In a series of letters, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Teresa Miller expressed her appreciation for the front-line heroes who work for DHS and care for vulnerable populations throughout the commonwealth. She rightfully acknowledged the workers at a variety of DHS facilities, which include remarkable and
Katie Blackley / 90.5 WESA
While more Pennsylvanians are seeking help from public assistance programs such as food stamps and Medicaid due to the coronavirus pandemic, that’s not the case for the state’s welfare program – enrollment has actually fallen by more than 15,000 people since last March.
Why are fewer people getting welfare in this time of high unemployment, expanding enrollment in other safety net programs, and increasing hunger?
Advocates and officials say it is likely because the program – which has not increased the amount of money it gives to families since the 1990s, roughly $400 monthly for a family of three – provides too little cash and requires too many hurdles to be of much use to poor families.
Two more personal care homes are among the 11 long-term care facilities reporting cases of COVID-19 in Beaver County.
According to data released Tuesday from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Cambridge Village Personal Care Home in Patterson Township and Lakeview Personal Care in South Beaver Township are among the at least six personal care or assisted living facilities to report COVID cases in residents.
As of Monday, there were 1,017 resident cases and 227 staff cases of COVID-19 reported in 16 long-term care facilities in Beaver County since March. That includes 30 new resident cases and three new staff cases recorded in the previous seven days in the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System, or NEDSS, an electronic database that automatically tallies new COVID cases in long-term care facilities. Since March, 195 residents have died from the virus, including six recorded in the past week in NEDSS.
Pa. leaders call on the federal government for additional support for long term care facilities
The call to action comes after a federally funded program which supported the state s nursing homes with COVID-19 testing, PPE, and staffing has expired. Author: Grace Griffaton (FOX43) Updated: 4:25 PM EST January 13, 2021
PENNSYLVANIA, USA State leaders are calling on the federal government for additional support. At this point, we just need the federal government to help state governments out, said Teresa Miller, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
That s because the Regional Response Health Collaborative Program or RRHCP has expired. The partnership between state agencies and 11 health systems across the state supported more than 2,000 long term care facilities over the course of the pandemic. It provides facilities with COVID-19 testing, PPE, staffing, and more.