WASHINGTON, DC–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  ECG Management Consultants, Inc., one of the nation’s premier healthcare management consulting firms, announces the return of Mr. Franklin D. Campbell, Principal, to the company’s Academic Healthcare Division. Mr. Campbell’s return to the firm further expands the breadth and depth of expertise and geographic reach within ECG’s Academic Healthcare Division.

Commenting on the hire, Mr. Stephen F. Messenger, Managing Partner and head of ECG’s Eastern Healthcare practice, said, “It is great to be welcoming back such a talented ECG alum. Frank adds a considerable capability and experience to an already strong team of professionals devoted to the needs of our academic healthcare clients.”

Based in the Washington, D.C., office, Mr. Campbell will focus on academic healthcare/integrated system strategy, finances, and operations. As a proven academic healthcare executive and consultant, his experience includes specific expertise in strategic/business planning, governance and organizational design, financial analysis, and physician/hospital/medical school alignment strategies.

Since departing ECG in 2007, Mr. Campbell most recently served as director within the health industries practice of another national consulting firm focusing exclusively in services to academic medical centers and their component organizations: schools of medicine, teaching hospitals, faculty practice organizations, research organizations, and other academic entities, such as schools of allied or public health. Prior to this, Mr. Campbell served for two years as the senior executive with strategic responsibility for the Temple University Health System and Temple University School of Medicine. During Mr. Campbell’s initial tenure with ECG, he spent 10 years consulting to academic medical centers throughout the United States.

Mr. Campbell holds a master of health administration degree from Washington University School of Medicine and Olin Graduate School of Business and a master of business administration degree, with a concentration in Production and Operations Management, from the University of New Mexico, Robert O. Anderson Graduate School of Management. He completed his bachelor of arts degree at Boston College.

About ECG Management Consultants, Inc.
ECG offers a broad range of strategic, financial, operational, and technology-related consulting services to healthcare providers. As a leader in the industry, ECG provides specialized expertise in developing and implementing innovative and customized solutions that effectively address hospital/physician relationships, strategic and business planning, specialty program development, information technology, and the complexities of the academic healthcare enterprise. ECG has offices in Boston, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.ecgmc.com.

PALMETTO, FL–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  TrinityCare Senior Living (OTCBB: TCSR) today announced that it has completed the transaction anticipated in a definitive agreement for a business combination via the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding capital stock of SeaBridge Freight, Inc., a Tampa Bay area based company which is the pioneer in creating the U.S. Marine Highway Industry, providing the most environmentally friendly, safe, cost efficient container-on-barge, blue water, intermodal freight service through geographical advantaged routes. The stockholders of SeaBridge received newly issued shares of common stock of TrinityCare; management of SeaBridge assumed their role as management of TrinityCare and commenced the process of changing the corporate name to SeaBridge Freight Corp.

“This business combination with SeaBridge Freight is a significant milestone for TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc. that is crucial to the future success of the Company. We fully believe in their business model providing smart, efficient and environmentally friendly freight services to strategic markets, and are excited to be part of the future of SeaBridge Freight as shareholders,” stated Donald W. Sapaugh, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TrinityCare Senior Living, Inc.

About TrinityCare Senior Living

TrinityCare Senior Living (“TrinityCare”) develops, owns, and manages quality senior living facilities that focus on enriching the faith of the residents and providing state-of-the-art independent living, assisted living, memory care and adult day care services in a single location. TrinityCare operates three facilities in Texas and Tennessee. For more information please visit www.trinitycare.com.

About SeaBridge Freight Corp.

SeaBridge Freight Corp. is the pioneer in creating the U.S. Marine Highway Industry, providing the most environmentally friendly, safe, cost efficient container-on-barge, blue water, intermodal freight service through geographical advantaged routes. The Company provides container-on-barge, break-bulk and out-of-gauge freight transport service between Port Manatee of Tampa Bay, FL and Port Brownsville, Texas. Utilizing a direct water route that is drastically shorter than a land route, the Company presents a more environmentally friendly alternative that economically connects the Mexico/ South Texas and Southeastern US markets. As a reliable alternative freight transportation option for shippers the Company’s services can be integrated with third party logistics providers, truckers and intermodal rail carriers to significantly lower freight costs. SeaBridge Freight Corp is headquartered in Palmetto, Florida.

Forward-Looking Statements

The information in this news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements related to the future financial performance of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, successful execution of growth strategies, product development and acceptance, the impact of competitive services and pricing, general economic conditions, and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwire – Sept. 14, 2010) –

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

The Top Healthcare and Health Insurance Leaders in the Nation will gather in Los Angeles at the National Healthcare Reform Conference, September 20-22^nd, 2010, together to discuss the negatives and positives of healthcare reform and the challenges and, obstacles and the health reform bill will have on the health insurance and healthcare industry. Senior Leaders from health insurance companies, consulting firms, and healthcare providers will for the first time to discuss the upcoming implementation deadline of September 23rd for some of the new rules becoming effective under National Healthcare Reform. 

Jonathan Edelheit, Chairman of National Healthcare Reform Conference said, “It is indeed a great pleasure to see that leading employers, insurance companies, governmental entities, insurance agents and healthcare providers are all coming to the congress to find out how healthcare reform affects them and what new rules and regulations they need to comply with.” 

Many leading private and government organizations have expressed admiration on steps taken by Mr. Edelheit and his team to create such an important and extensive congress. As the congress is the dedicated gathering of experts on important subject.

The conference will address issues such as the new mandated minimum loss ratios, pre-existing condition clauses, new rules and regulations employers, insurance companies and healthcare providers must comply with. The healthcare reform congress will also address new mandated benefit for employees and insured.

“Bringing together a dynamic and diverse group of health care leaders, government officials and industry experts, this Conference will engender thoughtful and timely discussion about how the landscape of health care is changing. I am pleased to be a part of this important opportunity to address the challenges and implications of the health care law for all Americans,” said Therese Vaughan, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). 

Adding more to the topic Mr. Edelheit, also Editor-in-Chief of the Healthcare Reform Magazine added “Undeniably, without the up to date information, many employers and agents will find themselves in non-compliance with the new law, and will not be able to evaluate positive steps. Hence, I am content to see that Insurance leaders are gathering to discuss possible challenges, opportunities and issues related to the country’s growth.

National Healthcare Reform Conference is organized by the National Healthcare Reform Magazine, http://ww.healthcarereformmagazine.com, which is the only magazine and publication that addresses the effect, outcome and the future of healthcare reform. 

The finalized agenda is available at: http://healthcarereformconference.com/agenda.html.

The finalized list of speakers is available at: http://healthcarereformconference.com/speakers.html.

2010 National Healthcare Reform™ Conference Speakers are:

Brady Jensen, Group Manager, Global Benefits, Microsoft Corporation

Dr. Joseph P. Annis, Secretary, Board of Trustees, American Medical Association

Dr. Therese (Terri) Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Robert Moffit, Senior Fellow in Domestic and Economic Policy Studies, The Heritage Foundation

Cheryl Matheis, Senior V.P. Health Strategy, AARP

Terry K. Headley, President Elect, National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA)

Stuart Barton, President, American Seniors Association

William (Bill) Barcellona, V.P. Government Affairs, California Association of Physicians Groups

Dr. Raymond Fabius, Chief Medical Officer, Healthcare & Science Business, Thomson Reuters

Michael Gibbons, Chairman, National Restaurant Association

Neil Trautwein, VP-Employee Benefits Policy Counsel, National Retail Federation

Christopher Khoury, Consultant, Head of Research Healthcare Practice, Gallup, Inc.

Melissa Boudreault, Director of Dell State Health Services, DELL

Brian N. Anderson, Consultant, Milliman, Inc.

Michael Bertaut, Senior Healthcare Intelligence Analyst, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana

Janet Trautwein, Executive Vice President and CEO, National Association of Health Underwriters

Barry Hall, Principal, Buck Consultants

Devon M. Herrick, Senior Fellow, Ph.D., National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA)

Lee D. Reichenbach, Market Manager, Hewitt Associates, West Coast Health Management Practice

Matt Hendrickson, MD, Vice Chair, PNHP, Physicians for National Health Program

Shelly Ten Napel, Senior Associate, State Coverage Initiatives, Academy Health

Craig Froude, President, WebMD Health Services

Eric D. Johnson, Regional Sales Manager, First Horizon Msaver

Rajiv Sabharwal, Chief Solutions Architect, Health & Life Sciences Practices, Infosys Technologies

Rob Thurston, President, HR Consulting Group

Ed Bray, Director of Compliance, Burnham Benefits Insurance Services

Andre Chasse, Director of Benefits, CoreLogic Inc., (Formerly The First American Corporation)

Kristi West, Sr. Manager, Benefits, SPHR-CA, GPHR,  Irvine Company

Kim Buckey, Compliance Lead, HighRoads

Denise Gott, VP of Sales,  LTC Financial Partners

Marcia Wagner, Principal, The Wagner Law Group

Greg Greenwood, PhD., MBA, President & CEO, Human Capital Specialists

David Ries, General Counsel, Human Capital Specialists

Andy Smith, M.D., Vice President/Chief Medical Officer, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital

Jeff Peters, President, Surgical Directions

Jean Patrick Tsang, President, Bayser Consulting

The National Healthcare Reform Conference is a stream of the Employer Healthcare Congress. http://www.employerhealthcarecongress.com . Together with four streams 1) Corporate Wellness Conference http://www.corporatewellnessconference.com 2)Voluntary Benefits and Limited Medical Conference http://www.voluntarybenefitsconference.com 3) Self Funding Employer Healthcare & Workers Compensation Conference http://www.selffundingconference.com and 4) the National Healthcare Reform Conference, The Employer Healthcare Congress is one of the largest US healthcare conferences in the country with over 1,000 attendees and up to 130 exhibitors and sponsors.

About the Healthcare Reform Magazine

The healthcare reform journal is a monthly publication focusing on how healthcare reform affects employers, insurers, insurance agents, healthcare providers and patients and will peel back the onion of the thousands of pages of healthcare reform bill to look at how different aspects of health care reform will really work.
http://www.healthcarereformmagazine.com.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.health-plan-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/d90c1a6dd8than08.jpg.jpg.

LAKE MARY, FL–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) – PediaVision, a company dedicated to solving the critical problem of undiagnosed vision problems affecting thousands of children, today announced that Seminole County Public Schools has expanded its vision screening program to help identify more children whose vision problems could potentially threaten their ability to learn and inhibit academic performance. The school system is expanding its PediaVision screenings and instituting annual exams to include even more children in the district. Fifty-one schools in the district are now screening their entire schools, not just required grade levels. Also, with the help of local doctors and VisionQuest, parents unable to afford vision services for their kids can now receive eye glasses and vision exams at lower costs.

According to Prevent Blindness America, one in four school-aged children has a vision problem significant enough to affect learning. If caught early, most vision issues in children can be corrected providing them a better quality of life.

Since August 2009, Seminole County Public Schools has screened nearly 5,000 students with PediaVision devices, referring approximately 25-30 percent of them to eye care specialists. PediaVision is the only binocular vision device that produces highly accurate vision screenings with instant results for children of any age. The software produces written results and recommendations as to whether or not a subject should be referred to an eye care specialist. Conducted from three feet away, screenings are simple, non-invasive and as easy as taking a picture.

Britt Smith, executive director for exceptional student support services for Seminole County Public Schools, says while school districts in Florida and across the country face intense pressure to improve academic performance, many simply don’t realize the severity of undiagnosed vision problems and how they can negatively impact students. He selected PediaVision because of its accuracy, ease of use and the ability to screen large populations of students without having to increase personnel. He urges school districts to re-evaluate current vision screening methods and consider state-of-the-art technology to help kids.

“Traditional vision screening methods are inadequate. PediaVision screening devices offer accurate, instant results allowing thousands of kids across the district to be examined by eye care specialists and reap immediate benefits. We want students to get the help they need and break those barriers. Unfortunately, we all find ways to accommodate vision issues without properly identifying the underlining cause of the problem,” said Smith who was shocked when his 15-year old son failed a restricted driver’s license vision exam.

“This wasn’t an issue of a parent not taking his child to the doctor or lack of medical care access; it was a matter of accurate detection. I would trust the PediaVision device more than any other vision screening method I know of, and I love that we don’t have to increase staff to screen more kids,” he added.

Esther West, 2^nd vice district governor of district 49A, says Alaska’s main goal is to eradicate preventable blindness and has been responsible for more than 13,000 screenings in the state. For the last four years, the Lions of Alaska have used 14 devices and they recently ordered 12 more for their community health care center facilities in rural Alaska.

“With PediaVision, we can quickly tell if children have Amblyopia or ‘lazy eye’ and if we get them treatment early enough, it’s curable. If I had to compare PediaVision with our original screener, it’s the winner hands down. Before PediaVision, screening was a very cumbersome process because we had to wait for pictures to be interpreted by doctors to get results. With PediaVision, it takes more time to enter the data than it does to get results, and they’re very accurate,” said West.

She also said that it’s very easy to train people how to screen. “If you can type and follow instructions, you can screen with this device. PediaVision is unbelievable. It’s absolutely the best thing we’ve ever worked with.” 

West recalls how a PediaVision screening helped a student conquer behavioral problems in the classroom. “He frequently caused trouble because he couldn’t see. But nobody knew it. He was trying to take the attention away from himself so people wouldn’t know. We screened him and got him glasses. When I went back to the school a few months later, he ran up to me, grabbed my legs and said I was the lady who gave him his eyes.” According to national studies, approximately 70 percent of juvenile delinquents have a vision issue.

Wyoming also selected PediaVision for its Lions Early Childhood Vision project to reach large populations of children with developmental disabilities. The project is committed to ensuring all children in the state of Wyoming receive the highest quality eye care. Currently using 19 PediaVision devices, the state can now screen children in rural communities who are typically hard to reach.

Rebecca Allen, project coordinator, said they are thrilled with the device because it allows them to get quick, accurate readings even on the most difficult of children. “Children with developmental disabilities are 5 times more likely to have vision difficulties. In Wyoming, we’re working closely with parents and doctors to ensure that kids who are having vision difficulties are quickly identified and can get the help they need in a timely manner. With PediaVision, we trust the screenings. Parents are so ecstatic that they’re making immediate appointments for their kids to be seen by the eye doctor. We have very good follow up, and the kids who need help are getting it right away.”

PediaVision’s CEO David Melnik commented, “We are extremely pleased that schools and community projects across the U.S. have selected PediaVision. They are truly leading the way to bring revolutionary change in vision screening. Eighty percent of a child’s learning is visual, so a child’s ability to clearly see in the classroom is critical. We would like to encourage all schools, local communities, and national and state legislators across the country to consider new vision screening technology to help prevent vision problems in children.”

About PediaVision
PediaVision is dedicated to solving the critical problem of undiagnosed vision problems and transforming the lives of thousands of children each day by helping private medicine and public health systems provide thorough, automated and objective vision screening.

The company was initially founded by a team of optometrists and ophthalmologists. These medical professionals were confronted daily with the impact of permanent vision loss in children.

PediaVision has a proven technology and a management team with medical expertise and a strong track record of transforming industries. For more information about PediaVision, and to help the fight against undiagnosed vision problems in children, please visit www.pediavision.com.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

DURHAM, NC–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  Mi-Co, the Mobile Data Collection company, today announced that it has received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant award from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The funded project is to develop a healthcare software solution in conjunction with Dr. Amy Abernethy, Director of the Duke University Cancer Care Research Program. The Digital Pen based solution will enable more efficient capture of medical oncology progress notes and clinical trials data, simultaneously. Mi-Co’s Mi-Forms for Digital Pen, already used in several Fortune 500 companies, leading hospital systems, and government agencies will soon provide even more possibilities for partners and customers in the healthcare arena.

The project titled “Clinical trials data collection during patient care using a novel technology solution” will begin immediately in conjunction with Dr. Amy Abernethy and other physicians at Duke University using Mi-Co Mi-Forms software technology and Digital Pen hardware developed by Anoto Group AB. According to Dr. Abernethy, “Within the Duke Cancer Care Research Program, we have previously used Mi-Co’s pen-based technology for our electronic data collection because it allows us to efficiently and accurately capture patient data, such as extensive progress notes, and share that data electronically with all members of the clinical and research team quickly and easily, in a way that supports our workflow and interaction with patients. Keyboard-based applications and regular paper simply cannot match the ease of use and efficiency of this technology, which solves a key problem for us and provides an important ‘bridge‘ from paper to electronic health records. Doctors are writers, not typers.”

For a recently released article about alternative data input options for electronic medical record (EMR) systems that suggests ways to overcome barriers to EMR adoption, please contact [email protected].

For more information about Mi-Forms and the Mi-Co solution for mobile electronic data collection in Clinical Trials and Healthcare, please contact Mi-Co through www.mi-corporation.com or [email protected].

The project described is supported by Award Number R43CA150466 from the National Cancer Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of Mi-Co and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Sept. 14, 2010) –

Attention Health and Medical Editors

On September 23, 2010, media are invited to an in-depth briefing with senior scientists on current stem cell research activity. Toronto’s McEwen Centre is one of the top regenerative medicine research facilities in the world and a leader internationally in the generation of reproducible heart cells. Research at the McEwen Centre also holds important implications for diabetes, lung disease and diseases of the blood as well as neurodegenerative disease.

Join us to learn more about the most recent developments in stem cell research at the McEwen Centre.

SKOKIE, IL–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  Sg2, a future-focused health care information company, today announced a multiyear contract with Unity Health System for the EDGE^® Growth System.

Proactively planning for the needs of its patients is critical for Unity to succeed both clinically and operationally — particularly in the reform era. The EDGE Growth System is a combination of local, disease-based forecasts, value-based patient segmentation, monthly data reports, Sg2 expert-led intelligence and ongoing support and guidance. The EDGE System will help Unity identify and achieve smart growth — growth that is clinically appropriate, economically favorable, and sustainable across the full continuum of care.

An integral part of Unity’s strategy is delivering quality care to the appropriate patient in the appropriate setting. It will accomplish this with help from Sg2’s 10-year Impact of Change^® disease-based localized forecast, which projects patient volume by MS-DRG, disease, patient type and service area for both inpatient and outpatient settings — an industry first.

“In today’s economy, local forecasting trends are essential to bottom-line success. As a community hospital, being fiscally responsible is more important than ever and the Sg2 EDGE Growth System will help us determine our smart growth path for the future,” says Wendy Wilts, vice president of strategic planning and business development at Unity Health System. “Our ultimate goal is to provide progressive and sustainable health care to the Rochester community, and the EDGE Growth System will allow us to identify and assess clinically appropriate and financially sound opportunities.”

Unity will also utilize the Sg2 Growth Index™, a score that examines how existing patient mix influences the ability to achieve future growth while meeting or exceeding the needs of the community. This will enable Unity to evaluate its capacity to capture smart growth opportunities at the enterprise, service line and disease levels.

Sg2 Chairman and CEO Michael Sachs says: “The EDGE system will help Unity Health System anticipate patient demand and uncover optimal market opportunities that span all care sites over the next 10 years. With a clinically meaningful view across the care continuum, Unity will be able to identify and achieve smart growth, which is critical in today’s trying economy.”

As an Sg2 EDGE System client, the Rochester, NY-based system has access to a portfolio of resources, including Sg2 University courses, Web seminars, on-site leadership discussions, clinical and strategic publications, expert opinions and networking opportunities. These offerings provide relevant information and thought leadership to support ongoing business initiatives.

About Sg2
Sg2 is a health care information company that provides expert-led, future-focused systems for growth and clinical performance. Our advanced analytics, business intelligence, education and publications deliver measurable value across the full continuum of health care services. Sg2 works with more than 1,000 hospitals and health care organizations in the US and around the globe. For more information, visit www.sg2.com.

About Unity Health System
At Unity Health System you’ll find the friendliest and most compassionate people dedicated to providing the best possible health care experience. We have over 70 locations in Rochester and Monroe County, including Unity Hospital in the town of Greece and the Unity St Mary’s Campus in Rochester. Key programs include our Joint Replacement Center, Family Birth Place, Spine Center, Diabetes Center, Chemical Dependency, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, plus the area’s most comprehensive range of services for older adults. ACM Medical Laboratory is the world’s fifth largest provider of clinical trials testing, with locations in western New York and York, England, as well as lab partnerships across the globe. Our shared commitment to delivering health care the way it should be is reflected in our 98% overall patient satisfaction rating.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwire – Sept. 14, 2010) –

Editors Note: There are two pictures associated with this press release.

The medical tourism industry is witnessing tremendous growth in recent times, with such robust growth. In one hand many healthcare providers are willing to extend services to international patients on the other hand a growing segment of medical tourism facilitators (support services providers) are emerging to capture a piece of the pie in the industry. Even though both segments play an extremely important role in the growth of medical tourism, neither most of the hospitals nor the facilitators have mastered providing comprehensive services & care to patients because of the complexity involved in this business.

With the sole purpose of providing vital information to both segments at the scroll of their thumb, the leading industry pioneer & The President of Medical Tourism Association, Renee Marie Stephano along with industry expert William cook have authored two medical tourism and international healthcare books.

The first book, titled Developing an International Patient Center – A Guide to Creating the Best Patient Experience, is focused on International Patient Departments and creating best practices and the best patient experience for international patient centers. The book will also be an opportunity for existing international patient departments to implement best practices, and new procedures and protocols that will increase the patient experience and outcome.

The second book titled The Medical Tourism Facilitator – A Best Practices Guide to Healthcare Facilitation for International Patients is focused towards opportunities, challenges and issues for medical tourism facilitators, sometimes referred to as Medical Travel Facilitators. This medical tourism book will also provide a stepping stone for those individuals and companies who are interested in either starting a medical tourism business or those companies who are already in business but would like to improve their business practices and patient processes. 

“In the last few years, I have been requested by many organizations and individuals to provide them guidelines and references to help them to participate in industry. The problem was that there weren’t any resources out there for them” said Renee Marie Stephano Co-Author of Book and also Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Tourism Magazine. “Now, these medical tourism books shall play a roadmap and guide for those healthcare providers and facilitators that would like to attract and serve international patients. I am content that eventually these books will help hospitals and facilitators to serve patients better,” added Renee-Marie Stephano.

Both medical tourism books have already received remarkable pre-launch review from Industry giants:

“Global Healthcare management is one of the most rapidly growing industries in the world, and Renee-Marie Stephano ‘s role in understanding and managing that industry is fundamental. Renee-Marie Stephano and William Cook have done an excellent job in providing the essential guidelines and roadmap to the development of successful international patient care. I recommend ‘Developing an International Patient Center’ book to every institution working to have a place in Global Healthcare Management” – Abdalla Bashir, Director of Jordan Hospital, one of the leading hospital in middle east for international patient care.

Jerry Turney, President of the Consolidated Marketing Group, US based health insurance consultancy, said, “The production of this Facilitator “Best Practices Guidebook” is a critical step in the continued patient-friendly development of international medical tourism. This book should be considered required reading for everyone involved in or considering getting involved in a Medical Tourism program!”

Armando Polanco, President of Texas Benefits called the book, ” A bible in this burgeoning industry.” He also said I found this book to contain all of the fundamentals plus more ,in order for insurance companies, employers and agents to methodically move ahead in patient global migration. The importance of working with qualified facilitators is well described and lays the groundwork for such collaboration.”

“With over 7 years of experience dealing with international patients, I firmly believe this book leads global healthcare providers in the right direction of creating international patient center programs and services for attracting patients, as well as establishes international standardization to reach the expectations and requirements of international patients. I would like to thank Renee-Marie Stephano and William Cook for their contribution and passion to Medical Tourism. “Hwang (James) LEE, Head Manager of Wooridul International Patients Center, Wooridul Spine Hospital, Korea.

The International Patient Center Book, “Developing an International Patient Center, A Guide to Creating the Best Patient Experience,” is a guide for any hospital, medical center, clinic or physician interested in developing an international patient program and attracting patients. The book provides a fresh approach to getting your global patient program underway, developing streamlined patient protocols and case management programs to produce better outcomes, cultural considerations and the special needs and expectations of international, expatriate, and traveling patients.

The Medical Tourism Facilitator Book is a guide for any medical tourism facilitator, international patient coordinator or person considering offering facilitation services to international, expatriates, or travel patients. The medical tourism book provides start to finish guidelines and best practices for getting your business started, creating your patient protocols and case management programs, setting up healthcare networks, effectuating patient communication and education strategies, cultural competency and risk management considerations, marketing to patients, and working with hospitals.

Both books will be formally launched at upcoming World Medical Tourism and Global Healthcare Congress this September in Los Angeles. The books will also be available at Medical Tourism Association’s website at www.MedicalTourismAssociation.com

The World Medical Tourism & Global Healthcare Congress will have a joint VIP networking cocktail reception and party Wednesday Night, September 22nd at 7 pm at which the books will be released. The party will be in conjunction with the Employer Healthcare Congress where up to 1000 employers, insurance agents, brokers, consulting firms and healthcare leaders will finishing up their three day congress event on the Green Circle Terrace. For more information about the VIP After Party, please go at http://www.medicaltourismcongress.com/en/vip-party.html

About Co-Author – Renee-Marie Stephano, Esquire

Renée-Marie Stephano is a Founder and President of the Medical Tourism Association, also known as MTA, the first international non-profit trade association for the medical tourism industry. Ms. Stephano is Editor of the Medical Tourism Magazine and Health Tourism Magazine. She is also -author of the books “The Medical Tourism Facilitator” and “Medical Tourism: An International Healthcare Guide For Insurers, Employers and Governments,” and “Developing an International Patient Center – A Guide to Creating the Best Patient Experience.”

Ms. Stephano received her Juris Doctorate degree in Law in Pennsylvania. She has a background in international marketing and health law and then went on to open her own law firm, spending six years serving as general counsel for a US national healthcare administrator, which was the first US healthcare administrator to implement medical tourism into both self-funded and fully insured health plans in the United States.

Ms. Stephano works full time for the Medical Tourism Association and is considered an expert in medical tourism and global healthcare. In her role at the Medical Tourism Association, Ms. Stephano helps countries and hospitals in their medical tourism and global healthcare initiatives. She has helped many countries and hospitals achieve their goals of attracting foreign patients, international insurance companies and focus their efforts on increasing quality and transparency. Ms. Stephano also works with medical travel facilitators to establish best practices to ultimately ensure patient safety. She may be reached at [email protected]

About Co-Author – Bill Cook

Bill Cook is the International Department Operations Manager at Hospital Clinica Biblica in San Jose, Costa Rica.

In the years before becoming involved in medical tourism, Bill was devoted to consultancy work on issues of internet marketing and optimization tactics to improve visitor to customer conversion rates, mainly in the field of tourism. He has also written numerous articles related to tourism.

Through the implementation of a comprehensive customer-centric international patient program, Bill has been instrumental in positioning Hospital Clinica Biblica as one of most renowned hospitals in the area of medical tourism. His main interest has been to achieve greater customer satisfaction and to automate daily tasks with the goal of achieving a more efficient international patient process.

Bill is also an author, consultant and speaker on topics related to medical tourism and a regular contributor to the “Medical Tourism Magazine, published by the U.S. based Medical Tourism Association.

About Medical Tourism Association

The Medical Tourism Association™ (Global Healthcare Association) is the international non-profit trade association for the medical tourism and global healthcare industry made up of the top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliated companies and members with the common goal of promoting the highest level of quality of healthcare to patients in a global environment. http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com.

To view the first picture associated with this press release, please visit the following link:

http://www.health-plan-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/926af893c4mts800.jpg.jpg

To view the second picture associated with this press release, please visit the following link:

http://www.health-plan-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/fb8c1d8ef9s2.800.jpg.jpg

MISSION VIEJO, CA–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  SafeShot Technologies, LLC, a leader in safety syringe innovation, today announced the successful development and patent filings on a new “low dose” version of its revolutionary safety injection technology called the “Epiphany Ultra.” This technology allows for safe injections in 1ml and lower volumes using the same simple, single-handed vacuum retraction technology used in its larger versions. SafeShot Technologies Epiphany and now Epiphany Ultra are the world’s first and only available, full line of safe, compliant, simple and affordable technology that works equally well across the full spectrum of desired injection drug delivery needs, including pre-fills, clinical, home, consumer and immunization/vaccination.

The problem of infections and the transfer of blood borne illnesses due to injections have plagued the world for decades, causing needless suffering and deaths and costing the healthcare system an estimated $1.2 billion a year. SafeShot Technologies is focused on designing affordable safety technology to revolutionize the healthcare industry by protecting the nearly 1 million patients and frontline healthcare professionals who are stuck each year in the U.S., while preventing the global spread of HIV/Hepatitis which annually impacts 22 million people.

“This is a huge milestone for our engineering team and company because of the precision required in designing an ‘Ultra Low Dose’ safety syringe that is as simple and affordable as the Epiphany Ultra,” said Robert Beart, Emeritus Professor of Surgery at USC’s Keck School of Medicine and CEO of SafeShot. “Epiphany Ultra completes the entire spectrum of safe, compliant injection drug delivery in ‘all sizes’ while breaking the cost barriers that have prohibited healthcare facilities from broadly adopting the most effective safety technology for their facilities. Its innovative design saves time in training, administering injections, and we are proud to say, it will ultimately saves lives.”

The, Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act of 2000 requires healthcare facilities to create, maintain, and annually update information on commercially available technology designed to eliminate or minimize occupational exposure to blood-borne pathogens. Yet many healthcare professionals are still not being equipped with safety solutions to eliminate exposure to blood borne pathogens and sharps injuries.

SafeShot Technologies identified the five key characteristics of a safe, effective and affordable solution to tackle the global issue of needlestick injuries and spread of HIV/Hepatitis from syringe re-use. “Omitting any one of these characteristics in syringe development directly jeopardizes the ability to give a safe shot or eradicate the issues of needlestick injury and syringe re-use,” said Michael J. Madden, Safeshot Technologies Board Member and former Vice President of Advocacy and Development for Providence Health & Services. “I’ve been in the hospital business for a long time, and needlestick injuries have always been an issue for me and for the institutions that I’ve managed.”

The Epiphany Safety Syringe meets all 5 key factors to safe injection drug delivery, including:

• The device must be “auto disabling” destructing after a single use
• The device must provide protection from accidental needlesticks
• The device must be safe through disposal, acting as it’s own sharps container
• The device must not create a blood splatter or aerosol
• And… the device must be affordable

With the global production of non-safety syringes in the tens of billions, a traditional reusable syringe can be produced for about 10 cents. Primarily due to the higher cost of safety syringes, hospitals have been slow to adopt the latest technology, despite legislation which mandates adoption of the best safety solutions. SafeShot’s Epiphany Syringe costs are comparable to a traditional syringe. The issues of accidental needlesticks, re-used needles, downstream injuries and biohazardous waste are directly addressed with this new innovation.

About SafeShot Technologies

SafeShot Technologies, headquartered in Mission Viejo, California, is a new generation safety syringe development company with the mission to solve the needlestick issue with innovative technology. The Epiphany Safety Syringe is the first patented vacuum-triggered, one-handed, single-use, auto-retractable, auto-disable safety syringe designed to provide superior value. SafeShot has more than a dozen U.S. patent applications and foreign counterparts in other major jurisdictions to address this growing problem. For more information on SafeShot Technologies and the Epiphany Safety Syringe, please visit www.SafeShot.net. Click here to follow on Twitter or Facebook.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  Rising healthcare costs. Confusing healthcare reform policies. Under-utilized wellness programs. These are just a few reasons why HR executives, healthcare industry leaders, and policy makers seek insight from industry-leading providers with first-hand experience in how to make employee health and wellness programs effective and measurable. Virgin HealthMiles is at the forefront providing strategic guidance and practical steps to implement and sustain effective employee health programs.

Continuing in their thought leadership roles, Virgin HealthMiles CEO Chris Boyce and President Sean Forbes share their perspectives about the role of prevention in employee health programs at four national industry conferences this fall.

Forward-thinking businesses recognize that costly and preventable lifestyle-driven behaviors have the potential to spark a profitability crisis of epic proportions for U.S. companies. Healthcare costs are expected to rise by about 8.9 percent in 2011, according to a National Business Group on Health report released in August, continuing the trend seen in recent years. What’s more, 85 percent of companies believe simply extending insurance to Americans, a key feature of the new health reform legislation, won’t make individuals healthier, according to a recent study conducted by Virgin HealthMiles in conjunction with Workforce Management magazine. Insurance alone won’t solve the problem of preventable, lifestyle-related disease. Consider that chronic disease — the majority of which are preventable — account for 75% (or $1.5 trillion) of healthcare costs impacting businesses and their employees today. Keeping people healthy and out of the healthcare system in the first place will have the most significant impact on costs.

During the upcoming conferences, Boyce and Forbes will draw from their experiences working with more than 120 U.S. companies to engage employees to be active and healthy, and will share insights on why a new generation of prevention is key to helping corporate America get ahead of rising healthcare costs. Virgin HealthMiles’ Pay-for-Prevention™ approach has helped companies create a culture of health, align their interests with those of their employees, and design incentives for healthy behaviors. Results include above industry-average employee engagement levels, improvements in employee health, and decreases in rising healthcare costs. 

Details of each conference follow:

2010 Colloquy Loyalty Summit in Phoenix, Arizona
September 16^th at 3:30-4:15 p.m.
“Feeling Better – Using Loyalty Recognition and Rewards to Improve Wellness” 
http://www.colloquy.com/2010-summit-agenda.htm
Boyce will participate in a panel discussion on how loyalty programs are being applied to wellness, and how they can motivate employees to live healthier lives and reduce healthcare costs.

World Congress’ 5^th Annual Obesity and Wellness Congress in Washington D.C.
September 30^th at 3:25-4:40pm
“Worksite Wellness – Why Employers Should Address the Obesity Epidemic”
https://www.worldcongress.com/agenda.cfm?level=inside&confCode=HL10088&agendaID=532&subAgendaID=1336
Forbes will participate in the closing key-note panel discussion on how to overcome employee resistance and facilitate positive behavior change with incentives to address the obesity epidemic. He will also address the “carrot versus stick” approach and creative strategies for motivating employee participation in employee health programs.

2010 Integrated Care Summit in Washington D.C.
October 15^th at 10:00-11:00 a.m.
“Creating a Culture of Prevention: Designing an Integrated Approach to Employee Health That Delivers Measureable Results”
http://www.dmaa.org/ics10/program_track4.asp
Boyce will discuss how creating a culture of prevention aligns the interests of companies and their employees to lower healthcare costs. He will also discuss wellness measurement strategies.

2^nd Annual Retail Health Clinics Congress in Las Vegas, Nevada
October 25^th at 1:45-2:30 p.m.
“Retail Health Clinics and their Role in Employer Health and Wellness”
http://www.globalmediadynamics.com/upcoming-events/retail-health-clinics
Boyce will provide insight on how retail health clinics can directly bolster employee health and wellness programs. He will also discuss how to effectively utilize biometric data and other resources in order to measure and manage program effectiveness.

About Virgin HealthMiles
Virgin HealthMiles provides employee health programs that pay people to get active. The company’s Pay-for-Prevention™ approach, based on physical activity and healthy lifestyle change, attracts an average of 40 percent of employees who participate, which helps organizations reduce medical costs and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. The program is offered by employers, government entities, and insurers. Over 120 industry leaders representing more than 500,000 employees across the U.S., including American Diabetes Association, Intuit, MWV, OhioHealth, Ochsner Health System, Protective Life, SunGard, SunTrust, and Timberland have selected Virgin HealthMiles’ award-winning program for their employees. The company is a member of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. For more information, visit www.virginhealthmiles.com

Click here to see all recent news from this company

BEVERLY HILLS, CA–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  Plastic Surgeon Davis B. Nguyen, MD is pleased to announce that he will be speaking at The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery conference in San Francisco on September 18, 2010. ISAPS members are nationally certified plastic surgeons in 91 countries who are dedicated to educating members in the latest procedures. Only one of two speakers chosen to address the international audience of his peers, Dr. Nguyen will be revealing his findings from the FDA clinical trials he recently completed examining the effects of Fibrin Glue in facelifts.

Dr. Nguyen, one of seven renowned plastic surgeons who conducted the Phase 3 Clinical Trials (efficacy testing) says of his findings, “Every now and then, an innovation in plastic surgery comes along that sticks. The recently completed clinical trials confirm that Fibrin Glue is a groundbreaking product that makes facelift surgery much more comfortable for patients.” Fibrin Glue is applied internally before the external skin is closed and stitched.

The clinical trials tracked 75 patients who received Fibrin Glue on half their face. The other side of the lift was closed in the traditional manner. The results showed the side sealed by Fibrin Glue swelled and bruised dramatically less. “Recovery is faster and more comfortable because drains, normally left in the face for 48 hours after surgery, are eliminated. Patients heal nearly twice as fast,” states Dr. Nguyen. Overall, patients experienced substantially less discomfort.

The innovative plastic surgeon is also one of the pioneers in using the miracle glue in browlift procedures. “The results are remarkable,” notes Dr. Nguyen. “A major benefit of using Fibrin Glue in the browlift is that the traditional ‘raccoon eyes’ resulting from bruising and swelling, are eliminated. This allows patients to get back to work and a normal life much more quickly.” 

Dr. Nguyen has been in the forefront of research on the benefits of Fibrin Glue as he published an independent study on the subject in 2007 with his mentor, renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Kamer of the famed Lasky Clinic. The study was so well received, it helped to propel the recently concluded FDA clinical trials, which validate the previous findings of Drs. Nguyen and Kamer. 

Dr. Nguyen is dedicated to providing his patients with maximum comfort and aesthetic beauty. “The use of Fibrin Glue has had a major impact on my practice. My patients benefit from shorter recovery periods, fewer complications and greater post-operative comfort,” states Dr. Nguyen.

Dr. Nguyen is dual Board Certified in Facial Plastic Surgery and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. For more information about Davis B. Nguyen, MD, please visit www.drdavisnguyen.com or call 310-550-0288. Dr. Nguyen is located at 9735 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 216, Beverly Hills, CA 90212

Click here to see all recent news from this company

AKRON, OH–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  The upcoming months will bring a critical need for good, reliable information as America’s hospital CEOs brace for what many predict will be unprecedented change.

Hospital profitability improvement expert Peter Ryerson says education will be vital for hospitals to keep their doors open. As president of Ryerson Healthcare Consultants, he has knowledge and experience gained through working with more than 540 hospitals in 40 states.

CEOs’ biggest questions, Ryerson says, are related to the U.S. healthcare bill. Estimates are that as many as 15 percent of U.S. hospitals may go out of business because they will lack the ability to adapt to strains resulting from healthcare reform.

“They are very concerned about the Healthcare Bill as it relates to hospital profitability,” Ryerson said. “Many are worried about reductions in reimbursements and I hear a lot of questions about how to get better reimbursement, without being RAC vulnerable.”

The answer is simple but not easy, Ryerson said.

“If you do your documentation, coding and billing correctly, you will be OK. It’s as straightforward as that,” he said. “While that sounds easy, it is very, very difficult for a lot of hospitals.”

Ryerson Healthcare Consultants finds that many hospital profitability improvement opportunities are missed due to gaps in information and bottlenecks in communication.

“Much education needs to happen, especially with the changes that are coming. Administrators need to be better educated, to recognize what is happening in their own documentation and coding, and then improve those areas and communicate the critical need for full compliance, so they can improve their charge capture,” Ryerson said.

Hospital boards often are predisposed to sympathize with the notion that healthcare already is too expensive, and inclined to resist efforts to capture and bill for more services. “CEOs should understand that with proper documentation, coding and billing, they will be reimbursed appropriately, and then have the fortitude to step in front of their boards and say, ‘This is what we need and are going to do,'” he said.

“CEOs and boards must no longer delay in addressing these issues as our healthcare system drives us toward the major changes that are ahead. Their hospital’s profitability — and their ability to keep their doors open — depends on how well they manage through all of the uncertainties ahead,” Ryerson said.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

BOCA RATON, FL–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  David H. Fater, CEO of Vicor Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: VCRT), today announced that the Company has named Christopher Vissman National Sales Manager, a new position. Mr. Vissman will be working from Nashville, TN, and Boca Raton, FL. Vicor Technologies is a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative, non-invasive medical devices using its patented, proprietary PD2i® nonlinear algorithm and software. Vicor is currently in the process of commercializing diagnostics that accurately risk stratify specific target populations for future pathological events including cardiac death resulting from arrhythmia or pump failure, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and trauma victims in need of lifesaving intervention.

“We are extremely fortunate and gratified to have Chris join Vicor as our National Sales Manager. Chris has more than 20 years of sales management experience, with the last 10 of these — most importantly to Vicor — focused on our market niche. We are confident that having Chris leading our national sales effort will ensure successful roll-out and reception of our PD2i Analyzer™,” stated Mr. Fater.

Concurrent with Mr. Vissman’s hire, Vicor has contracted with 10 independent sales representatives to cover multiple territories, including New England, Annapolis/DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Manhattan, Boston, Las Vegas, Denver, Knoxville, and Tucson.

Mr. Vissman is an accomplished sales executive with more than 20 years of building sales teams, creating winning sales strategies, and managing multiple sales channels. Most recently, he was a Principal of Medical Technologies, LLC, responsible for the hiring, training, and management of a national sales team introducing new technologies to primary care physicians, cardiologists, and endocrinologists. Prior to that, he was President of Innovative Diagnostics, Inc., start-up creator of a cardiac autonomic neuropathy diagnostic, for which Mr. Vissman developed a 40-person independent sales team, marketing materials, sales processes and programs, and successfully negotiated a national GPO contract. Earlier, Mr. Vissman was the National Sales Training Manager for CardioDynamics. During his tenure, he re-designed the Company’s new hire sales training program, which led to a 71% improvement in first month sales and 29% improvement in first quarter sales, and developed an advanced sales training program for representatives with between one and two years of experience, incorporating principles and practices of representatives consistently ranked in the top 20%. Before that, Mr. Vissman was District Manager for Polymedco, Inc., where he ranked among the top five sales representatives (among 40-45) in monthly new business closes in all categories. Earlier, Mr. Vissman held senior positions with non-medical industry companies, including Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Global Aqua Solutions; Territory Manager for Sika Corp., and District Sales Manager for Lochinvar Corp. Mr. Vissman holds a BA in Industrial Marketing and General Business from Western Michigan University.

About Vicor Technologies, Inc.
Vicor Technologies is a biotechnology company creating innovative non-invasive diagnostics employing its patented, proprietary point correlation dimension algorithm (PD2i®). The PD2i® nonlinear algorithm is a deterministic, nonlinear measure of electrophysiological potentials that predicts future pathological events with a high degree of accuracy in target populations.

Vicor currently has three products employing the PD2i® nonlinear algorithm. The PD2i Analyzer™, which has FDA 510(k) marketing clearance, measures heart rate variability; physicians performing diagnostic tests with the PD2i Analyzer™ are able to receive reimbursement under existing CPT codes. The PD2i VS™ (Vital Sign), in clinical trials under a collaborative effort with the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research (http://www.usaisr.amedd.army.mil/), risk stratifies combat and civilian trauma victims. The PD2i CA™ (Cardiac Analyzer), in multiple clinical trials, identifies patients at risk of sudden cardiac death.

Vicor anticipates additional applications employing the PD2i® nonlinear algorithm to enable early detection and risk stratification for a variety of other disorders and diseases. Additional information is available at www.vicortech.com.

Disclaimer
The appearance of name-brand institutions or products in this media release does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, the U.S. Government, or the AABB of the information, products or services contained therein.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current plans and expectations that are subject to uncertainties and risks, which could cause our future results to differ materially. The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ: our ability to generate revenues from the sale of the PD2i Analyzer™; our ability to obtain FDA approval of our 510(k) submission to secure a claim for the PD2i CA™ (Cardiac Analyzer) for risk stratifying congestive heart failure patients at elevated risk of cardiac mortality and our ability to obtain marketing clearance from the FDA for the PD2i VS™ (Vital Sign) for military and civilian applications; our ability to continue to receive financing sufficient to continue operations and complete critical clinical trials; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to successfully develop products based on our technologies; our ability to obtain and maintain adequate levels of third-party reimbursement for our products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; our ability to receive regulatory approval for our products; the ability of third-party contract research organizations to perform preclinical testing and clinical trials for our technologies; the ability of third-party manufacturers to manufacture our products; our ability to retain the services of our key personnel; our ability to market and sell our products successfully; our ability to protect our intellectual property; product liability; changes in federal income tax laws and regulations; general market conditions in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries; and other matters that are described in Vicor’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of the press release, and we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or the reasons why actual results could differ.

Release 10-15

Click here to see all recent news from this company

RALEIGH, NC–(Marketwire – September 14, 2010) –  INC Research ®, a therapeutically focused contract research organization (CRO) with a trusted process for delivering reliable results, has appointed three new medical directors to oversee the medical management teams in each region and enhance its high standard of scientific and medical support to global clinical trials. Dr. Claudia Trillo joins as medical director in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Rick Chen joins as associate medical director in Beijing, China, and Dr. Bhawana Awasthy joins as Senior Medical Director located in Gurgaon, Delhi, India.

“We are thrilled to expand our global Medical Management team with these esteemed physicians,” said Malcolm Fletcher, chief medical officer of INC Research. “By hiring very seasoned medical professionals who combine patient-care experience with trial-management expertise, our team is very good at understanding the investigator site environment. By immersing themselves into the safety and efficacy of a trial, they are able to make critical steering decisions that have a profound effect on the reliability of the results.”

Dr. Trillo in Buenos Aires has 14 years of industry experience in multiple indications. She started her industry career at Quintiles, followed by roles at Searle, GSK and Kendle. She trained in medicine at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, Medical School, and has board certification in Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Chen in Beijing has more than 10 years of academic experience in ischemic stroke, cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis research. He is experienced in selecting and initiating investigate sites, providing training and performing routine site monitoring during the process of clinical trials, He has also contributed to furthering research education by publishing more than 10 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Awasthy in Gurgaon brings 17 years of combined clinical-practice and clinical-research experience to INC Research. She is a proven leader both in Industry and among her medical colleagues, maintaining her specialization in oncology while designing, writing and implementing studies in Phase I through Phase IV on a global level.

INC Research’s Medical Management team is comprised of in-house physicians who provide round-the-clock medical monitoring services, as well as scientific and medical support for project management teams and investigative sites. The team has a diversity of backgrounds and specialties and covers the range from small proof-of-concept studies to large multinational pivotal studies with equal flexibility. To learn more about INC Research’s Medical Monitoring trial services, click here.

About INC Research® Inc.
INC Research is a therapeutically focused contract research organization (CRO) with a high performance reputation for conducting global clinical development programs of the highest integrity. Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies look to INC Research for a complete range of customized Phase I through Phase IV programs in therapeutic areas of specialty, and in innovative pediatric and women’s health trials. The company’s The Trusted Process® methodology and therapeutic foresight leads customers to more confident, better-informed drug and device development decisions. INC Research is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information please visit www.incresearch.com.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

IRVING, TX–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  VHA Inc., the national health care network, announced today that Cynthia Hare, vice president of performance improvement, is being promoted to senior vice president and executive officer over the VHA Southeast regional office, one of 16 VHA regional offices, effective Oct. 1, 2010. She will succeed Lee Lawrence, who will retire at year-end. Hare and Lawrence will collaborate to develop the leadership transition plan and develop a platform that allows VHA to continue to provide strategic support to its members in the region.

“Cynthia has directed VHA’s efforts to engage and support members in clinical performance improvement activities for 20 years. As result of her leadership, VHA members in Alabama and Florida have been among the first hospitals in the nation to implement rapid response teams and clinical improvement projects, making a significant impact on patient care and serving as models for hospitals across the nation,” said Byron Jobe, group senior vice president and chief financial officer at VHA. “Cynthia will continue to provide strong leadership for the region in her new role,” said Jobe.

Prior to joining VHA Southeast in May 1990, Hare worked for eight years with Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, in Tampa, Fla., where she managed large-scale information system installations, consulted on health care strategy planning, and managed the national installation of VHA’s clinical financial decision support system, gaining early insight into how VHA could help hospitals improve their decision making.

Hare earned her bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from Queens College in Charlotte, N.C., and her master’s degree in business administration from Florida State University in Tallahassee. While completing her undergraduate and graduate work, she worked as a medical technician at various hospitals.

Based in Tampa, Fla., VHA Southeast serves approximately 90 hospitals in Alabama and Florida.

About VHA
VHA Inc., based in Irving, Texas, is a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations that work together to drive maximum savings in the supply chain arena, set new levels of clinical performance and identify and implement best practices to improve operational efficiency and clinical outcomes. In 2009, VHA delivered record savings and value of $1.47 billion to members. Formed in 1977, through its 16 regional offices, VHA serves 1,400 hospitals and more than 30,000 non-acute care providers nationwide. VHA was ranked by Modern Healthcare as the 7th best place to work in health care in 2009.

BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) – Cegedim: acquisition of French
company Deskom

Deal allows Cegedim to strengthen its positions in the European invoice
dematerialization market

Paris, September 8, 2010 – Cegedim, a global technology and services
company specializing in the healthcare field, announces the acquisition of
Deskom, a leading French B-to-B invoice dematerialization company. The deal
is an opportunity for Cegedim EDI, its professional electronic data
management department, to build on its leadership in the field.

The Deskom acquisition allows Cegedim EDI, the healthcare data exchange
leader, to move ahead with its strategy of opening its services to all
business sectors and becoming Europe’s top electronic invoicing network,
able to handle any request regardless of invoice volumes, project
complexity, or the number of countries involved.

Created in 2004, Deskom markets a complete range of e-invoicing services,
from invoice digitization and publishing to tax dematerialization and legal
archiving. It has more than 2,000 clients in a wide range of industrial and
service fields: transport, energy, manufacturing, distribution, retail,
automobiles, banking/insurance and services. With a dynamic structure built
on a human scale, Deskom has been experiencing robust revenue growth since
2006.

After ushering Deskom through a robust growth phase, the company’s
shareholders – the Galileo and 123Venture investment funds – have chosen to
pass the torch to Cegedim, an industry shareholder with the know-how to
unlock Deskom’s significant potential.

The first company in France to offer e-invoices authorized by the Direction
Générale des Impôts tax authority in 1992, Cegedim
successfully launched its Global Invoice Services offering in 2005,
available in SAAS delivery. Since then, the company has carried out more
than 150 large-scale dematerialization projects involving close to 50,000
partners in France and in Europe.

“In a rapidly growing market buoyed by companies’ desire to optimize their
processes, cut costs and reduce their environmental impact, this
acquisition gives us the opportunity to put together a comprehensive
offering without precedent with respect to the range of functions and the
staff expertise and resources needed to successfully execute client
projects in France and abroad,” says Arnaud Guyon, Head of Cegedim Group
dematerialization activities.

“The market needs well-established electronic data exchange specialists
with the critical size needed to handle invoice dematerialization and
archiving operations. By joining the Cegedim Group, Deskom is securing its
future and strengthening its position to help its clients and improve its
prospects. It is also an opportunity to expand its service offering to all
types of electronic messages. This link-up will also allow us to create
Europe’s top multi-sector e-invoicing network,” says Cyrille Sautereau,
Director of Deskom.

The deal was finalized on September 6, 2010 by internal financing. These
activities represent annual revenues of around 4 million euros and will be
part of the consolidation scope of Cegedim Group for H2 2010.

About Cegedim EDI and Global Invoice Services: Cegedim EDI is the
department of Cegedim Group specializing in electronic data interchange.
Initially focused on the healthcare sector, the business now caters to a
wide range of sectors like mass-market retail, automobiles, transportation,
and so on. Its Global Invoice Services (GIS) platform permits the
connection and exchange of invoices between suppliers and clients equipped
with heterogeneous information systems. Totally compliant with current EU
laws, Global Invoice Services makes it possible for users to manage all
functional, technical and legal aspects of electronic invoicing, archiving
and restitution. For more information: www.cegedim-demat.com and
www.global-invoice-services.com

About Cegedim: Founded in 1969, Cegedim is a global technology and services
company specializing in the healthcare field. Cegedim supplies services,
technological tools, specialized software, data flow management services
and databases. Its offerings are targeted notably at healthcare industries,
life sciences companies, healthcare professionals and insurance companies.
The world leader in life sciences CRM, Cegedim is also one of the leading
suppliers of strategic healthcare industry data. Cegedim employs 8,600
people in more than 80 countries and generated revenue of ?874 million
in 2009. Cegedim SA is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: CGM). To learn more,
please visit: www.cegedim.com

This information is provided by HUGIN

ROCHESTER, NY–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  The Pediatric Cataract Initiative (www.PediatricCataract.org) is now accepting applicants for its inaugural single small research grant. US$75,000 will be awarded to a qualified individual, institution or organization investigating the causes of pediatric cataract and/or improved treatment tools and protocols. The submission deadline is November 15, 2010.

The grant is intended to support innovative research that can be carried out in 12 months with limited resources. Applicants may submit more than one proposal provided that each is scientifically distinct. Please visit www.pediatriccataract.org/grant_funding.html to download the complete request for proposals.

The newly founded Pediatric Cataract Initiative is a partnership between the Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute and Lions Clubs International Foundation to identify, fund and promote innovative methods of overcoming pediatric cataract — a debilitating childhood condition that clouds the eye’s natural lens — for the long-term benefit of children, their families and their communities.

In addition to its global research grant, the Initiative is committing funding and support during its first year to innovative, scalable prevention and treatment programs in the People’s Republic of China, where at least 40,000 children are estimated to suffer from pediatric cataract. The prevalence of pediatric cataract ranges from one to four children per 10,000 births in developing countries — ten times the rate of occurrence in developed nations.

For additional information, visit www.PediatricCataract.org or follow the Initiative at www.twitter.com/PCInitiative and www.Facebook.com/PediatricCataract.

About the Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute
The Bausch + Lomb Early Vision Institute is a program of the global eye health company focusing on children’s vision research, treatment, prevention and advocacy. Founded in 1853, Bausch + Lomb is one of the best-known and most respected healthcare brands in the world, with its contact lenses and solutions, ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, and ophthalmic surgical products available in approximately 100 countries. For more information, visit www.bausch.com/.

About Lions Clubs International Foundation
Lions Clubs International Foundation is the grant-making body of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest volunteer service organization. The LCIF SightFirst program, Lions’ flagship initiative, builds comprehensive eye care systems to fight the major causes of blindness and care for blind and visually impaired persons. Since 1990, the SightFirst program has helped restore sight to more than 30 million people around the world, having invested more than US$237 million in surgeries, the improvement of hundreds of eye care facilities and training of thousands of eye care professionals. For more information, visit www.lcif.org.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

CALGARY, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Sept. 8, 2010) – Today, Brite Studios (Brite), a centre for learning, activity and family engagement, announced the launch of their new name and location. Formerly known as Calgary Children’s Centre, Brite is a preschool and recreational facility providing unique programs to children of all ages.

The Honourable Ron Liepert and Alderman Joe Connelly were in attendance at the event to launch innovative childcare programs at the new location and to show their support for the facility. “We’re thrilled to be celebrating the opening of our new location, and our new name speaks to the facility’s collaborative nature,” said Lisa Davis, Founder and CEO of Brite Studios. “Brite provides families with a wide range of options for childcare, and gives kids the opportunity to grow and develop in an environment that keeps their imaginations stimulated. The community has been very welcoming and we look forward to the exciting new initiatives at Brite Studios.”

The opening took place at Brite’s new location in southwest Calgary. The launch included a creative ribbon cutting ceremony as well as a performance by some of the children that attend Brite. The new facility responds to the need for more specialized childcare in the community.

Due to high rent prices for commercial real estate, most preschools are located in church basements and community centres. With a combination of preschool and recreational programs, Brite has found an innovative way to sustain a commercial location.

Brite offers the highest quality programs available. “When developing our curriculum, we use only the most effective teaching methods and are one of the few preschools to use Reggio Emilia techniques” said Davis. “Our approach emphasizes creative learning and ensures that each child receives an education well-suited to their needs, interests and abilities.”

Brite is unique in that it offers both half and full day preschool services as well as recreational classes. With advisement of experts in the field of youth education, Brite employs the most progressive programs and teaching methods. The facility offers a range of creative programs for children, as well as adult classes.

For more information on Brite Studios please visit www.britestudios.ca.

About Brite Studios

Brite Studios, formerly known as Calgary Children’s Centre, is a preschool and recreational facility. Brite provides both half and full day preschool programs, as well as a wide range of recreational programs for children and adults. Programs include princess dance class, kid karate, vocal lessons, art classes and yoga. Brite is known for their enthusiasm and creativity in the development of curriculum. For more information please visit www.britestudios.ca.

RALEIGH, NC–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Care Share Health Alliance is gathering some of the best health care minds in the state and bringing them together for three interactive meetings across North Carolina this fall. These sessions will provide North Carolina safety net partners with the opportunity to:

• interact with state and local leaders on best practices in developing collaborative networks of care;
• hear how health reform may affect them and the safety net;
• learn from state, regional and local funders how to effectively work with funders during these challenging economic times.

The meetings are open to the public and targeted toward those who provide health care services to low-income uninsured populations, or those who are involved in guiding or navigating the uninsured to resources for care. This includes, but is not limited to, anyone involved with organizations such as: hospitals, community health centers, Federally Qualified Health Centers, rural health centers, health departments, free clinics, HealthNet networks, departments of social services, medical societies, dental societies, Area Health Education Centers, behavioral health organizations and other nonprofit agencies. 

“We chose to hold three regional meetings instead of one statewide meeting to make these workshops as convenient as possible for safety net partners and to make the content as locally relevant as possible,” says Care Share Executive Director Kellan Chapin. “Participants will get to hear from state health care leaders, but will also get to interact with their regional colleagues and learn from each other.”

Sessions take place:

• Friday, Sept. 24 in Asheville
• Tuesday, Oct. 5 in Greenville
• Thursday, Oct. 21 in Greensboro

The workshops run 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and a $50 registration fee covers workshop supplies, a light continental breakfast, lunch and other refreshments.

The Asheville workshop features Karen Minyard, director of the Georgia Health Policy Center, discussing health care reform. The Greenville session features Pam Silberman, president of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, on health care reform, and Tami Eldridge, Scott Whisnant and Sheila Roberts from Cape Fear HealthNet on tools and best practices for building collaboration among safety net partners. And the Greensboro meeting features: Dr. Robert Strack, head of the Department of Public Health Education at UNC Greensboro discussing a community approach to improving health; psychologist Dr. Doris Paez of NC State University on tools and best practices for collaboration building; and attorney Alicia Gilleskie of Smith Anderson discussing HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and tools for sharing data.

Register and get more information at www.caresharehealth.org or call 919-861-8353.

About Care Share
Care Share is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, statewide resource that helps communities develop comprehensive networks to coordinate care for low-income uninsured and underserved populations. Care Share helps communities by: bringing people together to create a shared plan for serving those in need; sharing knowledge and resources within communities; and sharing best practices and guidance among communities across the state.

Assistance is available to communities throughout the state at no charge. Call 919-861-8353 for more information.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

TARZANA, CA–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  A crisis faces our military families, today. 1 in 88 military children have autism and less than 10 percent are receiving recommended care and treatments. This is why ACT Today! (Autism Care and Treatment Today!), a non-profit organization dedicated to providing grant money for families that cannot afford or access the treatments needed for their autistic children, is launching the first ever national campaign titled, “ACT Today! for Military Families.” Executive Director of ACT Today!, Nancy Alspaugh-Jackson, states, “The military healthcare system limits coverage of vital treatments, and provides less than half of the therapy recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and National Research Council. ACT Today! for Military Families will bridge the gap for military families until policy can be addressed. It is our goal to raise one million dollars to help fund treatment for these special children.”

The campaign kicks off with the airing of a PSA on the Fox Television Networks featuring the star of “Criminal Minds,” veteran actor Joe Mantegna. Mantegna, who has a daughter with autism, states, “Having a child with autism, I know how difficult it can be for people less fortunate than I to obtain proper treatment for their special needs children. I especially appreciate the unique challenges our military faces in battling on two fronts — one for their country, and another for their families.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQEkGYJQjw.

Numerous events are planned throughout the country to promote the campaign. There will be a family festival and a 5K/10K run in San Diego, CA on April 2, 2011.

The Facts:

• The military healthcare system funding is limited to approximately 11 hours of treatment a week. A minimum of 25 hours a week is recommended.
• 25 Hours/week treatment program costs roughly $6,500/month. A Sergeant’s salary averages about $2,700/ month.

Alspaugh-Jackson says, “The math doesn’t work. The system doesn’t work. No family should be stuck in this position, let alone the families of service members who fight and die for us.”

Marine Corps wife Karen Driscoll, mother of a child with autism and Campaign Director of ACT Today! for Military Families, recently met with First Lady Michelle Obama to discuss this dire situation. “Every day we delay care, we relegate more military children with autism to a life with fewer options or opportunities. I believe we have a duty as mothers, fathers, leaders, lawmakers, and citizens to care for our military families and provide access to the care and support they require. It is simply the right thing to do.”

To learn more about ACT Today for Military Families, visit www.acttodayformilitaryfamilies.org

Click here to see all recent news from this company

CHARLOTTE, NC–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS), a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSLR), today announced that St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, IL has selected the company’s Amelior Tracker® system to automatically track medical equipment throughout their facility. This system will become the standard within the healthcare network.

St. John’s Hospital is part of the Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) which is a multi-institutional health care system that sponsors 13 hospitals in 12 communities across Illinois and Wisconsin with St. John’s being the largest hospital within the system. The hospital is a 539-bed acute care, teaching facility that helps to educate more than 300 medical students and 150 resident physicians each year, and is the only level III perinatal care center in central Illinois.

With the Amelior Tracker® system, St. John’s Hospital has a specific need to track their mobile medical equipment allowing them to increase equipment utilization, decrease the requirement to rent additional units and have more consistent preventative maintenance for maximum operating performance. They will start with tracking 2500 assets including IV pumps, beds, C5 tablets, DVT equipment and feeding pumps. Amelior Tracker will integrate with the CenTrak Gen2IR™ active RF technology tags providing precise, adaptable and cost-effective medical equipment tracking.

The installation, expected to be complete by the end of 2010 will include the Amelior Tracker® solution — part of the Amelior Enterprise Visibility and Workflow Automation Suite™ which comprises department to facility-wide software solutions and services designed to more efficiently and safely orchestrate patient care through the real-time visualization of patient flow. Hospitals can scale their implementations by the entities they wish to track (movable medical equipment, patients, staff), purpose (temperature monitoring, asset management, patient flow, infection control) and by the scope of hospital workflow (acute care, inpatient floors, outpatient services, enterprise-wide).

Amelior Tracker is interoperable with all major locating technologies including active-RFID, infrared, ultrasound, ultra-wideband, Wi-Fi and ZigBee. PCTS also works closely with a network of successful locating hardware partners and provides consulting services so the best locating technology or technologies are chosen to match the client’s particular needs. In addition, the Amelior Interface Gateway™ supports the exchange of data between an Amelior tracking or documentation solution and virtually any hospital information system. Key functions include sending/ receiving, data transformation, transaction logging, administration/monitoring and notifications. These platforms work together to offer extensive performance and workflow advantages to the healthcare industry.

“When researching our options, we felt it was very important that any system we chose be able to expand to our other facilities within the network and allow the flexibility to incorporate the various RTLS needs of each location,” said Ryan Leach, chief information officer for St. John’s Hospital. “PCTS has an outstanding reputation with strong customer references and proved to be a trusted advisor. Interoperability with the various RTLS technologies was one of the many benefits of choosing PCTS.”

“We are very excited to partner with St. John’s Hospital. Their materials management, network engineering, information systems and biomedical teams understood the importance of looking beyond asset ‘dots on a map’ tracking to the opportunity of having true workflow automation,” said Tony Marsico, president and chief executive officer of PCTS. “We look forward to a solid execution of the installation and the opportunity to serve other facilities within the network in the near future.”

PCTS will have the opportunity to expand their Amelior Enterprise Visibility and Workflow Automation Suite into other facilities within the Hospital Sisters Health System. St. John’s recently announced the expansion of their surgical department and patient tower that will add an additional 16 surgical suites and provide a more efficient footprint for easy access to a variety of services including outpatient and inpatient surgery. 

About St. John’s Hospital

St. John’s Hospital is a regional medical center that offers a comprehensive array of tertiary healthcare services to a population base of 1.5 million central and southern Illinois residents. St. John’s is the flagship hospital of Hospital Sisters Health System, a healthcare ministry with 13 hospitals and a multi-specialty medical group in Illinois and Wisconsin. Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital is a national leader in cardiovascular care. St. John’s Children’s Hospital is accredited by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (N.A.C.H.R.I.) and is the regions only Pediatric Critical Care Center. The Children’s Hospital is home to the areas only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. St. John’s is designated as a Level I Trauma Center on a yearly rotating basis, serves as a teaching hospital for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, as has its own School of Nursing. St. John’s is also home to the Cancer Institute, Carol Jo Vecchie Women Services/Birth Center, Regional Wound Care Center, AthletiCare Sports Medicine, Sleep Center and Center for Living. 

About Patient Care Technology Systems

Patient Care Technology Systems, a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSLR), helps health care providers to improve patient flow, increase capacity and improve patient and staff safety by visualizing the real-time location and status of people and equipment throughout their facility. PCTS solutions have supported over 2 million patient visits annually and have shown a proven return on investment in high turnover, high-acuity units such as the emergency department and perioperative suites. The Amelior Enterprise Visibility and Workflow Automation Suite™ is interoperable with all leading locating technologies, including active-RFID, infrared, ultrasound, ultra-wideband, Wi-Fi and ZigBee. PCTS customers have been recognized nationally for improvements in efficiency and clinical excellence. For more information, visit www.pcts.com. 

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. PCTS and CSLR caution you that any statements contained in this press release which are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those related to PCTS’s and CSLR’s expectations regarding continued business growth. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, (copies of which may be obtained at the SEC’s website at: http://www.sec.gov) — could impact the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PCTS and CSLR disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in PCTS and CSLR’s expectations, or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Click here to see all recent news from this company

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Virgin HealthMiles, a leading provider of employee health and productivity programs that reward individuals for getting healthy, today announced it will host a free webinar focused on the role of prevention in the new healthcare reform legislation and how organizations can obtain measurable business value from their healthcare decisions.

The webinar, “Healthcare Reform: The Role of Prevention in the New Legislation,” will be held Tuesday, September 14, 2010, from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET. 

Virgin HealthMiles President Sean Forbes will be joined in the webinar by Brian Klepper, an expert on healthcare reform. Klepper is an Aspen Institute Health Forum Fellow and serves as one of only three non-physicians on the International Editorial Board of the Medscape Journal of Medicine. He is also a health care columnist for American City Business Journals and writes for The Health Care Blog.

During this webinar, the presenters we will take a strategic and tactical look at the role of wellness in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), including:

• A high-level summary of the PPACA with a focus on the wellness provisions
• A chronological look at the impact of reform on business
• How to obtain measurable business value from a company’s healthcare decisions

To register for the live webinar, please visit:
https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=239510&sessionid=1&key=1A9E973CA1C8590F6C3EEBEE02EAEB02&partnerref=VHMPress

A free recording of the webinar will be available on the Virgin HealthMiles website at: www.virginhealthmiles.com. 

About Virgin HealthMiles
Virgin HealthMiles provides employee health programs that pay people to get active. The company’s Pay-for-Prevention™ approach, based on physical activity and healthy lifestyle change, attracts an average of 40 percent of employees who participate, which helps organizations reduce medical costs and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. The program is offered by employers, government entities, and insurers. Over 120 industry leaders representing more than 500,000 employees across the U.S., including American Diabetes Association, Intuit, OhioHealth, Ochsner Health System, MWV, Protective Life, SunGard, SunTrust, and Timberland have selected Virgin HealthMiles’ award-winning program for their employees. The company is a member of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. For more information, visit www.virginhealthmiles.com

Click here to see all recent news from this company

ALBUQUERQUE, NM–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Medical device company Avanca Medical Devices, Inc. (www.avancamedical.com) continues to prove the superior performance of its one-handed syringe, the RPD® over regular syringes. A recent study using sonographic guidance and the RPD® one-handed syringe, Does Sonographic Needle Guidance Affect the Clinical Outcome of Intra-articular Injections? (J Rheumatol. 2009 Sep; 36(9):1892-902.) demonstrated more beneficial results — much less procedural pain, improved effect of the injected drug, greater responder rate, and reduced non-responder rate — using sonographic needle guidance with the RPD^® than using sonographic needle guidance with a conventional syringe. The study showed that the one-handed RPD^® (reciprocating procedure device) significantly improves the performance and outcomes of ultrasound-guided injections in a clinically significant manner. Another recent study, A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Study of Ultrasound-guided Corticosteroid Injection into the Joint of Patients with Inflammatory Arthritis (Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Jul; 62(7):1862-9), demonstrated no improvement of outcomes of ultrasound-guided intra-articular injections with a conventional syringe. The study addressed whether sonographic needle guidance affected clinical outcomes of intra-articular (IA) joint injections, and determined that there was no benefit from sonographic guidance when performed with a conventional syringe. These two studies emphasize that to take full advantage of sonographic needle guidance to improve patient outcomes, improved control of the syringe device is necessary. Using the one-handed RPD^® syringe instead of a conventional syringe with ultrasound is a more effective way to treat patients and justify sonographic needle guidance to 3^rd party payers.

Dr. Wilmer L. Sibbitt, Jr., a physician at UNM’s Health Sciences Center (HSC), commented: “With any new device, outcome trials to show a benefit to the patient are always necessary. Outcome trials with the RPD^® have demonstrated greater patient safety, much less procedural pain, and better outcomes in syringe procedures, including biopsy and injections of medications for corticosteroids, hyaluronate, local anesthetics, cosmetic agents and neuromuscular drugs. New studies combining the RPD^® with ultrasound guidance are ongoing and have great promise to improve the safety and outcomes of medical procedures in all fields of procedural medicine.”

Avanca Medical Devices, Inc. is currently conducting clinical trials on cost-effectiveness using the RPD^® to demonstrate that low-cost alterations in IA technique can have a major impact on outcome.

WASHINGTON, D.C.–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) today announced the formation of the Medical Innovation and Competitiveness (MedIC) Coalition, a new alliance comprised of both venture capital firms and their life sciences portfolio companies. The MedIC Coalition will be a united voice in Washington D.C. advocating for policies and regulations that advance U.S. medical innovation and protect the country’s global leadership position in the life sciences industry. The Coalition has three overarching goals:

• Bring the importance of medical innovation to the forefront as the country implements healthcare reform

• Establish new and preserve existing incentives for investors and entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize medical innovations in the U.S.

• Achieve broad-based F.D.A. reform

“Medical innovation is a significant contributor to our national goal of increasing access to healthcare, improving the quality of medical care, and creating high quality jobs. Yet until now, innovation has been largely absent from the public discussion on healthcare reform,” said Beth Seidenberg, MD, chairperson of MedIC and a general partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. “MedIC will address the rising concern that the U.S. is at risk of losing our leadership position in innovation and job creation due to increasing uncertainty in the regulatory and reimbursement processes, healthcare reform implementation and the capital markets. If we don’t act now our increasingly formidable global competitors will.”

As the United States struggles with these issues, foreign countries are providing incentives for innovators to complete their work overseas, build companies, and access capital markets. MedIC will be highlighting theses challenges and offering concrete regulatory and legislative solutions so that medical breakthroughs can continue to be pursued, high quality jobs created and US global leadership maintained.

“The U.S. healthcare system runs on innovation; if capital and incentives dry up, the whole system will suffer. This scenario could become a reality in the next decade as our current regulatory environment threatens to place our country at a disadvantage to foreign nations that are seeking to create more favorable conditions for innovators and investors,” said Mark Heesen, president, National Venture Capital Association. “In some instances, breakthrough therapies have migrated overseas to take advantage of more innovation friendly environments. MedIC wants the United States to continue to be leaders in discovering, developing and commercializing innovation. The game is ours to lose and we have no intention of losing it.”

“Historically, most of the breakthrough medical innovations in the United States have come from the start-ups and physician inventors,” said Josh Makower, MD, chief executive officer of Exploramed and MedIC steering committee member. “Breakthroughs such as the pacemaker, angioplasty and pulse oximetry were once lab experiments brought to life by entrepreneurs and venture capitalists working together to improve the quality of life for millions. We are now joining forces to ensure that the U.S. regulatory environment allows for the next wave of medical innovations to reach the public market. As a physician, inventor and entrepreneur, I am thrilled to be a part of the MedIC Coalition and look forward to the important work that will be done.”

Membership in MedIC is open to NVCA member firms and their life sciences portfolio companies. Additional information can be found at http://medic.nvca.org

About MedIC

Comprised of National Venture Capital Association member firms and their life sciences portfolio companies, the MedIC coalition advocates for policies and regulations that advance and support U.S. medical innovation. MedIC seeks to 1) educate policymakers on the critical role America’s medical innovation plays in the U.S. healthcare system, 2) establish incentives for investors and entrepreneurs to drive medical innovations in the U.S. and 3) achieve broad based FDA reform so that breakthrough technologies can be brought to market more efficiently. More information on MedIC can be found at medic.nvca.org.

About National Venture Capital Association

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) represents approximately 425 venture capital firms in the United States. NVCA’s mission is to foster greater understanding of the importance of venture capital to the U.S. economy and support entrepreneurial activity and innovation. According to a 2009 Global Insight study, venture-backed companies accounted for 12.1 million jobs and $2.9 trillion in revenue in the United States in 2008. The NVCA represents the public policy interests of the venture capital community, strives to maintain high professional standards, provides reliable industry data, sponsors professional development, and facilitates interaction among its members. For more information about the NVCA, please visit www.nvca.org.

MADISON, WS–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  TomoTherapy Incorporated (NASDAQ: TOMO), maker of advanced radiation therapy solutions for cancer care, today announced that 82 studies examining the use of the TomoTherapy^® treatment system to treat common, complex and rare tumors throughout the body will be showcased at ESTRO 29, September 12-16, 2010, in Barcelona. The studies examine use of the TomoTherapy system on head and neck, prostate, breast and lung tumors, as well as for treating blood cancers, mesothelioma and pediatric patients.

In one of the most promising papers, researchers from San Raffaele Scientific Institute in Milan, Italy compared TomoTherapy to other radiation therapy solutions using Pareto front analysis to explore the ability of these treatment methods to improve target coverage without sacrificing organs at risk (OAR) or other constraints. Researchers reported that “for all simulations RapidArc^® met less of the optimization criteria, while TomoTherapy was able to produce the most homogeneous dose and have the capability to conform dose distributions better than RapidArc^®.”

Head and Neck Cancers
Among the numerous studies on head and neck tumors, two studies compare arc therapy to helical TomoTherapy radiation delivery. Exploring the treatment of patients with oropharyngeal cancer, researchers in Belgium and the Netherlands concluded that in the treatment of head and neck cancer, helical TomoTherapy treatment times are less than both Smart Arc and step and shoot techniques. In fact, TomoTherapy treatment was fastest of all techniques examined, at 6.6 minutes, compared to 7.5 minutes for Smart Arc and longer times for other intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) techniques, while delivering the best homogeneity and equivalent or better OAR sparing.

Similarly researchers in Austria and Germany compared four different technologies for a parotid gland sparing head and neck treatment technique with simultaneous integrated boost (SIB). Their research showed that the TomoTherapy platform delivered the lowest doses to the parotids and spinal cord and achieved the shortest treatment time — eight minutes versus nine to 24 minutes for the other solutions examined.

Prostate Cancer
Eight studies focused on the use of TomoTherapy technology to treat prostate cancer in more than 280 patients. The studies showed excellent outcome for these patient groups, extending up to more than four years post-treatment. TomoTherapy? treatments resulted in very low toxicities and side effects, even with delivery of escalated doses.

Breast Cancer
In a study of 30 stage III breast cancer patients, researchers at The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre in Canada examined early results of loco regional breast radiation using IMRT delivery by the TomoTherapy system. The treatment area included the breast and chest wall, as well as supraclavicular, axillary and internal mammary nodal regions. The TomoTherapy system enabled conformal treatment that limited dosage to healthy surrounding tissue, including the heart, lungs, esophagus and thyroid. Researchers concluded that IMRT with the TomoTherapy system “for loco regional breast radiation is feasible and well tolerated with minimal acute and moderate-late skin effects.”

Lung Cancer
Research done at San Raffaele Scientific Institute was designed to assess the feasibility of the TomoTherapy platform to deliver hypofractionated treatments in 15 patients with inoperable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). After re-evaluating 12 patients in the study five months post-treatment, 42 percent of the patients had a complete metabolic response and 33 percent a partial response. The study also showed that these patients experienced less toxicity and were able to complete treatment in 13 treatment sessions rather than 20, as is the norm. The study concluded that hypofractionation in radical treatments for locally advanced NSCLC by means of helical TomoTherapy delivery is feasible and shortens the overall treatment time, and that the treatment allows an excellent toxicity profile.

Complex Cases
Highlighting the effectiveness of TomoTherapy radiation therapy in complex cases, a study of TomoTherapy use for one-and-a-half years at Greater Poland Cancer Centre in Poznan, Poland noted, “TomoTherapy is a method by which we can often achieve the treatment impossible to obtain on the conventional linacs or the treatment with a significantly better dose distribution than for conventional linacs.”

The ability of TomoTherapy technology to treat complex cases was also outlined in a number of studies, including:

• Mesothelioma — This is a disease that is difficult to treat because of the size and complex shape of the tumor, which involves the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall. In a study at San Raffaele Scientific Institute, researchers compared two groups of patients treated with the TomoTherapy platform, with one receiving a simultaneous integrated boost (SIB). Those patients receiving the SIB experienced significant benefits, with a one-year survival rate increasing to 72 percent, compared to 43 percent for the other group. Additionally, patients receiving a SIB did not experience a relapse for an average of 16 months versus six months for the non-SIB group.

• Reirradiation of head and neck tumors — Researchers in Korea investigated the efficacy and toxicity of using the TomoTherapy system to reirradiate head and neck tumors in patients who were inoperable. Nine patients were treated in this study, with median follow up of nine months. Study results showed that there was a treatment response rate of 66.7 percent. Additionally, patients experienced extremely low acute toxicities with only grade 2 skin reactions noted, and no sign of late toxicity.

• Total Marrow Irradiation (TMI) — Researchers at City of Hope in Los Angeles conducted a dosimetric analysis of 51 patients treated with TMI or total marrow and lymphatic irradiation (TMLI). The results showed that no patient experienced greater than grade 2 toxicity, with half the patients experiencing no nausea, which is a common side effect in other similar treatments. Additionally, researchers noted that dosimetric analysis demonstrated that TMI and TMLI with TomoTherapy technology may have potential advantages over other forms of targeted systemic radiation therapy.

• Pediatric — Four studies focused on treatment of pediatric patients, with three of those looking at treatments for medulloblastoma. The fourth study recounted the experiences of 62 patients, ranging in age from one to 14, at Grupo Instituto Madrileño de Oncologia (IMO) in Spain, which examined how the TomoTherapy system could be used in young patients to deliver high doses of radiation while preserving healthy organs. The study showed that the TomoTherapy approach allowed manageable levels of toxicity, and was effective in treating the majority of the patients — upon post-treatment evaluation, 58 percent did not have any evidence of illness, 7 percent showed a partial response and another 14 percent remained stable.

To learn more about the TomoTherapy treatment system, visit TomoTherapy at ESTRO 29 in booth 60, September 12-16 in Barcelona.

About TomoTherapy Incorporated
TomoTherapy Incorporated develops, markets and sells advanced radiation therapy solutions that can be used to treat a wide variety of cancers, from the most common to the most complex. The ring gantry-based TomoTherapy^® platform combines integrated CT imaging with conformal radiation therapy to deliver sophisticated radiation treatments with speed and precision while reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. TomoTherapy’s suite of solutions include its flagship Hi·Art^® treatment system, which has been used to deliver more than three million CT-guided, helical intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fractions; the TomoHD^™ treatment system, designed to enable cancer centers to treat a broader patient population with a single device; and the TomoMobile^™ relocatable radiation therapy solution, designed to improve access and availability of state-of-the-art cancer care. TomoTherapy’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TOMO. To learn more about TomoTherapy, please visit TomoTherapy.com.

©2010 TomoTherapy Incorporated. All rights reserved. TomoTherapy, Tomo, TomoDirect, TQA, the TomoTherapy logo and Hi·Art are among trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of TomoTherapy Incorporated in the United States and other countries.

RapidArc^® is a trademark of Varian Medical Systems.

FOOTHILL RANCH, CA–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Medical Marijuana Inc (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) is proud to announce that The Hemp Network multi-level marketing division, (www.thehempnetwork.com) has signed up over 2,200 IHCs, or Independent Hemp Consultants in over 1,000 cities and towns throughout the US and the world. Many of these new IHCs have prepared websites and marketing campaigns in preparation of the product launch in 12 days.

President Don Steinberg stated, “Progress continues rapidly on completion of the back end software and testing of the system.” CEO Bruce Perlowin continued, “We expect to be shipping Nature’s Ancient Wisdom medicinal mushroom and hemp protein formulas before month’s end. Excitement is mounting as our distributors sharpen their marketing tools preparing for a software platform integrating email campaigns, a ‘powerline’ marketing system, blog capabilities and the ability to interface with all social media making this one of the most advanced cutting edge marketing software platforms in the network marketing industry.”

On the international front, Dr. Stuart Titus has traveled to South America where he is conducting clinical studies in Guatemala on The Hemp Network’s proprietary formulas. Dr. Titus will be opening up The Hemp Network distribution channels throughout sectors of Central and South America.

Additionally, ticket sales for our Cannabis and Wellness industry trade show at the colossal Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan, scheduled for Halloween weekend October 29, 30 and 31^st are expected to go on sale this week (See: www.harmonyharvestfest.com). The first International Holistic Health Cannabis Convention Halloween Harmony and Harvest Fest will be the largest event of its kind in the Midwest.

The Hemp Network®’s lead product line, “Nature’s Ancient Wisdom™” is derived from Medicinal Mushrooms combined with hemp protein. These mushrooms have long been esteemed in traditional Chinese medicine. Turkey Tail mushroom, an ingredient in one of our blends, has been the subject of a large number of controlled clinical studies in Asia showing that it can help rebuild the immune system in people with a wide range of cancers. Whole food mushrooms supply the body with an antioxidant enzymatic transport system targeting stress points and improving oxygen to the cells, increasing energy levels and mental clarity.

ABOUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA INC

Medical Marijuana Inc recognizes the vast and unequaled opportunities that exist in the rapidly expanding hemp and medical marijuana industries. The scientific recognition of cannabis has brought legalized marijuana use to the forefront of mainstream discussion, thus opening the door for safe and lucrative investment opportunities.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY SOLUTIONS

Medical Marijuana Inc has developed a suite of solutions to deliver an efficient and secure infrastructure for the Medical Marijuana Industry which provides the tools to industry operators to effectively manage their business with the confidence that they are in full compliance. Workshops and vender booths covering all aspects of this multi-billion dollar emerging industry are featured at their Expos — the next one scheduled on October 29, 30 and 31^st in the Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan: www.harmonyharvestfest.com

ABOUT THE HEMP NETWORK

The Hemp Network® was established to provide hemp and wellness-related products to a wide marketplace with the use of network marketing to create massive distribution. 

President Don Steinberg and CEO Bruce Perlowin have in the past created one of the world’s largest network marketing companies in the telecommunications industry. They bring that experience plus Dianna Kaplan heading up the products division with a formidable team of advisors and associates that include immunologists, formulators, Doctors, marketing teams, and software engineers.

STAY TUNED

To learn more about The Hemp Network® and to participate in daily conference calls which discuss the pay plan, products, upcoming events and exchange of ideas, call 218-339-3600 PIN: 321677, Monday thru Thursday at 6 PM Pacific time, or listen to the recorded calls 24/7 at: 951-262-3496 or go to: www.thehempnetwork.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Medical Marijuana Inc to be materially different from the statements made herein.

FAIRFIELD, NJ–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Virtual Ed Link, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: VRED) — Virtual Ed Link is expanding its efforts into two new areas — Homeland Security and Law and Public Safety. These two New Jersey State Departments are responsible for the safety and well being of students across the state and as such, both organizations have a high interest in the collection of intelligence in local school districts.

The primary purpose of the VRED School Safety Management System (SSMS) product is to collaborate information from the school to the administration, staff, parents and community. Not only is this collected information valuable to the school community, it is also very important to these particular state agencies. Information and statistics regarding firearms, illegal drugs, hate crimes, gang activity, student violence and terroristic threats are all major topics of concern by state authorities.

In New Jersey, all school districts are required by the State Board of Education to adopt and implement policies and procedures consistent with the State Memorandum of Agreement approved by the Attorney General and Commissioner of Education. This memorandum is then signed by each school and municipality statewide.

“The Memorandum of Agreement between the school district and the State’s Attorney General’s Office includes sections on school security planning and training. We are having discussions with officials on utilizing this vehicle for implementation of the SSMS product for school districts,” said John Bay, President and CEO of Virtual Ed Link. “This seems to be a very viable alternative and solution to the tight budget scenarios we are encountering with local school districts.” 

The SSMS solution coordinates information manually and electronically from sources throughout the school district — processing this information into actionable intelligence. This patterning and processing is done through proprietary algorithms designed by VRED, Viyya Technologies (VYON) and other integration partners. The resulting intelligence can then be utilized by the school administration, local authorities and state agencies to prevent security and safety breaches within the school system rather than just reacting to problem after it occurs.

About Virtual Ed Link, Inc.
Virtual Ed Link, Inc., (PINKSHEETS: VRED), sells the Safety and Security Management System (SSMS), which uses proprietary core technology solutions developed by Viyya Technologies. The Safety and Security Management System is marketed and sold primarily to schools and colleges around the U.S. and geared to be used as a collaborative Web 2.0 tool to share general information retrieved from any internet source among the school users, and especially, in the event of threats or danger, to disseminate alerts to help and guide students, parents, faculty and law enforcement in the actions necessary to help protect school attendees, and school infrastructure.

For more information, visit http://www.virtualedlink.org

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipate” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, description of anyone’s past success, either financial or strategic, is no guarantee of future success. This news release speaks as of the date first set forth above and the company assumes no responsibility to update the information included herein for events occurring after the date hereof.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL–(Marketwire – September 8, 2010) –  Beginning in July 2011, The Joint Commission will expand the process of accrediting ambulatory health care organizations to those who are also interested in electing the Primary Care Home option. A Primary Care Home is a model of care whereby services are provided to patients by a primary care provider or team that increases access to its services, tracks and coordinates a patient’s care delivered by other providers and facilities, uses evidence based treatment protocols, and focuses more on patient and family education and self-management. This helps to ensure the patient receives timely and appropriate treatment. The Primary Care Home option will help accredited organizations to increase patient satisfaction, improve patient outcomes and reduce the overall costs to the health care system.

This initiative complements the Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program and is consistent with the new health care reform efforts to improve the coordination, quality and efficiency of health care services. This initiative is designed to combine the improvements in quality of care and patient safety achieved through accreditation with increased reimbursement from third party payers when the additional requirements of a Primary Care Home are met.

Standards for the Primary Care Home Initiative will be posted for a field review in November 2010, and pilot testing is expected to begin in early 2011. The final standards are expected to be available in March 2011, and on-site surveys will begin in July 2011.

“This new optional program will help ensure that patients receive ambulatory care services in a manner that is comprehensive, accessible and coordinated. By focusing on carefully orchestrating care, patient outcomes can be improved,” says Michael Kulczycki, executive director, Ambulatory Health Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission.

A Primary Care Home Initiative Expert Panel is guiding the development of supplemental ambulatory care accreditation standards for organizations that elect the Primary Care Home option. Specifically, the panel is providing input on topics such as:

• Roles and responsibilities of the primary care provider;
• Roles, responsibilities and composition of the care team;
• Processes necessary to ensure and support continuity of care;
• Processes to support and incorporate patient self management; and
• Operational topics such as scheduling of patient appointments to ensure adequate access to care.

A broader advisory and resource group — which includes representatives from national and state organizations and trade associations, along with other interested stakeholders — will provide additional guidance and assistance in the implementation of the initiative. The Joint Commission is also seeking feedback from Medicare and Medicaid officials and insurance companies to ensure that the Primary Care Home standards will enable organizations to be eligible for enhanced reimbursement.

For more information about the Primary Care Home Initiative, please visit www.jointcommission.org/PCHI or contact Michael Kulczycki at 630.792.5290 or [email protected].

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission seeks to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value. The Joint Commission evaluates and accredits more than 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including more than 9,700 hospitals and home care organizations, and more than 6,800 other health care organizations that provide long term care, behavioral health care, laboratory and ambulatory care services. In addition, The Joint Commission also provides certification of more than 1,700 disease-specific care programs, primary stroke centers, and health care staffing services. An independent, not-for-profit organization, The Joint Commission is the nation’s oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about The Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.

To view this release in a media-rich version, go to: http://www.pwrnewmedia.com/2010/jointcommission_00907_primary_care_home/index.html

Click here to see all recent news from this company

MAUMEE, OH–(Marketwire – September 1, 2010) –  After completing several months of rigorous due diligence following the signing of a definitive agreement to bring the two organizations together, the transaction is now complete and St. Luke’s Hospital has officially become a member of ProMedica Health System.

“We are thrilled that St. Luke’s has joined ProMedica,” says Randy Oostra, President and CEO of ProMedica. “Both organizations are dedicated to achieving the same overarching Mission: to improve the health of the people we serve. St. Luke’s joining ProMedica will help facilitate collaborative endeavors to better address critical health and social needs throughout the community. In the near term and for generations to come, it is imperative that organizations such as ours seek to achieve more effective and efficient clinical integration as we expand access to exceptional care.” 

“We have a promise at St. Luke’s — ‘Patients First. Always.’ Becoming a member of ProMedica allows us to continue to expand on that proud tradition of service and compassionate care,” says Dan Wakeman, President/CEO of St. Luke’s Hospital. “Both organizations have much to learn and share with each other. We each have unique and distinguishing characteristics, and as we join ProMedica we have the opportunity to find synergies and build on the strengths of both our cultures.”

The most visible initial change the community and employees will notice is that St. Luke’s will now be included in the Paramount Health Care network. As a result, Paramount members and ProMedica employees will have access to St. Luke’s services. In addition, St. Luke’s employees will have access to ProMedica services and facilities through Medical Mutual’s Ohio SuperMed Plus network. 

“The due diligence we have conducted over the last several months has been intense and detailed,” says Barbara Steele, President, Acute Care, ProMedica Health System. “Yet, in many ways, the work starts now as teams begin the process of analyzing which services should be integrated to achieve efficiencies.”

The goal of service line and clinical integration is to:

• provide convenient and easier access to programs and services;
• provide a comprehensive continuum of care;
• enhance the physician’s ability to care for patients and improve quality-of-life issues;
• look for opportunities to create “Best in Class” programs to better serve patients and communities; and
• evaluate ways to add value to existing services.

“Nationwide, resources are shrinking while the need for top-quality health care has never been higher,” says Oostra. “With St. Luke’s as a member of ProMedica, we will be better able to proactively provide more effective and efficient coordination of care — and that will position us ahead of the health care reform curve and help meet the critical needs of our communities.”

About St. Luke’s Hospital
Located in Maumee, St. Luke’s Hospital is a full-service community hospital. Each year, this non-profit health care organization cares for more than 235,000 patients. Its 1,500 employees and 600 physicians provide a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services including high-risk cardiac surgery, oncology, labor and delivery, medical/surgical, critical and emergency care.

St. Luke’s is the only hospital in northwest Ohio to be ISO 9001:2008 certified, representing a highly collaborative accrediting process that encourages innovation in health care. The hospital is regularly recognized by third-party quality ratings organizations that rank St. Luke’s within the top 10% of hospitals nationally, based on outcomes, cost and patient satisfaction. For more information, visit www.stlukeshospital.com

About ProMedica Health System
ProMedica Health System, a mission-based organization that is ranked among the Top 5 most integrated health systems in the U.S., was formed in 1986 and is a Toledo, Ohio-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization with nearly 15,000 employees; 2,900 physicians and more than 283 facilities in Ohio and Michigan. ProMedica serves more than 2.4 million patients annually and includes 10 hospitals; ProMedica Continuum Services with senior, hospice, rehabilitation, and integrative services; ProMedica Physician Group, a network of more than 300 primary care, obstetrics and specialist physicians; and Paramount Health Care, the largest HMO in northwest Ohio. For more information, please visit www.promedica.org.

HILLSIDE, NJ–(Marketwire – September 1, 2010) – Infirmed children at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey, will get to talk via a video connection with U.S.A.F. Air Combat Command Pilots, and view aerial demonstrations, before the official start of the “Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House & Air Show” in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The video event takes place 1-2 PM EDT on Friday, September 3, 2010 at the Giggles Children’s Theatre, located at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, 703 Main Street, Paterson, NJ. This opportunity is sponsored by “Operation: Aviators for Kids,” a partnership involving a Cisco video connection provided by Core BTS, managed services donated by Glowpoint, and Polycom videoconferencing end-point technology provided by Medical Missions for Children at the Giggles Children’s Theater.

About “Thunder Over the Blue Ridge” Open House & Air Show
The 167th Airlift Wing is proud to be hosting the “Thunder Over the Blue Ridge Open House & Air Show” on September 4 – 5, 2010. Building on the success of the 2008 Spirit of America Over Martinsburg Air Show, the 167th Airlift Wing, along with the Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport and the United Way of the Eastern Panhandle, will be bringing together some of the nation’s most exciting aerial demonstration teams, including the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, U.S. Air Force A-10 Demo East, U.S. Navy F-18 Hornet, and U.S. Army Golden Knights.

About St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital at St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center is a leader in comprehensive health care for children. Recognized for our high standard of quality responsive and compassionate pediatric care, St. Joseph’s is a state designated children’s hospital offering a broad spectrum of services for patients from birth to 21 years of age — and their families.

When children are ill or injured, their condition and treatment can affect their overall development in ways that are important to foresee. That is why we say we “treat the whole child,” and have implemented a team approach to treatment. The various pediatric specialists at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital share their knowledge and experience to identify and anticipate complications that may impact the child’s state-of-mind and future development.

Blazing new paths in leading-edge technology and care, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital practices family-centered care. We strive to make children and families feel safe and to help them understand, and cope with, the challenges of illness.

About Glowpoint
Glowpoint, Inc. (OTCBB: GLOW) enables video users to effortlessly and securely call one another regardless of their video technology or network. With unlimited, “open” access to Glowpoint’s cloud-based, hosted-video infrastructure and services, video calling within — and between — companies is dramatically simplified. From full-featured telepresence and video conferencing suites to desktop video, Glowpoint supports customers around the world with 24/7 managed services that allow business professionals to enjoy “in-the-same-room” intimacy and cost savings. To see a video-in-the-cloud demonstration, and to learn more about how cost-effective and easy telepresence and video conferencing can be for your business, email us at [email protected] or visit http://www.glowpoint.com.

About Core BTS, Inc.
Core BTS, Inc. is a business technology infrastructure company that first seeks to understand you and your business, then helps you utilize technology to move your business forward. Headquartered in Madison, WI with 11 offices in six states, Core BTS delivers unified communications, data center, video, enterprise architecture and security solutions. See www.corebts.com to find an office near you or contact our headquarters at [email protected] or by phone at (608) 661-7700.

About Medical Missions for Children
Founded in 1999, Medical Missions for Children is dedicated to the mission of providing quality healthcare to critically-ill children throughout the world. It is an organization that knows no geographic boundaries and to date has successfully implemented 108 medical treatment and education programs in as many countries. Tapping into the volunteer spirit of the North American medical community, MMC hosts a consultative and educational support network for healthcare providers in developing nations who often lack the resources and specialty knowledge needed to successfully diagnosis and treat an infinite number of medical conditions.

The name of MMC’s communications infrastructure is the Global Telemedicine & Teaching Network™ (GTTN). The GTTN is a satellite- and Internet-based communications system that features an ever-expending digitized, video-based medical library, a global satellite-broadcast TV station (Medical Broadcast Channel – MBC), and an Internet Protocol (IP) supported, real-time, videoconference-based, remote diagnostics capability. The distribution of medical knowledge transported across the GTTN is supported by a network of 27 U.S.-based medical institutions, whose medical expertise is leveraged first to support a fully interactive telemedicine system and secondly to build a repository of medical content that is subsequently broadcast over MMC’s satellite and Internet2 distribution platforms. The GTTN is also used to broadcast live and pre-recorded child entertainment programming designed to touch the lives of hospitalized children throughout the U.S. and overseas.

Click here to see all recent news from this company