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Briefcase

J.C. Blair adds medication dispensing system

HUNTINGDON – The J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital Pharmacy Department has taken a step to improve patient safety, increase quality of care and control costs with the new Pyxis automatic medication dispensing system.

The Pyxis system was made possible by a gift from the J.C. Blair Foundation.

Physicians’ orders are entered into the computer system, which cues the pharmacy to verify the order and give nurses access to only the pharmaceuticals they need. The new system decreases the time to initiate medication therapy, decreases delayed and missed doses and frees up pharmacist time to be more involved with patient care.

CareerLink to host health careers presentations

BEDFORD – Bedford County CareerLink will host health career-related presentations on Nov. 1.

Presentations by HealthSouth and Lemme Audiology Associates will be held between 9:15 and 11 a.m. at the Bedford County CareerLink office, 1 Corporate Drive, Suite 103, Bedford.

HealthSouth will discuss careers in physical therapy and occupational therapy. Lemme Audiology Associates will discuss careers in audiology, signs of hearing loss and assistive devices. Hearing screenings will occur from 11 a.m. to noon. To register for the presentations, call 623-6107.

Throughout the week of Oct. 31, displays from Personal Solutions Inc., Penn State Cooperative Extension, Somerset County Technology Center, HealthSouth and Allegany College of Maryland will be available at the CareerLink office.

Briefcase

HOLLIDAYSBURG

Citizens Bank provides loan for Highland Hall project

Citizens Bank’s Community Development Lending Group is providing $8.2 million in construction financing to Highland Hall Housing LP, whose sponsor is S&A Homes, for the adaptive reuse of a historic building into a 53-unit affordable housing development for seniors.

Citizens is the senior lender for the Highland Hall development. Constructed in 1840, the building is a brick structure that, upon completion of renovations, will offer 53 units of senior housing to people age 62 and older.

“We value the partnership we have had with Citizens Bank over the years and appreciate the Community Development Lending Group’s expertise and timely execution,” said Andy Haines, executive vice president of S&A Homes in a statement. “Citizens has always had a strong commitment to affordable housing and to Pennsylvania.”

Downtown Altoona Business Community hosting meeting

The Downtown Altoona Business Community will hold its monthly meeting at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at LaVintage Decor, 601 N. Fourth Ave.

Rex Kaup of Young Oakes Brown & Co. will give tips for year-end accounting and preparing for tax season.

LORETTO

Saint Francis University sets business planning workshop

The Saint Francis University Small Business Development Center has a scheduled pre-business planning workshop for 5-8 p.m. Oct. 26 at the SBDC, 117 Evergreen Drive, Loretto.

The free seminar is for people who are interested in opening and operating their own business. Feasibility issues, marketing, recordkeeping, business plans, legal issues, regulations/taxes and financing will be discussed.

Pre-registration is required for the seminar 48 hours prior to the scheduled date.

Interested people may contact the SBDC at 472-3200, or by email at sbdc@francis.edu.

Briefcase

Networking event to be held

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce WE-LEaD program will host a networking event from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 31 on the patio at Park Hills Golf Club.

The networking event, sponsored by Girls Night Out, will feature hot hors d’oeuvres and beverages.

The cost to attend is $20 for chamber members and $40 for non-members and includes two complimentary beverage tickets.

To register, contact the chamber at 943-8151 or online at www.blairchamber.com.

Wal-Mart plans wellness day

For a four-hour period on Saturday, nearly everyone in America will have access to free health screenings, education, services and products as Wal-Mart stores nationwide host Wal-Mart Wellness Day.

Based on the impact of America’s Biggest Health Fair held by Wal-Mart last year, the company is again hosting the largest single-day health event in the nation with free health screenings expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of people, some of whom may be taking an active role in their health for the first time.

Wal-Mart Wellness Day will take place from noon until 4 p.m. local time in more than 4,600 Wal-Mart stores across the country.

The event will provide free blood glucose, blood pressure, vision screenings (where available), product samples and information on health insurance options. Additionally, more than 10,000 of Wal-Mart’s licensed pharmacists will offer immunizations in all Wal-Mart pharmacies in the U.S.

Loretto

Pre-business workshop set

The Saint Francis University Small Business Development Center will host a pre-business planning workshop from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 26 at the SBDC, 117 Evergreen Drive, Loretto.

The free seminar is for people who are interested in opening and operating their own business.

Topics to be discussed are feasibility issues, marketing, recordkeeping, business plans, legal issues, regulations/taxes and financing.

Pre-registration is required for the seminar 48 hours prior to the scheduled date.

Interested persons may contact the SBDC at 472-3200, or by e-mail at sbdc@francis.edu.

Briefcase

PennTAP receives grants

UNIVERSITY PARK – The Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program was awarded $655,000 in grant funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Environmental Protection to offer free energy and environmental assessments to businesses across Pennsylvania.

PennTAP is a federal-state-university partnership program at Penn State that was created to enhance economic development across the commonwealth by addressing needs that will improve a company’s competitiveness.

The grants include:

— The EPA grant for $180,000 will be used by PennTAP to assist state manufacturers in the food industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Projects will focus on the reduction of hazardous waste, efficient use of raw materials, energy, water and conserving natural resources.

— The DEP awarded $475,000 in grant money to PennTAP to provide energy efficiency assessments and technical assistance to small and mid-size manufacturers. Technical advisers will focus on source reduction by studying processes and taking measurements of equipment, materials and energy use.

Funds from both grants also will be used to offer Penn State College of Engineering students hands-on training and work experience in businesses using PennTAP services.

Final arrangements event set

Geoff Behrens, general manager of Alto-Reste Park and The Good Funeral Home, will give a presentation designed to help people understand the steps involved in planning final arrangements from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 in the activity room of Elmcroft of Altoona, 170 Red Fox Drive.

Those attending will learn how to talk to their families, make plans, translate wishes into reality, avoid emotional overspending and understand options.

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

For reservations, call 695-8425.

Business After Hours planned

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce will hold Business After Hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at Holiday Inn Express Altoona, 115 Convention Center Drive.

The networking event will cost $6 per chamber member and $12 per pre-registered nonmember. For more information or to make reservations, visit www.blairchamber.com or call 943-8151.

Wendy’s closes for renovations

Wendy’s of Altoona, 301 E. Plank Road, is closed for remodeling and is expected to re-open by mid-November.

The restaurant is being remodeled using an innovative interior and exterior design, part of a brand transformation involving food, building design and new packaging, said Joe Hundley, Wendy’s spokesman.

Briefcase

HUNTINGDON

Juniata College recognized

Juniata College is rated 210th out of the 800 top colleges and universities in the nation in the inaugural Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education ranking.

The first college rankings poll ever released by the Wall Street Journal and the Times Higher Education based its assessment on learning environment, debt burden, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios, faculty-published research, amount budgeted for instruction and academic services, alumni earning power and more than 100,000 survey responses from students across the country.

The ranking is based on 15 factors within four categories: Forty percent of an individual institution’s score comes from student outcomes, including how they fare after leaving campus, 30 percent from the college’s resources, 20 percent from how much students are engaged in what they are learning, and 10 percent from the learning environment, or diversity.

UNIVERSITY PARK

PSU center hosting workshop

The Penn State Small Business Development Center will conduct a free, two-part workshop for veterans and members of the United States military who want to start their own business from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday and Nov. 9 in The 329 Building at Innovation Park.

Day one of the workshop will focus on the first steps to launching a business including idea foundation, writing a business plan, market landscape, economics and accounting.

Day two will include reviewing participants’ business plans to financing their start-ups.

Day two of the workshop will also feature a panel of U.S. military veterans who have already become entrepreneurs and are ready to share their advice with others.

For more information or to register for the event, go to sbdc.psu.edu/events/vets. Space is limited, and preregistration is required.

Chamber plans farm dinner

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Farm-City Committee will host the annual Farm-City Dinner on Nov. 1 at the Freedom Township Fire Hall.

A milk-punch reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a family-style turkey dinner at 7 p.m.

The featured speaker for the evening will be Rick Roush, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University.

The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Blair County Agricultural Community Excellence Award to Jean Sollenberger of Curryville for her many years of volunteering and advocating on behalf of the agriculture community.

Dinner tickets are available at $20 per person. For reservations, contact the chamber at 943-8151 or online at www.blairchamber.com.

Briefcase

Business programs offered

Penn State Altoona will offer three business training programs at the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence in downtown Altoona.

— “Building Your Personal Brand: What it is and Why You Need One” will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 20 with George Sackandy, retired president of Fusionmarx Inc. Topics will include establishing and improving your personal brand, delivering your brand clearly and consistently and opening doors to future opportunities.

— “Delivering the Best in Customer Service” will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Nov. 16, with Debra J. Dellaposta, president of WPS Inc.

— “Habits of Personal Leadership” will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Dec. 16 with Tami Chadick, district manager of Hoss’s Steak and Sea House.

Cost is $30 per program. Call 949-5535, email sra1@psu.edu or visit altoona .psu.edu/sheetz/businesstraining to register.

DBB completes acquisition

Doing Better Business (doingbetter business.com), a regional provider of office technology, document management, imaging and managed IT services based in Altoona, has completed the acquisition of Total Service Inc., based in Latrobe.

The company will operate as DBB Technology Solutions, formerly TSI, and current president Gene McElhaney will continue to lead the operations at this location.

“It’s a great match. The acquisition of TSI represents another major milestone in both the growth of DBB and it enhances the capabilities and services available through TSI,” said Debra Dellaposta, CEO of Doing Better Business Inc. in a statement.

Clearville

Wedding, event center opens

Clearidge Event Center, a wedding and event venue, has opened at 268 Rock Hill Church Road, seven miles south of Everett.

Clearidge Event Center- a former elementary school – offers indoor and outdoor hosting options. The indoor auditorium room holds up to 100 guests and is designed to hold holiday parties, reunions, birthday parties, business meetings and family celebrations. The outdoor pavilion can host wedding receptions with seating for up to 350 guests.

For more information visit www.clearidgeeventcenter.com.

Altoona home prices rise

Home prices in Altoona, including distressed sales, increased by 0.6 percent in August compared with August 2015. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, decreased by 1.2 percent in August, according to CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider.

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.2 percent in August and increased month over month by 1.1 percent in August.

Chamber sets safety program

The next Blair County Chamber of Commerce safety program will be held from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Oct. 19 in the Soho Room at The Casino at Lakemont Park.

Presenters will be attorneys Michael Routch and Michael Wagner. Among the topics for discussion will be workplace responsibilities to injured workers, addressing limitations in the workplace, employee discipline/termination, accommodations, recurrence of disability and settlements.

Cost to attend is $20 for chamber members and $30 for nonmembers. A full breakfast is included. To register, call the chamber at 943-8151 or register online at www.blairchamber.com.

Briefcase

Bedford

Job fair set for Bedford

PA CareerLink Bedford County and the Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board will hold its 2016 Fall Job Fair Oct. 19 at the American Legion, 3721 Business 220, Bedford.

The event is open to veterans only from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and the general public from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

About 50 local employers and employment resource organizations are scheduled to participate in the event.

There is no cost to participate in the job fair, and advance registration is not required for job seekers. Job seekers are encouraged to come early, dress accordingly and bring several copies of their resume.

LBC Alumni to host event

The Blair County Chamber’s Leadership Blair County Alumni will host a workshop from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Oct. 18 at Park Hills Golf Club.

The workshop titled, “Digital Strategy: The increasing need for social media policies,” will be presented by Aaron Packer, co-owner/chief technology officer of Social Media Connections.

Many businesses use social media as the primary source for their marketing efforts. This presentation will address the steps needed to take for organizations to create social media policies that promote ethical and safe online environments.

Cost to attend is $18 for dues-paying LBC Alumni, $20 for chamber members and $40 for nonmembers. Cost includes a full breakfast buffet.

For more information or to make reservations go to www.blairchamber.com or call 943-8151.

Speed Networking event set

The Blair County Chamber of Commerce Small Business Partners will host a Speed Networking event from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Oct. 12 at the Devorris Center for Business Development, 3900 Industrial Park Drive.

The cost to attend is $10 for chamber members and $20 for nonmembers. For additional information or to register, go to www.blairchamber.com or call 943-8151.

Pink Ribbon Bagels available

Panera Bread bakery-cafes in the Altoona and Johnstown areas are selling Pink Ribbon Bagels throughout October to benefit the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center at Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber.

Shaped in the form of the iconic pink ribbon, Pink Ribbon Bagels feature cherry chips, dried cherries and cranberries, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar. They are baked fresh early each morning by Panera’s bakers at each bakery-cafe.

In addition to the Pink Ribbon Bagel sales, Panera Bread also supports Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber through donation collection canisters placed at the registers of the participating Johnstown and Altoona area bakery-cafes.

Johnstown

Telestroke system introduced

Conemaugh Health System has introduced Telestroke, a new program that will help save critical time when it comes to the treatment of stroke patients.

Telestroke is a mobile telecommunications system that allows for quicker communication and connection from physicians to patients when a stroke alert is activated in the emergency room. The technology includes a secure, two-way audio/visual link between neurologists and emergency room physicians and nurses caring for stroke patients at remote locations.

Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center will be the “HUB” site where the neurologist will be located 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Nason Hospital and Meyersdale Medical Center will be the “spoke” sites where the patient is located. The goal is to add additional sites, including Conemaugh Miners Medical Center, in the future.

Tyrone

Breakfast Club to meet

The Tyrone Area Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Club will meet at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 13 at the Bull Pen Restaurant.

Brian Bressler, president of the Camp Anderson Corp., will discuss the future of historic Camp Anderson.

Cost to attend is $6.

For reservations, call 684-0736 or email rose@tyronechamber.com.

Briefcase

JOHNSTOWN

Conemaugh Memorial center receives accreditation

Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center has received full Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, the accrediting arm of the American College of Cardiology.

An Accredited Chest Pain Center’s evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack.

Mortgage foreclosure rates in Altoona decrease

CoreLogic data reveals that the rate of Altoona area foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 0.93 percent for July, a decrease of 0.25 percentage points compared with July 2015 when the rate was 1.18 percent. July foreclosure activity in Altoona was equal to the national foreclosure rate.

The mortgage delinquency rate decreased in Altoona. According to Core-Logic data for July, 2.95 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared with 3.26 percent for the same period last year.

PITTSBURGH

First National Bank of Pa. introduces upgrade

First National Bank of Pennsylvania, the largest subsidiary of F.N.B. Corp., has introduced CardGuardSM, the latest upgrade to the FNB Direct mobile banking app.

CardGuard gives FNB customers real-time control over how their debit card is used, providing enhanced protection against fraud and improved budgeting support.

CardGuard provides additional protection against fraud, since customers are able turn their debit card “on” or “off.” When the card is “off,” no withdrawals or purchases will be approved, with the exception of previously authorized or recurring transactions. Additionally, transaction controls can be set according to location, meaning transactions attempted outside of the geographic parameters set by the customer will be declined.

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