United Healthcare Identifies Millions in Medicare Savings
Minneapolis-based United HealthCare Corp., a healthcare management company and one of
the contractors that processes Medicare claims for the federal government's Health Care
Financing Administration, identified $546.3 million in savings for the Medicare Program
Fund during a 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 1997. The money resulted from pre- and
post-payment medical review claims, Medicare secondary payer, hospital and other provider
audits, and reclaimed money from fraud-unit investigations. For more information, call
(612) 936-1300; Web www.unitedhealthcare.com.
BBL Expands Construction Abilities
Albany, N.Y.-based Barry, Bette & Led Duke Inc., a national construction-service
provider, announced the establishment of BBL Medical Facilities, a team developed to
provide integrated construction solutions and turnkey design/build services to hospitals,
medical groups, HMOs, and assisted-living and skilled-nursing facilities. Established to
serve the Midwest, Northeast and mid-Atlantic states, BBL Medical offers design/build
construction solutions in three stages: feasibility; design development, marketing and
finance; and engineering and construction.
The company also announced the establishment of BBL-McCarthy, a new company that will
provide construction management and development services to Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Delaware and northern Maryland. For more information, call (518) 452-8200.
Allied to Close Ohio Plant
St. Louis-based Allied Healthcare Products Inc., a manufacturer of respiratory-therapy
equipment, medical-gas equipment and emergency medical products, announced its plans to
close the Toledo, Ohio, plant and relocate production of the B&F line of home-care
products to its facility in St. Louis. The move will generate nearly $1 million in
annualized cost savings. "We also expect to improve production efficiency and
customer service by aligning our manufacturing functions more closely with our sales,
marketing and customer-service operations," said Uma Nandan Aggarwal, president and
CEO of Allied. There will be a one-time, after-tax charge of approximately $0.6 million (8
cents per share) in the first quarter of its fiscal 1999, which it plans to recover within
18 months. For more information, call (314) 771-2400.
Dynex Forms Healthcare Subsidiary
Dynex Commercial Inc. announced the formation of Dynex Healthcare Inc., a subsidiary in
the financing of assisted-living and long-term-care facilities nationwide. Headquartered
in Long Branch, N.J., Dynex Healthcare will provide long-term, fixed-rate debt and
specialty mezzanine-finance alternatives. Dynex Commercial is an affiliate of Dynex
Capital, a mortgage REIT. For more information, call Dynex Commercial at (804) 217-6109.
Donations to Improve Service
Broadview, Ill.-based DependiCare, a supplier of home medical equipment and
respiratory-care services, announced it will donate $100 to the DependiCaring Fund each
time it falls short of meeting service standards, such as delivering equipment in time to
allow a same-day discharge. If all goals are met, a minimum contribution of $1,500 will be
made annually to the fund. Beneficiaries include Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Lung
Association and Camp Horizon. For more information, call (800) 244-7404.
OIS Expands to U.S.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada-based Ormed Information Systems, manufacturer of software,
training and support services, expanded to the U.S. market. Its open-system product, the
PRESTO Healthcare Business Management System, operates on industry-standard microcomputer
networks and delivers 15 functions for the cost-effective improvement of
healthcare-business operations. PRESTO operates in French, English and Spanish--which all
share a common database--and offers five operational areas: decision support, materials
management, asset management, financial management and staff management. For more
information, call (888) 464-3172.
Copesan Donates to Boys & Girls Club
 Copesan
Services, a nationwide pest-management provider, Brookfield, Wis., donated a check for
$650 to the Boys & Girls Club of Milwaukee, Wis., on behalf of Extendicare Health
Facilities Inc. The money was raised by Copesan at an Extendicare golf outing in
conjunction with the Extendicare annual meeting and tradeshow. Copesan sponsored a
par-three, 145-yard hole, which required the participant to land and stop a golf ball
inside a 15-foot circle that surrounded the hole. Each golfer could gamble up to $25 that
he could accomplish this task. For more information, call Copesan at (800) 267-3726.
WMF's Atlanta and NYC Divisions
Vienna, Va.-based WMF Group, a commercial mortgage banking company, announced a new
Atlanta division that will specialize in commercial real-estate loans ranging from
$250,000 to $2 million.
In addition, the WMF Group announced a new loan-production office in New York City in
order to serve the Northeastern region. The office will originate and process the full WMF
product line that includes conduit, interim and mezzanine financing, and other structured
financial products. For more information, call (800) 284-3579; Web www.wmfg.com.
Awards
Sequoia Village Assisted Living Retirement Community in Olympia, Wash., was
awarded a place on the Better Business Bureau Honorary Roll. The 92-apartment facility
received the award for an excellent record in customer service.
Seeing Beyond the Wrinkles, a collection of real-life short stories about
the feelings and experiences of seniors written by Charles Tindell, received a National
Mature Media Gold Award for being "The Best in Educational Materials for Older
Adults."
Securitron Magnalock Corp., a Sparks, Nev.-based manufacturer of electromagnetic
locking systems, received a Product Achievement Award, Access Control Accessories and
Peripherals, for its Shear Aligning Magnalock. It was presented by the Security Industry
Association's New Product Showcase.
Hospitex to Distribute Products to Red Line Customers
Golden Valley, Minn.-based Red Line HealthCare, a distributor of medical supplies and
services to long-term-care providers, announced a five-year contract with Hospitex, a
textile manufacturer based in McDonough, Ga., to distribute textile products to Red Line
customers in the long-term-care market. For more information, call (612) 595-6000.
Important Addresses
Achieve Healthcare Information Systems:
7690 Golden Triangle Dr., Eden Prairie,
MN 55344-3732;
phone (800) 869-1322; fax (612) 995-9735;
Web www.achieve-online.com
MicroTask:
135 Cambridge St.,
Burlington, MA 01803;
phone (888) 232-3111; fax (781) 270-9088
Love Funding Corp.:
3400 Peachtree Rd., NE,
Suite 700,
Atlanta, GA 30326;
phone (404) 841-9220;
fax (404) 841-0296;
Web www.lovefund.com
Industry Events
The Healthy People Consortium Meeting
Nov. 12-13;
"Building the Next Generation of Healthy People";
Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C.;
(800) 367-4725
Care Providers of Minnesota's Convention and Trade Show
Nov. 17-19;
Minnesota;
(612) 854-2844
NASLIE 1998 Annual Senior Living Industry Summit
Dec. 5-9;
"Competing Successfully in a Crowded Marketplace"
Westin Mission Hills Resort, Rancho Mirage, Calif.;
(850) 513-9230
Quality Improvement, Cost Management & Affordable Housing for Assisted Living
Dec. 7-8;
Ritz Carlton-Buckhead,
Atlanta;
(617) 630-1330
ACHCA Winter Marketplace
Dec. 7-9; Las Vegas;
(703) 739-7900
Assisted Living Success Expo
Feb. 3-5;
Alexis Park Resort and Spa, Las Vegas;
(602) 990-1101, ext. 1151
Senior Housing Exposition
March 1-2;
Miami Beach;
and March 11-12;
Los Angeles;
(312) 527-7959
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