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Deb Erdley stories

Deb Erdley
Deb Erdley
Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Medical forum cites holes in child abuse prevention programs
A sweeping slate of child protective services laws adopted 10 years ago in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal stretched the state’s safety net, creating areas for vulnerable children to fall through, a report released Monday concluded. The report, from the Keystone State Child Abuse Medical Forum,...
Experts tell firsthand stories of children harmed by addicted parents
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‘Frightening rate’ of children dying due to parents’ drug abuse
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Ex-congressman: Lawmakers must do more to protect children of addicted parents
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As substance abuse rises, need for additional programs comes into focus, experts say
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As substance abuse rises, need for additional programs comes into focus, experts say
Jillian Hauser spent more than a decade addicted to drugs, went through six rounds of rehab, did time in jail and lost custody of her two daughters. She hit bottom when Westmoreland County Judge Meagan Bilik-­DeFazio offered her one last chance to regain control of her life through the county’s...
Ex-congressman: Lawmakers must do more to protect children of addicted parents
When Jim Greenwood was a Bucks County child welfare caseworker, he was haunted by the images of babies born addicted to drugs. When he became U.S. Rep. Jim Greenwood, he did something about it. As a six-term Republican congressman from eastern Pennsylvania, the now-retired Greenwood penned a federal law requiring...
Experts tell firsthand stories of children harmed by addicted parents
Dr. Bill Jenkins thought he had seen most of what life could throw at people during his years as an emergency room physician and medical director of Greensburg-based Mutual Aid, one of the state’s largest ambulance services. In the past three decades, he has tended to patients with drug overdoses,...
'Frightening rate' of children dying due to parents' drug abuse
Four days after Christmas 2020, Hannah Moore felt horror like no other when she awoke to find her 2-month-old daughter’s cold, lifeless body nestled next to her in bed, inches away from her other two children. Traces of blood trickled from Avery Davis’ mouth and nose as Moore frantically dialed...
As Western Pa. hospitals expand, fears grow over higher health care costs 
Editor’s note: This is the first part of a three-day series examining the rapidly changing health care landscape in Western Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania’s two health care giants have jumped into a controversial nationwide hospital building boom, spending billions on glitzy, state-of-the-art facilities that critics say patients ultimately will pay for...
Some say radon legislation in Pa. comes down to politics; others say it's the money
State Sen. Wayne Fontana didn’t mince words. When it comes to getting a law passed requiring radon testing in schools, “I think it’s going to take a tragedy of some sort,” said Fontana, a Democrat from Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood. He was alluding to a 2019 fatal fire at an Erie...
For children, concerns over radon outweigh that for adults
In Dr. Ned Ketyer’s opinion, there should be no doubt that schools should test for radon — and test regularly. “The way radon works when it gets in the body is it damages DNA, and so that’s why radon is associated with cancer, especially lung cancer,” said Ketyer, a pediatrician...
For children, radon risks outweigh that for adults
In Dr. Ned Ketyer’s opinion, there is no doubt that schools should test for radon — and test regularly. “The way radon works when it gets in the body is it damages DNA, and so that’s why radon is associated with cancer, especially lung cancer,” said Ketyer, a pediatrician with...
Mine safety emerged as top priority after Quecreek accident
Two decades after the last Quecreek miner was pulled to safety, four men with deep roots in Pennsylvania coal country have carried forward the lessons learned during those anguish-filled days in July 2002 when the eyes of the world were on Somerset County. For those men — John Urosek, 65,...
Mine safety emerged as top priority after Quecreek accident
Two decades after the last Quecreek miner was pulled to safety, four men with deep roots in Pennsylvania coal country have carried forward the lessons learned during those anguish-filled days in July 2002 when the eyes of the world were on Somerset County. For those men — John Urosek, 65,...
Financier's $2.5M foundation gift to fund nursing scholarships at Duquesne
The news came during National Nurses Week, and it was stunning. Although six- and seven-figure gifts to colleges are not unheard of, many of them come with strings. Often money is to be allocated for endowed professorships, labs or buildings. The $2.5 million award Duquesne University’s School of Nursing has...
From community gardens to the environment, sisters fulfill various missions
Sister Sheila Carney chuckles when she recalls the day a few years ago her Sisters of Mercy were urged to call the White House to weigh in on an issue that stood to benefit Western Pennsylvania’s poor. “One of our older sisters sat down and dialed the number,” Carney said....
Shrinking sisterhood: Members of religious orders vow to carry on despite dwindling numbers 
At 88, Sister Louise Grundish sits back in her chair, caresses the silver cross dangling from her neck and says point blank she wasn’t always sure that being a nun was the life for her. There was nothing that could convince her otherwise — not a younger sibling who was...
Megan's Law for nursing homes gaining traction in Harrisburg
A state lawmaker is making good on a promise to repair a flawed system that permits aging and ailing convicted sex offenders to quietly enter long-term care facilities — often unbeknownst to patients and staff — where some easily are finding their next victims. A bill set to be introduced...
Slippery Rock program for students with intellectual disabilities offers Greensburg woman chance to thrive
Lizzie Ammons had fought too hard to let the prospect of college slip from her grasp when word began circulating that Slippery Rock University might shutter its Rock Life program — one of about 300 college programs across the nation for students with intellectual disabilities. Ammons, 21, of Greensburg was...
State lawmakers vow to better protect care home residents from convicted sex offenders
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No central registry in Pennsylvania tracks convicted sex offenders placed in nursing care facilities 
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In Pa., no central registry tracks convicted sex offenders placed in nursing care facilities
When the Tribune-Review began investigating the placement of sex offenders in nursing, personal care and assisted-living homes, it seemed logical to ask some basic questions. • How many sex offenders are living in these facilities in Pennsylvania? • In what facilities are they living? • How many assaults on patients...
State lawmakers vow to better protect care home residents from convicted sex offenders
Pennsylvania lawmakers have vowed action to protect some of the state’s most vulnerable residents by changing the system that has sent convicted sex offenders to nursing, personal care and assisted-living homes where some have found their next victims. Their promises come after learning the results of a Tribune-Review investigation showing...
Ligonier man's Christmas story takes on new life
Carl Smith was a young father, worried about disappointing his children 50 years ago when he spun a Christmas tale that became a family tradition. At the time, he had no idea the tale would take on a life of its own, going so far as to be featured in...


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