State Contracts Often Exclude Local Contractors

Chip Woodrum: “Sealed bidding in almost all cases is better.”

By DAN SMITH

One of the more significant issues facing the building community—especially the smaller businesses—is framed in a couple of acronyms: PPTA and PPEA.

Those are the Public Private Transportation Act and Public Private Education Act which take bidding out of the process of issuing state government road and education construction contracts. PPTA was passed in 1995 and PPEA followed later after some intense lobbying by some of Virginia’s largest general contractors and architectural/engineering firms, the companies that would (and have) benefit most. Contractors in this region generally will only comment off the record on the issue because, as one said, “If I spoke out, it could cost me any chance I have of ever getting any of those contracts.”

Off the record, though, they are furious about the large—and lucrative—contracts being consistently given to the same large firms. These smaller firms can actually counter the contract price once it is announced, but, as one contractor said, “You just don’t have the information to give an intelligent bid at that point. It would be a crap shoot, far too risky. That’s why it almost never happens.”

One Roanoke contractor said that larger firms hire marketing people specifically to develop relationships with localities or universities that are expected to have projects they want completed in the near or even far future. When the time comes to put an offer on the table, these companies get the call and “because it isn’t competitive, it usually costs a good bit more than it would under a bid process,” says a Roanoke contractor. “The owner likes it because the project can be done faster and without a lot of hassle and the contractor likes it because the profit margin is high.”

Elm Avenue interchange will get a $20 million facelift.

Former Virginia State Delegate Chip Woodrum (D-Roanoke) was among those who voted for the PPTA in 1995. Today, he opposes it. “Sealed bidding in almost all cases is better,” says Woodrum. “While it may sometimes be cumbersome and inconvenient, that is a small price to pay for transparency. The public always has a right to know how tax money is being spent. In the final analysis it’s their money.”

PPTA “was advanced as a way to marry the creative impulse of private enterprise with public money on large public projects and avoid the slower and more ponderous process of the Public Procurement Process, which included an advertised [request for proposal] and competitive sealed bidding. It was part of what I call the ‘Public Private Partnership Movement,’ which held that the sealed bid process was too bureaucratic and stifled creative approaches to public projects. I felt it presented a myriad of pitfalls to a proper procedure.”

Recent examples of the PPTA and PPEA include such non-educational and road projects as the Greenridge Recreation Center and the Roanoke Public Safety Building. The Blacksburg High School project came in at nearly $60 million under PPEA with Branch Construction of Roanoke getting the contract ($125 for three Montgomery County schools) and the reconstruction of Roanoke’s Elm Ave.-I-581 at $20 million were also under those programs. Most went to companies outside this region. The same is true for projects at the region’s colleges and universities, who spend a lot of money.

There is a loose confederation of smaller contractors who are working on getting PPTA and PPEA modified or repealed, but one member from this area laughed when asked if that was a possibility. “There’s a real inequity here and we want people to know it,” he says.

(tba), ND&P Merge To Form Big Agency

Thomas Becher

Neathawk Dubuque & Packett (ND&P), a full-service advertising, marketing and public relations agency, today announced plans to acquire The Becher Agency (tba), creating one of the largest firms in the Roanoke Valley.

“We are delighted to grow our locally managed office with the acquisition of a well-respected and well-connected agency with particularly strong capabilities and award-winning results in public relations,” said Todd Foutz, executive vice president of ND&P.

“Our combined staffs,comprising some of the most talented and recognized advertising professionals in the region, will provide clients with unprecedented expertise in creative services, online interaction, social media, public relations and other communications that help businesses and organizations succeed.”

Thomas Becher, owner and president of The Becher Agency, will join ND&P as senior vice president, leading the combined company’s public relations and crisis communications practices. “We'll have seven full-time staff, including me, Chris Turnbull, Ariel Clark and Chris McAdams joining ND&P,” says Becher.

“One position was duplicate.” One of the primary reasons for the merger is simple, says Becher: “I'd like to spend more time with my children and being a business owner has made that increasingly difficult.”

“We look forward to bringing our expertise to a larger team of professional communicators to better serve a variety of organizations,” Becher says. “Both firms share a great deal of respect for each other, and we have previously worked together to provide outstanding service to mutual clients. We look forward to continuing to provide local, strategy-based creative solutions to a variety of clients in our region and beyond.”

The Becher Agency has offices at Warehouse Row, 119 Norfolk Ave., in downtown Roanoke and the Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg. Upon the transaction, Becher Agency employees will move into ND&P’s office at 410 S. Jefferson St. The combined company will retain the Blacksburg office to serve clients in the New River Valley.

Once the acquisition closes, ND&P will have 54 employees in Roanoke, Richmond, Chattanooga, Tenn., Charlotte and Durham, N.C., and Tampa, Fla. The combined entity will total 17 full-time positions in Roanoke office. The transaction is scheduled to be effective Sept. 1. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

Foot Levelers New Marathon Sponsor

Organizers of the Blue Ridge Marathon have announced that Roanoke-based Foot Levelers has signed on as the new title sponsor for the event. The race, with more elevation change than any other on-road marathon in the United States, will be known as the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon through at least 2015.

“We are looking forward to our new partnership with Foot Levelers,” says marathon chairman Pete Eshelman.  “Foot Levelers already has great connections in the running world by virtue of its products.  We expect to be able to use those connections to take the message of the Roanoke event farther than we have in the past.”

"We are so excited to be the title sponsor of America's Toughest Road Marathon," says Kent Greenawalt, CEO of Foot Levelers.  "Foot Levelers has a lot of activities planned to create awareness about the race nationally and focus on the runners' overall health.  Runners know the importance of taking care of their bodies from the ground up and we plan to motivate and help all participants perform at their maximum ability as they run over the Blue Ridge mountains."

New Partnership for Save-a-Ton

Save-a-Ton, the regional energy conservation education and awareness program has announced a new partnership program to provide a platform for local businesses and service providers working in the area of energy efficiency and conservation to connect to Save-a-Ton’s growing audience.

“One of the main goals of Save-a-Ton is to support the market for energy-related products and services here in the greater Roanoke region,” says Jeremy Holmes, Director of Save-a-Ton and Coordinator of Sustainability Programs for the Regional Commission. “We want to provide information and education for citizens of the region, but more importantly, we want to connect them to the businesses and nonprofits that can help them take action and start saving money immediately.”

The partnership program is free and allows qualified businesses and non-profits to be promoted through Save-a-Ton’s website, social media presence, and events. In return, partners are asked to share information about Save-a-Ton with their customers to help build awareness of the program.

Save-a-Ton’s recently launched online money savings calculator will help point users to actions that will give them the most impact, and then to products and services that can get them those savings.  “Our thinking is, if you’re researching compact fluorescent light bulbs to cut your electric bill, you might also be interested in cutting your gas bill, or water bill, or might be in the market for a new refrigerator once you see what the savings can add up to,” says Holmes.

“Save-a-Ton provides a lot of information on a range of energy-related issues, and as citizens become more educated we want them to know which businesses in valley can assist them.  We hope our efforts will grow the market for these kinds of businesses in the future.”

To become a partner, organizations just have to show how their businesses or service can reduce energy consumption.  Interested groups can complete an application online at saveaton.org/partner.asp.

The Roanoke Regional Chamber Responds

Dear Editor,

Joyce Waugh

My long time friend, Dan Smith, editor of Valley Business FRONT, made some inaccurate statements recently about the Chamber’s relationship with [a new] business magazine. Please allow me to clarify.

Dan said that the Chamber contracted with [the magazine] to publish a quarterly Chamber magazine. We did not. We did have preliminary discussions with [the magazine] about publishing our magazine. It wasn’t interested. Prior to making any final decision, we would have put it out for bid. For now, we are not moving forward with that publication.

In our discussions, we learned that [the magazine] has been looking to publish a magazine in the Roanoke region for a number of years, having discussed the idea with many business people as recently as last fall. It has decided to move forward with a monthly publication. It is not a Chamber publication. The Chamber offered the Roanoke staff of [the publication] use of a desk, of which its local writer has not taken advantage. Perhaps this was too generous a gesture causing a misunderstanding of our relationship. The motive behind the gesture, however, is core to the mission of the Chamber, which is to promote business success throughout our region.

 Competition is good for business, yet it is not the Chamber’s place to take sides with one business over another. In fact our own publication, published by a local business, saw a drastic loss of ad revenue when Valley Business FRONT began. That’s free competition. The decision by the magazine to launch its publication was not up to the Chamber. When we learned that it was going forward, out of courtesy, we fully intended to reach out to the leaders at Valley Business FRONT and other are publications to let them know about [the magazine’s] decision. Unfortunately, we did not get to have the actual advance conversation with Valley Business FRONT.

The editor and publisher of Valley Business FRONT provide a quality magazine that is well-liked and is expected to continue to be enjoyed in the region. From the Chamber’s perspective, the new business venture was not an implication that current publications were not filling strong niches. Indeed they are.

Joyce Waugh,
President, Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce

(Editor’s note: In Smith’s commentary May 6 on www.fromtheeditr.blogspot.com, he did not say that the chamber “contracted to publish a quarterly chamber magazine.” He said that it had “entered into an alliance with Virginia Business magazine.” Smith insists that is correct. A FRONT blog post that same day at www.morefront.blogspot.com, said “the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce has entered into a contract with Hampton/Richmond-based Virginia Business magazine to produce a business publication in the Roanoke and New River Valleys.” FRONT continues to see this as an alliance, though its depiction as a contractual arrangement was a misunderstanding following a conversation with Joyce Waugh, which we regret.)

MB Contractors Leadership Transition Complete

Jed Hammer

Mike Cagle

The transition of 100-year-old MB Contractors in Roanoke is complete. The transition began six years ago as President Todd Morgan and Executive Vice President Mike Cagle acquired the remaining shares from CEO Jed Hammer on July 17.

Employees, clients, and business partners will see no change in day-to-day operations and dealings. “When Morgan and Cagle bought into the company in 2006,” says Hammer, “I began to slowly remove myself from daily operations as they took on more and more responsibility and have effectively been running the company for the past few years with me acting in more of a consulting role.”

Todd Morgan

An avid outdoorsman, Hammer plans to spend more time hunting and also with his family that includes a granddaughter and two new grandchildren who are expected before the end of the year.

Asked about their future vision for the company Morgan said, “This is an exciting time for everyone at MB Contractors as we are putting the finishing touches on 100 years in business and starting the foundation work for the next 100.

Cagle reiterated that statement saying, “I am looking forward to working to continue the growth of MB Contractors and to build on our long history of providing excellence in construction for our clients and a great work environment for our employees.”

Huge Roanoke Contract Goes to Another Outside Firm

Yet another huge construction contract for work in Roanoke has gone to an outside firm, this time one in Pennsylvania with an office near Richmond. A $20.4 million contract to improve the I581-U.S. 220 link at Elm Avenue in downtown Roanoke has been won by American Infrastructure-Va. Inc. in Glen Allen.

The work is to improve the flow of traffic in one of Roanoke's more congested areas. American Infrastructure is based in Worcester, Pa. The project is expected to begin in the middle of next year and finished in 2015. A lane will be added to the off-ramps and the left turn lanes will be extended in each direction. Elm Ave.'s bridge will also be widened.

New Regional Investment Firm Announced

Packed house at VTC hears the venture capital announcement

The new venture capital investment company Valley Ventures Ltd. Partnership was unveiled this evening at the Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Blueprint event at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

Valley Ventures, which is capitalized with $15 million ($5 million from each of its partners), is being underwritten by Carilion Clinic, the Virginia Tech Foundation and Third Security, an investment firm that concentrates in this region.

The new organization's money will be available for early-stage, growing companies that show considerable promise. Ray Smoot of the Tech Foundation said the funds are not focused on any specific type of business.

Roanoke All-American City for 6th Time

The National Civic League has named Roanoke a 2012 All-America City, marking the sixth time it has earned the distinction - a feat achieved by no other city. Other years the city has won include 1952, 1979, 1982, 1988, and 1996.

The city's entry was the "Star City Reads" campaign, a plan to ensure that more Roanoke children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade. Roanoke's plan makes the city a charter member in the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Community Network, a national movement of local leaders, nonprofits and foundations putting a stake in the ground on third-grade reading. As a charter member, Roanoke will have access to a Promising Practices Clearinghouse, an online help desk, peer-learning opportunities, meetings with national experts and policymakers, and a foundation registry designed to expand and replicate successful programs.

"It is an honor for Roanoke to be selected as an All-America City Award winner for its ‘Star City Reads' campaign," says Roanoke Mayor David Bowers.  "We are confident this initiative will be an effective
tool for us to ensure that more Roanoke children are reading at grade level by the end of third grade.  Special thanks go to our partners-Roanoke City Public Schools, United Way of Roanoke Valley,
Smart Beginnings of Greater Roanoke, Total Action against Poverty, Roanoke Public Libraries, Blue Ridge Literacy, and Dr. Craig Ramey and Dr. Sharon Ramey from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research
Institute-for their contribution to the development of this campaign. In Roanoke, we affirm that ‘reading is everybody's business.' This is because reading lets our children become ‘STARS' in their own right -
capable lifelong learners with open minds and hearts, and the skills to succeed in school and life."

Roanoke was one of 32 finalists selected through a peer review process from a field of more than 100 entries across the country selected. In all, the National Civic League named 14 communities All-America Cities for 2012:

• Baltimore, Maryland
• Dubuque, Iowa
• Providence, Rhode Island
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Marshalltown, Iowa
• Pittsfield, Massachusetts
• Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois
• Roanoke, Virginia
• San Antonio, Texas
• San Francisco, California
• Seattle and the South King County Cities, Washington
• Southern Pines, North Carolina
• Springfield, Massachusetts
• Tahoe/Truckee, California

Each of the recognized communities submitted a "Community Solutions Action Plan" that included a broad cross-section of local partners,  including schools, foundations, community service organizations,
businesses and faith groups detailing how they would address school readiness, attendance and summer learning.

Virginia Tech Names First 6 to Entrepreneur Hall of Fame

The Virginia Tech Faculty Entrepreneur Hall of Fame has inducted its first class of honorees. From a pool of more than 50 nominees solicited from across the campus, six university faculty members were selected: Vinod Chachra, Richard Claus, Fred C. Lee, Arvid Myklebust, James Rancourt, and Tracy Wilkins.

“As faculty members, they have been accountable for making substantial contributions to three elements of the mission of Virginia Tech: teaching, research, and service,” said Robert Walters, vice president for research. “As entrepreneurs, they have taken their passions, dreams, time, and effort to create products and services to improve the quality of life for our citizens and for the interests of the nation. They have enhanced our local and regional economies and created high-quality jobs, particularly here in Southwest Virginia.”

Vinod Chachra

Vinod Chachra, president and CEO of VTLS Inc., is an internationally recognized lecturer, consultant, and innovator in the field of information system planning. Chachra has served Virginia Tech in many capacities, from director of software development to director of computing and information systems to vice president for computing and information systems.

He was responsible for the creation of VTLS Inc., the first tenant of the Corporate Research Center. The company is an international leader in integrated library automation, digital imaging services and radio frequency identification technology, and provides state-of-the-art library automation systems to more than 1,800 libraries worldwide.

Richard Claus

Richard O. Claus, founder and president of NanoSonic Inc., is a recognized expert in advanced materials and structures. NanoSonic was established in 1998 as a result of a spinoff of federally-funded research at Virginia Tech. The company got its start in a kitchen with two part-time employees.

Today, it has more than 70 employees and has as its customers NASA, defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, as well as major chemical suppliers, rubber industries, and electronic companies. Claus has won international awards for research from professional organizations and government agencies, including the Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Instrument Society of America, SPIE – The International Society for Optical Engineering, and NASA.

Fred Lee

Fred C. Lee is a University Distinguished Professor and director of the Center for Power Electronics Systems, a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (NSF ERC). The center has been cited as a model ERC for its industrial collaboration and technology transfer, as well as education and outreach programs.
Lee has served as president of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, was a member of the board of directors for Zytec and Artesyn, and was chairman of the board for VPT Inc. He currently serves on the board of directors for Delta Electronics Inc.; Cyntec; and the Delta Environment and Education Foundation. Lee was named to the National Academy of Engineering in 2011.

James Rancourt

James Rancourt is a professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and founder and CEO of Polymer Solutions Inc. (PSI), the industry’s premier independent testing lab. For the past 25 years, Rancourt has grown PSI through complementing his passion for helping others with his love of analytical chemistry, while building a team of brilliant scientists and support staff. PSI has given more than 55 presentations, has offered testimony in 60 trials, has 7 U.S. patents, and has 60 publications to its credit.

Arvid Myklebust (photo not available) is professor emeritus of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering. His research expertise is in the fields of computer aided design, computer aided aircraft design, geometric curve and surface modeling, computer graphics standards, kinematic synthesis and dynamic response analysis of non-linear mechanical systems. Myklebust co-founded three companies at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center: Phoenix Integration, AVID Aerospace, and Theta Tech Solutions.

Tracy D. Wilkins (photo not available), an internationally recognized expert in anaerobic microbiology, served as faculty member and director of the Anaerobe Lab, was director of the Fralin Biotechnology Center (now Fralin Life Sciences Institute), and was the initial Stroobants Professor of Agricultural Biotechnology at Virginia Tech.
In 1989 he founded TECHLAB Inc., a company focused on enteric disease and microbiology of the intestinal tract. Wilkins was also the founder of TransPharm, a company focused on the production of human proteins in the milk of transgenic animals. TransPharm eventually merged with PPL Therapeutics.

Ferrum College Impact Set at $93 Million

Ferrum College contributes in excess of $93 million annually to the local economy according to the results of a recent study.  The findings show a strong impact in Franklin County, Roanoke and the surrounding region generated from student and employee spending as well as philanthropy and the College’s day-to-day business activities.

 

“We have long known that the College is the ‘economic engine’ for western Franklin County,” said Jennifer Braaten, Ferrum’s president. “Now, we can quantify this, and show that our impact reaches even farther - north into Roanoke and south into Henry County and Martinsville.”

 

The study revealed that Ferrum contributed over $28 million to the local economy during the 2011-2012 timeframe in capital projects alone, including the construction of new residence halls, the renovation of the Blue Ridge Institute, and construction of the recently dedicated Hank Norton Athletic Center.  Nearly all of the investment was returned to the community through the use of local contractors and other vendors and suppliers.

 

With just over 300 faculty and staff members, the College ranks among the largest employers in Franklin County.  The total $17 million annual payroll and benefits package translates to a $23.5 million impact on the region.   The study showed that employees spent nearly $12 million annually in the immediate Franklin County area.  Ferrum College employees and students contributed close to $750,000 in charitable donations as well.  Grants, gifts, tuition, summer camps, athletics and other activities comprised a large percentage of the total with $16 million attributed to those areas.

 

The economic benefits from Ferrum students were felt most strongly in the nearby town of Rocky Mount with Roanoke a close second.  The report showed student spending in Roanoke was most likely to be focused on restaurants, entertainment and shopping. 

 

The College’s cultural and artistic attractions, such as the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum, the Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre, and the College’s prominent position on Virginia’s Crooked Road Music Trail generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue which was then returned to the community.

 

“Because the arts are an important economic driver, colleges, with their array of artistic and cultural offerings, are extremely important to the economy of the communities where they are located,” said Kim Blair, Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

Roanoke Native Fights To Preserve Civil War Battlefields

Roanoke native Denman Zirkle at a Civil War battlefield site.

Civil War history has long captivated Virginia Tech/Pamplin College of Business alumnus Denman Zirkle, who graduated in 1960. After more than 25 years in the financial services industry, Zirkle found a second career in helping to protect, manage, and interpret long-ago fighting grounds. He is the executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation. The challenges of historic preservation, he discovered, mean a constant battle for funds and against development.

The Roanoke, Va.-born Zirkle said he has always been fascinated by the Civil War—its causes, the military brilliance of Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and “how the defeat of the Confederacy has continued to define our nation, both politically and socially, through almost 150 years.” His interest in historic preservation, however, “came later in life, as I became increasingly aware of our dwindling natural and historic resources and the relentless commercial pressure to compromise them.”

Some 14,000 acres of core Civil War battlefields have no protection against development, says Denman Zirkle, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation.

Zirkle, who also earned an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, began his career in finance in 1983, when he joined Morgan Stanley from Consolidated Rail Corp. He later moved to Lynch & Mayer, a New York investment advisory firm, where he was senior vice president in charge of marketing, and Franklin Templeton Investments, where he was executive vice president for the institutional business division. More recently, he was chief executive officer of another New York advisory firm, Carret and Co.

Appointed in April 2009 to lead the battlefields foundation, Zirkle said the organization’s work must be “ramped up, both in terms of management and interpretation of the acreage that has been protected, as well as the acquisition of remaining battlefield land.”

The foundation was incorporated in 2000 to “protect, interpret, and promote” battlefields in the newly designated Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District, created by Congress in 1996. At that time, some 2,100 acres had been protected—core battlefield land on the 10 battlefields of the eight-county historic district. “Today, that number stands at almost 6,000 acres, thanks to initiatives by our foundation and our partners—the commonwealth of Virginia, Civil War Trust, Lee-Jackson Educational Foundation, and others,” Zirkle said.

The ruins of the tenant house remain on the Huntsberry Farm property, which is part of the Third Winchester battlefield.

It is an accomplishment, he said, but added that, in Virginia, approximately 14,000 acres of core battlefield remain unprotected, some of it already being encroached upon by development. “Some of our most threatened battlefields are those in Frederick County, but the same development pressure is creeping up the valley into Shenandoah and Rockingham counties. Both interstate highways and development have already significantly encroached on battlefield land in Frederick and Warren counties. We do not have long to protect the remaining acreage.”

The foundation’s biggest challenge, he said, is to continue pursuing the $2 million in land acquisition funding that Congress authorized when it passed legislation creating the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields National Historic District. The funding has not been consistent, Zirkle said, noting that it was not available for 2011 and is uncertain for 2012, because of efforts to rein in federal spending. “But without it, we cannot use matching grants from the state and other sources to purchase land or even easements on land.”

Dirkle at Fisher's Hill

The 1996 legislation also authorized up to another $2 million in matching funding for the management, interpretation, and promotion of battlefields. “We have never received any of this funding,” he said, “thus, some of our protected battlefield land lies fallow.”

The process of protecting battlefields, he said, involves identifying the individual parcels, working with interested sellers, and providing the necessary funding for purchasing the land or placing conservation easements on the land. “Without funding, it is pointless to engage in the detailed preparation work.” And after battlefields become protected, they need to be “respected,” Zirkle said, through proper maintenance and interpretation that will provide both recreational and educational experiences for the public -- all of which requires financial support.

Denman Zirkle stands at the marker for Fisher's Hill, south of Strasburg. It is part of the Third Winchester battle site.

The sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War this year presents a timely opportunity for the foundation, he noted. “We have to tell our story to the citizens of the Shenandoah Valley and the state as well as to a larger audience across the nation. When more people are aware of our work and future challenges, I am confident of significantly more private support.”

(Written by Sookhan Ho, Pamplin College of Business Public Information. Virginia Tech photos.)

New Rural Outreach for Carilion Clinic

Carilion's Nancy Agee

Carilion Clinic will launch a three year program to improve the health of patients in rural Virginia through better management of their medications. The program will be funded by a $4.1 million award from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. The award is part of CMS’s Health Care Innovation Challenge, a $1 billion fund to support initiatives that have the potential to improve care and lower the overall cost of healthcare.

The Carilion Clinic project will focus on improving the management of medications for patients in 23 rural counties served by Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (CNRV), five community hospitals and 17 primary care practices.
“This is great news for our patients,” said Carilion President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee. “We’ve already seen promising results with chronically ill patients in our Patient Centered Medical Home practices. This award will make it possible to expand our reach further into our rural communities.”

The program will be based at CNRV, in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, Aetna Healthcare and CVS/Caremark. CNRV will train more than 30 pharmacists in advanced care and chronic disease management protocols. Through care coordination and shared access to electronic medical records, the pharmacists will work directly with patients to help them manage their medications, resulting in better health, reduced hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and fewer adverse drug events.

“We truly believe this project can make a difference, both in quality and cost of care,” said John Piatkowski, M.D., Carilion Clinic Vice President and CEO of CNRV.  “As physicians, we can manage patients’ medications when they are hospitalized but after they leave, mistakes or failure to take medicines as required can result in serious consequences, unnecessary hospitalizations and worsening chronic conditions.” According to Piatkowski, extending close medication management into outpatient settings can significantly improve the safety and efficacy of the medication administration.

The program also advances the role of pharmacists in improving the health of patients, according to William Lee, Director of Pharmaceutical Services for CNRV and the Carilion Western region hospitals.  “The ongoing monitoring process will not only increase patient safety and compliance but also decrease any potential adverse events from the medication therapy,” Lee says. “The impact of the adoption of electronic health records and other new technologies has now made it possible for the pharmacists to make an even greater difference in our community.”

Carilion Receives A Grade in Report

The Leapfrog Group, a national hospital rating organization, released its first ever “Hospital Safety Score” report that grades hospitals with an A, B, C, D, or F letter grade to reflect how safe hospitals are for patients. Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital (CRMH) received an “A” grade, making CRMH among the 729 hospitals that received the highest rating out of more than 2,600 hospitals graded nationwide.

“We are committed to providing the best experience possible at our hospitals and that includes good clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and safety for our patients, visitors and staff,” said Nancy Agee, president and chief executive officer at Carilion Clinic. “The recently released ratings by Leapfrog highlight our dedication to safety and affirm our processes are effective.”

The Leapfrog Group used 26 weighted measures of publicly available hospital safety data to create its grading system. The Hospital Safety Score places each measure into one of two domains: process/structural measures and outcomes measures. Process/structural measures represent how often the hospital gives patients recommended treatment for a given medical condition/procedure and the environment in which patients receive care. Outcome measures represent what happens to a patient while receiving care.

Information from secondary sources, such as hospitals’ voluntary reports and data available from Medicare, were also included in the overall score.

Carilion New River Valley Medical Center and Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital also received an “A” rating. Hospitals excluded from receiving a score include critical access hospitals, specialty hospitals, pediatric hospitals, hospitals in Maryland and territories exempt from public reporting to CMS, and others.

Delta Dental Launches New Foundation

Delta Dental of Virginia has launched the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation to help improve the oral health and, subsequently, overall body health of all Virginians. “The Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation will provide grants to organizations that work to improve the essential access to dental care and oral health education that people require as part of their overall health care,” says Delta Dental President/CEO George Levicki.

With growing evidence linking oral health to overall health, the need for greater access to care is significant, as more than 3.8 million Virginians are without dental insurance, according to the Virginia Health Care Foundation. “Dental care and good oral health mean much more than healthy teeth and a nice smile. They are essential to good overall health and well-being,” says Levicki. “Poor oral health, a lack of dental care and untreated oral diseases can adversely affect an individual’s ability to speak, smile, kiss, chew, maintain proper nutrition, attend school or go to work.”

A dental exam may also be important to early detection of serious health issues. More than 90 percent of all systemic diseases, including diabetes, leukemia, cancer, heart disease and kidney disease, have oral characteristics that can be detected during an oral exam. Levicki says that a dentist may be the first to spot warning signs of potential systemic disease during a regular checkup, making access to a dentist more essential than ever.

TowneBank Moves into Roanoke Market

TowneBank Mortgage, a division of TowneBank with assets of $4.4 billion, has expanded into Roanoke. Denny Early Jr. will serve as senior VP and regional manager of this new region and will be based in Roanoke.

Debbie Montgomery, Brad Vaughan, and Donna Vaught have also joined TowneBank Mortgage as loan officers and will all be located in the Roanoke office. These individuals are top producers, and have many years of experience in the Roanoke region.

"We are pleased to be expanding into this new market,” says Jacqueline B. Amato, President of TowneBank Mortgage, “as we will be able to assist many new homeowners with their mortgages."

TowneBank operates 26 banking offices serving Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina. Towne also offers a full range of financial services through its controlled divisions and subsidiaries that include Towne Investment Group, Towne Insurance Agency, TFA Benefits,TowneBank Mortgage, TowneBank Commercial Mortgage, Prudential Towne Realty, Towne1031 Exchange, LLC, and Corolla Classic Vacations.

Tech's New Budget a Third Less Than a Decade Ago

Capital projects get support at Virginia Tech.

At its quarterly meeting held yesterday in Blacksburg, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors approved resolutions to set the 2012-13 university budget and to establish a new Bachelor of Arts degree program in religion and culture.

In the coming fiscal year, Virginia Tech will adopt an approximately $1.21 billion budget to carry out all of its programs.  This is 3.9 percent greater than the current year budget. Even with state reinvestment in higher education, total state support per Virginia student for 2012-13 is projected to be an estimated 33 percent below the funding of a decade ago.

For the 2012-13 budget, the state has increased the university’s direct General Fund appropriation $7.48 million, although much of this funding is restricted and unavailable for the educational enterprise. The $7.48 million includes $6.53 million for the university’s Educational and General program and $950,000 for Agency 229.

Virginia Tech also expects to receive Central Appropriation fund transfers during the fiscal year to support the state share of state assigned costs such as fringe benefit rate changes.  These amounts include both reinvestment of state support in higher education as well as adjustments and allocations to specific university programs which come with associated costs.


Included in next year’s budget are funds to support the preliminary design of several university capital projects, including the construction of a new classroom building to be located at Perry Street and West Campus Drive in the Derring Hall parking lot, the construction of a new propulsion laboratory for the College of Engineering to be sited in near the Corporate Research Park, and rehabilitation of several academic buildings within the Agriculture Quad.

(Photo: virginiatech.tumblr.com)

Virginia Tech Research Spending Continues to Rise

Tech professor, student work at Center for Advanced Engineering and Research in Lynchburg

Virginia Tech research expenditures for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, rose to $450 million, a 13.03 percent increase from the $398 million reported in fiscal year 2010.

The increase represents the largest dollar growth and the second-largest percentage rise during the past nine years, according to Ken Miller, university controller.

“The increase in research funding that’s so vital to Virginia Tech’s efforts to improve the lives of people around the world is a testament to the dedication of the entire university community,” said Robert Walters, vice president of research. “It was an excellent year in expenditure growth.”

In addition, the Research Division reported that Virginia Tech’s research expenditure ranking for 2010 fell from 44th in 2009 to 47th. Rankings for expenditures typically lag a year behind reporting of the expenditures, so the ranking for 2011 is not yet known.

“The positive news is that Virginia Tech remained in the top 50 of national research universities despite only a small increase [about $2 million] in revenue from 2009 to 2010,” Walters said.

The largest growth in the 2011 figures – $26.6 million – came from federal sources, which was partly due to temporary federal stimulus funding that will be fully expended by the end of 2013. University support rose 16 percent while other commonwealth funding dropped dramatically. Industry and business support rose 7.1 percent to almost $22.8 million.

MedExpress, LewisGale Sign Agreement

LewisGale Regional Health System and MedExpress Urgent Care, a healthcare provider that recently opened a full-service, walk-in urgent care center in Southwest Virginia with plans to open several more, have signed a collaborative care agreement.  This agreement will ultimately provide better access to quality care for patients seeking the services of either healthcare organization.

“Patients who visit urgent care centers often need more advanced care such as referrals to specialty physicians, lab or radiology services, or even a hospital emergency room,” says Victor Giovanetti, president, LewisGale Regional Health System.  “Our agreement with MedExpress will help patients receive this kind of care from our health system in an expedited manner.”

“MedExpress’ vision of providing great care and exceeding patient expectations aligns with LewisGale Regional Health System, where the patient is at the center of all decisions and relationships,” says MedExpress CEO Frank Alderman.  “This agreement was developed to help patients navigate the complexities of the health care system in the most convenient, seamless way possible.”  

As part of this relationship, LewisGale will provide a one-call system for MedExpress patients who require a follow-up visit with their regular physician or need to be seen by a LewisGale-affiliated specialist. MedExpress values and respects each patient’s choice to health care and physician selection. Working collaboratively with LewisGale, however, allows MedExpress to efficiently facilitate additional care.  For continuity of care, MedExpress will also be able to electronically transfer patient records to a LewisGale facility or a physician office. 

Patients who normally see a LewisGale-affiliated physician will be encouraged to use MedExpress for their urgent care needs during evenings and weekends when their physician’s office is closed. “We are very pleased to form this partnership with MedExpress,” says Giovanetti.  “It’s a win-win for our patients who, through MedExpress, will now have access to several convenient locations and extended evening and weekend hours. With both of our organizations being committed to high-quality, compassionate care, our community will benefit significantly from this new partnership.”

MedExpress’ center in Salem is at 1336 W. Main Street. A second center will open soon at 4902 Electric Road. MedExpress centers are open 9 a.m. – 9 p.m., seven days a week.