A Week In Business

A Week In Business
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Realtor Completes Course

OCEAN CITY – Sheri E. Smith with The Mark Fritchle Group Re/Max Premier Properties has completed a highly specialized course in the new skills involved in obtaining and servicing real estate listings, conducted by The Council of Residential Specialists of the National Association of Realtors.

The class was conducted in Waldorf, Md. over a two-day period and is one of the required courses that must be taken by real estate agents and brokers in order to qualify for the highly coveted Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation.

The course included techniques in seller counseling, pricing, various client servicing activities, marketing techniques and other programs designed to close sales on residential properties.

"Today’s real estate market is more complex than ever before and the listing process has become the key in the movement of residential properties" said Smith. "This course provided me with the new imput to enable me to serve both buyers and sellers of residences more effectively."

National Sales Award Earned

BERLIN – Long and Foster’s West Ocean City office has announced that Linda Moran was presented with the esteemed National Sales Award by The Realty Alliance, an association of the largest residential Real Estate brokers in America.

This award is in recognition of an exceptional performance ranking placing Moran in the top 5 percent of all residential real estate sales professionals in America. Moran holds the CRS, GRI, RRS, and SRES designations.

“Linda is a consistent top producer at Long & Foster. Her professionalism and dedication to her clients is unsurpassed. We are very fortunate to have her,” said Pat Waggoner, manager of the West Ocean City Office of Long & Foster, Inc.

Agent Of Year Named

BERLIN – Sonia Zaffiris, Associate Broker, has been named Agent of the Year for 2007, announced Debbie Hileman, Broker of Hileman Real Estate.

Zaffiris has been with Hileman since its inception in January 1997 and during that time she has been named Agent of the Year seven times. Zaffiris brought with her many years of experience in residential sales and now manages bank owned properties with the help of two assistants. She is licensed in both Maryland and Delaware.

Generic Drug Prices Lowered

BERLIN – Coastal Drug Center announced this week that it has lowered prices on nearly 1,000 generic prescription drugs, which are widely prescribe medications by physicians in the Worcester County area.

Many commonly used generic drug products have experienced cost reductions this year and Coastal Drug Center is passing on those savings to its customers. This new competition between manufacturers has impacted the cost of many newly released generics, resulting in cost savings to consumers up to 80 percent as compared to brand name prices.

In other company news, Coastal Drug Center has announced a strategic alliance with Lincare Corporation to supplement its medical supply business to provide oxygen services to Worcester County and its clients. With the addition of Oxygen services, the Coastal Drug Center is now a full service pharmacy and medical equipment provider.

The addition of Lincare will allow Coastal Drug Center to provide Oxygen, Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen and Nebulizer supplies and equipment at lower prices to customers, according to Steven Marcalus, President of Coastal Drug Center.

“We had a gap in our medical equipment offerings that we have now filled because of our new relationship and alliance with Lincare,” Marcalus said. “Lincare was the best choice for our customers as it allows them the freedom to travel anywhere in the United States or Canada and receive oxygen and supplies at there destination. Thus, freeing them to travel unencumbered without the heavy baggage and cost of transporting oxygen …”

Doctors Week Planned

BERLIN – On Monday, March 31 and throughout the week, Atlantic General Hospital will celebrate National Doctors Week.

Atlantic General Hospital began a tradition a few years ago of having something each day to recognize the doctors by celebrating the entire week. This annual event is met with much joy and excitement as the staff plans this week of celebration.

Atlantic General Hospital will personally recognize the medical staff with breakfast available to them Monday through Thursday in the physician’s lounge. Lunch will be provided by various departments within the hospital on Monday through Thursday. On Friday, April 4, the medical staff office will provide breakfast and lunch in Conference Room 3, upstairs, which joins to the Medical Staff Office. A schedule of events is posted throughout the hospital and has been sent to each medical staff member.

AGH would like to encourage members of the community to make an extra effort to show their appreciation to their personal physicians during Doctors Week.

Grand Opening Set For Medical Office Building

BERLINThe new James G. Barrett Medical Office Building, located on Atlantic General Hospital’s campus at the entrance of Healthway Drive in Berlin, will be the site of a grand opening celebration on Friday, April 11, from 5 to 8 p.m.

The building houses a number of independent medical specialty offices as well as three new Atlantic General Hospital Centers of Excellence. Named for the late James G. Barrett, the building was part of the former hospital board member’s vision to provide an easily accessible, centralized location for a variety of medical specialties for the residents and visitors of Worcester County.

Hospital leadership carried through with the vision as part of their 10-year master plan to further improve access to healthcare for its patrons.

Nearly seven years after the hospital’s board first negotiated purchase agreements with the Bainum and Cropper families for the plots of land on which the James G. Barrett Medical Office Building stands, the project is now complete.

Since July the building has steadily filled, with the most recent addition being the hospital’s Atlantic Endoscopy Center, open on Monday, March 17.

Currently, the Barrett Medical Office Building houses the new Wound Care Center and an office of the Diabetes Outpatient Education Program, AGHS Surgical and the growing Women’s Health Center. Also found there are the Coastal Drug Center and Coffee Beanery, Chesapeake Eye Center, and Neurological Associates.

“The Barrett Medical Office Building’s purpose was to enhance the further growth of our medical community and provide capacity for Atlantic General Hospital to develop future service lines,” said Kim Justice, vice president of planning/operations. “This building is the flagship for future development of our medical campus, which was Jim Barrett’s vision while serving as chairman.”