Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 13
U.S. Health Secretary says feds investigating Brighton nursing home coronavirus outbreak
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar questioned Friday whether Pennsylvania officials have been “aggressive enough” in flagging and enforcing violations at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, where at least 76 residents have died of covid-19. Azar discussed the Trump administration’s concerns over the Beaver County nursing home’s coronavirus...
UPMC to get $1 billion in federal aid after hard hit from coronavirus pandemic
UPMC is slated to get more than $1 billion in aid from the federal government as Pennsylvania’s largest hospital system confronts volume plunging by 70% during the pandemic-spurred shutdown. In the last two weeks of March, after the Wolf administration’s state shutdown began and thousands of elective procedures were halted,...
Organ transplants surge at UPMC during pandemic
UPMC performed a record-high number of lung and liver transplants in April, even as the covid-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdown caused the health system’s overall revenue and volume to plummet, executives said. UPMC doctors did 12 lung transplants during the month of April, up from an average of six such...
Bishop Zubik: 61 Catholic parishes to merge into 15 in Allegheny, Washington counties
Sixty-one Catholic parishes in Allegheny and Washington counties will merge into one of 15 newly created parishes, Bishop David Zubik said Wednesday. The mergers — which don’t yet call for any church building closures — advance a years-long restructuring effort by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh to make the...
Gibsonia man dies in 2-vehicle crash on Route 8
One man was killed and another man was hurt Tuesday after a two-vehicle crash in Hampton, police said. The collision happened shortly after 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Route 8 and Mt. Royal Boulevard shortly , Allegheny County Police said. Raymond Anderson, 77, of Gibsonia, was killed in the...
Leechburg honors fallen service members in ceremony scaled back by coronavirus pandemic
Bob Fiscus has been an eager observer of Leechburg’s Memorial Day celebrations honoring fallen service members since he was a young boy, long before he joined the Army and fought in two wars. Pandemic or not, the 94-year-old veteran wasn’t about to give up on the tradition in 2020. So...
1 new covid-19 case reported in Westmoreland County; death toll remains at 38
One new covid-19 case was reported Saturday in Westmoreland County, bringing the county’s total coronavirus case count to 437, state health data show. The county’s death toll remains at 38. Most of those who have died from covid-19 have been in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities. The oldest...
Pennsylvania adds 112 new covid-19 deaths, for statewide death toll of nearly 5,100
Pennsylvania reported 112 more deaths attributed to covid-19 as of early Saturday, bringing the statewide death toll to nearly 5,100, state health data show. The state added 725 new cases of the coronavirus disease, for a total of nearly 67,000 people infected in all 67 counties since the first confirmed...
What moving into ‘green’ zone does, does not mean under Gov. Wolf’s reopening plan
Gov. Tom Wolf offered a glimpse Friday afternoon of what moving into the “green” zone of Pennsylvania’s reopening plan will and will not mean, as 17 counties prepare to reopen businesses at the end of next week. “I must emphasize that moving into the green phase will still require precautions...
Raccoon tests positive for rabies in North Hills
A raccoon in McCandless has tested positive for rabies, public health officials said Thursday. The animal was found near Pine Creek Road and Oakridge Drive, just west of Route 19 near the Wexford business district. It was tested in an Allegheny County Health Department laboratory. It marks the fourth raccoon...
In lieu of funeral, Brackenridge mourners line streets to recall founder of Vibo’s Italian Bakery
Friends, neighbors and longtime customers of Mary Lopreiato took to the streets of Brackenridge on Saturday to mourn the woman who founded Vibo’s Italian Bakery more than 30 years ago. Lopreiato — affectionately known as “Mrs. Vibo” to many customers — died at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh on May...
No new covid-19 cases, deaths to report in Westmoreland County
Westmoreland County did not have any new covid-19 cases or deaths to report as of Saturday, state health data show. Between Thursday and Friday, state officials had reported one more covid-19 case in the county, bringing the total to 423. Nearly 40% of Westmoreland County’s cases involve residents and employees...
Pennsylvania reports 61 more covid-19 deaths; 69% of deaths linked to nursing homes
Pennsylvania reported 61 more covid-19 deaths and 989 newly confirmed cases as of Saturday morning, bringing the state’s total number of cases to more than 61,600. Hospitals are treating 1,887 patients with the disease, and 409 of those patients are on ventilators. Another 18 patients are on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation,...
Union rep says Post-Gazette seeking buyouts in bid to shrink newsroom by 20%, slash 24 positions
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is offering a buyout option in an effort to shrink its newsroom by about 20%, or at least two dozen employees, a union official said Friday. In exchange for leaving their jobs, full-time employees will receive a week’s pay for every year of service, up to 16...
Recovered from covid-19, Rep. Mike Kelly donates plasma to help sick patients get better fasterVideo
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is grateful that he beat covid-19 without getting so sick or short of breath that he had to be hospitalized. But the affliction was not like any flu or illness the Butler Republican he’d experienced before. For weeks, Kelly, 72, felt debilitatingly exhausted. He had persistent...
Allegheny Health Network announces leadership changes at Allegheny Valley Hospital, elsewhere
A Forbes Hospital executive has been tapped to the senior leadership team at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison, officials announced Tuesday. Krista Bragg, chief operations officer at Forbes, will take on the chief operations officer responsibilities at Allegheny Valley, effective immediately. In a similar expanded-role job change, Jason Roeback, chief...
New Kensington’s pay-what-you-can Knead Cafe buoyed by donationsVideo
Becky White strapped on a paper mask shortly before noon Tuesday and walked from her New Kensington home to pick up her lunch from a neighborhood place she adores — the Knead Community Cafe. White, a regular customer, is among those hoping that the pay-what-you-can cafe won’t become a casualty...
Fire rips through 2 Etna houses, 10 people displacedVideo
A fire destroyed an Etna home and damaged a neighboring house Saturday afternoon, displacing 10 people, officials said. None of the residents of the two households was injured. Firefighters saved two cats, one from each of the affected structures on Wilson Street, Etna Fire Chief Greg Porter said. A firefighter...
Westmoreland County adds 2 new covid-19 cases, deaths remain at 32
Westmoreland County confirmed two more cases of covid-19 between Friday and Saturday, bringing the countywide total to 415, state health data show. The state has confirmed that at least 30 people in the county have died from the disease. Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha, whose tally has been higher than...
Pennsylvania reports 72 new covid-19 deaths; total coronavirus cases now top 55K
Pennsylvania reported 72 more deaths from covid-19 and more than 1,000 newly confirmed cases as of Saturday morning, pushing the statewide coronavirus case count above 55,000. Hospitals are treating 2,283 patients with the disease, and 482 of those patients are on ventilators. Another 20 patients are on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation,...
Pennsylvania business owners worry about ability to bounce back from covid-19 lockdown
Bob Sodini’s small accounting firm in Harrison was in its busiest month of the year — tax filing season — when Gov. Tom Wolf imposed a statewide lockdown to thwart the spread of covid-19. With the doors closed to Sodini & Co.’s office on Freeport Road, the firm’s four employees...
Wolf: More than 6K business owners granted waivers during covid-19 shutdown, nearly 13K denied
More than 6,000 Pennsylvania businesses received waivers to operate during the pandemic-spurred lockdown, or about 14% of those who applied for the exemption, data released Friday show. Among them were car washes, bike shops, furniture and appliance stores, lumberyards, sheet metal manufacturers, and toilet rental services. Also approved were bookkeepers,...
Gov. Wolf signs order granting civil immunity to health care providers during covid-19 pandemic
Gov. Tom Wolf signed an executive order Wednesday that could shield health care workers from potential lawsuits while confronting the covid-19 pandemic. The order grants civil immunity to individual licensed, certified and registered health care workers acting in “good faith” across all types of state-defined health care facilities — among...
Man accused of holding up Robinson deli with rifle arrested in Pittsburgh’s North Side
A Thornburg man accused of holding up a Robinson market with a rifle was arrested Tuesday afternoon on Pittsburgh’s North Side, officials said. Tyler Rutherford, 33, was wanted as the suspect in last week’s robbery of Rossi’s Market, a deli and convenience store on Forest Grove Road just west of...
Police seek public’s help to find pair who robbed, assaulted woman on Pittsburgh’s North Shore
Pittsburgh police are asking for the public’s help to find two suspects wanted in connection to the robbery and assault of a 59-year-old woman on Pittsburgh’s North Shore. The suspects, a male and a female, are accused of assaulting the woman at about 5:45 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block...
