Pennsylvania

Yes, central Pennsylvania has a lot of hospitals right near one another. But is that a problem?

Published

1 year ago

July 17, 2024

Yes, central Pennsylvania has a lot of hospitals right near one another. But is that a problem?

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — As recently as 2019, describing the physical footprints of hospital systems in central Pennsylvania — based on where their 24/7 hospitals with emergency rooms was, anyway — was easy.

Penn State had the biggest hospital of all but (including its children’s hospital) just one hospital location: Hershey. Western Dauphin County and the West Shore, including pretty much all of Cumberland County, belonged to UPMC. Central Lancaster was Penn Medicine’s. Almost everywhere else belonged to WellSpan:

But then UPMC, in its first major move since entering the region through its aquisition of the Pinnacle system, built a hospital in York (UPMC Memorial) to compete head-to-head against WellSpan York Hospital. Penn State bought Holy Spirit in Camp Hill from Geisinger and built a new hospital (Penn State Health Hampden) in the Enola area and Penn State Health Lancaster, encroaching — at least from a standpoint of big physical hospitals — on the territories, respectively, of UPMC and Penn Medicine:

Or is that what it did? Not from Penn State’s perspective.

“Our Hershey Medical Center hospital was always full,” said Dr. Robert Harbaugh, a senior vice-president with the system. So “we could either build more buildings on this campus, or we could say, ‘Well, you know, maybe we should go to where our patients come from instead of always asking our patients to come to Hershey.’”

In other words, Harbaugh says Penn State finally built hospitals in areas it always considered within its footprint.

David Gibbons, senior vice-president of UPMC Health Services Division and regional market president for UPMC in Central Pennsylvania, says the system’s foray into York with a full-service hospital — complementing its Harrisburg, West Shore (Enola area), Carlisle and Community Osteopathic (Lower Paxton Township) — worked well.

“We have a number of initiatives that we’re reviewing right now for continued expansion at that campus alone,” Gibbons said. “So it really has been a tremendous story of success and growth.”

WellSpan, meanwhile, is building three new “microhospitals” in Newberry, Shrewsbury and Carlisle.

Penn State Hampden’s 110 new beds are just a mile from UPMC West Shore’s 166 beds.

Many of the new hospital beds are — like those at Hampden and West Shore — in Cumberland County, which some years is the fastest-growing county in the state. Still, Harbaugh knows the criticism: “You can look at metrics that say: ‘This area is over bedded; there are too many beds.’”

Gibbons is even more direct: “We do have an excess of hospital beds in this region.” (For its part, WellSpan said in a statement, “Our hospitals operate at full capacity on a regular basis.”)

But if central Pennsylvania has too many hospital beds, for whom is that a problem? For the hospital systems, perhaps, which absorb the costs of unoccupied beds — but not for system patient or employees, according to several studies, including a working paper published in June by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The paper found in less competitive regions, healthcare costs rise and health employment falls after systems merge, and salaries decline for the jobs that remain.

The 11 counties of abc27’s viewing area — Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry and York — are served by six different hospital systems (ranked here in order of revenue for the full systems, including, for some, large parts outside central Pennsylvania, according to figures from the industry newsletter Hospitalology and other abc27 News research): UPMC ($27.7 billion), Penn Medicine ($10 billion), Geisinger ($7.7 billion), Penn State Health ($3.8 billion), WellSpan Health ($3.7 billion) and Fulton County Medical Center ($120 million).

Not all compete directly — few customers find themselves choosing geographically between Geisinger, Fulton County and Penn Medicine. Still, those are a lot of players compared to some regions with similar population sizes — a highly competitive market, both Harbaugh and Gibbons said.

Although these figures include the systems’ operations in all markets, the highly competitive central Pennsylvania market could partly explain the operating losses for both systems in their most recent fiscal years, according to Hospitalology figures — among all six systems with hospitals in the region, only Penn Medicine and WellSpan eked out operating profits.

But Gibbons said the competition that challenges the systems is great for consumers.

“Competition in health care is very, very good. It drives innovation. It drives new models of care. It drives competition to create greater access and convenience,” he said. “But the most imporant is that it drives the overall improvement in the quality of care.”

The Federal Trade Commission has generally accepted that argument and used the same logic to block mergers in other markets that could have resulted in less competition.

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Pennsylvania

Nancy Elizabeth (Mast) Yoder, Greenville, PA

Published

5 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Nancy Elizabeth (Mast) Yoder, Greenville, PA

GREENVILLE, Pa. (MyValleyTributes) – Nancy Elizabeth (Mast) Yoder, age 58, of Greenville, Pennsylvania, went home to be with the Lord on Friday evening, December 19th, 2025, at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadyside Hospital following an extended illness.

Born in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Nancy was the daughter of the late Enos D. Mast and Elizabeth J. (Hostetler) Mast. She was a faithful member of Harmony Mennonite Church in Kinsman, Ohio, where her quiet spirit and devotion were well known and deeply appreciated.

Nancy treasured time spent visiting with family and friends and dearly loved her pets. She found joy in crafts and crocheting, often creating items that reflected her care and thoughtfulness for others.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Lavina Yoder and a nephew, Kenneth Michael Yoder.

She is survived by her loving husband of 31 years, Ammon Ray Yoder; six children, Elizabeth Ann Yoder of Garrison, New York, Enos Daniel Yoder of Dover, Ohio, Mollie Sue (Gideon) Hertzler of Salisbury, Pennsylvania and Christopher Andrew, Joseph Eli and David Abraham Yoder, all of Greenville, Pennsylvania. She is also survived by three great-grandchildren, Karla Faye Yoder, Rosann, and Dorothy Hertzler.

Additional survivors include three sisters, Mollie (Floyd) Yoder, Clara (Albert) Yoder and Ada (Mervin) Yoder; two brothers, Joseph (Laura) Mast and Jacob (Erma) Mast, a brother-in-law, David Yoder; along with many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends who will cherish her memory.

Funeral services will be conducted on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. in Harmony Mennonite Church, 6123 Youngstown Conneaut Rd., Kinsman, Ohio 44428, with Speaker Sylvan Yoder officiating.

Calling hours will be held on Monday, December 22nd, 2025, at the church from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Burial will take place in State Line Amish Cemetery in Greenville, Pennsylvania.

Arrangements entrusted to Baumgardner Funeral & Cremation Service.

Nancy will be remembered for her faith, her gentle kindness, and her deep love for family.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Nancy, please visit our floral store.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball, Pick 2 Day results for Dec. 20, 2025

Published

17 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

04-05-28-52-69, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-2, Wild: 2

Evening: 5-3, Wild: 9

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 2-0-0, Wild: 2

Evening: 4-6-7, Wild: 9

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 6-6-7-9, Wild: 2

Evening: 1-1-7-1, Wild: 9

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

Day: 9-9-1-2-6, Wild: 2

Evening: 8-1-9-3-5, Wild: 9

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

14-24-26-42-45, Cash Ball: 04

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-07-08-37-38

Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

03-06-08-16-18

Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

10-13-22-31-35-45

Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 20 drawing

05-08-19-23-43, Powerball: 06

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Sign the Ticket: Ensure your ticket has your signature, name, address and phone number on the back.
Prizes up to $600: Claim at any PA Lottery retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes from $600 to $2,500: Use a Claim Form to claim at a retailer or by mail: Pennsylvania Lottery, ATTN: CLAIMS, PO BOX 8671, Harrisburg, PA 17105.
Prizes over $2,500: Mail your signed ticket with a Claim Form or in person at a Lottery Area Office (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.).

Lottery Headquarters is currently not open to the public. Visit the PA Lottery website for other office locations near you.

When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: 1:35 p.m. and 6:59 p.m. daily.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. daily.
Treasure Hunt: 1:35 p.m. daily.
Match 6 Lotto: 6:59 p.m. Monday and Thursday.
Powerball Double Play: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Pennsylvania editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins $1 million as jackpot grows to $1.5 billion

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Pennsylvania Powerball lottery ticket wins million as jackpot grows to .5 billion

article

FILE – Powerball logo displayed on a phone screen and coins are seen in this illustration photo.

PHILADELPHIA – A Powerball ticket sold in Pennsylvania matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning $1 million, according to lottery officials.

What we know:

The Pennsylvania ticket was one of several nationwide that matched all five white balls. The ticket did not include the Power Play multiplier.

Because no one matched all six numbers, the Powerball jackpot continues to climb. The next drawing will feature an estimated $1.5 billion jackpot, with a cash option of $689.3 million.

Winning numbers (Dec. 17, 2025)