Ribbon-cutting set for Vista Center

Ribbon-cutting set for Vista Center

BOARDMAN

Vista Center, 830 Boardman-Canfield Road, will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5 p.m. Thursday for the opening of its new rehabilitation unit.

The unit offers hotel-type accommodations for patients who are staying for a short period of time. Construction for the new unit began last fall to add 22 private rooms on the upper level, 3,000 square feet of rehabilitation space, offices and a new kitchen on the lower level. The kitchen is 1,200 square feet and features state-of-the-art equipment.

HBA companies to help repair home

Boardman

The Home Builders and Remodelers Association of the Valley will start a community-service project today at a home at 1067 Zander Drive.

An elderly couple received a violation notice from Boardman Township, and HBA decided to help repair the home’s exterior.

Local HBA companies involved in the project are Boak & Sons, Meander Homes, Carl Alexander Construction, Cross Lawn and Landscape, Banner Supply and Santon Electric.

Program connects chamber members

youngstown

The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber is reminding its members of the ConnectForLunch program, which offers face-to-face lunch meetings with two or three other chamber members.

Program participants can create a lunch group, and the chamber program then sends out invitations and makes reservations at a conveniently located restaurant of the member’s choosing.

Participants also are encouraged to provide biographical information via email so those attending the lunch have a better idea of one another’s backgrounds. By signing up before Sept. 21, members receive a free six-week trial.

For information about ConnectForLunch, visit www.connect4lunch.com.

Insurance premiums for family plan up 4%

WASHINGTON

Annual premiums for job-based family health insurance went up just 4 percent this year, but that’s no comfort with the price tag approaching $16,000 and rising more than twice as fast as wages.

The annual survey released Tuesday by two major research groups served as a glaring reminder that the nation’s problem of unaffordable medical care is anything but solved.

Premiums for a family plan are averaging $15,745, with employees paying more than $4,300 of that. And lower-wage workers are paying more for skimpier coverage than their counterparts at upscale firms.

Overall, “it’s historically a very moderate increase in premiums,” said Drew Altman, president of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which conducted the survey with the Health Research & Educational Trust.

He quickly added: “But even a moderate increase feels really big to workers when their wages are flat or falling.” General inflation rose only 2.3 percent, by comparison.

Vindicator staff/wire reports