Sept. 12, 2011
EXPERT ALERTS:
1. Building: How to Protect and Maintain Your Driveway
2. Business: Federal Patent Legislation
3. Real Estate: Making the Most of Your Porch or Deck This Fall
4. Technology: A New Financial Incentive for Hospitals to Take Better Care of You
5. Workplace: Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley Drive Uptick in Whistle-Blower Matters
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES
1. Upcoming PR/Media Events
2. Weekly Roundup: Journalists and iPads, PR Salaries
3. How Playing, Reading and Singing Improves Your Writing
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EXPERT ALERTS:
Via Expert Alerts, ProfNet members can alert reporters to experts who are available to discuss timely news topics. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please see the contact info at the end of the alert. You can also find Expert Alerts online on ProfNet Connect at http://bit.ly/pncalerts
**1. BUILDING: HOW TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN YOUR DRIVEWAY. Brian Kearney, owner of Neponset Valley Construction in Norwood, Mass.: "The most common issues regarding driveway maintenance are cracks, edge erosion and potholes. Water damage is the common root of driveway damage. Once it's started to erode, every time you use your driveway it erodes even more. Install a slight curb in order to avoid this problem. If a pothole forms, it will continue to grow over time, especially when exposed to water and the weight of a car. Snow and ice should be removed from the driveway as soon as possible with a plastic shovel, as metal shovels can scratch and damage the surface. Salt can be used to make removing ice and snow a lot easier, but it can damage paint, lawn and plants." News Contact: Lucia Scott, [email protected]
**2. BUSINESS: FEDERAL PATENT LEGISLATION. Robert M. Bryan, an attorney at Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson in Charlotte, N.C.: "Congress' vote on Thursday to overwhelmingly pass the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act represents the most significant overhaul of the U.S. patent system in 60 years. The patent bill is designed to streamline a system that has resulted in a backlog of 1.2 million pending patents. The bill would also switch the U.S. from the 'first-to-invent' system now in effect to the 'first-inventor-to file' system for patent applications, an approach designed to reduce costly litigation, create certainty about patent ownership and make our system consistent with those used in the rest of the world." News Contact: Michael Henry, [email protected] Phone: +1-704-926-1364
**3. REAL ESTATE: MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR PORCH OR DECK THIS FALL. Kelly O'Ryan, office manager at Coldwell Banker in Lexington, Mass.: "If there's room on your front porch or deck for a couple of chairs and a table, even if it's a small one, you should definitely invest in a set. If your space is small, make sure you don't buy anything too big because it will make the area seem more cramped. By adding a comfortable place to relax on your deck or porch, you're basically adding an entire room to your home that will impress prospective buyers before they even walk in your front door." O'Ryan: [email protected]
**4. TECHNOLOGY: A NEW FINANCIAL INCENTIVE FOR HOSPITALS TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOU. Jeffrey Bunting, founder and president of ActiveStrategy Inc., which specializes in peak-performance management and measurement: "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a piece of 2010 health care reform legislation, significantly changes the way hospitals will be reimbursed. Starting in fiscal year 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will withhold a growing percentage of reimbursement dollars; these funds will only be rewarded to hospitals that demonstrate positive performance in several areas, including patient safety, quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. Even small health systems estimate that this change could put at least $1 million at risk by 2013, and perhaps double that amount by 2017. Anticipating this change, hospitals are putting new processes and technology in place now that will help them retain every bit of their reimbursement dollars in the future. For example, leading hospitals have recently started using apps created to run on iPads and iPhones that automate what have typically been very manual, time-consuming and error-prone processes, such as safety observations, patient-satisfaction assessments and quality audits. Automating these surveys and observations has saved hundreds of hours of data-collection and input time, while reducing errors and driving major improvements in patient satisfaction and quality metrics." Bunting is available for media interviews. News Contact: Richard Berman, [email protected] Phone: +1-914-572-2707 Website: http://www.activestrategy.com
**5. WORKPLACE: DODD-FRANK AND SARBANES-OXLEY DRIVE UPTICK IN WHISTLE-BLOWER MATTERS. Greg Keating is a shareholder at Littler Mendelson, a law firm that recently formed the standalone Whistleblowing & Retaliation Practice, and the author of a national treatise entitled "Retaliation and Whistleblowing: A Guide for Human Resources Professionals and Counsel." Littler Mendelson reports a 25 percent increase in the number of whistle-blower and retaliation claims the firm has handled between 2009 and 2011, as a result of changing regulations stemming from the Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) acts. Keating is available to speak about this topic and the actions employers should take: "As allegations mount, the question becomes when, not if, whistle-blowers will come forward. With the implementation of Dodd-Frank's whistle-blowing regulations, as well as the U.S Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health's heightened focus on strengthening the act's Whistleblowing Protection Program, employers need to be well-prepared for the potential impact of whistle-blowing legislation now more than ever. Whistle-blowers can have a major impact on a company, regardless of its size, so employers must understand how to recognize protected activity and effectively initiate and manage a corporate investigation." News Contact: Shani Wright, [email protected] Phone: +1-212-219-0321
OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:
Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]
1. UPCOMING PR/MEDIA EVENTS: ProfNet Director Maria Perez shares upcoming industry events: http://bit.ly/r8o2nk
2. WEEKLY ROUNDUP: JOURNALISTS AND IPADS, PR SALARIES: ProfNet Editor Jason Hahn presents last week's interesting PR- and media-related stories: http://bit.ly/pYGDiw
3. HOW PLAYING, READING AND SINGING IMPROVES YOUR WRITING: Samantha McGarry presents tips to improve your writing: http://bit.ly/ppZLmL
PROFNET is an exclusive service of PR Newswire. To submit a request for experts: http://budurl.com/profnetquery To consult the ProfNet Experts Database: http://profnet.prnewswire.com To contact ProfNet by phone: +1-800-PROFNET, ext. 1 To share a thought on Expert Alerts: [email protected]
/PRNewswire – Sept. 12, 2011/
SOURCE ProfNet