Amedisys has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the home health operations of Hackensack University (N.J.) Medical Center. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval from the state of New Jersey. In a news release, Amedisys said the parties expect to close the transaction by the end of the year. Amedisys said HUMC’s home health business has annual revenue of about $19 million.
I.T. by Design has been chosen to help Pennington Biomedical Research Center build an Army health Web site. The Army H.E.A.L.T.H. project involves tailoring the site for Louisiana National Guard members’ use. The Department of Defense enlisted Pennington to provide information on aiding weight loss, preventing weight gain and complying with military fitness regulations.
LHC Group Inc. has agreed to buy Feliciana Home Health. Feliciana provides home health services in the Baton Rouge area. Lafayette-based LHC did not release a price. The company said Feliciana had about $12 million in revenue over the past year.
Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center has installed the Infinity, the latest generation of cancer-fighting technology. Infinity is a state-of-the-art image-guided linear accelerator that incorporates best-in-class computerized medical-imaging technology to treat people with radiation therapy.
The Our Lady of the Lake Pediatric Residency Program is accepting applications after earning accreditation from the Pediatric Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. OLOL pediatric residents will begin rotations in July 2010. The program is committed to training the next generation of pediatricians who will have the tools to help solve health-care problems facing children.
SimplifyIT has launched its vTEXT system for mobile giving and marketing. The company, working in conjunction with mGive and Mobile Giving Foundation, can assist qualified nonprofits in beginning their mobile giving campaigns.
AWARDS/HONORS
Amanda Chatelain has received the Susan Meeks Memorial Award from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Clinics. The award honors a veterinary technician who has demonstrated exemplary and passionate patient care and outstanding service. Chatelain works in the Small Animal Intensive Care Unit.
Charles McCowan, a senior partner at Kean Miller Hawthorne D’Armond McCowan & Jarman, has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Fellowship in the college is limited to the top 1% of the total lawyer population of any state, and Fellowship status is extended by invitation only to experienced trial lawyers whose careers have been marked by the highest standards of ethics, professionalism, civility and collegiality.
Emily Black Grey, a partner at Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, has been named the 2009 Female Mentor of the Year Award Winner by Postlethwaite and Netterville. The honor recognizes Grey’s dedication to mentoring young women and helping them succeed in their careers and personal lives.
Sales and Marketing Executives of Greater Baton Rouge has named seven recipients of its Marketer of the Year Award, which honors marketers who continue to promote the principles of the free-enterprise system. The winners are: Paul Arrigo, president/CEO, Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau; Lynn Boutin, owner, Boutin’s Cajun Restaurant; Andre Champagne, managing partner, Hollywood Trucks; Josh Harvey, owner, Storyville; Gaylynne Mack, executive director, The Big Buddy Program; Ron Moreau, vice president, of marketing, Campus Federal Credit Union; and Jenni Peters, owner, Varsity Sports.
Sandra Stokes has received the Peter H. Brink Award for Individual Achievement in Historic Preservation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Stokes, the vice chair of the Foundation for Historical Louisiana, is a leader in the effort to protect the state’s architectural and cultural heritage, with a focus on Charity Hospital in New Orleans, which has been closed since being damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Turner Industries Group has received the 2009 Hal G. Ginn Safety Excellence Award from the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance. The honor awards best overall performance by a company that has demonstrated a level of safety excellence that includes hours worked without injury, a commitment by management to educate workers and a culture where accidents don’t happen. Other winners were: Manufacturing and Industrial Building Construction and Maintenance General Contractors: Turner Industries [large], Excel Contractors [medium]; Heavy Construction Contractors: Cajun Contractors [medium]; Construction and Maintenance Specialty Trade Contractors: Industrial Specialty Contractors [large], AbClean [medium], Steam & Process Repairs [small]; Technical Support Contractors: SGS Petroleum Service Corporation [large], Environmental Analytics [medium] and John L. Lowery & Associates [small].
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS
The American Advertising Foundation-Baton Rouge has elected new members to its board of directors. They are: Marielle Land Howard, president; Ace Bourgeois, immediate past president; Jason Feirman, president elect/ADDY Awards co-chair; Kelley Criscoe, club communications co-chair/AAF District 7 governor’s coordinator; Connie McCleod, vice president/programs chair; Colleen Jackson, club treasurer; Leslie Cole, executive director; Trammie Anderson, diversity/public service co-chair; Jessica Bensen, public relations chair; Emily Clemons, membership retention and development chair; Margo Jolet, college connection co-chair; Miranda Lemon, fundraising co-chair; Theresa Overby, ADDY Awards co-chair; Shannon Perry, diversity/public service co-chair; Mandy Porta, workshops chair; Brian Rodriguez, technology/online brand manager; and Hunter Territo, college connections co-chair.
Joan Lansing has been appointed to a four-year term on the Lane Regional Medical Center’s Board of Commissioners. Lansing has served as a Central council member since 2005 and is a former administrator and lobbyist for the Louisiana Professional Association for Child Care.
The Greater Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce has elected new board members who will begin serving in January 2010. They are: Jimmy Laurent, owner, Global Data Systems; Mary Ann Pourciau, vice president/director of marketing and human resources, Guaranty Bank; and Kelly Smith, owner, Kelly’s Cajun Meats.
Rosa Dunn, a veteran host of Southeastern Louisiana University’s public-radio station, KSLU, has been named chairman of the board of Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting. Dunn, the host of KSLU’s Point of View talk show since 1988, will chair the fundraising arm of LPB throughout the next term.
PHILANTHROPY
Georgia-Pacific’s Port Hudson Operations’ Motorcycle Bike Run for Charity raised $8,500 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Louisiana Chapter in support of its mission to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through research.
Shell has donated $450,000 to help support efforts of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to protect and foster fish and other marine life in the state’s coastal waters and the Gulf of Mexico, through the Louisiana Artificial Reef Program.
Spay Baton Rouge, which is trying to reduce Baton Rouge’s animal euthanasia rate by offering free or reduced-cost spay-and-neuter services, has been selected by celebrity chef Rachael Ray to compete in her national online promotion called Mutt Madness. The organization received $1,000 for becoming one of the 64 animal-welfare groups to participate in the contest; the winner, which will be determined by public online voting, will receive $50,000. Interested voters must register on Ray’s Web site, rachaelray.com, under the “Pets” tab.
The Secretary of State’s Office and Louisiana Public Broadcasting have been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences to develop a plan to preserve and catalog historic videos, films and images. Most of the video and film will be taken from LPB, many of the state’s television stations and archived collections.
Stirling Properties has donated $10,000 to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center from the Stirling Invitational Golf Tournament at University Club Plantation. Mary Bird has been the charitable recipient of proceeds from this event since 2004, with donations totaling more than $46,000 to date.
