Concise reports on what’s happening around Chester County. This morning:

Chester County’s Chief of Detectives to Retire

Chester County’s DA, Thomas Hogan, has announced that the longest serving member of the district attorney’s office, James Vito, has decided to retire from the Chief of County Detectives post at the end of the year, after eight very successful years.

Vito, a native of West Chester, has over three decades of experience after his law enforcement career started in 1976, when he joined the West Goshen PD. Three years later he moved to the county detectives, where he has worked under numerous District Attorneys, including Joseph Carroll and Tom Hogan. Carroll promoted Vito to the Chief’s position, which he retained after Hogan took office.

“Chief Vito has served with rock-ribbed integrity and great distinction for the past 35 years,” stated Hogan. “Chester County law enforcement will miss his calm demeanor and work ethic. He has been an outstanding chief and a credit to Chester County.”

Value-Based Initiatives Announced by Genesis HealthCare

Genesis HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest providers of post-acute care with over 500 skilled nursing facilities, has announced that it plans to take part in two Medicare initiatives: Bundled Payments for Care Improvement and the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

Also, following the recently proposed Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement mandatory episodic model, the company is looking for ways to work with acute care providers in the affected markets.  

Involvement in these initiatives shows a shift in Genesis’ approach to value-based care and commitment to incentives, which are crucial to obtaining better quality outcomes through improved healthcare efficiency.

“Participation in value-based delivery models expands our knowledge base and skill sets, drives closer collaboration with our partners in both the public and private sectors in better models of care,” commented George V. Hager, Jr., Genesis HealthCare’s Chief Executive Officer. This “is driving us to become a more data and outcomes driven organization.”  

CCCBSA to Honor Stephen S. Aichele

Joe Rubino, the Chairmen of the 2016 Distinguished Citizen Award Selections Committee, announced on Thursday, that the Chester County Council, Boy Scouts of America will honor Stephen S. Aichele, a Partner at Saul Ewing, as its 2016 Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

Achiele, a highly regarded Pennsylvania attorney, left Saul Ewing in 2011 for public service as General Counsel and later Chief of Staff during Governor Corbett’s administration, before returning to Saul Ewing in 2013.

The DCAD dinner, honoring Achiele will be held on May 12, 2016 at the Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Malvern.

To obtain tickets for the dinner, sponsor a table, or place a tribute ad in the program book, email Christen Dunn, Christen.Dunn@Scouting.org at the Chester County Boy Scouts office.

New County-Wide Emergency Radio System Introduced to Chester County Schools

Chester County Commissioners together with Chester County Director of Emergency Services met last week with Chester County schools superintendents to brief them on the progress and capabilities of the County’s new emergency radio system.

The installation of the $42.1 million Harris Corporation radio system was completed earlier this year stated the Commissioners during the briefing, adding that the extensive testing of equipment and radio coverage has shown 99.8% portable, on-street coverage county-wide.  This surpasses the guarantee of 97% given by the Harris Corporation.  

The superintendents were also offered the services of a telecom consultant who will test each school’s interior signal strength to make sure all schools have adequate radio coverage both inside and outside.  

“This radio system upgrade is a real investment in the safety of our citizens and our emergency responders, and we’re pleased with the test results for coverage county-wide,” said the Chester County Commissioners’ Chair, Terence Farrell.