January 1, 2009 Issue                                       

Local News

Allens Lane gets a face-lift
by Jennifer Katz

A $7.1 million renovation of the Allen Lane train station is about to get underway as SEPTA prepares to implement an improvement plan in the new year.

After years of planning and community meetings, the two-year construction phase of the project is expected to commence in January. The plan includes the construction of new high-level platforms with ADA accessible ramps, new canopy shelters and a new pedestrian bridge.

Wendy Green, liaison for SEPTA, said arrangements have been made to minimize the impact on both commuters and customers at the High Point Café.

“The main staging area will be located right under the PennDOT bridge north of the station,” she said.

Crews will also use part of the grassy knoll to the right of the station for storage during construction.

The federal government is picking up the tab, providing 80 percent of the project’s budget. The state and city are paying for the remaining 20 percent.

Health System aids Fund

The Chestnut Hill Health System, a co-proprietor of Chestnut Hill Hospital will contribute $10,000 to the Chestnut Hill Community Fund.

Brooks Turkel, hospital CEO, in a meeting with Tolis Vardakis, president of the Chestnut Hill Community Association; Carol Cope, CHCA board member, and Dr. John Scanlon, chief medical officer of Chestnut Hill Hospital, said that the pledge was just one part of the hospital’s growing commitment to the Chestnut Hill Community. The hospital has been a key sponsor of the Pastorius Park Concerts for the past two years and plans to continue its sponsorship of the concert series this coming summer as well.

Turkel said the hospital’s goal is to be the “Wellness Hub” of the community. Scanlon cited the recent hospital-hosted ABC classes in diabetes prevention and care as just one example of the hospital’s efforts to educate area residents. He agreed to join the CHCA’s current health lectures initiative and help find ways to expand the series.

The hospital, a joint venture of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Medicine and Community Health Systems of Franklin, Tenn., plans to improve patient care with major expansion and equipment acquisitions, including the opening of a second women’s health center in Blue Bell, expansion of emergency room facilities to substantially reduce wait times for care, operating room and ICU expansion and improvements, and the addition of a new on-site MRI, join recent additions, including a three-dimensional “64 slice” CT Scanner and the startup of Penn Radiation Oncology at the hospital’s campus. The expansion of the radiation oncology center includes the area’s most advanced equipment for treating cancer.

Vardakis, noting his fear that the charities the CHCF funds might suffer because of the downturn in the economy, thanked Turkel on behalf of the CHCF and the CHCA for the hospital’s generosity. He said he hoped that the hospital’s early contribution would create momentum and encourage community members to give.

Donations to the Chestnut Hill Community Fund can be made through the CHCA Web site www.chestnuthill.org or by calling the CHCA at 215-248-8810.