The Allegheny Health Network is spending thousands of dollars to increase the public's knowledge of injury prevention in Clarion and Venango counties.

Dubbed the Community Injury & Violence Prevention Promoter program, the initiative taps into the expertise of the AHN trauma and prehospital teams as well as local emergency medical services professionals to raise awareness around the leading causes of traumatic injury and promote injury prevention. The effort will last for two years.

The health network will use a $61,000 grant from the McElhattan Foundation to create a “robust” network of community events and program ambassadors to inform the public of injury prevention. It also will provide tool kits and tailored course curriculum.

In a prepared release, Allegheny Health Network's chief philanthropy officer Allie Quick said the effort will “truly make a positive impact in these communities.”

“AHN has a long history of treating patients throughout southwestern Pennsylvania, and this new initiative complements that care by focusing on the importance of prevention and safety education,” Quick said.

Specifically, the program will focus on the primary causes of trauma, including motor vehicle accidents, violence, opioid abuse and pediatric injuries.

In the prepared statement, the health network promises to develop useful material for Clarion and Venango county residents to create an effort that will outlast the program's two-year expiration date. The network intends for the methods to be adopted in surrounding counties.

The community network and program will be designed in a sustainable way, so its reach is extended beyond two years and can be replicated in surrounding counties.

Beaver County’s community college chose a new leader to head two programs that are aimed at developing the region’s construction workforce skill gap.Justin Brooks, with more than a decade of experience, was named director of the college’s construction management program and the Mascaro Construction High School Academy. The dual positions put him in charge of all operational, administrative, instructional and financial activities of both the associate degree program in construction management as well as the Mascaro Construction Academy.Additionally, he will be the community liaison and develop partnerships among the construction industry, career and technology education centers, area high schools, other community colleges and four-year colleges and universities.He will be expected to create new courses available to nontraditional students who want to take classes in the Construction Management programs.Before joining the school, Brooks served as a project manager, consultant and designer for Civil & Environmental Consultants. He also worked at 84 Lumber as permit coordinator. Brooks earned a Master of Science degree in civil engineering from Ohio University, a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering technology from Point Park University and an associate degree in specialized technology from ITT Technical Institute.Eagle Staff Reports