Regional Business Digest

REGION

$296,000 federal grant to aid Jameson expansion

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Jameson Health System is expanding its emergency room with the help of a $296,000 federal grant announced by U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire of McCandless, Pa., D-4th. The hospital will expand its emergency room from 8,000 square feet to 12,000 square feet because of a growing number of patients. The annual number of visits has increased by 30 percent to 39,000 since Jameson acquired St. Francis Hospital in 2002.

“The funding that Congressman Altmire has presented to Jameson Hospital this afternoon will have a direct positive impact on the citizens of Lawrence County,” Tom White, Jameson president and chief executive, said Monday.

WORLD

VW to make decision on plans for U.S. plant

FRANKFURT, Germany — Germany’s Volkswagen AG says it will likely announce a decision on its plans for a new U.S. plant after a supervisory board meeting next week.

Europe’s largest carmaker has been considering locating a new production facility in Alabama, Tennessee or Michigan. The company wants to increase its presence in the U.S., where it holds only 2 percent of the market. VW officials have said the company intends to more than triple its U.S. sales to 1 million by 2018.

From Vindicator staff and wire reports