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Wednesday, January 14, 2009

HealthLeaders in October

HealthLeaders Media today announced what's coming in its October issue of HealthLeaders magazine, the only publication created exclusively for healthcare executives.

Marblehead, MA (PRWEB) October 13, 2008

HealthLeaders Media today announced what's coming in its October issue of HealthLeaders magazine, the only publication created exclusively for healthcare executives.

*FEATURE STORY: Model for Success

With expenses rising, reimbursements falling, and everyone from the government to patients demanding more sophisticated technology and improved quality, running a medical group has never been more complex. But many practices have found ways to not only survive--but thrive.

*Also in the October issue:

More Knees, More Hips -- An aging population that wants to stay mobile could further increase demand for the already-busy orthopedic service line. But high device costs, physician alignment issues, and myriad other challenges make ortho success a complicated proposition.

The 24-Hour Executive -- Night rounds can help give senior leaders insight for quality improvement in their "other hospitals."

Innovative to the core -- True innovation requires more time and money than many hospitals have available. Yet some organizations seem to find a way. How? It's all about the culture.

The Way to Right-Sizing -- Determining the proper resources for the IT department is often a difficult proposition amid changing technology needs and tightening budgetary constraints. But it can be done.

Efficiency, Meet Margin -- In an era of declining reimbursement, healthcare is getting better at collecting more cheaply.

HealthLeaders Media is a leading multi-platform media company dedicated to meeting the business information needs of healthcare executives and professionals, many of whom qualify for a free subscription. Visit us at http://www. healthleadersmedia. com (http://www. healthleadersmedia. com)

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Galveston ISD Able to Run Payroll and State Reports During Hurricane Ike

Galveston Independent School District uses Skyward and ISCorp's Disaster Recovery Services to run their payroll and student state reports

Stevens Point, WI (Vocus) December 2, 2008

In the wake of Hurricane Ike, the Galveston Independent School District was able to process their payroll and student displacement data hours after declaring a disaster. The district was able to implement their Disaster Recovery Service (PaCdr) plan from Skyward and ISCorp to maintain critical information and services which allowed them to run their payroll and submit student displacement data to the state in the aftermath of the hurricane.

On Monday, September 15, 2008, the Galveston ISD declared a disaster and put to work their Skyward and ISCorp Disaster Recovery Service (PaCdr) plan. Due to the massive power outage and destruction caused by Hurricane Ike, the Galveston ISD was unable to return to their district office. Soon after they declared a disaster and contacted Skyward and ISCorp, Galveston was able to run their school management software from remote locations via with a secure Internet connection. By using the secure connection, Galveston ISD administrators were able to run and process their payroll, assuring their employees that their paychecks and direct deposits were available to them.

Living on the coast with a district population of over 7,000 students, Galveston ISD prepared for a disaster by purchasing PaCdr just two months after purchasing their student and finance software from Skyward in 2007.

"If anyone is out there sitting on a fence wondering whether or not they should purchase a disaster recovery program, I say do it," said John Mathis, Director of Management Information Systems for Galveston ISD. "It doesn't matter where you live, you need to be proactive and be prepared."

Galveston ISD was also able to run their PEIMS student state reports, to provide the state information as to where each student was displaced.

"When it comes to a disaster, it's not a matter of if, but a matter of when," said Mathis. "Our number one priority is the 7,000 kids in the Galveston ISD, that's who we need to look after, and that's why we were prepared."

PaCdr is a comprehensive disaster recovery plan that documents all of the district's records and replicates the data to a secure off-site facility. At a minimum of once a week, the district's data is saved to the remote off-site facility. When Skyward and ISCorp upload the data from the off-site facility, the district has secure access to their application via any computer with an Internet connection.

ISCorp is a leading provider of ASP Hosting applications and data processing solutions for the Financial, Healthcare and Education markets. ISCorp Intelligent On-Demand solutions evolve and adapt to changing business, technology and security requirements.

Since 1980, Skyward has been serving the K-12 Administrative software needs of school districts. Today, Skyward's School Management System™ is found in over 1,300 school districts throughout the United States and internationally. Skyward's School Management System represents an integrated student and financial management software system designed to keep administrators, educators, and families connected.

Contact:
Amanda Fisher
Telephone:
800-236-7274
Email:
Info (at) skyward. com

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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Florida Hospital/Adventist Health Receives 'Best Practices Award' for Contact Center Technology from Noble Systems

Noble Systems Corporation, a global leader in contact center technology solutions, recently presented the 'Best Practices Award' to Florida Hospital - Adventist Health Systems. The award was announced at the SNUG 2009 Conference - a gathering of the Select Noble Users Group - held last month in Atlanta, Georgia. The Award recognizes Florida Hospital for its use of technology and best practices to build a unified call center environment for its organization.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) June 4, 2009

The 'Best Practices Award' recognizes Florida Hospital - Adventist Health Systems for its use of technology and best practices to build a unified call center environment for its organization. The Hospital has combined services for its Customer Service, Collections, and Patient Pre-Registration teams into a single call center, serving over 1 million patients per year. The Hospital uses the Noble® Solution for blended inbound and outbound calls, with integrated IVR and text-to-speech tools and 100% digital recording of calls. The Hospital's Pre-Registration programs have reduced wait times by 15-30 minutes per patient and have increased patient pre-payments. The Collections team uses "Virtual Agents" to leave automated messages with personalized information, which is helping to reach more patients and increase collections without typing up agent resources, saving the Hospital time and money. Automated surveys by the Customer Service team show an improvement in Customer Satisfaction. Using the Noble technology to integrate its call center activities has helped Florida Hospital by adding functionality, increasing efficiency, growing collections, and improving customer service.

The Select Noble Users Group is designed to enhance the client's investment in the Noble contact center management solution. SNUG membership brings a variety of benefits to its members, including programs and events focused on building the relationship between Noble Systems and its clients.

"Being a part of the Select Noble Users Group and attending Noble Systems' annual user conferences has been an empowering building and networking tool that has continued to help Florida Hospital improve it's Best Practices and to fully use the technology available from our Noble Solution," says David Robinson, Florida Hospital System Administrator for the Noble platform.

Chris Hodges, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Noble Systems, says, "Florida Hospital - Adventist Health Systems has been a Noble Systems client for nearly a decade, and they continue to evolve their contact center and increase efficiencies and performance with the Noble technology. Through our partnership, we have been able to help the Hospital reach its goals for process and service improvement year over year, from Pre-registration to Patient Bad Debt, and all the touchpoints in between, and we look forward to continuing to supporting them in their future activities."

About Florida Hospital - Adventist Health Systems
Florida Hospital is one of the largest healthcare providers in America and a national leader in cardiac care. Established in 1908, Florida Hospital now includes almost 2,200 beds on seven campuses. Florida Hospital is dedicated to improving lives not only in Central Florida, but also around the world. As a destination hospital, it is committed to serving the health care needs of its patients with a holistic approach to heal the mind, body and spirit, striving to be the hospital of choice for patients, physicians and employees. Florida Hospital is the flagship hospital of the Adventist Health System - a not-for-profit healthcare organization that emphasizes Christ at the center of care. Founded in 1973, Adventist Health System has quickly grown to become the largest not-for-profit Protestant healthcare provider in the nation.

About Noble Systems
Noble Systems Corporation (NSC) is a global leader in contact center technology solutions, providing innovative products since 1989. Every day, millions of customer contacts are made by agents at 2,000+ client installations worldwide using the award-winning Noble platform for inbound/outbound/blended communications. The scalable, integrated Noble® Solution includes advanced ACD and predictive dialing; unified contact processing; and integrated IVR, recording, messaging, quality/monitoring systems, scripting, and real-time reporting and management tools. Based in Atlanta, GA, Noble Systems was the first vendor to offer an open, scalable, fully-distributed platform. For more information on this item or the company, contact Lee Allum at 1.888.866.2538 x538, or visit www. noblesys. com.

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Credit Score

Credit Score is a very important factor in making you eligible of a credit or loan. The credit score is analysed by a creditor before the final decision of whether you are worthy of the loan.

(PRWEB) August 10, 2004

Â“Money is honey, my little sonny,

And a rich manÂ’s joke is always funnyÂ”.

Yes money makes the world go round, and can build or destroy a manÂ’s life. At times when your financial status is in doldrums you might apply for a loan at a do or die situation in life. Money or as it is literally called Â‘silver tonicÂ’, is the most precious asset of a person today. While earning is a necessity and passion both, parting with it seems out of question. But there are people usually termed as creditors who lend money to people in times of need. Be it a health emergency or a home mortgage the creditors lend you money under certain verbal or written conditions. Before parting with their hard earned silver tonic, a wise creditor definitely would have a check at your credit scores. This analysis of the credit scores brings him the confidence as well as discourages him about lending you the cash. Thus credit scores are vital where loans, credits or borrowing are concerned.

The most popular and widely used amongst the credit scores is the Â‘Credit Bureau ScoresÂ’ developed by Fair, Isaac and Company commonly known as the FICO scores. The credit reporting agencies maintain credit reports based on which the Credit Bureau scores are fixed.

The habits that give you a poor credit score are:

Number of recently opened accounts, and proportion of accounts that are recently opened, by type of account. Number of recent credit inquiries. Application for new credit cards. Application of credit for automobile, home or any other possessions. Ways to improve your credit card score:

Re-establish your credit history if you have had problems. Opening new accounts responsibly and paying them on time will raise your score over the long term. Check your own credit reports regularly, and before applying for new credit, to be sure they are accurate and up-to-date. As long as you order your credit reports directly from the credit bureaus, or through an organization authorized to provide credit reports to consumers, such as http://www. myfico. com (http://www. myfico. com) your own inquiries will not affect your credit score.

Sometimes there are minor mistakes in the credit records that rule you out from getting a loan. When a credit report contains errors, it is often because the report is incomplete, or contains information about someone else. This typically happens because:

The person applied for credit under different names. Someone made a clerical error in reading or entering name or address information from a hand-written application. The person gave an inaccurate Social Security number, or the number was misread by the lender. Loan or credit card payments were inadvertently applied to the wrong account. Credit card payments did not reach on time.

However debt consolidation plans does not encourage you to take up a second loan to pay the former ones. Debt consolidation pacifies your financial doldrums with the minimum of impacts. It consolidates your loan, eliminates a major portion of it and restructures the rest in easy monthly payments within your reach. The whole process is so systematic and well planned that one does not have to enroll for a second loan. All you have to do is avail the free registration with www. debtconsolidationcare. com

For better insight in the topic you can visit:

Http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/credit-score. html (http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/credit-score. html)
Http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/debt-calculation. html (http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/debt-calculation. html)
Http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/creditcard-apr. html (http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/creditcard-apr. html)
Http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/fair-collection. html (http://www. debtconsolidationcare. com/fair-collection. html)

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ADDA Brings 10th Annual Conference To St. Louis

The Attention Deficit Disorder Association's 10th annual AD/HD conference comes to St. Louis on May 13-16. The four fact-filled and fun-filled days provide up-to-date information and help to adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, as well as offering continuing education credits for medical and mental-health professionals.

POTTSTOWN, PA (PRWEB) April 7, 2004

Like explorers Lewis and Clark 100 years ago, the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) embarks on a great adventure in St. Louis Â– its tenth annual conference, May 13-16, 2004.

ItÂ’s the second time the city known as the Â“Gateway to the WestÂ” hosts the annual ADDA Conference. This yearÂ’s conference theme: Â“Demystifying Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.Â”

Programmed especially for adults with AD/HD, their families and the professionals who work with them, the ADDA Conference brings together an array of creative, comprehensive and up-to-date resources that only ADDA can provide.

Leading experts in the field will be on hand to present the latest information on dealing with adult AD/HD, including such notables as Ned Hallowell, M. D., Michele Novotni, Ph. D., Sari Solden, M. S., LMFT, as well as a few faces that havenÂ’t been seen in a while at the ADDA Conference, like Tom Brown, Ph. D., Tom Phelan, Ph. D. and Wendy Richardson, M. A., LMFCC. Conference topics include: AD/HD and addiction; diagnosis, evaluation and treatment; dealing with academic obstacles; help for entrepreneurs with AD/HD; help for spouses of people with AD/HD; procrastination issues; and so much more.

For doctors, psychiatrists and allied health professionals, a CME program is being offered on Saturday, May 15th, jointly sponsored by ADDA and Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Full information including online registration, conference schedule, a list of presenters, links to hotel, airline and car-rental reservations, and information on discounts are available at www. add. org/conferences (http://www. add. org/conferences) or by calling (484) 945-2101. The registration form can be printed from the ADDA website and mailed or faxed. Attendees can also choose to register by phone. Or registration can be done the day of the conference onsite. A discount on the regular registration rate is only available until April 15th.

Merchants can still reserve exhibitor booths and tables and buy advertising space in the conference program. Conference sponsorships are also available.

ADDA is the worldÂ’s leading adult AD/HD organization. It provides information, resources and networking opportunities to help adults with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. ADDA is a nonprofit organization.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Redplum. com Offers Father’s Day Gift Ideas, Printable Coupons and Savings

Redplum. com Helps Make Your Father’s Day Purchase a Savvy One

Livonia, MI (Vocus) June 10, 2010

Redplum. com, one of the fastest growing online coupon sites and a leading provider of deals and savings on brands consumers want most, celebrates Father’s Day by offering meaningful and entertaining gift ideas for dad, all with your budget in mind. While according to the National Retail Federation consumers are expected to spend $9.8 billion on gifts for dad this year, families are still looking for sentimental and inexpensive ways to show dad they care. On redplum. com we’re offering tips for boosting dad’s health, 21 things you didn’t know you could grill and coupon codes for a wide variety of gifts.

Visit redplum. com (http://www. redplum. com/pages/viewarticle. aspx? articleid=3160) for five gadget-y gift ideas that all dads will enjoy. If your dad is the active type, he’ll love a new sports watch. A digital photo frame loaded with family photos makes a meaningful gift for any dad as well.
At redplum. com, we believe you should never pay full price for anything. Check out coupon codes for electronics, gift baskets and more:
Free shipping on any order over $50 at HickoryFarms. com; 64% off plus 12 Free Burgers at OmahaSteaks. com; 10% off all orders at SharperImage. com; $10 off a $50 purchase at Puma; and 10% off orders at GourmetGiftBaskets. com.

And of course redplum. com always has the best printable coupons for everything you need — Father’s Day and every day. After dinner, curl up with dad and watch a DVD with two pints of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream that you saved a dollar on using a coupon from redplum. com.

Visit www. redplum. com/dads (http://www. redplum. com/dads) for a week’s worth of meals and side dishes that can be prepared on the grill. The ideas feature 21 things you didn’t know you could grill that will surprise even the most seasoned grillers. From grilled pizza to grilled pita pockets, if you’re debating where to take dad for dinner on his special day, consider some of these suggestions as affordable and creative alternatives. These ideas will surely put a smile on dad’s face as you fire up the coals.

According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, nearly 39% of respondents said they will treat dad to brunch or dinner this year for his special day. Why not make it even more memorable by making your dad breakfast in bed? Be sure to check out our deals on all the fixings for a delicious breakfast at www. redplum. com/dads (http://www. redplum. com/dads).

Since Father's Day is all about recognizing everything that dads give to those they love throughout the year, redplum. com is helping you return the favor by suggesting tips that will keep the man of the house in great shape. Go to www. redplum. com/dads (http://www. redplum. com/dads) for easy, sneaky tips for keeping dad healthy.

About RedPlum
RedPlum brings consumers relevant offers and good deals on the brands they want most to best stretch their budgets. We deliver deals on a weekly basis to over 100 million shoppers in the mailbox, in the newspaper, in-store and online. At redplum. com, you will find one of the largest collections of printable coupons, coupon codes and savings tips along with the best deals and the sweetest coupons plus trends, tips and inside information on what to wear, buy and do right now. RedPlum is the consumer brand of Valassis, a Michigan-based company that has been delivering savings and value for 40 years. Building upon our wish to help American families, we empower the public to take part in the effort to help safely recover missing children through our America’s Looking For Its Missing Children® program, which appears on our RedPlum products. For more information, visit http://www. redplum. com (http://www. redplum. com). To learn about advertising opportunities with RedPlum, please call 1-800-437-0479.

Media Contact:
Mary Broaddus
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
734-591-7375
Broaddusm(at)valassis(dot)com

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NeoVista, Inc. Announces Initial VIDION Shipments

Hospital in Pisa, Italy is First in World to Receive Revolutionary Epimacular Brachytherapy System

Fremont, CA and Pisa, Italy (PRWEB) October 30, 2009

NeoVista, Inc. announced today that the first VIDION® ANV Therapy System for epimacular brachytherapy has been sold and shipped. Unlike anti-VEGF therapy, which requires frequent costly eye injections for an indefinite period of time, NeoVista's novel therapy delivers a one-time dose of radiation via a very commonly used surgical procedure called 'vitrectomy'. NeoVista's epimacular brachytherapy has been shown to be safe and effective in preliminary clinical trials and may offer a cost effective solution to the current treatment burden posed by continuous injections of anti-VEGF therapy.

Dr. Stanislao Rizzo, a world-renowned retinal surgeon from S. Chiara Hospital, Azienda Ospedaliero Universitaria Pisana, Pisa, Italy, said, "We are very excited to be the first hospital to receive this innovative one time treatment procedure, which can help to treat a devastating disease that otherwise requires chronic treatment for an indefinite period of time. NeoVista's targeted epimacular brachytherapy treatment may provide us the ability to improve vision by offering a distinct mechanism of action to conventional anti-VEGF therapy that affects multiple disease pathways, and may dramatically change the patients' quality of life by eliminating frequent eye injections. This promising treatment could very well be a cost-effective alternative to treating neovascular AMD," continued Dr. Rizzo. "Monthly injections can become quite expensive for our health care system, whereas a single procedure will potentially allow our specialists to treat more patients and bring down the costs associated with ongoing treatments while still providing satisfactory outcomes."

Unlike previous radiation therapies for wet AMD, NeoVista's innovative device delivers the peak dose of strontium-90 beta ionizing radiation directly to the lesion minimizing exposure to the surrounding tissue. The minimally invasive procedure utilizes a device similar in size to a needle, to deliver a highly targeted dose of beta radiation directly to the area of the retina affected by wet AMD. Importantly for patients, the systemic radiation exposure is minimal, as the effective dose to the entire body from NeoVista's epimacular brachytherapy device is comparable to a routine chest x-ray.

"This is a pivotal milestone for NeoVista, as the impact of VIDION's launch will greatly benefit patients, physicians, caregivers, and health care systems world-wide," stated John N. Hendrick, President and CEO of NeoVista. "We are looking forward to bringing the VIDION ANV Therapy System to millions of European patients with wet AMD who are seeking a more cost-efficient option that we expect will be as effective, if not better, than the current standard of care."

About Wet AMD
Wet AMD occurs when abnormal blood vessels behind the retina start to grow under the macula, where they leak blood and fluid, causing scar tissue to form and vision to become impaired. With wet AMD, vision loss may occur faster and be more noticeable than with dry AMD. The longer the abnormal vessels leak or grow, the more detail vision will be lost. The earlier wet AMD is diagnosed, the better the patients' chance of preserving some or much of their central vision.

About NeoVista, Inc.
NeoVista, Inc. is a privately held medical device company based in Fremont, California. NeoVista's epimacular brachytherapy procedure is currently being studied in a definitive Phase III clinical study to support eventual filing for regulatory approval to market the product in the United States. For more information about the company or this novel wet AMD therapy, please visit the company's Web site at http://www. neovistainc. com (http://www. neovistainc. com)

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