Centerville Clinics’ director a Smart choice for award
Courtesy of Michael Ozohonish
Michael Ozohonish, left, delivers free food in April 2020 to front line workers at Centerville Clinics, including Barry Niccolai, its executive director.
Observer-Reporter
Barry Niccolai plays the accordion.
Bunger
For the second year in a row, Centerville Clinics’ executive director, Barry Niccolai, is the winner of a Pittsburgh Smart 50 Award.
Smart Business Magazine sponsors the awards, which honor the top executives of 50 companies in the Greater Pittsburgh area. According to a news release, they were selected for “their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations.” The 50 winners were celebrated at a virtual event this month.
“This award recognizes the hard work and determination of our entire team,” Niccolai said in a statement. “All of us are committed to finding innovative and creative ways to fulfill our mission of serving our communities.”
The Centerville Clinics network provides health care for 40,000 patients in Washington, Greene and Fayette counties. It does so at 27 locations: 12 medical, five dental and 10 behavioral health sites.
Centerville offers services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. About 80% of its patients are underinsured or on Medicaid and Medicare.
The network provides COVID-19 vaccinations to patients and is sponsoring “pop-up” screening sites for walk-ins in the three counties. Vaccinations and screenings are free.
Centerville also announced Jonette McClelland, a pediatric nurse practitioner, has joined the staff. She will see patients at Washington Family Doctors on Mondays through Thursdays, and at the Joseph A. Yablonski Memorial Clinic, in Centerville, on Fridays.
McClelland has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from California University of Pennsylvania and a master’s from West Virginia University as a pediatric nurse practitioner.
Health care
Two regional health systems have leapfrogged to national recognition for ensuring patient safety.
Washington Health System’s WHS Washington Hospital and WHS Greene received an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for this fall. So did St. Clair Health.
The Leapfrog Group, an independent national watchdog organization, measures safety performance at general hospitals nationwide and assigns grades of A through F to the facilities. The group analyzes more than 30 categories of safety, and said in a news release this “is the only hospital ratings program based exclusively on hospital prevention of medical errors and harms to patients.”
This grading period was the 19th in a row in which St. Clair has received an A. It is one of only 34 hospitals nationwide to attain that streak, and the only one in Pennsylvania to do it.
St. Clair Health also announced it has named Amy Bunger vice president and chief academic officer. She will oversee programs and affiliations related to nursing, health sciences and medical education. Bunger arrived from University Hospitals Health System in Cleveland.
Chamber panel
The Washington County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday announced its executive committee for 2022.
The names of the panelists, their positions and employers are: Gerald Cathell, chairman (Definiti, LLC); Laural Ziemba, vice chair (Range Resources); Matt Thiel, treasurer (AUMA Actuators); Brook Ward, secretary (Washington Health System); and John Burglund, past chairman (RES).
Jennifer Gerchow of ANSYS will join the board of directors in 2022.
Accounting
Saint Francis University has taken into account a national shortage of qualified accountants, and is offering an incentive to remedy the situation.
The university, based in Loretto, Cambria County, is striving to recruit high school students to be would-be accountants. It is guaranteeing a minimum institutional financial package of $25,000 per year, which would be renewed for three more years for students who hit stated academic standards and enroll in either the Accounting or Accelerated Accounting/MBA programs.
That’s a total of $100,000.
Candidates have to meet certain standards to qualify. They must have a minimum unweighted grade point average of 3.30 (89%), and a 1060 SAT or a 21 ACT composite. Those applying as test-optional must have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.50 (91%).
“We have one of the oldest and strongest accounting programs in the nation,” Dr. John Miko, associate dean of Business, said in a statement. “This new initiative will make it more affordable for prospective students to receive a top-tier education in an in-demand, growing field.”
The accounting program is part of the Shields School of Business, which, according to the university, has had a 100% graduate placement rate over the past five years.
For more information or to apply, visit francis.edu/accounting.