Rural/Metro spends $300,000 on technology upgrades

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SYRACUSE — Rural/Metro Medical Services of Central New York is loading up on new technology in an attempt to boost efficiency and improve patient care, according to its division general manager, Michael Addario. The ambulance company spent about $300,000 to upgrade its computer hardware, software, computer-aided dispatch system, and vehicle-locator system. Money also went to […]

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The ambulance company spent about $300,000 to upgrade its computer hardware, software, computer-aided dispatch system, and vehicle-locator system. Money also went to replacing Rural/Metro’s radio system.

“We did it all at once because everything’s so integrated,” Addario says. “We wanted to make sure we did it the right way rather than piecemeal it.”

Radio-system replacements will likely be completed in two to three weeks, Addario says. The other upgrades were largely performed over a two-week period starting Oct. 17.

Rural/Metro funded the technological work using its own cash. About 85 percent of the upgrades went to operations based at its Syracuse headquarters, a 26,000-square-foot building at 488 W. Onondaga St. that it leases from the property owner, Martin Yenawine.

The radio work will replace a setup that was essentially two radio systems, Addario says. Rural/Metro operates two dispatch centers — one at its Syracuse headquarters and one in Canajoharie in Montgomery County — and they were not able to talk to vehicles across the ambulance company’s six-county service area. The new system will allow the centers to communicate with any ambulance in that service area, from Cayuga County in the west to Montgomery County in the east.

It could also allow Rural/Metro to consolidate weekday dispatch operations in Syracuse, according to Addario. The ambulance company hasn’t made a final decision in that matter, and the Canajoharie center would still handle dispatching on the weekends, he adds.

Addario doesn’t anticipate the potential dispatch consolidation resulting in any employee layoffs. Rural/Metro employs nearly 300 people, about 260 in Syracuse.

Improvements to Rural/Metro’s computer-aided dispatching system and vehicle-locator system made up another major part of its technological investment.

“We upgraded our computer-aided dispatching system with new hardware, new software,” Addario says. “We were working on trying to interface with Onondaga County’s 911 Center.”

The upgrades enable the 911 center to see all Rural/Metro vehicles through the computer-aided dispatch system. And improvements helped Rural/Metro share information between its paperless patient-care reporting system, computer-aided dispatch system, and billing system.

That will increase efficiency while aiding research into patient outcomes and field protocols, Addario says.

“It allows us to have some really robust clinical reporting capabilities,” he says. “It gives us a huge database of information to be able to look at for research projects.”

Other technology purchases include 41 computers that ride with ambulances for use on calls, replacing older equipment. Rural/Metro also moved to a new virtual server environment, storing information offsite to protect it in the event of a disaster that knocks out power and prevents the ambulance company from running its own backup generator.

In addition to the $300,000 in technology capital improvements, Rural/Metro is replacing a quarter of its ambulance fleet this year. It has already replaced six vehicles and plans to roll out three more replacements by the end of the year.

Each ambulance costs around $100,000, Addario says. Again, Rural/Metro is using its own cash to pay for the investment. The company has 27 ambulances in Syracuse and nine that typically serve Herkimer, Montgomery, and Schoharie counties.

Rural/Metro Medical Services of Central New York operates in Onondaga, Cayuga, Madison, Herkimer, Montgomery, and Schoharie counties. It responds to more than 60,000 calls annually.

The ambulance company does not disclose local revenue totals. Its parent firm, Scottsdale, Ariz.–based Rural/Metro Corp., was acquired in June 2011 by the global private-equity firm Warburg Pincus.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

C&S construction business gets new head

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering

SALINA — C&S Design Build, the construction and program management business at the C&S Cos., has a new vice president and general manager. Shibel Jabaji

Binghamton University says its economic impact nears $1 billion

Health Care, Regional News, Subscriber Only

BINGHAMTON — Between salaries, student spending, and all the other dollars Binghamton University spends to keep campus running, it added up to nearly $1 billion in economic impact on Broome and Tioga counties and more than $1 billion across the state in fiscal year 2011. Those findings come from a study report issued by the

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Those findings come from a study report issued by the university, which said that for every $1 the state SUNY system contributes to Binghamton University, it generates more than $8 in economic impact for the state.

According to the report, Binghamton University students spent $96 million to help bolster the local economy last year and visitors to the school spent another $7 million, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The university itself spent $120 million on capital costs and construction, $123 million on goods and services, and $275 million in wages and salaries. When you factor in student and visitor spending, that adds up to a combined direct and indirect spending total of $622 million in fiscal year 2011, university President Harvey Stenger says.

The report, compiled by the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, uses standard formulas to assess the impact of the university’s economic output and also looks at the impact it has on jobs, human capital, and return on investment.

The report, based on fiscal year 2011 which is the most recent year available, shows that Binghamton University accounts for an estimated 12 percent of the gross domestic product of Broome and Tioga counties through its direct and indirect expenditures. When applied to the Binghamton Metropolitan Area regional multiplier, that figure grows to $965 million in total annual economic impact for the region.

Stenger, who pointed out that the report covers a year when SUNY budget cuts were in effect for the university, says he expects the report for fiscal year 2012 to surpass the $1 billion mark for the region.

While that number is impressive, there is more to the university’s impact than just those figures, Stenger contends.

“My favorite part of the report is that we measure how many students volunteer in the community,” he says. During the 2010-2011 school year, 6,578 students volunteered 280,000 hours to area organizations. “It’s huge,” Stenger says. “And nobody told them they had to do that, and nobody paid them to do that.”

Other university impacts on the regional economy that are highlighted in the report include business and industry partnerships the university has around the region, such as the Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging; the Center for Microelectronics Manufacturing in partnership with Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc., Cornell University, and the Flex Tech Alliance; and the proposed Southern Tier High Technology Incubator the university hopes to open in 2015, Stenger says. The hope is that the incubator will house 10 start-up companies when it opens in 2015, and that those companies will go on to grow and generate their own economic benefits for the region, he says.

Binghamton University will continue to generate other economic benefits as well, he says. “One of the things we’re going to see grow over the short term are more companies, more technologies, and more patent licenses coming out of Binghamton University,” he says. The university’s faculty currently generates about 15 to 20 patents each year, and only goes after patents that are most likely to spawn a company or provide license revenue, he says. Last year, the university received about $750,000 in license revenue, he says.

And none of those figures factor in the impact the university’s SUNY NY 2020 plan will generate, Stenger notes. Under that plan, approved earlier this year, the university will grow its student population, add new faculty and staff, and construct a $70 million Smart Energy Center.

The economic-impact report also tallied the number of Binghamton University alumni residing in New York and continuing to contribute to the state’s economy. About 57 percent of all alumni are still in New York, and more than 12,600 of them are still in the Southern Tier.

Binghamton University employs nearly 5,000 faculty, staff, and student workers, and supports an additional 5,500 full- and part-time jobs in the two-county region, and 225 full- and part-time jobs beyond the region.

Contact DeLore at tdelore@tgbbj.com

Upstate consumer confidence rises in pre-election, pre-Sandy polling

Subscriber Only

Upstate consumers turned out to be elevating their willingness to spend in the month leading up to the presidential election, according to new polling the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI) released Nov. 9. The institute’s index of overall consumer confidence for upstate New York sprung up 4.6 points to 75.6 in October. It essentially moved

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The institute’s index of overall consumer confidence for upstate New York sprung up 4.6 points to 75.6 in October. It essentially moved to its break-even point of about 76, meaning an equal number of Upstate residents voiced optimism and pessimism during the month.

Consumers in the region expressed a better outlook for the future than they did for the present. Upstate’s future consumer confidence index swelled 6.3 points to 76.6, while its current confidence index ticked up 1.9 points to 73.9.

Those gains were roughly in line with rising national consumer confidence measured by the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment. That overall index recorded a 4.3 point jump to 82.6 in October. The nation’s future confidence leapt 5.5 points to 79, while its current confidence moved up 2.4 points to 88.1.

Heightening willingness to spend may have hinted at President Barack Obama’s re-election, according to Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI founding director. But that same re-election will have a major influence on confidence readings in the future, he says. So will another event that was not reflected in October’s confidence indexes — Superstorm Sandy battering New York City, New Jersey, and other parts of the East Coast.

“November is going to be fascinating, I think,” Lonnstrom says. “These October numbers are pre-hurricane, pre-election, and I’m sure some of them are going to change dramatically.”

SRI’s readings show New York City lost confidence in October, even before the storm. Its overall confidence slipped 1.9 points to 80.6. Future confidence slid 2.9 points to 83.4, and current confidence edged down 0.4 points to 76.2.

A measurement of confidence in all of New York state was nearly unchanged during the month. Overall confidence edged up 0.5 points to 78.7. Current confidence increased 0.4 points to 75.4, while future confidence picked up 0.5 points to 80.8.

Gas and food prices

Consumers felt a major pinch from rising food prices in October, according to SRI’s survey. That overshadowed a plateau in worries about the cost of gasoline.

More than three-quarters of upstate consumers, 77 percent, said food prices posed a somewhat serious or very serious problem, up from 66 percent the previous month. And 62 percent said both gas and food prices were a problem, up from 57 percent.

The portion of upstate consumers singling out gasoline prices as a problem was 71 percent. That’s about equal with last month’s reading of 70 percent.

Upstate’s concerns echoed throughout the state as a whole, where 70 percent of consumers expressed worries about food prices, up from 65 percent in September. Both gas and food prices presented a problem for 53 percent of residents, up from 49 percent. Gasoline prices were a problem for 60 percent of residents, down from 61 percent.

“I was absolutely amazed to see a 5-point swing in concern about food prices,” Lonnstrom says. “That was a big figure.”

New York buying plans

A drop in home-buying plans headlined SRI’s monthly statewide reading of intentions to make major purchases. Just 2.6 percent of consumers said in October that they planned to buy homes, a drop of 0.9 points from the previous month.

“It’s not a big point drop, because you’re never going to have 20 percent of people saying, ‘I’m going to buy a house in the next six months,’ ” Lonnstrom says. “But percentage-wise, it’s a huge drop, about 25 percent. If this holds, that’s a very negative figure.”

Buying plans also fell for cars and trucks, slipping by 0.7 points to 12.4 percent. And they dropped for furniture by 1.9 points to 20.9 percent.

The portion of consumers planning computer purchases rose, however. It increased 1.6 points to 17.6 percent. Plans to make major home improvements increased as well, ticking up 1 point to 15 percent.

Superstorm Sandy’s impact on New York City at the beginning of November will likely affect buying plans in the future, according to Lonnstrom.

“That’s going to have a big effect on Christmas buying plans, I think,” he says. “I think home improvements might do well, but I think it may have a negative impact on the Christmas buying season.”

SRI made random telephone calls to 807 New York state residents over the age of 18 in October to develop the consumer-confidence results. They do not have a margin of error because they are developed from statistical calculations. Buying plans have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 points.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com

Upstate Cancer Center is on track for opening in 2013

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care

SYRACUSE — The Upstate Cancer Center at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University is on track to open in December 2013. The

The Inns at Armory Square names general manager

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — The new hotel complex under construction in downtown Syracuse’s Armory Square has a general manager. Partners of The Inns at Armory Square, LLC named James Wefers to the post Nov. 6. He will manage the 78-room Residence Inn and 102-room Courtyard by Marriott combination hotel being built at the corner of Franklin and

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SYRACUSE — The new hotel complex under construction in downtown Syracuse’s Armory Square has a general manager.

Partners of The Inns at Armory Square, LLC named James Wefers to the post Nov. 6. He will manage the 78-room Residence Inn and 102-room Courtyard by Marriott combination hotel being built at the corner of Franklin and Fayette streets.

RHS Holdings, LLC, a Syracuse–based real-estate development firm, is developing the hotels. They will be operated by New Castle Hotels & Resorts, a hotel owner-operator based in Shelton, Conn.

The properties are scheduled to open in spring 2013, according to RHS.

“The Inns at Armory Square offer us a unique opportunity to create our own identity in a prospering community,” Wefers said in a news release. “The area is in the midst of a massive revitalization program that has developed both office and residential buildings, including more than two dozen bars and restaurants, salons and boutique shops. Couple that with a team that will be committed to offering the highest level of service and accommodations at affordable pricing and I am certain that we will be able to please both the extended stay and the transient guests this hotel was custom designed to serve.”

Before joining New Castle and The Inns at Armory Square, Wefers was general manager of the 139-condominium Golden Eagle Lodge, where he helped develop an incentive program and brand standards that improve guest satisfaction scores, according to RHS. Prior to that, he was executive director of marketing for the Waterville Valley Resort Association and constructed the resort’s funding structure.

He was also general manager of the Secaucus/Meadowlands Courtyard by Marriott in New Jersey.

“James has nearly 20 years of hospitality industry experience, working with such companies as Marriott International and Interstate Hotels & Resorts,” Gerry Chase, New Castle president and chief operating officer, said in the release. “That made him the perfect candidate to lead the first new build hotel in downtown Syracuse in more than 50 years. I am confident that his focused leadership will allow The Inns at Armory Square to become market leaders with a minimum of ramp-up time.”

RHS announced the project in 2008, but it was delayed by financing issues in the wake of the economic downturn and financial crisis of recent years. Financing for the $30 million project closed in February with M&T Bank.

The 180-room, 160,000-square-foot building will house both the Courtyard and Residence Inn under one roof. It’s the first new construction on such a combined hotel in the Northeast, according to RHS.

The hotel will create 125 full- and part-time jobs once complete, in addition to 200 jobs during construction.

RHS expects the Marriott project to house an annual total of more than 90,000 guests, who are estimated to spend more than $500 a day each. The project is forecast to generate about $2.1 million in sales-tax revenue every year and more than $400,000 in annual hotel-tax revenue.

LeChase Construction, which is based Rochester and has a Syracuse office, is the general contractor for the project. Syracuse–based Schopfer Architects, LLP designed the building.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com

40 under Forty Awards leaves them shouting and applauding

Nearly everyone is seated. And, they’re either munching on their salad or chatting with others at their table. All this is interrupted by boisterous whoops

Low-interest loan program launched for businesses rebuilding from Sandy

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Insurance & Financial Services

The New York Bankers Association (NYBA) and New York Business Development Corp. are setting up a $10 million emergency loan fund for small businesses recovering

Development to house offices, apartments

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Small Business

ITHACA — Construction began this week at 140 Seneca Way, a new complex of luxury apartments and class A office space in downtown Ithaca. The

Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center preps for renovations

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Regional News

AUBURN — Mercy Health & Rehabilitation Center is about to undergo a rehabilitation of its own. The 153,000-square-foot nonprofit nursing facility will soon be receiving

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