Natasha Lindstrom stories, Page 15
1 dead from covid-19 at Concordia’s Butler senior community; 2 employees infected in Monroeville, Baden
Concordia Lutheran Ministries confirmed Friday that a Butler assisted living community resident has died of covid-19, marking the first death linked to the coronavirus outbreak at the network’s senior care facilities in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. The person who died Thursday night at Concordia at the Orchard in Butler...
Now hiring: Get a job helping Pennsylvania’s jobless, expediting unemployment payments
Pennsylvanians looking for work during the pandemic-spurred shutdown now have the option to get a job helping the jobless. The state Department of Labor and Industry is hiring a slew of workers to respond to an unprecedented surge in unemployment claims in recent weeks. Applications can be submitted starting Monday...
The Heinz Endowments joins foundations shifting millions to emergency needs during pandemic
Western Pennsylvania’s largest grant-making foundations are banding together to get money quickly into the hands of those who need it the most to survive the coronavirus pandemic and statewide shutdown. They’re shifting funding priorities, earmarking new pots of money toward covid-19 emergency relief for things like food, shelter and protective...
2 dead, at least 18 more infected with covid-19 at St. Barnabas Nursing Home in Richland
A covid-19 outbreak has killed two people and infected at least 18 more residents at St. Barnabas Nursing Home in Richland, a spokesman confirmed Tuesday. No details were available about the pair of recent deaths linked to covid-19, the highly contagious disease caused by the coronavirus. It’s taken nine days...
Police: Girl shot in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood
A girl is recovering after apparently being shot Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Sheraden neighborhood, officials said. Emergency dispatchers received a 911 call reporting the shooting in the 3100 block of Allendale Street shortly before 5 p.m., Pittsburgh Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said. Police officers arrived to find a female...
Human remains found near Bethel Park trail; foul play not suspected
A trail walker discovered human remains Monday in Bethel Park, Allegheny County Police said. The person called 911 shortly before 11:30 a.m. after finding the remains while on a trail near trolley tracks, police said. County homicide detectives are investigating but “preliminary indications are that foul play is not suspected,”...
Allegheny Valley Hospital explores adding 100 beds if needed to support covid-19 surge
Allegheny Valley Hospital has enough space within its own walls to support as many as 100 more beds by converting the likes of physical therapy areas and family waiting lounges into clinical units, the hospital’s president said. Should the anticipated spike in covid-19 cases overwhelm the Alle-Kiski Valley’s existing options,...
Pittsburgh pays tribute to 3 fallen officers on 11th anniversary of Stanton Heights ambush
Western Pennsylvania’s law enforcement leaders paid tribute Saturday morning to the three Pittsburgh police officers killed by a gunman during a Stanton Heights ambush 11 years ago. Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto joined Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich at the bureau’s Zone 5 station for a brief ceremony in honor of...
5K more N95 masks donated to Pittsburgh hospitals by North American Dental Group
Western Pennsylvania’s health care workers now have access to 5,000 more N95 respirators donated by a dental group. North American Dental Group, which has corporate offices in Robinson and New Castle, delivered the shipment of respirators to Allegheny Health Network on Friday. “We are proud and pleased to be able...
Highmark, UPMC to pay patients’ out-of-pocket costs for covid-19 treatments
Western Pennsylvania’s two largest insurers pledged Thursday to eliminate any out-of-pocket costs for patients who are treated for covid-19 at an in-network hospital. Both UPMC and Highmark committed to waiving all deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance costs for insurance members who receive in-network, inpatient care related to covid-19, the disease caused...
State urges those laid off from pandemic closures to apply for unemployment, business aid
With 1 million jobless claims filed in the past two and a half weeks, employees at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry have been scrambling to respond to a record-high number of requests for immediate financial aid during the pandemic-spurred shutdown. Most labor department employees are working from home....
2 suspects wanted in connection to drive-by shooting in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood
Police are searching for two suspects in connection to a drive-by shooting late Wednesday afternoon on a residential street in Pittsburgh’s Larimer neighborhood, officials said. Officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the 6500 block of Rowan Street at about 5:50 p.m., Public Safety spokesman Maurice Matthews said. They arrived...
Free hotel rooms, boxed lunches, child care money available to hospital workers via St. Margaret Foundation
The foundation that supports UPMC St. Margaret hospital announced Wednesday that it is offering free hotel room stays to workers afraid of spreading covid-19 to their loved ones by bringing the highly contagious disease home. The temporary housing option, now available to certain employees who may have been exposed to...
Beaver County nursing home’s covid-19 outbreak infects more than 34 residents
A covid-19 outbreak at a Beaver County nursing home has spread to more than three dozen residents since late last week, officials said. As of midday Wednesday, at least 34 residents who tested positive for covid-19 are being monitored in an isolated wing at Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in...
Beaver County nursing home confronts covid-19 outbreak; at least 10 residents infected
A Beaver County nursing home is scrambling to contain an outbreak of covid-19 that has infected at least 10 residents, officials said Saturday. The Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center began testing residents Friday night, and the first several results came back negative, the center’s leaders said in a statement. Results...
Pittsburgh Brookline elementary school staffer tests positive for covid-19
A staff member at Pittsburgh Brookline elementary school has tested positive for covid-19, district officials said Saturday. The person is believed to have contracted the highly contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus outside of school grounds, Pittsburgh Public Schools spokeswoman Ebony Pugh said. School officials alerted all families and...
Flash flood warning issued for Allegheny, Westmoreland counties until 3:15 a.m. Sunday
A flash flood warning issued Saturday night in parts of Allegheny, Westmoreland and Washington counties has been extended to 3:15 a.m., the National Weather Service said. Heavy downpours of rain across the region from Pittsburgh south are expected to overflow and cause potential hazards near small creeks, urban areas, highways...
Pennsylvania reports 12 more deaths, 533 new cases of coronavirus
Twelve more people in Pennsylvania have died from covid-19, increasing the statewide coronavirus death toll to 34, state health officials said Saturday. Confirmed cases now are present in at least 56 of the state’s 67 counties, Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We are seeing this virus rear its ugly...
Congressman Mike Kelly of Butler tests positive for covid-19
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly said Friday that he has tested positive for covid-19. The Republican from Butler, 71, said his symptoms are not severe and that he will continue to work from home until they subside completely. “My symptoms remain mild, and I will serve the 16th District from home...
17 Pittsburgh first responders in quarantine or isolation; none have tested positive for covid-19
A total of 17 Pittsburgh first responders — including two medics and 15 firefighters — are staying home in quarantine or isolation after learning they could have been exposed to covid-19, officials said. None have tested positive for covid-19, the highly contagious respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or...
Tractor-trailer catches fire, snarls traffic on I-79 southbound near Wexford exit
A tractor-trailer caught fire on Interstate 79 late afternoon Thursday, snarling traffic for more than an hour, initial reports indicated. Emergency dispatchers sent firefighters to the site of the incident on I-79 at Mingo Road in Marshall Township shortly before 5 p.m., an Allegheny County 911 shift commander said. There...
Butler County reports 1st death from covid-19
A patient at Butler Memorial Hospital has died of covid-19, marking the first death in Butler County attributed to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, officials said Wednesday. No details were immediately available about the person who died, such as their age, residence or any underlying health conditions. The...
Chloroquine, home remedies are not the answer to treat coronavirus, experts say
The Pittsburgh Poison Center joined doctors nationwide Tuesday in urging people to steer clear of ingesting any form of chloroquine, concocting a home remedy or raiding a shared medicine cabinet under the misguided notion that doing so might prevent or treat covid-19. Chloroquine, in particular, is a drug used to...
Animal care challenges mount for National Aviary, Pittsburgh Zoo as revenue sags during covid-19 shutdown
Most of the National Aviary’s nearly 500 birds wake as the sun comes up. So veterinarians and other animal care staffers arrived at the North Side facility around 7 a.m. Monday, about 15 minutes before sunrise, to begin making their daily rounds. Some checked up on specific birds, paying close...
Carnegie Mellon student tests positive for covid-19 after returning from spring break
A Carnegie Mellon University student has tested positive for covid-19 days after returning to Pittsburgh from spring break, university officials said. “This case of coronavirus in our campus community is a sobering reality, and it is a reminder that every group is potentially vulnerable to the spread of the virus,”...
