Geisinger is using automation technology to streamline the return of results for COVID-19, flu, and other tests.  Patients who have a test for any of these conditions at a Geisinger facility will now receive an automated phone call with their result, positive or negative, within 24 hours of the finalized result. Patients can also call Geisinger’s COVID-19 hotline, 570-284-3657, or any primary care clinic, and press ‘1#’ to get their results via the automation tool.   Patients who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a daily automated phone call from Geisinger to monitor their symptoms for at least 10 days following a positive test.  Automating the return of test results was spearheaded by the Steele Institute’s intelligent automation hub (IAH) and voice systems.

Firearms bear season opens Saturday (November 21st) and runs through Tuesday (November 24th) in Pennsylvania.  Hunters are reminded, they cannot harvest bears anywhere in the Commonwealth on Saturday, November 28th and Sunday, November 29th, the first two days of firearms deer season.  The PA Game Commission says deer season continues through December 12th, but is closed Sunday, December 6th.  The extended bear season opens in many Wildlife Management areas on Monday, November 30th and runs through Saturday, December 5th.  For more details, visit https://www.pgc.pa.gov.

In Harrisburg, a bipartisan majority of the Pennsylvania House has supported a comprehensive audit of the 2020 General Election. House Resolution 1100 allows the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) to contract an outside agency to complete the audit, which would not question the results, but scrutinize the process to guarantee integrity in every election.