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Health

National Nonprofit One Warm Coat Launches Campaign to Keep All Americans Warm This Winter

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One Warm Coat Day 2019

One Warm Coat distributed more than 500,000 coats to children and adults in need last winter. The nonprofit is ramping up its efforts to collect and distribute coats ahead of the 2019-2020 season.

“We often don’t think about providing warmth and support to those in need until after the first snowstorm of winter hits or the first frigid Arctic blast. As a result, many of us take action after our most vulnerable neighbors are already in danger,” One Warm Coat CEO Beth W. Amodio.


SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB)

Americans in every corner of the country are pledging to launch coat drives on Thursday, Oct., 3, in honor of One Warm Coat Day – the start of One Warm Coat’s annual campaign to make sure no one goes cold this winter.

One Warm Coat provided more than 500,000 coats to those in need during the 2018-19 winter season – but with the prospect of a bone chilling winter ahead, it is moving up the start of its annual campaign to make sure more people are safe and warm.

“We often don’t think about providing warmth and support to those in need until after the first snowstorm of winter hits or the first frigid Arctic blast. As a result, many of us take action after our most vulnerable neighbors are already in danger,” said Beth W. Amodio, One Warm Coat’s president and chief executive officer. “That’s why we’re encouraging Americans across the country to begin collecting and donating coats now – so we can ensure everyone who needs a warm coat will have one this winter.”

For the 39 million Americans who live in poverty, the onset of cold weather – and the prospect of a bone-chilling winter ahead – poses life-threatening danger. For these families and individuals, the winter months are more expensive and present a bigger strain on their budgets.

The winter cold also puts strain on their bodies. Cold weather forces the body to work harder, putting stress on the heart to ensure the body stays warm. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable – and they can quickly develop hypothermia without protection from the cold.

One Warm Coat Day offers an opportunity to raise awareness about the need for warm coats.

The organization is hoping to motivate 500 people, community groups and businesses to visit their website on One Warm Coat Day and register to host coat drives this fall.

One Warm Coat is also encouraging online donations. Every $1 donated warms 1 person!

Hosting a coat drive is simple. One Warm Coat provides all of the resources necessary to register, promote, and manage your drive. It then partners with nonprofits in each community to ensure that every coat that’s collected is delivered to someone in need.

To learn more, visit: https://www.onewarmcoat.org

One Warm Coat Day Sponsorships

One Warm Coat Day is benefiting from a number of key corporate sponsorships that will help raise additional awareness.

In celebration of One Warm Coat Day, national retailer Lands’ End and The Weather Channel are kicking off an integrated campaign to spread warmth. Lands’ End customers will receive 40 percent off one outerwear item when they bring in a new or gently worn coat to a Lands’ End store from October 3 -9 (limit 3); additionally, for every Squall jacket sold online on Oct. 3, Lands’ End will donate one outerwear item to One Warm Coat. Tune in to The Weather Channel on October 3 for more information and interviews with One Warm Coat President & CEO, Beth Amodio.

One Warm Coat is grateful to its 2019/2020 program sponsors, including Absolut Vodka, Brooks Brothers, Delta Air Lines, J. Crew, JET 24/FOX 66/YourErie.com and KTVU Fox 2.

About One Warm Coat

One Warm Coat is a national nonprofit organization that provides free, warm coats to people in need. The Coat Drive Program supports individuals, groups, companies and organizations across the country by providing the tools and resources needed to hold a successful coat drive. Coats are distributed in the communities where they were collected, to children and adults in need, without charge, discrimination or obligation. Since One Warm Coat began in 1992, volunteers have hosted more than 35,000 coat drives and more than 6 million coats have been distributed to people in need.

Resources for Reporters

One Warm Coat can provide expert national spokespeople, as well as local heroes who host successful coat drives in their communities, to reporters seeking interviews.

To find the right source for your story, contact Peter Panepento:

peter@turn-two.co

(202) 531-3886

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Science: Biology

For the First Time, UMD Professor Observes Crystallized Iron Product, Hemozoin, Being Made in Mammals, with Widespread Implications for Treatment of Blood Disorders

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Professor Iqbal Hamza

Professor Iqbal Hamza, Credit: Edwin Remsberg

Blocking the heme transporter gene transiently should be able to overcome acute heme toxicity in diseases such as sickle cell and malaria where the cells become significantly injured, causing pain, says Hamza.


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (PRWEB)

Most people have some idea of how important iron is to their health, but Iqbal Hamza, professor in Animal and Avian Sciences, has made his seventeen-year career at the University of Maryland all about the study of iron and heme trafficking and regulation in the body. With his latest publication in eLife, Hamza has discovered a never-before-seen protection mechanism in mammals against the toxicity of free heme in the body – the production of a crystallized form of heme known as hemozoin. The production of hemozoin was previously thought only to be possible by blood-feeding organisms like those that cause malaria, but observing this protective phenomenon in mammals opens up entirely new lines of research into how heme tolerance occurs in humans and how this can be used to treat not only malaria and other parasitic infections, but also hemolytic diseases like sickle cell disease.

“Every second, our body recycles over 1000 trillion heme-iron obtained from breaking down hemoglobin from dying red blood cells,” says Hamza. “The gene that regulates heme transport is highly expressed in the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Specialized macrophages help nurse and make new red blood cells, but they also help clear out the old ones. In fact, 5 million red blood cells are dying every second from age. These macrophages then help to recycle the heme-iron and take it back to the bone marrow. This is the heme-iron recycling process, and it is happening at an astonishing rate every second. But this study shows that mutating the main heme transporter in mice blocks heme recycling, and instead of this being lethal, it forms hemozoin. This has never been seen in mammals before.”

Hemozoin is a crystallized form of heme that is much less toxic and damaging to the system. Hamza previously identified the gene (known as HRG1) that regulates heme transport in his lab, first using a model organism called Caenorhabditis elegans, a bloodless worm that does not create its own heme like mammals do, making it easier to study and track heme transport in their bodies without getting confused as to what heme is coming from where. He then identified a similar gene in humans and wanted to test its function by knocking it out in a mammal to confirm its role in heme transport and recycling. Mouse genetics were performed in collaboration with David Bodine, senior investigator in the Genetics and Molecular Biology Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), an institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This study not only confirmed the role of the gene in heme transport, but led to the discovery that mammals will find a way to survive under these conditions through the production of hemozoin.

“Heme-iron recycling throughout the body is like a constant flow of water in a looped system,” says Hamza. “If you mess up one step, you can clog the system and cause build up. Without hemozoin formation, that heme build up would and should be lethal because free heme is so toxic. And even intuitively, we would have expected these mice to be significantly impaired. But the mice don’t show any kind of obvious impairments and look healthy from the outside. Up till now, any mammal who manages to accumulate heme ends up dying because heme is toxic. So how can these animals become heme tolerant?” Heme and iron measurements were done in collaboration with John Phillips, professor of pathology from the Division of Hematology, University of Utah School of Medicine.

Furthermore, if this phenomenon is being observed in mice, Hamza is “willing to bet” it is also occurring in humans. “Heme-tolerant patients could be mistaken as malaria patients, because when hemozoin is found in a human subject, it is assumed that the hemozoin is being made by the malaria parasite. We didn’t know that mammals could make their own hemozoin until now.”

Hamza continues, “I bet that there must be humans with hemozoin in their liver, spleen, and marrow, and it is only a matter of time before we find them. Our data predicts that these people will be protected from heme toxicity. We have to actively go and look for these patients so we can study the mutation of this gene in humans, because they will have less severe ailments than what we would typically expect.”

But finding these patients is important for the future study of this mutation and for potential therapeutic functions, as this mechanism could be used to provide relief for patients that suffer from diseases like sickle cell disease or malaria.

“Blocking the heme transporter gene transiently should be able to overcome acute heme toxicity in diseases such as sickle cell and malaria where the cells become significantly injured, causing pain. This would create some hemozoin in the body, but the animals should survive giving them extra time to reprogram themselves to deal with heme toxicity. This could have an important therapeutic advantage during hemolysis.”

Beyond this, there are a slew of other research questions that are opened up and can now be explored thanks to this discovery in mammals. The mechanisms underlying how hemozoin is made and how heme tolerance occurs are unknown, and being able to answer these questions in a human cell are important to the future of this work. Hamza has already had a lot of interest in this work, with collaborators coming out of fields from immunology to parasitology to neuroscience to microbiology. There are even urologists who think this pathway may be important in urinary tract infections and want to collaborate with Hamza.

“The discovery is very exciting, and I’ve gotten several calls already about all the different directions we can take this,” says Hamza. “It’s great to see the support in the scientific community, and we are already planning to search for this in humans to continue the path towards treatment of parasitic diseases, hemolytic diseases, like sickle cell, and many others.”

The paper entitled, “Hemozoin produced by mammals confer heme tolerance,” is available at eLife, DOI: 10.7554/eLife.49503.

Additional collaborators:

X-ray fluorescence microscopy was performed in collaboration with Martina Ralle, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University. Macrophage analyses were performed in collaboration with Dr. Malay Haldar, assistant professor of pathology in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. X-ray powder diffraction analyses were performed in collaboration with Dr. Eiji Nishibori from University of Tsukuba, Japan and Hiroshi Sugimoto, structural biologist from RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Japan.

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Technology: Computer

e-TeleQuote Partners with Habitat for Humanity® on Donation Drive

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“We’re excited to support Habitat for Humanity in their mission to create affordable housing,” says Anthony P. Solazzo, CEO of e-TeleQuote, “and we’re proud of all our team members for consistently living out our commitment to community involvement and service.”


CLEARWATER, Fla. (PRWEB)

e-TeleQuote Insurance, Inc. (https://www.etelequote.com) was pleased to host a donation drive benefiting Habitat for Humanity last week. All of the company’s six locations across the United States contributed directly to their local Habitat for Humanity affiliate organizations.

Employees were encouraged to donate in multiple ways. Many employees chose to donate items such as furniture, appliances, or tools to a Habitat ReStore. These nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers sell household goods to the public at a reduced rate. Proceeds are used to support Habitat for Humanity’s mission. Several employees also used their company-provided charitable day to volunteer at a Habitat for Humanity build site or a ReStore. In addition, employees donated funds directly, with e-TeleQuote matching the funds donated by its employees.

A spokesperson from the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate visited each e-TeleQuote office to share their mission and explain how home recipients invest sweat equity by working alongside volunteers on the construction site. “We are grateful for this new partnership with e-TeleQuote,” says Mike Sutton, President and CEO, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties. “We thank their team for giving back by donating their time and funds to help support deserving families in our community. Together, through partnerships like these, we will continue to break the cycle of poverty by providing affordable housing solutions to those in need.”

e-TeleQuote employees were enthusiastic about the partnership and donated generously throughout the drive. “We’re excited to support Habitat for Humanity in their mission to create affordable housing,” says Anthony P. Solazzo, CEO of e-TeleQuote, “and we’re proud of all our team members for consistently living out our commitment to community involvement and service.”

e-TeleQuote has a long history of charitable giving, including contributions to organizations that serve children, abuse victims, veterans, homeless individuals, families with sick children, and more.

About e-TeleQuote and easyMedicare.com

e-TeleQuote Insurance, Inc., the owner and operator of easyMedicare.com, is an independent digital insurance marketplace providing individuals the ability to purchase Medicare insurance from the comfort of their homes. The company diligently researches available plan options from multiple insurance carriers, helping people choose a plan that best suits their needs. e-TeleQuote provides personal consultation through experienced licensed Medicare advisors who suggest plan coverage options based on an individual’s particular needs. The company has proudly served tens of thousands of people across the United States.

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Technology: Electronics

Optoma’s New 406 Projector Series Delivers High Performance in Lightweight, Compact Size

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News Image

We continue to see education and government as important channels that not only need great image, text and video reproduction, but a brightness that can withstand ambient light, and robust reliability to ensure a return on their investment


FREMONT, Calif. (PRWEB)

Optoma, a world-leading manufacturer of large display products, today announced its 406 series of ultra compact 1080p and WUXGA laser light source projectors. With 4K HDR image processing and simplified features to meet the needs of ProAV installations in education, government and corporate settings, the Optoma ZU406, ZH406 and ZH406ST will light up any mid-size projection environment with incredible picture quality.

The Optoma ZU406 and ZH406 deliver 4,500 lumens of brightness and feature WUXGA and 1080p resolution respectively, with two powerful 15 watt stereo speakers for all-in-one performance. For those who need a more adaptive throw, the ZH406ST 1080p projector offers a short throw with 4,200 lumens and two 10 watt speakers, ideal for GovEd needs.

All three Optoma 406 series projectors are compact in size, low in weight and quiet in operation. Equipped with vertical lens shift, four corner correction, and 360-degree and portrait mode operation, the Optoma ZU406, ZH406 and ZH406ST ensure simple and flexible installations. Additionally, a laser light source eliminates lamp and filter replacements for up to 30,000 hours of low-cost and virtually maintenance-free operation.

Optoma 406 series additional specifications:


  • Dimensions: 13.26” x 4.25” x 10.5”

  • Weight: 10 lbs.

  • Contrast Ratio: 300,000:1 with Extreme Black enabled

  • Color: HDR10 and HLG compatible

  • Maximum Resolution: 1080p with HDMI 2.0 (upscaled to 4K UHD)

  • Light Source: DuraCore Laser

  • Light Source Life: Up to 30,000 hours of operation in Eco mode

  • Zoom: 1.6X – ZH406, ZH406ST; 1.3X – ZU406

HDMI and VGA inputs provide connectivity to high-quality 4K HDR digital video or legacy analog video sources while LAN and RS-232 enable control via Crestron, Extron, AMX or Telnet.

“We continue to see education and government as important channels that not only need great image, text and video reproduction, but a brightness that can withstand ambient light, and robust reliability to ensure a return on their investment,” stated Brian Soto, head of product management at Optoma. “We continue to innovate and expand our laser offerings to drive affordability and reliability for industries and channels that we know not only expect it, but need it.”

Pricing and Availability:

  • The Optoma ZU406 is a WUXGA (1920 x 1200) resolution projector available now for an estimated retail price of $1,699 through authorized dealers.

  • The Optoma ZH406 is a 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution projector available now for estimated retail price of $1,599 through authorized dealers.

  • The Optoma ZH406ST is a 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution projector available now for estimated retail price of $1,799 through authorized dealers.

Optoma ZW502 Shines Bright in Education and Corporate Settings

Optoma today debuted its WXGA ZW502 projector, designed to deliver powerful image performance and dependable operation to classrooms, meeting rooms, board rooms and digital signage applications. Shining bright at 5,000 lumens, the Optoma ZW502 offers 4K image processing, as well as HDR10 and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) compatibility, for high quality projection. Both lightweight and compact, the Optoma ZW502 is portable from room-to-room, and equipped with several built-in installation features, including four corner correction and 360-degree and portrait mode operation for easy setup. The ZW502 also offers robust input options including HDMI and VGA, as well as LAN and RS-232 connectivity for control via Crestron, Extron, AMX or Telnet.

The Optoma ZW502 is available now for an estimated retail price of $1,399 through authorized dealers.

Learn more about the Optoma ZW502 at: https://www.optoma.com/us/product/zw502/

About Optoma Technology

Optoma combines cutting-edge technology and innovation to deliver remarkable visual display products designed to connect audiences with engaging video and audio experiences. From the company’s ProScene projectors and Creative Touch interactive flat panel displays, to LED displays, Optoma’s suite of products can meet the demands of nearly any professional environment, including conference rooms and classrooms, digital signage, corporate, houses of worship, retail, simulation environments and control rooms. Optoma Technology is the U.S. headquarters for The Optoma Group, with continental headquarters also in Europe and Asia.

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Society: Social Services

FEI to Present at Alliance National Conference in Indianapolis

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https://www.prweb.com/

FEI


MILWAUKEE (PRWEB)

FEI Behavioral Health, a social enterprise with 40 years of history and a leader in workforce resilience from EAP and organizational development to workplace violence prevention and crisis management, will present at the 2019 Alliance for Strong Families and Communities (Alliance) National Conference.

The conference runs Oct. 16-18, 2019, at the Westin Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Ind. FEI Senior Director Terri Howard will present “Recognizing and Understanding Implicit Bias” on Oct. 18 at 9:00 a.m. CST.

Focusing on biases that are rooted in the subconscious, the session will explore the idea of implicit bias and how it can influence behaviors. Attendees will address bias in a safe environment and learn how to recognize their own biases while reducing the potential for microaggressions. Strategies for creating a diverse and equitable workplace will also be discussed.

Howard is a career corporate management executive with more than two decades of experience in organizational development. She has designed and delivered sensitive people-focused training on topics including implicit bias, leadership development, bullying and harassment, teamwork, anger management and workplace violence prevention. Howard has provided training and consultation for nonprofit organizations, Fortune 500 companies, government and institutions of higher learning around the country. Her relaxed style and informal approach create an engaging learning environment

for participants.

Along with presenting, FEI is a conference sponsor and will be celebrating 40 years of supporting the Alliance’s vision of a healthy and equitable society throughout the event.

Learn more about the 2019 Alliance National Conference by visiting the Alliance for Strong Families

and Communities.

FEI has a 40‐year history in enhancing workforce resiliency by offering a full spectrum of solutions, from EAP and organizational development to workplace violence prevention and crisis management. One of the most successful social enterprises in America, FEI was created by the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, a national network of social sector organizations working to achieve its vision of a healthy and equitable society. Visit http://www.feinet.com for additional information.

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Society: Disabled Issues / Disabilities

Orbit Research announces support for the new USB HID Standard for Braille Displays

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WILMINGTON, Del. (PRWEB)

Orbit Research today announced that it has introduced support for the newly released USB HID standard for braille displays. It is the first developer and manufacturer of braille displays to support the new standard which eliminates the need for special software or drivers and enables plug-and-play operation between electronic braille displays and devices such as computers and smartphones.

As an innovator and leader in the field of refreshable braille, Orbit Research was instrumental in proposing the need in the industry for a common and open communication protocol between refreshable braille displays and screen reading software. In collaboration with industry leaders including Apple, Microsoft and Google, Orbit Research and other companies jointly worked towards creating a USB standard that allows braille displays to communicate with screen-reader software on diverse operating systems and hardware platforms. This now minimizes and possibly even eliminates the need for each refreshable braille display to be tested with each screen-reader every time a new version of the software or firmware is released.

Orbit Research today released a software update for its flagship refreshable braille display product, the Orbit Reader 20, making it the first braille display in the world to support the new standard.

“We are very proud to be the first braille display company to implement the new USB standard.” said Dr. Gina Spagnoli, Orbit Research’s founder. “We experienced first-hand the challenges in ensuring smooth interoperability between our first braille display product and screen-readers. The resources required to do this on an ongoing basis are enormous, especially considering the fact that there are over half a dozen popular screen-readers that our products support. Some screen-reader vendors even require substantial fees to be paid for testing compatibility, making interoperability unaffordable for smaller new players in the market who have worked very hard to produce affordable low-cost displays for the first time. We hope that the new standard will encourage more players to enter this field and look forward to the standard being adopted by all screen-reader and operating system vendors. This is yet another step towards making braille affordable for users in developing countries.”

The updated software for the Orbit Reader 20 can be downloaded from the Orbit Research website http://www.orbitresearch.com and also includes other feature enhancements.

About Orbit Research:

Orbit Research develops and manufactures innovative and affordable products that enable an independent lifestyle for people who are blind or visually impaired. Founded with the mission to fulfill the urgent need for affordable assistive technology products, the company has introduced breakthrough products like the Orion family of accessible scientific and graphing calculators, the iBill Talking Banknote Identifier and the Orbit Reader 20 refreshable braille display that define the state-of-the-art in features, functionality, convenience and affordability. For more information, visit http://www.orbitresearch.com.

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health and fitness

Optoma Introduces Compact, High Brightness Laser Projectors for ProAV Market

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https://www.prweb.com/

ZU606TST

Offering incredible image quality, multiple integrated installation features and 4K HDR compatibility, these new projectors provide reliable, low-maintenance operation in a space-saving form factor – all at competitive price points.


FREMONT, Calif. (PRWEB)

Optoma, a world-leading manufacturer of large display products, today announced four new additions to its ProScene projector series offering bright, flexible projection and 4K HDR compatibility in a compact and lightweight design. Ranging from 1080p to WUXGA resolution, this new ProScene lineup delivers incredible brightness, color precision and unrivaled versatility for a variety of use cases and professional environments, including boardrooms, large conference rooms, houses of worship and digital signage.

The Optoma ProScene ZU606T, ZU606TST, ZH606 and ZH606TST projectors are powered by a DuraCore laser light source and feature 6,000 lumens of brightness and a 300,000:1 contrast ratio, producing lifelike images with incredibly rich detail. Offering up to 30,000 hours of operation in Eco mode, vertical lens shift and four corner correction, as well as 360-degree and portrait mode operation, these projectors provide long-lasting, reliable performance for even the most complex installations. HDMI and VGA inputs provide connectivity to high-quality 4K HDR digital video while LAN and RS-232 enable control via Crestron, Extron, AMX or Telnet. In addition, the ZU606TST and ZH606TST feature a 0.79:1 throw ratio and can produce 100-inch images from just a few feet away, making them ideal solutions for space-constrained environments.

Optoma ZU606T, ZU606TST, ZH606, ZH606TST shared specifications:

  • Dimensions: 14.7” x 4.6” x 11.9”

  • Weight: 12.3 lbs.

  • Brightness: 6,000 lumens

  • Contrast Ratio: 300,000:1 with Extreme Black enabled

  • Resolution: ZU606T, ZU606TST – WUXGA (1920 x 1200); ZH606, ZH606TST – 1080p (1920 x 1080); 4K HDR input support

  • Light Source: DuraCore Laser

  • Light Source Life: Up to 30,000 hours of operation in Eco mode

  • Horizontal and vertical keystone correction, four corner correction

  • 360-degree and portrait mode operation

  • 12v trigger

  • Integrated HDBaseT for ZU606T, ZU606TST and ZH606TST

  • Audio: 2 x 10W speakers

“With the new additions of the Optoma ZU606T, ZU606TST, ZH606 and ZH606TST to our line of ProScene projectors, we’re able to provide ProAV customers with a full range of compact, high-performance projection options to meet their various needs,” stated Brian Soto, head of product management at Optoma Technology. “Offering incredible image quality, multiple integrated installation features and 4K HDR compatibility, these new projectors provide reliable, low-maintenance operation in a space-saving form factor – all at competitive price points.”

Pricing and Availability:

  • The Optoma ZH606 is available now through authorized dealers in both black and white chassis, for an estimated street price of $2,999.

  • The Optoma ZU606T is available now through authorized dealers for an estimated street price of $3,299.

  • The Optoma ZH606TST-W is available now through authorized dealers for an estimated street price of $3,699.

  • The Optoma ZU606TST-W is available now through authorized dealers, for an estimated street price of $3,799.

About Optoma Technology

Optoma combines cutting-edge technology and innovation to deliver remarkable visual display products designed to connect audiences with engaging video and audio experiences. From the company’s ProScene projectors and Creative Touch interactive flat panel displays, to LED displays, Optoma’s suite of products can meet the demands of nearly any professional environment, including conference rooms and classrooms, digital signage, corporate, houses of worship, retail, simulation environments and control rooms. Optoma Technology is the U.S. headquarters for The Optoma Group, with continental headquarters also in Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.optoma.com.

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Industry: Healthcare

Visiun® Awarded Laboratory Analytics Group Purchasing Agreement with Premier

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. (PRWEB)

Visiun, the leader in laboratory analytics, is proud to announce they have been awarded a group purchasing agreement for laboratory analytics with leading healthcare improvement company, Premier Inc. Effective September 1, 2019, the new agreement allows all 4,000 U.S. hospitals and 165,000 providers within the Premier alliance, to take advantage of special pricing and terms pre-negotiated by Premier for Visiun’s flagship laboratory analytics solution, Performance Insight®.

“We are grateful that Visiun was selected as a trusted Premier supplier for laboratory analytics,” said Tim Bickley, Vice President of Sales for Visiun. “Performance Insight was developed to provide unsurpassed analytics and solutions that address the challenges of today’s laboratory. Supporting process improvement, operations, patient safety, and financial performance, we are excited that Performance Insight will now be available to the large number of hospitals within the Premier network.”

Compatible with every major LIS on the market, Performance Insight provides laboratory management with business intelligence and analytics to help their teams monitor key service commitments and improve workflow, quality, and financial performance. With Performance Insight, laboratories can eliminate manual reporting processes and see everything that is happening in the lab on a daily basis including turnaround time, quality, productivity/workflow, blood product utilization, test utilization, and more.

About Visiun, Inc.

Visiun® is the leading provider of performance analytics to the laboratory industry. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Visiun has been providing services to the laboratory industry for over nine years, with hundreds of laboratories installed across the United States. Performance Insight®, Visiun’s core product, provides laboratory managers with a comprehensive suite of analytics that deliver immediate improvements in performance, efficiency, and quality. For more information, please visit http://www.visiun.com.

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Health: Mental Health

Business Leaders Rank Employee Well-Being as Top Priority, Struggle How to Measure Impact

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LAS VEGAS (PRWEB)

LifeWorks, a leader in workplace well-being solutions, has released its findings from a recent qualitative survey of 25 US-based CEOs, investigating the impact of mental health and well-being in the workplace. The majority of leaders agree that the importance of employee well-being is increasing, according to the findings. In particular, executives recognize the importance of having effective programs in place to help attract top talent, retain key employees, as well as reduce absenteeism and increase engagement. Yet measuring well-being or the impact of their programs is proving a challenge. All respondents are in agreement on the need for a more comprehensive well-being index.

Michael Colucci, CEO of Idilus LLC, a Professional Employer Organization, said, “Employee well-being ranks number one, because your organization is only as good as the people that you have working for you, and their well-being determines how successful or unsuccessful you’re going to be.”

Employee-First Strategy

The majority of CEOs surveyed agreed that the importance of employee well-being is increasing. One executive stated that “employee well-being programs are becoming more of an expectation rather than a perk.” Whereas this once might have been exclusively the domain of the HR department, there is now a greater understanding among CEOs that employee well-being is vital for creating a productive, engaged and loyal workforce.

According to a CEO from an engineering firm, “I don’t believe that customers should come first, I believe that employees should come first. It’s a tenant at my company. It is a cornerstone of my company to have happy well-adjusted employees.”

Executives surveyed recognize the stress their employees face, with concerns ranging from financial stress to issues around family and home life. Family illness, divorce, childcare and eldercare were key areas, but employees were also concerned about job security and health issues. They also indicated that they saw EAP as a foundational component of well-being.

Another executive said, “If my employees are unhappy or they’re going through whatever stresses that they are encountering at home in their personal life, they bring that in. If you have a big team environment that we work in…it can cause absenteeism. People who aren’t focused at work, it creates delays with projects so things get backed up at work.”

Millennials and Well-Being

There is a growing understanding among company leaders that programs supporting employee well-being are critical for both attracting talent and retaining staff. Millennials, in particular, are seen to be more focused on a company’s culture and well-being approach, but there was also the recognition that anxiety in the workplace was affecting employees at all ages, and therefore wellness needs to be considered at a company-wide level.

Isolation Among CEOs

Unsurprisingly, the majority of CEOs said that they experience significant work stress, but many of them believed that they were successful in compartmentalizing that anxiety, and almost all noted how important it was for them to mask anxiety and stress as part of their everyday lives.

The results show how the burden of leadership impacts many CEOs. Executives surveyed are aware of the contagious nature of workplace stress and how they need to contain their emotions with the larger workforce. Nearly all the CEOs questioned also felt some form of isolation in the workforce, and recognized that this was a concern for their well-being and work.

How do We Measure Wellness?

Among those surveyed, there is no consistent approach to how their companies tackled improving employee wellness in the workforce, or even how they measured workplace wellness. While the majority said they measured the success of the well-being program with business-critical factors such as retention of employees, satisfaction in their role and employee engagement – these outcomes are something that CEOs set as a priority for CHROs.

All the respondents agreed that a comprehensive employee well-being index would be helpful to their business and many noted that they currently do not have a stable measure or index for their well-being program, with each using different KPIs and metrics. Almost all mentioned the use of some form of EAP or external wellness support, but many did not believe that their employees engage with the support provided as much as they could and there was little way to measure the success of that engagement.

Ushering in a New Era of Unified Well-Being

Paula Allen, Vice President of Research, Analytics and Innovation for Morneau Shepell said, “Employee wellness is increasingly critical to business success and at the top of the agenda for many CEOs and even board members. But executives still struggle with methods to properly execute and evaluate that support. LifeWorks is positioned to address these concerns. We partner with organizations to support their employee’s total well-being – physical, mental, social and financial – in a preventative, holistic, high-engagement approach. For users, LifeWorks provides confidential mental health and well-being support through a personalized well-being app with direct access to help 24/7. For leaders, we deliver the tools to track the mental health and well-being of the workforce and show direct impact over time.”

About LifeWorks

LifeWorks by Morneau Shepell provides the right care at the right time to people, organizations and communities across the globe so they can grow and thrive. LifeWorks is a unified well-being solution that helps organizations effectively support their workforce to stay happy, healthy and productive. Powered by the company’s global strength, clinical expertise and LifeWorks’ human-centric, leading technology, LifeWorks helps employers and their people achieve more than a traditional Employee Assistance Program can provide. LifeWorks partners with its customers to address their people’s total mental, physical, social and financial well-being at every stage of their journey. As the world’s most extensive employee assistance provider, LifeWorks supports employees and their families around the world – any time, any where – so they can manage work, health and life challenges. Recognizing that employers can’t address what they don’t measure, LifeWorks puts actionable KPIs at the center of its solution.

About the Study

The LifeWorks Workplace Mental Health study – the first of its kind – is a qualitative survey of 25 Presidents and CEOs, living in the US, who manage companies with more that 1,000 (global) employees. Interviews were conducted between July 31-September 15, 2019 on the topic of Mental Health and Wellness in the Workplace. LifeWorks plans to make this an annual study.

For Further Information:

Morneau Shepell, media@morneaushepell.com

Elise Vue, Peppercomm, evue@peppercomm.com, 415.633.3212

Business: Insurance

AAON Chooses SOSPES Environmental, Health & Safety Software

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“We are excited to be working with Sospes and their innovative approach to safety management.”


BOULDER, Colo. (PRWEB)

AAON, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAON), a leading manufacturer of heating and cooling products, has selected Sospes’ EHS management software as its environmental, health and safety platform partner for its operations in Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. AAON products are regularly recognized as industry-leading, most recently winning awards in July 2019 for excellence in product design in the 16th annual Dealer Design Awards Program.

Sospes’ EHS software improves communication between workers and their companies, creating a collaborative environment for improving safety and productivity.

“As a leading manufacturer of HVAC equipment, safety is a priority for AAON. Our company has continued to experience rapid growth over the last several years, and we recognized that our safety programs need to keep up with the rest of our growth,” said Scott Asbjornson, AAON Chief Financial Officer. “This software will allow us to be more efficient, and we are excited to be working with Sospes and their innovative approach to safety management.”

“AAON is a remarkable manufacturing success story, and like any manufacturing operation, their employees are faced with workplace hazards,” said Tom Carson, President of Sospes. “We are proud to have been selected as their partner in safety management and look forward to supporting their commitment to worker safety and continuous process improvement.”

About AAON

AAON is engaged in the engineering, manufacturing, marketing and sale of air conditioning and heating equipment consisting of standard, semi-custom and custom rooftop units, chillers, packaged outdoor mechanical rooms, air handling units, condensing units, makeup air units, energy recovery units, geothermal/water-source heat pumps, coils, and controls. Since the founding of AAON in 1988, AAON has maintained a commitment to design, develop, manufacture and deliver heating and cooling products to perform beyond all expectations and demonstrate the value of AAON to our customers. For more information, please visit http://www.AAON.com .

About Sospes

Sospes’ award-winning EHS management software makes organizations better by engaging employees with easy incident reporting, accountable task management and powerful data analytics, all within a single integrated mobile application. The product is easy to learn, simple to use and can be implemented in far less time than typical enterprise systems. The application is hosted in Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, which allows the company to deliver a secure, robust user experience nearly anywhere in the world. For more information, please visit http://www.sospes.com.

Media contacts:

Jonathan Monnette                

jmonnette@sospes.com            

(541) 868-5474

Eric Taylor

marketing@aaon.com

(918 583-2266

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