Pediatric health provider groups are calling on the Biden administration to declare a national emergency to help them combat the surge of hospitalizations due to respiratory illnesses in children. Seasonal flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other respiratory viruses are hitting young children especially hard this year and the resulting hospitalizations are putting an immense strain on a pediatric health system that is still reeling from COVID-19. The pediatric care organizations argue that significant capacity issues in hospitals can only be solved by a federal emergency declaration from the Biden Administration — like the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. An emergency declaration would allow for more telehealth flexibilities and waive certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements that make it difficult for providers to share resources.

The rate of premature birth in the United States is climbing, according to the infant and maternal health nonprofit March of Dimes. On Tuesday, the organization released its annual “report card” on maternal and infant health, which involves a newly updated calculation system. Taking an in-depth look at premature births, the new report found that the US preterm birth rate rose to 10.5% last year, representing an increase of 4% since 2020 and the worst national rate since March of Dimes started tracking this data in 2007, based on its new calculation system.

The pandemic has been hard on everyone, but new research suggests perhaps particularly so on adolescents. There has been a deeply disturbing rise in adolescents presenting to emergency departments with suicidal thoughts has jumped in recent years and was accelerating even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is based on data from 205 hospitals in Illinois. The state’s diverse population means findings are nationally representative, authors explained, writing in the journal Pediatrics.

State regulators are seeking to clarify the professional licensing process for people with criminal backgrounds as part of a larger effort to improve career opportunities for ex-convicts. The proposed rules, scheduled for publication this weekend in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, carry out provisions of a state law passed in 2020. Taken together, the rules would provide greater transparency and clarity to the process, giving applicants a better idea of what past crimes disqualify them for licensure and how they could make their case, according to the Department of State, which oversees professional licensing in Pennsylvania.

The Department of Human Services (DHS), General Services (DGS), and the Pennsylvania State Police announced that Pennsylvanians obtaining a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Criminal History Clearance will receive their results electronically if the clearance does not indicate a criminal history. Under Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services Law, certain professions, volunteers, and prospective foster or adoptive parents are required to obtain clearances in order to work or volunteer with children. Three clearances are required under state law: Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, Pennsylvania State Police Criminal History Clearance, and the FBI Criminal History Clearance. Fingerprints are required to complete the FBI clearance and typically are delivered via mail or directly to the ordering agency. Now, when applicants apply to get fingerprinted through IDEMIA, also known as IdentoGo or MorphoTrust, results will be provided via a secure account. All applicants will still receive a copy of their clearances by mail.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 provided states with additional funding for Medicaid allowing states to keep consumers continuously enrolled through the end of the Public Health Emergency (PHE). In Pennsylvania, Medicaid enrollment has increased by almost 21 percent since March 2020. The Federal Government has committed to giving states a 60-day notice prior to ending the PHE. To date, that notice has not been received. DHS has also provided that the unwinding period following the end of the PHE has been extended from 6 months to a full year. It is anticipated the PHE will be renewed again in January 2023. To help prepare healthcare providers, enrollment assisters, and Medicaid consumers, representatives from the DHS Office of Incomes Maintenance, Medical Assistance Programs, the Office of Long-Term Living and Pennie have provided information on strategies to prepare for the end of the PHE.  DHS has also recorded Medical Assistance and Long-Term Care Renewal Refresher Training. All three are available on DHS’s PHE Website.

A newly divided Congress gives lawmakers in the narrow House GOP majority leeway to block legislation and launch a battery of investigations. House Republicans will also control a key lever in the process for crafting the federal budget and hold crucial leverage in spending fights with the Biden administration. The narrow House majority will present a difficult situation for party leadership, as the speaker will have to keep practicing the entire conference together on key votes. An unexpected death or resignation could fundamentally alter the chamber’s balance of power.

More than a week after Election Day, final results show that Democrats have won control of the Pennsylvania state House for the first time in more than a decade. Three of the General Assembly’s caucuses – Senate GOP and Democrats and the House Democrats – announced their leadership teams for the 2022-23 legislative session on Tuesday. The House Democratic Caucus unanimously re-elected its current leadership team to serve in the 2023-24 legislative session: Rep. Joanna E. McClinton, D- Phila/Delaware, Democratic Leader; Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Phila, Democratic Whip; Rep. Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery, Democratic Chairman, House Appropriations Committee; Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie, Chairman, House Democratic Policy Committee; Rep. Tina Davis, D-Bucks, -Democratic Caucus Secretary; Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, Democratic Caucus Administrator; Rep. Dan Miller, D-Allegheny, Democratic Caucus Chairman. There will be a significant turnover of committee chairs and the impact remains to be seen. Committee chairs play a vital role in the legislative process, and they bring to the job their own styles, policy positions and decisions on whether to move or bottle up bills. On the Senate side, Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, was elected Senate President Pro Tem, becoming the first woman in the state’s history to hold the top spot in the chamber. With Ward’s move, and the departure of Senate Appropriations Committee chair Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, the Senate GOP leadership team was the only one with substantial changes. Sen. Joe Pittman, R-Indiana, will succeed Ward as Senate Majority Leader, while Sen. Scott Martin, R-Lancaster, will replace Browne as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (Authority) Executive Director Brandon Carson announced that the Authority unanimously voted on November 10 to contract with Penn State Extension to develop and update state broadband maps to directly enable the commonwealth to maximize its federal funding allocation for high-speed internet expansion.

“Contracting with Penn State Extension will bring the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority one step closer to meeting its mission to expand broadband services to unserved and underserved areas of the commonwealth,” said Carson. “The services Penn State Extension will provide will help to close the digital divide and allow Pennsylvanians to get connected at home, work, or on the road.”

Through this initiative, Penn State Extension plans to develop and update state broadband maps; evaluate the accuracy of industry-provided Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data to inform the commonwealth challenge process; provide geo-analytics, data analysis, and cost estimating for fiber to the premises to support local data-driven decisions about broadband deployment; and promote digital equity in underserved populations through strategic partnerships. The project is expected to run through June 30, 2023.

Brent Hales, Penn State Extension director and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences, noted that Extension enters this initiative following its successful partnership with the state Public Utility Commission to develop the map that helped Pennsylvania receive $368 million from the FCC’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which is expected to enable 327,000 Pennsylvanians to gain access to high-speed internet.

“Our partnership with the PUC has enabled Penn State Extension to better serve the people and the communities of the commonwealth,” Hales said. “We are gratified to support future investment in Pennsylvania’s broadband infrastructure and look forward to facilitating new opportunities for broadband deployment. I also want to recognize the efforts of our team and their tireless efforts and enthusiasm.”

The broadband initiative will focus on providing publicly accessible and open-source data mapping and analysis tools where stakeholders can visually identify unserved broadband areas. Additionally, the maps will make transparent current FCC broadband data, demographics, and infrastructure data to inform the challenge processes for residents of the commonwealth. Determining the correct number of unserved and underserved households in the commonwealth will be critical to determining the state’s portion of the $42.5 billion available under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for broadband deployment projects through a program called Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD). Rules for the BEAD program call for the funding to be allocated based, in large part, on each state’s percentage of unserved locations, according to updated FCC broadband maps.

Penn State Extension is an educational organization dedicated to delivering science-based information to people, businesses, and communities. Penn State Extension covers 4-H Youth Development; Agronomy and Natural Resources; Animal Systems; Energy, Business, and Community Vitality; Food Safety and Quality; Food, Families, and Health; and Horticulture.

For more information about the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, or the Department of Community and Economic Development, visit the DCED website, and be sure to stay up-to-date with all of our agency news on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.