Williamsport, Pa., To Get Health-Services Center
By John Beauge, The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa.
Dec. 23–WILLIAMSPORT — About 100 jobs are expected to be created in downtown Williamsport when a $3 million health-services center opens a year from now.
A partnership of the Lycoming County Housing Authority, the city, Susquehanna Health System and Albright Care Services of Lewisburg announced yesterday that a 15,000-square-foot building will be constructed adjacent to an apartment building for the elderly in the 400 block of Lycoming Street.
The Living Independently for Elders, or LIFE, center will house a staff that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, therapists, a chaplain, a dietitian, personal-care aides and van drivers.
It will be the sixth LIFE center in the state. Centers are operating in Philadelphia and Allegheny and Beaver counties, and new centers are scheduled to open next month in Scranton and Johnstown.
A center for Dauphin County is in the planning stages, according to James Pezzuti, director of long-term care client services for the state Department of Welfare. The center in Williamsport will serve Lycoming County and part of Clinton County.
LIFE combines Medicare and Medicaid funds to provide one-stop medical, health and social services for people at least 60 years old. No co-payments or deductibles are required if the participant is eligible for Medicare and medical assistance.
About 300 elderly people live in apartment buildings within a short distance of the proposed center in Williamsport, said Elizabeth Turner, executive director of the county housing authority. Transportation will be provided, and staff members will visit the homes of those unable to get to the center, she said.
The goal through the team approach is to address health and other problems before they reach the stage of an emergency room visit or force a person into a nursing home, said Shaun Smith, vice president of community services for Albright. There will be one doctor for every 70 people, he said.
The housing authority will construct a shell building on land it owns and Albright, which will operate the center, will complete the building to suit its needs, Turner said. Construction is expected to begin in the spring, she said.
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