A Week in Business

A Week in Business
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Certification Earned

BERLIN – Wayne Benson, president of Bank of Ocean City, has announced that Heather Parsons has received her Certification for Professional in Human Resources from the Human Resorces Certification Institute.

Parsons joined the bank in 1997 and was promoted to the Human Resources Director in 2005.

Parsons is a member of the National Society of Human Resources Management and the Eastern Shore Chapter. She serves on the Charitable Contributions Committee for the bank.

Grand Opening Planned

BERLIN – Atlantic General Hospital will hold a formal grand opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 4 p.m.

Completed in February, the expanded facility now provides a home for The C.R.I.C.K.E.T. Center, Worcester County’s first child advocacy facility. This center is the only one of its kind on the Eastern Shore, offering onsite medical evaluations and the coordinated services of social welfare and law enforcement agencies.

The newly expanded Atlantic Health Center also houses Worcester County’s first outpatient pediatric and adult mental health program and a comprehensive diabetes program. The primary care clinic serving children and adults, regardless of the ability to pay, has also been upgraded.

Funded in part by a $700,000 matching grant from the Maryland Hospital Association, the hospital has raised an additional $550,000 through generous commitments made by the Worcester County Commissioners, the Ocean City Mayor and Council and the Berlin Mayor and Council.

Local dignitaries and chambers will be present at the event as well as the current Miss Maryland USA, Gabrielle Carlson, who is passionate in the fight against sexual abuse. The community is cordially invited to attend the ribbon cutting for tours of the facility and refreshments.

Employee Receives Award

SALIBSURY – The Trice Group announced this week that Kristina Clark has been awarded the MAI Designation by the Appraisal Institute. This is one of the most prestigious designations a real estate professional can receive in the field of real estate appraising. 

The Appraisal Institute is a global membership association of professional real estate appraisers, with 25,000 members and 91 chapters throughout the world. Its mission is to advance professionalism and ethics, global standards, methodologies, and practices through the professional development of property economics worldwide.

Lender Named Top Affiliate

OCEAN CITY – Cynthia Walston, an area lender with Bank of America Home Loans, was awarded the 2009 WCR Affiliate Member of the Year Award by the Coastal Delmarva Chapter of the Women’s Council of RealtorsÒ (WCR).

This annual award recognizes a Affiliate member who shares their time, talent and expertise with others in the profession and in the community and who is also dedicated to becoming a real estate industry leader.

“Cynthia is no stranger to volunteering. She has served on the Chapter’s Golf Tournament and Bylaws Committee for several years and is active with the Coastal Association of Realtors as a Co-Chair of the Community Service Committee. She is a member of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, the Board for the Lower Shore Chapter of the American Red Cross, Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce and Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce. Cynthia was one of the founders of the Wellness Community-Delmarva for which she was awarded the Patricia M. Hazel Spirit of Community Award as well. Additionally, Cynthia has also been nominated as the 2010 Treasurer for the Coastal Delmarva Chapter,” said Mary Burgess, 2009 Chapter President.

Grant Announced For Program

SALISBURY – Salisbury University’s Nursing Department has been awarded $635,601 from the Maryland Higher Education Commission to establish clinical educator partnerships with Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury and Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin. The grant creates three hospital-based clinical faculty positions.

“To my knowledge this is the first time such positions have been established on the Eastern Shore,” said Lisa Seldomridge, program director. “Their creation allows SU to increase enrollment in our nursing programs to help address the nursing shortage.”

The positions will be filled by nurses employed by each partner hospital. Two SU alumni have already been appointed: Rebecca Skorobatsch (’05) at Peninsula Regional and Julie Long (’93) at Atlantic General. Both will work in the area of adult health for the duration of the three-year appointment. A third, two-year position in women’s and children’s health will be filled at Peninsula Regional next year. 

Part of the job description for the new clinical faculty is supervision of SU nursing students working in the hospitals. They will be paired with SU faculty mentors and will participate in professional development workshops. With tuition assistance from SU, they also may enroll in the clinical educator or health care leadership tracks of the University’s M.S. in nursing program.

Seldomridge said the partnership benefits the hospitals by allowing them to retain experienced staff and offer them opportunities to continue their education.