BUTLER TWP — Carol Cushman of Mars is the new director of development for the Irene Stacy Center.

Cushman comes to the center from Pittsburgh where she was the administrative assistant and director of market development for Sky Trust, now Huntington Bank.

She also was director of development, advancement division at Carnegie Mellon University, and vice-president for New Business Development, Corporate Trust, PNC Bank. She worked at PNC for more than 15 years in various capacities.

GROVE CITY — Four staff members of Grove City Medical Center recently graduated from the Butler Memorial Hospital Performance Improvement in Healthcare Delivery program.They are Shannon Hall and Jennifer Shaffer, both registered nurses, and Stacy Dulaney and Barb Warheit of performance improvement.The 60-hour program covered philosophy and methodology of traditional performance improvement and the Toyota Production System.The medical center was invited to participate in this course with Butler Memorial as the medical center expands its quality improvement to work with other independent community hospitals to improve health care services in the region.

BUTLER TWP — A former director at Slippery Rock University is the new head of the Butler County Community College Education Foundation.Ruth Purcell is responsible for the development and management of private fundraising for the college. She works with the foundation board and oversees the Succop Conservancy.She replaces Bill Speidel who retired in June after 14 years at the college. He now heads the Passavant Hospital Foundation.Purcell was the director of development at SRU from 2001 to 2009. While at Slippery Rock, she worked with major donors and obtained private support for numerous initiatives and student scholarships.Previously, she was a financial adviser with Legg Mason Wood Walker and was the director of community relations at Lifesteps in Butler.She graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., with a master's degree in public affairs. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati.She is the former president of Leadership Butler County and previously served on the Butler County Chamber of Commerce. Currently, she is a member of the Community Advisory Board of WQED Multitmedia in Pittsburgh and serves on the board of directors of Visiting Nurses Association in Butler.Ruth lives in Center Township with her husband, Mark Mann. They have two children, Colin Mann of Denver, Colo., and Laura Mann of Clemson, S.C.

NEW YORK — Chevron said Friday its fourth-quarter profit fell 37 percent as higher crude prices led to huge losses in its refining business.The nation's second-largest oil company reported earnings of $3.1 billion, or $1.53 per share, for the final three months of 2009. That compares with $4.9 billion, or $2.44 per share for the same period of 2008. Revenue increased 10.3 percent to $47.6 billion.<I>From staff and wire reports.</I>

• <B>Dr. David Melniczck</B> was appointed to the Butler Memorial Hospital's medical staff. He practices at the DuBois Regional Medical Center.bottom line• The March of Dimes recently recognized <B>Butler Memorial Hospital's Maternity Unit</B> staff for its work with babies since the hospital has the only birthing site in Butler County.