Healthcare

Years of uncertainty about the future of Commonwealth Health-owned Wilkes-Barre General, Moses Taylor Hospital and Regional Hospital of Scranton have taken their toll on anxious employees, but a pending sale to Tenor Health Foundation has staff and community leaders cautiously optimistic about the next steps.

Pennsylvania Health Department officials have given their blessing to Tenor Health Foundation's application to acquire three Northeast Pennsylvania hospitals, multiple sources said Wednesday.

Tenor Health Foundation’s CEO said the company is ready to own and operate the Commonwealth Health Systems hospitals in NEPA, but that the transaction still awaits approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. hosted an ‘Eat Real Food’ rally today in Harrisburg, touting the changes he’s made in the past year to federal health policy.

Local foundations that had financially stepped up to keep Moses Taylor Hospital and Regional Hospital of Scranton open ended payments in August, U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan said Friday. Closure of the hospitals was 'imminent,' the lawmaker said, but he and partners including state Rep. Bridget Kosierowski worked to keep the doors open. The foundations replied that the arrangement was for 90 days only, and there was no request for additional funding at that time.

Officials expected the sale of Commonwealth Health Systems- owned Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, Regional Hospital of Scranton and Moses Taylor Hospital in Scranton to Tenor Health Foundation to be finalized by the end of 2025. Both health systems said they are waiting for the Pa. Department of Health's approval before they can proceed with the sale.

Geisinger nurses went on strike in Luzerne County. Officials fought to find a new buyer for three local hospitals after a deal fell through more than a year ago. And communities came together to support their most vulnerable — the aging, uninsured and hungry.

Four Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan, broke from their party and signed Democrats' petition to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Drivers with autism can get blue envelopes that alert police officers to their diagnosis through the Blue Envelope program. Dallas Twp. Police Department partnered with Lehigh Valley Health Network, part of Jefferson Health and Misericordia University’s Cougars for Autism Awareness Club to distribute the envelopes to the community.

Pike County residents have long had to travel out of the county and even out-of-state for medical care. Northwell Health on Monday debuted its new medical center in Dingmans Ferry, which will start taking patients in January.