FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 8, 2011                                                                               Contact: Ken Berndt (920-621-1615 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Einstein Healthcare Network and Brown’s Super Stores Partner to Bring Healthcare to Cheltenham Neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA— On December 14, 2011, leaders of the convenient care industry and dignitaries representing the City of Philadelphia and the Cheltenham Township will convene to launch the opening of the new Einstein FastCare clinic in the ShopRite of Cheltenham, owned by Brown’s Super Stores. The clinic, staffed by nurse practitioners from the Einstein Healthcare Network, will offer a range of primary care and preventive services with an electronic entitlement application service during convenient hours and in an accessible location. Nationally, more than 50 health systems operate or partner with convenient care clinics. Einstein Healthcare Network is the second healthcare system in Philadelphia to open a convenient care clinic and the first to open a clinic in an underserved area of the city.

The opening of the clinic is an important step for Philadelphia, combining access to high-quality healthcare and nutritional food and working to combat the growing threats of food deserts and poor public health across the region. Ken Berndt of FastCare, which partners with 30 health systems to operate clinics around the country, says, “We have found health systems to be good partners for these clinics, with their existing ties to the local community, utilization of electronic health records, and focus on quality and continuity of care. Partnerships like this one, between Einstein and ShopRite represent the next generation of convenient care clinics moving into underserved areas.”

The ShopRite location where the clinic will be housed has been extensively renovated to coincide with the FastCare opening. “We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to partner with Einstein, FastCare and UpLift Solutions to offer these innovative services to the community. We hope to demonstrate that high-quality healthcare and healthy food should be available for all of our citizens,” says Jeff Brown, President and CEO of Brown’s Super Stores.

Mary Beth Kingston, Chief Nurse Executive for Einstein Healthcare Network and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Executive Fellow, is also enthusiastic about the project, saying, “Einstein has a long-standing commitment to the Philadelphia community, and this clinic is a meaningful and promising extension of the care we already provide. We look forward to working with FastCare, UpLift Solutions and ShopRite to enhance the wellbeing of Philadelphians.” Tine Hansen-Turton, executive director of the Philadelphia-based Convenient Care Association, the national trade association representing the retail-based health clinic industry, says, “The Convenient Care Association is a proud partner to FastCare, Einstein and Brown’s Super Stores, and supports these efforts to provide patients with comprehensive access to the goods and services they need to stay healthy.”

About FastCare

Bellin Health System established the FastCare brand of retail health clinics in 2006 and operates four FastCare clinics in Northeast Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Bellin has 56 FastCare clinics, currently in operation or under construction, in 14 states, in partnership with 30 health systems. For more information, please contact Ken Berndt at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Einstein Healthcare Network

Einstein Healthcare Network is a 1,267-bed integrated delivery network with more than 8,500 employees serving the communities of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Pa.  The network’s primary location, Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, is one of the largest academic medical centers in the Delaware Valley, providing training and education for more than 400 residents and fellows each year. The network also provides a comprehensive range of healthcare services through Einstein Medical Center Elkins Park, MossRehab, Montgomery Hospital Medical Center, Belmont Behavioral Health, Willowcrest (a center for subacute care), outpatient facilities such as Einstein at Germantown and Einstein Center One, and a network of more than 500 primary care physicians and specialists employed through Einstein Physicians and Fornance Physician Services, Inc. Construction is underway for Einstein Medical Center Montgomery, a fourth full-service, acute care campus located in East Norriton, Pa., scheduled to open in September, 2012. For more information, visit www.einstein.edu or call 1-800-EINSTEIN.

About Brown’s Super Stores

Brown’s Super Stores is a family owned and operated supermarket chain of 10 Philadelphia area ShopRite supermarkets and was founded in 1988 by President and CEO Jeffrey Brown. Brown’s is headquartered in Westville, New Jersey. The Company is also well known for its state-of-the-art supermarkets that are spotlessly clean, offering a wide variety of fresh food, low prices and friendly customer service.  Brown’s has been well recognized for its dedication to the communities it serves and was recognized for the past several years as “The Best Employer” in the Philadelphia region by the Philadelphia Business Journal and other publications. The White House has also acknowledged Brown’s for its efforts in serving urban communities who lack affordable, fresh and healthy food.

About UpLift Solutions

UpLift Solutions, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was founded by Jeff Brown in 2009 as a platform to share his supermarket model and experience, on a national basis. UpLift has pioneered the effort of eliminating areas lacking access to fresh and affordable food in the U.S. by working with government agencies, non-profits and industry to create sustainable environments for underserved communities. Efforts focus on creating sustainable food systems, health innovations and economic opportunity. For more information, visit www.upliftsolutions.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    November 1, 2011                                                                                   Contact: Nikki Reen (267.295.3859 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

New Strategic Outlook Ushers in Changes for PHMC’s 2nd Forty Years

PHILADELPHIA – On November 1, Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) announced new leadership roles developed to help further the nonprofit public health institute’s growth trajectory. The organization also announced new members of its board of directors. “With our new management roles and structure, we expect that PHMC will be able to build significantly on its role as the region’s leading public health innovator,” says president and CEO Richard J. Cohen.

PHMC announces the creation of several chief officer and managing director roles. “As part of our vision for the future years, we recently implemented a new strategic plan,” says Cohen. “This in turn led us to a structural realignment resulting in new roles that will further vitalize our organization and thus benefit the health of the greater Philadelphia region.” Joining Cohen as Chief Executive Officer and Marino Puliti who has long served as Chief Financial Officer, PHMC named Wayne Pendleton as Chief Operating Officer, Tine Hansen-Turton as Chief Strategy Officer (previously vice president of health care access and policy), Celeste Collins as Chief Human Resources Officer (previously vice president of human resources) and Dina Wolfman Baker as Chief Communications Officer (previously vice president of communications).

PHMC’s six newly named managing directors include Michael Bedrosian as Managing Director, Information Systems; Vanessa Briggs as Managing Director, Health Promotion; Amy Friedlander as Managing Director, Management Services; Leslie Hurtig as Managing Director, Behavioral Health; Lynne Kotranski as Managing Director, Research and Evaluation Group; and Bill Weber as Managing Director, Finance.

“With the addition of the strategy office, we will sharpen our focus on innovating across the organization to ensure PHMC stays ahead of the curve and remains competitive locally, regionally and nationally to bring the best in public health leadership and solutions to the table and into our communities,” says Hansen-Turton.

Adds Pendleton,“We look forward, in this new structure to integrating operations with strategy, finance, communications and human resources under the vision of Richard Cohen and the guidance of the PHMC Board.”

PHMC welcomes to its board of directors in the 2011-2012 term Joseph M. DiMino, director of health and medical director of the Montgomery County Health Department; Autumn A. Graves, president of Girard College; and Michele Volpe, executive director of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Additionally, several long-time board members have assumed leadership roles on the board: The Honorable Renée Cardwell Hughes, Chairperson; Denise Christian, MD, Vice Chairperson; Michael K. Pearson, Treasurer; and Stephen P. Fera, Secretary. PHMC also recognizes and thanks for their years of service departing board members Paul A. Dandridge, former chairperson, and Ana Pujols-McKee, former vice chairperson. 

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About PHMC

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce.  PHMC has served the region since 1972.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      

December 6, 2011                                                                               Contact: Nikki Reen (267.295.3859 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

New Data Present Stark Disparities in HIV Testing Among Adults  

PHILADELPHIA – When NBA superstar Magic Johnson received an HIV diagnosis in 1991, he used the opportunity to create a platform for HIV/AIDS awareness. Despite the decades of work by Johnson and other HIV/AIDS activists, successfully convincing Americans to go for regular HIV testing remains a challenge for public health professionals though the AIDS epidemic continues. In the United States alone, between 35,000 and 40,000 people become infected with HIV every year.* Additionally, of the 1.2 million people currently living with HIV in this country, about 240,000 (20%) do not know that they are HIV positive.**

In commemoration of World AIDS Day on December 1^st, PHMC is releasing startling new data from its Community Health Data Base 2010 Household Health Survey. The data show that, while many Pennsylvanians are getting testing for HIV, many more are not. “We want to urge every person to take the time to get tested for HIV,” says research associate Sarah Ingerman. “Together, we can defeat this epidemic.”

Men who have sex with men (MSM) continue to comprise the most severely effected group, accounting for nearly half of the people in the United States living with HIV and recording more than half of (61% or an estimated 29,300 infections) of the new infections each year.***  Keeping this in mind, CHBD continues to partner with organizations that offer HIV testing, such as the Mazzoni Center, which offers a full array of LGBT-focused primary health care services, mental and behavioral health services, and LGBT legal services and an array of other programs to more than 30,000 individuals annually. “Through our collaboration with the Mazzoni Center, we hope to increase the rate of HIV testing in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” says Ingerman.

Data Analysis of Adults in Southeastern PA Never Tested for HIV

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends HIV testing as part of routine medical exams for adults in the US, CHDB data show that in Southeastern Pennsylvania (SEPA) nearly one-half (48.4%)of adults age 18 an older have never been tested for HIV, representing an estimated 1.4 million adults in the region. Additionally:

• While 38.5% of Philadelphia adults have never been tested for HIV, more than one-half of adults living in Montgomery (55.6%), Bucks (55.3%), Chester (55.3%), and Delaware (50.9%) Counties have never been tested.
• The likelihood of having never been tested for HIV increases with age—29.5% of 18-39 year olds, 37.4% of 40-49 year olds, 53.8% of 50-59 year olds, 71.2% of 60-74 year olds, and 83.1% of adults 75 and older have never been tested.
• White and Asian adults are more likely to have never been tested for HIV (57.0% and 50.6%, respectively), compared with more than one-quarter of Black (27.2%) and Latino (28.6%) adults.
• About one-third of adults living below 150% of the Federal Poverty Line (34.1%) have never been tested for HIV, while 51.6% of non-poor people have never been tested.

Data Analysis of Adults in Southeastern PA Tested for HIV

More than one-fifth of adults in SEPA (21.5%) have been tested for HIV within the past year, representing approximately 619,000 adults in the region. Additionally:

• Nearly one-third of adults living in Philadelphia (30.4%) received an HIV test within the previous year. In the surrounding suburban SEPA counties, smaller percentages of adults have been recently tested for HIV: 20.8% of adults in Delaware County, 15.4% of adults in Bucks County, 14.7% of adults in Montgomery County, and 13.8% of adults in Chester County have been tested for HIV in the previous year.
• The likelihood of being tested within the previous year for HIV decreases with age: 35.1% of 18-39 year olds, 20.7% of 40-49 year olds, 15.7% of 50-59 year olds, 10.3% of 60-74 year olds and 8.3% of 75 year olds and older have been tested within the past year.
• About one-third of adults with less than a high school education (29.0%) received an HIV test within the previous year compared with 24.1% of high school graduates, 23.0% of adults with some college, 19.5% of college graduates, and 14.9% of adults with post-college schooling.
• Over two-fifths of Black adults (41.2%) received an HIV test within the previous year, followed by Latino (37.5%), Asian (16.2%), and White (13.9%) adults in the region.
• More than one-third of adults living below 150% of the Federal Poverty Line (34.9%) have been tested for HIV in the previous year compared with less than one-fifth of non-poor adults (18.4%).

 To access the full findings on HIV testing in Southeastern Pennsylvania and learn more about CHDB’s collaboration with the Mazzoni Center, contact Sarah Ingerman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 267.350.7695.

References:

*CDC. 2008. Diagnoses of HIV Infection and AIDS in the United States and Dependent Areas. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/surveillance/resources/reports/2008report/index.htm

 **CDC. 2011. HIV Surveillance—United States, 1981-2008. MMWR 60(21: 698-693.

 ***CDC Fact Sheet September 2011.  HIV and AIDs among Gay and Bisexual Men.

 http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/fastfacts-msm-final508comp.pdf

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About CHDB

Public Health Management Corporation’s Community Health Data Base Household Health Survey is one of the largest regional health surveys in the country. The Pew Charitable Trusts, William Penn Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, United Way of North Penn, CIGNA Foundation, Green Tree Community Health Foundation, Philadelphia Foundation, North Penn Community Health Foundation, the Thomas Scattergood Foundation and over 350 local agencies from the health, government, nonprofit and academic sectors help to support CHDB. To view previous data news releases, please click here. For more information, please visit www.chdbdata.org.

About PHMC

Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) is a nonprofit public health institute that creates and sustains healthier communities. PHMC uses best practices to improve community health through direct service, partnership, innovation, policy, research, technical assistance and a prepared workforce.  PHMC has served the region since 1972.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         October 31, 2011                             Contact: Nikki Reen (267.295.3859 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

PHILADELPHIA – Mayor Michael A. Nutter has proclaimed October 2011 as Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children Month.  The proclamation was issued to Public Health Management Corporation’s Southeast Regional Key (SERK) and the Philadelphia County Local Education and Resource Network (LEARN) team. “We at the SERK team are thrilled that the Mayor recognizes the important work of child care providers in our region,” says Amy Friedlander, managing director of management services at Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), which operates the SERK.                                                                        “Through the proclamation, Mayor Nutter recognizes that investment in quality early education builds strong children, secure families, and thriving communities.” Friedlander goes on to say. “Mayor Nutter clearly recognizes that the developmental and learning benefits that our children realize from quality early-learning opportunities extend well into the future – preparing them for kindergarten, helping them to graduate from high school, and securing them a place in the workforce.  Working parents with quality child care options are better able to maintain employment, thereby increasing family income and stability.  And early childhood education is an important economic driver in Philadelphia, providing tax revenue and employment opportunities.”

SERK and the Philadelphia County LEARN are among local organizations that provide leadership in the area of community involvement in the education and well-being of our youth and promote and celebrate quality early education. Through the work of SERK and Philadelphia County LEARN, families, teachers and leaders help our young children reach their promise every day. 

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About Keystone STARS

Southeast Regional Key (SERK) administers the Keystone STARS program on behalf of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) for the state of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties. PHMC manages the SERK.                                                                          

The Keystone STARS program is an initiative of OCDEL to improve, support and recognize the continuous quality improvement efforts of early learning programs in Pennsylvania.  The STARS in the program stand for Standards; Training/Professional Development; Assistance; Resources and Support.  The program is a quality performance model where Early Childhood Education (ECE) providers are designated at one of four levels depending on an evaluation.                                

About Philadelphia LEARN                                                   The LEARN networks are charged with effectively communicating with and engaging families and providing support to families with a child transitioning into an early learning setting or those with children entering kindergarten. LEARN teams act as a resource for the early childhood education community in promoting OCDEL programs such as Keystone STARS, through activities such as early learning events and/or other programs within a community that emphasize quality early education programs and access to early learning opportunities. LEARN team members also work with school districts and community-based early learning programs to foster systemic smooth transitions from preschool to kindergarten for children, parents and teachers.  In Philadelphia the LEARN network is led by the Child Care Information Services Northeast.

About Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children                                       Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children is a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of providing Pennsylvania’s young children with quality early learning opportunities. Sponsored by the PA Build Initiative, Pennsylvania Early Learning Keys to Quality, The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, and William Penn Foundation, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).