Harrison

Alle-Kiski Medical Center has been recognized as one of the top hospitals in the country for clinical excellence and patient safety.

The center, which consists of Allegheny Valley Hospital and Citizens Ambulatory Care Center, received the Distinguished Hospital Clinical Excellence Award from HealthGrades, an independent health-care ratings company. The company also put the center on its list of Distinguished Hospitals for Patient Safety.

The clinical excellence awardees include the top 5 percent of more than 5,000 hospitals in the United States with the lowest mortality and complication rates. For the patient safety designation, HealthGrades identified hospitals with patient safety records in the top 10 percent in the nation.

Mars Area Schools

Dan Ratterman will replace Bill Pangas on the school board next month.

Mr. Pangas is leaving the board because his family is moving out of the district. His last meeting will be Tuesday.

The board voted unanimously Monday to appoint Mr. Ratterman, of Adams, who has lived in the district for two years. His children attend Mars Area schools. He works for Kraft Foods.

Pittsburgh

The St. Margaret Foundation has been recognized by Congress as the only foundation in the country that provides free automated external defibrillators and repair of the devices to the community.

A letter recognizing the foundation was read into the Congressional Record last month by U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods.

Since the program started in 1998, 167 defibrillators have been placed in communities served by UPMC St. Margaret, the foundation's partner in the program. The hospital on Freeport Road is in Pittsburgh, near Aspinwall.

The foundation is adding 45 of the devices and plans to buy 20 to 30 more by October.

The program has saved 17 lives, project coordinator Dave Bianco said. "When you consider that it costs less than $2,500 to purchase one of the AEDs, and compare that to the lives that have been affected ... I think most people will agree that we have a great return on our investment."

Quaker Valley Schools

The school board is expected to finalize a budget Monday that would raise the property tax rate by 1.95 mills.

The proposed budget of $33.1 million is nearly 7 percent more than the current budget of $30.9 million.

The tax increase would raise the rate to 18.85 mills. It would mean the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 would pay $1,885 in school taxes, an increase of $195 a year.

The district attributes the proposed increase in part to a declining tax base, 2002 assessments, repayment of loans for improvements, rising energy costs and mandatory increases in salaries, retirement contributions and cyber school payments.

The meeting will be at 8 p.m. in Quaker Valley Middle School.