA Days, from April 16 to May 9,
registered events have access to reduced or free disposal.
Further information on Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is available at www.keeppabeautiful.org,
with details on the cleanup event at www.gacofpa.org.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Forum Scheduled Wednesday, June 8

Home of the Sparrow will host a Chester County Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)
breakfast forum from 9 a.m. to noon June 8 at the West Chester University Graduate
Center, 1160 McDermitt Drive, West Chester, to gauge interest in developing a coalition to
address negative affects of adverse childhood experiences.
Presentations in regard to the subject will include Alyson Ferguson, director of grantmaking
at Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation, and Jason Alexander of Capacity for
Change.
Further information and reservations are available with Milena Lanz at
MLanz@homeofthesparrow.org or (610) 647-4940.

FDA Extends Regulations to All Tobacco Products, Including E-Cigarettes Effective

Monday, August 8
Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized
a rule, effective August 8, that extends the agencys
authority to include regulation of electronic nicotine
delivery systems such as e-cigarettes and vape pens, all
cigars, hookah (waterpipe) tobacco, pipe tobacco and
nicotine gels, among others.
Under the rule, FDA says it will review new tobacco
products not yet on the market, evaluate ingredients of products and how they are made, help
prevent misleading claims by tobacco product manufacturers, and communicate potential risks of
tobacco products.
Further information is available at
www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/RulesRegulationsGuidance/ucm388395.htm.

UPDATED THIS WEEK: Community Organization Networking Connection Meetings

(Regular Meeting Dates are Subject to Change)
Phoenixville Area Resource Network (PARN) meets from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the
fourth Tuesday of the month, except December, at the First United Methodist Church (north
entrance), 865 South Main Street, Phoenixville. Representatives of community organizations
exchange information about current and upcoming activities and hear presentations from
various services providers. On May 24, representatives of Health Care Access, ResCare

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Home Care and Abilatools will speak. Additional information about the group is available
from Debbie Dundon at Open Hearth, Spring City, at debbie.openhearth@verizon.net or
(610) 792-9282 x201.
Chester County Faith Community Health Ministry Network meets from 4 p.m. to 5:15
p.m., on the first Thursday of each month, from September through June to exchange
information on promotion of holistic health within faith congregations and communities and
to develop additional faith community nurses, also known as parish nurses. On June 2, at
the Neighborhood Health Agencies, Casey Jones will discuss the System of Care aspects of a
Fathers Matter coalition initiative. Further information is available from Joan Holliday at
dochollisv@aol.com or (610) 717-2180.
Chester County Family and Community Partnership meets from 10 a.m. to noon on
the first Friday of February, April, June, August, October and December at the Government
Services Center, 601 Westtown Road, West Chester. The group is a diverse partnership of
individuals, families, community organizations, service agencies, businesses and funders
committed to empowering individuals and families in living self-sufficient, productive and
fulfilling lives. On June 3, it will learn about Faith-Based Collaborations and Success
Stories. Additional information is available from Kathy Brauner at kbrauner@chesco.org or
(610) 344-5262.
Coatesville Area Resource Network (CARN) meets from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on the third
Wednesday of the month, except August and December, in the fourth floor conference room
at Brandywine Health Center at 744 East Lincoln Highway, Coatesville. Representatives of
community organizations hear presentations from various services providers, discuss ways
to develop effective systems of care, help identify solutions to specific issues, and exchange
information about current and upcoming activities. Further information is available from
Kathryn Spurlock at ccch@comcast.net or at (610) 380-7111 x16.
Berks-Lancaster-Lebanon Counties LINK to Aging and Disability Resources meets
from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month at various Lancaster area
locations, and from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on the third Tuesdays of the month at various
locations in Berks County for services cross-trainings and exchange of information on
creating a one-stop, no-wrong-door resources for older adults and adults with disabilities,
including consumers, family members and others, seeking information about local
resources. Further information is available at http://berkslancasterlebanonlink.org, or from
Brian Long, coordinator, at blllink@mail.com or (717) 380-9714.
Bucks-Chester-Montgomery Counties LINK to Aging and Disability Resources
meets at 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at various dates and locations in the three counties. Further
information and suggested registration is available at
www.buckschestermontgomerylink.weebly.com, buckschestermontgomerylink@aim.com or
(484) 364-6981.
Kennett Area Bridging the Community meets at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesdays of
January, March, May, July, September and November at various community locations with
any interested individual or organization welcome to attend and share information on
resources and needs that can build "bridges" toward a more integrated Kennett area
community. Additional information is available from Joan Holliday at dochollisv@aol.com or
(610) 717-2180. Minutes from prior meetings are available at
www.bridgingcommunity.com/bridging.php.

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Communities That Care (CTC) groups in several Chester County school districts provide
networking opportunities for community organizations and individuals that use a planning
and mobilization model to promote healthy youth development and prevent and reduce
negative youth health and behavior issues that may include substance abuse, delinquency,
teen pregnancy, school drop-out, and violence.

West Chester CTC meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the second Thursday of each
month of the school year at the West Chester Area School District Spellman
Administrative Building, 829 Paoli Pike, West Chester. Lunch is provided by reserving at
rsvp@wcctc.org or (610) 359-5817.

Downingtown Area CTC meets from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. the third Tuesday of the
month from September through May. Further information and registration are available
at dtownctc@umly.org or (610) 458-9090 x2827.

Coatesville CTC Community Prevention Board, a body coterminous with the Coatesville
Youth Initiative Steering Committee, meets periodically in the fourth floor Community
Room, Brandywine Health Foundation, 744 East Lincoln Highway, Coatesville. Further
information and requested lunch reservations are available from Jarvis Berry, CTC
community mobilizer, at Jarvis@coatesvilleyouthinitiative.org or (610) 380-0200.

UPDATED THIS WEEK: Support Groups for Unemployed and Underemployed

-Ongoing
Several networking/support groups (open to everyone) are available at area churches for
persons who are unemployed or unemployed, with each providing its own variety of specific
services in support of those who attend:

Downingtown (Lionville/Exton) Job-Seeker Group at Calvary Fellowship Church,

95 West Devon Drive (rear entrance) at Route 113 in Exton (Lionville) is named after
the Biblical disciple known as the Son of Encouragement. Weekly sessions are part
of the churchs Care Monday, that includes a prayer group that meets at the same
with intercession for those attending the Barnabas Group and the churchs other
Care Ministries, including GriefShare for those struggling with the death of a loved
one, DivorceCare for those coping with separation or divorce, even years later;
Mending Hearts for those with prodigal children and other family members; and
various offerings focused on assistance in healing and coping. Further information
on Job-Seeker Group activities is available at barnabasgroup@cfdownington.com or
(610) 363-7171.

Malvern Penn State Great Valleys Alumni Association and My Career Transitions
(MCT), an all-volunteer job counseling group, meets from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
the second Saturday of the month, except August and December, in 130 Main
Building, Penn State Great Valley, 30 East Swedesford Road, Malvern, preceded by a
new member orientation at 8:30 a.m. On June 11, author Hank Boyer, a senior
management advisor, will discuss Current & Emerging Job Search Tactics for the
Experienced Professional. Further information and required registration are available
at http://mycareertransitions.com/new/?q=upcoming-meetings.

Wayne A one-on-one Employment Guidance Ministry, along with periodic special

employment related events to aid jobseekers is available at St. Davids Episcopal
Church, 763 South Valley Forge Road, Malvern. Further information is available from

- 15 -

George Vosburgh at gbvosburgh@aol.com or (610) 688-7947.

West Chester Unemployment support group meets bi-weekly from 5:45 p.m. to
7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 130 West Miner Street, West Chester, to
learn tips and techniques related to job searches. Further information is available
from Elisabeth Hartwell at ehartwell@firstpreswc.com, at (610) 696-0554.

West Chester BarnabasWC group meets from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Mondays,
except holidays, in the Community Room, Providence Church, 430 Hannum Avenue,
West Chester. Further information is available at www.barnabaswc.org or
info@barnabaswc.org.

Six Area Affiliates of Joseph's People meet during the month:

Berwyn/Main Line - 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays at the
Hagenbach Room, St. Monicas Church, 635 First Avenue. Further information is
available from Bob Schubert at bobschubertjr@aim.com or (610) 755-2398.
Central Delco Groups at three locations in Central Delaware County now
coordinate meetings in Media and Upper Darby at 7 p.m. on the first three Tuesdays
of the month. First Tuesday: St. Francis Room at St. Mary Magdalen Church,
2400 North Providence Road, Media, with further information at
smmemploy@gmail.com or (610) 873-7117. On June 7, Joseph's People
participants who have found employment will share resources and tools that worked
for them. Second Tuesday: St. Laurence Church, 8245 West Chester Pike - St.
Laurence Road Entrance, Upper Darby, with further information at
smmemploy@gmail.com or (610) 873-7117. On June 14, Brandi Baldwin-Rana,
Ph.D., a psychologist, educator and leadership performance advisor, will discuss how
to Maintain Your Equilibrium And Emotional Well-Being! during a job search. Third
Tuesday: Hassler Chapel, Media Presbyterian Church, 30 East Baltimore Pike,
Media, with further information at robinst37@gmail.com.
Downingtown -- 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesdays, in the
Parish Meeting Room Rear of the School Property, St. Joseph's Parish, 338 Manor
Avenue (Route 322). Information about the affiliate is available by leaving a
message at (610) 873-7117. Further information and required registration for
limited seating are available at www.josephspeople.org/retreat.
Upper Uwchlan Township 7 p.m. on the first and third Mondays at the School
Education Center, St. Elizabeths Catholic Church, 100 Fellowship Road, Chester
Springs. Further information is available at (610) 321-1200 or at
david.bolz@verizon.net.
Reading 7 p.m. to 8:30 pm. on the first and third Wednesdays at St Catharine's of
Siena Parish Center. 2427 Perkiomen Avenue, Reading. Further information is
available from John Senick, facilitator, at (610) 779-4005.
West Grove 6:45 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the new Parish
Life Center, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, 300 State Road, West
Grove. On May 25, career coach Ed Samuel will discuss references and never giving
up in a job search. Further information is available from John Colgan at
johnfcolgan@gmail.com.

- 16 -

Additional information on all St. Josephs People chapters is available at

www.josephspeople.org.

Free Job Assistance Workshops - May

Unemployed and underemployed persons seeking education and training in career planning,
along with employment assistance for veterans, ex-offenders and persons with disabilities,
can take advantage of a broad series of services and monthly workshops offered by the
Pennsylvania Department of Labor CareerLink at its Exton offices in Suite 500, 479 Thomas
Jones Way in the Oaklands Corporate Center.
These trainings include an orientation presentation as to services offered by the office.
A calendar of PA CareerLink-Chester County workshops for the current month, including onsite job recruitment opportunities, is available at
http://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/33278.
Daily job opening updates are available through www.cwds.state.pa.us.
Websites for additional county PA CareerLink offices in the area, at which many services are
available to out-of-county residents, include:
Berks: www.co.berks.pa.us/Dept/CareerLink/Pages/default.aspx
Delaware: www.delcoworks.org
Lancaster: www.jobs4lancaster.com
Montgomery: www.montcopa.org/index.aspx?NID=1024

Mobile Job Lab Available

A new monthly Mobile Job Lab will be held from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m. the first Monday of each month in
Room 114 at the University Center, 95 South
Hanover Street, Pottstown.
Montgomery County Community Colleges University
Center, its Career Services and TriCounty
Community Network (TCN) will host the activity the first Monday of each month, with
attendees being able to search for jobs and obtain resume writing and other job-seeker and
career support services. Representatives of the University Centers college and university
partners also will be available to discuss admission processes.
Further information is available at http://calendar.mc3.edu/EventList.aspx?
fromdate=2%2F1%2F2016&todate=2%2F29%2F2016&display=Month&type=public&eventi
dn=12720&view=EventDetails&information_id=19532 or (610) 850-0181, with additional
information on the University Center at www.mc3.edu/universitycenter.

Free Online Training Available for Health Care Professionals Aiding Veterans
Health care professionals now have a free online course developed by the federal
Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Defense (DoD) to help serve veterans and service
members.

- 17 -

The eight-hour Military Culture: Core Competencies for Health Care Professionals training
covers a variety of topics through interactive features, video vignettes, case examples and
treatment planning scenarios.
Each of the four modules within the course was developed using research, surveys and
extensive interviews with service members and veterans.
Information and registration for the training, along with other military culture-related
materials, are available at www.deploymentpsych.org/Military-Culture.

Over 500 Continuing Education Courses Now Available Online

Pottstown Regional Public Library now is offering over 500 online continuing education
courses for the price of a free library card.
A wide variety of offerings for professionals and others, including job-seekers, business
owners and housewives, including topics such as business, office skills, web development,
arts and photography, alternative medicine, crafts, pet and animal care, home and garden,
teacher tools, writing help, self-help, and homeschooling, according to reports.
Further information is available at www.sanatogapost.com/2015/11/21/library-offerscontinuing-education-courses or the library at 500 East High Street, Pottstown, or (610)
970-6551.

Octorara School District Offering Homeland Security & Protective Services

Academy for Chester County High School Students
Octorara Area School District is accepting enrollment for Chester County high school
students to enter its fall Homeland Security & Protective Services Academy.
The Academy is said to prepare students to apply technical knowledge and skills required to
perform entry-level duties in law enforcement, firefighting, emergency medical services, and
other safety services, with training being conducted as part of high school curriculum at the
Chester County Public Safety Training Campus in South Coatesville.
On focus of the program is training for students to be nationally certified fire service
personnel due to declining number of volunteers in the fire service agencies, along with
receiving other public safety certification opportunities.
Further information is at http://octorara.schoolwires.net/site/Default.aspx?PageID=1536 or
Cyndi Manning at (610) 593-8238 x3549.

Major Jobs Growth Forecast for Chester, Montgomery and Bucks Counties To
Levels Not Seen in Decade and Half
Moody's Analytics, in a report via Philly.com, says construction, health care, and
professional services employment should create major job growth in Chester, Montgomery
and Bucks counties this year.
The analysis suggests that pharmaceutical investment and more health-related,
pharmaceutical-related start-up activity will help generate the increase that would surpass a
jobs peak of 1.034 million in 2008, when the recession hit and wiped out nearly 50,000 jobs
in two years.

- 18 -

Last year's total was just slightly lower, at 1.033 million, Moody's is quoted as saying, with
Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, in contrast, surpassed their 2008 jobs peak in 2013.
The story is available at
www.philly.com/philly/business/20160501_Philly_suburbs_poised_for_big_job_growth.html
#XdIm7shqivwrucOs.01.

Pennsylvania Auditor General Warns of Back Door Tax Hike

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is warning that if a state budget structural
deficit isnt resolved this year it will result in a back-door tax increase.
With his pronouncement, the official said his office already is preparing to audit all state and
federal funds spent during the current fiscal year and that he will immediately start tracking
extra costs if the 2016-17 budget is not finalized by June 30.
I anticipate that the nine-month delay in the 2015-16 spending plan will present some
unique circumstances when we start our next audits, DePasquale said. I have instructed
my team to prepare now to audit the 2015-16 spending.
He said another budget impasse will result in financial rating agencies to again downgrade
Pennsylvanias bond rating, essentially resulting in a back-door tax increase on residents
because it will increase the borrowing costs for schools and governments.
Every road project and every school construction project will cost more, the auditor
general said, resulting in the back door result.
Last month, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf allowed a state General Assembly fiscal bill to
become law without his signature, effectively ending the more than nine-month budget
dispute. He earlier had allowed the final piece of the 2015-16 budget, without the fiscal bill,
to become law, also without his signature.
The Governor had said, after allowing final remnants of a long-delayed state budget to take
effect without the bill allocating school aid, that he would distribute funds based on a
formula to help restore prior budget cuts to poorer school districts. Republican Senate and
House leaders, however, called for use of a bipartisan commission standard funding
formula, with both houses approving the plan in a new fiscal bill by margins that would
withstand a gubernatorial veto.
Many districts won and lost with the change in funding allocations, with an earlier review by
the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as to the differences each school district will
receive in basic, Ready-to-Learn Block Grant and total funding available at
www.psba.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/2015-16-Funding-Comparison.pdf.
A statement by the governor on his budget decision is at www.governor.pa.gov/governorwolf-statement-on-fiscal-code.
The auditor generals statement is at www.paauditor.gov/press-releases/auditor-generaldepasquale-continues-to-audit-all-state-spending-preparing-to-track-extra-costs-if-budgetdelayed-beyond-june-30.

- 19 -

Caregivers May Obtain Medical Information Under New Law

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has approved a Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act
that is designed to require hospitals to let patients designate a lay caregiver to which care
information must be provided.
Under the law, to take effect next April, a hospital must request the written consent of the
patient or the patient's legal guardian to release medical information to the patient's
designated lay caregiver and obtain information to enable the caregiver to be contacted.
The legislation is available at www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?
yr=2016&sessInd=0&act=20.

Majority of Pennsylvanians Switched Obamacare Plans

Over half of enrolled Pennsylvanians chose a new Obamacare plan this year, resulting in
average savings of $28 per month or $336 annually, apparently
heeding government encouragement to check out plan and premium
changes annually under both the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and
Medicare.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in a report
on 2016 health coverage, said that 52% changed plans in
Pennsylvania, although the number was significantly less than the
67% plan changes nation-wide.
HHS says 439,238 Pennsylvanians now are enrolledunder ACA, 76 percent receiving a tax
credit averaging $251 a month, reducing premiums from $396 to $145, or 63 percent. With
five average insurers per county, 53% of individuals could have selected plans under $75
per month and 60 percent under $100 per month, although basic plan benefits are less.
Nationally, HHS reports, plan rates increased $30 per month or 8.4 percent -- from $356 to
$386 -- over 2015. The net cost to some 85% of consumers who received Advanced
Premium Tax Credits (APTC) is $4 per month, or approximately four percent, based on
reduced premiums of $102 per month in 2015 versus $106 monthly this year.
The report is at https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/198636/MarketplaceRate.pdf.

Pennsylvania Enrolls 625,000 More with Medicaid Extension

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS)
says more than 625,000 adults ages 18 to 64 signed up
under the state's first year of Medicaid expansion, with
nearly half the additions under 35 years of age, 61
percent being white, one third being white females, and
over 47 percent being employed.
The health insurance program reports it also served
109,000 parents joining the system, and provided
services to nearly 63,000 individuals for addictionrelated conditions during a 15-month period starting January 1, 205, and 1,100 new
pregnant women.

- 20 -

DHS said the number of providers also increased, including nearly 8,000 new physicians,
2,000 dentists and nearly 1,500 therapists.
Further information is available at www.media.pa.gov/Pages/DHS_details.aspx?
newsid=204, with an infographic at
www.dhs.pa.gov/cs/groups/webcontent/documents/document/c_226815.pdf.
The darker colors in the graphic signify the counties with the highest percentage of new
enrollments.

Pennsylvania is Second Worst State to Finance College

Pennsylvania is the second "worst places for a
family to pay for college" in the United States and
"home to the most expensive public research
institutions in the country," according to a new
report.
The Institute for Research on Higher Education at
the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of
Education (Penn GSE) made the assessment,
saying that a family would have to spend, on average, 47 percent of its income to pay for
full-time attendance at Penn State, Pittsburgh or Temple University.
"For the 20 percent of Pennsylvania families making $30,000 a year or less, that rises to
105 percent of annual income, on average," it reports.
"Even community colleges," it says, "long considered an entry point to higher education, are
not really affordable," adding that a student would "have to work, on average, 29 hours a
week to pay for full-time attendance."
New Hampshire was the highest cost state, with Alaska being the least. Maryland was sixth
best, New Jersey at 10th, Delaware 16th, New York 39th and Ohio 45th.
"Even in the best-performing states," the report says, "college is less affordable than it was
in 2008," adding that "(e)ven though more aid is available, it hasnt kept pace with rising
educational expenses.
"Every state is projected to fall short of having enough college graduates to meet their
workforce needs by 2020," it claims.
The report, including individual state analyses, is at
http://www2.gse.upenn.edu/irhe/affordability-diagnosis.

Area Hospital Ratings for Patient Safety Range from A to C

Area hospitals have ratings from A to C in new rankings for patient safety, with none
receiving a D or F.
The list was released by Leapfrog, a national nonprofit founded in 2000 by large employers
and other purchasers for the purpose of "driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the
quality and safety of American health care."

- 21 -

The rankings include more than 2,500 U.S. hospitals that were assessed for medical errors,
accidents, injuries and infections that are said to reflect 50 percent increased risks of
avoidable deaths between bottom and top rated hospitals.
The report says that findings point to a nine percent higher risk of avoidable death in B
hospitals, 35 percent higher in C facilities and 50 percent higher in D and F hospitals than
those rated as A.
Pennsylvania was 33rd overall in the United States for A-rated hospitals, with only one
quarter of 132 receiving that designation. Delaware was 18th place, with two out of five
listed and New Jersey 22nd, with 23 out of 67 receiving an A rating. New York was 44th,
with only 14 out of 143 hospitals receiving top grades. Maryland hospitals aren't listed
because of no requirement to report safety information.
Further information on the report is available at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/aboutus/newsroom/display/442022, with a searchable database of hospitals and other
information, including score components, at www.hospitalsafetyscore.org.

Children Share Parent Prison Sentences Says Foundation

Parental incarceration is helping drain community
resources and creating a devastating toll on kids, families
and communities.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national foundation
seeking solutions to strengthening families, makes this
assessment in a new A Shared Sentence report that "if
incarceration rates hadnt increased during a 24-year
period, the U.S. poverty rate would have fallen by 20
percent, rather than remaining relatively steady."
It says that more than five million U.S. children have had
a parent in jail or prison at some point in their lives, which
can have "as much impact on a childs well-being as abuse
or domestic violence." The rate of parental incarceration
is said to vary from three percent in New Jersey to 13
percent in Kentucky.
The foundation reports that while states are spend heavily on corrections, few resources
exist to support those left behind.
It is recommending that:
-- Children are supported while parents are incarcerated and
after they return.
-- Parents who have returned to the community be connected with pathways to
employment. Without education, training and work experience, it says, parents who have
been incarcerated cant compete for todays family-supporting jobs.
-- Communities be strengthened, particularly those proportionately affected by
incarceration and reentry, to promote family stability and opportunity.

- 22 -

The high-poverty neighborhoods that are home to many kids and families dealing with
incarceration lack quality affordable housing, access to jobs, good schools and key
resources, the foundation finds.
The report is available at www.aecf.org.

Funding Being Made Available to Study Nonprofit Mergers

discusses the organization's focus on helping to improve capacity, effectiveness and
financial health of the nonprofit sector in the Greater Philadelphia area at the Chester
County Library in Exton.
Dozens of nonprofit leaders have been advised of a new Philadelphia-based fund that is
designed to assist nonprofits in merging, acquisition, consolidating back office operations,
and developing programmatic joint ventures.
Nadya Shmavonian, director the Nonprofit Repositioning Fund, that serves Chester,
Montgomery, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, described the process at a workshop at
Chester County Library in Exton, hosted by the library, the Brandywine Health Foundation,
Chester County Community Foundation, Chester County Fund for Women & Girls,
Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, and the United Way of Chester County.
The new Fund, established by seven area and one national foundation, along with the
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, seeks to impact greater
capacity, effectiveness, and financial health of the region's nonprofit sector in Bucks,.
It was noted that although the nonprofit sector is a major economic driver of the region's
economy, with over $11 billion in annual wages, some individual organizations struggle with
issues of insufficient scale, duplication of efforts, undefined leadership succession, limited
sources of revenue and high back-office costs, thereby finding it difficult to achieve missions
"in meaningful and measurable ways".
Further information on the Fund is available at www.repositioningfund.org,
nadya@repositioningfund.org or (215) 790700 x16.

Area Has Some of Most Polluted Air in United States Says New National Report
Chester and adjoining counties have some of the most polluted air in the United States,
according to the American Lung Association.
In its annual State of the Air report, the organization gives an "F" for high ozone days
exposure to Berks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, and Montgomery counties and lists the
area among the top 18 in the U.S. for various types of pollution categories.
The Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD, population center scored 12th worst for
year-around particle pollution and 18th for short-term, with Lancaster County, rated
separately, at 16th for year-around and 11th for short-term. The New York-Newark, NY-NJCT-PA population area was 14th worst for ozone, with Lancaster not in the top 25.
For particle pollution, only Delaware received an annual failing grade, with Berks and
Lancaster rated a single grade of F, but were listed as passing on an annual basis, with
Delaware and Montgomery a C and Chester a B.

- 23 -

The association says that although gains are being made in air quality in many areas, "more
than half of all Americans - 166 million people - live in counties where they are exposed to
unhealthful levels of pollutants."
It claims that despite a "continued need and the nation's progress, some people seek to
weaken the Clean Air Act, the public health law that has driven the cuts in pollution since
1970, and to undermine the ability of the nation to fight for healthy air."
The full report, including definitions, comparison charting, and highest impacted
populations, is available at www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota, with specific
information on Pennsylvania counties at www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/cityrankings/states/pennsylvania.

Suicide Rates for Most Ages Rise to Highest Levels in 30 Years

National suicide levels are the highest since 1986, with nearly all age
categories impacted, according to the National Center for Health
Statistics.
In a new release the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) says suicide is an important public health issue involving
psychological, biological, and societal factors, noting that:

From 1999 through 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States
increased 24%, from 10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000 population, with the pace of increase
greater after 2006.

Suicide rates increased from 1999 through 2014 for both males and females and for
all ages 1074.

The percent increase in suicide rates for females was greatest for those aged 1014,
and for males, those aged 4564.

The most frequent suicide method in 2014 for males involved the use of firearms
(55.4%), while poisoning was the most frequent method for females (34.1%).

Further information is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db241.htm.

Pennsylvania In Bottom 20% of States in Public Health Funding

A new report from the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) says that Pennsylvania is 43rd
among the states in public health funding.
The organization, describing itself as non-profit and non-partisan dedicated to saving lives
by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a
national priority, said the state spent $14.40 per capita on public health services in fiscal
year 2014-15, less than half the median state appropriation of $33.50 per capita.
Pennsylvania was said to rank 32nd in poverty in 2014, at 13.5 percent of the population;
36th in uninsured of all ages at 8.5 percent; and 26th in uninsured under 18 at 5.2 percent.
It was within the top ten for AIDS, tuberculosis, and Alzheimers cases and new cancer
cases, along with drug overdose deaths.

- 24 -

The report, including categories of health expenditures, is available at

www.healthyamericans.org/report/126.

Gnat Spraying Starts in Area Counties

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has started aerial spraying on
more than 1,600 stream miles in 39 Pennsylvania counties, including Chester, Berks and
Montgomery, to control black flies, also known as gnats.
The first aerial spraying took place April 11 on the Juniata, Schuylkill and Delaware rivers
and several of their smaller tributaries, with other waterways being treated as stream flows
and weather conditions allow, the agency reports.
The annual initiative is designed to reduce nuisance of black flies so Pennsylvanians can
enjoy the states waterways, officials said.
The said the department uses Bti, a naturally occurring bacterium, to treat the larval stage
of four specific human pest black fly species, saying it degrades quickly in the environment
and does not harm the aquatic ecosystem, birds, or other insects.
Further information is available at
www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/NewsRoomPublic/articleviewer.aspx?id=20965&typeid=1, with a story
from Lancaster Online on how Lancaster County is benefitting without having to share in the
cost at www.lancasteronline.com/news/local/enjoy-a-gnat-reduced-summer-thanks-to-yorkand-other/article_3054c664-0347-11e6-b986-4b6cc082ada1.html.

Action Sought to Help Mitigate Drug-Addicted Newborns

A group of child welfare advocates, organized by The Center for Childrens Justice, is asking
Pennsylvania government leaders to establish a state task force to help overcome the
number of drug-addicted newborns that have nearly doubled in four years.
PennLive is reporting that dozens of organizations want to see action to mitigate more than
7,500 Pennsylvania infants said to be covered by Medicaid that were diagnosed with
neonatal abstinence syndrome between 2010 and 2014 and to address other issues such as
ensuring proper care for babies born addicted to drugs including heroin and protecting
children being raised by addicted parents.
Further information is available at www.pennlive.com/news/2016/04/advocates_heroinaddicted_babi.html.

Area Providers Chosen for Planning Initiative to Improve Community-Based

Behavioral Health Services
Organizations in Berks, Delaware and
Montgomery counties have been chosen by the
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
(DHS) to participate in a federal planning grant
for adoption of innovative approaches to
community-based behavioral health services.

- 25 -

The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) initiative will include Berks
Counseling Center, NHS Delaware County and Creative Health Services in Pottstown among
16 participating entities through the state.
The activity is designed to develop ways to serve more individuals in their communities and
ensure access to high-quality care, according to the Department.
Officials said that during the next four months the clinics will complete a needs assessment
and readiness review guided by the Department to determine additional services, staffing
and training to meet behavioral health needs of the community.
The readiness review will determine if each clinic meets standards required by federal
regulations to become a Certified Community Behavioral Clinic. Areas included in the
readiness review are staffing, accessibility of services, care coordination, scope of services,
quality measurement and reporting and governance of the clinic.
DHS will certify those clinics that have meet the standards by August 1, with an application
then being submitted in October to enable them to participate in the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services (CMS) demonstration grant.
Successful CCBHCs are expected to provide crisis services, targeted case management,
outpatient mental health and substance abuse services, patient-centered treatment
planning, screening, assessment, and diagnosis, psychiatric rehabilitation services, peer and
family support, care for veterans and members of the military, and outpatient primary care
screening and monitoring.
Further information is available at www.media.pa.gov/Pages/DHS_details.aspx?
newsid=200.

Area Counties Now in Range for Zika Virus

Chester and adjoining counties are on new maps for
range of potential Zika virus spread, although risk or
likelihood, or exact locations or numbers of mosquitoes
living in these areas aren't shown.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
says that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are more likely to
spread viruses like Zika that is being linked to birth
deformities with pregnant mothers.
The new report is available at www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/resources/vector-control.html.
Zika Virus from Mosquitoes Drawing Increasing Concern for Both Women and Men
The Zika virus is drawing increasing focus, particularly for
women who could become pregnant and men who can
transmit the disease, from the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), with new guidance and
information to prevent transmission and health effects.
The CDC says there is "mounting evidence" that supports a
link between Zika, transmitted initially by mosquitoes, and

- 26 -

microcephaly, a birth defect that is a sign of incomplete brain development, and possibly
other problems such as miscarriage and stillbirth.
The new guidance is available at www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2016/s0325-zika-virusrecommendations.html, with further information on the disease at www.cdc.gov/zika.

Free Motorcycle Safety Training Available

The Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program is offering free training to all state residents
and active duty military with a class M permit or motorcycle license.
The course focuses on training motorcyclists of all levels, from beginning riders to
intermediate, three-wheeled and advanced riders.
Further information on the year-around program is available at www.pamsp.com or (800)
845-9533.

State Creates New Human Services Information System, To Be Further Upgraded

This Summer
Pennsylvania Departments of Aging and Human Services
have rolled out new public information and human services
assistance systems that are scheduled to be further
upgraded and consolidated this summer under a re-branded
Link to Community Care.
The changeover, from the Link to Aging and Disability
Resources, will affect 15 multi-county Links of services
providers, along with new information systems and a current toll-free information line.
Current Link service areas include Bucks, Chester and Montgomery; Berks, Lancaster and
Lebanon; and Delaware and Philadelphia counties.
A new Human Services COMPASS website for information and online applications for various
types of public assistance now is available at www.compass.state.pa.us. A new information
referral tool (IRT) for state services is available at www.humanservices.state.pa.us/IRT, and
toll-free telephone assistance is available at (800) 753-8827.
COMPASS is an online application where individuals can apply for many health and human
service programs such as Medicaid, cash assistance, or Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program (LIHEAP). With COMPASS improvements, Pennsylvanians can submit
applications for long-term living services and supports or request services for intellectual
disability services, autism services, and early intervention services.
Pennsylvanians can use the IRT anonymously to input information about themselves, a
loved one, or client. The online program will guide individuals through a series of questions,
then provide a list of resources that are based on the clients specific needs in areas such as
intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, aging, addiction, mental illness, veteran
needs and help paying for prescriptions.
Further information on the changeover is available at
www.media.pa.gov/Pages/DHS_details.aspx?newsid=196, with information about current

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Link service areas available at www.adrc-tae.acl.gov/tiki-index.php?

page=PAProfile&stabrev=PA.

New State Legislative District Resource Guide Published

Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Ross has published a new Resource Guide for his 158th District in
Chester County.
The 52-page document includes a wide variety of information on organizations and services
in and serving the District that includes East Bradford, East Marlborough, London Britain,
New Garden, Newlin, West Bradford, West Goshen Middle and South Precincts, and West
Marlborough Townships, along with Avondale Borough.
The guide is available online at
www.repross.com/Display/Display/SiteFiles/86/OtherDocuments/2016ResidentsGuide2-316.pdf with a few hardcopies available for those without online access through his district
office at 692 Unionville Road, Kennett Square, or (610) 925-0555.

FTC Unveils New Website for Reporting and Recovery from Identity Theft
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has debuted a new website that is said to make it
easier to report and recover from identify theft.
The initiative, at www.IdentityTheft.gov provides a personal recovery plan that walks one
through each recovery step, tracks progress and adapts to changing situations and pre-fills
letters and forms for easier reporting.

Free AlertBerks Crime Tips App is Introduced

Crime Alert Berks County has introduced a new smart phone application that allows county
residents to provide anonymous tips about crimes or suspicious activity, including
anonymous two-way conversations.
AlertBerks, developed by tip411, can be downloaded at no charge via the Google Play Store,
iTunes App Store, or by visiting the Crime Alert Berks County Web site at
www.alertberks.org.
Further information is available at www.bctv.org/special_reports/safety/crime-alertberkscounty-launches-tip/article_51ee8ace-b55b-11e5-baa823552383f307.html#.VpeOrMTuKmg.facebook or (877) 373-9913.

Pennsylvania Establishes New State Veterans Benefits Portal

Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs(DVMA) has established a new
online application that allows veterans to obtain
information about state benefits, programs and services.
Registrant information will be shared with County
Directors for Veterans Affairs and other Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania agencies to help facilitate local connections.

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Officials say the PA Veterans Registry is the departments first step of a long-term strategy
to achieve a higher level of communication with veterans and partner providers supporting
them.
Further information and registration is available at www.register.dmva.pa.gov.

New Consumer Rating System for Hospitals Unveiled

Capital Blue Cross, which services Lancaster and Berks County west, along with the Lehigh
Valley, and LeapFrog are starting a consumer rating system for hospitals, designed to help
employers and consumers make informed health care decisions.
The Leapfrog Hospital Survey is said to be the only nationally standardized and endorsed set
of measures that captures hospital performance in patient safety, quality and resource
utilization. Rating results will be made available online.
Further information is available at www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/capitalbluecrossnew-hospital-recognition-program-improves-quality-of-care-for-customers300200235.html.

Several from Region on State Police Megan Law Absconder List

Pennsylvania State Police is seeking the publics help in locating over 140 absconded, or
wanted, sexual offenders throughout the Commonwealth.
The states Megans Law requires individuals convicted of a sexually violent offense to
register with the Pennsylvania State Police and to update and verify their information
periodically at an approved registration site, authorities say.
They said that offenders who have failed to register, update their information, or verify their
information as required are considered to be non-compliant with the statute, a felony
offense. Once a warrant is issued for their arrest, they are considered absconded.
A list of absconded offenders is available at http://ow.ly/VroNM. Persons with information
can tip the Megans Law Section at (866) 771-3170.

National Institute on Aging Issues Guidelines for What to Take to Hospital

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institute on Aging has issued
some safety tips for before, during and after trips to the hospital, including some guidance
for family and caregivers.
The information, which also includes a patients rights, is available at
www.nia.nih.gov/health/publication/hospital-hints.

Please Note: New and Updated tags refer only to the time of appearance of information
in these E- Updates. Some on-going activities may have been in existence for some time
and are being listed for awareness.
Letting People Know/Making a Difference - Ongoing
Feedback indicates that a lack of communications tools is a primary deficiency in bringing
community services providers and those needing information together.

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If you know of an activity designed to have a real impact on families (this includes
individuals and youth) that we should be aware of or might be interested in reporting in
these periodic e-mail updates, please let me know, either with details or a web site link. In
order to maintain its value, this forum currently is a subjective, selective distribution so all
information submitted may not be used.
Also, if you know someone who might be helped by these periodic updates, please forward
all or selected portions as you feel appropriate. If you would like to be added to or removed
from this list, please hit reply and advise by typing "Subscribe" or "Unsubscribe" or
something similar in the Subject line.
Events listed are based on subject matter related to activities impacting families and is
based on information reported to us. No endorsement is made or implied.
Suggestions for improvements are encouraged. We currently are developing a more
advanced electronic communications method for this type of material that will have more
expansive yet less obtrusive characteristics. Please stay tuned.
To submit materials for publication, please refer to the guidelines that follow.

Blessings
Casey
Casey Jones
Transformation Initiative
Building Healthy Communities Through Healthy Families
(610) 707-1494 / bps461@msn.com
2009-2016 Casey Jones, Transformation Initiative for Building Healthy Communities Through Healthy Families.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal or non-commercial uses only.

Information provided is designed to highlight activities within the broader community that can help
enhance Christian principles relative to development of healthy children, individual and family
relationships.
Recipients are encouraged to print and post this Calendar to employee and public bulletin boards
for benefit of others.
Activities included in this publication are gathered from various submissions and other sources. No
representation is made as to their accuracy or value.
Persons wishing to be included in future e-mailings of updates, should request inclusion by sending
an e-mail with Subscribe in the Subject line, along with your name, organization, community and
where you heard about the publications to bps461@msn.com.
General Guidelines for Information Submission:
Submission up to two to three months prior to the event is encouraged to increase exposure to new
subscribers, individuals who only may read the list periodically, and for other organizations that want
to avoid scheduling opposite an event or may want to collaborate with others in the area. For annual
events, even longer lead times may be appropriate. Our deadline generally is the Friday before the
week of publication.
A general idea of the information needed (many submit too little for the consumer to understand what
actually is occurring and why they should consider attending) can be obtained by perusing the
publications or using the following guide:
Please use full names followed, if appropriate, by acronyms in parenthesis.

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Name of Event:
Date(s) - Include both day(s) of week and actual dates:
Times (Starting and ending):
Location (Including any applicable room number, particularly in a large facility, and a
MapQuest or Google Maps searchable address:
Sponsoring Organization(s), if not part of the location address:
Participant Eligibility (Ages, gender, etc.):
Description of Activities and, as applicable, the presenter and the purpose of the event (Two to
three descriptive sentences with the most appealing information; please avoid superfluous
words such as "wonderful", "great", etc.):
Any Fees, including free-will offerings:
Contact name, e-mail, telephone, along with any web page that is focused primarily on the
specific activity:
Any registration requirements.

We generally use only free activities of a non-commercial nature or those in which a very small,
optional materials fee is charged.
Fund-raising activities generally are not published unless there is a good mixture of free
activities also available, including free admission, with a participant having the choice of
purchasing incidental items such as food or crafts.
Church events generally are published only if they are separate from normal weekly worship
services.
Due to the wide variety of activities available, decisions on publication ultimately are determined on a
case-by-case basis in context with focus of the publications.