Teleflex Quarterly Revenue Down Slightly

LIMERICK PA – Revenues were down slightly for the first quarter of 2010 at Teleflex Inc., headquartered on Lewis Road in Limerick PA, the company reported in an April 27 (2010) press release, but it added that a decline in overall core revenue was countered by favorable currency fluctuations.

Teleflex said its 1Q2010 revenues were $436.5 million, down 1 percent compared to $440.1 million in the prior-year quarter. Core revenue in the company’s medical segment stayed the same; aerospace and commercial segments had core revenue declines of 20 percent and 6 percent, respectively. The decline in overall core revenue was offset by a favorable currency impact of 3 percent, it said.

“During the first quarter we delivered sales growth in many of our medical product areas, expanded consolidated gross margins by over 200 basis points, and continued to invest in research and development to drive future growth,” Chairman and CEO Jeffrey P. Black said.

Teleflex is a provider of medical technology products that employs about 12,600 people worldwide, also has niche businesses that serve segments of the aerospace and commercial markets with specialty engineered products.

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CVS Campaign Promotes Diabetes Health

WOONSOCKET RI – CVS/pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Caremark Corporation that operates stores along the Route 422 corridor, said Tuesday (May 11, 2010) it had partnered with the national 50 Million Pound Challenge to help customers lose weight, better control diabetes among those affected by the disease, and make new health monitoring services available.

To help patients monitor blood glucose levels, which indicate their tendency toward diabetes, CVS’ MinuteClinic health care centers in selected locations will offer free tests sponsored by Bayer Diabetes Care through June 12 (2010).

CVS pharmacists are also being made available to counsel patients on ways to lower diabetes medication costs, such as switching to generics from brand-name medications; and by helping patients manage medications with counseling on side-effects, dosage timing and interactions.

CVS additionally launched an ExtraCare Advantage for Diabetes program that offers members discounts and rewards on the purchase of diabetes supplies.

The 50 Million Pound Challenge is a nationally supported campaign created by VH1 Television diet expert Dr. Ian Smith to promote fitness, weight loss, and weight-related disease control.

CVS stores are located along the corridor in Norristown, Collegeville, Trappe, Limerick, Pottstown, and Douglassville PA. The company is headquartered in Woonsocket RI.

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GNC Revenue, Net Income Percentages Rise

PITTSBURGH PA – General Nutrition Centers Inc. (GNC), the specialty retailer of nutritional products that operates stores along the Route 422 corridor in King of Prussia, Norristown, Phoenixville, Royersford, Pottstown, and Reading, said Thursday (May 6, 2010) it ended the first quarter of 2010 with net income of $26.0 million, $6.5 million or 33.5 percent higher than the same period last year.

Net income as a percentage of revenue also rose, to 5.6 percent in 1Q2010 as compared to 4.4 percent in 1Q2009.

The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh PA. It recently announced an alliance with Gatorade to launch “G Series Pro,” a new sports drink that has been available only in professional sports locker rooms and specialized training facilities.

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Certified Nurses Like Their Jobs More, Study Says

CLEVELAND OH – Nurses certified in critical care say they are more satisfied with their jobs and careers, and feel more empowered, than their non-certified peers, according to the results of a national study announced Monday (May 3, 2010).

The study, based on an online survey of more than 6,500 members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), reports that certified critical care nurses express a high sense of empowerment, intend to stay in their profession, and are less likely to leave their positions. Nurses at Pennsylvania hospitals in Pottstown, Phoenixville, Norristown and Reading are AACN members.

The study, titled “Certification, Empowerment, and Intent to Leave Current Position and the Profession Among Critical Care Nurses,” appears in the May issue of American Journal of Critical Care. Response to the web-based survey, which was funded by the AACN Certification Corporation, represented 15 percent of 44,143 AACN members asked via e-mail to participate.

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Local Therapy Firm Opens 8 Clinics In 6 Months

EXTON PA – Physiotherapy Associates, a national provider of outpatient physical therapy services that operates Keystone Rehabilitation Systems offices in Collegeville, Birdsboro and Gilbertsville PA, has opened its newest clinic in Litchfield MI, a company press release announced Thursday (April 29, 2010).

The Exton PA-based company has now opened its eighth new clinic within the past six months and continues to expand, according to Erin Dunkel, its director of marketing. It operates more than 600 clinics nationwide, supplying physical therapy, industrial rehabilitation and orthotics and prosthetics services. The Litchfield clinic offers physical therapy and specialty therapy services.

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As In PA, Healthier Food Sells Well In Baltimore

BALTIMORE MD – Customers responded favorably to inner-city corner grocery stores that stocked and promoted healthier foods under a test program operated in Baltimore by the School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, intended to help improve residents’ diet and reduce diet-related illnesses.

Shoppers showed a tendency to buy and prepare more fruits and vegetables through the Baltimore Healthy Store program, Johns Hopkins’ researcher Dr. Hee-Jung Song said Wednesday (April 28, 2010).

The Baltimore project is similar in concept to the Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative, which as of December 2009 had approved money for fresh produce and fruit marketing ventures at nine stores in Berks and six other counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Baltimore program provided monetary incentives or free food to store owners, coordinated education about nutrition, and developed guidelines for the owners to follow to help overcome language and cultural barriers. Eight to 10 stores participated from both east and west sides of the city.

Song said the results suggest similar programs might be a feasible and effective way to increase healthy food availability at corner stores in other cities and to improve the dietary pattern of customers. Healthy foods sold well and did not hurt the stores financially, he said, and questionnaires completed by customers indicated positive dietary changes occurred.

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Wednesday Memo: Walk At Work During Lunch

PHILADELPHIA PA – Tomorrow’s (Wednesday, April 28, 2010) third annual “National Walk @ Lunch Day” will be sponsored again this year in the Greater Philadelphia region by health insurer Independence Blue Cross (IBC), the company said last week.

Get out at lunch on Wednesday and talk a walk, insurers sugest.

National Walk @ Lunch Day is intended to encourage employers to hold lunchtime walks for their employees, and promote the health benefits of physical activity during the work day. Lunchtime walks will take place in all 50 states, sponsored by 39 Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans across the country.

An estimated 12,000 to 14,000 walkers from 75 different employer groups will participate in the regional event, Independence Blue Cross said, including group customer-hosted walks in suburban locations like those lining the Route 422 corridor.

“This event is an easy, energy-boosting, low-cost way to get people walking outdoors as a first step toward exercising regularly,” noted IBC President and CEO Joseph A. Frick.

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CHOP Wins Grant To Update Growth Charts

PHILADELPHIA PA – Researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) plan to measure children with Down syndrome from birth to age 21 to update growth charts that haven’t been revised in 25 or more years, the hospital announced Friday (April 23, 2010).

CHOP, which operates pediatric care centers in King of Prussia and Exton PA, and a children’s primary care center in West Chester PA, said its new comparative growth charts would take into account major advances in medical care of children with Down syndrome, as well as changed demographics of the general U.S. population.

The research is being supported by a four-year, $1.2 million grant from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). One of the most common birth defects, Down syndrome occurs in approximately one in 700 births. It can cause congenital heart disease, recurrent ear and sinus infections, hearing loss, thyroid disorders, visual impairment, and gastrointestinal disorders.

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Firm Testing Online Services With Rite Aid

BOSTON MA – American Well Inc., a Boston-based company that created an online system which lets consumers immediately connect with physicians from their homes or offices whenever they have a health need, on Thursday (April 22, 2010) announced it signed an agreement with the Rite Aid drugstore chain to test its service in selected Rite Aid locations.

Rite Aid’s interest plans to use American Well to let customers contact its pharmacists in live, interactive online consultations. Financial or other details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Rite Aid, headquartered in Camp Hill PA, operates 4,800 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. The announcement did not specify which stores would be among American Well’s test sites.

Rite Aid said it would be the first drugstore chain in the nation set to bring American Well’s services to patients.

“We see the evolution of online care … spreading throughout the health care industry,” said Danielle Russella, executive vice president at American Well. “With this partnership, Rite Aid will pioneer the introduction of on-demand access to pharmacists through technology.”

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