Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania lawmakers question secrecy around how abuse or neglect of older adults is investigated – Metro Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Yardley, Pa., Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
AP Photo/Matt Rourke
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
Pennsylvania lawmakers want Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of Aging to disclose more about the shortcomings it finds when it evaluates whether county-level agencies are properly investigating complaints about the abuse or neglect of older adults.
The effort comes as Republican state lawmakers have pressed Shapiro’s administration to do more to investigate the deaths of older adults who are the subject of an abuse or neglect complaint after Pennsylvania recorded a steep increase in such deaths.
Rep. Louis Schmitt, R-Blair, introduced legislation Wednesday requiring the department to publish the compliance status of each of the 52 county-level agencies that it’s supposed to inspect annually, and to publish a report on the findings.
“The public needs to know. The public deserves to know. The public has a right to know,” Schmitt said in an interview. “You cannot hide if you’re going to conduct public business, especially public business that affects the health and safety and welfare of seniors in Pennsylvania.”
The department told lawmakers earlier this year that it had deemed seven of the agencies to be noncompliant. The year before that, 13 were noncompliant when lawmakers asked.
In a statement, the Department of Aging said it looked forward to working with Schmitt. The department said it expects to introduce a new performance evaluation process beginning in June and will post results on its website.
The department has recently declined requests by The Associated Press for two sets of documents: one in which the department outlines to county-level agencies the shortcomings it found and another in which the county-level agency must explain how it will fix those shortcomings. The department, under Shapiro’s predecessor, former Gov. Tom Wolf, had provided such documents unredacted to the AP.
Those refusals come after a January evaluation of Philadelphia’s agency found that its protective services bureau had improperly handled 16 — or one-third — of 50 closed cases that were picked at random for the review.
The details of complaints, investigations and the identity of the person whose situation is in question are kept secret.
The Philadelphia Corporation For Aging declined to comment. A letter the department sent to the agency didn’t describe the problems or how the agency planned to fix them.
Asked about the fate of the 16 adults, the department said none of their cases “required a referral to law enforcement or a report to the coroner’s office.”
The department also said it is taking steps to help the Philadelphia agency, including by encouraging the agency to seek out a broader pool of applicants for caseworkers and supervisory staff and expanding training.
The department has contracts with 52 county-level “area agencies for aging” — nicknamed triple As — across Pennsylvania to field and investigate abuse and neglect complaints and, ultimately, ensure the older adult is safe and connected to the appropriate social services. Some are county-run and some are privately run.
Sheri McQuown, a protective services specialist who left the Department of Aging last year after almost seven years, said there is no reason the department cannot publish the findings from its evaluations and the local agencies’ corrective action plans.
“The public should know what they’re paying for, what they’re getting for their money, and older adults should know which triple As are effective and which are not,” McQuown said.
How the Philadelphia agency handles complaints has stoked repeated concerns. At one point, the state stepped in to handle investigations.
McQuown questioned whether the Department of Aging has the spine to hold the county-level agencies accountable. High numbers of deficiencies has long been the norm for Philadelphia and some other agencies, she said.
The county-level agencies do not always comply with state requirements that limit caseworkers’ caseloads, set deadlines to resolve cases and set timelines within which caseworkers must promptly see potential victims.
The agencies also decide which complaints to investigate, and state data has long shown disparities between the agencies in how often they deemed a complaint to be worthy of action.
The Pennsylvania Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Friday, Dec. 27, 2024 results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
03-07-37-49-55, Mega Ball: 06, Megaplier: 3
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
Day: 8-8, Wild: 8
Evening: 7-7, Wild: 7
Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
Day: 6-6-2, Wild: 8
Evening: 6-8-3, Wild: 7
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
Day: 9-3-6-5, Wild: 8
Evening: 8-3-8-7, Wild: 7
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
Day: 5-5-9-7-3, Wild: 8
Evening: 3-3-5-6-5, Wild: 7
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
10-11-21-28-51, Cash Ball: 04
Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
03-04-24-27-42
Check Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Treasure Hunt numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
06-10-11-19-24
Check Treasure Hunt payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Match 6 Lotto numbers from Dec. 27 drawing
04-06-26-27-29-38
Check Match 6 Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
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.
Model, actress and humanitarian Dayle Haddon died Friday after what police believe was a carbon monoxide leak at a Bucks County, Pennsylvania, home.
Police from Solebury Township in Bucks County, which is in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, began investigating a property at 6:30 a.m. Friday, after a resident called 911 to report a 76-year-old man was lying down, passed out on the first floor of a detached “in-law” suite.
The man was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, according to the police report. His condition was not immediately available. A second victim, a 76-year-old woman, was found dead in the detached suite’s second-floor bedroom.
Eliot Gross, the deputy coroner of Bucks County, confirmed to USA TODAY that the female victim was Haddon. Toxicology reports to determine the cause of death are expected on Saturday, according to Gross.
Volunteer firefighters on the scene detected a “high level of carbon monoxide” in the property, according to the police report. Two medics were transferred to the hospital for carbon monoxide exposure, and one was treated on the scene.
CBS News reported that the home is owned by Haddon’s daughter, former journalist Ryan Haddon, and Ryan’s husband, the actor Marc Blucas.
The Canadian-born Haddon was one of the top models in the 1970s, posing on the cover of the 1973 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Haddon starred in the 1973 Disney movie “The World’s Greatest Athlete” and in Hollywood films such as 1979’s football satire “North Dallas Forty” along with Nick Nolte.
Haddon worked as L’Oréal spokesperson and was the author of “Ageless Beauty: A Woman’s Guide to Lifelong Beauty and Well-Being.”
Haddon traveled the world as an ambassador for the humanitarian aid organization UNICEF. She is also the founder of WomenOne, a charity focused on creating educational opportunities for girls and women, according to her website.
Pennsylvania
BioNTech settles with U.S. agency, University of Pennsylvania over Covid vaccine royalties
Vials containing the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are displayed before being used at a mobile vaccine clinic, in Valparaiso, Chile, January 3, 2022.
Rodrigo Garrido | Reuters
BioNTech has entered into two separate settlement agreements with the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the University of Pennsylvania over the payment of royalties related to its COVID-19 vaccine, the company said in filings.
The German company, which partners with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer for its COVID-19 vaccine, said on Friday it would pay $791.5 million to the U.S. agency to resolve a default notice.
Separately, the company will pay $467 million to the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), which has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the vaccine maker accusing it of underpaying royalties.
BioNTech said partner Pfizer will reimburse it for up to $170 million of the royalties payable to Penn and $364.5 million of the royalties paid to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)for 2020-2023 vaccine sales.
NIH and Penn did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. government is owed royalty payments under the terms of the license BioNTech has taken for certain patents owned by the NIH, among other entities.
Penn’s lawsuit had said BioNTech owes the school a greater share of its worldwide vaccine sales for using “foundational” messenger RNA (mRNA) inventions developed by Penn professors and Nobel Prize winners Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman.
The company also amended its license agreements with both NIH and Penn, agreeing to pay a low single-digit percentage of its vaccine net sales to both the entities.
Both settlements include a framework for a license to use NIH and Penn’s patents in combination products.
The agreements do not constitute an admission of liability in either case, the company said.
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