PRMC Achieves A First
SALISBURY – Peninsula Regional Medical Center, a 362-bed hospital established in 1897 and the largest provider of tertiary care services on the Delmarva Peninsula, recently announced the launch of the Peninsula Institute for Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery (PILARS), the first institute of its kind in the region.
PILARS was developed by the laparoscopic and robotic surgeons at Peninsula Regional Medical Center to better educate patients on the latest and most successful surgical techniques and to maintain outcomes excellence through research. Urologist Mark Edney, MD, one of the surgeons to pioneer the use of the da Vinci technology at Peninsula Regional, serves as its Medical Director.
“We’re very fortunate to have a group of surgeons of this caliber who are actively involved in PILARS and dedicated to its success,” said Dr. Edney. “All of us participate in a comprehensive surgical database that records information from each laparoscopic and robotic procedure we perform so that we can continuously improve outcomes and lower costs. Better patient education and continuous quality improvement leads to superior patient care, which is exactly why we created PILARS.”
PILARS surgeons perform nearly 40 different types of minimally invasive general, gynecologic, bariatric, urologic and cardiac procedures –1,500 of these specialized surgeries annually – some featuring the da Vinci High Definition Surgical System Robot. The program will continue to grow through the recruitment of skilled surgeons, the addition of new specialties as minimally invasive surgery evolves, the expansion of procedural offerings and the introduction of cutting-edge surgical sciences. No program on the Delmarva Peninsula performs more of these specialized surgeries.
Laparoscopic, or minimally invasive, surgery consists of making small incisions and placing instruments through those incisions to perform procedures that would otherwise be done though a larger incision. When first introduced for mainstream procedures in the 1980’s it revolutionized the way specialists performed surgery and greatly enhanced the patient’s experience.
The da Vinci Surgical System Robot brings surgical precision to a whole new level. From a control console, every hand a finger movement by the surgeon is translated into corresponding micro-movements by the robot. Specialized laparoscopic instruments, controlled by the surgeon, perform the surgery with extraordinary accuracy and with a level of stability unseen before.
Smaller incisions – like those associated with laparoscopic and robotic surgery – are less painful, heal faster with fewer complications and less chance of post-operative infection. Surgical blood loss is also markedly reduced and patients spend much less time in the Medical Center recovering. The vision, precision and dexterity of laparoscopic and robotic surgery translate into better patient outcomes across all specialties.
Associate Earns Membership
OCEAN CITY – Peck Miller, sales associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean City’s 104th Street office, has earned membership in the company’s International President’s Circle, a prominent honor bestowed upon the Top 2% of Coldwell Banker sales associates worldwide.
"Peck has demonstrated outstanding sales performance and is a dedicated member of our team," said Peter Copenhaver, branch vice president of the Ocean City/104th Street office. "Peck always maintains a high standard of excellence and provides exceptional customer service."
Realtors Honored
BERLIN – Two sales associates with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean Pines have earned membership in the company’s President’s Club – a distinguished group of the top Coldwell Banker sales associates in the region. They are Gregory Erdie and Edie Brennan
"These agents have demonstrated tremendous sales performance and customer service," said Peter Copenhaver, branch vice president of the Ocean Pines office. "They work one-on-one with their clients through each step of the buying and selling process to make sure those clients are confident in every decision."
Trio Inducted Into Club
OCEAN CITY – Three sales associates with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean City’s 120th Street office have earned membership in the company’s President’s Club. They are Daniel Clayland, Terri Moran and Catherine Vlcek.
Associates Join Club
OCEAN CITY – Three sales associates with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean City/104th Street have earned membership in the company’s President’s Club. They are Jamie Caine, Eric Green and Kathy Panco.
Sales Teams Recognized
OCEAN CITY – Three teams with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Ocean City’s 104th Street office have earned membership in the company’s President’s Club.
The new members are Team Randy & Sharon Team, led by Randy Romanello and Sharon Daugherty; McNamara & Associates Team, led by Monica McNamara and Kevin McNamara; and RAK/Katy Durham & Rick Meehan Team, led by Katy Durham and Rick Meehan.
SU’s Business School Accredited
SALISBURY – Salisbury University’s Franklin P. Perdue School of Business recently became one of only eight institutions worldwide accredited by the Network of International Business Schools (NIBS).
Following a year-long evaluation process, the Perdue School was one of
five schools receiving certificates of accreditation during the network’s recent annual conference in Antalya, Turkey.
“We are pleased that the quality of our international programs and the work of our faculty, staff and students has been confirmed by NIBS,” said Dr. Richard Hoffman, interim dean of the Perdue School. “This accreditation places the Perdue School among a small elite group of business schools worldwide.”
The Perdue School has been a member of NIBS for more than 15 years. Dr. Memo Diriker, director of SU’s Business, Economic And Community Outreach Network (BEACON), has served as the school’s main liaison.
NIBS accreditation focuses predominately on international education in business. In recent years, the Perdue School has developed an international curriculum with the help of a faculty committee chaired by Dr. Robert Dombrowski and administered by Dr. Hong Yao, global programs coordinator.
In addition, the school has fostered relationships in countries including Germany, France and China. Perdue School students routinely study abroad in those countries, with students from there studying at SU in return. For the past two years, the winners of SU’s annual Bernstein Achievement Award for Excellence business plan competition have been international students. In all, the Perdue School has hosted some 26 foreign students, while some 300 Perdue students have studied abroad in the past five years.
“The NIBS accreditation is a well-deserved international recognition of the Perdue School’s ongoing commitment to globalizing its academic programs,” said Dr. Brian Stiegler, director of SU’s Center for International Education, who assisted with accreditation materials. “This commitment is representative of SU’s strategic vision to provide its students with a globally relevant education in this most international of centuries.”
Satellite Broadcast Planned
OCEAN PINES – Edward Jones Financial Advisor Carrie Dupuie of Ocean Pines will host a free satellite broadcast titled, "Midyear Market Update: Your Questions Answered," at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on July 14 at her Racetrack Road office in The Pavilions.
During this interactive program, participants will hear questions from a panel of investors and answers from Alan Skrainka, Edward Jones’ chief market strategist. Skrainka will address where we were, where we are and how to focus on what investors can control to keep their investment strategies on track.
To reserve a seat or for more information about the program, call Kristi Brown at 410-208-9083.
Governor Talks Bay Plans
OCEAN CITY – Nearly 100 local leaders from across Maryland joined Governor Martin O’Malley and members of his cabinet in Ocean City Tuesday for the state’s June BayStat meeting.
The governor took the monthly meeting public for the first time to discuss Bay restoration actions and progress with attendees of the Maryland Municipal League’s annual summer conference, and to encourage local leaders to become more involved in the state’s efforts.
“The team you see here, myself included, meets monthly to track our bay restoration efforts — to assess progress, evaluate what’s working and what’s not, and adapt our efforts accordingly,” said O’Malley, who conducted a tour of the BayStat website for local officials from across the state. “We believe that performance-based governance — our Stat model — is key to making government work better. This principle has proven especially valuable in our efforts to restore and protect our State’s waterways, including our greatest natural resource, the Chesapeake Bay.”
Since Governor O’Malley launched BayStat in February 2007, the state has preserved nearly 24,000 acres of land through Program Open Space; strengthened the Critical Areas Law; enacted landmark Greenhouse Gas legislation; experienced a rebound of the blue crab population – in direct response to 2008 conservation measures enacted with Virginia; seen a 20-percent increase in Bay grasses over 2008; and begun to observe reduced nitrogen pollution in numerous water quality stations.
Under the direction of Governor O’Malley, the BayStat team recently finalized two-year milestones to accelerate Maryland’s actions on-the-ground.
“In the past, officials have set very important, but very distant goals for restoring our waterways,” said O’Malley. “The problem is that when the rubber meets the road, the people who set these goals know they won’t be around to be held accountable when they do – or do not – come to fruition.”