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New $5 million grant expands access to geriatric care for seniors in eastern Pennsylvania

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New  million grant expands access to geriatric care for seniors in eastern Pennsylvania


Adults over 65 and their families in eastern Pennsylvania will have greater access to geriatric care thanks to a $5 million Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) grant from the federal Health Resources & Services Administration. The program, led by Lisa M.Walke, MD, Chief of the division of Geriatric Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, will train primary care providers in aging-related medicine, and educate older adults and their caregivers on topics relevant to health and aging.

The program, called Advancing Geriatrics Education with Strategic, Multi-dimensional, Age-friendly Resources and Training (AGE SMART), aims to provide education that will improve care for the expanding population of older adults. By 2030, 20 percent of the United States population will be age 65 or older. The state of Pennsylvania is already pacing ahead of the national average, with over 19 percent of the population over 65 as of 2020. Nationwide, there are currently 52.4 million older adults, but only about 7,100 geriatricians who focus on older adult care..

We’re planning for a massive population shift and proactively training primary care providers to incorporate geriatric medicine into their practice organically, to make sure the needs of that population are met. We also hope that by directly educating individuals and their caregivers, we can arm them with the information they need to prepare for how normal aging might impact their health, as well as warning signs for disease to discuss with their providers.”

Lisa M.Walke, MD, Chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

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Beyond primary care: Training to care for aging adults

Many older adults have a primary care physician they know and trust, but as they age, a provider trained in geriatric medicine may be a better fit to coordinate care for complicated conditions, like cognitive decline or osteoporosis.

“Geriatricians take a ‘whole body’ approach. A geriatrician will discuss what is important to individuals and their lifestyle. We can have a diagnosis and a plan, but if it doesn’t fit with how a patient wants to live, it’s not going to be successful,” said Walke.

The AGE SMART program has three arms: provider training, trainee education, and community education. The training arm will educate existing providers across health care specialties, from primary care providers to pharmacists to social workers on common conditions and complications that arise as individuals age, as well as provide guidance on appropriate care.

The training will also incorporate more geriatric medicine into medical education at all levels for students, residents, and fellows, so that they can better care for older adults as they enter the workforce.

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The community education arm of the program will capitalize on Penn Medicine’s existing relationships with organizations across eastern Pennsylvania, from Lancaster to Scranton to Philadelphia. AGE SMART will feature events partnering with the Philadelphia Free Library and advanced care facilities to deliver programming on topics like cognitive assessments, guardianship, avoiding financial exploitation, and promoting vaccinations for common conditions.

“Penn Medicine has excellent providers and resources for older adults, and by leveraging our strong relationships throughout Pennsylvania, we can share this expertise with more people and build a more knowledgeable population that can age better,” Walke said.

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University of Pennsylvania



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Pennsylvania

Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks

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Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks


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A new report from U-Haul shows where Pennsylvania residents are leaving to and where new residents are coming from in 2025. Here’s what to know about U-Haul’s top 10 states with the most and least growth numbers.

Eight warm weather states made U-Haul’s top 10 growth list for 2025, while eight states in the colder Northeast and Midwest filled out the bottom 10, including Pennsylvania and neighboring New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Delaware ranked 21 out of 50 states in growth for 2025.

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U-Haul also noted besides geography, that seven of the 10 states with the most growth featured Republican governors, nine of which went red in the last presidential election, and 9 out of 10 in the bottom growth states featured Democrat governors, seven of which went blue in the last presidential election.

“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president in press release. Adding, “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”

U-Haul ranks states growth based on their one-way customer transactions that rented trucks, trailers or moving containers in one state and dropped it off in another state. Their growth index included over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the United States and Canada.

Texas holds the number one U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in the last 10 years while California ranked last for the sixth year in a how.

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Pennsylvania’s growth rank for 2025 remained at a low 46 out of 50 states, same as 2024, and compared relatively similar to its growth numbers over the last 10 years, according to U-Haul’s data, with the exception during 2022-2023 when its highest growth numbers hit 24 out of 50 in 2022 and 38 out of 50 in 2023.

Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana and Montana were among the biggest year-over-year gainers in 2025 compared to U-Haul’s 2024 rankings, while Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Delaware and Nebraska saw the biggest drops.

While the national average rent in the U.S. sits at approximately $1,623 per month (0.4% higher than this time last year) the Keystone State boasts a lower rent average at approximately $1,526 per month (1.9% higher than last year), according to Apartments.com. It is ranked 34th least expensive rent by state.

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Here’s what to know about Pennsylvania and what states saw the most and least growth in 2025 according to U-Haul.

Top 10 U-Haul growth states of 2025

In 2025 Pennsylvania ranked 46 out of 50 states on growth as reported by U-Haul.

  1. Texas
  2. Florida
  3. North Carolina
  4. Tennessee
  5. South Carolina
  6. Washington
  7. Arizona
  8. Idaho
  9. Alabama
  10. Georgia

U-Haul reported the 10 states with the lowest growth numbers were lead by California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and Michigan.

Where are Pennsylvania residents moving to and from?

According to the company’s semiannual U.S. migration trends report, based on the one-way rental data after the summer’s high moving season, it revealed that while Pennsylvania remains a top destination, Pennsylvanians are also packing up and heading out. Here’s where they moved to:

  • New York
  • Maryland
  • North Carolina
  • Massachusettes
  • Ohio
  • Michigan
  • Florida
  • California
  • Washington D.C.

According to this report, here’s what states new residents came from:

  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Maryland
  • Florida
  • Virginia
  • North Carolina
  • Delaware
  • Massachusetts
  • Ohio
  • Texas
  • West Virginia
  • Michigan



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Snapshot: Pittsburgh’s New Airport Terminal Celebrates Western Pennsylvania’s Identity

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Snapshot: Pittsburgh’s New Airport Terminal Celebrates Western Pennsylvania’s Identity


Designed by Gensler and HDR, in association with Luis Vidal + Architects, the transformed Pittsburgh International Airport Terminal aims to create a more tranquil passenger experience while celebrating Western Pennsylvania’s identity. Completed in November, it is entirely powered by its own microgrid that uses natural gas and solar energy. A skybridge connects the new headhouse—which con- solidates all major airport operations into a single structure—to a modernized terminal concourse. The roof, which consists of staggered peaks that frame clere- story windows, evokes the Allegheny Mountains, while branching columns recall trees. Augmenting the many nods to the region, the team included four verdant terraces fea- turing native plants, which are sustained by rainwater-harvesting systems.



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Pa. provisional ballot rejection rates dropped 11% after envelopes were redesigned

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Pa. provisional ballot rejection rates dropped 11% after envelopes were redesigned


Counties that used a redesigned envelope for their provisional ballots in 2025 saw rejection rates drop by 11.3% when compared to last year, according to Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt.

The new look adopted by 85% of counties indicates which fields are for voters and which are for election workers, and highlights where voters must sign. The drop from 4.96% to 4.4% doesn’t include the nine counties that didn’t use the new design or Chester County, which had a printing error in November that omitted third-party and independent voters from pollbooks.


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The 11.3% figure is adjusted for voter turnout. More than 7 million Pennsylvanians voted in 2024 – which was a presidential election year – compared to 3.6 million in the 2025 off-year election.

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“Our goal remains ensuring every registered voter in our Commonwealth can cast their vote and have it counted in every election,” Schmidt said in a release. “As with the changes to mail ballot materials two years ago, these improvements resulted in more registered voters being able to make their voices heard in November’s election.”

Two years ago, the state conducted a voter education initiative and required counties to preprint the full year of mail ballot return envelopes. Mail ballot instructions and online application materials were also redesigned.

Five counties — Philadelphia, Berks, Butler, Mercer and Greene — worked with the state to craft the new envelopes to be more user friendly for both voters and poll workers.

“The purpose in leading the redesign effort was to reduce errors and have more votes counted, which is exactly what we achieved,” said Omar Sabir, the chair of the Philadelphia City Commissioners. “An 11% decrease in ballot rejections shows the real impact that thoughtful design can have on protecting voting rights across Pennsylvania.”

The nine counties opting out of the new design were: Bedford, Bradford, Crawford, Franklin, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Monroe and Wyoming.

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.



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