Click here to subscribe today or Login.
WILKES-BARRE — As a follow-up to a recently released audit of the Department of Health’s oversight of nursing homes, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released the five-page “Citizens Guide for Informed Decision-making.”
DePasquale said the guide helps people understand what information is available to them when they are planning nursing home care for loved ones.
“A wealth of information is available, especially online, but people must learn where to find it and what to look for,” DePasquale said in an emailed news release.
The July audit showed that deficiencies in DOH’s oversight could be affecting the quality of care that nursing homes provide to their residents. It was conducted after DOH began listening to complaints about its oversight of nursing homes and requested that the Auditor General investigate.
The audit, which covered Jan. 1, 2014, to Oct. 31, 2015, identified three issue areas:
• Inadequate review of nurse staffing levels
• Complaint handling
• Sanctions against poor-performing facilities.
DePasquale commended DOH leadership and staff in July for taking a proactive stance to improve its operations.
“This audit is an example of how the process should work,” DePasquale said. “As our team began finding deficient practices, DOH immediately responded by implementing changes.”
The 91-page audit contained 13 findings — the most of any special performance audit since DePasquale took office in January 2013 — and 23 recommendations.
Among topics covered in the citizens guide:
• Differences between nursing homes and assisted living/personal care facilities
• Key concepts and terminology related to nursing home oversight
• Nursing home staffing — issues to understand
• How to file a complaint about a nursing home
• Where to find additional information
The “Citizens Guide for Informed Decision-making” is available online at: www.PaAuditor.gov.
AAA Mid-Atlantic: Clock change equals different commute
Timing is everything in love and life, and we will have the opportunity to turn back the clock at least one hour at 2 a.m. Sunday, thanks to the end of Daylight Savings Time.
In addition to setting clocks back one hour, motorists should be prepared for sun glare during their morning commute and for reduced visibility on the road during their evening commute, AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education warn.
The time change can cause disturbed sleep patterns, and when combined with the earlier dusk and darkness during the evening commute, become a formula for drowsy driving and fatigue-related crashes — conditions many drivers may be unaware of during the time change.
When clocks “fall back” in autumn, drowsy driving becomes a significant threat to motorists, cautions AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education. That is because their evening commute will now take place in darkness. Sleep-deprived drivers cause more than 6,400 deaths and 50,000 debilitating injuries on American roadways each year, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF).
“While many will enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend, few commuters and motorists realize the added dangers that can come as the result of a time change – especially when they are behind the wheel,” said Jana L. Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Although we gain an hour of sleep, it is unsafe to drive when we are sleep deprived. This one-hour shift in time during the fall not only creates darker driving conditions, it can also disturb sleep patterns, perhaps even resulting in drowsy driving episodes.”
Nearly one in three drivers say they have driven when they were so tired they had a hard time keeping their eyes open in the past 30 days, according to the latest Traffic Safety Culture Report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. In fact, more than one in five admitted doing this more than once during that time. Previous research by the AAA Foundation estimates that drowsy driving is a factor in an average of 328,000 crashes annually, including 109,000 crashes that result in injuries and 6,400 fatal crashes.
State offers new disposal options
for unwanted and expired medicines
Pennsylvanians have more options to dispose of unwanted and expired medicines and pharmaceutical drugs thanks to enactment of HB 1737, part of the opioid epidemic package of bills signed by Gov. Tom Wolf.
“With this new legislation we want to remind PA residents that there are safe ways to dispose of unwanted and expired medicines,” said Department of Environmental Protection Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “We want to encourage everyone to safely and responsibly dispose of medicines and other pharmaceuticals rather than just flush them down the drain or send them to a landfill.”
The law allows pharmaceuticals delivered to collection events to be incinerated at permitted facilities, instead of solely being disposed of as hazardous waste and allows collection events conducted by law enforcement, medical facilities, pharmacies, and resource recovery facilities incinerating the pharmaceuticals to be exempt from registering with DEP prior to commencing operations.
The Department encourages organizations hosting collection events to contact Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for help in publicizing the events and for guidance on disposal options.
Gov. Wolf encourages MLB to keep uniform manufacturer in Pa.
After learning that Major League Baseball is considering switching the manufacturer of team uniforms and fan apparel from Pennsylvania-based VF Majestic to Under Armour beginning in 2020, Governor Wolf wrote a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr..
“VF Majestic has produced high-quality athletic apparel for the Major League Baseball Authentic Collection for years. The company and its employees are true baseball fans with a genuine pride in what they do,” Wolf said in an emailed news release. “You are unlikely to find such commitment as exhibited by VF Majestic’s more than 500 dedicated employees anywhere else.”
Wolf asked for the opportunity to discuss the opportunities that doing business in Pennsylvania provides with Manfred.
Cortes: Visit votesPA.com for important voting information
Secretary of State Pedro A. Cortés reminds Pennsylvanians they can find comprehensive voting information at the Department of State’s website — votesPA.com.
“We want voters to be fully informed when they go to the polls on Nov. 8,” Secretary Cortés said in an emailed news release. “The votesPA website will help ensure that citizens are well prepared when they arrive at their precinct polling place.”
At votesPA.com, Pennsylvanians can:
• Confirm their voter registration status
• Locate their polling place and get directions
• Find contact information for each county election office
• View a demonstration video of the voting system used in each county
• File a complaint if they encounter any difficulty or questionable situation at the polling place
In addition, Cortés reminded registered voters that they have the right to cast a provisional ballot at the polling place if they believe they are registered at the precinct, but are not listed in the poll book. Provisional ballots will be reviewed by county officials within seven days after the election to determine whether the voter was eligible.
Voters appearing at a polling place for the first time will need to show proper identification, which may be either photo or non-photo ID. There is no identification requirement for voters returning to vote at a polling place for subsequent elections.
A voter is also entitled to have assistance at the voting booth if he or she is unable to enter the booth or use the balloting system. The voter can choose who will provide the assistance, except for the voter’s employer, an agent of the employer, an officer or agent of the voter’s union or the Judge of Elections.
