Carmel-based Williams Comfort Air, a heating and cooling contractor, is accepting nominations for its Extraordinairy Treasures annual scholarship program. Six one-time scholarships totaling $5,000 will be awarded to high school seniors based on community service, leadership activities and family commitment.
The voice-mail system at the Murat already greets callers with this message: You have reached the Old National Center, a Live
Nation venue.
What would you do with $10 million? Indiana Health Information Technology Inc. wants to spend it to link
five medical records exchanges that operate separately around the state. The statewide organization received the money from
programs created by the federal stimulus bill. The group will link existing exchanges operated in and around Indianapolis,
Bloomington, Cincinnati, Fort Wayne and South Bend.
What’s this? A health insurance company trying to compete against Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in central Indiana?
Consumer Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Medical Mutual of Ohio, has opened an office in Carmel with
intentions to sell group and individual policies. Consumers Life, which operates primarily in southern and northeastern Indiana,
has been expanding its network of doctors and hospitals in an attempt to reach statewide. The company has negotiated rates
with 44 hospitals and 5,000 physicians, and now employs 13 at its Carmel office, with plans to add more. It intends to extend
its SuperMed provider network statewide by the end of 2010.
Attaboy, here’s another contract. The Indiana State Department of Health awarded a $434,000 contract to the University
of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community to lead an initiative to reduce infections acquired in health care
facilities. The new Indiana Healthcare Associated Infection Initiative will target such things as infections acquired from
catheters that aren’t completely sterile or from side effects of antibiotic use. The 15-month Indiana program will begin
in July and include at least 80 hospitals, nursing homes and home-health agencies. The latest initiative is modeled on the
Indiana Pressure Ulcer Prevention Initiative, which UIndy also oversees under a state contract. The first round of the pressure
ulcer initiative involved more than 160 hospitals, long-term care centers and home-health care providers and decreased the
incidence of pressure ulcers by 30 percent.
St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has acquired a six-doctor orthopedic surgery practice that operates
in St. Francis’ Mooresville hospital. Joint Replacement Surgeons of Indiana fully integrated with St.
Francis on Monday, the hospital system announced. The physician group will be called St. Francis Medical Group-Joint Replacement
Surgeons. The doctors will continue working out of the St. Francis-Mooresville campus and the St. Vincent Indianapolis
Hospital campus on West 86th Street.
Eli Lilly and Co. paid $50 million for exclusive rights from Acrux Ltd. to an underarm testosterone lotion
called Axiron for men with limited sex drive due to low levels of the hormone, according to Bloomberg News. Indianapolis-based
Lilly will also pay Acrux, based in West Melbourne, Australia, $3 million when manufacturing assets are transferred. Acrux
may earn $87 million more if U.S. regulators approve the drug for sale, an additional $195 million in commercial milestone
payments, and royalty payments on future sales.
Clarian Health is expanding its LifeLine Critical Care Transport service to Lafayette and Muncie, making
its Clarian Arnett and Ball Memorial Hospital into regional centers for critical care. When the new cities come online in
July, LifeLine will operate from six bases. Its other locations are in Indianapolis, Columbus, Kokomo and Terre Haute. Each
LifeLine team includes a pilot, nurse, and a flight paramedic or respiratory therapist, depending on the needs of the patient
being transported. LifeLine conducts more than 1,500 flights annually.
Indianapolis-based Nyhart Co. has acquired ASAP Flex Plans, a 7-year-old firm that helps
smaller employers administer employee flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, health reimbursement accounts and
COBRA benefits. ASAP owner John Baird will join Nyhart as a consultant, spearheading a rollout of new flexible spending accounts
by year’s end. ASAP’s 150 clients will be served under the Nyhart name.
Prior to its jump to Carmel, Civic offers a musical-heavy season at Marian University.
The region’s blossoming technology sector is about to get another shot of financial fertilizer. The newly formed Allos
Ventures has raised $20 million from investors and plans to focus on early-stage tech companies.
ITT Educational Services and other for-profit educators are buying not-for-profit colleges to gain access to their regional
accreditation. The tactic could fuel rapid growth but makes critics uncomfortable.
-Bridal Superstore leased 15,540 square feet at Castleton Point Shopping Center, 82nd Street and Allisonville Road. The tenant was represented by Andrew Schrage of Coldwell Banker Commercial Realty Services. The landlord, The Broadbent Co., was represented by Broadbent’s John Beuoy.
-Lamar Advertising leased 10,000 square feet at 2200 N. Curry Pike, Bloomington. The tenant was represented by Greg Witkowski of CB Richard Ellis. The landlord, D&S Investments, represented itself.
-Tom James leased 4,139 square feet of office space at 8470 Allison Pointe Blvd. The tenant was represented by David A. Moore and Darrin L. Boyd of Cassidy Turley. The landlord, Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, was represented by Andrew D. Martin of Cassidy Turley.
-The Marion County Assessor leased 2,525 square feet in the Warren Professional Building, 7300 E. 31st St. The landlord, Robert J. Walden, was represented by Ed Troha of CB Richard Ellis. The tenant represented itself.
-Dr. Erin Phillips DDC leased 2,927 square feet at 8433 Harcourt Road. The tenant was represented by Bill Scott and Eric Steiner of Equis Corp. The landlord, Corvasc MDs PC, was represented by Matt Jackson and Joe Lonnemann of Halakar Real Estate.
-Global Drug Testing Labs Inc. leased 2,400 square feet of office space at Western Select, Building 30, 2525 N. Shadeland Ave. The tenant was represented by Ryan Conrad of Resource Commercial Real Estate. The landlord, Western Select Properties, was represented by Matt Langfeldt and Rich Forslund of NAI Olympia Partners.
-Hiatt Accounting Services Inc. leased 1,750 square feet at 6350 N. Shadeland Ave. The landlord, 6350 Shadeland Ave. LLC, was represented by Matt Jackson and Joe Lonnemann of Halakar Real Estate. The tenant represented itself.
-Timothy Shobe Associates subleased 2,598 square feet at 8727 Commerce Park Drive. The tenant was represented by Matt Jackson and Joe Lonnemann of Halakar Real Estate, as was the lessor, Netwise Resources Inc.
-Ray Skillman Kia leased 1.55 acres at 1394 N. Shadeland Ave. The landlord, Justus Companies, was represented by Joe Lonnemann and Matt Jackson of Halakar Real Estate. The tenant represented itself.
-Point Blank Nutrition leased 1,434 square feet at 2784 E. 146th St. The landlord, Thompson Thrift, was represented by Susannah Gershman of Thompson Thrift. The tenant represented itself.
-FANUC America Corp. leased 1,065 square feet at 11708 N. College Ave., Carmel. The tenant was represented by Eric Kemp of Resource Commercial Real Estate. The landlord, RF Management Group LLC, was represented by Brooke Augustin of NAI Olympia Partners.
Most local venture funds are standing pat because the economy is weak and they’re no longer
in fund-raising mode. Having invested most of their funds, the firms have shifted to the nurturing, or “harvesting”
stage, to try to improve investment returns.
J. Smoke Wallin launches Pelican Brands LLP to help booze companies market and distribute their products after his attempts
to acquire underperforming brands fizzled due to the credit crunch.
Carmel-based insurer Conseco Inc. will ask shareholders to approve changing the company’s name to CNO Financial Group,
the company said Thursday morning.
Conseco Inc. CEO Jim Prieur says it’s time to change the company’s 27-year-old name partly because it’s become better associated
with a sports facility than with the insurer’s products.
A Bloomington investor bought the sprawling complex out of receivership in 2008, and had hoped
to spend more than $20 million to renovate it.
-Community Hospitals of Indiana Inc. leased 42,187 square feet of office space at 2045 Rama Drive, Indianapolis. The tenant was represented by Rob Lukemeyer of Baseline Commercial. The landlord, Rama Drive Realty LLC, was represented by Rich Forslund and Matt Langfeldt of NAI Olympia Partners.
-Mindful Movement leased 5,700 square feet at Greenbriar Shopping Center at the corner of 86th Street and Ditch Road. The tenant was represented by Keith Fried of Sitehawk Retail Real Estate. The landlord, Greenbriar Shopping Center, was represented by Fred Frisch.
-Great Harvest Bread Co. leased 2,366 square feet at the Providence Shoppes, 12505 Old Meridian St., Suite 100, Carmel. Susannah Gershman of Thompson Thrift and Natasha Evans of Buckingham Cos. represented the landlord, Buckingham Cos. The tenant represented itself.
-Right Management has leased 3,957 square feet at 8900 Keystone Crossing. The tenant was represented by Matt Fetter of USI Real Estate Brokerage Services Inc. The landlord, Philadelphia-based BGP Properties Ltd., was represented by John R. Robinson and Abby L. Cooper of Jones Lang LaSalle.
-Dimond Financial Advisors and Premier Wealth Advisors leased 1,554 square feet of office space at 8888 Keystone Crossing. The tenant was represented by Darrin L. Boyd and David A. Moore of Cassidy Turley. The landlord, Philadelphia-based BGP Properties Ltd., was represented by John R. Robinson and Abby L. Cooper of Jones Lang LaSalle.
-Little Caesars leased 3,170 square feet at Post Park, 8857 Boehning Lane. The tenant was represented by Ron Mannon of Grubb & Ellis Harding Dahm & Co. The landlord, Cabot Properties LLC, was represented by Kyle Powell of Cassidy Turley.
-Subway leased 2,000 square feet at Shoppes at Southport Square, 3900 E. Southport Road. The tenant was represented by Rick Jones of Grubb & Ellis Harding Dahm & Co. The landlord, Southport Square Shoppes LLC, was represented by Scot Courtney and Bart Jackson of Grubb & Ellis Harding Dahm & Co.
-First Place Bank leased 2,850 square feet of office space at 3105 E. 98th St. The landlord, BREOF Keystone REO LLC, was represented by David A. Moore and Darrin L. Boyd of Cassidy Turley. The tenant represented itself.
-Formspring LLC leased 2,577 square feet of office space at 6525 E. 82nd St. Todd Morris of JTM Commercial represented the tenant. The landlord, BREOF Castleton Park REO LLC, was represented by David A. Moore and Darrin L. Boyd of Cassidy Turley.
-Kort Builders has completed a 1,300-square-foot expansion for Indiana State University at 101 W. Ohio St.
-Kort Builders has completed an 11,000-square-foot office space for Quinlan Marketing at 550 Congressional Blvd., Carmel.
This spring’s Parade of Home is being held about two weeks earlier than normal to help builders lure homebuyers who want to
take advantage of federal incentives intended to give the residential real estate market a boost. Builders also are taking
chances on more spec homes.
Engledow Group, one of the Indianapolis area's largest landscape companies, has acquired Litchfield Landscape Co. to bolster
its estates division.
Indiana University’s new vice president of research will bring with him a background in neuroscience and cell biology. Jorge José, whose appointment must be approved by IU trustees, comes from a similar position at the University at Buffalo, which is part of the State University of New York system. He will seek to grow IU’s $469 million in annual revenue from research grants and awards. José will replace Robert Schnabel, dean of the IU school of informatics, who has served as interim vice president for research since July 2009. A native of Mexico City, José received his doctorate, as well as master's and bachelor's degrees, in physics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. His most recent research has been in biological physics, specifically in computational neuroscience and cell biology.
The tanning salon industry took a hit when the health reform bill was passed last week. Salon operators and makers of tanning products think the 10-percent tax on tanning equipment could cause the loss of thousands of jobs nationwide. The impact likely will be felt even harder in central Indiana, where dozens of tanning salons have popped up over the last two decades and where one of the nation’s largest makers of tanning beds and lotions made especially for tanning salons is headquartered. Indianapolis-based ETS LLC, ranked by several industry groups as the top-selling manufacturer of tanning beds and lotions, employs 200 in Indianapolis. “It’s difficult to say how badly this will hurt the tanning industry, but it’s safe to say it will hurt,” said Bill Pipp, CEO of ETS. The new tax takes effect July 1.
The Regenstrief Institute has been awarded a $350,000 stimulus bill contract to help the U.S. Social Security Administration and Indiana health care providers speed decision-making on disability cases. The Institute will begin the work immediately. Applying for physician care as part of Social Security disability benefits can take weeks or months as a patient’s medical information is gathered from numerous hospitals and doctors. This time lag has contributed for years to backlogs in the Administration’s caseload. Regenstrief hopes to tap its medical record sharing system, the Indiana Network for Patient Care, to cut down on the wait. The Social Security Administration awarded similar contracts to 14 other organizations throughout the country.
Six hospitals in Indiana were among the top 100 named this year by Thomson Reuters. Those making the list were St. Vincent’s Carmel and Indianapolis hospital, St. Francis’ Indianapolis hospital, Major Hospital in Shelbyville, Parkview Hospital in Huntington and Community Hospital in Munster. The Thomson Reuters list evaluates hospital performance in 10 areas: mortality, medical complications, patient safety, average length of stay, expenses, profitability, patient satisfaction, adherence to clinical standards of care, and post-discharge mortality and readmission rates for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.
The University of Indianapolis is developing a new on-site nursing degree program for Clarian Health. The goal of the $2.4 million initiative is to help hospital employees move up the career ladder and open up entry level positions for jobseekers displaced by cutbacks in manufacturing and other industries. The funding is part of a federal stimulus package provided by the U.S. Department of Labor through the Indianapolis Private Industry Council. The new Associate of Science in Nursing program, which will be based at Methodist Hospital, will accept 24 students this fall and the following two years.
Conseco Inc. moved some of its customer-service work to India, prompting the local job reductions.
One of the alleged freshman victims in the Carmel High School basketball hazing investigation has hired an attorney and is
threatening a lawsuit. Attorney Robert Turner said the young man was sexually attacked by senior players of the Carmel basketball
team on a bus after a game. Turner said other attacks took place in the school locker room. "I have other victims’
names and I'd like to talk with them," Turner said. He said the parents of his freshman client are angry school
administrators have not taken action or made a decisive statement about what will happen to the students accused of the assaults.
Hamilton County prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp said her office will decide on criminal charges by the end of April.
ITT Educational Services Inc., 13000 N. Meridian St., Carmel, 46032, www.ittesi.com, provides technology-oriented, post-secondary
education, including associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees as well as non-degree programs.
