Content about Allegheny General Hospital

10.31.10

Visitors to Avalon swimming pool next summer will be able to enjoy this recently finished mural on one of the buildings, the creation of artist Krystal Waldschmidt, pictured here with her work. A Northgate graduate who now attends Carlow College, Krystal also painted a mural at the South Birmingham Avenue park in Avalon, and worked on the one that can be seen at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus.

09.24.10

Bellevue to hold Health and Safety Day Saturday

Bellevue Borough's "Health and Safety Day" will be held at Bayne Park on Saturday, Sept. 25, from noon until 4 p.m., with a variety of activities and informational booths.

08.21.10

Healthy Living Lecture

Allegheny General Hospital-Suburban campus will hold a Healthy Living Guest Lecture Series program entitled "Metabolic Syndrome - Me?"

The lecture will be conducted at Ohio Townships Community Park Nature Center, 325 Nicholson Rd., on Aug. 25, 1-2 p.m.

A doctor will discuss metabolic syndrome's implication in heart disease and diabetes and how people can protect themselves from the syndrome.

The program is offered at no cost to any interested adult. Registration is required by calling Physician Access at 1-877-284-2000.

05.16.10

Steering the course of change

About 130 people attended the town hall meeting Friday to discuss the changes that are coming to Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus.

That was a pretty decent crowd for 6:30 p.m. on a Friday evening in May.

05.07.10

Let's go to the dogs!

There are any number of serious subjects in the news this week, and I certainly could blog about any of them in some detail.

But it's Pet Photo Contest Week in The Citizen, so let's deal with those pesky serious issues and get on to the fun stuff.

10.22.11

Artober profit?

While Bellevue's director of administrative services thinks the Artober Fest benefit raised about $6,500 to benefit a proposed skate plaza in Bayne Park, officials have some serious questions about the unauthorized expenditure of almost that much to put on the event.

DAS Doug Sample told council members last week that the event grossed about $12,500, apparently including a $5,000 matching grant from Allegheny General Hospital. Sample said about $6,000 was spent on the event.

09.30.11

Obituaries 9-30-11

Claude Phipps Claude A. Phipps, 72, of Avalon, died Monday, Sept. 19, 2011 in Allegheny General Hospital. Mr. Phipps was the owner of Phipps 18th Century Flowers. He fostered cats and dogs from the Humane Society and shared peanut butter sandwiches with squirrels and enjoyed feeding birds. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Cardamone Phipps; his brother-in-law, Russell Cardamone of Sewickley; and his rescues, Jack, Belle, Willow and Cocoa. He was preceded in death by his parents, Fredrick "Ted" and Gladys Holt Phipps.

09.23.11

Wellness program gets state hospital award

Allegheny General Hospital-Suburban Campus was awarded the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania's (HAP) Achievement Award for excellence in community education.

AGH-Suburban Campus was among 18 HAP Achievement Award winners chosen from 168 applicants in Pennsylvania.

The Hospital's Community Health and Wellness Program kicked off with the popular Twenty Week Challenge interactive lecture series, which encouraged participants to change their eating and exercise habits gradually over 20 weeks and adopt a sustainable healthier lifestyle.

07.02.11

Avalon Police News

The driver of a vehicle hit by a tractor trailer was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital on June 29.

Police say the woman’s car was forced into a spin, and then into oncoming traffic, when the large commercial vehicle attempted to change lanes.

One vehicle was towed from an accident at Florence and South Chestnut avenues on June 28.

Police received a complaint June 25 from a woman who said that a friend to whom she had given a ride stole two bottles of prescription medication, cash and a dozen DVDs from her vehicle.

06.03.11

Avonworth Physicals

Allegheny General Hospital Sports Medicine will be providing pre-participation physical exams for Avonworth High School athletes participating in fall sports.

Physicals will be given in the Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus third floor Human Motion Rehab) on Wednesday, June 8, 6-8 p.m.

Cost is $10, cash or checks made payable to AGH.

Call 1-877-284-2000 to schedule an appointment.

05.20.11

Obituaries 5-20-11

Joan Bechtel Joan Marie Bechtel, 75, of Clarks Summit, PA, formerly of Bellevue, died Tuesday, May 10, 2011 in Hospice Community Care, Dunmore, PA. Ms. Bechtel was a Bellevue High School graduate. She was a retired executive secretary of Harbison-Walker in Pittsburgh. She was an active volunteer at Meals On Wheels and at Allegheny General Hospital. She was an avid traveler.

01.07.11

Bellevue Police News

A McKees Rocks woman was arrested Dec. 26 after admittedly stabbing her 24-year-old son in his Bellevue apartment.

10.02.10

Health and safety

There was more than a little fun and excitement thrown in as Bellevue held a Health and Safety Day at Bayne Park last Saturday. Sponsored by the Bellevue police and fire departments, Allegheny General Hospital and NorthWest EMS, the event offered an afternoon full of educational and entertaining attractions for people of all ages. Pictured here, LifeFlight pilot Bryan Bly makes sure that Owen McKee, 4, of Ross, is strapped in tight in the helicopter seat.

09.24.10

Avalon Police News

A Coraopolis man was charged with simple assault and harassment after he reportedly assaulted his niece at a California Avenue residence on Sept. 19. Police say a warrant was issued for the arrest of John Urban, 50, after he left the scene.

Kenneth Stebler Jr., 33, of South Birmingham Avenue, was charged with public drunkenness on Sept. 20 after police found him unconscious in a front yard on Taylor Avenue. He was taken by ambulance to Allegheny General Hospital.

08.27.10

Hospital Update

Representatives of West Penn Allegheny Health System updated Bellevue Council Tuesday on changes at the Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus.

Gregory Burfitt, CEO of Allegheny General Hospital and Kim Sperring, vice president of AGH- Suburban Campus, spoke to council about what has happened since inpatient and emergency room services were discontinued last week.

08.13.10

Court hears challenge to hospital changes

A last ditch legal challenge to stop the changes scheduled to go into effect today at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus is running into challenges of its own. Attorneys for West Penn Allegheny Health System and the Suburban General Hospital Advisory Board were in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Thursday, appearing before Judge Ronald Folino.

At issue was whether the court should issue an injunction stopping the hospital from closing its emergency room and inpatient units, and whether the group asking for the injunction had any legal right to do so.

08.06.10

Pittsburgh man charged in stabbing

A Pittsburgh man has been charged with attempted homicide after he reportedly stabbed another man in the stomach.

The assault occurred Sunday morning, when police were called to the intersection of Elizabeth Avenue and Ohio River Boulevard, where a man was bleeding heavily from a stab wound to the left side of his stomach.

07.02.10

Bellevue Police News

A Bellevue man was scheduled for a preliminary hearing yesterday after being arrested in connection with a shooting in Wilkinsburg.

David Hickman, 50, of Washington Avenue, was taken into custody June 12 by Bellevue Police. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail on a $50,000 bond after being charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and terroristic threats.

06.18.10

Notices don’t mean lay-offs

Notices sent to Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus employees and the state labor department have raised concerns about a massive lay-off at the Bellevue hospital, but West Penn Allegheny Health System is saying the concern is premature, and not warranted.

WPAHS plans to change the way the local hospital is used, eliminating inpatient care, outpatient surgeries and the emergency room later this summer. Long term acute care services will be broadened, and an urgent care center will replace the E.R.

06.04.10

Northgate Physicals

Physicals for Northgate students who will participate in fall sports will be given at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus on Wednesday, June 16, 6-8 p.m.

05.21.10

Community hears from WPAHS

Some 80 percent of the people who now receive care at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus will continue to do so when changes in service are instituted this August. That was the message representatives of the West Penn Allegheny Health System (WPAHS) brought to a town hall meeting in Bellevue, held one day after WPAHS announced that the emergency department and inpatient care would be taken off life support in 90 days.

05.14.10

AGH will stop inpatient services in 90 days

West Penn Allegheny Health System confirmed Thursday that it will no longer offer inpatient services at its Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus in Bellevue, which will necessitate closing the local emergency department.

According to a statement issued by WPAHS, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has been advised that inpatient services will be discontinued in 90 days. Because state law requires inpatient beds to be available in order to operate an emergency room, the local hospital’s E.R. also will be closed.

04.30.10

Bellevue wants town hall meeting to discuss potential hospital changes

Bellevue officials are working to organize a "town hall" type of meeting to discuss changes at the Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus.

04.30.10

Stroke Awareness

May is National Stroke Awareness Month and Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus Department of Outpatient Rehabilita-tion Services will host the program "Stroke - A Brain Attack" at several locations.

Members of the community are invited to learn if they are at risk for stroke, discuss signs and symptoms, and find out about rehabilitation.

The program will be presented at the following locations/times:

AGH-Suburban Campus, Bellevue, seventh floor conference room, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. on May 12. Complimentary coffee served at 9 a.m.

04.23.10

E.R. survival depends on inpatient decision

Whether or not the North Boroughs continues to have an emergency room located at Allegheny General Hospital - Suburban Campus in Bellevue depends on whether the facility will continue to provide inpatient services.

That’s because, according to AGH president Gregory Burfitt, state law links the two.

“Pennsylvania law does not allow for one without the other,” Burfitt said in a memo to the team currently reviewing how the Suburban Campus can best be utilized in the health systems search for fiscal stability.