We are pleased to announce that Dr. Sophia Kunkle will be joining Generations OB/GYN in January! Dr. Kunkle earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Washington & Jefferson College and her Master of Biomedical Science from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University. She currently serves as a faculty member of the OB/GYN Department at the Heritage Valley Family Medicine Residency Program, and is the primary person responsible for the Obstetric and Gynecologic curriculum and education of the Heritage Valley Family Medicine residents.

In addition to seeing patients at Generations OB/GYN at its new Beaver Falls location, Dr. Kunkle will see Family Medicine patients at the Heritage Valley Family Medicine Center. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Kunkle, please call:

• 724-728-3575:  Generations OB/GYN-Beaver Falls (1125 7th Avenue; Beaver Falls, PA 15010) 
• 724-773-8900:  Family Medicine Center (1125 7th Avenue; Beaver Falls, PA 15010)  

Some of our Heritage Valley Pediatrics’ practice locations will be changing in December:  

Effective December 11, 2025, the Sewickley office of Heritage Valley Pediatrics will be closing. Dr. Nassar, along with other Heritage Valley Pediatrics’ providers, will continue seeing patients in our Hopewell office ... just 15 minutes away!

Effective December 17, 2025, the Beaver office, currently located at 250 College Avenue, will be relocating to 79 Wagner Road, Suite 200, Monaca, PA 15061 (within the Center Township/Monaca Medical Neighborhood). The first day for patients in the new Monaca location will be December 22, 2025.

As always, pediatric patients may be seen in any Heritage Valley Pediatrics location. Your child’s records are accessible to our providers at all of our locations via Heritage Valley’s Electronic Medical Records system.

We appreciate your understanding, and look forward to treating your child at one of our locations!

• Aliquippa/Hopewell (2032 Brodhead Road, Aliquippa, PA 15001; 724-375-6161)
• Chippewa/Beaver Falls (2580 Constitution Blvd., Chippewa, PA 15010; 724-773-6842)
• Monaca (79 Wagner Road, Monaca, PA 15061; 724-774-4070)

We are proud to announce that both Heritage Valley Sewickley and Heritage Valley Beaver have been awarded continued Advanced Stroke Certification with no recommendations for improvement by the Joint Commission. Having the Stroke Center designation reduces response times for area residents suffering from stroke symptoms. This means our patients won’t need to travel far for care and will receive treatment in the critical time after symptoms occur. Heritage Valley works closely with local EMS services and has developed a refined process for assessing symptoms. We appreciate our Stroke Team members, along with all of our employees, for their efforts in recognizing stroke symptoms and the need for providing rapid medical care.

Students in the Writing & Artistry Club at Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) collected art supplies with the express purpose of donating them to Heritage Valley Beaver so patients would have a creative way to spend their time. English Professor Stacy Freeman, adviser for the Writing & Artistry Club, said the students enjoyed the art supply drive so much that they would like to do it again in the spring. 

Nurse Managers Julie Cline, Emergency Department, and Braelyn Irving, Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit, were overjoyed with the idea. “We have some supplies, but they get worn out and sometimes we send them home with patients so they can continue to express themselves in creative ways,” said Irving. 

Cline said the Emergency waiting room has a beautiful Austin’s Playroom from the Mario Lemieux Foundation to keep young children busy, but older children and teens often get bored with television, so the art supplies will be great for them to stay occupied while they wait for loved ones to be treated. 

“What a kind and amazing group of students,” commented Lisa Elchik, Heritage Valley Beaver’s Director of Nursing. “We would love to keep the relationship going as long as the students want to collect and donate the supplies for our patients.”  When Elchik asked if they were going back to campus for classes, Freeman said she and the students were headed to the Families Matter Food Pantry in Monaca to deliver food and hygiene items that the students collected for families in need. What a kind and amazing group of students indeed.

The students are pictured with Heritage Valley Nursing leaders. (L to R): Cato Spiker; Heba Iham; Kaitlyn Vintorini; Nurse Manager Braelyn Irving, Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit; Nurse Manager Julie Cline, Emergency Department; and Lisa Elchik, Director of Nursing at Heritage Valley Beaver.

We appreciate everyone who supported the 2025 Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, a joint project of the Heritage Valley Health System Foundation and the Sewickley Valley YMCA! Despite the low temperatures, a record crowd of over 2,060 participants took part in the 5K Run/Walk, successfully raising approximately $55,000 for the Sewickley YMCA’s Faith in Action program.



Heritage Valley Health System has been a long-term partner in support of the Faith in Action program, which provides rides to physician appointments and Heritage Valley Sewickley for tests and procedures; offers referrals for social services, home and needs assessments, and wellness calls to connect the elderly and caregivers; and provides essential food boxes through the Quaker Valley Food to Families program. Keeping seniors connected and healthy and providing nourishment to families experiencing food insecurity also align with Heritage Valley’s mission to improve the health and well-being of all people in the communities we serve.

If you know someone who could benefit from Faith in Action, or if you would like to volunteer in the program, please contact Heather Ochman, Faith in Action Director, at 412-741-9622 ext. 135.