NEW BOARD MEMBER: Tammy Yanssens has been appointed to the board of trustees of the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County. She is a retired nurse from the James Cancer Hospital, part of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. She returned to Jefferson County to be near family and now resides in New Alexandria. Currently, Yanssens serves as the treasurer for the local Buckeye Ruritan.

She enjoys traveling, gardening, spending time with family and reading mostly fiction. Yanssens said she listens to audiobooks while driving and working outside. She continues to participate in a community book club that has met for approximately 25 years.

JOINS OVHC VOLUNTEER TEAM: April Vella-Powell and Marissa Irwin have joined the team at the Ohio Valley Health Center.

Vella-Powell is a board-certified family nurse practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. With extensive experience gained as a registered nurse at Trinity Health System and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she has honed her skills in trauma and cardiac care. She earned her bachelor of science in nursing in 2013, graduating cum laude from Ohio University, and completed her master of science in nursing with a focus in family practice from the University of Cincinnati in 2015.

Irwin brings a wealth of experience, having earned her associate of science degree in nursing in 2011, followed by her bachelor of science in nursing in 2019. She recently achieved her master of science in nursing, specializing in family nurse practitioner, in 2023 from Youngstown State University. Irwin’s’s diverse clinical background includes training in family/internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, critical care medicine, operating room nursing, cardiology and post-surgical care.

EGCC PASS RATE HIGH: Students pursuing an associate degree of nursing at Eastern Gateway Community College recently outperformed the state and national average for passage rates for first-time applicants taking the National Council Licensure Examination.

The pass rate was 90 percent for first-time applicants enrolled in the associate degree of nursing program at Eastern Gateway Community College compared to 86.73 percent for the state of Ohio and 88.56 percent nationally.

“We are so proud of the hard work of our students and the commitment to excellence from our faculty. The pass rate for first-time applicants is 90 percent. That is outstanding, especially when you compare it to the Ohio average, which is 86.73 percent and nationally, 88.56 percent. We put our students first at Eastern Gateway,” said Eastern Gateway Interim President John Crooks.

“At Eastern Gateway, our nursing students care deeply about their future profession, and they are putting in the long hours and the hard work, and it shows,” said Kathleen Rogers, associate professor and program administrator for the ADN Program at Eastern Gateway. “We know these students are ready to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation and fill critical vacancies in the nursing industry.”

FAVORITE RETURNS: McDonald’s Shamrock Shake has returned to local restaurants for a limited time. Again this year, customers have two different ways to enjoy the craveable Shamrock taste they know and love, McDonald’s officials said.

The shake features creamy, vanilla soft serve, blended with a special flavor flavor and finished with a whipped topping for a delicious minty treat. The Oreo Shamrock McFlurry features creamy, vanilla soft serve with the Shamrock Shake flavor and OREO cookie pieces blended throughout.

The Shamrock Shake was created in 1967 by Hal Rosen, a Connecticut McDonald’s owner/operator who made the mint shake in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It debuted nationally in 1970.

In 1974, sales from the shake helped to build the very first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. The mission began when the daughter of a Philadelphia Eagles player was being treated for leukemia. Together with Rosen, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Eagles, the family raised enough funds through Shamrock Shake sales to help open the first Ronald McDonald House as a way to keep families close during difficult times.