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MCTA offices to relocate

YOUNGSTOWN – After 16 years at its current location, Mahoning & Columbiana Training Association (MCTA) soon will move to 20 W. Federal St., Suite 604, Youngstown.

The move will necessitate the office being closed all day Monday, Feb. 29.

MCTA is leaving 9 W. Front Street, Youngstown, because the building is being renovated for the Youngstown Municipal Courts. The new location will have more modern space.

MCTA’s phone number-330-747-5639 and fax number 330-743-1741-will not change.

MCTA is the fiscal agent for the federal Workforce Innovation & Opportunities Act funds as well as operator of the OhioMeansJobs Centers of Mahoning and Columbiana counties. With more than 25 years of experience in workforce development, MCTA provides job counseling and assessment and funding for occupational classroom training and on-the-job training to residents of Mahoning and Columbiana counties.

Counseling Center awarded accreditation

LISBON – CARF International has announced The Counseling Center of Columbiana County has been accredited for a period of three years for 16 of its numerous programs that provide mental health and alcohol and other drugs/addiction services for adults, children and adolescents.

The latest accreditation is the ninth consecutive three-year accreditation that the international accrediting body, CARF, has awarded to The Counseling Center.

This accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving such an accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.

The Counseling Center, incorporated in 1963, is a private, not-for-profit organization providing a full range of services for the entire county, including psychiatric, counseling, crisis and community support services, as well as housing, vocational, and homeless outreach programs. These high quality full-spectrum mental health and substance abuse services are offered by the Center?s caring professionals to community members of all ages – children, youth, adults, and seniors.

CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966 as the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and now known as CARF International, the accrediting body establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

Mixed results in W.Va. hospital rankings

WHEELING- A new report from the West Virginia Hospital Association shows mixed results for Northern Panhandle hospitals in terms of value, readmissions reduction and hospital-acquired condition reduction.

Locally, Ohio Valley Medical Center’s rankings improved in two of the report’s categories, while Wheeling Hospital’s ratings declined in all three categories.

Officials at OVMC say they are pleased with the facility’s improvement. “It shows how much we’ve improved in this amount of time. We’ve worked so hard for it. It made me smile,” said Staci Trudo, vice president and chief quality officer.

At Wheeling Hospital, Heidi Porter, director of quality management, said, “We are a destination hospital, the area’s tertiary center, where the sickest of the sick come for the most advanced medical care. We provide many high-risk procedures others do not, such as open heart surgery and interventional cardiac catheterizations for these patients.

“It is therefore understandable our situation greatly differs from those hospitals ranked higher on the list that do not treat these types of cases. To that point, notice the largest and most advanced hospitals are lower on the list because they care for these types of complex patients.”

According to the report, three Northern Panhandle hospitals’ rankings for value based purchasing improved for 2016, while two area facilities’ rankings declined among 27 West Virginia hospitals studied.

In an Affordable Care Act measurement, “value” takes into account factors such as quality, patient experience and cost of care. The ratings are used by the Medicare system to measure quality and assess penalties on reimbursement.

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Attorney named to State commission

EAST LIVERPOOL-East Liverpool attorney Joe Ludovici, of the firm Aronson, Fineman & Davis Co., LPA, has been appointed to the Ohio State Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Candidates.

The commission, made up of 21 attorneys throughout Ohio, investigates and interviews all candidates seeking election to the Supreme Court of Ohio. It then releases a report, available to the public, on the qualifications of the candidates.

Digital newspapers available at Lepper Library

LISBON – The Lepper Library has added several years of digital newspapers which now are available on its website (www.lepperlibrary.org).

The digital collection now includes the Buckeye State (1901-04), Evening Journal (1928-33 and 1946-74) and the Morning Journal (1975-80 and 2000-12).

These newspapers are available with full text and images. They also are searchable, and are accessible anywhere the Internet is avaliable. From the homepage of the website, go to the tab “Digital Materials.”

Those with questions, may call the library at 330-424-3117.

CMHA?receives clean audit report

COLUMBUS – The Columbiana County Metropolitan Housing Authority has received the Auditor of State Award for its clean audit report.

The Auditor of State Award is presented to local governments and school districts upon the completion of a financial audit. Entities that receive the award meet the following criteria of a “clean” audit report:

* The entity must file timely financial reports with the Auditor of State’s office in accordance with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles);

* The audit report does not contain any findings for recovery, material citations, material weaknesses, significant deficiencies, Single Audit findings or questioned costs;

* The entity’s management letter contains no comments related to: Ethics referrals; Questioned costs less than $10,000; Lack of timely report submission; Reconciliation; Failure to obtain a timely Single Audit; Findings for recovery less than $100; Public meetings or public records

* No other financial or other concerns exist that involve eligible entity.

A full copy of each report is available online (www.ohioauditor.gov).

Others receiving the award include Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center (Gallia County), Mahoning Unlimited Classroom (Mahoning County), Piqua City School District (Miami County), Scioto County Career Technical Center, and Youngstown Community School (Mahoning County).

HEAP, Winter Energy Assistance available

LISBON – The Community Action Agency of Columbiana County (CAA) is taking applications for Emergency HEAP and Winter Crisis Program until March 31 at the Lisbon office, 7860 Lincole Place (rear).

Appointments can only be made by calling the automated scheduling system at 330-424-1386. Homebound and ages 62-older may call 330-424-4013 for appointment assistance.

A limited number of walk-ins will be seen daily starting at 8 a.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis. Scheduled appointments begin at 9.

Applications for State HEAP can be completed through May 31, 2016. Applications are available at post offices, libraries, and utility companies throughout Columbiana County. These applications must be mailed directly to the address listed on the application. For more information on State HEAP, call 1-800-282-0880.

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