First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. Sponsors Program to keep EMMANUEL CENTER FOR NURSING & REHAB Safe and Secure

Thanks to First Columbia Bank & Trust Co, the residents of the Emmanuel Center for Nursing & Rehab in Danville, Pennsylvania will live in a safer and even more secure environment. The bank recently joined with CRA Partners to help vulnerable seniors by funding the Senior Crimestoppers program to protect those who live and work in this local senior care facility.

CRA Partners, powered by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation, is a national organization that guarantees banks federally mandated CRA credit through the operation of the turn-key Senior Crimestoppers program providing safe and secure living environments for our nation’s low to moderate income seniors. Through flexible funding options such as CRA- qualified community development loans, investments or grants, banks provide the program in senior housing facilities, HUD communities and state Veterans homes while garnering positive public relations exposure in their communities.

Crime against the elderly in our society is a longstanding, constant battle that can be reduced and prevented through the operation of the Senior Crimestoppers program in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Senior Crimestoppers is a coordinated set of components that work together to create a zero tolerance to crime platform in senior housing facilities. Components include cash rewards up to $1,000 paid anonymously for information about wrongdoing of any kind, personal lockboxes for the residents, and effective, on-going education and training for staff members and residents. Senior Crimestoppers has reduced all aspects of crime in participating facilities by 95%.

“Senior Crimestoppers is a way for an administrator to further enhance the lives of the residents they serve. They all work very hard to provide safe, secure, comfortable living environments and their desire to implement the program is just one more example of this. Implementing this program does not mean that the facility currently has a crime problem, but that the administrator is proactively finding a way to keep problems from occurring in the future,” said Terry Rooker, president of Senior Crimestoppers.

Lance Diehl, First Columbia President & CEO, offers additional perspective, “As a bank, we know firsthand the importance of ensuring the safety of consumers’ money and valuables. The physical lockboxes will provide residents of Emmanuel with even more security, and safety will be further enhanced with the additional education and information provided to residents, their loved ones, and employees. Helping everyone learn what to be on the lookout for in terms of scams and wrongdoing is essential and can stop potential crime before it occurs.”

About First Columbia Bank & Trust Co.

First Columbia Bank & Trust Co. has been a local community bank for more than 120 years. With $738.3 million in assets as of March 31, 2020, First Columbia offers a full complement of banking and financial services to individuals and businesses throughout Columbia, Montour, and Northumberland Counties and the surrounding area. The locally owned and managed bank operates fourteen branch offices in the communities of Benton, Berwick, Bloomsburg, Buckhorn, Catawissa, Danville, Elysburg, Lightstreet, Orangeville, Millville, and Scott Township. Member FDIC

About the Senior Crimestoppers program

CRA Partners and Senior Crimestoppers are operated by the Senior Housing Crime Prevention Foundation (SHCPF), headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The SHCPF mission is to provide protection and an enhanced quality of life for vulnerable senior housing residents through meaningful turnkey CRA compliance for community focused banks. Funded exclusively by the banking industry and endorsed by the ICBA and over 30 state bankers associations, the Foundation has developed a low-risk, profitable solution — CRA Partners — for banks of all asset sizes and charter types – to fulfill their federally mandated Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements in the form of qualified loans, investments or grants through the operation of the nationally acclaimed Senior Crimestoppers program. For more information about Senior Crimestoppers, visit SeniorCrimestoppers.org or call 800-529-9096.