Roanoke Medical Practices Plan To Merge

Physicians with Roanoke Orthopaedic Center and Carilion Bone and Joint will join to form a new practice, Carilion Clinic – Orthopaedics, March 1, 2010.

“Several years ago we approached Carilion about ways to advance the practice of orthopaedics in the region,” says Dr. Hugh Hagan. “Together we can create a regional referral center for orthopaedic care.”

“We already have a common vision for the future of orthopaedics in the region, and our commitment to service and excellence in patient care,” says Carilion Bone and Joint physician Dr. Thomas Shuler. “Forming a new, comprehensive practice is the best way to move that vision forward.”

Carilion Clinic – Orthopaedics builds a comprehensive and accomplished orthopaedic center. The practice will be:

• Devoted to excellence in patient care involving musculoskeletal disorders and injuries.
• The only orthopaedic center in the region to provide a full-range of services; joint replacement and reconstruction; arthroplasty and sports medicine; spine, fracture and trauma care; hand and microvascular surgery; foot and ankle surgery ;and pediatric orthopaedics.
• Part of Carilion Clinic’s patient-centered philosophy, building an integrated care program alongside colleagues in neurosurgery, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and trauma surgery.
• Dedicated to medical education and research, utilizing the synergy and common focus provided by the Virginia Tech Carilion School of medicine and Research Institute, Carilion Clinic – Orthopaedics to expand medical education and research to focus on developing new technologies and treatments.
• Focused on the future, continuing to develop physician recruitment strategies that will ensure the future availability of needed services to the community, remaining on the leading edge of musculoskeletal care.

The physicians of Carilion Clinic – Orthopaedics will continue to see patients at the current ROC location on Postal Drive and at 3 Riverside, located in Carilion’s Riverside Center at the corner of Jefferson Street and Reserve Avenue.

(From press release.)

GridPoint Buys ADMMicro of Roanoke

A recent celebration at ADMMicro^

Some of ADMMicro's products^

ADMMicro was recently host to candidate Bill Bolling (above); Don Howell (right)>

GridPoint, Inc., a smart grid company, has acquired Roanoke-based ADMMicro, an energy management systems organization serving the commercial and industrial sector. The acquisition extends GridPoint’s service potential to a broader customer base.

The company hopes to transform the distribution and consumption of electricity. “The smart grid cannot be fully realized without integrating intelligent facilities that are equipped to automatically achieve optimum efficiency,” says Peter L. Corsell, CEO, GridPoint.

“Our companies have a closely aligned vision, which involves empowering our customers with visibility and control over energy consumption in order to realize savings and lower their carbon footprint,” says Don Howell, CEO, ADMMicro.

“ADMMicro is an innovative company that has established a leading position in a rapidly expanding market segment. Our respective technologies are highly complementary and will benefit producers and consumers of electricity across the board.”

ADMMicro helps clients manage their facilities to increase energy efficiency. ADMMicro’s energy management and submetering systems automatically monitor and control energy consumption, including HVAC systems and lighting, and provide customers with online reports.

ADMMicro’s commercial/industrial systems, which are in use at thousands of sites nationwide, will work with GridPoint’s portfolio of software solutions, which aggregate and manage distributed sources of load, storage and generation for utilities and their residential customers. GridPoint’s software allows utilities to efficiently balance supply and demand and improve grid reliability and empowers consumers with user-friendly tools to manage energy consumption.

The utility market remains a core focus for GridPoint, which will continue to develop products and services that redefine relationships between utilities and their customers. For example, the extension of GridPoint’s solutions into the C&I market creates new opportunities for utilities to engage enterprise customers in demand response and load reduction programs.

Howell and ADMMicro’s management team are veteran electrical engineers and utility executives who have worked in the fields of energy management, building management, electrical power monitoring, and retail operations for more than 25 years. ADMMicro has been featured in Fortune magazine and was recognized with a 2009 Rising Star Award by the NewVA Corridor Technology Council, which serves the growing technology industry in the region encompassing Roanoke, Blacksburg and surrounding counties.

(From press releases.)

Scenes From the Green Living Expo

Al Steed of AMSOIL takes time for his granddaughter Heather Meikle, who's nearly 3^

Liz Belcher of Roanoke Valley Greenways explains how they work to Ken Cabay^

Cars dot the floor of the exhibition hall, none of them traditional internal combustion engine vehicles^

Pete Krull of Krull & Company helps people invest their money in green technologies and other ethical ventures^

Stacy Hairfield, publisher of Natural Awakenings magazine, and her son, Noah, investigate wind power at Chesapeake Renewable Energy's booth^

Clean Valley Council (Anne Masters and Laura Wasko sitting) draws an active crowd^

The crowd is large and lively today at the Green Energy Expo at the Roanoke Civic Center, which has reached a level of maturity many of us only hoped for a few years ago when it started as what Rush Limbaugh might have called "a gathering of waco-environmentalists."

Those wack-os are now mainstream business people who have seen the benefit of bottom lines boosted by energy efficiency and environmentally friendly technology. The Expo reflects the maturity of the movement and has vendors showing their wares in a variety of areas from investing to wind energy.

Come by our booth near the back wall if you have time.

The Best Political Blog Around

Roanoke Times Editor Dwayne Yancey's local/state election blog is a must-read. Dwayne, who spent years covering Virginia politics and wrote When Hell Froze Over about Doug Wilder's unlikely win of the state lieutenant governorship in 1989, has considerable insight on how Virginia politics works (or doesn't work, as we saw Tuesday) and he's about as neutral as a veteran reporter can be.

Dwayne is the guy I always point to when I talk about how well reporters dress. He's the very personification of haute couture among the journalistic elite. You can see him coming blocks away in that calf-length woolen trench coat, frayed muffler, fop hat that has fopped one two many times, glasses from the early 1970s and hair that I swear was combed once and possibly even cut at one time or another. "There's something soothing about walking into the newsroom and seeing Dwayne looking the way he always looks," a Times reporter told me recently. "I just love the guy."

Dwayne's also one of the city's better playrights, having worked with No Shame Theater for several years. His "A Nice Relaxing Cup of Tea," performed recently at Studio Roanoke, was simply superb.

And you'll love the blog if you're a political wonk. It's here.

CAER Center Going Up in Bedford County

The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) will break ground on its new research and education center on Friday, November 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the New London Business and Technology Center in Bedford.

Funding for the 25,000 square foot research center was provided through a $7.6 million economic development grant from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission. Bedford County provided the land and helped to underwrite some of land planning costs and site preparation at the 500-acre business park.

The park is just off of Rt. 460 West in eastern Bedford County. ”Bedford County has a proactive approach to economic development and the New London Business and Technology Center provides an optimum location for continued growth," says Bedford County Administrator Kathleen Guzi.

”The CAER represents just the type of innovation envisioned for the park and we anticipate great things from the facility and future tenants.”

The CAER provides a central point for applied research, product development, commercialization, and professional training, in collaboration with local companies, research universities, federal laboratories and other partners.

”The CAER has been instrumental in arranging partnerships in our community that lead directly to new jobs,” says Jim Hicks, VP Business Development at AREVA NP and Chairman of the CAER Board. ”It is uniquely positioned to understand the capabilities of the university community and to match those with the needs of local industry.”

According to Bob Bailey, executive director for the CAER, research at the facility will be focused in four major areas that are complimentary to the region’s key industries.

Centra Wins Prestigious Awards

Patti McCue>

Centra Lynchburg General has been named a 2009 Medal of Honor recipient for organ donations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and LifeNet Health. Centra received the award recently at the National Learning Congress in Grapevine, Texas.

The congress brings together the best organ donor hospitals, transplant centers and organ procurement organizations in the country. Centra Lynchburg General was honored during a special recognition ceremony for the commitment of health care professionals and physicians to help save lives through organ donation.

“Being able to work with families through organ donation to give the gift of life to someone else is one of the most rewarding experiences of our profession,” says Patti S. McCue, Centra chief nursing officer and senior vice president. “I am proud of our health care professionals and their national achievement in organ donation.”

Lynchburg General received this prestigious award for achieving outstanding rates of organ donation, and the hospital was honored for its ongoing support and dedication to organ and tissue donation.

NTELOS 'Smartphone' Available

NTELOS, a wireless communication services company based in Waynesboro, plans to launch its first Android-powered smartphone, the new HTC Hero.

The company is among the first U.S. wireless carriers to announce the availability of the Android-powered device with Google mobile services. Says Chief Operating Officer Jim Hyde, "The HTC Hero is a handset for people who want to express themselves and stay connected in a truly unique and revolutionary way.”

Android-powered devices represent one of the fastest growing device segments in the wireless industry with worldwide sales expected to soon eclipse the most popular smartphones on the market today, according to a March 2009 report by Informa Telecoms and Media. Android features open source mobile platform and applications and an advanced web browser. The pinch zoom controls allow you to look closer, read easier and surf with ease.

The HTC Hero will allow consumers access to thousands of the latest wireless applications. The HTC Hero also has built-in Google mobile services with synchronization, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Talk and YouTube.

With Android Market, users can download thousands of applications, games and widgets on their phones. Twitter, Pac Man, amazon.com, Pandora, Craigslist, Checker and Facebook are among the applications available. My Location allows a subscriber to push a button and see where he is on a map, then search and find the closest area businesses. Or select Google Maps, which provides turn-by-turn directions and traffic updates.

(From NTELOS press release.)