A Week in Business

A Week in Business
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AGH Expands Online Wait Time Practice

BERLIN – Just 18 months
after launching online wait times for its emergency room, Atlantic General
Hospital is introducing real-time waits for two other services: x-rays and
outpatient lab work.

The mechanism used to track
and post the wait times for the emergency room translated very well to these
other walk-in outpatient services because patients are in an even better
position to time their visits.

“When a physician orders
x-rays or blood work, a patient can come in any time during service hours
Monday through Saturday. But, there do tend to be patterns of peak visit times
when the wait is longer,” said Paige Warrington, outpatient services
coordinator at Atlantic General Hospital. “Now patients can better time their visits
to get in and out quickly and on with the rest of their day.”

In a few short weeks,
the online wait times will be even more accessible to the public when Atlantic
General becomes the first hospital in Maryland to offer yet another
convenience: a mobile-friendly web site and downloadable apps for the iPhone,
Android and Blackberry mobile devices.

When someone with a
mobile device downloads the app, he or she can access the current wait times
for all three services – ER, x-ray and outpatient lab – with the tap of a
finger.

“We’re excited to be
able to offer this to the community,” said Toni Keiser, vice president of
public relations at Atlantic General Hospital. “Two major goals in healthcare
today are to become more accessible and more transparent to our patient
populations. This innovative healthcare communications project helps accomplish
both.”

The undertaking involved
a collaboration of the hospital’s outpatient services department, IT services
and their web developer to create a dynamic web display that presents accurate
figures – really an average wait time value – every five minutes.

”Healthcare is a part of
everyone’s life. It is our responsibility as a provider of these services to
develop ways to better integrate compliance with healthcare prescribed by an
individual’s physician and that person’s other daily activities,” said Michael
Franklin, President and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital. “Awareness of
services and convenience are keys to compliance.”

Brewery
Lease Inked

BERLIN Brent Miller, managing director
and senior advisor of Sperry Van Ness-Miller Commercial Real Estate in
Salisbury, has announced Burley Oak Craft Brewery is opening a craft brewery in
the town of Berlin. Salisbury resident Bryan Brushmiller plans to open the
brewery this fall on

10016 Old Ocean City Road

Miller represented Brushmiller in leasing the 6,000-square-foot,
former restaurant supply building. Brushmiller chose the town of Berlin for his
company because of the close proximity to Ocean City and because the town is
business friendly. He is currently bringing the building back to life, focusing
on having as small an environmental footprint as possible.

Hospital Award Announced

SALISBURY – Peninsula
Regional Medical Center (PRMC) in Salisbury recently received a 2009 Excellence
in Concrete Award for site design improvements including an innovative pervious
concrete parking lot.

The award was presented
by the Maryland Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) to the owner
and project team during the Excellence in Concrete Awards Banquet on May 27 at
the Engineering Society of Baltimore. ACI recognizes outstanding design and
construction efforts by members within the region’s concrete industry each
year. Innovation, creativity, and excellence in the use of concrete and
concrete products are focus points.

Becker Morgan Group
provided master planning, civil engineering, landscape design, and surveying
services for PRMC’s major additions/renovations, including this new two-acre
environmentally friendly pervious concrete parking lot, the first on the
Eastern Shore. The lot’s innovative technology allows rainwater to flow
directly through the concrete to recharge groundwater and filter runoff before
discharging in the Wicomico River. The project team included Becker Morgan
Group (Civil Engineer), Barton Malow/SPN (Construction Manager), Z Con
(Concrete Contractor), and C&D Concrete (Concrete Supplier).

Accord
Ends Utility Strike

WILMINGTON,
Del. – Members of Local 1238 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
ratified a new three-year contract last month, bringing an end to a 12-day
strike. Under the agreement, unionized workers returned to the job on
Wednesday, June 30.
“We
appreciate the long hours, hard work and determination that negotiators on both
sides invested in this process and we’re pleased to have our Union workforce
return to the job,” said Gary Stockbridge, President, Delmarva Power Region.
“This is a fair and responsible contract that balances the interests of
customers, employees and shareholders.”
Local

1238 represents more than 760 employees who work in northern Delaware, northeastern Maryland and at the Company’s

customer care center in Carneys Point, N.J. These include field personnel that
maintain gas and electric service for customers and customer care personnel.