Vindication tastes bitter when it comes at such a cost, but the record must now show: every alarm I sounded was justified.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, Spotlight PA exposed a damning internal review of the Penn State Cancer Institute: chemotherapy overdoses, treatment delays that let cancers spread unchecked, incomplete patient records, and a toxic workplace driving mass exodus of doctors and staff.
For years, Penn State continued to focus on attempts to achieve a designation that would serve as a ‘gold star on their lapel’ rather than prioritizing patient care, despite numerous concerns being raised both internally and externally. Now, just one day after publication of this expose on Nov. 21, Raymond Hohl resigned as director. Too little, too late, and please note Penn State did not fire him.
Penn State’s response? A deflection: “We believe the reporting by this outlet is based almost entirely on materials more than two years old and it does not provide an accurate representation of Penn State Cancer Institute (PSCI) as it exists today. During the last two years—we have made significant changes to PSCI’s leadership, staffing, operations, clinical capabilities and research processes.” Yet the facts remain: patient harm, buried reports and ongoing risks tell a different story.
As outlined in these reports, the suffering inflicted on patients, families and staff is unconscionable.
In 2024, as the lone dissenting voice on the Penn State Board of Trustees, I demanded information about the situation at Penn State Health’s Hershey Medical Center, including the Cancer Institute’s pursuit of the national cancer center designation and its disastrously mismanaged transplant center, now shuttered (read my meeting report with my full quotes at barryfenchak.com/my-comments-from-the-penn-state-board-of-trustees-meeting-may-3-2024 ).
The events of last week are a grim validation of every warning I sounded. I stood alone, and my repeated requests for information about the Cancer Institute were stonewalled. As Spotlight PA now reveals, the explosive December 2022 report documenting those failures, and containing much of the information I had requested, had already landed on President Neeli Bendapudi’s desk and was being deliberately withheld from most trustees, and shared only with a select few in leadership who chose to bury it rather than act.
These failures have exacted a brutal toll: lives endangered, Penn State’s reputation shredded and the potential for multimillion-dollar lawsuits looming. I cast the sole NO vote against the Penn State Health Board of Directors reappointments of Bendapudi, Board Chair David Kleppinger, and former trustees Keith Masser, Steve Wagman and Mark Dambly. They all knew, or should have known, these details. They are still on the board of Penn State Health.
When I raised alarms both in private and public sessions, my fellow board members stared like I’d grown three heads, then rubber-stamped the appointments without deliberation or debate. Even now, their dismissive statement tries to sweep years of mismanagement under the rug.
Make no mistake: lives hang in the balance and I take no pleasure in being proven right at such terrible cost. This isn’t about a poorly managed endowment or questionable ticket deals (both of which have meaningful negative impacts on the university and its stakeholders). It is the sacred duty of university governance to safeguard patient’s safety and the institution’s mission. This Board’s loss of institutional control may place Penn State in danger of perilous financial calamity.
They voted me off the board last June for my diligence and devotion to duty, and for asking too many tough questions. Vindication tastes bitter when it comes at such a cost, but the record must now show: every alarm I sounded was justified.
Now is the time for real accountability, not excuses. The Penn State community deserves better. Patients deserve better.
Barry Fenchak
State College
Former Penn State Trustee
Stand Up for Your Community. Support WPSU
Residents of Central and Northern Pennsylvania are at risk of losing access to the first class news and entertainment WPSU has provided them for more than 70 years.
WPSU now faces a turning point. With Penn State withdrawing funding for the station, alternative sources of funding are necessary to keep this essential public service alive.
Fortunately, a solution is available. WHYY has offered a bold and compassionate plan to acquire WPSU—and, crucially, to maintain it as the independent, community-driven public media service that our region deserves. It’s not a takeover; it’s a partnership between WHYY and WPSU committed to safeguarding local programming and providing free non-commercial media to our region.
This joint venture will ensure that:
• Local journalism remains rooted in Central and Northern Pennsylvania,
• Educational, informational and entertainment programming is available for all ages.
• Community voices are heard through independent, non-commercial radio and television.
• WPSU maintains its independent identity, strengthened by WHYY’s support.
The plan’s success depends on people like you—people who know that public media keeps communities strong through information and connection, that democracy depends on education.
Stand up for your community by supporting this venture.
• Donate. Visit wpsu.org/donate to make your gift. Money goes exclusively to WPSU for its operation and sustainability, keeping WPSU strong, local and independent—now and into the future.
• Advocate. Spread the word to others who also believe in the power of public media.
• Educate. Visit wpsu.org to discover how WPSU is strengthened by this partnership with WHYY.
Mary Bruce Serene
State College
Shop Local and Inspire the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
As the holiday season begins, Main Streets across America are coming alive with lights, decorations and the energy of small businesses preparing for one of the most important shopping weekends of the year. Small Business Saturday (SBS) is one of my favorite times of the year. Occurring right after Thanksgiving, it not only celebrates time with family and friends but also officially kicks off the holiday shopping season.
This Small Business Saturday, I encourage everyone to take a break from online clicks and big-box stores and turn their attention to the small, local businesses that keep our communities vibrant.
When you shop locally, you’re doing more than buying the perfect gift for grandma — you’re investing in your neighbors, your community and the future of entrepreneurship. When you shop locally your dollar recirculates through your local economy two to four times more than money spent at a non-local company. As your dollar moves through your community it helps to create jobs, support youth sports teams and sustain the local character that makes each of our towns unique. Many communities have embraced SBS as a vital way to support their small businesses and help revitalize their downtowns. I have seen successful communities’ partner with local businesses for marketing co-ops, develop creative marketing plans including contests and even include pop-up retail to attract more visitors and shoppers.
This year, I want to highlight two aspects of Small Business Saturday that are near and dear to my heart: pop-up retail and youth entrepreneurship.
Across our region, more and more entrepreneurs — especially young people — are testing their ideas through temporary retail spaces, pop-up shops and local vendor markets. These short-term opportunities allow aspiring business owners to reach customers, build a following and gain real-world experience without the high cost or long-term commitment of a traditional storefront.
For school aged students, pop-up retail offers a powerful learning experience — turning creativity and classroom lessons into hands-on business practice. Whether they’re selling handmade crafts, baked goods, tech gadgets, or clothing designs, these young entrepreneurs are building confidence, community connections and the skills that fuel lifelong success.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is proud to support this new generation of innovators. Through our network of Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE mentors and Veterans Business Outreach Centers, we help entrepreneurs of all ages access capital, training and mentorship. For youth and first-time founders, these resources can turn a weekend pop-up idea into a thriving year-round business.
This Small Business Saturday, I encourage local chambers of commerce, downtown organizations and community leaders to open their doors to pop-up markets and youth-run ventures. Make space for creativity and give our young entrepreneurs a platform to shine.
In closing I want to ask shoppers to please consider spending part of your weekend exploring your neighborhood small businesses, local pop-ups or student-run booths. Every small purchase you make sends a powerful message of belief and encouragement to the next generation of business leaders.
Jim Spencer
U.S. Small Business Administration Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator
Common Sense
Thomas Paine served the revolutionary founders and colonial citizens well as they went about throwing off an autocrat. Citizens should read “Common Sense” and the “Crisis Papers” to remind themselves what colonists had in mind as they put their lives and fortunes on the line for liberty.
Ultimately, free speech, free press, the right to assemble, due process under law and checks and balances in government were the fundamentals in their view of the future for all people. Also, among those expectations, the right to pursue happiness, unfettered by systemic constraints.
Paine said, “One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is that nature disproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule, by giving mankind an ass for a lion.” “Most wise men in their private sentiments have ever treated hereditary right with contempt; yet it is one of those evils which when once established is not easily removed: many submit from fear, others from superstition, and the more powerful part shares with the king the plunder of the rest.”
Citizens of The United States of America disallowed this kind of servitude nearly 250 years ago. In that time, we have pushed forward the basic premise that all people are created equal but have failed to remove the systemic ceilings preventing some from achieving that equality. Let’s continue working in a positive direction. We are so much better when we all have freedom to improve ourselves and promote the common good.
Tim Cowan
Julian
