In this week's edition of E-News:

Examining Emergency Medical Care in SWPA
Showcasing Mon Valley Job Creation
Honoring the Blueprint for Our Nation
Murphy Tours Construction at the Butler VA

Examining Emergency Medical Care in SWPA

Murphy tours Allegheny General Hospital.

Every year, hospital emergency rooms see over 130 million patients. With ever-increasing numbers, coupled with a growing opioid epidemic and a persistent mental health crisis, emergency rooms are ever more crowded needing more and more doctors. Complicating emergency care delivery is the fact that two-thirds of ER visits are "after hours" with a whopping 96% of patients needing to be seen and cared for in two hours or less.

To learn more about the ER needs in local Southwestern Pennsylvania hospitals, Congressman Murphy joined members from the American College of Emergency Physicians to tour the Allegheny General Hospital Emergency Department. An important legislative priority for the local doctors is passage of H.R. 836, Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2015, which expands ER physician and emergency department care delivery. The American College of Emergency Physicians has also endorsed Murphy's crisis mental health reform bill, H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.

Murphy with LifeCare CEO, Catherine Kalas.

Following the tour at Allegheny General, at the invitation of CEO Catherine Kalas, Congressman Murphy visited LifeCare Behavioral Health Hospital of Pittsburgh. The newly established LifeCare hospital is located at the Old Forbes Metro Hospital and features 49 private rooms for acute psychiatric inpatient care, both for the voluntarily and involuntarily committed. With a growing need of inpatient psychiatric care in the greater Pittsburgh region, LifeCare is a welcome addition to range of services available for families in mental health crisis. Murphy's H.R. 2646 focuses on expanding inpatient care and bringing families into the frontline care delivery team.

To share your thoughts on crisis medical and psychiatric care in SWPA, please click here.

Showcasing Mon Valley Job Creation

The Mon Valley, in the not too distant past, was an economic giant in the United States thanks to strategic location, a highly-skilled workforce, and abundantly available natural resources like coal. But as the steel industry collapsed and war on coal took hold, the Mon Valley has seen a sharp decline in population, a sharp increase in unemployment, and mills shutting down operations. But there is bright news with growing companies like Alumisource (located in Monessen) and Ductmate (in Forward Township) who are providing great paying jobs and economic growth in the Mon Valley.

At Alumisource with owner, Gabe Hudock.

In the United States, the aluminum industry represents $186 billion of economic activity and employs over 160,000 workers. Aluminum can be found in everything from fuel efficient motor vehicles, green buildings, consumer products, and sustainable packaging. On Wednesday, Congressman Murphy toured Alumisource, alongside owner, Gabe Hudock, to learn how this local company is making an impact.

In 1990, Mr. Hudock started Metalife Resources to process curbside recycled material from Western Pennsylvania communities. In 2007, Hudock formed Alumisource with the initial focus on the steel industry and, in 2010, moved into recycling aluminum. The company generates shredded and blended scrap metal to their customers, which in return is safer and more energy efficient, without omitting CO2 emissions.

To ensure the domestic aluminum industry is protected from the sphere of foreign cheating from countries like China that are heavily manipulating the markets, Congressional Steel Caucus Chairman Murphy, weighed in with Irving Williamson, Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), urging the them to keep the pressure on factors driving increased Chinese production of aluminum and the impact of China illegally dumping cheap aluminum onto global markets and hurting American producers.

To share your thoughts on clamping down on foreign trade cheats like China, please click here.

Honoring the Blueprint for Our Nation

Murphy with Mt. Lebanon freshman, Rachel Midea.

Last month America celebrated Constitution Day to commemorate our Founding Fathers signing the most influential document in American history and this week, Congressman Murphy had the honor of hand-delivering copies of the U.S. Constitution to students from Mt. Lebanon High School. As part of a government class, students were asked to reach out to an elected official to learn more about our nation’s government, as well as our democracy. Two freshman, Rachel and Alicia, contacted Congressman Murphy and met with him in person in his Mt. Lebanon office to talk more of the document of which George Washington stated, "The Constitution is the guide which I never will abandon."

Murphy with Mt. Lebanon freshman, Alicia Schackner.

It was 229 years ago in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that the United States Constitution was signed, establishing America’s national government, laying out fundamental laws, and guaranteeing certain basic rights for its citizens "in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our posterity."

Constitution Day was nationally observed beginning in 2004 when September 17th was designated as the day for Americans to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution, learn more about our founding document, and remember the blessings of freedom and liberty that “We the People” enjoy today.

If you are a student or educator and wish to obtain copies of a "pocket" Constitution, please contact Congressman Tim Murphy's Mt. Lebanon office at (412) 344-5583 or click here to inquire further.

Murphy Tours Construction at the Butler VA

On site at the new Butler VA construction project.

At the invitation of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Congressman Murphy was invited to tour the ongoing construction of the Veterans Administration (VA) facility in Butler.

Beginning in December 2014, a lease contract got underway in Butler for a 168,000 square foot veterans health care center for primary care, specialty care, mental health, dental, diagnostic, laboratory, pathology, radiology, podiatry, optometry, physical rehabilitation, and women’s health services. The new Butler veterans facility will use innovative technology including telemedicine and Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT), which brings personalized team-based care to veterans. Local construction from Mascaro Construction Company and Lighthouse Electric (Canonsburg) are leading the project with local workers to ensure the facility is under budget and on time for opening by Labor Day 2017.

In related news, this week Murphy joined a chorus of outraged legislators who weighed in to stop the Pentagon's attempt to take back bonuses paid to veterans who answered the call of duty by re-enlisting at the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. After intense pressure, the Pentagon temporarily ceased efforts to reclaim the re-enlistment bonuses. Murphy called it "sickening ingratitude from a bloated federal agency known for wasteful spending" and pledged to work with his like-minded colleagues to fully stop the Pentagon from any further pursuit of recouping National Guard bonuses when the annual Pentagon policy bill is taken up later next month.

To share your thoughts on the new Butler VA or other veterans issues, please click here.