Local Man Named to Top Financial Advisors List

Mark Eskin has been named to the 2013 Barron's 'Top 1,000 Advisors' list.

Mark Eskin of Philadelphia, and a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scot LLC, has been named to Barron's 2013 list of "Top 1,000 Advisors," according to Business Wire. Eskin serves as the Executive Vice President and senior partner of Stedmark Partners at Janney Montgomery Scott. Eskin, President of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council and member of the Planned Giving Advisory Committee of Abington Memorial Hospital, was named a Barron's "Top Advisor" in 2010 and 2012 and by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a "Top Financial Advisor in Greater Phiadelphia."  Read about the other local financial advisors who have been named to this list here.

Abington Health Buys North Penn VNA

A letter of intent to buy the 93-year-old nonprofit was signed Friday, Nov. 2. The partnership was done in preparation for Obamacare

By April 2013 — and in preparation for Obamacare — Abington Health will have acquired nonprofit North Penn Visiting Nurse Association. Officials from both Abington Health and North Penn VNA signed a letter of intent Friday, Nov. 2. The amount of purchase was not released. Abington Health is the umbrella corporation that owns Abington Memorial Hospital and Lansdale Hospital. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, North Penn VNA's net income dropped from $626,993 to $277,787 in year ending June 30, 2011, as reported in its Form 990 tax return. North Penn VNA had $6.7 million in revenue, as of June 30, 2011, according to the article. The North Penn VNA employs about 100 nurses who provide home care and hospice. "The leaders and staff of the …

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Abington, Holy Redeemer to Form New Health Network

Details coming at 2 p.m.

  UPDATE: See the details on Abington Patch here.   Abington Health and Holy Redeemer Health System will announce plans Wednesday afternoon to "jointly create a new regional health system," the organizations said in a statement sent to media today. An announcement from the Abington and Holy Redeemer CEOs Laurence M. Merlis and Michael B. Laign is expected at 2 p.m. We'll bring you additional details this afternoon.

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More Than OK

Jenkintown resident and breast cancer survivor Kerri Conner writes a kids' book about having cancer; has her name featured on the PECO building in Philadelphia

Most Americans have been touched in some way by breast cancer, but what one Jenkintown woman has done with her story is truly remarkable. Kerri Conner was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer when she was 33 years old, and in a circle of fate, the diagnosis occurred on the 10-year anniversary of her mother's previous breast cancer diagnosis. Knowing what it took for her own mother to conquer the disease, Conner began to think of ways that she could prepare her 2-year-old daughter for the changes that were about to take place. Pulling from experience, Conner decided to write a children's book, which she titled "My Mommy Has Breast Cancer But She Is OK". "I wrote the book because when I was diagnosed, I was trying to find something …

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Diet Soda is a Diet Don’t

Dr. Fernando B. Bonanni Jr., director of the Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Abington Memorial Hospital, warns against diet beverages.

This is the first of a two-part series on weight loss. Look for the second installment Thursday.   They may taste sweet and have no calories, but health experts warn against drinking diet sodas. “In our business, diet soft drinks are poison,” said Dr. Fernando B. Bonanni Jr., the director of the Institute for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Abington Memorial Hospital. In fact, people should avoid all artificial sweeteners in baked goods, drinks or other forms. Although there is no substitute for diet sodas, they aren’t worth it, he said. “In general, people should avoid anything wrapped in cellophane, loaded with sodium, artificial sweeteners, or [anything that] has a shelf life longer than the planet Earth,” Bonanni said with a laugh. …

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Video: Abington Hospital Wins Enviro Award

The Abington Environmental Advisory Council hands this year's Robert W. Montgomery Jr. environmental award to Abington Memorial Hospital.

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Updated with Video: Mother of Sextuplets Speaks

Stacey Carey, the mother, spoke during a press conference today at the hospital. The babies are still in critical condition.

The parents of the sextuplets born last week at Abington Memorial Hospital spoke during a press conference held today at the hospital. Well ... the mom did. Stacey Carey gave birth to six babies June 1, and they already have names! Emma, born at 1:15 a.m., 2 pounds, 1 ounce, 14 inches Samantha, born at 1:16 a.m., 2 pounds, 1 ounce, 14.25 inches Olivia, born at 1:17 a.m., 1 pound, 1 ounce, 13 inches John, born at 1:17 a.m., 2 pounds, 4 ounces, 14.25 inches Patrick, born at 1:19 a.m., 2 pounds, 5 ounces, 14.75 inches Connor, 1:21 a.m., 1 pound, 1 ounce, 13.75 inches Carey thanked her family and medical staff, and said that she and her husband have yet to think about arrangements for taking care of six children. The couple already has a 16-…

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Pics: Willow Grove Resident, Second Alarmers Hold Stroke Drill at O’Neill’s

David Wacker, who previously had a stroke, simulated the symptoms while 'shopping' with his wife Cathi.

Abington Memorial Hospital’s stroke team and paramedics from the Second Alarmers Rescue Squad ran a comprehensive stroke drill beginning at O’Neil’s Family Market in Glenside and ending at Abington Memorial Hospital May 31.   Check back later today for video of the event.

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Medical professionals to present at international stroke conference

New stroke assessment tool has helped with earlier detection, quicker treatment

Just like the old saying that there’s more than one way to skin a cat, local medical personnel believe there’s more than one way to assess a potential stroke. Next week, a team of medical professionals, comprising Abington Memorial Hospital Stroke Center Director Dr. B. Franklin Diamond, and Second Alarmers Rescue Squad captains Brad Nash and Christopher Reif, will travel to Los Angeles to present assessment techniques at the International Stroke Conference. “The focus is the development of a synergistic approach to stroke care,” Reif said. “Everyone works together.” Added Nash, the purpose is to “get everyone, from the paramedics up to the neurologists, speaking the same language.” To do that, the Second Alarmers crews, under the …

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