Greensburg, PA:  Setting New Year’s resolutions for the office is easier said than done.  Once clients start calling and deadlines loom, those wishful goals soon get lost in the daily grind of completing the tasks at hand.  Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS), is now making it easy for small businesses to set, track and achieve professional goals. Teaming with the goal-setting experts at stickK.com, Staples is launching the Staples stickK to It! Business Challenge, a unique program to help small businesses prioritize and achieve their objectives for the New Year. Whether it’s one simple goal like organizing a desk or tackling larger challenges such as overhauling a business plan, Staples encourages professionals to sign up for the Staples stickK to It! Business Challenge to commit to improving their businesses today. 

The goals small businesses set in 2010, and their success in achieving them, are crucial to the nation’s economic recovery. According to the 4th Annual Staples National Small Business Survey, more than 80 percent of small-business owners admit they don’t monitor their goal-setting or enlist the proper “coaches” and advisors to help them achieve their goals. As the economy turns around in 2010, small businesses will be eager to return to growth and jumpstart projects put on hold during the recession. Staples wants to make it easy for them to prioritize their objectives, and with the Staples stickK to it! Business Challenge, Staples is setting its own goal of changing the lives of one million small businesses by giving them a platform for success.

How It Works
Now - April 12, small-business professionals will be able to log on to www.staples.com/goals to sign-up for free to be part of the Staples stickK to It! Business Challenge. To help achieve goals, users create a Commitment Contract, a promise by a user to reach a goal. The Commitment Contract concept, based on incentives and accountability, was invented by stickK.com after years of research in behavioral economics.
 
“We’ve found that everyone starts off wanting to achieve their goal, but most of the time there is nothing out there to make them stickK to their word,” said Ian Ayers, co-founder of stickK.com. “By entering into a commitment contract, backing out becomes harder – ‘commitment’ and ‘contract’ are two words that resonate with people and keep them committed to achieving their goals.”

Participants choose from five different goal setting focus areas on www.staples.com/goals: 1) Get Organized/Increase Productivity; 2) Professional  Development; 3) Maximize Your Bottom Line; 4) Green Your Office; and 5) Improve Working Environment. Once they select a focus area, participants select specific commitments and personalize them to best fit their needs and objectives. Next, they choose someone to be their referee- a colleague or friend who will monitor their progress and support them along the way. Then, users will start earning EasyPoints as they make progress and report on their goals and can then redeem the EasyPoints for Staples products and services. The last step is achieving success.  If users follow the Commitment Contract framework, as the stickK.com model has found, they will be well on their way to accomplishing their goals. 

About Staples
Staples, the world’s largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including office supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. With 2008 sales of $23 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide, Staples serves businesses of all sizes and consumers in 27 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. In July 2008, Staples acquired Corporate Express, one of the world’s leading suppliers of office products to businesses and institutions. Staples invented the office superstore concept in 1986 and is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) is available at www.staples.com.

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Greensburg, PA:  The Gay-Straight Alliance at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will present Eve Ensler's award-winning play, "The Vagina Monologues," at 7:30 p.m. February 12, 13, and 14 in the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center. Admission is $5 for the general public and $3 for students with identification.
 
This is the fourth year that Pitt-Greensburg students have initiated, produced, directed, and performed the play, which is staged to raise awareness and funds for local organizations working to end violence against women and girls and to support the V-Day movement.  V-Day is the global movement to end violence against women and girls. This year's spotlight charity is highlighting women in conflict zones. Pitt-Greensburg students will also initiate additional fundraising activities the week of the show.
 
All proceeds from the show are given to charity. Ninety percent of the proceeds will go to the Blackburn Center Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, located in Greensburg. Ten percent will help the national project.
 
For more information, contact Sheila Confer at 724-836-9905.

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Greensburg, PA:  The Visual Arts Society at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will present five films during the Spring 2010 term.  Each film will be presented in the Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center at 5:30 p.m. After each viewing, a discussion and Q&A session will be held. These screenings are open to the public at no charge. The films and dates are as follows.

February 25 - The Rape of Europa: This film "takes the audience on a journey through seven countries telling a story of greed and warfare that threatened the artistic heritage of Europe. For 12 years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art. Young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back, mounting a campaign to rescue and return countless art works displaced by the war. Joan Allen narrates this chronicle about the battle over centuries of western culture." -imdb.com

March 18 - Gladiator:  "Victorious general Maximus Decimus Meridias has been named keeper of Rome and its empire by dying emperor Marcus Aurelius, so that rule might pass from the Caesars back to the people and Senate. Marcus'
neglected and power-hungry son, Commodus, has other ideas, however. Escaping an ordered execution, Maximus hurries back to his home in Spain, too late to save his wife and son from the same order. Taken into slavery and trained as a gladiator by Proximo, Maximus lives only that he might someday take his revenge and fulfill the dying wish of his emperor. The time soon comes when Proximo's troupe is called to Rome to participate in a marathon of gladiator games held at the behest of the new emperor, Commodus. Once in Rome, Maximus wastes no time in making his presence known, and is soon involved in a plot to overthrow the emperor with his former-love Lucilla, Commodus' sister, after whom he lusts, and also the widowed mother of Lucius, heir to the empire after his uncle, and democratic-minded senator, Gracchus." -imdb.com

April 1 - L'Age d'or:  "Iconoclastic director Luis Bunuel trumpets his trademark critiques of religion and bourgeoisie society in this surrealistic, 1930 film-which retains the power to shock its audience. As a nameless man and woman (portrayed by Gaston Modot and Lya Lys, respectively) attempt to consummate their sexual desire, the forces of righteousness continually thwart their passion. Artist Salvador Dali penned the provocative script." -Netflix

April 8 - Our City Dreams: "Filmed over the course of two years, Our City Dreams is the story of a woman's struggles and successes as an artist in New York City. Told through five women artists, from youngest to oldest, the film features Swoon, Ghada Amer, Kiki Smith, Marina Abramovic, and Nancy Spero. From the studio to the streets of New York, from the canals of Venice to the alleys of Cairo and the beaches of Phuket, Our City Dreams takes us deep into the artists' worlds." -imdb.com

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Greensburg, PA:  Excela Health will consolidate inpatient services at Westmoreland Hospital because of declining admissions at its Jeannette campus.  The transition will be complete by March 15 at which time outpatient diagnostic and imaging services will become a primary focus at the Jeannette campus.  These services complement the previously announced conversion of Jeannette’s emergency department to a full service urgent care center. 

Licensed for 113 beds, the Jeannette campus has had an average census of less than 20 and average daily admissions below four. The consolidation to Westmoreland’s main campus in Greensburg will be possible because of ongoing construction which will add 60 acute care beds by this spring. 

In making the announcement, hospital president Ron Ott said the health system is continuing to adapt to demonstrated patient need and service utilization.  “We have seen a steady decline in admissions at Jeannette, with patients and physicians choosing services at our other campuses,” Ott said. “Knowing Excela Health is meeting community need is gratifying, but we are disappointed that the fixed costs associated with operating an inpatient facility round-the-clock continue to outpace the revenue necessary to sustain that level of service.”

“The ongoing shortage of physician specialists and their availability to support two emergency departments less than 4 miles apart has contributed to the consolidation of services at Westmoreland,” said Carol Fox, MD, Excela’s interim chief medical officer.  “With 90 percent of all Jeannette admissions currently coming through the emergency department, we expect the decline in daily census to accelerate once emergency care is available solely at the Greensburg campus.”

“Consolidating inpatient services reduces the stress placed on our medical staff already challenged to do more when they themselves are a limited resource,” added Ott.  “It makes sense to bring our clinical and support staff together where they can function effectively to deliver high-quality patient-centered care to those who require a hospital stay.”

Staffing will be adjusted as the transition progresses. Westmoreland Hospital employs nearly 2,000 between Greensburg and Jeannette, with staff assigned where they are needed.

“Given the employee movement that will naturally occur between now and March 15 we expect job loss to be minimized,” added Ott.

Dr. Fox said patients who are admitted to Westmoreland Hospital in the coming weeks can expect no disruption in service. “We will be working with our physicians who currently admit to Jeannette to ensure there is continuity of care and reacquainting them with the many services still available on that campus.”

Excela Health continues to see a shift in service delivery that mirrors national trends. Last year, Excela logged 32,000 inpatient admissions across its four campuses. At the same time, 675,000 outpatient visits occurred throughout the system.

“Patients are using outpatient centers for many health care services, including surgery, diagnostic testing and imaging,” noted Ott.

Westmoreland’s outpatient center in Norwin Medical Commons offers surgery, therapy, cardiac rehabilitation and sports medicine in addition to diagnostic testing.   At Jeannette, patients and ordering physicians will continue to have same day service for most diagnostic testing, including laboratory, X-ray, ultrasound, MRI, CT and cardiac diagnostics. 

These diagnostic services will support Excela’s newest urgent care center.  One of several in the health system, the Jeannette QuikCare  will offer a valuable customer service alternative for conditions that are not true medical emergencies, saving patients time and money over emergency department visits when the health needs are for non-emergent care.

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Greensburg, PA:  The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will hold an Open House for prospective students and their families on Saturday, February 13. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. and lasts approximately three hours.

Registration is required and is available online at www.greensburg.pitt.edu or by calling 724-836-9880. Participating students will receive a $45 application fee waiver to Pitt-Greensburg. Attendees will participate in an admissions presentation, a walking tour of campus, a financial aid information session, and a question-and-answer session with current students.

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