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Author: Melissa Brown

Xact Metal Announces A New Sales Partnership in North America and A New Powder Handling System

Posted on by Melissa Brown

STATE COLLEGE, PA – June 25, 2024 – Aiming to expand access to affordable metal 3D printing
for small-to-medium-sized companies and decentralize additive manufacturing, today Xact
Metal™ announced its sales and service partnership with Indicate Technologies in North
America and the launch of a new powder handling system.
“At Xact Metal, we’re establishing a new level of price and performance in metal 3D printing by
taking the essential specs of metal additive manufacturing and combining them with
breakthrough technology,” said Juan Mario Gomez, CEO of Xact Metal. “We are pleased to
partner with Indicate Technologies because of their strong team and experience in additive
manufacturing.”
Indicate Technologies provides a strong background in 3D printing through their expansive line
of products, as well as their experience with other tools adjacent to the 3D market, including
sensors and dry electropolishing systems. With a focus on the Western United States and years of
experience handling 3D printers, the Indicate Technologies team will skillfully provide training,
technical support, and maintenance for Xact Metal printers.
“We are excited to begin our partnership with Xact Metal to include a low-cost metal 3D printing
solution in our offering,” said Hoang Van, Director of Additive for Indicate Technologies. “Xact
Metal’s printers can be introduced at a lower initial price and are well suited for existing
industries within manufacturing in the United States.”
Xact Metal also introduced a new powder handling system at Rapid + TCT. The system will stand
separately from the XM200G metal 3D printer and provide the benefit of an improved powder
handling system. Powder containers can be pulled directly from the XM200G and fit onto this
new system for automatic, hands-free sieving. The refreshed powder can then be transferred to
a fresh capsule by opening shut-off valves, resulting in an easier and simpler powder handling
process. The new powder handling system is available for sale now and shipments will
commence in 3Q 2024.

“The new powder handling system eases and speeds up the powder handling process,” said
Gomez, “while maintaining the flexibility of the XM200G printer to support different types of
powders. We are pleased with the solution our team has built and the ability to upgrade existing
systems.”
Xact Metal will be exhibiting at Rapid + TCT in Los Angeles June 25-27, 2024, in booth #1331.
Throughout the show, Xact Metal will be featuring special guests from collaborative projects
including Jason Lopes of Gentle Giant Studios and Zach Beller and Aaron Chow of VIXIV
(formally known as Voxel Technologies). Keep up on Xact Metal’s social channels for more
information.
About Xact Metal
Xact Metal™ is taking the essential specs for metal 3D Printing and combining them with
breakthrough technology to establish a new level of price and performance in additive
manufacturing. With a desire to enable more and more designers, developers, and
manufacturers to experience the benefits of high-quality metal 3D printing at the best price
possible, Xact Metal aims to change the perception that additive manufacturing is only for
capital-rich companies. The company is privately funded and is located in State College,
Pennsylvania. For more information visit: www.xactmetal.com.

Mount Nittany Health partners with IRONMAN 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley to provide medical support services

Posted on by Melissa Brown

State College, Pa. – Mount Nittany Health is proud to partner with the IRONMAN 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley triathlon and provide medical support for the triathlon event on June 30th, 2024. Kevin Wilson, MD, Mount Nittany Health Orthopedics and Sports Medicine will serve as Co-Medical Director for the event, along with Daniel McKinley, MD, MBA, Mount Nittany Health Emergency Medicine and Medical Director Quality and Patient Safety, Mount Nittany Medical Center.

“Endurance events, like the IRONMAN 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley event, require a great deal of preparation,” said Wilson. “These experienced endurance athletes have spent countless hours preparing for the event. Mount Nittany Health’s Sports Medicine Athletic Trainers are prepared to provide front-line care to these athletes throughout the day if they need medical assistance.”

This year’s event will take athletes on their race journey from a 1.2-mile swim in Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir at Bald Eagle State Park, a scenic 56-mile bike ride through the beautiful rolling hills of Centre and Clinton Counties, and a 13.1-mile run on the campus of Penn State, including a finish line experience inside Beaver Stadium.

During the event, Mount Nittany Health will deploy a multidisciplinary sports medicine approach to critical points along the race. Critical care, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and primary care providers from the Mount Nittany Health system will team up with nurses, EMTs, and athletic trainers to support the race and take care of injured athletes.

Mount Nittany Health’s athletic trainers will also host athletic training students and medical students from Penn State to give those students important exposure to endurance athlete injuries.

Kish Bank Hosts 7th Annual Celebration of Community, Honors Area Educators and More

Posted on by Melissa Brown

STATE COLLEGE, PA – June 26, 2024 – Kish Bank hosted its 7th annual Kish Celebrates Community reception Monday evening at the newly opened Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State, where 250 attendees gathered in celebration of community and the heroic efforts of the community organizations, nonprofits, and dedicated volunteers of the Central PA region.

“We are here tonight to share our pride in this region, celebrate your commitment to our communities, and recognize the work of so many outstanding organizations and individuals impacting the quality of life here in Central PA,” said William P. Hayes, Executive Chairman of Kish Bank, as he addressed the crowd. “Like you, all of us at Kish are so proud to call this place home, and proud to be part of the lives of the people who live here. It’s simple—there is no place else we’d rather be.”

Humanitarian of the Year Award

A highlight of the evening was the presentation of Kish’s Humanitarian of the Year Awards to two area educators, each recognized statewide for their exemplary efforts in championing practices and resources that lead students in their care to infinite possibilities of success.

Ashlie Crosson, a 10th grade English teacher at Mifflin County High School, is the 2024 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year as named by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Born in Mifflin County and graduated from Mifflin County schools, Crosson is cited for her innovative teaching methods and dedication to her students and the community she serves.

Michael Fedisson, Bellefonte High School Principal, is Pennsylvania’s 2024 Principal of the Year as named by the Pennsylvania Principals Association. Fedisson also graduated from and was a student athlete at the school he now leads in Centre County. Fedisson advocated for improved career education programs in agriculture and education and increased focus on student and adult mental health, partnering with The Jana Marie Foundation (Kish Bank’s Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year).

As Hayes explained, “While we recognize and salute educators and teachers everywhere, and we are fortunate in our region to have many who dedicate their lives to this undertaking, tonight we have two individuals who have been recognized by their peers as the very best among us. These individuals see the potential when no one else can. Because of them, the future of our communities will be in safe hands, because they come from right here at home.”

The Humanitarian of the Year Awards were sponsored by the Lewistown Sentinel and Strouse Electric Inc.

Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year Award

The Jana Marie Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the mental wellbeing of young people in Central Pennsylvania, was awarded Kish’s Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year Award in recognition of being on the front lines of “opening minds and saving lives” in its community-led efforts.

In presenting the award, Kish Bank President and CEO Greg Hayes said, “Building a healthy community is one of our core values here at Kish. We are keenly aware of how the mental health of young people has become a pressing concern, especially during and now following the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research shows that more than four in ten students feel persistently sad or hopeless, and nearly one-third experience poor mental health. The Jana Marie Foundation is making significant impact, reaching thousands of individuals with support and intervention programming to address youth mental health challenges.”

The Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year Award was sponsored by Stocker Chevrolet and Subaru.

Other Highlights

Kish’s Community Impact Award, an award given annually to a Kish employee for their outstanding volunteering efforts, was awarded to Shane Graham, Vice President and Branch Manager of Kish Bank’s Belleville, Allensville, and Reedsville branches. Graham volunteers over 200 hours each year with four different community organizations, serves on two boards and many committees, and serves as Treasurer for the Mifflin County Historical Society.

Kish highlighted its unique partnership with Giv Local, a Certified Benefit Corporation that provides credit card merchant processing with a promise to donate 20% of the revenue back to a local nonprofit of each business’s choosing at no additional cost. Greg Hayes announced that in 2023, a total of $48,784 was donated to 108 nonprofits in Central PA through Kish and Giv Local’s partnership, bringing total donations since its launch in 2020 to over $124,000.

The Bob Perks Cancer Assistance Fund, PA Pink Zone, and Relay For Life of Mifflin/Juniata were honored for leading the fight against cancer in the Central PA region. Kish celebrated the results of its 2023 Kish for the Cure Campaign, through which employees raised over $74,000 for the three beneficiary organizations.

The evening also featured Mike Rhoades, Penn State Men’s Basketball Head Coach, as a special guest and keynote speaker. Rhoades spoke of the engaging spirit of community found here in Central PA, and of the lasting impact that teachers have made on his life and on the success he is building today with his team.

Geisinger hospitals rated above the national average in Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade

Posted on by Melissa Brown

Danville, PA – Four Geisinger hospitals earned the top Hospital Safety Grade from the Leapfrog Group, a national nonprofit watchdog organization. Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Community Medical Center, Geisinger Lewistown Hospital and Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital each received an “A” for protecting patients from harm and error in the hospital. Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center and Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital both received a “B” rating.

While three of the four “A” ratings remained unchanged from the fall, Geisinger Community Medical Center improved significantly, moving from a “C” to an “A” rating.

“These achievements reflect our ongoing dedication to delivering exceptional care and continuously improving our practices to better serve our patients and community,” said Anthony Petrick, MD, Geisinger’s Chief Quality Officer. “With exceptional ratings at all of our hospitals, it displays the complete dedication and commitment to putting our patients first.”

Founded in 2000, the Leapfrog Group is an independent national watchdog organization that assigns an “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” grade to hospitals across the country based on more than 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, injuries, accidents and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.

The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries. The grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public. Grades are updated twice annually, in the fall and spring.

To learn more visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org

About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites – including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

Risant Health completes acquisition of Geisinger

Posted on by Melissa Brown

The organizations are dedicated to creating a new value-based care platform to improve the health of millions of Americans.

Washington — Risant Health has announced the completion of its acquisition of Geisinger as its first health system dedicated to increasing access to value-based care and coverage. Together, the organizations will create a new value-based care platform that includes best practices, tools, technology and services to support leading community-based health systems.

Risant Health’s goal is to expand and accelerate the adoption of value-based care in diverse, multipayer, multiprovider, community-based health system environments and improve the health of millions of people in communities across the country. Through this first acquisition, Risant Health brings together Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care and coverage expertise and Geisinger’s experience in advancing value-based care in a model that includes various payers and a broad network of providers, while serving some of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities.

With the close of the Risant Health and Geisinger transaction, Jaewon Ryu, M.D., J.D., who has served as Geisinger’s president and CEO since 2019, will become the first CEO of Risant Health. As announced in March 2024, Terry Gilliland, M.D., will assume the role of president and CEO of Geisinger once Dr. Ryu’s transition to Risant Health is complete.

“Risant Health and Geisinger share a vision for the future of health care. Through Risant Health, we will leverage our industry-leading expertise and innovation to increase the country’s access to high-quality and evidence-based health care, which we know improves care quality and the patient and member experience,” said Risant Health’s board chair, Greg A. Adams. “We will also learn and benefit from Geisinger and the additional health systems that become part of Risant Health in the future, to help them grow in new ways, be more affordable and bring value-based care to more people.”

As its inaugural health system, Geisinger will play an important role in shaping Risant Health’s strategy, platform and operational model. Geisinger will maintain its name and mission, continue accepting patients covered by other health plans and continue offering its members a broad network of care providers in addition to Geisinger.

“Geisinger is proud to formally join Risant Health as its inaugural health system, which will accelerate our vision to make better health easier, more affordable and more accessible for the communities we serve,” said Dr. Ryu. “Geisinger now can extend its vision, strategy and impact to more Pennsylvanians because of the access to an expanded set of tools, expertise and capital that joining Risant Health provides.” 

As a part of Risant Health, Geisinger will build on its 109-year mission to care for rural and urban communities across Pennsylvania. Geisinger will have access to capital, technology and resources to fuel improvements in facilities, drive innovation and investment in patient care, and continue the expansion of Geisinger Health Plan.

In the future, Risant Health’s investments to advance value-based care will accelerate Geisinger’s journey to make better health easier by offering Geisinger members enhanced health insurance options and offering patients easier access to Geisinger’s high-quality, innovative clinical programs and more robust health management technology, tools and programs.

Risant Health expects to acquire 4 to 5 additional leading community-based health systems over the next 4 to 5 years.

Risant Health’s value-based platform will support its health systems with a set of technology, services and capabilities designed to deliver superior health outcomes and a lower total cost of care, in diverse business models.

Initial platform solutions will aid Risant Health organizations in delivering evidence-based care everywhere — the “best-of” knowledge to provide high-value, effective care at the right time. Additionally, Risant Health will help health systems and their patients know how to easily understand, access and navigate to the right care at the right time and place.Risant Health’s acquisition of Geisinger Health was reviewed and approved by the appropriate federal and state agencies and the transaction closed on March 31, 2024.

About Risant Health
Risant Health is a nonprofit, charitable organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a transformative vision to improve the health of millions of people by increasing access to value-based care and coverage. Risant Health is dedicated to bringing together like-minded, nonprofit community-based health systems from across the country in order to deliver better health outcomes through value-based care approaches. Risant Health’s value-based platform will support its health systems with a set of technology, services, and capabilities designed to deliver superior health outcomes and a lower total cost of care in diverse business models. Risant Health was created in 2023. Learn more about Risant Health.

About Geisinger

Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites – including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or follow on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.