Health + Wellness
tennessean says cleveland 'scores first' in med-mart battle
Writing for the Tennessean, business health care reporter Getahn Ward claims that "Cleveland scores first in medical mart race with Nashville."
Following a momentous ground breaking where a laundry list of prospective tenants, conferences, conventions and trade shows planned for the $465 million mart and convention center were announced, Ward writes that Cleveland "scored major points" in the med-mart public relations battle battle.
Jorge Lagueruela, president of North Carolina's Trinity Furniture, a future tenant of Cleveland's Medical Mart, goes so far as to predict Cleveland's position as national leader in the field:
"Cleveland is doing it. Nashville is talking about it," Hughes is quoted as saying. "From the standpoint of the health-care industry, Cleveland is going to become the hub in the United States, and this new center is going to be the beacon for that."
Shrugging off concerns that Nashville is behind, with very few actual commitments, Nashville mart leasing consultant Jeff Haynes says, "Historically, Nashville hasn't been a pre-leasing market. In any asset class, people normally want to see the brick-and-mortar and to touch the facility. As the new convention center nears completion, then your leasing velocity will intensify and increase for the medical mart."
Michael Hughes, the managing director of research and consulting at Red 7 Media in Scottsdale called Cleveland's list of conventions impressive, adding that a successful medical convention and meetings business probably will drive permanent showroom leases.
Read the whole report here.
Following a momentous ground breaking where a laundry list of prospective tenants, conferences, conventions and trade shows planned for the $465 million mart and convention center were announced, Ward writes that Cleveland "scored major points" in the med-mart public relations battle battle.
Jorge Lagueruela, president of North Carolina's Trinity Furniture, a future tenant of Cleveland's Medical Mart, goes so far as to predict Cleveland's position as national leader in the field:
"Cleveland is doing it. Nashville is talking about it," Hughes is quoted as saying. "From the standpoint of the health-care industry, Cleveland is going to become the hub in the United States, and this new center is going to be the beacon for that."
Shrugging off concerns that Nashville is behind, with very few actual commitments, Nashville mart leasing consultant Jeff Haynes says, "Historically, Nashville hasn't been a pre-leasing market. In any asset class, people normally want to see the brick-and-mortar and to touch the facility. As the new convention center nears completion, then your leasing velocity will intensify and increase for the medical mart."
Michael Hughes, the managing director of research and consulting at Red 7 Media in Scottsdale called Cleveland's list of conventions impressive, adding that a successful medical convention and meetings business probably will drive permanent showroom leases.
Read the whole report here.
Steve Arless has nearly four decades of experience in the medical-device industry. As president and CEO of CryoCath, he grew the company to more than 300 employees before arranging its sale for $380 million. Now, he brings his expertise to Cleveland in hopes of doing the same for CardioInsight, which is developing a cardiac arrhythmia ablation therapy.
cleveland clinic joins forces with medstar to bring inventions to market
Billed as "the first of its kind between two large U.S. health systems," a recently announced collaboration between the Cleveland Clinic and MedStar Health (Georgetown University Hospital, among others) will help speed medical inventions to market, as a recent Washington Post article states.
Titled "Cleveland Clinic, MedStar join forces to move medical technologies to market," the article goes on to say that moving medical technologies to market is a relatively new endeavor for health systems and academic medical centers. But Cleveland Clinic Innovations has licensed more than 250 technologies and started 35 new companies to market products.
"The Cleveland model is a combination of royalties from licenses of technologies to established companies and the sale of shares in spin-off companies. Royalties from licensing generate about $10 million yearly, but overall revenue is increasing significantly," Chris Coburn, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, is quoted in the article as saying.
"Reinventing the wheel everywhere isn't as favorable an option as forging collaboration," Thomas J. Graham of Cleveland Clinic Innovations states. "This allows us to open up a larger-scale collaboration that can be helpful in improving patient access, getting clinical answers and expanding innovation."
Read the full prognosis here.
Titled "Cleveland Clinic, MedStar join forces to move medical technologies to market," the article goes on to say that moving medical technologies to market is a relatively new endeavor for health systems and academic medical centers. But Cleveland Clinic Innovations has licensed more than 250 technologies and started 35 new companies to market products.
"The Cleveland model is a combination of royalties from licenses of technologies to established companies and the sale of shares in spin-off companies. Royalties from licensing generate about $10 million yearly, but overall revenue is increasing significantly," Chris Coburn, executive director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations, is quoted in the article as saying.
"Reinventing the wheel everywhere isn't as favorable an option as forging collaboration," Thomas J. Graham of Cleveland Clinic Innovations states. "This allows us to open up a larger-scale collaboration that can be helpful in improving patient access, getting clinical answers and expanding innovation."
Read the full prognosis here.
Some said it would never happen, but the day is finally arriving: A groundbreaking ceremony for the Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center takes
place this Friday, January 14. Construction has already gotten underway
near Lakeside Avenue, though, signifying that the much-anticipated,
often-controversial $465 million project will become a reality.
Completion of the project is expected to be sometime in 2013.
For many, the building's external progress will be almost as significant as the list of committed exhibitors inside. According to MMPI, the Chicago-based trade show and property management firm, the first 40-plus companies that have signed letters of intent to lease showroom space will be also be revealed on January 14. According to Dave Johnson, spokesperson for the Medical Mart, 31 conferences and trade shows have also committed to hosting their events in the new convention center.
The Medical Mart is targeting healthcare manufacturers and service providers to show off their wares and services inside the complex. The latest innovations and products are likely to be housed within the facility. The interiors will feature 235,000 square feet of display space, 60,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 230,000 square feet for exhibitions and a 30,000-square-foot ballroom.
SOURCE: Dave Johnson,
Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
For many, the building's external progress will be almost as significant as the list of committed exhibitors inside. According to MMPI, the Chicago-based trade show and property management firm, the first 40-plus companies that have signed letters of intent to lease showroom space will be also be revealed on January 14. According to Dave Johnson, spokesperson for the Medical Mart, 31 conferences and trade shows have also committed to hosting their events in the new convention center.
The Medical Mart is targeting healthcare manufacturers and service providers to show off their wares and services inside the complex. The latest innovations and products are likely to be housed within the facility. The interiors will feature 235,000 square feet of display space, 60,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 230,000 square feet for exhibitions and a 30,000-square-foot ballroom.
SOURCE: Dave Johnson,
Cleveland Medical Mart and Convention Center
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Making good on a 2010 goal to build and strengthen its interests in the healthcare industry, The Riverside Company this month announced the acquisition of Physicians Pharmacy Alliance
(PPA). The North Carolina-based company specializes in drug dispensing
to at-home chronically ill patients. PPA was founded in 2002 and has
been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the region by
the Triangle Business Journal.
Riverside, a private equity firm with offices in Cleveland, considers itself a generalist when it comes to acquisitions; nevertheless, the company has made strides specializing in the healthcare, education and training industries. Riverside benefits from the knowledge and input of senior advisers in these fields. "We bring them into the fold to complement our investment professionals," says Graham Hearns, Riverside's director of marketing and communications.
Also this month, Riverside announced the add-on acquisition of CareFacts Information Systems, a St. Paul, Minnesota provider of software for home care, hospice and public health organizations. CareFacts will join Riverside's HEALTHCAREfirst, which provides web-based software to home care and hospice agencies.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Riverside, a private equity firm with offices in Cleveland, considers itself a generalist when it comes to acquisitions; nevertheless, the company has made strides specializing in the healthcare, education and training industries. Riverside benefits from the knowledge and input of senior advisers in these fields. "We bring them into the fold to complement our investment professionals," says Graham Hearns, Riverside's director of marketing and communications.
Also this month, Riverside announced the add-on acquisition of CareFacts Information Systems, a St. Paul, Minnesota provider of software for home care, hospice and public health organizations. CareFacts will join Riverside's HEALTHCAREfirst, which provides web-based software to home care and hospice agencies.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
The recent announcement of a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create urban farms along Kinsman Avenue is just one example of the growing power of the green movement in Cleveland's urban neighborhoods.
Another example is the 2009 award of a $75,000 grant from the U.S. EPA to help create Neighborhood Leadership for Environmental Health (NLEH), a partnership between three nonprofits to improve the environmental health of four east side neighborhoods. Organizers launched the program in 2010 and convened a neighborhood summit in October.
"This is a grassroots effort to help people to understand the issues, prioritize the ones that are most important, and develop ways to address them," says Mark McLain, Director of Health and Environmental Initiatives at Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI). "It's about taking action to make our communities healthier."
NLEH is a partnership between Environmental Health Watch, the Earthday Coalition and the Neighborhood Leadership Institute. The four targeted neighborhoods are Central, Fairfax, Mount Pleasant and Buckeye-Woodland. Since launching the effort, organizers have brought together a group of residents and stakeholders to brainstorm top environmental issues. Currently the group is winnowing down the list to their most important concerns, as well as specific projects to address them in 2011. Issues include air pollution, energy inefficiency in homes, childhood lead poisoning and asthma.
Once the planning is complete, the nonprofits plan to apply for additional EPA funding to implement projects to improve the environmental health of these communities.
McLain says this project is unique because it uses a grassroots approach and focuses on 'greening' entire neighborhoods. "There is growing awareness in inner-city neighborhoods that issues like health, safety and education relate to the environment," he says.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Mark McLain, Neighborhood Leadership Institute
Another example is the 2009 award of a $75,000 grant from the U.S. EPA to help create Neighborhood Leadership for Environmental Health (NLEH), a partnership between three nonprofits to improve the environmental health of four east side neighborhoods. Organizers launched the program in 2010 and convened a neighborhood summit in October.
"This is a grassroots effort to help people to understand the issues, prioritize the ones that are most important, and develop ways to address them," says Mark McLain, Director of Health and Environmental Initiatives at Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI). "It's about taking action to make our communities healthier."
NLEH is a partnership between Environmental Health Watch, the Earthday Coalition and the Neighborhood Leadership Institute. The four targeted neighborhoods are Central, Fairfax, Mount Pleasant and Buckeye-Woodland. Since launching the effort, organizers have brought together a group of residents and stakeholders to brainstorm top environmental issues. Currently the group is winnowing down the list to their most important concerns, as well as specific projects to address them in 2011. Issues include air pollution, energy inefficiency in homes, childhood lead poisoning and asthma.
Once the planning is complete, the nonprofits plan to apply for additional EPA funding to implement projects to improve the environmental health of these communities.
McLain says this project is unique because it uses a grassroots approach and focuses on 'greening' entire neighborhoods. "There is growing awareness in inner-city neighborhoods that issues like health, safety and education relate to the environment," he says.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Mark McLain, Neighborhood Leadership Institute
When it comes to rainfall, we tend to focus on keeping it off of our heads -- not where it goes after hitting the pavement. Yet storm water runoff is a major issue in Northeast Ohio. With every downpour, millions of gallons of rainwater run off parking lots, streets and sidewalks, carrying pollutants into our streams, rivers and Lake Erie.
A new program launched by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) in December aims to address Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) that result in untreated wastewater entering our rivers and Lake Erie. NEORSD is evaluating the potential to control CSO's by helping communities to design streets, sidewalks and other impervious areas in ways that reduce runoff. NEORSD has committed to spending at least $42 million to control a minimum of 44 million gallons per year of CSO through the use of better storm water management or "green infrastructure." commits
"This is about the re-greening of our urban areas and potentially making a positive out of our vacant land problems," says Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Manager of Watershed Programs with NEORSD.
Take your local commercial district as an example. Landscaping requires water and maintenance. Every time it rains, the water sluices towards the catch basins in the street, ending up in the lake. What if communities designed streets so that rainwater funnels to the plants, providing more sustainable landscaping and reusing the water?
Forty-two million is a razor-thin slice of the $3 billion sewer upgrade, but NEORSD officials are hoping that a few key pilot projects will lead to a big change in how Northeast Ohio communities plan and implement infrastructure projects.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, NEORSD
A new program launched by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) in December aims to address Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) that result in untreated wastewater entering our rivers and Lake Erie. NEORSD is evaluating the potential to control CSO's by helping communities to design streets, sidewalks and other impervious areas in ways that reduce runoff. NEORSD has committed to spending at least $42 million to control a minimum of 44 million gallons per year of CSO through the use of better storm water management or "green infrastructure." commits
"This is about the re-greening of our urban areas and potentially making a positive out of our vacant land problems," says Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Manager of Watershed Programs with NEORSD.
Take your local commercial district as an example. Landscaping requires water and maintenance. Every time it rains, the water sluices towards the catch basins in the street, ending up in the lake. What if communities designed streets so that rainwater funnels to the plants, providing more sustainable landscaping and reusing the water?
Forty-two million is a razor-thin slice of the $3 billion sewer upgrade, but NEORSD officials are hoping that a few key pilot projects will lead to a big change in how Northeast Ohio communities plan and implement infrastructure projects.
Writer: Lee Chilcote
Source: Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, NEORSD
$1.9M grant helps st. vincent hospital rebuilding project
A $1.9 million state grant approved this week will help St. Vincent Charity Medical Center take another major step in its 10-year, $150 million campus transformation and modernization plan. The grant, from the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund
to the City of Cleveland, will pay for asbestos abatement and
demolition of three buildings on the hospital's campus at East 22nd
Street and Central Avenue.
Three other buildings were razed over the summer, in the first phase of the project, to create new parking areas and some green space. The next round, to begin in the spring, will make way for a new, 110,000-square-foot surgery center, construction of which is scheduled to begin in 2013.
Green building techniques are a priority in the 145-year-old hospital's plans. An overview of the project states that 75 percent of the demolition debris will be reused or recycled, and storm-water runoff at the site will be reduced by about 20 percent.
"We are grateful to the city of Cleveland for being our champion on this project, to the Greater Cleveland community for its support and to the state of Ohio for funding this Clean Ohio application," said hospital CEO Sister Judith Ann Karam in a statement.
Source: St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Three other buildings were razed over the summer, in the first phase of the project, to create new parking areas and some green space. The next round, to begin in the spring, will make way for a new, 110,000-square-foot surgery center, construction of which is scheduled to begin in 2013.
Green building techniques are a priority in the 145-year-old hospital's plans. An overview of the project states that 75 percent of the demolition debris will be reused or recycled, and storm-water runoff at the site will be reduced by about 20 percent.
"We are grateful to the city of Cleveland for being our champion on this project, to the Greater Cleveland community for its support and to the state of Ohio for funding this Clean Ohio application," said hospital CEO Sister Judith Ann Karam in a statement.
Source: St. Vincent Charity Medical Center
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
In a laboratory at Case Western Reserve University's
School of Medicine, Zhenghe John Wang and a team of researchers
developed a panel of new human isogenic cell models, which look much
like mutated cancer cells. Through these cell models, researchers can
get a handle on how cancer takes shape in the human body.
"We actually created a technology where we can add tags into cancer cells so we can track them," says Wang, assistant professor of genetics at Case's School of Medicine. Not only can this technology help researchers to better understand how cancer cells evolve, it can also provide assistance with cancer treatment programs, Wang says.
Now this process has an even greater chance of affecting cancer treatments, as medical research company Horizon Discovery has obtained exclusive rights to the panel of new human isogenic cell models. This means that the British medical research company will be able to add this technology to its existing models, which are used to predict patient response to current and future drug treatments.
Horizon Discovery has licensed the new cell models for ten years and will pay Case an initial fee, with rights to royalties from future product sales.
"We really wanted to work with someone interested in this technology," Wang says, adding that the agreement with Horizon Discovery will allow for research on a grander scale. Meanwhile, Wang and his team will continue to advance use of human isogenic cell models at Case. "Hopefully, we can make a big impact on cancer research," he says.
SOURCE: Case Western Reserve University
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"We actually created a technology where we can add tags into cancer cells so we can track them," says Wang, assistant professor of genetics at Case's School of Medicine. Not only can this technology help researchers to better understand how cancer cells evolve, it can also provide assistance with cancer treatment programs, Wang says.
Now this process has an even greater chance of affecting cancer treatments, as medical research company Horizon Discovery has obtained exclusive rights to the panel of new human isogenic cell models. This means that the British medical research company will be able to add this technology to its existing models, which are used to predict patient response to current and future drug treatments.
Horizon Discovery has licensed the new cell models for ten years and will pay Case an initial fee, with rights to royalties from future product sales.
"We really wanted to work with someone interested in this technology," Wang says, adding that the agreement with Horizon Discovery will allow for research on a grander scale. Meanwhile, Wang and his team will continue to advance use of human isogenic cell models at Case. "Hopefully, we can make a big impact on cancer research," he says.
SOURCE: Case Western Reserve University
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
CLE equity firm riverside continues to make deals, grow staff
The Riverside Company is experiencing its strongest fourth quarter in the company's 22-year history. That, in addition to snagging Mergers & Acquisitions Journal's recent designation as "Private Equity Firm of the Year."
"It has been a remarkably busy time," admits Graham Hearns, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland-based private equity firm. "We've had four or five acquisitions and a couple of business exits so far, and we could have as many as six or seven more transactions in the next two weeks."
Hearns attributes this growth to lenders once again offering money to businesses and to more realistic buyer and seller expectations.
For Riverside, this meant moving forward with company acquisitions that it has been researching in the midst of an economic downturn. "During the whole global financial crisis we never came to a standstill," Hearns says. "We are generalists, so we like to window shop."
Riverside has found success in maintaining its general portfolio while also beefing up two key areas of company acquisitions: healthcare and education and training. The company's latest investment is G&H Wire Company, a Franklin, Indiana-based manufacturer and supplier of orthodontic products. G&H becomes Riverside's 49th healthcare transaction. Overall, Riverside has made more than 200 acquisitions of companies with $200 million or less in enterprise value.
Riverside has 19 offices around the world, but Cleveland continues to be its largest with about 50 employees. "There's been a continuous growth of the Cleveland team," Hearns says, adding that Riverside hired about six new people in 2010 and expects to add about the same amount in the next year or so.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
"It has been a remarkably busy time," admits Graham Hearns, director of marketing and communications for the Cleveland-based private equity firm. "We've had four or five acquisitions and a couple of business exits so far, and we could have as many as six or seven more transactions in the next two weeks."
Hearns attributes this growth to lenders once again offering money to businesses and to more realistic buyer and seller expectations.
For Riverside, this meant moving forward with company acquisitions that it has been researching in the midst of an economic downturn. "During the whole global financial crisis we never came to a standstill," Hearns says. "We are generalists, so we like to window shop."
Riverside has found success in maintaining its general portfolio while also beefing up two key areas of company acquisitions: healthcare and education and training. The company's latest investment is G&H Wire Company, a Franklin, Indiana-based manufacturer and supplier of orthodontic products. G&H becomes Riverside's 49th healthcare transaction. Overall, Riverside has made more than 200 acquisitions of companies with $200 million or less in enterprise value.
Riverside has 19 offices around the world, but Cleveland continues to be its largest with about 50 employees. "There's been a continuous growth of the Cleveland team," Hearns says, adding that Riverside hired about six new people in 2010 and expects to add about the same amount in the next year or so.
SOURCE: The Riverside Company
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
That small-fish-in-a-big-pond feeling is likely to crop up now and again for local doctors who choose to work outside of one of the large hospital systems. One of the big problem areas? Managing automated tasks like medical records and insurance reimbursements. Any independent physician in Northeast Ohio who has ever felt alone in this realm will want to check out the newly launched Independent Physician Solutions (IPS) from Sisters of Charity Health System.
IPS offers independent doctors a contiuum of services, including billing management, electronic medical records (EMR) and managed care contracting. The new subsidiary of Sisters of Charity is a physician-led organization that seeks the input of those in the medical community. For example, a committee composed of physicians from Sisters of Charity and independent doctors researched possible EMR solutions, eventually deciding on General Electric's Centricity. This system will help private-practice physicians stay on the cutting edge of technology requirements. IPS will also offer billing and collections services.
What's more, IPS will have an equity model open to physicians who want to invest, according to Orlando L. Alvarez, senior vice president of physician alignment for Sisters of Charity. More than half of the governing board of IPS will be made up of physicians.
SOURCE: Sisters of Charity
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
IPS offers independent doctors a contiuum of services, including billing management, electronic medical records (EMR) and managed care contracting. The new subsidiary of Sisters of Charity is a physician-led organization that seeks the input of those in the medical community. For example, a committee composed of physicians from Sisters of Charity and independent doctors researched possible EMR solutions, eventually deciding on General Electric's Centricity. This system will help private-practice physicians stay on the cutting edge of technology requirements. IPS will also offer billing and collections services.
What's more, IPS will have an equity model open to physicians who want to invest, according to Orlando L. Alvarez, senior vice president of physician alignment for Sisters of Charity. More than half of the governing board of IPS will be made up of physicians.
SOURCE: Sisters of Charity
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
what torino can teach cleveland
Torino has been called the Detroit of Italy. And like that -- and our -- city, it succeeded or failed on the backs of a few large manufacturers. In the 1980s, the shutdown of some of those big companies cost the Torino region more than 100,000 jobs. That city wouldn't turn things around economically for nearly 20 years.
But turn things around it did, says this Time article, which states that Torino has "become a model of how a city can transform itself after an industrial collapse." Civic and business leaders there fashioned an aggressive urban plan that included expansion into international markets, investments in innovation, and the buildup of new sectors like food and tourism. Today, Torino's per capita GDP is more than 10% higher than the national average.
Lessons learned there can -- and in some cases already are, says Time -- being implemented here in Cleveland.
"Once a powerhouse of heavy industry -- steel, rubber, automobiles -- Cleveland has struggled for decades to find its footing. Recently, however, the city and the surrounding area have established agencies like those in Torino to help young companies get off the ground, assist midsize businesses with finding new markets, and guide the city's old manufacturing base into faster-growing sectors such as medical supplies, flexible electronics, clean energy and next-generation polymers."
And efforts are already paying off: "Cleveland and its region are now home to 19 venture-capital firms -- up from two in 2000 -- and are focused on working to help existing firms find their places in the new economy."
Read the entire article here.
But turn things around it did, says this Time article, which states that Torino has "become a model of how a city can transform itself after an industrial collapse." Civic and business leaders there fashioned an aggressive urban plan that included expansion into international markets, investments in innovation, and the buildup of new sectors like food and tourism. Today, Torino's per capita GDP is more than 10% higher than the national average.
Lessons learned there can -- and in some cases already are, says Time -- being implemented here in Cleveland.
"Once a powerhouse of heavy industry -- steel, rubber, automobiles -- Cleveland has struggled for decades to find its footing. Recently, however, the city and the surrounding area have established agencies like those in Torino to help young companies get off the ground, assist midsize businesses with finding new markets, and guide the city's old manufacturing base into faster-growing sectors such as medical supplies, flexible electronics, clean energy and next-generation polymers."
And efforts are already paying off: "Cleveland and its region are now home to 19 venture-capital firms -- up from two in 2000 -- and are focused on working to help existing firms find their places in the new economy."
Read the entire article here.
israeli biotech firms flock to ohio
According to Michael Goldberg, founder and managing partner of Cleveland-based Bridge Investment Fund, state incentives and a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in Israel continue to lure biotechnology companies from that nation in record numbers. In the past eight years, at least 14 Israeli technology start-ups raised funds from Ohio-based backers, and at least six of these opened offices in the state.
"While many Israelis still look to Boston or Silicon Valley for support, Ohio has done more than other states to attract Israeli start-ups," Goldberg is quoted in the Bloomberg article.
Credit goes to the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, which invested at least $3 million during the last eight years in five Israeli health-sciences companies, and BioEnterprise, which helps connect the Israeli companies to capital, medical expertise, and management teams in the state.
One such success: Simbionix, a maker of medical devices, transferred its headquarters from Israel to Cleveland in 2002.
Read the full report here.
"While many Israelis still look to Boston or Silicon Valley for support, Ohio has done more than other states to attract Israeli start-ups," Goldberg is quoted in the Bloomberg article.
Credit goes to the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, which invested at least $3 million during the last eight years in five Israeli health-sciences companies, and BioEnterprise, which helps connect the Israeli companies to capital, medical expertise, and management teams in the state.
One such success: Simbionix, a maker of medical devices, transferred its headquarters from Israel to Cleveland in 2002.
Read the full report here.
And now for a small dose of good news from the foreclosure front: Two
Slavic Village homes that sat empty for more than a year will be opened
to potential buyers on December 16.
The homes -- on East 69th and East 75th -- were acquired from the banks that had taken them in foreclosure and fully renovated through the Opportunity Homes program, a joint venture between The City of Cleveland, Neighborhood Progress Inc., the Cleveland Housing Network and six Cleveland community development corporations.
"These are really good deals," says Stacy Pugh, housing director for Slavic Village Development, one of the six CDCs. The homes have been renovated top to bottom – everything is new, including the energy-efficient appliances. And yet they'll sell for well below the cost of those upgrades, which averages about $125,000, including acquisition, says Pugh.
"We're also willing to work with people," she adds, in light of how much more difficult securing a mortgage has become. Six-month lease-purchase deals are available for those whose credit might also need some renovating.
For details on the open house, contact Pugh at 216-429-1182 x 117 or stacyp@slavicvillage.org.
Source: Slavic Village CDC
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The homes -- on East 69th and East 75th -- were acquired from the banks that had taken them in foreclosure and fully renovated through the Opportunity Homes program, a joint venture between The City of Cleveland, Neighborhood Progress Inc., the Cleveland Housing Network and six Cleveland community development corporations.
"These are really good deals," says Stacy Pugh, housing director for Slavic Village Development, one of the six CDCs. The homes have been renovated top to bottom – everything is new, including the energy-efficient appliances. And yet they'll sell for well below the cost of those upgrades, which averages about $125,000, including acquisition, says Pugh.
"We're also willing to work with people," she adds, in light of how much more difficult securing a mortgage has become. Six-month lease-purchase deals are available for those whose credit might also need some renovating.
For details on the open house, contact Pugh at 216-429-1182 x 117 or stacyp@slavicvillage.org.
Source: Slavic Village CDC
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
OnShift's employee scheduling software is designed for pain-free maintenance of shift, emergency, and on-call scheduling in the long-term healthcare industry. Clearly, hospitals and other long-term care providers have taken note, because the Cleveland-based company has been enjoying exponential growth of late. OnShift's customer acquisitions increased more than 500 percent year-over-year, and the software solutions company continues to add staffers.
A new $2.3 million venture capital investment will be used to accelerate OnShift's sales and marketing efforts while adding to its already expanding market share. This round of funding was led by Draper Triangle Ventures of Pittsburgh and involves all of OnShift's existing investors, which include local investors Early Stage Partners, JumpStart, Inc., North Coast Angel Fund, LLC, and Glengary LLC.
OnShift's software is used by hospitals and other long-term care facilities for automated scheduling, employee communications and automated call-off and open-shift scheduling. The company was recognized earlier this year by NEOSA, the COSE Technology Network, as Best Emerging Company.
Jonathan Murray, managing director of Early Stage Partners, notes that "OnShift has consistently delivered shareholder value by acquiring and serving customers and is on a significant growth trajectory." Bob Lauer, a partner with Glengary LLC, echoes the enthusiasm of other OnShift investors. "We are anticipating strong results in 2011 based on the use of new funding to expand and accelerate sales and marketing efforts," Lauer says.
SOURCE: OnShift
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
A new $2.3 million venture capital investment will be used to accelerate OnShift's sales and marketing efforts while adding to its already expanding market share. This round of funding was led by Draper Triangle Ventures of Pittsburgh and involves all of OnShift's existing investors, which include local investors Early Stage Partners, JumpStart, Inc., North Coast Angel Fund, LLC, and Glengary LLC.
OnShift's software is used by hospitals and other long-term care facilities for automated scheduling, employee communications and automated call-off and open-shift scheduling. The company was recognized earlier this year by NEOSA, the COSE Technology Network, as Best Emerging Company.
Jonathan Murray, managing director of Early Stage Partners, notes that "OnShift has consistently delivered shareholder value by acquiring and serving customers and is on a significant growth trajectory." Bob Lauer, a partner with Glengary LLC, echoes the enthusiasm of other OnShift investors. "We are anticipating strong results in 2011 based on the use of new funding to expand and accelerate sales and marketing efforts," Lauer says.
SOURCE: OnShift
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
slavic village rail-trail earns national award
Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and Parkworks all claim their share of a national trail award.
American Trails, the world's largest online trails resource, held its 20th National Trails Awards on Nov. 16, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The awards program recognizes exemplary people across the landscape of America who are working to create a national system of trails to meet the recreation, health, and travel needs of all Americans.
Winning the "Trails and the Arts Award," which recognizes outstanding public art projects, interpretive signs, and other creative structures associated with trail improvements, were Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks.
The Slavic Village neighborhood's Morgana Run Trail boasts the first urban rail-trail conversion in Cleveland. Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks collaborated to develop a distinguishing marker for the East 49th Street trailhead: a 35-foot tall steel "flower" sculpture crafted by local artist Jake Beckman.
Read more about the award and award giver here.
American Trails, the world's largest online trails resource, held its 20th National Trails Awards on Nov. 16, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The awards program recognizes exemplary people across the landscape of America who are working to create a national system of trails to meet the recreation, health, and travel needs of all Americans.
Winning the "Trails and the Arts Award," which recognizes outstanding public art projects, interpretive signs, and other creative structures associated with trail improvements, were Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks.
The Slavic Village neighborhood's Morgana Run Trail boasts the first urban rail-trail conversion in Cleveland. Slavic Village Development, Cleveland Public Art and ParkWorks collaborated to develop a distinguishing marker for the East 49th Street trailhead: a 35-foot tall steel "flower" sculpture crafted by local artist Jake Beckman.
Read more about the award and award giver here.
It's not that they want people to get sick, but University Hospital's Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood is poised to capture a sizable patient population when it officially opens in January 2011.
Part of the attraction to patients obviously will be the quality care, but the 144-bed hospital also will likely turn heads with its technology. And not just for the comprehensive imaging center or state-of-the-art catheterization labs.
With input from physicians, nurses, employees and patients, Ahuja recognizes that people want high-tech amenities -- whether they're lounging in a hotel room or recuperating in a hospital bed.
Wireless internet runs through the hospital. Each private room has a flat-screen TV and a daybed so that a loved one can stay with the patient. Green and holistic design also play a vital role. Natural light is used to a maximum, and a healing garden provides a calm, inspirational place for patients and visitors to pause. These features not only look pretty, they are designed to promote healing and a positive outlook.
It isn't just the patients who will be well cared for at the new medical center; staff comfort and well-being also have been given top priority. For example, the seven-floor hospital features a step-sensitive design that will reduce fatigue for nurses and staff.
Details such as these will doubtless help draw in medical professionals, staffers and patients. When it opens, Ahuja Medical Center will employ about 400 people, and within two years, that number could more than double. Current open positions range from pathologists and ICU nurses to CT technologists and a food operations manager.
SOURCE: University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
Part of the attraction to patients obviously will be the quality care, but the 144-bed hospital also will likely turn heads with its technology. And not just for the comprehensive imaging center or state-of-the-art catheterization labs.
With input from physicians, nurses, employees and patients, Ahuja recognizes that people want high-tech amenities -- whether they're lounging in a hotel room or recuperating in a hospital bed.
Wireless internet runs through the hospital. Each private room has a flat-screen TV and a daybed so that a loved one can stay with the patient. Green and holistic design also play a vital role. Natural light is used to a maximum, and a healing garden provides a calm, inspirational place for patients and visitors to pause. These features not only look pretty, they are designed to promote healing and a positive outlook.
It isn't just the patients who will be well cared for at the new medical center; staff comfort and well-being also have been given top priority. For example, the seven-floor hospital features a step-sensitive design that will reduce fatigue for nurses and staff.
Details such as these will doubtless help draw in medical professionals, staffers and patients. When it opens, Ahuja Medical Center will employ about 400 people, and within two years, that number could more than double. Current open positions range from pathologists and ICU nurses to CT technologists and a food operations manager.
SOURCE: University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center
WRITER: Diane DiPiero
cleveland clinic predicts top medical breakthrough of 2011
Reporting for CNET, medical blogger Elizabeth Armstrong Moore reports on the Cleveland Clinic's recent Medical Innovation Summit, where the "top ten" medical breakthroughs of 2011 were predicted. Taking top honors was the new brain-imaging compound AV-45, which will aid in early detection of Alzheimer's.
In the post, Moore writes, "To this day, diagnosing the disease while a patient is still alive is tricky, and there is still no cure. But there have been several breakthroughs in understanding how to identify the disease; elevated levels of the telltale protein tau, for instance, can appear decades before outward signs do."
Once injected into a patient, AV-45 crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds with beta-amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's. PET imaging then enables physicians to see any dyed plaques and make a diagnosis. Whether AV-45 will play the largest role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's remains to be seen, but it represents a major advance in earlier detection of the disease.
Invented by researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, the technique is expected to earn FDA approval in 2011, according to Cleveland Clinic sources.
Read Moore's entire post here:
Check out the other nine breakthroughs announced at the Summit here.
In the post, Moore writes, "To this day, diagnosing the disease while a patient is still alive is tricky, and there is still no cure. But there have been several breakthroughs in understanding how to identify the disease; elevated levels of the telltale protein tau, for instance, can appear decades before outward signs do."
Once injected into a patient, AV-45 crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds with beta-amyloid plaques that are associated with Alzheimer's. PET imaging then enables physicians to see any dyed plaques and make a diagnosis. Whether AV-45 will play the largest role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer's remains to be seen, but it represents a major advance in earlier detection of the disease.
Invented by researchers at Avid Radiopharmaceuticals in Philadelphia, the technique is expected to earn FDA approval in 2011, according to Cleveland Clinic sources.
Read Moore's entire post here:
Check out the other nine breakthroughs announced at the Summit here.
Hundreds of Northeast Ohioans bike to work downtown. Many more surely
would, but for the challenges that present themselves upon arrival --
like parking and, well, sweating. But next year the city will have an
answer to those deterrents: The Bike Rack, set to open next spring in
the ground level of the parking garage at East 4th and High streets,
between Harry Buffalo restaurant and Quicken Loans Arena. Ground was
broken there in late October.
Modeled on bike stations in Europe and a growing number of American cities, The Bike Rack will offer bike commuters secure parking, lockers and facilities for showering and changing. The site will also rent bicycles, and the staff will include a technician who can help with repairs.
Kevin Cronin of Cleveland Bikes, which worked with the Jackson administration to develop the project, says that long-term goals include establishing relationships with hotels and promoting bike tours, to tap into the expanding bicycle tourism market.
"These are the things that open up when you have these sorts of facilities," he says. He also hopes that the project will raise awareness of biking among residents, and galvanize the bike community to rally for more bike-friendly infrastructure. A similar station in Chicago has been so popular, Cronin says, that plans for a second are under way.
The Downtown Cleveland Alliance will administer the site, and recently posted the job of operations manager. Cleveland Public Art is overseeing the design of the façade.
Source: Cleveland Bikes
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
Modeled on bike stations in Europe and a growing number of American cities, The Bike Rack will offer bike commuters secure parking, lockers and facilities for showering and changing. The site will also rent bicycles, and the staff will include a technician who can help with repairs.
Kevin Cronin of Cleveland Bikes, which worked with the Jackson administration to develop the project, says that long-term goals include establishing relationships with hotels and promoting bike tours, to tap into the expanding bicycle tourism market.
"These are the things that open up when you have these sorts of facilities," he says. He also hopes that the project will raise awareness of biking among residents, and galvanize the bike community to rally for more bike-friendly infrastructure. A similar station in Chicago has been so popular, Cronin says, that plans for a second are under way.
The Downtown Cleveland Alliance will administer the site, and recently posted the job of operations manager. Cleveland Public Art is overseeing the design of the façade.
Source: Cleveland Bikes
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
It's not a sports championship, but in some ways it's just as big. Last
week a consortium of some of the wealthiest banks and foundations in
the world announced that Cleveland would receive major support for
innovative developments that will create hundreds of new jobs where
they're needed most.
The Integration Initiative, by the New York-based Living Cities philanthropic collaborative, will pump almost $15 million in grants, loans and targeted investments into Cleveland. One of five cities chosen, Cleveland impressed the evaluators with plans to leverage the buying power of institutions in and around University Circle -- which spend some $3 billion annually on goods and services -- into new businesses and jobs. And not just any businesses, but innovative, green operations that provide their workers with more than just paychecks.
Some of the funding will be used to start or relocate businesses in the growing Heath-Tech Corridor between University Circle and Cleveland State. Other funds will expand the Evergreen Cooperatives network of employee-owned businesses, all of which meet the institutions' procurement needs in new ways, and satisfy Living Cities' demand for "game-changing" new strategies.
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, for example, uses far less water than competitors, allowing the institutions to reduce their carbon footprints. The laundry currently employs 28, and will expand to 50. Ohio Solar Cooperative employs 25 -- already exceeding expectations -- and will hire another 50 over the next three years. The Green City Growers hydroponic greenhouse will employ 45 when it opens on East 55th Street later this year.
All Evergreen businesses allow workers to build equity in the company and share in profits. "An 8-, 9- 10-dollar-an-hour job is not really enough to change someone's life," says Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation, which coordinated the applications to Living Cities. "The ability for wealth creation is absolutely essential to changing neighborhoods."
Five more co-ops are in the pipeline, Kuri says. Two will launch "soon," the other three over the next one to two years.
Many of the foundations that make up Living Cities will be familiar to NPR listeners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, to name a few. Member banks include Bank of America, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Cleveland Foundation is an affiliate member.
Source: Cleveland Foundation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis
The Integration Initiative, by the New York-based Living Cities philanthropic collaborative, will pump almost $15 million in grants, loans and targeted investments into Cleveland. One of five cities chosen, Cleveland impressed the evaluators with plans to leverage the buying power of institutions in and around University Circle -- which spend some $3 billion annually on goods and services -- into new businesses and jobs. And not just any businesses, but innovative, green operations that provide their workers with more than just paychecks.
Some of the funding will be used to start or relocate businesses in the growing Heath-Tech Corridor between University Circle and Cleveland State. Other funds will expand the Evergreen Cooperatives network of employee-owned businesses, all of which meet the institutions' procurement needs in new ways, and satisfy Living Cities' demand for "game-changing" new strategies.
Evergreen Cooperative Laundry, for example, uses far less water than competitors, allowing the institutions to reduce their carbon footprints. The laundry currently employs 28, and will expand to 50. Ohio Solar Cooperative employs 25 -- already exceeding expectations -- and will hire another 50 over the next three years. The Green City Growers hydroponic greenhouse will employ 45 when it opens on East 55th Street later this year.
All Evergreen businesses allow workers to build equity in the company and share in profits. "An 8-, 9- 10-dollar-an-hour job is not really enough to change someone's life," says Lillian Kuri of the Cleveland Foundation, which coordinated the applications to Living Cities. "The ability for wealth creation is absolutely essential to changing neighborhoods."
Five more co-ops are in the pipeline, Kuri says. Two will launch "soon," the other three over the next one to two years.
Many of the foundations that make up Living Cities will be familiar to NPR listeners: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, to name a few. Member banks include Bank of America, Deutche Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase. Cleveland Foundation is an affiliate member.
Source: Cleveland Foundation
Writer: Frank W. Lewis