Fame EMS receives 2018 CARES award

LEWISTOWN–Earlier this month, Fame EMS received the 2018 Pennsylvania CARES–Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival–award, after successfully participating in the CARES for the 2017 calendar year.

According to a recent press release, Fame EMS was commended for collecting data, in collaboration with and on behalf of BLS, first responder and community partners, to measure outcomes, improve the quality of care and save lives. Participation in CARES allows for measurement of both bystander and 911 response, including information about bystander CPR and Automatic External Defibrillator application, telephone CPR and EMS response times. Fame EMS made changes using this information to improve the treatment of cardiac arrest victims and limiting neurologic disabilities as a result of those improvements. Additionally, Fame EMS provides training in community CPR and supports public access to AEDs as a method of improving survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Fame EMS was one of 122 EMS agencies in PA recognized during “CARES Recognition Week,” designated from Oct. 15 to 19 by the PA House of Representatives. The CARES is a national cardiac arrest registry that provides a tool for communities to measure the effectiveness of their emergency response systems and identify opportunities to improve quality of care.

More information about CARES and the benefits of cardiac arrest data collection is available on smemsc.org/index.php/program-areas/138-2/ as well as the national CARES website, https://mycares.net.

Agency closed for Thanksgiving

LEWISTOWN–The Union-Snyder Agency on Aging Inc. office and all of its senior centers will be closed Nov. 22 and Nov. 23, 2018, in honor of Thanksgiving. To report situations of elder abuse or if you are a waiver consumer and need immediate assistance from a service coordinator due to an emergent situation, please call (570) 524-2100 (570) 374-5558 or (800) 533-1050 and listen for the instructions.

PennDOT begins tree removal on route 322

MIFFLINTOWN–The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is alerting motorists that crews began tree removal and excavation work Monday for an improvement project on Route 322 westbound near the Burnham/Yeagertown exit in Mifflin County.

This is preliminary work that is part of a 2019 roadway improvement project. Work to be completed this fall includes tree removal, excavation for the acceleration and deceleration lanes and precast box culvert extension, slope laybacks and slope rehabilitation.

Some of this work will require long-term closures of the right shoulder and travel lane of Route 322 westbound in the area of the interchange. These closures will not be in place for Penn State’s two remaining home football games on Nov. 10 and Nov. 24, 2018, and will not impact motorists traveling to Beaver Stadium on those dates.

Overall work in 2019 will include increasing the length of the existing acceleration and deceleration lanes at the interchange, paving on Route 322, median work, barrier installation, extension of a precast concrete box culvert, roadway and structure improvements on Route 4013 (West Freedom Avenue), roadway improvements on Route 1007 (Ferguson Valley Road), slope rehabilitation and drainage work.

Motorists traveling through the area this fall are advised to be on the lookout for construction vehicles entering or exiting the work zone and for slow moving or stopped vehicles. Motorists are also advised to exercise caution through the work zone, obey the posted speed limit and always buckle up.