A Week In Business

Courses Completed

OCEAN CITY — Bank of Ocean City President and CEO Wayne Benson and the Board of Directors have announced the completion of a rigorous 10-course advanced education seminar for two of its employees.

Kim Mumford, Assistant Branch Manager of the Ocean Pines Branch, and Jason Parker, Branch Manager of the 59th Street Branch, completed an AIB Small Business Banking Certification Program offered by the American Bankers Association. They are now Certified Small Business Bankers.

Toys For Tots Drop

OCEAN CITY — Long and Foster sales associates Everett Love and Tim Meadowcroft of the Ocean City office hung the “Toys for Tots” banner earlier this month, marking the launch of Long & Foster’s annual “Toys for Tots” Campaign. New, unwrapped toys may be dropped off at the office at 11701 Coastal Highway for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves’ “Toys for Tots” Program benefitting local children.

Top Producers Recognized

BERLIN — RE/MAX Premier Properties in Ocean Pines, Ocean City, and Salisbury announced top producers for the month of October.

Top listing agent was Marlene Ott, while top selling agent was Bill Hunt.

In other company news, Holly Campbell of the Salisbury office recently received a Certificate of Excellence from RE/MAX International for earning the #23 position among the top 25 producers in Maryland from January to September 2011.

New staff members were also announced and they include Amber Haring, Dianna Denson, Terry Kitchin and Pat Swanson.

Firm Represented At Conferences

OCEAN CITY — Elizabeth S. Gregory, partner with Gregory & Associates, LLC, recently attended a national conference in Las Vegas offered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

The conference featured nationally recognized experts in the fields of business valuation, forensic accounting and litigation support.

Gregory is certified in business valuations and financial forensics by the AICPA and business valuations by the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

In other company news, Gregory & Associates staff accountant Emilee Snader, a recent graduate of Stevenson University with a Master’s Degree in Forensic Studies: Accounting, attended the Shore Fraud Conference: The Future of Fraud at Salisbury University.

“The Shore Fraud Conference was a great way to stay current on new types of fraud to look for, especially in the current economy,” Snader said.

Area Doctor Honored

SALISBURY — Mark T. Edney, MD, urologist and Medical Director of the Peninsula Institute of Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, was recently named the American Urological Association’s (AUA) Gallagher Health Policy Scholar for 2012. The AUA chooses one urologist per year to participate in this intensive policy and advocacy training.  

In choosing Edney from a highly qualified field of national candidates for the prestigious award, Steven Schlossberg, MD, MBA, AUA Health Policy Chair and Chairman of the Gallagher Selection Committee, said the committee was strongly influenced by the surgeon’s exceptional credentials, record of extensive service to the AUA and future promise as a leader in the field of urology.

Edney will attend a variety of national health policy training sessions and meetings including the American Medical Association’s Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) meeting as well as a meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (medPAC), an independent Congressional committee that advises Congress on Medicare policy.

Hospital Awards Presented

SALISBURY — Peninsula Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees Chairman Martin "Marty" Neat and Peninsula Regional President/CEO Dr. Peggy Naleppa recently presented members of the Peninsula Regional healthcare team with Chairman’s Awards for their contributions to the Medical Center and the patients they serve.

The Chairman’s Award recognizes achievements in Clinical and Operational Performance Improvement.

The first-place Clinical winner was the Late Preterm Infant Initiative. This team was recognized for reducing the percentage of Neonatal ICU admissions and Pediatric readmissions for late preterm infants (between 34 and 36.6 weeks). After process changes using evidenced-based education and clinical guidelines, Neonatal ICU admissions were reduced from 33% to 22%, and an 11% readmission rate to Pediatrics was reduced from 11% to 0% within 10 days of birth.

The other first-place Clinical award went to the employees behind Peninsula Regional’s ventilator-associated pneumonia reduction. Ventilator-associated pneumonia is one of the most common infections acquired in hospital intensive care units. Using or reintroducing nearly 20 evidence-based care measures, the ICU team has achieved a rate of zero ventilator-associated pneumonia cases for Medical/Surgical patients in the ICU for 13 consecutive months and counting.

First place in the operations category went to the health information professionals behind the Clinical Documentation Improvement in acute pulmonary edema/respiratory failure. The team was recognized for a change in the way acute pulmonary edema/respiratory failure patients were documented. Once a new documentation template was created to more accurately reflect post-operative complications, the incidence of acute pulmonary edema/respiratory failure dropped from 97% above expected to 12% below expected.

Grants Help Schools

NEWARK — ExxonMobil’s Educational Alliance Program has awarded $1.8 million in grants this year to schools to help enhance math and science education across the United States. This is the 12th consecutive year for the program.

Ocean Petroleum, LLC supported numerous schools throughout the Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Pennsylvania regions with over $10,000 from Educational Alliance funds.

Schools could partner with Exxon and Mobil branded service stations, the majority of which are independently owned and operated, to apply for Educational Alliance grants. In September, Ocean Petroleum began working with schools to fill out the applications jointly. In turn, each school determined how the funds could best be used to advance its math and science programs.

Checks were distributed to the winning schools in November.

The schools were Cambridge South Dorchester High School, Saint Francis de Sales Catholic School, James M. Bennett Middle School, James M. Bennett High School, Salisbury Christian School, Fruitland Primary School, Fruitland Intermediate School, Stephen Decatur High School, Stephen Decatur Middle School, Ocean City Elementary School, Seaside Christian Academy, Snow Hill High School, Snow Hill Middle School, Carter G. Woodson Elementary School in Crisfield, Holly Grove Christian School in Westover, Nandua High School in Onley, Va., Star Hill Elementary School in Dover, Del. and Marple Newtown High School in Newtown Square, Pa.