WASHINGTON, DC – Today U.S. Senators Bob Casey and Arlen Specter announced committee approval of federal funding for Pennsylvania health care, education and labor projects. The projects are contained in the Fiscal Year 2011 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Bill.
“This money is great news for Pennsylvania and I am pleased the committee approved this funding,” said Senator Casey. “I will continue working with Senator Specter to ensure residents of the area have access to quality health care and education.”
“I am pleased that the Congress has approved this important funding for Pennsylvania,” Senator Specter said. “Health and education are our nation’s greatest capital assets, and these projects are vital to ensuring quality health care and education for the area’s residents.”
Pennsylvania projects in the bill include:
LABOR
Southeastern
•$100,000 for First African Community Development Corporation in Philadelphia County for their employment programs, including certified green job training, computer training, and technology instruction.
•$100,000 for Apprentice Training for Electrical Industry (ATEI) in Philadelphia County to support their electrical industry training programs.
•$100,000 for Philadelphia Opportunities Industrialization Center in Philadelphia County for their employment training program.
Northeastern
•$100,000 for Scranton Electricians JATC in Lackawanna County for a job training program in support of their Solar Photovoltaics Systems project.
Southwestern
•$100,000 for Steamfitters Local 449 and Plumbers Local 27 in Allegheny County for a pipe industry job training program.
•$150,000 for the Veteran Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania located in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset, Westmoreland and Washington Counties. Funding will be used for job retraining and counseling for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families.
HEALTH
Southeastern
•$100,000 for Temple University Health System in Philadelphia County for upgrades and expansion. Specifically, funding will be used to relocate, reconfigure and upgrade triage; construct two additional operating rooms to meet the increasing volume of outpatient surgical procedures; and expand the Labor and Delivery suite, including construction of additional operating rooms to handle complicated deliveries.
•$100,000 for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia County for medical equipment including Interventional Radiology equipment. Demand for use of this equipment has expanded beyond the hospital’s current capacity; additional equipment will enable the hospital to better serve its patients and allow treatment of more patients each day.
Southwestern
•$100,000 for University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Allegheny County to outfit facilities with instrumentation in order to improve cancer care through research into early detection, reduced risk and better therapeutic options.
•$100,000 for Tyrone Hospital in Blair County for renovations. The renovations will allow the hospital to operate more efficiently, and ensure that patient care and safety is not compromised for the underserved populations the hospital serves.
•$100,000 for Somerset Hospital in Somerset County for medical equipment. Specifically, funding will be used to purchase a high-definition monitoring system that will be located in the hospital's gastroenterology lab. This will provide physicians with improved image clarity during surgeries and procedures.
Central
•$100,000 for Williamsport Hospital in Lycoming County for medical equipment. Specifically, funding will be used to purchase three new anesthesia units for the hospital’s new operation room.
•$100,000 for Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition in Lancaster County to increase awareness of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Program within the state of Pennsylvania and to continue Coalition’s patient advocacy efforts. This initiative tries to ensure that women do not fall through the cracks in the healthcare system, and that all who qualify for free breast cancer treatment receive it.
•$100,000 for J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital in Huntingdon County for construction. Funding will be used for a new facility that will include a rapid access clinic, minor procedure rooms, observation area, and critical care area in order to meet the need of increasing emergency department visits.
Northwestern
•$100,000 for Jameson Health System in Lawrence County to renovate and expand emergency room and update equipment. This will provide upgraded emergency services for this community where access is limited to these services and improve access and quality of care.
EDUCATION
Southeastern
•$100,000 for Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia County for educational initiatives, including afterschool and full day summer programming for K-12 students.
•$100,000 for Security on Campus, Inc. in Montgomery County for the Safe On Campus Peer Education Program Expansion project. This initiative will help expand a successful program throughout Pennsylvania, educating students in high schools on crucial campus safety issues such as sexual assault and high-risk drinking.
•$100,000 for Drueding Center in Philadelphia County for their Early Childhood Education and Afterschool program. This initiative provides educational services to homeless children living in transitional housing, helping ensure that children are better prepared for 21st century employment.
Central
•$100,000 for Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges in Dauphin County for their Open Textbook pilot project. The commission will work with the 14 community colleges in Pennsylvania to develop and implement an innovative strategy to make textbooks more affordable for students.
Southwestern
•$100,000 for Community College of Allegheny County for the Young Adult Empowerment Program. This initiative will serve young adults who have not completed high school or who do not have the educational skills necessary to move forward with postsecondary education and/or job training. The program will provide basic education to enable these individuals to complete their GEDs.
•$100,000 for the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania in Allegheny County for the strengthening and expansion of mentoring programs. The initiative will help at-risk youth through recruitment of volunteer mentors; improvement in the quality of existing mentoring programs; and identification and enhancement of additional mentoring services in areas not currently being served.
Northwestern
•$100,000 for Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie County for their School of Dental Medicine. This institution will use a modem model of dental education to train professionals to provide high-quality, ethical and empathetic patient-centered care.
Northeastern
•$250,000 for Commonwealth Medical College in Lackawanna County for their Community Quality Initiative. This initiative will help develop a four year, integrated, longitudinal curriculum in quality improvement and patient safety that will inspire graduates to deliver outstanding patient care through an understanding of health systems improvements.
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