CAREER
Horton joins Brainerd Dispatch
Tamara Horton is a summer newsroom intern at the Brainerd Dispatch.
She grew up in Crosslake and moved to Sauk Centre as a teenager. Currently she resides in Melrose with her husband and three children. She graduated in 2001 from the Computer and Voice Networking Program at Alexandria Technical College. Horton has 25 years experience in customer service working in management, design, and customer relations. In 2014, she entered the mass communications print journalism sequence major at St. Cloud State University minoring in human relations multicultural. She will graduate in May of 2017. Horton is a non-traditional student (adult learner with children) and currently serves as the executive assistant for the Non-Traditional Student Organization at SCSU while writing for the University Chronicle during the academic year.
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Horton will write for the Dispatch news and sports sections.
Glas joins LCJ magazine staff
Ryan Glas joined Lake Country Journal magazine as advertising sales manager.
Glas will work closely with the magazine's advertisers to showcase their businesses both
online and in print.
Glas has more than 16 years of sales experience in the insurance and financial industries and brings retail management experience to the team at Lake Country Journal, a bimonthly, regional publication headquartered in Brainerd. Glas, a Fargo, N.D., native, moved to the Brainerd lakes area with his family seven years ago from Colorado.
He served as an assistant coach for the Brainerd High School boys' hockey team and is a board member for the Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association. Lake Country Journal magazine, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2017, is owned and published by Range, a Deluxe company.
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Brekken launches Life-Coaching Business
Jane Brekken recently announced the launch of her life-coaching business in the Brainerd lakes area, Unlimited Potential.
Brekken spent the bulk of her work life in the helping profession, having spent 25 years in the addictions field in both a clinical treatment setting and in spiritual ministry. Through this experience, Brekken said she has grown in understanding, compassion and love for all spiritual beings who struggle with human experiences.
Most recently, Brekken transitioned from counselor to life coach, and has spent the past year being coached and trained by Dr. Rosie Kuhn, Transformational Life Coach, author and thought leader.
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Perrine joins Edina Realty Baxter Sales Office
BAXTER-Edina Realty, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, recently announced that Brandon Perrine joined its Baxter sales office.
Perrine has lived in the Brainerd lakes area for 22 years and resides in Aitkin with his family.
Prior to joining Edina Realty, Perrine served for eight years in the Army National Guard as a military police officer. He also worked for BNSF Railway.
When asked why he chose a career with Edina Realty, Perrine said he was looking for a new, challenging and rewarding career that would allow him to spend more time with his family.
Perrine specializes in the areas of Aitkin, McGregor, Garrison and Deerwood.
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Sjoberg gains iStent Certification
CROSBY-Dr. Stacy Sjoberg, ophthalmic surgeon and cornea specialist at Great River Eye Clinic formerly Crosby Eye Clinic, is now certified to perform the iStent surgical procedure.
Sjoberg spent an extensive number of hours with a certified trainer from Glaukos, the manufacturer of iStent and received her certification after successfully demonstrating surgical competency.
The iStent is a medical device designed to lower intra-ocular pressure in adults diagnosed with mild to moderate open-angle glaucoma and who are currently being treated with glaucoma medication. The iStent requires micro invasive surgical implantation and is inserted during cataract surgery, sparing important eye tissue often damaged by traditional glaucoma surgeries. It is now the smallest medical device ever approved by the FDA.
Great River Eye Clinic is an ophthalmic, optometric and optical eye care facility in Baxter and Crosby.
Szustek joins WSN
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Jim Szustek has joined the staff at Widseth Smith Nolting.
With more than 35 years of electrical engineering experience, he is a licensed professional engineer in Minnesota. Szustek has experience with lighting design, power distribution, MCCs, generators, equipment sizing, and PLC/DCS controls for industrial, educational, and commercial building types. He received a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota.
As the Director of Electrical Engineering at WSN, Szustek is responsible for overseeing the work of WSN's team of electrical engineers, designers, and engineering technicians. Szustek works with project engineers to incorporate safe and economical building electrical systems.
Szustek has previous experience working as a staff engineer, lead engineer, and supervisory electrical engineer. His extensive project experience includes food processing facilities, educational, industrial, railroads, housing, office buildings, water and wastewater systems, as well as commercial, medical, and government facilities. His electrical systems project experience includes lighting, power distribution, emergency power, UPS systems, telephone and data systems, fire alarm, security, and nurse call systems.
Perez begins training at MIMIS
Dr. Martin Perez will begin his post graduate advanced surgical training Aug. 1 at the Minnesota Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery located at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby and Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin.
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Perez is the 10th surgeon to be accepted for the one-year Fellowship training program at MIMIS. The new fellow is moving to the Brainerd lakes area from York, Pa. He earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford and his bachelor of Science degree at the University of California in Los Angeles. Dr. Perez recently completed an Accredited General Surgery Program at York Hospital in Pennsylvania and completed Preliminary Surgery Year training at Mount Carmel Health System in Columbus, Ohio.
The surgeon is a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, and the Pennsylvania Medical Society-Keystone Chapter American College of Surgeons.
The MIMIS is one of 140 Fellowship programs accredited by the Fellowship Council in the United States and Canada. The Fellowship Council is a national body that provides accreditation for fellowships in five areas of surgical specialties: Minimally Invasive Surgery, Bariatric Surgery, Flexible Endoscopy, Advanced Gastro-Intestinal, and Hepato-Pancreatic-Biliary. The examination necessary for an institution to qualify for accreditation is rigorous and comprehensive, with extensive evaluation of the quality of the teaching faculty, the facility, and surgical outcomes. Once a surgeon completes a post-graduate Fellowship they are highly sought after by hospitals throughout the country because of their advanced training.
MIMIS remains the only Fellowship program in the United States and Canada to achieve accreditation in three specialties: minimally invasive surgery, bariatric surgery and flexible endoscopy. This distinction is unusual, especially coming from the only advanced training program located in a small community hospital in rural America. Guiding the MIMIS Fellowship training program are four accredited faculty surgeons who are dedicated to performing surgery in the least invasive way.
SBA certifies Deerwood Technologies
The Small Business Administration certified Deerwood Technologies, Inc., an information technologies provider, as a HUBZone small business effective May 17, 2016.
The Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program stimulates economic development and creates jobs by providing Federal contracting preferences to small HUBZone certified businesses.
The HUBZone preferences go to small businesses that obtain certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone. To qualify for certification, companies must also maintain a principal office in one of the specially designated HUBZone areas. The program originated from provisions in the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997. Deerwood Technologies is also a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business certified by the U.S. Veterans Affairs, Center for Veterans Enterprise.
Tri-County Health Care earns national recognition
WADENA-Tri-County Health Care recently received a Gold Award for its marketing efforts from Marketing Healthcare Today magazine as a part of its annual marketing competition-The Aster Awards.
The Aster Awards, one of the largest national competitions of its kind, is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today magazine and Creative Images, Inc. This elite program recognizes outstanding health care professionals for excellence in their advertising and marketing efforts for the calendar year 2015.
Tri-County Health Care entered its recent marketing work into the competition and received an award for its Cardboard Testimonial video, a project used to kick off a system-wide customer service initiative entitled Moments Matter. Launched in the spring of 2015, about 30 patients were asked to share their stories and reflect on the high quality of care they received at Tri-County.
"This video was a powerful reminder of how important outstanding customer service is to our patients and the future of Tri-County Health Care," said Joel Beiswenger, Tri-County Health Care President and CEO in a news release. "Our patients expect nothing less than the very best care possible and unless we are delivering this, we are not doing our job. We can always improve on the level of care offered to our patients and our Moment's Matter customer service initiative is part of an ongoing effort to do just that."
Nearly 3,000 entries were received from various health care organizations from across the United States as well as numerous foreign countries. Entries were judged by industry experts and scored on multiple criteria with a possibility of 100 points. Participant's entries were then compared to similar-sized organizations in specific groups and categories. Gold Awards were presented to those entries that scored between 95 and 99 points, which is also considered to be the top 5 percent in the nation.
Fontelonga joins CRMC
Board Certified Oncologist Dr. Antonio Fontelonga of the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute, has joined the medical staff at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center's Cancer Care Center.
Fontelonga has more than 37 years of internal medicine experience, combined with 22 years of oncology and hematology practice. He earned his medical degree at the University of Porto Medical School in Portugal where he also completed an internship and rotations in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology and ambulatory medicine. Fontelonga also has certificates in hematology, medical oncology and internal medicine from the American Board of Internal Medicine.
The oncologist has practiced at hospitals, clinics and universities in Portugal; Reno, Nev.; and the Twin Cities. He has published numerous articles in medical journals and he has served as academic faculty at the University of Nevada Oncology Program.
Since 2010, CRMC has partnered with the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute to provide oncology care to Crosby area residents. The partnership and program is designed around a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, including access to surgical care, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other specialists. And CRMC's cancer program is accredited by the Commission on Cancer, through the American College of Surgeons with a goal of exceptional patient care and outcomes provided locally in the community.
Rudningen joins Nystrom & Associates
Deborah Rudningen joins Nystrom & Associates, Baxter Clinic as an outpatient therapist.
Rudningen's educational background includes South Florida University, West Palm Beach, Fla., and St. Scholastica, Duluth.
She is a licensed professional clinical counselor and internationally certified and state licensed alcohol and drug counselor with more than 20 years of experience in the field of mental health and substance abuse.
Rudningen provides services to families, couples, and individuals. She treats children, adolescents, and adults ages 5-80 and older who experience overwhelming life situations, relationship conflicts and issues, developmental disorders, adjusting to new situations, depressions, anxiety, grief, abuse and trauma recovery, sexual abuse, co-occurring mental health disorders, behavioral conflicts and substance abuse. Rudningen is a certified EMDR-II clinician who specializes in trauma and unresolved issues, and is a trained Behavioral Analyst II.
St. Otto's Care Center Earns Bronze National Quality Award
LITTLE FALLS-St. Otto's Care Center has been recognized as a 2016 recipient of the Bronze-Commitment to Quality Award for its dedication to improving the lives of residents through quality care.
The award is the first of three distinctions possible through the National Quality Award Program, presented by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, the leading national association for long-term and post-acute care. The program honors providers across the nation that have demonstrated their commitment to improving quality of care for seniors and persons with disabilities.
Implemented by AHCA/NCAL in 1996, the National Quality Award Program is centered on the core values and criteria of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, which is the foundation of the metric-based AHCA/NCAL Quality Initiative. The program assists providers of long term and post-acute care services in achieving their performance excellence goals.
The program has three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Providers begin the quality improvement process at the Bronze level, where they develop an organizational profile with essential performance elements such as vision and mission statements and an assessment of customers' expectations. Bronze applicants must also demonstrate their ability to implement a performance improvement system. Trained examiners review each Bronze application to determine if the center has met the demands of the criteria. As a recipient of the Bronze-Commitment to Quality Award, St. Otto's Care Center may now move forward in developing approaches and achieving performance levels that meet the criteria required for the Silver-Achievement in Quality Award. St. Otto's Care Center is a 93-bed skilled nursing community, which opened in 1925.
The awards will be presented Oct. 16-19 during AHCA/NCAL's 67th annual Convention and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn.
CRMC gains Outstanding Patient Safety Excellence Award
Healthgrades, the leading online resource for comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals, recently announced Cuyuna Regional Medical Center in Crosby as a recipient of its 2016 Outstanding Patient Safety Excellence Award.
Award recipients were determined by evaluating the occurrence of observed incidents and expected performance for 14 Patient Safety Indicators as defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
CRMC is among 466 hospitals across the nation that achieved the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award. The distinction places these hospitals within the top 10 percent of all hospitals evaluated for their excellent performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stays.
On average, 270,457 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2012 to 2014, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 patient safety indicators evaluated by Healthgrades, as well as zero instances of foreign object left during procedure.
CRMC also received Healthgrade's Outstanding Patient Experience Award in 2015 and 2014.
TDS Telecom's parent company named to Fortune 500
Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., parent company of TDS Telecom and a leading provider of telecommunications services, announced the company has been named to the Fortune 500, Fortune Magazine's annual ranking of America's leading corporations.
With $5.12 billion of total operating revenues in 2015, TDS made the No. 496 ranking on the list.
The company's last appearance on the list was in 2013. Before that, TDS had been a member of the Fortune 500 for 10 years.
EVENTS
BLAEDC EXECs host casual chat Thursday
Experienced business executives with Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corp. have a wealth of information to share with the Brainerd Lakes community and will be available to anyone having business questions.
Participants are invited to come in, grab a cup of coffee, pull up a chair, and chat with them.
Questions on all business subjects are welcomed and encouraged during this casual 'chat.'
The event is 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday at Lakes Latte, 31012 Government Drive, Pequot Lakes.
Chamber to host Lunch & Learn Tuesday
LITTLE FALLS-The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Lunch & Learn; learn, Why I Wear a Tin Foil Hat, from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, 200 First St. NW, Little Falls.
The dangers have never been more visible than they are today. In this session we take a light-hearted look at what the dangers of computers and the internet are, what the warning signs are, and what people can do to protect themselves and their business. Presenter Kurt
Kapsner is providing this free training. For more information email ginav@littlefallsmnchamber.com or call the chamber office at 320-632-5155. Bring a lunch, beverages provided.
Shirley Mae's Outfitters to host Friday Morning Coffee
LITTLE FALLS-The Little Falls Area Chamber of Commerce invites all chamber members,
employees and guests to Shirley Mae's Outfitters, from 7:30-9 a.m., Friday, 61 First Ave. NE in Little Falls for Friday Morning Coffee.
Announcements are at 8 a.m. Sponsor this month is Shirley Mae's Outfitters.
The Dispatch welcomes business notes submissions via email to renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com , or fax to 218-829-0211, mail to Brainerd Dispatch, P.O. Box 974, Brainerd, MN 56401 or use the drop-off box in the alley next to the Dispatch building on James Street. Questions are welcome to Renee Richardson at 855-5852.
More business notes may be part of the Business Extra section in Monday's edition.
