Business honors for June 24, 2012

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has been designated an Advanced Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission in collaboration with the American Stroke Association. The designation means patients can expect care that meets or exceeds national standards for stroke and stroke symptoms.

The Louisiana Economic Development department has presented its 2012 Lantern Awards. Area winners are: Capital Region, Orion Instruments LLC in Baton Rouge; Acadiana Region, Oceaneering International Inc. in Morgan City; and Bayou Region, K&B Machine Works LLC in Houma. Also, St. Elizabeth Physicians of Gonzales won the Louisiana Quality Foundation’s Louisiana Performance Excellence Award.

Winners are selected by Louisiana’s eight Regional Planning and Development Districts, with selection based on the contributions of the manufacturers to their communities, including investments in employment growth and facility expansion. Each business also must demonstrate sustainability by remaining in operation at least three years prior to the nomination.

The Baton Rouge Area Chamber received a gold award from the American Chamber of Commerce Executives for “Catalyst,” BRAC’s quarterly magazine, in the magazines and newsletters category. BRAC’s 2010 annual report, the “I Believe” advertising campaign, and BRAC’s website relaunch each received a bronze award from ACCE.

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and LSU won a High Performance Computing Innovation Excellence Award for clinical trials on computer that would have been prohibitively expensive and taken longer through traditional methods.

The clinical trials compared the effectiveness of multiple therapy options, leading to better-informed clinical decisions. Simulation of therapy equipment resulted in savings of more than $100 million in infrastructure costs and more than $12 million in research costs while enabling rapid advancements in cancer care research. Wayne D. Newhauser was the project leader.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced 2012 Louisiana Small Business Week award winners for the Louisiana District. Area winners and their categories are: James Nowosielski, president of Storm Guard of LA. LLC in Lafayette, Veteran Small Business Champion; Bradley Hebert, of the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program at the Louisiana Workforce Commission in Baton Rouge, Veteran Small Business Champion-runner-up; the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, the Small Business Development Center Service Excellence Award and a regional award winner; Merrick J. Young, president of Living Solutions Construction LLC in Zachary, Capital Region District.

The Louisiana Technology Council presented eWARDS for technology achievements in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, with winners going to statewide competition against Shrevepeort and New Orleans winners. Area winners by categories are Outstanding Leadership in Technology to Charles F. D’Agostino, executive director of the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU, and Geoff Daily, executive director of FiberCorps in Lafayette; the Coup d’Tech Award for a revolutionary spirit to Turner Industries in Baton Rouge for CraftTrax Check In, a Web database that matches skill sets with work force requirements, and LANtec in Lafayette for its corporate training solutions for the Louisiana work force; Technology Product of the Year to Vinformatix LLC in Baton Rouge for Medsonic, an electronic medical record software for physicians, and Apex Innovations in Lafayette for its Hemispheres Stroke Competency Series that educates and supports stroke patients through technology; Best Application of Technology to Harbor Telematics in Baton Rouge for its unique system for cranes, and Bizzuka Inc. in Lafayette for its Web Management Content System for building, managing and updating websites; and Technology Educator of the Year to James Van Scotter for his role in developing LSU’s Master of Science in Analytics program.