Health care, bio science hot topics at ‘Coffee and Conversation’
April 30, 2010
By CHRIS TRAINOR/ ctrainor@indexjournal.com
Curative treatments for autism, health care reform and the role of the medical and research communities in bolstering economic development aren’t exactly the typical topics of conversation for most people while they are enjoying their morning coffee.
However, those topics and many others were brewing Thursday morning at Greenwood’s Advanced Technology Institute, as the Upstate Alliance, South Carolina Research Authority (SCRA) and Partnership Alliance hosted a “Coffee and Conversation” event in which several local leaders conducted a panel discussion on bio-science and health care and their roles in the community.
The panel consisted of Greenwood Genetic Center director Roger Stevenson, Partnership CEO Mark Warner, Self Regional Healthcare president and CEO Jim Pfeiffer and SCRA CEO Bill Mahoney.
As part of the event, Mahoney and SCRA honored four people with Knowledge Economist Awards. Those honored were state Sen. Billy O’Dell, former Self Regional president and CEO John Heydel, Upstate Alliance president and CEO Hal Johnson and FujiFilm vice president of environmental health and safety and corporate compliance Allen Creighton.
“This is not in the Federal Reserve Bank sense of economists,” Mahoney said. “It is in the context of exploration, pioneering and helping people increase their revenues that we have been presenting these awards to our business, academic, governmental and academic partners.”
Also at Thursday’s event, Greenwood’s Cooperative Diagnostics was presented as the latest S.C. Launch Portfolio Co.. Mahoney presented Cooperative Diagnostics’ Dr. Brent Satterfield a $200,000 check as a part of the ceremony.
S.C. Launch, which is an SCRA collaboration, was created to facilitate applied research, product development and commercialization programs, and to strengthen South Carolina’s “knowledge economy” by creating high wage-earning jobs.
It provides entrepreneurs with key tools for success to help build technology startups, jobs and equity in the future for South Carolina.
During the panel discussion, a number of topics were bandied about. One of the first questions Pfeiffer faced was an inquiry about the recently passed health care reform bill.
“Regardless of your political persuasion, health care reform is the law,” Pfeiffer said. “The Patient Protection and Affordability Act, as it is known, was passed on March 23 and is the law in this country. It’s going to change the way we deliver medicine. The jury is still out on what the impacts of it are on hospitals and other providers. But, clearly, it is going to change things.”
Pfeiffer said having nearly 50 million people in the country who are uninsured is a “tremendous problem.” He said those people tend to go to emergency rooms to get their health care, which is almost certainly the costliest way in which they could receive care.
Warner said it is vital to find industries and employers that can complement Greenwood’s emerging research community.
“When you start looking at what industries in the bio-space that we’ll go after, you obviously want to find ones that complement, as much as we can, what (Stevenson) is doing with the Genetic Center and play on Clemson’s strengths in those areas,” Warner said. “Also, you look at some of the other assets we have in place. Capsugel has a significant presence in Greenwood. They are a division of Pfizer. They actually have a research presence (at the Advanced Technology Institute).”
Each of the panelists was asked what headline they would like to see about their agencies or their fields in the future. Stevenson was clear about what he hopes to read.
“The single headline I would most like to see is that curative genetic therapies are available for autism, intellectual disabilities and other human disabilities,” Stevenson said. “I don’t care whether that comes from Greenwood or where it comes from. We will take advantage of it.”
5 goals in 5 years: ‘Partnership for Tomorrow’ plan ready to launch in May
April 27, 2010
By CHRIS TRAINOR/ ctrainor@indexjournal.com
Having lofty but attainable goals is an important facet of any successful enterprise or organization.
It’s a fact that is not lost on Partnership Alliance CEO Mark Warner.
Partnership is set to embark on a five-year plan of work, one that outlines five strategic goals the local economic development firm is aiming to accomplish. The goals, which will be part of the May launch of the Partnership for Tomorrow campaign, include:
- Business retention and expansion — Partnership would be the preferred partner for existing businesses and employers to create wealth and recruit and retain talent.
- New business recruitment — Partnership would execute a recruiting strategy to capitalize on the strength of the Greenwood community, with a five-year goal of creating 1,000 jobs and $400 million in capital investments.
- Talent recruitment and retention — Under this goal, Partnership would be the “collaborative focus point” between the local education community and Greenwood County employers. Efforts would be made to develop education and training systems that would support employers in Greenwood County.
- Community development — The focal point of this goal would be to continue to develop communities and neighborhoods in Greenwood that would provide entertainment, shopping, quality health care and quality education, along with attracting young professionals and retirees.
- Greenwood Genetic Center — Partnership would partner with the Greenwood Genetic Center, the Genetic Endowment of South Carolina and Clemson University to develop and market the Greenwood Research park as the top location in North America for bio-science research, treatment and commerce.
“We looked at our strategic plan from a couple years ago and looked at what it tells us we need to do,” Warner said. “That really led us into these five specific focus areas for the next five years. A couple of them are your traditional economic development focus areas. For example, existing business, or what we are now calling business retention and expansion, has been our bread and butter for the last year or so.
“Just about everything we have announced, job-wise and with capital investments, was from our existing businesses expanding.”
Among the five-year goals, the Genetic Center/Partnership/Clemson initiative is perhaps the most unique and one that could be particularly prosperous for the local area.
Warner said Partnership is already working on the goal.
“There are steps being taken to lay the ground work for that,” Warner said. “There is a very close partnership between Clemson, the Genetic Center and the Greenwood Partnership Alliance driving that forward.”
Warner noted there are two distinct ends of a spectrum in terms of the local workforce. On one end, there are remnants of the old textile workforce, people who Warner noted have a great work ethic and are loyal, but are somewhat limited in terms of skills.
On the other end of the spectrum is the work taking place at the Genetic Center and in the Greenwood Research Park. Warner said there are more than 160 employees at the Genetic Center, many of whom have PhDs or MDs.
“So, the challenge is how to recruit industries that take care of the whole set of workforce needs across your labor pool in the entire county,” Warner said.
On the community development front, Warner said retail development continues to be a focus area for the Partnership.
“What we’ve seen is that we have been able to work with the city and the county to figure out what we can do to help attract the kind of retail offerings that will fit and that people will want in the community,” the CEO said. “I think there are reasons that we can still be attractive (to retailers). The other thing we can do is help the folks who are working with the retailers that are looking at the community understand the demographics.”
Partnership director of marketing, community development and investor relations Julie Miner said quality of life and community development pieces — like entertainment and retail — are important in recruiting larger employers.
She said just offering an industry an attractive piece of land for development isn’t an automatic draw.
“You can give them a free piece of land, but they may not come if the quality of life isn’t there,” Miner said.
Greenwood Genetic Center receives 2010 Palmetto Workforce Partnership Award
April 14, 2010
C/O GwdToday
Representatives from the Greenwood Genetic Center received the 2010 Palmetto Workforce Partnership Award from the SC Employment Securities Commission at an awards luncheon in Columbia on Wednesday, April 7. The organization was recognized in the employer category of medium-sized businesses with 51-500 employees.
Greenwood Genetic Center was nominated for the award by the Greenwood County One-Stop Workforce Center and was selected from a field of 36 nominees from across the state. Among other criteria, Greenwood Genetic Center was honored for the organization’s focus on job creation, support for growth and development in the workplace, and sustained job growth. Greenwood Genetic Center was also recognized for its impact on the community, economic investment, quality work environment and innovative workforce partnerships with local agencies and the education community.
“We are honored to be recognized by the SC Employment Securities Commission for making a difference in the lives of those in our state,” said Boo Ramage, Administrator of the Greenwood Genetic Center. “The Center’s impact in both the local community as well as the international genetics community is only possible because of the commitment and dedication of our employees.” Highlights from the awards luncheon can be seen on “Carolina Works” on South Carolina ETV on Wednesday April 28th at 7PM.
Self Regional receives Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award
April 14, 2010
C/O GwdToday
The Cancer Center at Self Regional Healthcare has been recognized as a recipient of the 2009 Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award.
The award recognizes cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients and places Self Regional in a select group of 82 currently accredited and newly accredited cancer centers across the United States.
Only facilities that demonstrate a very high level of compliance with six different standards of cancer care qualify for the recognition. These include quality improvement, cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, community outreach and research.
The level of compliance with the six standards is determined during an on-site evaluation by a physician surveyor. In addition, cancer centers must receive a compliance rating for the remaining 30 cancer program standards.
The 82 programs receiving the achievement award represent approximately 18 percent of the 432 cancer programs surveyed during 2009. Most of the award recipients are community-based facilities, but there were also teaching hospitals, network cancer programs, pediatric and NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers who received the award.
“Earning the Commission on Cancer Achievement Award validates the fact Self Regional Healthcare is working very hard to deliver quality cancer services closer to home,” noted Dr. Gregory Tarasidis, chairman of the hospital’s Cancer Committee. “As happy as I am for us to earn this high honor, the real winners are our cancer patients.”
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through prevention, standard-setting, research, education and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. It is comprised of Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and representatives of 47 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
The Commission sets standards for quality and multidisciplinary cancer patient care. It surveys facilities to evaluate compliance with the 36 Commission on Cancer standards and collects standardized, high-quality data from accredited facilities. The data is used to develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes.
There are currently more than 1,400 Commission on Cancer accredited cancer programs, which accounts for close to 25 percent of all hospitals in the United States and Puerto Rico. These Commission accredited facilities diagnose and treat 80 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients annually.
Cancer patients’ data accumulated by each Commission on Cancer-accredited program is reported to the National Cancer Data Base, a joint program with the American Cancer Society. The data accounts for about two-thirds of all newly diagnosed cancer cases in our country each year. The data is used to monitor the quality of patient care delivered in Commission on Cancer-accredited cancer programs and to improve cancer care outcomes at both the national and local level.
An expansion and upgrade of the Self Regional Cancer Center began last fall and is expected to be completed in 2011. The $23 million project will consolidate all three of the hospital’s clinical cancer services—medical oncology, radiation oncology and chemotherapy—in a single area on the ground floor adjacent to the hospital’s main entrance.
The new Cancer Center will include a dedicated entrance for patients. Inside the facility, the medical oncology section will expand to 15 rooms to accommodate the program’s patients and three medical oncologists-Dr. Brian Hunis, Dr. Joanna Sadurski and Dr. Elena Vician.
In space nearby, Dr. John Funke will treat radiation oncology patients. This area will retain its two linear accelerator vaults and one of the accelerators will be updated with newer technology. A specially designed room for the special treatment needs of breast cancer patients will also be added.
The Cancer Center’s chemotherapy area will include 27 beds and chairs, plus a chemotherapy pharmacy located in the center to help patients avoid delays.
Also featured in the new Cancer Center will be an outdoor healing garden, patient learning area, boutique for wigs and prosthetics, small café, business office, laboratory, tumor registry and offices for physicians and staff.
Warner leads first Partnership Alliance board meeting
April 14, 2010
By CHRIS TRAINOR/ ctrainor@indexjournal.com
Economic development project activity and an upcoming capital campaign dominated the conversation at Thursday’s Partnership Alliance board of directors meeting, the first such meeting since Mark Warner was named full-time CEO of the firm.
Warner was named Partnership’s CEO in February after serving as interim executive in charge of operations for more than a year. Partnership’s previous CEO, Jay West, resigned in January 2009.
Warner said project activity has picked up markedly in recent months.
Partnership is currently pursuing 23 active projects. In all, the 23 projects represent the potential for $614,570,000 in capital investments and 1,580 jobs.
Within that, the firm picked up 10 active projects just in the last two months. Those 10 projects represent a potential of $85 million in capital investments and 1,005 jobs.
Partnership board chairman Thornwell Dunlap III said he is starting to see business activity increase in certain sectors.
“As I’ve been talking to people, it seems that activity is picking up in a lot of areas,” Dunlap said. “Real estate, industry and so on. That’s a good sign for us.”
The board also discussed its upcoming Partnership for Tomorrow capital campaign. The goal for the campaign is to raise $4.46 million in the next five years, money which would be applied to five strategic initiatives.
Business retention and expansion is one of the initiatives. The five-year investment in that area would be $100,000. The plan would call for Partnership Alliance to be the preferred partner for existing businesses and employers to create wealth and recruit and retain talent.
The second initiative of the campaign would focus on new business recruitment. The five-year investment would be just more than $1 million. Partnership would execute a recruitment strategy to capitalize on the strengths of the Greenwood community.
The five-year goal of the recruitment initiative would be the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs and $400 million in capital investment.
The third initiative in the Partnership for Tomorrow capital campaign would be talent recruitment and retention. The five-year investment in that area would be $805,000.
Under that plan, Partnership Alliance would be the collaborative focal point between the education sector and employers in Greenwood County.
The fourth initiative for the campaign is community development. The five-year investment there would be $500,000. That portion of the plan calls for the development of communities and neighborhoods that provide shopping, quality health care and quality education, among other attributes.
The final initiative discussed for the Partnership for Tomorrow capital campaign was a plan in which Partnership Alliance would partner with the Greenwood Genetic Center, the Genetic Endowment of South Carolina and Clemson University to market the Greenwood Research Park as the top location for bio-science research in North America.
The five-year investment in that initiative would be $2 million.
