Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC), a member of Upper Allegheny Health System (UAHS), posted a surplus of $2,078,035 in 2014. The announcement was part of Wednesday’s presentation at the Bradford Club by Timothy J. Finan, President and CEO of BRMC and Upper Allegheny Health System, before an audience of more than 100 community members at the hospital’s Annual Meeting. Finan reported the surplus on hospital revenues of $70,826,456 in 2014. It was the fourth consecutive year BRMC has posted an operating surplus. Finan said the four years of surpluses came after several consecutive years of losses by the hospital prior to the formation of Upper Allegheny Health System. “The formation of Upper Allegheny Health System has provided $4 million of financial benefit annually to our member hospitals,” Finan said in a news release provided to WESB. “Had it not been for the formation of UAHS, our hospitals would no doubt be in a difficult place today.” While pleased with the re...

OLEAN, NY – Olean General Hospital announced today that a careful internal review of hospital insulin pen use raised the possibility that their re-use may have occurred with some patients during the period November 2009 to January 16, 2013. The hospital has not identified a single patient who ever received an insulin injection from another patient’s insulin pen. Hospital officials also emphasized there is no documentation at this time of the transmission of any blood borne infections during the stay of any patient who received insulin from the pens during this period. Nonetheless, hospital officials recommend, as a precautionary measure, that those individuals who received insulin from an insulin pen at Olean General Hospital during the time period be tested for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV. The letter to patients also recommends they be retested for HIV three months after their last insulin pen injection at Olean General Hospital and for hepatitis B and hepati...

Jeff Zewe, RN, MBA, chief nursing officer at Olean General Hospital (OGH) , has been appointed Chief Nursing Officer at Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC). Zewe will continue in his current position as Olean General Hospital’s chief nursing officer and began his new responsibilities at BRMC effective January 1, 2013. After a national search and assessing many external candidates for the CNO position at BRMC, it became clear that Jeff Zewe’s nursing experience and background were superior to that of any other candidates considered for this position,” said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Upper Allegheny Health System, Bradford Regional Medical Center and Olean General Hospital. “By virtue of his work within the Upper Allegheny Health System, Jeff already has an understanding of BRMC and has existing professional relationships with many of the hospital’s nursing managers.” “Jeff Zewe’s depth of knowledge of clinical nursing, nursing education and training and ex...

The Benjamin O. and Blanche M. Wentworth Endowed Nurse Scholarship Fund The Bradford Hospital Foundation has announced the establishment of the Benjamin O. and Blanche M. Wentworth Endowed Nurse Scholarship Fund. This fund has been established to provide financial assistance to employees of the Bradford Regional Medical Center or McKean County, PA residents who are Licensed Practical Nurse's pursuing continuing education towards Registered Nurse licensure. The Wentworth Fund was established by Mr. and Mrs. Wentworth’s son and daughter-in-law Ben and Kathie Wentworth in the form of a $10,000 gift earlier this month. Mr. Wentworth was an active member of St. Patrick’s Church in Limestone, NY where he was awarded the St. Joseph the Worker award, as well as a life long member of the Bradford Lion’s Club, and most notably as the owner and operator of the A&B Electric Co. Mrs. Wentworth graduated as a registered nurse from the Bradford Hospital School of Nursing in 1945...

Olean General Hospital’s newest health center celebrated a grand opening today. The region’s newest health care facility will begin treating patients on Monday, August 20. The new $1.4 million health center, located in the Delavan Plaza at 38 North Main Street (Route 16), Delevan, NY, will offer primary care and dental services to residents in and around northern Cattaraugus County. “Improving access to essential care is a priority and a commitment of Olean General Hospital”, said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Olean General Hospital. “The Delevan Health Center delivers the convenience of close-to-home care in a new, modern and comfortable setting.” The new center is located in the Town of Yorkshire, identified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as both a medically underserved area and a dental professional shortage area. “When we considered this opportunity it was clear to us that placing a health center with both primary care and dental services in the Vill...

By Stephanie Timblin Senior Communications Specialist Upper Allegheny Health System Zippo has been heating things up for 80 years. Now they’re doing it large-scale, with a $750,000 donation to Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) to modernize the hospital's boiler plant. "We are extremely grateful to George Duke and Zippo for this very significant gift to our community hospital," said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Bradford Regional Medical Center and its parent company, Upper Allegheny Health System. "Zippo and members of the Blaisdell family have a long history of tremendous generosity to BRMC and the community. Their notable giving over the decades has made so many things possible at BRMC,” Finan said. “Zippo’s faith and confidence in the hospital means so much to all of us. It is both motivational and inspirational in terms of our desire to work even harder to provide our community with high quality and personalized health care." George Duke, Zip...

Olean, NY — Olean General Hospital and the family of the late Frank W. Higgins, former Governor of New York State joined in a ceremony today to recognize the philanthropy of Higgins family on the one-hundred year anniversary of family’s original land and financial donation to the hospital. “At a time when building a hospital in a rural community seemed a daunting undertaking, community leaders rose to the challenge and expanded the hospital for Olean, so that it would adequately meet the healthcare needs of the community. The Higgins family philanthropy helped make this dream come true”, said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Olean General Hospital. Frank Wayland Higgins, born August 18, 1856, in Rushford, NY was the 35th Governor of New York State. A delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention, and a member of the New York State Senate from 1894 to 1902, Higgins was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1903 to 1904, elected in 1902; and Governor of New York from 1905 t...

Bradford Regional Medical Center has announced that Family Nurse Practioner Judy Flynn, CRNP, will be the primary care provider for the hospital’s newly constructed Mt. Jewett Health Center located at 122 West Main Street in Mount Jewett, PA. Flynn obtained her Master’s Degree as a Family Nurse Practioner from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Flynn is an Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor and serves on the Disaster Medical Assistance Team PA-3, a branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Family Nurse Practitioners provide comprehensive primary medical care to patients of all ages. “As a very experienced family nurse practitioner, Judy Flynn is able to provide area patients with exemplary care. She is a very caring individual and a wonderful clinician and we are indeed fortunate to have her as part of our staff at BRMC”, said Timothy J. Finan, President and CEO of Bradford Regional Medical Center. Op...

Daniel McCune, president and CEO of Allegheny Bradford Corp, has been elected chairman of the Upper Allegheny Health System board of directors. McCune was originally appointed to the Bradford Regional Medical Center board of directors in 1999. McCune succeeds David Prince, founder and president of Databranch, Inc., an information technology solutions provider located in Olean, NY. Prince joined the Olean General Hospital board in January 2003, and has served as chairman of the board of directors for Upper Allegheny Health System since its inception in 2009. Other officers elected at the annual meeting of the UAHS board of directors include: Vice Chair, Brenda McGee; senior vice president, finance and administration, St. Bonaventure University Treasurer, Martin Digel; president and CEO, Hamlin Bank and Trust Secretary, Muhammed Javed, MD ; physician, Bradford Regional Medical Center/Olean General Hospital Re-elected to serve on the board of directors during the annual meeting were the...

Community and university leaders integral to the project gathered Tuesday morning to dedicate the completion of the St. Bonaventure loop of the Allegheny River Valley Trail. Calling the trail addition a “wonderful milestone in our relationship with Allegany and Olean,” Brenda McGee, senior vice president for finance and administration at SBU, thanked Allegany and county officials and project consultants, and concluded with a “special thanks to Phil Winger, who expertly managed this complex project.” Winger is the associate vice president for facilities at the university. The roughly three-quarter-mile addition was completed earlier this month — six years after U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton helped secure federal funding for the trail expansion and campus road improvements. Federal and state roadblocks slowed distribution of the money until this year; project work finally began in April. University President Sr. Margaret Carney, O.S.F., expressed her gratitude to Schu...

Bradford Regional Medical Center today announced staff reductions of 59 employees to deal with the effects of a challenging healthcare environment and the financial condition of the hospital. According to Hospital President and CEO Timothy Finan, “The staff reductions are necessary to ensure improved financial stability of the hospital. Current patient volumes and activity levels cannot support existing hospital staffing levels. This is a very painful, but necessary, decision that will ensure that we retain the ability to provide care to the community we serve. To do otherwise would potentially prompt additional job losses and place the hospital’s mission in jeopardy.” Finan made it clear that the staff reductions will in no way impact patient care or safety. The staff reductions were made as a result of a comprehensive assessment of the hospital’s financial performance and is part of an overall hospital financial improvement plan. Bradford Regional Medical Center has lost approxima...