The current physicians and staff of TriValley have had an extended involvement with this community. They build on the relationships that were established years before by the owner physicians of the former practices that came to make up TriValley Primary Care beginning in 1995. All members of TriValley Primary Care benefit from, and greatly appreciate, the governmental, commercial, educational, artistic, cultural and other societal services and resources in this area and region, public and private. And, TriValley physicians would not want to overlook or short-change the benefits gained and the rich personal experiences provided by the warm and talented people of our communities.

In large and small ways, our physicians and staff have contributed their time, talents, resources and money for the betterment of individuals and activities in this community and beyond as a refection of their character, as well as an indication of the depth of their commitment to the communities in which they live, work and serve.

In most respects this section is an abbreviated compilation of what is presented on the various office pages. You are encouraged to review the office pages to get a fuller appreciation of what these folks have done. There are, however, a few items that are presented only here or in greater detail.

TriValley Primary Care supports the following charitable activities on an annual basis:

TriValley PowerWalk/PowerRun (regional) which is a fund-raising event held each spring to benefit the Indian Valley Boys & Girls Club in Souderton. Please review the TriValley PowerWalk/PowerRun page to learn more and to see who TriValley depends on to make this a successful event. From its inception in 2003, this event has been led and championed by Steven Bimson, MD and has been generously underwritten by TriValley's physicians and supported by the TriValley staff.

Lee National Denim Day (national) is held each fall in which staff contributing $5 may wear jeans (denim) to work for the day. TriValley Primary Care matches the employee donations. The funds raised benefits breast cancer research via the Women's Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. (Please Note: the specific beneficiary may change but the focus of the drive is always breast cancer research and support.) This grew out of a request from a TriValley staff member for TriValley to participate in the event. TriValley employees and owners have collectively given several thousand dollars for breast cancer research since it began hosting a Lee Denim Day October 6, 2000 (which was the Fifth Annual National Lee Denim Day).

Pennridge FISH Organization, Inc. (Perkasie), a local charitable entity that provides a food bank, benefits from a canned food drive held by TriValley each fall. Lori Rousche, MD has been the leader and champion of this endeavor since its inception in the fall of 2006.

TriValley Primary Care and its physicians individually have made significant financial contributions to the following institution in support of the mission of Grand View Hospital, Sellersville:

Grand View Health Foundation (Sellersville)

TriValley Primary Care has made modest contributions repetitively to the following health care related entities:

Penn Foundation, Inc. (Sellersville)
The Healthy Hearts Foundation (Sellersville)

TriValley Primary Care regularly buys display advertisements in event brochures for the following community activities:

Concert Sundaes (Souderton)
The North Pennsmen Barbershop Chorus (Lansdale)

TriValley Primary Care, Lansdale office, annually provides a modest graduation award for the following institution to present to a deserving graduate in its health care programs:

Lansdale School of Business (Lansdale)

The practice also supports, or has lent its support to, the following social service organizations in recent years:

Manna on Main Street, a soup kitchen for the underprivileged and homeless in Lansdale, receives all proceeds from the sale of cookbooks created by the staff of the Lower Salford office.

 

Upper Perkiomen Valley YMCA: TriValley's Upper Perkiomen office participates in the YMCA's annual 5k run and fun walk. The office staff and providers form a team and together contribute their registration fees for the event, which benefits the scholarship fund of the Pennsburg based organization.

 

Keystone Opportunity Center, the premier private social services organization in Montgomery and Bucks Counties, benefits from monetary donations by the Franconia office staff which are given in lieu of exchanging holiday presents.

 

Generations of Indian Valley - Meals on Wheels, has benefited from monetary donations by the Franconia office staff given in lieu of exchanging holiday presents.

 

Relay for Life Cancer Walk: Western Bucks office staff and providers participate in the Relay for Life walk as a team, soliciting donations and sponsorships for their efforts. All proceeds from the Relay for Life Cancer Walk benefit the American Cancer Society.

 

The Grace Oughton Cancer Foundation is a Fredericksburg, VA foundation that provides medical assistance to families whose children are battling neuroblastoma and benefits neuroblastoma research. The staff of the Indian Valley Office raise money through dress-down days (similar to Lee National Denim Day) and by selling hand-knitted scarves.

The physicians of TriValley Primary Care have made modest contributions via contributions or placement ads to the following social service organizations:

The Benevolent Fund at Lutheran Community at Telford (Telford)
Dock Woods Community (Lansdale)
Peter Becker Community (Harleysville)
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the ALS Association (Philadelphia)

In addition, TriValley Primary Care has contributed modest funds to various regional tax exempt arts and cultural organizations, through donations or event ads, including:

Pearl S. Buck House (Perkasie)
International Spring Festival (Lansdale)
Montgomery County Concert Band (Hatfield)

Jeffrey Thatcher, MD composed, recorded, produced and distributed two music CDs whose sales proceeds benefited Grand View Hospice (Sellersville) to the tune of over $5,000 in CD sales. Dr Thatcher has also performed two to three piano concerts yearly at these local retirement communities:

Peter Becker Community (Harleysville)
Souderton Mennonite Homes
Lutheran Community at Telford

Dr Thatcher also performed in a benefit concert with Joanna Mell, Harpist, in June 2008 which raised over $5,000 for Grand View Hospice (Sellersville). Dr Thatcher also gave two piano concerts at the Pearl S. Buck House (Perkasie) to benefit Grand View Health Foundation (Sellersville), one in 1998 and the second in 2001.

TriValley Primary Care physicians contributed funds to the Volunteer Doctors Care (Quakertown) - a free clinic in upper Bucks County - during its start-up phase. Several TriValley physicians, including Lori Rousche, MD, Kevin Reinold, MD, and Heather Hart, MD have been active in providing physician services at this clinic which is established for low income residents without health insurance coverage.

Lori Rousche, MD is an uncompensated medical director for Community Home Services (Souderton) a faith based, non-profit human services organization.

Kelly Rose, MD serves voluntarily (uncompensated) on the Board of Directors of Peter Becker Community (Harleysville).

Finally, TriValley Primary Care physicians have given via contributions or display ads to various local fire and ambulance companies, public libraries, and youth sports teams in the recent past.

And since it began operations in 1995, TriValley Primary Care physicians and staff have contributed to many more community organizations not named above both with funds and with their time.

Solicitation Note: TriValley physicians have been generous with their time and money. However, their generosity has largely been focused on local entities that have some personal connection with them or with the practice. If you want to solicit funds or their time for your cause, please review the Vendor Guide on the Our Practice page and apply those elements to your approach. A letter is the best approach. Telephone calls are not accepted and a facsimile transmission (fax) will be ignored.

Another form of giving back is to assist in the training of future healthcare professionals. The current complement of TriValley providers have provided their services without remuneration to train students from the following institutions, either currently or in the recent past:

Suburban Mercy Hospital (medical residents), Norristown by Dr Cocchiaro
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (medical students), Philadelphia by Dr Moore
Thomas Jefferson University Medical College (medical students), Philadelphia by Drs. Pierotti, Naunczek, Albrecht, Reinold, Pellegrino, and Moore
Temple University School of Medicine (medical students), Philadelphia by Drs. Blue and Shuhler
Arcadia University (physician assistant students), Glenside by Dr Sag and Brigitte Harken, CRNP
Salus University (physician assistant students), Elkins Park by Dr. Naunczek
Drexel University (nurse practitioner students), Philadelphia by Dr Sag and Brigitte Harken, CRNP
Gwynedd Mercy College (nurse practitioner students), Gwynedd Valley by Karen Pavlick, CRNP; and Dr Sag and Brigitte Harken, CRNP
Thomas Jefferson University School of Nursing (nurse practitioner students), Philadelphia by Dr Sag and Brigitte Harken, CRNP
University of Pennsylvania (nurse practitioner students), Philadelphia by Deb Carroll, CRNP; Ashley Lehman, CRNP; Dr Sag and Brigitte Harken, CRNP; and Eileen Zitzer, CRNP
Lansdale School of Business (medical assistant students), Lansdale by Indian Valley office clinical staff and Lansdale office clinical staff
Sanford Brown Institute (medical assistant students), Trevose by Indian Valley office clinical staff

TriValley physicians are on staff with several local hospitals. Not all TriValley physicians have requested admitting privileges. But all TriValley physicians have some relationship with a hospital in the community. Please see the Hospital Care tab on the office pages for an explanation of this service.

TriValley's Jeffrey Thatcher, MD has had a lengthy involvement with Grand View Hospital (Sellersville) and its patient care processes without remuneration. In the 1990's Dr Thatcher worked with its nursing services and discharge planning to improve communications with physicians offices when patients were discharged. A pilot program was later adopted as the norm for Grand View Hospital. TriValley Primary Care underwrote one half the cost of a planner as part of the pilot.

From the mid-2000's Dr Thatcher has helped develop the palliative care program at Grand View Hospital, which helps those very ill patients who need special assistance with symptom control and coordination of care. He has met regularly with nursing staff, social services staff, and pastoral staff from Grand View Hospital and Grand View Hospice (Sellersville) to shape this program that serves the community.

Through the years, several TriValley physicians have served on the boards of local hospitals and in positions of clinical responsibility such as chair of clinical departments. These positions are/were voluntary, that is, without compensation.

Of note, Jerome Sag, MD served for several years on the Board of Directors of North Penn Hospital and of the Central Montgomery Medical Center (now, Abington Health Lansdale Hospital); Kevin Reinold, MD on the St Luke's Quakertown Hospital Board of Trustees; and Hal Cohan, MD as an invitee at the Grand View Hospital (Sellersville) Board of Trustees meetings.

The following are hospitals which TriValley providers are on staff with various staff privileges:

Medicare provides a comparison of hospitals which participate with Medicare. Click here and enter the zip code or the city name, PA to obtain a list in that area. Then click on the name of the facility to see the details. Note: If the above link is broken, reach it by specifying www.medicare.gov and clicking on the Facilities and Doctors button on the left-hand side.

Most TriValley physicians and some nurse practitioners are on staff and actively care for a number of patients in nursing homes in the area. Please see the Nursing Home and Continuing Care tab on the office pages for a thorough explanation of these services, and which facilities are supported by providers in each office.

In addition to caring for patients, TriValley physicians have been active in seeking to better the communications between hospitals and nursing homes. In this regard, TriValley's Jeffrey Thatcher, MD, James Albrecht, MD and Hal Cohan, MD, were responsible for several meetings in 2009 between Grand View Hospital (Sellersville) and area nursing homes to foster better understanding by emergency department staff of the capabilities of nursing home patients to handle post - hospital discharge care.

A few TriValley physicians are medical directors of area nursing homes. A medical director is a paid position, but the pay is modest for the responsibilities undertaken. In this capacity, the medical director assists the facility administration in improving the quality of care provided and in meeting the standards of accrediting and governmental entities.

In addition, Jeffrey Thatcher, MD beginning in 2010 began work to develop a palliative care program for nursing homes in the region.

The following are homes and continuing care communities to which TriValley providers attend patients:

Nursing home logos coming soon...

Medicare provides a comparison of nursing homes which participate with Medicare. Click here and click on the Find and Compare Nursing Homes button. Enter the facility name, zip code or the city, etc. to obtain a list in that area. Then click on the name of the facility to see the details. Note: If the above link is broken, reach it by specifying www.medicare.gov and clicking on the Facilities and Doctors button on the left-hand side.

Physicians in this office coordinate patient care with hospice agencies. "Hospice care is provided to patients who have a limited life expectancy. Although most hospice patients are cancer patients, hospices accept anyone regardless of age or type of illness. These patients have also made a decision to spend their last months at home or in a homelike setting." Please see the Hospice Care tab on the office pages for a thorough explanation of this service and the origin of the above quote, and which hospices are supported by providers in each office.

The following are hospices for which TriValley providers coordinate care:

Hospice logos coming soon...

Home health agencies provide health care services in a patient's home. Although often arranged by a facility as part of its discharge planning process, a patient is free to specify the agency he/she feels best suits his/her needs. TriValley physicians oversee the plan of care provided to the patient by home health staff.

TriValley physicians routinely coordinate care for patients of the following home health agencies (and others as called upon):

Health agency logos coming soon...

Medicare provides a comparison of certified home health agencies which participate with Medicare. Click here and enter the zip code or the city name, PA to obtain a list in that area. Then click on the name of the agency to see the details. Note: If the above link is broken, reach it by specifying www.medicare.gov and clicking on the Facilities and Doctors button on the left-hand side.

TriValley Primary Care physician-owners have contributed to various community health care services in a paid capacity. These are positions of trust and responsibility which organizations have deemed TriValley providers to be worthy. Note: Because of editorial limitations, this information may become outdated but it does reflect the range of services provided to the community by TriValley physicians.

School: Heather Hart, MD is medical director of the Souderton Area School District (Souderton)

Nursing Home: Norbert Leska, MD is medical director of Pennsburg Manor (Pennsburg) and of Phoebe Richland Health Care Center (Richlandtown)
Jeffrey Thatcher, MD is medical director of Lutheran Community of Telford

Hospice: Gerald Cocchiaro, DO is medical director of the North Penn Visiting Nurse Association Hospice (Lansdale)

Medical Residency: Kelly Rose, MD and Kelly O'Driscoll, MD are teaching faculty with the Abington Memorial Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program (Abington)

Ambulance Association: Henry Kneidinger, DO is medical advisor of the Upper Perkiomen Valley Ambulance Association (Red Hill)