LOOP
IN
THE
C O N T I N U E D
ST. CLAIR HOSPITAL
RECEIVES 14TH
CONSECUTIVE
‘A’ GRADE FOR
PATIENT SAFETY IN
LEAPFROG RATINGS
The Leapfrog Group, a national
nonprofit health care ratings organization,
released new Hospital Safety Grades for
Spring 2019, awarding St. Clair Hospital
an “A” for its commitment to keeping
patients safe and meeting the highest
safety standards in the U.S. This is the
hospital’s 14th consecutive “A,” placing
St. Clair among the top hospitals in the
country for patient safety. The Safety
Grade assigns letter grades of A, B, C, D
and F to hospitals nationwide based on
their performance in preventing medical
errors, infections and other harms.
Developed under the guidance of a
Blue Ribbon National Expert Panel, the
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27
measures of publicly available hospital
safety data to assign grades to more than
2,600 U.S. hospitals twice per year. It is
calculated by top patient safety experts,
peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free
to the public.
TOWN HALL SOUTH
SPEAKERS SERIES
Are you looking for intellectual growth
and cultural stimulation by national and
international acclaimed speakers that
inspire, educate, inform and enlarge
one’s world? Subscribe to Town Hall
South, which began in 1969, features five
lectures that are held in the Upper St.
Clair High School Theatre from 10:10-
11:10 a.m. For the 2019-2020 season, our
exciting array of speakers are:
October 1 Lou Holtz, Legendary
Football Coach, ESPN Sports Analyst
and renowned motivational speaker;
November 5 Beth Macy, award-winning
journalist with focus on social problems
including opioid crisis;
December 3 Alan Zwiebel, Emmy
Award winning comedy writer including
“Saturday Night Live”;
February 4 Vijay Gupta, Violinist/
10
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Educator/Mental Health Advocate; and
March 17 Lynsey Addario, Pulitzer Prize-
Winning Photojournalist, focus on War,
Injustice, Resilience and Humanity. In
addition to the formal lecture, an optional
luncheon at St. Clair Country Club is
held immediately following where the
speaker is available to answer questions
posed by the luncheon audience
that frequently lead to a very candid
exchange! Tickets for the 2019-2020
season are sold as series only and can be
purchased by visiting their website at
townhallsouth.org.
NONPROFIT WORKS
TO PERMANENTLY
PROTECT 40.5 ACRES
OF GREEN SPACE
IN BETHEL PARK
Local land conservation nonprofit
Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) is working
in cooperation with the municipality
of Bethel Park, the local community,
and other partners to acquire and
permanently conserve one of the largest
remaining green spaces in the South Hills
by the end of 2019.
Near the busy intersections of Rt. 88,
Connor Road and Valley Drive along
the municipality’s northwest border
with Castle Shannon, this heavily
wooded 40.5-acre property offers a green
reprieve from an otherwise densely-
populated area. The site is crisscrossed
by an informal network of walking
trails frequently used and cared for by
icmags.com
neighbors and is both a relic of the area’s
industrial history and a testament to
nature’s ability to recover if allowed the
opportunity to do so.
Mollenaur Mine #3, once located
directly across Route 88, used this
site to discard dirt and rock tailings
from its mining operation from the
mid-1890’s through the early 1940’s.
Since that time the site has been left
dormant to recover on its own while
residential developments and commercial
enterprises sprung up all around.
Protecting this green space would
ensure that the flora and fauna reclaiming
this site have permanent habitat,
save steep slopes from development,
absorb rainwater at the head of the
flood-prone Saw Mill Run watershed,
enhance property values by offering
protected trails and open space, and
provide opportunities for historical and
environmental education.
The land is currently under contract to
close by the end of the year, contingent
upon ALT’s ability to raise necessary
funding. Currently, ALT has outstanding
grant requests along with several
additional sources identified for portions
of the project funding. A community
campaign will be launched in the coming
weeks to raise awareness and matching
dollars for the project. The municipality
of Bethel Park has pledged its support for
the project.
To donate or find more information
on this project, please visit:
alleghenylandtrust.org/bethel-
greenway. ■