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Bauer grows Cascade plant in Clay, applies its expertise
CLAY — Nearly a year after acquiring lacrosse helmet maker Cascade Sports in Clay, Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. has boosted employment at the local plant and is taking advantage of its capabilities for other products. Exeter, N.H.–based Bauer (TSX: BAU), which says it’s the world’s market-share leader in ice-hockey and roller-hockey equipment, has added five […]
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CLAY — Nearly a year after acquiring lacrosse helmet maker Cascade Sports in Clay, Bauer Performance Sports Ltd. has boosted employment at the local plant and is taking advantage of its capabilities for other products.
Exeter, N.H.–based Bauer (TSX: BAU), which says it’s the world’s market-share leader in ice-hockey and roller-hockey equipment, has added five employees at Cascade’s 72,000-square-foot facility at 4697 Crossroads Park Drive in Clay since acquiring the business for $64 million last June.
The plant now employs 65 and has room for more production and staff growth. “We expect the production in the Cascade facility to continue growing,” says Tory Mazzola, global communications manager at Bauer. He says the new hires included people in research and development, human resources, and sales.
“We’re very pleased with the first year. It’s absolutely met our expectations and in many respects surpassed them,” Amir Rosenthal, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Bauer Performance Sports, says of Cascade Sports and the acquisition.
“We’ve thrown a lot at them in a short period of time … the more we ask them to do the more they do,” he adds, regarding the Cascade team of employees.
Cascade says it’s the top-selling brand of lacrosse helmets in North America. Cascade designs and makes all its products at its Clay plant, which allows it to provide 48-hour turnaround time for custom helmet orders and more than 750,000 different color and size combinations. It’s those customization capabilities that helped attract Bauer to Cascade in the first place and has the parent company making plans to apply them to its other products.
“It’s a very unique platform they have that allows them to design an end product exactly to meet a consumer’s expectations. It’s been a big part of their success,” Rosenthal says. Over the course of the next couple of years, Bauer will look at expanding that customization to other products.
Rosenthal adds that the Cascade plant has begun manufacturing two new Bauer-branded hockey helmets, incorporating Cascade’s patented Seven Technology, which disperses the impact from a blow to the helmeted head.
Cascade Sports, which was founded in 1986, generated $22 million in revenue in 2011, the last full year before its acquisition by Bauer. Cascade’s 2012 revenue figure is not available because Bauer doesn’t break out sales by operating unit.
On April 10, Bauer reported that it generated $313 million in revenue companywide in the nine-month period ending Feb. 28, up 6 percent from $294 million in the year-earlier period.
Bauer was founded in Kitchener, Ontario in 1927.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com
Anaren forms committee to study purchase offer, reports earnings
DeWITT — It’s been a busy last week or so for Anaren, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANEN) as it decides on its future direction and provides a snapshot of its current financial condition. On April 18, the DeWitt–based high-tech manufacturer announced it had formed a committee of independent directors to review and evaluate the recent purchase offer
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DeWITT — It’s been a busy last week or so for Anaren, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANEN) as it decides on its future direction and provides a snapshot of its current financial condition.
On April 18, the DeWitt–based high-tech manufacturer announced it had formed a committee of independent directors to review and evaluate the recent purchase offer it received from one of its investors — Orlando, Fla.–based Vintage Capital Management, LLC. But when it came time to discuss the company’s earnings with investors and analysts, Anaren officials didn’t want to say more about the possible sale of the company.
“… please understand that we will not be discussing and will not take any questions regarding the unsolicited offer from Vintage Capital Management on April 15, 2013 to acquire Anaren,” Lawrence Sala, president and CEO, said during Anaren’s fiscal third-quarter earnings conference call on April 24.
On April 15, Vintage Capital, which already owns just over one-eighth of Anaren’s shares, sent the DeWitt–based high-tech manufacturer a letter offering to buy all its shares for $23 in cash per share. The unsolicited, non-binding offer values Anaren at more than $300 million.
Anaren said its independent committee will have “full authority to consider all strategic alternatives available” to the company, in addition to considering Vintage Capital’s offer.
Anaren has hired several firms to provide the committee with financial and legal advice as it determines what moves the company should make.
New York City–based Moelis & Company LLC and Los Angeles–headquartered Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc. will serve as the independent committee’s financial advisors in the process. Minneapolis–based Dorsey & Whitney, LLP and Syracuse–based Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC will be the committee’s legal advisors, according to Anaren.
Vintage Capital owns about 13 percent of Anaren’s common stock, according to a letter submitted with a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
The Vintage Capital offer was filed a week after another investor, Discovery Group I, LLC of Chicago, Ill., suggested that Anaren pursue “multiple parties interested in acquiring the company,” according to a letter included in an April 8 SEC filing.
In its letter, Discovery also said it believes “the Anaren directors have failed to fulfill their duty to shareholders by translating that high degree of strategic interest into an improvement in shareholder value through the vigorous pursuit of a sale of the company at a substantial premium.”
Discovery manages a fund that owns about six percent of Anaren’s shares, according to the filing.
Anaren employs about 800 people. The company develops and manufactures components and subsystems for markets including satellite communications, defense, and wireless communications.
Fiscal 3rd quarter earnings
Anaren released its fiscal third-quarter financial results following the market close on April 23.
The company earned $5.3 million, or 41 cents per share, during the quarter ending March 31. That was up 167 percent from the $2 million, or 14 cents a share, it earned in the year-ago period.
A one-time favorable adjustment of about $1.6 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, boosted the firm’s net income during the latest quarter. The adjustment followed the reinstatement of the federal Research & Experimentation Tax Credit in January, which was retroactive to January 2012, the company said in its earnings news release.
Anaren reported net sales of $39 million in the fiscal third quarter, up 12.3 percent from $34.7 million in net sales for the year-earlier quarter.
“The growth in net sales and improved profitability for the quarter was driven by both the Space & Defense and Wireless Groups. The Space & Defense Group business is benefiting from improved-operational execution and a growing percentage of Space related business,” Sala said in the news release.
Anaren generated revenue of $12 million in its Wireless Group during the latest quarter, up nearly 17 percent from the third quarter of fiscal 2012. However, the sales figure was sequentially down nearly seven percent compared to the company’s fiscal second quarter ending Dec. 31, due primarily to price reductions that went into effect Jan. 1.
Demand from wireless infrastructure customers has remained stable in recent quarters and current forecasts indicate comparable demand for the fourth quarter, the company said.
Anaren generated revenue of $27 million in its Space & Defense group in the latest quarter, up 10 percent from the third quarter of fiscal 2012. The firm cited continued improved operational execution and a more favorable product mix during the current quarter for the group’s higher profitability compared to the year-earlier period.
Numerous space, radar and electronic warfare applications drove new orders for the fiscal third quarter totaling more than $18 million. Orders for the quarter were lower than sales levels largely due to timing, the firm said. The Space & Defense Group order backlog at March 31 was about $95.9 million.
Both Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMN) and Raytheon Co. (NYSE: RTN) generated more than 10 percent of the Space & Defense group’s net sales for the latest quarter, Anaren said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Levene Gouldin & Thompson grows strategically
VESTAL — The natural-gas and oil drilling boom in northern Pennsylvania has paid big dividends for one of the Binghamton area’s major law firms. “Our oil-and-gas practice is helping to [spark] the firm’s growth,” says Jeffrey A. Loew, managing partner of Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP, headquartered at 450 Plaza Drive in Vestal. “It is
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VESTAL — The natural-gas and oil drilling boom in northern Pennsylvania has paid big dividends for one of the Binghamton area’s major law firms.
“Our oil-and-gas practice is helping to [spark] the firm’s growth,” says Jeffrey A. Loew, managing partner of Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP, headquartered at 450 Plaza Drive in Vestal. “It is not only a booming industry, but also the growth of oil and gas has generated more work in some of our other practice areas, such as elder law, trust and estates, and personal injury.
“We’ve had an oil-and-gas practice for five years, which is chaired by Scott Kurkoski … Oil and gas development in northeastern Pennsylvania is one of the main factors that led us into [this region] … On Jan. 1, Jim Carroll (James R. Carroll, Jr.) joined the firm. He is ‘of counsel’ … Jim is our resident attorney in the new Athens office … We also have partners and associates in Athens on a regular basis,” adds Loew.
Levene Gouldin & Thompson was formed in 1927 in downtown Binghamton. “The law practice currently employs 150, including 60 attorneys of whom 35 are partners and 115 are associates and support people. All but two are in the Central New York region,” says Loew. “We have seven locations — six in New York and one in Pennsylvania: Vestal, Binghamton, Deposit, Ithaca, Spencer, Whitney Point, and Athens.” When asked for the firm’s 2012 revenues, Loew said only that “… 2012 was a strong year …”
The expansion into Pennsylvania follows on the heels of opening another office. On July 1, 2012, Levene Gouldin & Thompson acquired the practice of George D. Patte, Jr. with offices at 121 Buffalo St. in Ithaca and 140 N. Main St. in Spencer. “One of the reasons we decided to set up in the Tompkins County area is that we [already]… have clients, both corporate and personal, that we serve in the area,” David Gouldin, partner, said in a 2012 Business Journal interview. The Spencer office services Tioga State Bank, one of the larger clients in that area.
Levene Gouldin & Thompson’s growth was propelled back in 2000 in what was billed as the largest law-firm merger in Broome Country history. At the time, Chernin & Gold, also founded in 1927, had 10 partners, two associates, a paralegal, and several office staff who merged with Levene Gouldin & Thompson to create a law firm with more than 75 attorneys and paralegals. Richard Matties was the managing partner of Chernin & Gold and is currently of counsel to Levene Gouldin & Thompson. The merger yielded a practice with multiple offices and branches with attorneys licensed to practice in many states. “C&G’s business was complementary to ours. It was a positive strategic transaction for both firms,” says Loew.
“Levene Gouldin & Thompson is currently organized into multiple practice areas,” notes the managing partner, “which include business, trusts and estates, elder law, matrimonial and family, plaintiffs, insurance and litigation, oil and gas, health law, and real estate. Each area has practice chairs who serve as a quasi executive committee. [In addition to myself], the management team includes Albert Kukol, the assistant managing partner; Christopher Pilotti, director of administration; Robert Danilison, chief information officer; Kelly Slocum, director of finance; and Lisa Bodnar, the assistant director of administration.
“Recruiting attorneys to the firm is a challenge,” says Loew. “Young attorneys graduating with $100,000 in debt are often looking for a [big-city] law firm that pays high salaries. Our best opportunity is to find those with a connection to the region … That’s why we interview at Albany, Buffalo, Cornell, and Syracuse … Or they may be considering raising a family … What we offer is the opportunity to become a partner in five, six, or seven years … We also are pioneers in offering flexible hours and in accommodating families … We’re not a sweat shop like New York City [firms] … We don’t require minimum billing hours.”
While recruiting attorneys can be problematic, attracting paralegals is less so. “We employ about 30 paralegals at the firm, mostly in the real-estate and trusts-and-estates practices,” says Loew. “Broome Community College offers a certification program, and the growth of the oil-and-gas industry has attracted paralegal candidates to our area.”
Loew, now approaching his 49th birthday, grew up in Vestal and graduated from Hartwick College in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in philosophy/history. He graduated from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 1989 and practiced at a law firm in Atlanta, before joining the Vestal practice at Levene Gouldin & Thompson in 1993. Loew became the managing partner on July 1, 2011. He specializes in business and corporate, health, and real-estate law.
When asked about his competitors, Loew divides them into positive and negative categories. “We compete against local firms [such as] Hinman, Howard & Kattell and Coughlin & Gerhart … We have a cordial, healthy competition [with them]. We are all part of the [local] community … The law firms from outside the region [chasing] personal injury cases and DWI or the Philadelphia firms [cashing in] on the oil-and-gas boom … have a negative impact [on our profession].”
When asked whether Levene Gouldin & Thompson was targeting any additional offices at this time, Loew responds “No. We intend to grow our offices in Ithaca and Athens.” His response may be accurate in the short term, but the firm is always focused on growing strategically. What started more than eight decades ago as a small Binghamton law office has now grown into one of the largest and most respected law practices in the region by expanding both geographically and by adding practice areas. The recognition is confirmed by Levene Gouldin & Thompson’s inclusion in the 2012 rankings of top law firms by LexisNexis, Martindale-Hubbell, Fortune magazine, and ALM Media Properties.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@tgbbj.com
Siena: New Yorkers view on real estate strengthens during Q1
New Yorkers seem to sense the return of a “thriving” market in which both the buyers and sellers profit from strong real-estate values. That’s the analysis from Don Levy, director of the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI), which released its quarterly consumer real-estate sentiment scores for New York state on April 17. The survey measured
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New Yorkers seem to sense the return of a “thriving” market in which both the buyers and sellers profit from strong real-estate values.
That’s the analysis from Don Levy, director of the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI), which released its quarterly consumer real-estate sentiment scores for New York state on April 17.
The survey measured real-estate sentiment in the first quarter on buying and selling now and in the future in the Upstate region, New York City, and its suburbs.
A sentiment score of zero in any category reflects equal levels of pessimism and optimism among survey respondents. Scores above zero reflect optimism and scores below zero reflect pessimism, according to SRI.
The overall-current sentiment is 7.8 in the Upstate region, up 0.4 points from the fourth quarter. The overall-future sentiment is 18.9 in the Upstate region, which is down four points from the final quarter of 2012.
New York’s overall-current sentiment is 6.4, up 1.3 points from the fourth quarter, and the overall-future sentiment is 26.7, down 1.2 points from the fourth quarter.
For the second consecutive quarter, the assessment of housing values in every region of the state is positive and predicted to increase by New Yorkers, Levy said in a news release.
“Even more importantly, sellers, who for so long were seen as hostages of the financial meltdown now, while not yet universally in the catbird seat, are seen as in a much stronger position and headed upwards. Buyers are still able to get value, but they are no longer able to demand concessions from every seller. All numbers, strong overall-market grade, strengthening sellers and modulating buyers, point towards robust real-estate health,” Levy said.
The overall current real-estate sentiment score among New Yorkers in the first quarter is 6.4, above the point where equal percentages of citizens feel optimistic and pessimistic about the housing market.
The score is up 1.3 points from last quarter, according to the SRI survey. Looking forward, the overall-future score is 26.7. The figure is down from 27.9 last quarter, indicating that New Yorkers expect the overall real-estate market and the value of property to increase over the next year.
Consumers see now as an improved time to sell with a score below breakeven at -4.8 (up 10.0 from last quarter), and as a very good time to buy with a high positive score of 23.1.
What the sentiment scores mean
Current scores measure sentiment towards the present relative to the recent past while future projects change in sentiment from the current to one year from now.
An increase from a current score to a future score denotes a positive change in sentiment relative to the present.
In every case when considering any of the six sentiment scores, a net positive number indicates that the collective sentiment is such that people sense improvement while a negative net score predicts or measures a collective recognition of worsening.
Each real-estate sentiment score is derived through statistical diffusion weighted to consider response intensity.
A sentiment score of zero (0) in any category reflects a breakeven point at which equal levels of optimism and pessimism among the population have been measured relative to the overall market, or buying or selling real estate.
Scores can range from an absolute low of -100 to a high of 100 but scores below -50 or above +50 are both rare and extreme.
If 100 percent of people describe the overall market or either buying or selling as greatly improved the sentiment score would equal 100. Conversely, universal extreme pessimism would score -100. Scores measure and reflect the collective sentiment of residents of New York.
The SRI survey of Consumer Real Estate Sentiment was conducted throughout January, February, and March 2013 by random telephone calls to 2,409 New York State residents age 18 or older. As the sentiment scores are developed through a series of calculations, “margin of error” does not apply.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Area firms pursue clean-energy technologies with CAP grants
SYRACUSE — A handful of area businesses developing clean-energy technologies recently received a helping hand to bring their products to market. CenterState CEO, National Grid, and State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) on April 19 awarded five Central New York companies grant funding to assist in commercializing clean-energy technologies. The awards are part of the Syracuse
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SYRACUSE — A handful of area businesses developing clean-energy technologies recently received a helping hand to bring their products to market.
CenterState CEO, National Grid, and State Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D–Syracuse) on April 19 awarded five Central New York companies grant funding to assist in commercializing clean-energy technologies.
The awards are part of the Syracuse Center of Excellence’s (SyracuseCoE) Commercialization Assistance Program (CAP).
The Syracuse CoE hosted the announcement of the grant awards that totaled $250,000.
The CAP awards included $50,000 for Air Innovations of Cicero for its work on a “green” metal hydride for air conditioning.
“This is Air Innovations’ third CAP award,” said Edward Bogucz, executive director of the SyracuseCoE, during the awards ceremony.
Air Innovations’ metal-hydride product, in partnership with Ringwood, N.J.–based Ergenics Corp., will convert waste-heat into a next-generation air-conditioning system.
As it’s described in the project summary, “it will use no compressor or ozone-depleting refrigerant gases and will require less electricity to operate than commercially available units on the market today, thus improving reliability, reducing life-cycle costs, and protecting the environment.”
Cortland Research, LLC of Homer will use $50,000 to commercialize the POUNCE (point of use network control of electrical) system, an energy-conservation system the firm created that provides data and autonomous control for reducing energy costs, according to the project summary.
Engineering firm O’Brien & Gere of Syracuse receives a $50,000 grant to accelerate development of a water-quality monitor to detect taste and odor.
“O’Brien & Gere received a CAP award in the first round, and now here in the seventh round … collaborating with SUNY ESF [State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry] and the development of technology for monitoring water quality,” said Bogucz.
WavElectric of Ithaca and Syracuse will also use a $50,000 award to develop and test the first WE50 wave-energy converter prototype for the analysis of fluid and structure interaction.
WavElectric president and CEO Allessandro A.E. Anzani described the company’s mission while offering his remarks during the event.
“That is providing a cheap, portable, and durable generator that harvests power from the huge, renewable, and untouched source that is our oceans,” Anzani said.
The company is currently operating at The Tech Garden at 235 Harrison St. in downtown Syracuse.
Healthway Home Products of Pulaski will use an award of nearly $50,000 to assist in bringing to market a disinfecting-filtration system technology for schools, health care, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified commercial buildings.
Collectively, the winning firms are expected to use the grants to retain about 100 jobs in Central New York, according to SyracuseCoE.
Through seven rounds, the CAP program has awarded more than $1.75 million and supported the growth of 24 upstate New York companies. The funding is made possible by a state grant administered through SyracuseCoE and CenterState CEO.
National Grid provided $100,000 in support of the CAP program.
The funding is part of the utility’s Clean Tech Incubation Program, which supports initiatives that facilitate formation of new ventures or growth of high-potential small ventures and also to make buildings more marketable for the creation of new jobs in the clean-tech industry.
Established in 2001, CAP grants are awarded for projects that commercialize new products and services in the fields of indoor-environmental quality, water resources, and clean and renewable energy, which are the three focus areas of the SyracuseCoE.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse co-owner recognized
DeWITT — When Ellen Griffin, co-owner of the Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse franchise, received her entrepreneurship award at the recent WISE Symposium, she told the attendees the local franchise had really evolved over the past 13 years. “I decided that we’re not in the running-specialty business, we’re in the changing-lives business,” Griffin says, reiterating her
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DeWITT — When Ellen Griffin, co-owner of the Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse franchise, received her entrepreneurship award at the recent WISE Symposium, she told the attendees the local franchise had really evolved over the past 13 years.
“I decided that we’re not in the running-specialty business, we’re in the changing-lives business,” Griffin says, reiterating her remarks from the symposium in an interview with The Central New York Business Journal.
A committee of the WISE Advisory Board chose Griffin as one of two winners of the Ann Michel Distinguished Entrepreneur Award.
Organizers recognized Griffin during the WISE (Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship) Symposium held April 16 at Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter.
The committee also honored Lois Ross, the owner of New Dimensions and Dazzle in Manlius.
The award is named for the late Ann Michel, who was the president of KS&R of Syracuse (Knowledge Systems & Research) and the inaugural winner of the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award for High Growth Venture in 2004.
Griffin says she was “honored” to receive the award, especially after attending the WISE Symposium and meeting many of the female business owners and hearing their stories.
“To be selected from that distinguished group was really an honor for me,” Griffin says.
Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse opened in May 2000 as a “running-specialty store,” Griffin says, meaning it provided running shoes, running clothing, and accessories.
“We specialize in our fitting process in measuring people’s feet, looking at their gait [a manner of walking or running on foot], talking to them about their activities that they’re doing, the injuries that they’ve had in the past, Griffin says.
She calls it an “extensive conversation” with the customer while a Fleet Feet employee fits the person for a pair of shoes, she adds.
As time progressed, Fleet Feet employees were servicing customers (some older, some injured) for whom doctors had recommended a shoe fitting, according to Griffin.
“So, then I felt like we should be a shoe store or a comfortable-shoe store, not a running-specialty store,” Griffin says.
Fleet Feet, Syracuse has also held “fun runs,” or casual runs, in which anyone could take part. They eventually became more formalized running and training classes, Griffin says. People could sign up for eight-week, 10-week, or 12-week training sessions for triathlons or marathons.
“And that has been, by far, one of our more popular programs,” Griffin says, noting it generates about 10 percent of the store’s annual revenue.
Griffin declined to disclose revenue totals for Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse, but indicated the store has annually generated double-digit percentage growth in revenue since opening 13 years ago.
About the franchise
Founded and opened in May 2000, the local Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse franchise focuses on the fitting of running, walking, and cross-training shoes as well as accessories and apparel for the active lifestyle.
Fleet Feet, Inc. is a national 92-store chain that Sally Edwards and Elizabeth Jansen opened in Sacramento, Calif. in 1976. The company is now headquartered in Carrboro, N.C., according to the website of Entrepreneur magazine.
The Syracuse franchise store has operated at 5800 Bridge Street in DeWitt since January 2010, having moved there from its original 3,000-square-foot location at 3453 Erie Boulevard East in DeWitt — a space the store had just “out grown.”
“It was cramped space for customers. It was cramped space for staff … We didn’t have enough places to store product,” Griffin says.
Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse now operates in a 10,000 square-foot building that includes a 1,500-square-foot community room for in-store clinics and presentations and an inlaid track for shoe testing.
In addition to more retail space, Fleet Feet now has office space, more warehouse space, and “better visibility” for potential customers on Bridge Street, not far from the intersection with Erie Boulevard, Griffin says.
Fleet Feet, Syracuse employs 40 people, including a mix of full- and part-time employees. The store recently hired five additional part-time employees, Griffin says.
About 98 percent of Fleet Feet’s customers are consumers, but the store also provides shoes and uniforms for track-and-field teams at Le Moyne College, Colgate University, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome (SUNYIT), and several area high schools.
Mountain Goat, recognition
Fleet Feet Sports is also sponsor of the Mountain Goat Run, an annual 10-mile road race in Syracuse. Fleet Feet also holds training runs that gradually increase in distance in the six weeks leading up to the Mountain Goat.
Griffin’s husband and Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse franchise co-owner, Edward Griffin, is president of the Mountain Goat Run Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the Mountain Goat Run.
In addition to the store’s community involvement, the local Fleet Feet also has the respect of its industry peers.
Formula4Media and Competitor magazine in December named Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse the nation’s top running store in 2012, topping the magazine’s list of the “50 Best Running Stores in America.”
Fleet Feet Sports, Syracuse has annually been included on the list, which was initially released in 2006, Ellen Griffin says.
The criteria include a customer nomination, and a recommendation from running-shoe vendors. The criteria also include community involvement and the feedback from a secret shopper that judges the store based on factors such as the store greeting and product placement.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Children’s Home grows, plans for the future
BINGHAMTON — The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference (Children’s Home) says it provides safe and stable environments for children and their families while internally working to stay important to the community. The Children’s Home is currently in the midst of a strategic-planning effort to be proactive and adapt to the ever-changing demands of the service
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BINGHAMTON — The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference (Children’s Home) says it provides safe and stable environments for children and their families while internally working to stay important to the community.
The Children’s Home is currently in the midst of a strategic-planning effort to be proactive and adapt to the ever-changing demands of the service environment it faces. The focus of the 2012-2014 strategic and management plan is to implement three evidence-based practices and develop a family engagement strategy. When it’s complete, the organization will be able to better meet customer and client needs and “continue to be relevant,” says Robert (Chip) Houser, president and CEO of the Children’s Home.
No stranger to strategic planning, in 2007, the Children’s Home developed its first strategic plan with the main goal to achieve change in the organizational culture from one of custodial care of children to trauma-sensitive treatment. While similar in structure to the first plan, “the current strategic plan builds upon the lessons learned from the previous as it also responds to the challenges of doing business in a more challenging economic environment,” Carol Aronowitz, director of planning and performance improvement at the Children’s Home, said in an email.
Originally a three-year plan with 52 items to address, the first plan had to be extended two years to include everything. With the current strategic plan, the Children’s Home consolidated issues to a manageable number. Houser says it’s too early to tell if the current plan will need to be extended, but so far things are on track.
Is there another strategic plan in the Children’s Home’s future? “No end to strategic plans,” says Houser.
Among the changes the nonprofit had to adapt to was becoming the primary foster care service for Broome County Department of Social Services in 2010. But the organization also provides services and takes referrals from all counties in the state. Houser says there is little competition among the other 140 some agencies in the state that also provide similar services. Elmcrest Children’s Center in Syracuse and Glove House in Elmira are a couple of similar organizations that provide foster-care services.
The county makes the decision on who goes to foster care, and then the Children’s Home finds the home for that child. The government doesn’t want children in extended care for too long, so the Children’s Home says it works to get the children back in the community and an environment that is better for them. At this time, the Children’s Home has 120 children placed in foster homes, but has a total of 138 foster homes.
On average, a child may stay in foster care for nine to 18 months, though it varies from child to child. Some may just be in a home for a day or two; others may stay in foster care until adulthood. A child can remain in the system until 21 years old.
About 50 children live and attend school on the main Hillcrest campus of the Children’s Home, and another 50 attend school on campus but don’t live there. The nonprofit has been at this location on Chenango Street in Binghamton since 1918 when it was farmhouse used as an orphanage. The farmhouse is now the welcome center on campus.
Over the years, not only did the Children’s Home grow from a small orphanage into a comprehensive provider of children and family services, it also expanded its real estate. It now sits on 19 acres with 89,000 square feet of space in 14 buildings. The nonprofit owns all of its property except for an office it rents in downtown Binghamton and an apartment building in Binghamton it uses for its Supervised Independent Living Program, where adolescents receive the support and assistance they need to transition to total independence.
In 2007, the two buildings sitting on the front of the property were built and currently function as the girl’s dorms. Then in 2008, the Children’s Home purchased the land and vacant Hillcrest Elementary School next to it, adding about 25,000 square foot to its campus. Now called the Galloway Building, the former school houses the Therapeutic After School Program, Day Treatment program and staff training center.
The Children’s Home helps 450 children every day with 18 programs. Of its nearly $18 million in annual expenses, it spends 91 percent on program services. For the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the Children’s Home generated more than $20 million in revenue, up from $17.4 million in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Currently about three quarters of the way through the 2012-2013 fiscal year, Houser anticipates its annual revenue will be close to the previous year, but “it’s almost too soon to tell.”
The revenue tends to follow the occupancy of children in homes. For example, in the summer, occupancy is down, but picks up when the school year gears up, and then stabilizes in November. “We’ve learned not to panic too soon,” says Houser.
Government funding contributes more than 80 percent of the nonprofit’s funding, according to its 2011-2012 annual report. Houser anticipates that with more government budget cuts likely in the future, the organization may have to raise more funds on its own.
Houser came to the Children’s Home in 2004 after already having been retired for a year and a half as the Broome Country Department of Social Services Commissioner. His wife heard about the opening for President and CEO of the Children’s Home while at church, then came home and told him to apply for it. So he did. “She was right, as usual,” says Houser.
As for any plans of retiring again any time soon, Houser is staying put. “I still got a little game left in me,” he says. “I like what we do.”
Contact Collins at ncollins@cnybj.com
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Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference (Children’s Home)
1182 Chenango St.
Binghamton, NY 13901
(607) 772-6904 / 723-2617
www.chowc.org
Founded: 1912
Full-time Employees: 240
Volunteers: 40
Service Area: Broome County primarily, but receives referrals from all NYS counties
Mission: To enhance, the safety, stability, and well-being of children, families, and their communities.
Programs and Services: “Our programs provide a safe and therapeutic environment which includes clinical, child care, medical educational, spiritual and recreational components for at-risk and vulnerable children with mental health issues and emotional problems and their families throughout Broome County and New York State.” The Children’s Home has more than 15 programs, including residential and community-based programs.
Key Staff:
President/CEO: Robert K. (Chip) Houser
President/CEO Compensation: $138,644
Chief Financial Officer: Ann MacLaren
Chief Program Officer: Frederick Mohrien
Vice President of Education: Maria Cali
Director of Planning & Performance Improvement: Carol Aronowitz
Chief Facilities Manager: Daniel Thomas
Director of Community & Donor Relations: Margaret Tatich
Recent Organizational Highlights: The year 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of the Children’s Home. The face of child care has changed drastically in the last century and the Children’s Home has changed and adapted right along with it, continuing to support its mission of providing a safe place for children. In 2010, the Children’s Home became the primary foster-care service agency for the Broome County Department of Social Services. This has created an increased need for foster parents in its community.
Planning/Fundraising Outlook for 2012: “We seek to expand the depth and breadth of our Continuum of Care in order to be strong and flexible enough to carry our tradition of excellence into the future. The Children’s Home fundraising outlook plans strategies to achieve annual income and benchmark with national trends. Annual special events raise funds, friends and awareness. These include the Garden of Hope, the Maggie Memorial Golf Tournament, the Ice Cream Social and one-time events run by community members. Public presentations by staff to congregations, businesses and service organizations for education and advocacy are coordinated through the Community and Donor Relations Department.
Board of Directors (Officers)
President: Nancy Olmstead Berger Town of Vestal
Vice President: Jacqueline Bain, Esq. Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP
Treasurer: Janet L. Williams Cornell University
Secretary: Robert J. Ford, Jr. Retired (Social Work)
Board Members
Walter Anderson Access Ability Design Group
Jacqueline A. Bain Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP
Nancy Olmstead Berger Town of Vestal
Sharon A. Bryant Binghamton University
David J. Chamber Delta Engineers, Architects & Land Surveyors
Sally J. Colletti Advocates for Austin
Katherine Fauty Consultant (self-employed)
Robert J. Ford Jr. Retired
Sheryl Guiles Real-estate broker
Christopher Hutchings The Partners
Lindsay J. Meehan Mirabito Holdings
Andrea J. Ogunwumi Economic Opportunity Program, Inc.
James W. Peak, Jr. Scleroderma Foundation, Tri-State Chapter
Ann Peterson NY Annual Conference, United Methodist Church
Russell Sanaeko Wells Fargo
Joseph Silvanic United Health Services
Terrence L. Smith Retired
Janet L. Williams Cornell University
Kathleen Wood Harpursville Central School
Financial Data: Fiscal year ending June, 30 2012
Revenue |
|
Contributions & Grants |
3,147,896 |
Program Services |
16,860,566 |
Investment Income |
90,006 |
Total Revenue |
$20,098,468 |
|
|
Expenses |
|
Salaries & Employee Benefits |
11,574,614 |
Other |
6,026,481 |
Total Expenses |
$17,601,095 |
|
|
Surplus for the year |
$2,497,373 |
RIT providing Lean Six Sigma training for Crouse & Welch Allyn workers, EMS providers
SYRACUSE — The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is again providing Lean Six Sigma training to a group of employees from Crouse Hospital, engineers from Welch Allyn, and regional emergency-medical service (EMS) providers. The training at Crouse started the week of April 15. The training and performance-improvement collaboration, which Crouse launched in 2012 with RIT
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SYRACUSE — The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is again providing Lean Six Sigma training to a group of employees from Crouse Hospital, engineers from Welch Allyn, and regional emergency-medical service (EMS) providers.
The training at Crouse started the week of April 15.
The training and performance-improvement collaboration, which Crouse launched in 2012 with RIT and Rural/Metro, continues through late June. When the 25 participants finish the course and their respective performance-improvement projects, RIT will award those involved Lean Six Sigma “Green Belt” certification.
Crouse already uses Lean Six Sigma in its quality-improvement efforts, says Derrick Suehs, chief-quality officer at Crouse Hospital. It’s designed to improve work processes and reduce complications from a clinical and operational perspective.
Lean is a performance-improvement methodology which had its start in the manufacturing sector, with a focus on decreasing waste within a given process, according to Crouse. Six Sigma is process to improve performance by decreasing variation within a system.
Over the years, according to Crouse, experts have recognized the synergy of the once-considered separate improvement methods.
When the process is put in place, it creates improvements that drive customer satisfaction and, in the case of health care, is intended to improve medical care and outcomes.
Professors from RIT’s Center for Quality and Applied Statistics and its Center for Excellence in Lean Enterprise are providing the training. A New York State Business Development Grant, managed through Onondaga Community College, is paying for the training.
The Crouse program is the first and only Lean Six Sigma training program in the U.S. that includes a hospital, EMS providers, and a leading manufacturer, Crouse contends.
About the training
The training involves five project teams, each comprised of five members, including employees at both Welch Allyn and Crouse Hospital, as well as EMS providers.
Crouse has a dozen participants involved, including workers in the hospital’s emergency services, neurological services, obstetrical services, patient and guest relations, and medical/surgical nursing, with a mix of directors, managers, and front-line staff, says Dr. Michael Jorolemon, senior quality officer for emergency services at Crouse.
The six participants from Welch Allyn include employees from its research, new product development, information systems, and business operations.
The seven EMS members have relationships with several different agencies or departments, representing Onondaga, Cayuga, and Cortland counties, Jorolemon added. The agencies include North Onondaga Volunteer Ambulance (NOVA), North Area Volunteer Ambulance Corp. (NAVAC), and fire departments serving communities such as Jordan, Weedsport, and Cortland.
The teams are learning and applying the principles of Lean Six Sigma, while working on projects to improve the quality of care around stroke patients, those patients needing spinal immobilization, obstetrical patients, and the throughput of patients in the health-care system, Crouse said.
Each team is working on a separate problem, says Jorolemon.
One team is working on the patient experience. “How do you maximize that and make that the best possible experience for them and their family,” Jorolemon says.
A second group is working on the mobilization of patients, including the state guidelines that emergency-medical workers must follow in transporting a patient to a hospital.
“When we transfer that patient to the hospital, [are] there opportunities there to manage that mobilized patient quicker, more effectively because they can develop complications if they’re mobilized too long,” he says.
Another team is examining medical throughput, a term that applies analytic instruments specifying the number of tests that can be performed in a given time.
Other teams are focused on the care of obstetric (pregnant) patients and stroke patients, and examining methods to figure out if medical personnel can begin caring for those patients quicker and transmit the information to the hospital more effectively and efficiently.
“We’re on the clock because certain therapies have to be started from the time they hit the hospital … [and] need to be done within an hour,” Jorolemon says.
The effort is meant to drive better outcomes for the patient, he adds.
The purpose of the training is to do “the right thing at the earliest opportunity,” says Suehs.
“And as a result of that, you’re able to reduce your time in the [emergency department], so that reduces cost. You’re able to prepare the team so they know what to do and therefore, there’s an efficiency improvement that comes into play there,” Suehs says.
Handling situations the proper way from the beginning of care reduces complications and creates better care plans, he adds.
When asked if the training will eventually lead to potential cost savings for the patient or Crouse Hospital, Suehs indicated that it’s hard to know what money might be saved because the processes aren’t completed, Suehs says.
One Welch Allyn official sees the training as beneficial.
“Through this partnership, our leaders and new product-development teams will obtain a better understanding of our customer’s issues that impact performance, efficiency and effectiveness,” Tony Wagner, Welch Allyn senior director for new product development, said in the Crouse news release.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
New dental practice opens in downtown Syracuse
SYRACUSE — Two Syracuse dentists, Tyler W. Mead and Christopher J. Zimmerman have teamed up to form a new dental practice, dubbed Downtown Dental Syracuse, P.C. The office of Downtown Dental Syracuse is in the University Building at 120 E. Washington St., in the same location of a dental practice formerly known as Zimmerman’s Downtown
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SYRACUSE — Two Syracuse dentists, Tyler W. Mead and Christopher J. Zimmerman have teamed up to form a new dental practice, dubbed Downtown Dental Syracuse, P.C.
The office of Downtown Dental Syracuse is in the University Building at 120 E. Washington St., in the same location of a dental practice formerly known as Zimmerman’s Downtown Dental, according to a news release.
Downtown Dental Syracuse services include white fillings, crowns and bridges, veneers, dentures, partials, root canals, pediatric dentistry, tooth whitening, invisalign, cleanings, periodontal therapy, placement of dental implants and tooth extraction.
“We have the same treatment philosophy, so the partnership works well. It allows for a consistency in the office that translates into an excellent quality of care,” Mead said in the release.
Mead is a graduate of Le Moyne College and the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. At Buffalo, Mead minored in oral diagnostic sciences and was awarded the American Academy of Orofacial Pain Award. In 2008, he completed a one-year general practice residency at York Hospital in York, Pa. Mead furthered his education and skill in all aspects of general dentistry, while gaining additional training in the placement and restoration of dental implants.
Zimmerman has been in practice since 1993, according to the release. He incorporated CAD/CAM technology, which allows patients to receive highly esthetic dental restoration, to his practice. In addition to his private practice, Zimmerman gained invaluable experience treating geriatric and traumatic brain injury patients while serving at the Centers at St. Camillus as a dental consultant for 10 years, the release said.
Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com
Structural requirements of managed-care reform
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” — Robert Byrne New York State’s Medicaid Managed Care Initiative continues to create challenges and confusion for Medicaid service providers. As of Jan. 1, 2014 with the implementation of the national health-care reform law, the number of New Yorkers eligible for Medicaid will increase from 5
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“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” — Robert Byrne
New York State’s Medicaid Managed Care Initiative continues to create challenges and confusion for Medicaid service providers. As of Jan. 1, 2014 with the implementation of the national health-care reform law, the number of New Yorkers eligible for Medicaid will increase from 5 million to 6 million residents. This is about 25 percent of the state’s population. The increase in eligibility is a direct result of the law boosting eligibility for Medicaid to those with incomes at 133 percent of the federal poverty level.
We all know that Medicaid is big business. This is particularly true in New York state with thousands of Medicaid service providers addressing the health and human-service needs of Medicaid-eligible recipients. The recently adopted state budget for the current fiscal year, ending March 31, 2014, continued to emphasize the state’s unwavering commitment to controlling Medicaid spending through the formation of managed-care organizations and implementation of managed-care, cost-containment principles.
The Medicaid reform initiative has three primary objectives, as described in the state’s Medicaid waiver application to the federal government:
§ Better health outcomes for individuals
§ Better quality of care
§ Reducing costs through increased efficiencies
The pace of change is extraordinary. The structural requirements of managed-care reform have led to a significant increase in the formation of provider networks, which are generally supported by a contract between the service provider and a managed care organization/fiscal intermediary.
Essentially, the 50-year history of service providers contracting with and submitting claims directly to the New York Medicaid system is being dismantled. The formation of managed-care organizations (MCOs) and the introduction of competition among regional provider networks (RPNs) represents a dramatic sea change in provider procedures, knowledge, and strategies for successful Medicaid program participation.
These Medicaid reform initiatives have resulted in an “alphabet soup” of new acronyms being added to or used more frequently in the evolving requirements of negotiating and signing managed-care contracts.
The following acronyms are just a few examples of the new lexicon under Medicaid managed care:
MLTCO : Managed long-term care organization
HH : Health homes
BHO: Behavioral health organization
DDISCO: Development disability individual service care organization
MCO: Managed-care organization
MSO: Management (shared) service organization
FI : Fiscal intermediary
PACE: Program for all inclusive care for the elderly
PCMH : Patient-centered medical home
CCM : Coordinated case management
ACO : Accountable-care organization
ACN : Accountable-care network
PMPM: Per-member, per-month payment to provider
FFS : Fee for service
P4P : Pay for performance
As a result of the foregoing, each and every Medicaid service provider should have or hire a designated, experienced individual who is assigned the responsibility of negotiating the terms and conditions of managed-care contracts. The successful negotiation of these contracts, together with the state’s objective of eliminating fee-for-service reimbursement to providers results in a mandate for providers to develop and implement expert contract-negotiation skills.
While the focus of this column is on Medicaid services, the following top 10 list can also be applied to Medicare and commercial-insurance contracts.
Contract-negotiation skills are an art not a science. The following top 10 list represents the primary issues to be addressed by providers in every managed-care-contract negotiation, as follows:
§ What payment rate will the provider be paid by the contracting MCO? The contract should formally document all rates of payments for services provided under the contract.
§ What services are covered under the provider contract? These should be specified in an addendum to each contract.
§ What, if any, services can be billed separately or to the individual Medicaid / Medicare / insured recipient directly?
§ What, if any, financial risk is being transferred to the provider based on the contract terms? Payment mechanisms that reference capitation, partial capitation, and/or service carve-outs require intense focus.
§ What performance incentives or penalties are included in the contract?
§ How frequently can the provider bill for services provided under the contract?
§ What are the expected payment terms from the MCO to the provider once a “clean claim” has been submitted?
§ What requirements or initiatives are planned/contracted for by the MCO in its agreement with the NYS Medicaid program? (e.g., full capitation, health-outcome requirements, performance measures, etc.) How and when will these initiatives be implemented?
§ How will the payment rate for services by the provider be determined and when will it be adjusted? (i.e., What Medicaid rate or basis will be used for payment?)
§ What is the dispute-resolution process described in the contract and is it acceptable to the provider? (e.g., arbitration, litigation, rate appeals, etc.)
Every Medicaid service provider has been or will be deluged with standard contracts from MCOs, which essentially allow the service provider to participate in that MCOs provider network. While these contracts are frequently submitted to providers for signature without any negotiation anticipated, every contract should be subjected to provider review and development of satisfactory, negotiated terms and conditions.
The following top 10 list provides direction on the service provider’s strategies and positioning related to managed-care contracts.
1. Beware of standard contracts and contract templates.
2. Never accept or sign a standard/template contract without some addendum or changes specific to your organization.
3. Always require a supplemental schedule that specifically defines covered and non-covered services.
4. Always be sure that the payment rates are specified, agreed to, and provide for periodic renegotiation.
5. Avoid “evergreen contract renewal provisions” in almost all situations.
6. Specify termination and withdrawal provisions that are favorable to you as the service provider.
7. Define the process and approach to be used to confirm/verify individual Medicaid eligibility.
8. Do you Need to sign this contract and be a participating provider in each and every network?
9. What are the Specific duties and responsibilities of the managed-care organization to the service provider?
10. What processes will be used by the managed-care organization to reduce approvals for Medicaid services and/or increase efficiencies in its Medicaid case-management structure?
Finally, here’s a third top 10 list that describes the typical contract clauses that should be evaluated and potentially negotiated by each service provider with the appropriate MCO representatives:
1. Definition of terms in the contract
2. Responsibilities of the service provider
3. Responsibilities of the MCO
4. Quality assurance and utilization-management requirements
5. Billing, claims processing, and payment arrangements
6. Description of the medical/financial records and reports to be provided by the MCO and/or prepared by the service provider. There should be a “right to audit” provision that allows the service provider to verify the accuracy of claims processed by the MCO.
7. Contract term and termination provisions
8. Requirements for liability insurance coverage for the service provider and related indemnification clauses
9. Methods to be used by the MCO for disclosure of participating network providers, use of service provider’s name, and the requirements of the MCO related to service referrals to the provider
10. Regulatory compliance requirements, dispute resolution, and written notice requirements.
Your number one priority is to develop a healthy, respectful working relationship between you as the service provider and the MCO. Careful, yet knowledgeable negotiating strategies will position your organization for success under the government’s managed-care reform initiative.
Gerald J. Archibald, CPA, is a partner in charge of the management advisory services at The Bonadio Group. Contact him at (585) 381-1000, or via email at: garchibald@bonadio.com
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