A Week In Business

Company Leaders Honored

OCEAN CITY — The July sales meeting for the Mark Fritschle Group – Condominium Realty was held at The Gateway Grand.

At the meeting there was a round table discussion concerning the continuing drop in the number of properties for sale in Ocean City. Everyone agreed that this was a sign of the market returning to a more normal balance of buyers and sellers.

Also announced were the company’s sales, settlement and listing leaders for June 2013.
Top Listing Agents By Unit were Wayne Phillips. Sheri Smith, Rusty Molnar and Kevin Decker.
Top Listing Agents By Volume were Wayne Phillips, Kevin Decker and Hazel Haney.
Top Selling Agents By Units were Wayne Phillips and John Barker.
Top Settled Agents By Units were Kevin Decker, John Barker and Wayne Phillips.
Top Settled Agents By Volume were Kevin Decker, Jon Barker and Grant Fritschle.

Zoo Board Welcomes New Officers, Members

SALISBURY — Four citizens have joined the Board of Directors of the Delmarva Zoological Society (DZS), the non-profit organization that raises money for capital improvement projects and exhibits at the Salisbury Zoo.

New board officers elected at the July board meeting are Chairman Roxane L. Gabrielson, a CPA and Manager at PKS & Company, PA; Vice Chairman Ashley A. Bosche, Esquire with Cockey, Brennan & Maloney, PC; Secretary Amy Taylor Sevigny, Esquire with Otway, Russo & Rommel, PC; and Treasurer Cheryl Young, Vice President of First Shore Federal Savings and Loan.

"This is an exciting time to be a part of the Delmarva Zoological Society," Gabrielson said. "We are proud of the work we’ve done to Renew the Zoo and there are many exciting projects on the horizon."

She added that the new board members offer a variety of expertise and enthusiasm for the mission of the Delmarva Zoological Society. They include Arlette Bright Esq., Dr. Margo Handy, Judy Herman and Tom Johnson.

Bright is a Parkside High School graduate and Salisbury native who went on to graduate from The American University and from Widener Law School in Wilmington, Del. She worked at various prestigious law firms before moving back to the area and opening her own practice, The Law Offices of Arlette Bright, P.C. She specializes in Corporate and Business Law, Estate Planning and Estate and Trust Administration. She resides in Ocean City along with her husband, Bruce, and their three children.

Dr. Margo Handy is the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction and Student Services for the Wicomico County Public School System, where she works with administrators, teachers, and parents throughout the school district to ensure quality instructional and behavioral programs and practices for every student. She graduated from Morgan State University with a Master of Education, and Wilmington University with a Phd in Educational Leadership and has earned numerous awards and accolades throughout her career. She has previously served as Director of Elementary Education, Supervisor of the English for Speakers of Other Languages Program and Education That is Multicultural, and Principal of Pemberton Elementary School and Prince Street School.

Judy Herman is originally from the Baltimore area and moved to Salisbury in 2007, where she quickly became active in her Homeowner’s Association and the Green Hill Country Club. Her 2011 diagnosis of breast cancer led her to Women Supporting Women, a local grass roots organization, where she joined their Board of Directors that same year. She has been volunteering with DZS for a number of years and is credited with the original idea for Just Zoo It! fund-raising campaign where students collect coins for the Zoo at Halloween. Just Zoo It! has raised more than $50,000 since being introduced in 2011. She and her husband, Ed, reside in Quantico.

Tom Johnson is the owner and CEO of Eastern Shore Forest Products, Inc., and serves as the Chairman of the board of The Salisbury School Educational Foundation. Hewas born and raised on a small farm outside of Salisbury where he currently lives with his wife, Anita and their daughter, Lindsey. He has spent many years visiting zoos and animal parks throughout the country, both public and private, and has a wealth of knowledge about the rearing and housing of various animal species. There are currently more than 30 different species of animals on his farm.

Hospital Earns High Rating

SALISBURY — Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) was one of just nine Maryland hospitals to earn Consumer Reports’ highest overall rating in the magazine’s first-ever evaluation on how well patients fared during and after surgery. The study involved 2,463 hospitals in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Using Medicare claims data from 2009-2011, Consumer Reports grouped the 86 most common surgical procedures in to more than two dozen different categories. The hospitals were rated on two major outcomes: death at the hospital after surgery and a longer, risk-adjusted stay in the hospital than expected. The ratings, released July 31 and to appear in the September issue of the magazine, were done on a five point scale ranging from better (the best possible rating) to worse.

PRMC received an overall “better” rating for the 27 different categories of scheduled surgeries as well as individual ratings in five key categories including coronary angioplasty, carotid artery surgery, back surgery, hip replacement and knee replacement. In all five of the key surgical procedures, PRMC experienced significantly fewer adverse effects and complications than predicted. Patients experienced 32% fewer complications during and after knee replacement surgery; 4% less with hip replacement, 19% fewer complications following back surgery, 47% less during and after coronary angioplasty and 49% fewer complications associated with carotid artery surgery.

“We’re honored that yet another independent, outside observer recognizes that the physicians and staff at PRMC dedicate themselves on a daily basis to focusing on quality, safety, attention to detail, innovation, and continuous improvement,” said Mark Edney, MD, Peninsula Regional’s Chief of Surgery. “It’s great when national publications like Consumer Reports validate that our multi-disciplinary team approach to patient care is saving lives and helping people experience much smoother recoveries.”

Research shows that mortality and length of stay are directly connected to complications. PRMC was one of just two Delmarva hospitals to achieve the top overall designation.

Attorney To Lead Seminar

BERLIN — Cynthia Malament, a local estate planning attorney, will discuss the essential documents needed to designate who will be in charge of your personal, medical and financial affairs if and when you become unable to manage such affairs on your own while you are alive and after you pass away.

Two important documents are the advance medical directive, which appoints a health care agent and can include a living will declaration, and the power of attorney. The third document is the Last Will and Testament, which includes directions for distribution of assets and designates the person or persons to be in charge of your estate after you pass away. The need for such planning will be discussed, as well as a clear explanation of what these documents contain.

The seminar will take place at Holloway Funeral Home in Salisbury on Aug. 20 from 7-9 p.m. Two representatives from Holloway Funeral Home will discuss Advanced Planning: how it is done, why you should do it, and service options.

Rabbi Warshaw of Temple Bat Yam will also discuss funeral options and answer questions about funerals and advanced planning.