If you have any questions about the event or either service please contact the fire house at (570) 226-4273 or email info@pikeals.org.

Motorcycle safety was emphasized with Corbett’s signing of Act 84 of 2012, which requires motorcycle permit holders under 18 years old to take and successfully complete the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program’s (PAMSP) Basic Rider Course (BRC) in order to receive their license.

The 15-hour BRC consists of five hours of in-class instruction and 10 hours of practical riding experience. The course provides valuable training for new riders and gives experienced riders the opportunity to polish their skills and correct any unsafe riding habits they may have developed. Students taking the BRC are provided with a motorcycle and helmet; however, students are responsible for providing all other protective
gear. The 15 hours of training count toward the required 65 hours of training a permit holder under 18 must complete in order to receive their license.

The PAMSP offers a variety of training to help develop safe riding skills for all motorcyclists, no matter how experienced or inexperienced the rider. The courses include: the six-hour Basic Rider Course 2 (BRC2); the eight-hour Advanced Rider Course (ARC); and the 12-hour 3-Wheeled Motorcycle  Basic Rider Course (3WBRC). (PennDot)

To help promote safety and communication among the members of the motorcycling community, PennDOT offers an interactive website designed specifically for motorcyclists: www.livefreeridealive.com. The
website challenges riders to take personal responsibility for their own safety and offers an open forum for riders to share experiences. They can also promise to be safe riders by taking the “Be One Less” pledge.

For more information on motorcycle rider training or to schedule a course, visit www.pamsp.com or call 1-800-845-9533, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and noon.

Entitled the 2013 Community Health Needs Assessment for Pike and Wayne Counties and Carbondale, Pennsylvania, the study will analyze statistical data from a variety of sources and, as importantly, gather and analyze public opinion on community needs.  The study includes an internet survey, conversations with key community and health care leadership and people receiving care at Wayne Memorial Family Health Center sites.

The internet survey, which is available to all community residents and takes about ten minutes to complete, can be accessed at

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/waynehealth

The link will be active until March 31, 2013.

The project is guided by an ad hoc committee chaired by Lee Oakes, president of the Wayne Memorial Hospital Board of Directors and composed of representatives from the hospital and health centers, Pike and Wayne Counties and the Carbondale community; the Pennsylvania Dept. of Health; PPL, Inc.; Wayne and Pike County school districts; United Ways; Chambers of Commerce; elected officials; businesses; clergy; and, financial institutions. Technical assistance is provided by HMS Associates of Getzville, NY, a nationally recognized consulting firm specializing in rural health.

Completion date for the study is June 30, 2013 and the final product will be made available to the general public via Wayne Memorial Hospital’s web site at www.wmh.org.  A similar study, completed in 2009 is currently available on the same website.  That study heightened awareness of the most urgent health care needs at the time in Wayne and Pike counties and provided valuable data used to secure grants to answer some of those needs. Included in those successes were the establishment of a new behavioral health clinic and dental clinic in Lords Valley and an expansion of the Honesdale Family Health Center, both currently under construction. (Wayne Memorial Hospital)

As a subscription member, you will not be billed for balances owed on services that are partly covered by your insurance carrier, including co-pays and deductibles (with the exception of deductibles mandated by Federal Law). In other words, you are not responsible for whatever fees are not covered by your insurance, unless Federal Law mandates you pay.

President Mary Lou Corbett stated, “Unfortunately we have to bill our patients, but our annual subscription drive allows participants to be protected from a large ambulance bill. The subscription drive also helps offset the cost of providing such high quality paramedic services.”

Without their dedicated staff and volunteers, many sick and injured people in Pike and Wayne Counties would suffer from lack of advanced emergency treatment before arriving at a hospital. Fortunately, since 2003, PCALS has been providing advanced life-saving support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In 2012 alone, PCALS responded to nearly 1,400 emergency calls with state-of-the-art technology, including 12-lead EKG machines, cardiac defibrillators, external pacemakers and bone drills.

Pike County ALS works with local ambulance services, which provide pre-hospital care to critically ill and injured patients in the absence of advanced life support. Local ambulance services provide basic life-saving treatment like oxygen administration, splinting and transportation, but do not include cardiac monitoring, medication administration or invasive skills such as IV therapy and surgical airways.

Pike County Advanced Life Support is a not-for-profit organization comprised of volunteer Board members, volunteer fundraisers and paid paramedics and EMTs. For more information on Pike County Advanced Life Support or how to become a subscription member, please visit www.pikeals.org or call (855) 745-3257.

The law that puts sequestration in place calls for any cuts to begin exactly one month from the day that the sequester order hits. The effective date was March 1, 2013, which means that the Federal Government has one month to make the cuts and the order will begin to take effect on April 1, 2013.

The cuts that will impact ambulance service is a two-percent (2%) reduction in Medicare reimbursement for ambulance services. Medicare is the largest insurer in Pike and Wayne Counties and this reduction, if continued, will definitely affect the bottom line for most ambulance services serving the area.

Contact you congressman and advise them to act now! Click here to find out who your congressman are and how to contact them.