Delaware 22in22 honors veteran advocate Rosely Robinson

Delaware 22in22, an initiative to raise awareness of and prevent soldier suicide, will recognize veteran advocate Rosely Robinson for her support of veteran causes. She will be honored sept 28 at Vet Fest on Mapleton Avenue, Town of Whitehall, Middletown. 

Rosely Robinson
Honoree

Robinson is the founder of the Delaware chapter of A Hero’s Welcome Delaware and has served as its director since 2013. The organization’s mission is ensuring all service members get a proper welcome home.

“Mrs. Rosely Robinson is special to us because she was an original organizer of Vet Fest, which has grown into a semi-regional celebration for our veterans of all era,” said 22in22 founder Jacob DiSabatino. “It is hard to find a local veteran group that hasn’t been touched by the compassion of Mrs. Robinson.”

According to DiSabatino, approximately 22 veterans and one active duty military member becomes a victim of suicide every day. That is 50 percent higher than their civilian counterparts. In 2015, Delaware experienced 11 veteran suicides according to the VA’s most updated statistics. That is down from 24 in 2014.

The 22in22 initiative began in 2015 as a response to this issue. Previous winners include Gen. Francis Vavala, Dr. Mark Brainard and Steve Masterson.

ILC Dover rolls out next gen of spacesuits 

ILC Dover will soon launch their first commercially available EVA spacesuit. Similar to a personal spacecraft, the Astro EVA (Extravehicular Activity) suit allows astronauts to operate outside their capsule, space station or habitat with oxygen to breathe and protection from such elements as radiation, bright sunlight, extreme temperatures and space dust. The company currently provides EVA suits to astronauts on the International Space Station.

“We’re so excited to be a part of the second space race,” said Patty Stoll, division manager of space operations at ILC Dover. “We helped with the first one and it feels right to be a part of the second.”

ILC Dover also announced the upcoming release commercially available Sol LEA spacesuit. This suit aids and protects astronauts inside the space capsule during Launch, Entry and Abort conditions.

WSFS completes rebranding following acquisition

WSFS Financial Corp. has successfully rebranded and converted all Beneficial Bank accounts into WSFS Bank accounts. That gives former Beneficial customers access to 500 ATMs and 90 retail banking offices across Delaware, Philadelphia, southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.

“This integration and rebranding effort caps a year-long process to thoughtfully combine the two longest-standing community banks of the Greater Delaware Valley to create the largest locally headquartered bank with the benefit of over 300 combined years of service to our region,” WSFS President and Chief Executive Officer Rodger Levenson said.

“At more than $12 billion in assets, WSFS Bank now fills a long-standing gap between big banks and smaller community banks in the Greater Delaware Valley,” he added. “This unique market positioning will enable us to continue delivering sustainable high performance for years to come.”

WSFS has continued its previously announced retail banking office optimization plan to consolidate 25 percent of the combined WSFS and Beneficial banking locations. So far, 21 offices have shut down out of a total of 14 Beneficial and 11 WSFS locations set to close. 

Beebe and Bayhealth get $750K for rural residency program

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HRSA) has awarded $750,000 in federal grants to Bayhealth and Beebe Medical Centers to develop residency programs in rural areas.

Due to a national shortage of primary care doctors, the federal government has invested in developing residency programs in neglected rural areas. In Delaware, the number of full-time primary care physicians declined 6 percent from 2013 to 2018, according to a University of Delaware study.

Both Delaware systems have chosen to focus on family medicine in their residency programs. The Bayhealth program will include six residents per year, and the Beebe program will include four residents per year.