Laurels & lances: Screening, freezing & suing

Laurel: To feeding information. People can get a lot of things at a food bank. You might expect vegetables, canned goods and pasta. But breast cancer screenings are rarely on the menu.

That changed this week when state Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Hempfield, partnered in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties with food banks, UPMC, Bayer and the PA Breast Cancer Coalition to connect people with diagnostic care.

The events, which helped set up screening appointments at UPMC imaging centers in Monroeville and West Mifflin, were the latest breast cancer-targeted work for Ward. She was diagnosed in 2021, had a lumpectomy and tested positive for BRCA, a gene that increases risks of breast and ovarian cancer.

This program makes a logical jump, guessing people who are struggling to feed their families might not have access to health care. Tying the two in one convenient outreach is a smart and compassionate step.

Lance: To cold behavior. On Tuesday, a former Westmoreland Hospital employee was charged with false imprisonment and harassment for his treatment of a co-worker.

Nick V. Casper, 25, of South Greensburg is accused of admitting to a supervisor via email he would detain the co-worker — a woman with special needs — in the walk-in freezer for three to five minutes. Court documents point to another occasion when he padlocked the woman in the freezer and left for an estimated 15 minutes.

This is barbaric. It is both unkind and dangerous. It also shows a terrifying lack of empathy, especially coming as it did one day after charges were filed against two former Westmoreland Hospital nurses accused of taking and sharing photographs and recordings of naked or partially clothed patients.

Independence Health System should examine the culture at its hospital and make sure it is the safe space every hospital should be.

Laurel: To filing suit. This week, Frazer Township sued Pittsburgh Mills mall ownership — identified in court papers as Pitt Galleria Realty, Pitt Realty, Pitt Galleria CH and Pitt Galleria Nassim. All are affiliated with Namdar Realty Group of New York.

At issue is the pothole-riddled privately owned roads surrounding the mall. Frazer says the roads are damaged by neglect and would cost about $4.5 million for the municipality to fix.

It’s a familiar problem with Namdar properties nationwide, according to a 2021 deep dive by the New York Times.

The township is taking the right steps to protect local businesses and local vehicles. Namdar has owned the property since 2018 and has an obligation to take care of the property if it wants people to patronize its tenants.