Geisinger Health Plan Announces New Medicare Advantage Benefits

Geisinger Health Plan (GHP) announced new benefits for its 2021 Medicare Advantage plans, including virtual visits with primary care physicians and $35 monthly copays for insulin.

Medicare’s annual enrollment period begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7, 2020. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can switch or make changes to their current coverage for 2021.

Geisinger Gold Medicare Advantage plans are available in 44 counties in Pennsylvania with premiums and copays starting at $0 and include a wide range of cost saving features and wellness programs not available with original Medicare, such as prescription drug coverage, fitness, dental, hearing and vision benefits.

Among the new benefits for 2021 include virtual visits with primary care physicians with copays starting at $0 and an insulin savings program that ensures members will pay no more than $35 a month on select insulins.

All Geisinger Gold Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plans also include:

  • Vaccines covered at $0
  • Prescription drug copays as low as $0
  • Monthly allowance on over-the-counter healthcare products
  • Additional savings through Geisinger’s mail-order pharmacy
  • Health management programs for chronic or complex conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, cancer care and more
  • Access to more than 29,000 doctors and 100 hospitals across Pennsylvania

“Geisinger Gold Medicare Advantage plans are backed by a 100-year tradition of quality, innovative health care from a name you can trust,” said Dr. John Bulger, chief medical officer at GHP. “In these uncertain times, we know that people will have a lot of questions when it comes to their healthcare coverage. That’s why we will be offering more ways for people to connect with our trusted Medicare Advisors explore their healthcare options, whether it’s by phone, virtually or safely in-person.”

For more information, visit go.geisinger.org/Gold or call 855-605-1517.

Jim Brickman Support The Scranton Cultural Center With Comfort & Joy at Home

Jim Brickman is donating to theatres across the US this holiday season, including the Scranton Cultural Center, by performing virtual concerts complete with Interactive Zoom Rooms, Meet & Greets and Christmas Gifts delivered to your door.

www.jimbrickman.com/press

Listing Information:
WHAT:  Jim Brickman “Comfort & Joy at Home LIVE!” Virtually
WHEN:  Sunday, November 29,2020, 4:00 PM ET
WHERE:  Your couch, your bed, your comfy chair
WHY:   To enjoy a one of a kind personal concert experience with Jim Brickman and support your local theatre.
PRICES:  $125, $75, $40 includes Interactive Zoom Room, Meet & Greets and Christmas Gifts delivered to your door.
INFO: Jim Brickman will wow the crowd with his uplifting, family-friendly, holiday concert tradition.  “Comfort & Joy at Home” LIVE, Sunday, November 29, 2020.

Tickets Sold EXCLUSIVELY at www.jimbrickman.com

Grammy Nominated Songwriter and piano sensation Jim Brickman will be taking the nation by storm this holiday season with the “Comfort & Joy at Home 2020” Virtual Tour. A portion of each ticket purchased to this LIVE event will be benefit the Scranton Cultural Center. Fans and their families can enjoy this unique virtual concert experience from the comfort of home, while supporting the Scranton Cultural Center during this challenging time.

Brickman will bring the LIVE concert experience up close and personal by blending yuletide memories and holiday carols with his own hit songs such as, “The Gift,” “Sending You A Little Christmas,” “Angel Eyes” and “If You Believe.” Brickman will warm the hearts of all as sweet sounds of faith and love make spirits bright, bringing family and friends together for anything but a silent night. 

The Jim Brickman’s Christmas tradition continues, with a front row experience like never before.

Fall Into Downtown Promotion Supports Local Businesses in Historic Downtown Scranton

As part of an ongoing series to promote locally-owned businesses, Scranton Tomorrow has created Fall Into Downtown. The promotion is designed to encourage everyone in the community to shop and dine in historic Downtown Scranton this fall.

Promotions include:

Scranton Scarecrow Display, through October 31
Thirty businesses and organizations showcase scarecrows in the Downtown Scranton Business District and beyond! You’ll find scarecrows in planters and storefronts in the Downtown, and decorating windows in businesses throughout the greater Scranton area. Click here for a list of locations!

Rally for Restaurants, through November 24
Through a partnership between Lackawanna College, the City of Scranton, and Scranton Tomorrow, Rally for Restaurants supports local restaurants facing economic challenges due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Lackawanna College’s student-run restaurant, 409 on Adams, has opened its doors to participating restaurants. Utilizing the College’s state-of-the-art kitchen facilities, local chefs work with culinary students to create an elegant, outdoor dining experience in the College’s Courtyard on Adams Avenue. All proceeds benefit participating restaurants. Dinners are held weekly through November 24. Click here to make reservations.

Downtown Drive-Thru, through October 31
Curbside is convenient! Via social media, Scranton Tomorrow will remind everyone in the community that many Downtown shops and eateries offer curbside delivery in addition to indoor shopping and dining. It’s a great way to support local! Look for the official Downtown Drive-Thru car on Scranton Tomorrow’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

Marywood University to Host Dominican Author and Playwright During Weekly In-Person Enrichment Course

Marywood University’s Introduction to Latin American and Caribbean Literatures course will have a special visitor during its face-to-face enrichment meeting. On Thursday, October 22, 2020, from 2:30 – 4 p.m., Josefina Báez will virtually visit the class of Joshua Deckman, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Foreign Languages Program. Ms. Báez will be presenting her latest work, a self-described “fotonovelarte” titled, Carmen. Báez will be accompanied by members of her creative team, including the main artist and photographer with whom she collaborated to produce the text.

Josefina Báez (La Romana, Dominican Republic/USA) is a bestselling Dominican storyteller, performer, writer, theatre director, and educator. She is the founder and director of Ay Ombe Theatre (April 1986), and crafter of Performance Autology©, an artistic and creative process based on the autobiography of the doer. She works across various media and examines multiple issues such as migration, absence, presence, cultural change, race and women’s lives. She is most known for her texts Dominicanish and Levente No: Yolayorkdominicanyork.

During this special lecture during the Spanish program’s enrichment session, Marywood students will discuss the creation of mixed media texts, graphic novels in the Caribbean, as well as the author’s thoughts on joy, Blackness, and the power of creation to bring about change.

For additional information about Marywood University’s Spanish program and its new minor in Caribbean, Latinx, and Latin American Studies, please visit www.marywood.edu/foreignlang/programs/. To read an interview between Dr. Eckman and Josefina Báez, please visit http://smallaxe.net/sxsalon/interviews/el-nie-inhabiting-love-bliss-and-joy.

The Scranton Salvation Army: Volunteers and Paid Workers Needed

The Scranton Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Team is back!

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS AND PAID WORKERS TO HELP RESCUE CHRISTMAS!

Do you want to give back and help out a great cause? Do you need a fulfilling, paid seasonal job, or extra cash for the holidays? The Scranton Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Team needs you!

Call or join us at our on-site job fair on Thursday, October 22 from 5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m.

Apply today at Scranton Salvation Army on South Washington Ave. in Scranton or for more information call 570-344-9878.

HNB Offers Perks for Local Businesses

The Honesdale National Bank (HNB) is continuing its commitment to keeping our Main Streets vibrant and helping area residents get the most out of their communities and their wallets. Through its HNB Perks program, the Bank offers a free opportunity for local, regional, and national businesses of all shapes and sizes to gain greater visibility among local residents and encourage them to shop local.

HNB Perks, powered by BaZing, is an app made available to HNB value account holders. Through the app, participating local merchants are able to offer deals and discounts to attract and harness the buying power of local community members. Participating businesses are geo-fenced which allows notifications to appear on the home screen of app users notifying them immediately that there is a deal at your location. Customers can also search or browse for a business if they know they are visiting the area.

The HNB Perks powered by BaZing discount network of over 300,000 online and local deals includes savings on dining, shopping, and travel, plus a variety of other benefits to save community members money and encourage them to shop local. The free advertising opportunity for local merchants offers owners online access to manage deals, custom options for deals such as “deal of the day”, digital or physical coupon redemption, and more. These are just a few benefits for business owners in our community and it only costs the price of the deal you provide.

With more than 160 local merchants already participating, HNB aims for more local businesses to take part to drive traffic to our local business owners and to help them benefit from the increased visibility and advantage over competition. Communities thrive by working together. Whether you currently offer incentives for your business or not, this platform provides not only another layer of advertising, but an opportunity to reach an engaged population of buyers. 

From gas stations to law firms to local attractions, HNB Perks offers deals for every aspect of your life. Some examples of deals and discounts offered in our area include, but are not limited to: a free appetizer with a purchase of an Entrée, 10% off of a purchase of $20 or more, 10% off on all auto services, discounts on every gallon of gas, $1 off of a specialty square or round pizza, buy one get one free on styling products, discounted furniture delivery and the list goes on! The customizable deal options allow you to create a deal for a specific day of the week, a daily deal, a certain product that you would like to sell more of, and even an option to edit the deal online as often as the business desires. The only requirements are that the deal needs to be different than any other deal you offer, even if it is by 5 cents and must be worth at least $1 in value.

If you are interested in this opportunity, or you would like to learn more, visit hnbbank.bank/hnb_perks.

Marywood University Hosts “It’s On Us” Healthy Relationships Week

Healthy relationships and violence prevention will be the focus of Marywood University’s “It’s On Us” Healthy Relationships Week scheduled for Monday, October 19 through Friday, October 23, 2020.

Marywood University will, for the sixth year, be joining thousands of schools from around the country to take part in the national “It’s On Us” campaign to end relationship violence and sexual assault. “It’s On Us” is a growing nation-wide cultural movement aimed at fundamentally shifting the way we think about sexual assault in a way that inspires everyone to see it as their responsibility to do something big, or small, to prevent it. The statistics about campus sexual assault are staggering: one in five women and one in sixteen men will be sexually assaulted during his or her time on a college campus. It is time that we stand up and say no more to this epidemic.

This weeklong event at Marywood University is sponsored by the Counseling/Student Development Center(C/SDC) and Peers on Wellness (POW). It is supported for the second year by the Pennsylvania Governor’s It’s on Us PA Grant Program.

The goal is to engage Marywood’s community through raising awareness and providing educational material to reinforce that everyone has a role to play in stopping sexual violence and creating healthy relationships.

Events planned for the week include:

  • Monday, Oct. 19 – Poster Scavenger Hunt. Marywood students willstart “It’s On Us” week by searching through buildings on campus for educational posters on topics ranging from sexual assault awareness and consent to self-care and healthy communication skills. Each poster has its own unique QR code which can be scanned to access a PDF with more information on each topic. Each poster also has its own puzzle piece – put all 8 pieces together, sign the puzzle, and upload a picture of it to the online “It’s On Us” pledge website by Friday night to have the chance to win a prize basket or a gift card.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 20 (Zoom, 7-9 p.m.) Because I Love You Workshop & Discussion Words Matter. Phrases like “because I love you” hold a lot of power in relationships and can be used for manipulation and control. This film and discussion encourage students to reflect on how words can be used as control tactics in unhealthy relationships. Small group discussions, led by trained students, will follow the film.  Discussion participation earns students one raffle entry for the giveaway.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 21 (Various campus locations) Throughout campus, students will find wanted signs for each of the six main characters of the TV Show, FRIENDS. Take note about what makes each character a good friend, even though they are not perfect. Check out our social media pages: https://www.facebook.com/marywoodcsdc and Instagram @marywooduniversity_csdc, to see how groups around campus define healthy friendships.
  • Thursday, Oct. 22 (Zoom, 7-9 p.m.) Bystander Engagement Workshop “It’s On Us” means we have to share responsibility for the safety of the campus community. We can accomplish this through Bystander Engagement. The C/SDC, joined by Marywood University Health Services, Dean of Students, Title IX Coordinator, and the Lackawanna County Women’s Resource Center, will host a showing of the film Intervene along with a presentation by Marywood C/SDC peers. An interactive dialogue will follow on Zoom discussing ways students can safely intervene in an act of violence or the acts leading up to violence. Students will engage in scenarios that are based on real-life situations that students face from across the nation. Participation earns students one raffle entry for the giveaway.
  • Thursday, Oct. 22 (Trailer and Giveaway at Drive-In Movie, 9 p.m.)—Watcha short film created by C/SDC trainees and staff about the scary truths of campus sexual assaults before watching Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark at Marywood’s Drive-In Theatre. Stay tuned for “It’s On Us” giveaways throughout the movie.
  • Friday, Oct. 23 (Online): Take the “It’s On Us” Pledge—Be a part of the solution. Check your Marywood email for a link to sign our virtual “It’s On Us” pledge to prevent campus sexual assault. Once it is signed, the pledge will be printed and displayed on campus. Each student signature earns one raffle entry. Giveaway winners will be announced via email on Monday, October 26, 2020.

Join us and pledge to be part of the solution. “IT’S ON US.” All of us! 

For additional information about “It’s On Us” Healthy Relationships Week at Marywood University, please contact the Counseling/Student Development Center, at (570) 348-6245, or visit marywood.edu/csdc/index.html.