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Mount Nittany Health EMS Earns National Recognition for Excellence in Heart Attack and Stroke Care

Posted on by Jules Slater

State College, Pa – Mount Nittany Health Emergency Medical Services has been honored with the American Heart Association’s 2025 Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus Target: Heart Attack Honor Roll award, recognizing its outstanding commitment to excellence in the care of heart attack and stroke patients.

The national accolade highlights the EMS team’s sustained ability to provide care that meets or exceeds best-practice guidelines for the treatment of heart attack and stroke patients in the field — a testament to their training, preparedness, and compassion.

“Patients experiencing a heart attack or stroke are in expert hands with our EMS team,” said Chris Hockenberry, NREMT-P, Manager, Emergency Medical Services, Mount Nittany Health. “Earning Gold Plus Target: Heart Attack Honor Roll underscores their compassion, professionalism, and deep commitment to delivering the highest quality care when our community needs it most.”

The Mission: Lifeline® program evaluates emergency response systems for their ability to deliver time-sensitive treatment to patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) — a serious type of heart attack — and suspected strokes. To achieve Gold Plus designation, EMS providers meet high-performance benchmarks, including:

  • Perform 12-lead electrocardiograms within 10 minutes of EMS contact
  • Transport ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)-capable hospitals within 90 minutes
  • Implement transfer protocols between hospitals
  • Provide key care for suspected stroke — from pre-arrival notification and glucose checks to stroke screenings en route — all in a consistent and efficient manner. 

This recognition reflects the dedication and readiness of Mount Nittany Health EMS professionals to deliver best-practice care, reinforcing the health system’s mission of “Healthier people, stronger community.”

Scaling Your Impact: From Doer to Delegator to Developer

Posted on by Jules Slater

Content Contributed by Chamber Today

  • Businesses plateau when leaders don’t evolve.
  • If you’re still the hub of every decision, you’re not scaling—you’re stalling.
  • True growth happens when leaders shift from doing tasks to developing people and systems.
  • This article walks through that essential transition: from Doer to Delegator to Developer.
  • The payoff: a business that grows beyond you.

638 Words ~ 3.5 min. read

  Most businesses don’t stall because of market conditions or strategy missteps. They stall because their leaders don’t evolve. If you’re still the person everyone depends on to make decisions, approve tasks, and solve problems, your business isn’t scaling. It’s bottlenecking. The reality is that no organization can outgrow the capacity of its leadership. To truly scale, you must transition from being the one who does the work, to the one who builds the system, to the one who grows the people.

Early in the life of a business, success often rides on your willingness and ability to do it all. In this Doer stage, you’re in the trenches: selling, servicing, troubleshooting. It’s an adrenaline-fueled, high-control, high-responsibility phase. And it works. Until it doesn’t. Over time, the weight becomes unsustainable. When you’re the linchpin for every operation, progress is constrained by your availability and energy. You may be working harder than ever and still feeling like you’re falling behind.

Eventually, to grow, you must let go. Enter the Delegator stage. This is where leaders begin to trust others to carry the load. Delegating isn’t about offloading. It’s about empowering others with clarity and ownership. Done well, it increases your organization’s capacity and sharpens your focus. Yet delegation alone only buys time. It doesn’t build scale. Many leaders plateau here, stuck in a loop of assigning tasks but still making all the key decisions.

The real leap happens when you become a Developer. This stage is less about controlling outcomes and more about shaping environments. Developer leaders create systems that reduce reliance on any one person, including themselves. More importantly, they grow people. Not just by assigning them tasks, but by coaching them to think critically, lead confidently, and take ownership. It’s no longer about asking, “How do I get this done?” but rather, “How do I enable others to do this better than I ever could?”

This evolution also changes how you define your role. Your value is no longer tied to personal output. Instead, it’s measured by the capability and autonomy of your team. Developer leaders build resilient organizations that can operate and thrive without their constant intervention.

Ask yourself: If you took two weeks off starting tomorrow, what would break? If the answer is “everything,” you’re still too central to the machine. That’s not a leadership problem. It’s a scalability problem.

The journey from Doer to Delegator to Developer isn’t just a framework. It’s a mindset shift. It requires vulnerability, patience, and the willingness to relinquish control in service of something larger. But it’s also the clearest path to freedom, fulfillment, and sustainable growth.

Leadership isn’t about how much you do. It’s about how well you enable others to do.

The Bottom Line
To scale your business, you must scale your leadership. Moving from task execution to system design to people development is the key transition every founder, executive, and team leader must make. When you invest in building leaders, not just doing the work, you stop being the bottleneck and start being the builder.

For more context, see:

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The Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County is a private non-profit organization that aims to support the growth and development of local businesses and our regional economy. We strive to create content that not only educates but also fosters a sense of connection and collaboration among our readers. Join us as we explore topics such as economic development, networking opportunities, upcoming events, and success stories from our vibrant community. Our resources provide insights, advice, and news that are relevant to business owners, entrepreneurs, and community members alike. The Chamber has been granted license to publish this content provided by Chamber Today, a service of ChamberThink Strategies LLC. 

State College, PA Hotel Named Best Days Inn Award Repeat Winner

Posted on by Jules Slater

State College, PA – The Days Inn by Wyndham Penn State is proud to announce its recognition as a recipient of the 2025 Days Inn President’s Award for the second consecutive year. This prestigious honor is presented annually to the brand’s top-performing hotels, celebrating excellence in service, operations, and guest satisfaction.

Edward Tubbs, Chief Executive Officer of Hospitality Asset Management Company, accepted the award on behalf of the hotel team during Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We are truly honored to receive this distinguished award,” said Sean Peters, General Manager of the Days Inn by Wyndham Penn State. “This achievement reflects the unwavering dedication of our team and our shared commitment to providing exceptional service to every guest who walks through our doors. We look forward to continuing this tradition of excellence in the year ahead.”

To qualify for the President’s Award, hotels must demonstrate outstanding guest satisfaction scores, ensure completion of Wyndham’s mandatory health and safety training for all team members, and maintain exemplary brand standards throughout the year.

Conveniently located just two miles from the Penn State University campus, the Days Inn by Wyndham Penn State features 97 guest rooms and offers a range of amenities including complimentary Wi-Fi, complimentary on-site parking, a fitness center, meeting facilities, and 24-hour coffee service. Guest rooms are equipped with flat-screen HDTVs with HBO, mini-refrigerators, hair dryers, irons, and offer pet friendly and accessible rooms for guests.

State College, PA Hotel Named Best of Super 8 Award Winner-Three Consecutive Years

Posted on by Jules Slater

State College, PA – The Super 8 at 1663 South Atherton Street today announced it has been awarded the annual Pride of Super 8 Award, which recognizes the brand’s top-performing hotels and their staff. This is the third consecutive year that the hotel has won this prestigious award.

Honoring the hotel’s continued excellence, Edward Tubbs, CEO of Hospitality Asset Management Company, accepted the award during the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We are extremely proud of this award as it validates our ongoing commitment to customer service every day. This award is a testament to our hard-working employees that include front desk, housekeeping, maintenance, and breakfast attendants who consistently deliver superior service,” said General Manager, Jessica Peters.

To be eligible for the award, hotels must have demonstrated strong guest satisfaction, had all their staff complete Wyndham’s required health & safety training, and remained in good standing with the brand in the past year.

This Wyndham Green Core property offers 141 guest rooms with free breakfast, fitness center, free parking, complimentary coffee service, meeting space, and on-site laundry facilities. Room amenities include refrigerators and microwave, free Wi-Fi, and pet-friendly and accessible rooms are available.

Penn Highlands Healthcare Residents and Fellows Graduate

Posted on by Jules Slater

(July 1, 2025 – DuBois, PA) Penn Highlands Healthcare is pleased to announce the graduation of its Graduate Medical Education Residents in Family Medicine and Psychiatry and Fellow in Sports Medicine. Of the 10 graduates, five will remain with Penn Highlands Healthcare as psychiatrists and Family Medicine physicians in the Northwest, Central and Southwest regions.

Evan DeFalco, DO, a Family Medicine resident who graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, will be working at a Family Medicine practice at Penn Highlands Mon Valley.

Mitch Kovacs, MD, a Family Practice resident who received their Doctor of Medicine degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., will practice outpatient Family Medicine at Penn Highlands State College.

Joshua David Lowery, MD, M.Ed, a Psychiatry resident who received his Medical degree and Master of Education degree from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, PA, will be an attending psychiatrist on the inpatient adult unit and see outpatients at the Penn Highlands Stern Center for Behavioral Health in DuBois.

Dylan Ricker, DO, a Family Medicine resident who graduated from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine at Seton Hill University, will be a hospitalist at Penn Highlands DuBois. 

Jessie W. Zhang, MD, a Psychiatry resident who received her Medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will be an attending psychiatrist on the inpatient adult unit and see outpatients at the Penn Highlands Stern Center for Behavioral Health in DuBois.

Dawit B. Ayalew, MD, a Family Medicine resident who obtained his Doctor in Medicine degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, is looking forward to returning to VCU to complete a Sports Medicine fellowship at his alma mater.

Mohammad Azim, DO, a Family Medicine resident who attended medical school at Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine in Henderson, NV, plans a career in Outpatient Family Medicine. 

Drushti Mehta, DO, who was the Sports Medicine Fellow at Penn Highlands Orthopedics and Sports Medicine and Penn Highlands Family Medicine Residency Clinic, is excited for a career in a combination of Sports and Family Medicine.

Rahul Patel, DO, a Family Medicine resident who received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine in Davie, FL, is planning a career as a hospitalist.  

Erica Schmidt, MD, a Psychiatry resident who received her Medical degree from Trinity School of Medicine, Ribishi, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is leaning toward working at an outpatient facility or a dual-diagnosis residential treatment facility. 

Penn Highlands Healthcare offers Graduate Medical Education (GME) opportunities in Family Medicine and Psychiatry. The health system also offers a fellowship in Sports Medicine. The programs are designed to develop competent and caring physicians that deliver high-quality and compassionate care to patients. Penn Highlands offers a broad range of training experiences with exemplary physicians engaged in the practice of evidence-based empathetic medical care for patients.

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Penn Highlands Healthcare was officially formed in 2011 and is comprised of nine hospitals. Penn Highlands Brookville, Penn Highlands Clearfield, Penn Highlands Connellsville, Penn Highlands DuBois, Penn Highlands Elk, Penn Highlands Huntingdon, Penn Highlands Mon Valley, Penn Highlands Tyrone have served area communities for the past 100+ years. Penn Highlands State College is a new state-of-the-art hospital that opened in 2024. The health system’s business continuum also includes a home care agency, long-term care facilities and residential senior living communities, as well as durable medical equipment companies and retail pharmacies.

Penn Highlands Healthcare has evolved into an organization with approximately 6,200 employees in 150+ locations throughout 26 counties in Pennsylvania that include community medical buildings, outpatient facilities, surgery centers and physician practices. The facilities have a total of 1,396 inpatient, skilled nursing and personal care beds.  The system, which has 849 physicians and 427 advanced practice providers on staff, offers a wide range of care and treatments with specialty units for cancer, cardiovascular/thoracic, neurosurgery, pulmonology, neonatal and high-risk pregnancy patients. Being focused on what is important – patients and families – makes Penn Highlands Healthcare a great choice for healthcare in the region.