Kathy Masisak, 68, doesn’t want to live in a community without robust medical care. But her local hospital in rural McKean County has been downsizing for years, and she said it’s affecting her family. “They took a maternity ward away last year, and my granddaughter had to go to Olean — which is 35, 40 minutes away — in an emergency situation to deliver that baby,” Masisak said. “I was panicking the whole time going over there to see her.” Masisak lives in Lewis Run, a borough seven miles south of Bradford, where the Bradford Regional Medical Center is about to lose even more services, includin ..read more

McKean County is hosting a mass vaccination clinic Friday , after the county saw a brief period of providers getting no first dose vaccines from the state. Bradford Regional Medical Center is hosting the clinic at the Old Central Christian High School building and will use an emergency allotment of 1,170 doses for those who register ahead of time. This came after local officials expressed concern in late March, when all three local providers were taken off the distribution list by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The mayor of nearby Kane, Brandy Schimp, said it was a setback for resident ..read more

The Bradford Regional Medical Center will no longer have a surgical department starting in April, the Upper Allegheny Health System, which operates Bradford Regional and the Olean General Hospital in New York, announced Wednesday. The Upper Allegheny Health System said it’s consolidating its acute care and surgical services to Olean General, which is about 20 miles northeast of Bradford. The decision will leave 10 beds in service at the Bradford hospital and will move the sleep study and occupational health services to Bradford. “However, the April 1 date is subject to change depending on the ..read more

Bradford, Pennsylvania is a town of 8,000 near the New York border in rural McKean County. It’s a place where people typically hold police officers in high regard. “Most people know all the police officers at least personally in some way,” said Bradford native Jake Mott, 23, who studies psychology at University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Mott said the downside of that close relationship with officers is “that really makes people afraid to be critical of them.” But that seems to be shifting. In the wake of a national conversation about police brutality, Mott and a groundswell of others are push ..read more

In a presidential election year, voting may be the most visible way to try to create change. But it's not the only way. In a three-part series from America Amplified, residents of McKean County share how they are making a difference, where they live, and beyond the ballot box. Margie Brown is a Democrat in Elk County running in this year’s election for Pennsylvania’s 25th Senatorial District, which includes McKean County, where she grew up. The district, comprising eight counties in Northern Pennsylvania, has never elected a Democrat. To reach people amid the pandemic, Brown has spent a lot of ..read more

In a presidential election year, voting may be the most visible way to try to create change. But it's not the only way. In a three-part series from America Amplified, residents of McKean County share how they are making a difference, where they live, and beyond the ballot box. Margie Brown is a Democrat in Elk County running in this year’s election for Pennsylvania’s 25th Senatorial District, which includes McKean County, where she grew up. The district, comprising eight counties in Northern Pennsylvania, has never elected a Democrat. To reach people amid the pandemic, Brown has spent a lot of ..read more

In a presidential election year, voting may be the most visible way to try to create change. But it's not the only way. In a three-part series from America Amplified, residents of McKean County share how they are making a difference, where they live, and beyond the ballot box. Jake Mott, 23, has always felt like he’s not a part of his hometown, Bradford, Pennsylvania. “There’s definitely a Bradford culture, but I've always just observed it,” Mott said. He grew up in the city of 8,770 and is a student of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. In June, when protests against poli ..read more

In a presidential election year, voting may be the most visible way to try to create change. But it's not the only way. In a three-part series from America Amplified, residents of McKean County share how they are making a difference, where they live, and beyond the ballot box. Jake Mott, 23, has always felt like he’s not a part of his hometown, Bradford, Pennsylvania. “There’s definitely a Bradford culture, but I've always just observed it,” Mott said. He grew up in the city of 8,770 and is a student of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. In June, when protests against poli ..read more

In a parking lot in Erie, Andrew Cousins sat in his car and waited for one of his rideshare apps to ping him, letting him know a customer was nearby. He’d been out for a couple hours with only a few customers. Recording himself on his phone, he pointed out the view of Presque Isle Bay. He got excited when he saw an electric vehicle. “Oh, that’s an EV. I love EVs,” said Cousins, who drives a 2013 Hyundai Sonata hybrid. Then Cousins, a 37-year-old Uber and Lyft driver, apologized. “I know I’m rambling. I’m sorry,” he said. He went back to waiting — and feeling a little bit of unease. As the coro ..read more

In a presidential election year, voting may be the most visible way to try to create change. But it's not the only way. In a three-part series from America Amplified, residents of McKean County share how they are making a difference, where they live, and beyond the ballot box. When Kate Kennedy left Kane, Pennsylvania, in 2010, she felt there wasn’t much tying her to the town. Kennedy spent most of the following decade living in Pittsburgh, working in public relations. The thought of returning to Kane didn’t come up at all. But an impromptu decision to go to her 20th high school class reunion ..read more