Workplace
New hires and promotions
— Mark Frederick has been promoted to access and utilization director for UPMC Altoona’s Behavioral Health Services. He had been central point of contact supervisor
Frederick is responsible for all outpatient services, including the Community Crisis Center. He replaces Ernie Podrasky, who retires Dec. 1.
— Neil Eicher of Hamilton, Mercer County, a native of Altoona, has been promoted to vice president of government relations and policy for the New Jersey Hospital Association.
Eicher will lead the association’s state policy development and advocacy efforts in Trenton. He first joined NJHA in 2008 as a deputy director of policy and was promoted to director of government relations in 2013.
Eicher is a 2002 graduate of Altoona Area High School and a 2006 graduate of Juniata College with a degree in politics and Russian. He has a master’s degree in public policy from Monmouth University.
Awards and honors
— Carl E. Heininger, vice president of sales and marketing at Affiniti, Lebanon, has been named to Central Penn Business Journal’s 2014 Forty Under 40.
In his role at Affiniti, Heininger is responsible for cultivating key relationships, directing development and marketing, ensuring regulatory compliance and overseeing the sales workforce.
Heininger is a graduate of Hollidaysburg Area Senior High School and is the son of Richard and Connie Heininger of Hollidaysburg.
— Steven Bonta, instructor in Spanish at Penn State Altoona, has been selected to receive a 2014-15 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant to Sri Lanka.
Bonta will travel during the first half of 2015 to begin documentation of Sri Lanka Gypsy Telugu, a dialect of the Telugu language. This language, otherwise spoken on the Indian mainland, is used by several thousand Sri Lankans belonging to the Kuravar caste, informally known as gypsies.
— Doug Stoehr, an Altoona attorney, has been accepted again into the Million Dollar Advocate Forum.
Since 2008, Stoehr has settled three personal injury claims well in excess of $1 million dollars each. Most recently, he settled a case for a woman who was thrown off of an all-terrain vehicle resulting in 17 fractures, spinal fusion surgery and partial loss of her vocal cords.
— Ray Eckenrode, Altoona Mirror General Manager, recently was appointed to a three-year term on the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Board of Directors.
PNA is the official trade organization for all Pennsylvania newspapers and provides representation in the legislature and for educational services and acts as an information clearinghouse.
Course completions and certifications
— Dr. Algie LaBrasca of Laurel Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery has obtained certification from The American Osteopathic Board of Surgery in the area of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
Board certification indicates that LaBrasca has completed a surgical residency training program approved by The American Osteopathic Association and passed examinations.
Conferences and seminars
— Dr. Christopher S. McClellan with University Orthopedics Center and Dave Berkheimer and James Woomer with Advanced Center for Surgery, were keynote speakers at the OR Excellence conference recently held in New Orleans, La.
The trio spoke about Same-Day Outpatient Total Joint Replacements, a surgery that allows patients to undergo total joint replacement surgery at an outpatient surgical facility with recovery maintained in the patient’s own home.
Submissions for Workplace can be sent to Walt Frank at wfrank@altoonamirror.com. Please include the name of the individual, his/her present address, original hometown and high school and college from where he/she graduated, and information about the person’s accomplishment.
Workplace
New hires and promotions
— Dr. Stanley Zagorski Jr. has joined Conemaugh Physician Group-Surgery.
Zagorski is board certified in surgery and specializes in bariatric and minimally invasive surgery.
— Denise Anthony a sociology professor at Dartmouth College, has accepted a four-year appointment as vice provost for academic initiatives.
As vice provost, Anthony is responsible for a broad portfolio of activities that support and advance academic excellence throughout Dartmouth. Her work will focus on faculty development, recruitment, and retention, with a strong emphasis on developing programs and partnerships to build faculty diversity.
She also will be responsible for the oversight of several operational units and their projects, including the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning, international programs and initiatives, and the Ethics Institute.
Anthony is a 1986 graduate of Bishop Guilfoyle High School and a 1990 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She received a doctorate from the University of Connecticut in 1997.
She is the daughter of Robert and Rosemary Anthony of Altoona.
— Dr. Gregory Kimble was recently appointed as the chief medical officer of Tyrone Hospital.
Kimble, who joined the Tyrone Hospital medical staff in 2010 as a hospitalist, continues to provide services as a hospitalist in addition to his leadership role as CMO.
— Robert T. Zulick has been named by Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. as senior sales executive of the firm’s western region, which includes State College, Lewisburg, Pittsburgh and Hermitage, Pa., and Ohio and West Virginia office locations.
Zulick is responsible for driving business development initiatives; pursuing new leads; fostering client relationships; and participating in professional, business and community organizations.
— Scott Levy has been named news director at WIVB-TV in Buffalo, N.Y. He will start his new duties in December.
Levy has served as the news director at WTAJ-TV, Altoona. He was at WTAJ for about 18 months.
Levy, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, will be going from the 104th market in the country to the 52nd market in Buffalo.
Awards and honors
— Dr. Angela W. Rowe, an orthopedic surgeon at Blair Orthopedics, has received the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics’ Award of Fellow.
Unanimously approved by the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics’ Board of Directors, Rowe was presented with a certificate and medallion at the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics’ annual awards ceremony in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
Course completions and certifications
— Jared R. Mishler, a CPA at Wessel & Co., Johnstown, has passed the International Financial Reporting Standards Certification Program through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
The certification serves to distinguish those individuals who have mastered a comprehensive body of essential knowledge and also have committed to staying abreast of continuing new developments in the profession.
Miscellaneous
— Donald Talbot, associate professor of English, fine arts and visual arts program coordinator at Mount Aloysius College, is a featured exhibitor at the University of Rhode Island’s “Art and Healing: Remembering Christiane Corbat The Work Continues” art show.
Talbot of Altoona, is coordinating Arts in Healing regionally. Earlier this semester, he coordinated a panel discussion on the topic in the Mount Aloysius College Wolf-Kuhn Gallery. And more recently regional healing artists displayed their work in the newly dedicated Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center’s East Hall.
Submissions for Workplace can be sent to Walt Frank at wfrank@altoonamirror.com. Please include the name of the individual, his/her present address, original hometown and high school and college from where he/she graduated, and information about the person’s accomplishment.
Workplace
New hires and promotions
— Dr. Joseph Hines recently joined the medical staff of UPMC Altoona.
Hines, who is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine, is a fellow in the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship of Altoona Family Physicians, an affiliate of UPMC Altoona.
— Dr. Robert Caughey recently joined the medical staff of Tyrone Hospital in the Department of Surgery – Otolaryngology Services.
Caughey attended University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.
— Dr. Robert Louton recently joined the medical staff of Tyrone Hospital in the Department of Surgery – Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.
Louton attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and is board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.
— Dr. Jeffrey Brown recently joined the medical staff of Tyrone Hospital in the Department of Surgery – General & Vascular Surgery.
Brown attended Hahnemann University School of Medicine and is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery.
Awards and honors
— Jared Mishler and Christopher Weir, both certified public accountants at Wessel & Co., Johnstown, have been named to the PA Business Central’s “Foremost Under 40” list for 2014.
Nominations were taken from throughout PBC’s 22 county coverage area, and the final honorees were selected by PA Business Central editorial board for their impact on their business, their communities and the nonprofit organizations they are involved in.
— Justin Sloan, a physician assistant in Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center’s emergency department, has been awarded the Outstanding Clinical Preceptor Service Award by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Department of Physician Assistant Studies.
The Preceptor of the Year recognition is given to the recipient chosen by graduating physician assistant students.
Sloan is a graduate of Windber Area High School and Saint Francis University.
— Kenneth Womack, Penn State Altoona’s senior associate dean for academic affairs as well as professor of English and integrative arts, has written a book titled “Made to Order: The Sheetz Story,” which has been honored with an Excellence in Historic Preservation Award by the Blair County Historical Society.
— Ross Williamson of Nanty Glo, has earned the Aldo Croatti Award from UniFirst Corp., presented to route sales representatives who exemplify unparalleled customer service and satisfaction while retaining 100 percent of their customers for an entire fiscal year.
Williamson, who works for UniFirst at its Altoona location, delivers work uniforms and facility service products to 95 businesses on a weekly basis throughout the greater Altoona area.
Miscellaneous
— Drs. Chris McClellan and Ken Cherry with University Orthopedics Center recently completed a webcast of a same-day outpatient total knee joint replacement surgery at The Advanced Center for Surgery in Altoona.
Smith and Nephew, a global medical technology business, filmed the surgery. It can be viewed at www.smithnephewlivesurgery.com.
Submissions for Workplace can be sent to Walt Frank at wfrank@altoonamirror.com.
Workplace
New hires and promotions
— Dr. Praveen Jajoria, a rheumatologist, has joined the medical staff of J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital.
As a rheumatologist, Jajoria, who is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology, works with patients who have arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases.
He has joined the Bryan Street Specialty Care Center as part of J.C. Blair Medical Services Inc.
— Dr. Joseph Meyn, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has been appointed to the medical staff of J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital.
Meyn, a fellow of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will join Dr. Norman Navarro in J.C. Blair’s Women’s Care Center.
— Dr. Vani Paleti has joined the Conemaugh Physician group and the gastroenterology practice of Dr. Premnath Narahari and Dr. Gebran Abboud.
Paleti is board certified in internal medicine and board eligible in gastroenterology.
— Mandi Cottle has assumed the role of assisted lifestyle services director, while continuing to maintain her position as social services director at Homewood at Martinsburg.
Cottle will be responsible for all marketing, administration and admissions for Homewood’s assisted lifestyle services.
— Holly Keller, who has been the assisted lifestyle services director since 2005, has moved into the newly-created position of admissions and marketing liaison at Homewood at Martinsburg. Keller’s primary responsibilities will include establishing professional relationships with referral sources and marketing Homewood’s Tenley Rehabilitation Unit and other health care services, as well as working closely with prospective residents and their families to coordinate and guide the admissions process for short term rehabilitation.
— Dr. Michael Sabatini recently joined the UPMC Altoona medical staff in the Department of Medicine, clinical service of cardiology.
Sabatini, who is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in cardiovascular disease, is affiliated with Cardiology Associates of Altoona, 1321 11th Ave.
— Dr. R. Charles Howells recently joined the medical staff of Tyrone Hospital in the Department of Surgery – Otolaryngology Services.
Howells attended West Virginia University School of Medicine and is board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology.
Submissions for Workplace can be sent to Walt Frank at wfrank@altoonamirror.com.