2012 May-Jun South Carolina Business

M ay /J une 2012 V ol . 33 | N o . 3

South Carolina’s Health Care Checkup The Future of Nursing GE Healthcare Talent Magnet

Health Care Successes Improving the Health of Our Economy

SouthCarolinaBlues.com

80%

20%

In health care, the 80/20 rule isn’t a business principle, it’s a value proposition.

Eighty percent of health care costs come from just 20 percent of the population. So a good health plan shouldn’t simply pay claims, but should also keep healthy members well and put those with chronic conditions in better control of their illnesses.

That’s the value of Blue! No matter where our members fit into the 80/20 rule, there are programs, services or tools to help them maintain or improve their health.

That means lower claims costs, less absenteeism from work or school and more productive employees.

And with the best negotiated rates on the largest provider network in the state and nation, our members get the health care they need for the lowest out-ofpocket costs, no matter what stage of health they’re in.

From preventive checkups with network doctors to proactive case management from our caring nurses, BlueCross offers more than a benefit plan — we offer a value proposition: the broadest access to quality health care services at the most for your money.

Sixty-Five yearS BeneFiting South Carolina BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

TRANSFORMING THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE TM (L-R)

HOWELL MORRISON is a third generation lawyer located in the Charleston office. He concentrates on business litigation and has an active appellate practice.

CARL ROBERTS joins the Firm’s Columbia office with 18 years experience as former General Counsel for the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

GARRETT STECK provides legal services to international clients as well as local small businesses on immigration, economic development, and general corporate matters from the Firm’s Greenville office.

EXPANDING OUR CAPABILITIES TO BETTER SERVE OUR CLIENTS

COPPER DOME S T R A T E G I E S, L L C

A Subsidiary of Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A.

The COPPER DOME STRATEGIES team of lobbyists and political consultants has a strong background in all levels of government, corporate and community relations, and professional trade associations. We are proud to have JEFF THORDAHL, KIM KENT, BILLY ROUTH*, and CARL BLACKSTONE* on our team. www.HSBcopperdome.com *Non-attorney professional WWW.HSBLAWFIRM.COM

CHARLESTON

COLUMBIA

FLORENCE

GREENVILLE

MYRTLE BEACH

WASHINGTON, DC

Anne S. Ellefson, Managing Director, 75 Beattie Place, 11th Floor, Greenville, SC 29601 864.240.3200 aellefson@hsblawfirm.com

FEATURES

Why Health Care Coverage is so Expensive.................10

By Jim Deyling

The Future of Nursing...................................................12

10

By Shalama Jackson

Talent Magnet..............................................................16

By Matthew Gregory South Carolina’s Health Care Successes...................22

By Sandy Mau Improving Health Care and the Health of Our Economy...........................................................24

By Bill Mahoney Member Spotlight

12

Transforming the Business Landscape for 125 Years................................................................26

By Matthew Gregory ECONOMIC DRIVERS Accelerating STEM education in S.C. • Dr. Murray Brockman & Kim Bowman. ...............7 Health care reform two years later • Julius W. "Jay" McKay........................................7 Where S.C. stands in the health exchange debate • Todd Atwater.................................. 8 Plan B: Paying back unions • Dan Ellzey....................................................................9

16 D E PA RT M E N T S Message from the President......................................3

Events Calendar.........................................................32

Otis Rawl Advertiser Index........................................................32

Business Briefs.............................................................4 Member News...........................................................30

24

Welcome, New Members.........................................31

The opinions and views expressed by the contributors to this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, its staff or members.

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| S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss

A M e ss a g e f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t ~ O t i s R a w l

May/June 2012 Volume 33, Number 3

South Carolina Chamber of Commerce 1301 Gervais Street, Suite 1100 Columbia, South Carolina 29201 800.799.4601 www . scchamber . net

M P resident & C hief E xecutive O fficer OTIS RAWL V ice P resident of P ublic P olicy & C ommunications DARRELL SCOTT A ssociate V ice P resident of C ommunications

JULIE SCOTT M ulti M edia C oordinator MATTHEW GREGORY G raphics & W eb A dministrator BOBBY BAKER

M SOUTH CAROLINA BUSINESS MAGAZINE E ditor MATTHEW GREGORY A rt D irection & D esign TIM MCKEEVER / TMCA INC. P roduction & P rint C oordination TMCA INC./CONVERGING MEDIA LLC A dvertising S ales CONVERGING MEDIA LLC DEIDRE MACKLEN 803.318.3923

STATE CHAMBER with Distinction

Copyright © 2012 by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and Converging Media LLC. All foreign and U.S. rights reserved. Contents of this publication, including images, may not be reproduced without written consent from the publisher. Published for the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce by Converging Media LLC. 803.256.3010

Export-Import Bank critical to American jobs

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ust last month, I had the pleasure of joining Boeing for the rollout of the very first South Carolina-made Dreamliner aircraft. The North Charleston plant is one of only three places around the globe that makes wide-body commercial airplanes. As we celebrated, I couldn’t help but realize the occasion is another testament to the importance of creating a business climate where American companies can thrive.

I also thought about how Congress is grappling with legislation that would provide a more level playing field for U.S. companies like Boeing – the reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank.

The debate in Congress over the future of the Ex-Im Bank may not be the lead story in many South Carolina news outlets, but the outcome of the debate will have a profound impact on the futures of thousands of South Carolina workers and small business owners. The Ex-Im Bank is the official export credit agency of the United States that assists in financing the export of goods and services at no cost to taxpayers. The Bank’s charter will expire May 31, 2012, and if the Bank is not reauthorized prior to this date, critical financing for exporters and suppliers will be at risk. The Ex-Im Bank is a critical tool for more than 50 South Carolina-based manufacturers that routinely rely on the financing to export their products. And, with nearly eight out of 10 planes built at North Charleston’s Boeing location going overseas, the impact of the Ex-Im Bank on the Palmetto State will exponentially grow.

Last year, the Ex-Im Bank supported more than $40 billion in U.S. exports that accounted for 290,000 U.S. jobs at more than 3,600 companies, approximately 80 percent small- to medium-sized businesses. In South Carolina alone over the last five years, the Bank has supported approximately $500 million in exports. And, it has helped Boeing sell its new Dreamliner to customers around the world.

In the years since the Ex-Im Bank was last authorized in 2006 (without any dissenting votes), it has returned $3.4 billion to the U.S. Treasury above and beyond the cost of its operations. Some critics have said it risks taxpayer dollars, but less than two percent of Ex-Im loans go into default.

This self-sustaining Bank operates on the fees and interest charged to users. In fact, it returned an $800 million budget surplus to the federal government last year alone.

Some have argued that reauthorization of the Bank would distort the free market system. In the end, the Ex-Im Bank attempts to help even the odds for American businesses that compete with foreign governments like China and France that provide as much as 10 times more export credit than the United States does. In addition, the growth of the Ex-Im Bank is a good thing because it means exports are growing, enhancing U.S. job creation.

For nearly 80 years, the Ex-Im Bank has enjoyed wide bipartisan support. Today’s allies, including U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and U.S. Congressmen Jim Clyburn and Joe Wilson, know this vote matters. The bottom line is

reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank is critical to the ability of U.S. exporters to compete on a level playing field in a market where current and future competitors continue to enjoy aggressive support from their countries’ export credit agencies.

Otis Rawl is president and chief In this edition executive officer of the South of South Carolina Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

Business, we take a look at another major federal issue: health care. We examine health care reform two years later, learn where South Carolina stands in the health exchange debate, discuss South Carolina’s health care successes and consider the future of nursing. We spotlight Florence-based GE Healthcare, a fascinating company that manufactures MRI machines, producing about 900 machines each year that impact millions of lives.

Recently, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce prevailed against continued overreach by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) when a federal district court judge ruled that employers do not have to post a notice informing their employees of certain rights to unionize. The ruling comes on the heels of a March ruling by a federal district court in Washington, D.C. that upheld the NLRB’s authority to issue the notice but limited the remedies available to the board under the rule for a failure to post. The associations involved in that lawsuit and the NLRB both appealed that decision.

In part based on the South Carolina decision, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has now enjoined enforcement of the rule until the appeal in that case is complete. This means that no employer is required to post the notice of National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) rights at this time. This ruling is an excellent example of the importance of the unified voice of business in standing up for rights against government encroachment.

As we continue to work hard to foster a business climate that attracts investment and creates jobs, we know federal government decisions impact the ability to do business every day. Therefore, the South Carolina Chamber is actively engaged on the federal front on your behalf.

Whether it is reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank, continued overreach by the NLRB, regulations promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or reducing costs and increasing certainty related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), we will continue to strongly advocate for pro-business policy.

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Michelin expands S.C. operations with $750 million investment Michelin is expanding its operations in the state with a new Earthmover tire manufacturing plant in Anderson County, S.C. and an expansion of its Earthmover tire facility in Lexington, S.C. The two projects represent a $750 million investment and will create up to 500 new jobs.

The announcement comes after Michelin already made a 2011 commitment to add an estimated 270 jobs and invest $200 million in its existing Lexington passenger and light truck tire manufacturing facility.

“There is unprecedented demand for Michelin Earthmover tires throughout the world. It’s a tribute to the productivity of our employees and the pro-business environment in South Carolina that the company is expanding its Earthmover capacity in the state where we first began manufacturing in the United States,” said Michelin North American Chairman and President Pete Selleck.

“The market for Earthmover tires grew by more than 20 percent between 2009 and 2011. This new facility will help us meet sustained demand while also attaining our growth objectives for 2015,” said JeanDominique Senard, managing general partner of Michelin.

The new plant will be Michelin’s 19th manufacturing facility in North America and its ninth in South Carolina. More than 8,000 of Michelin North America’s 22,300 employees are based in South Carolina.

BMW Manufacturing’s 2011 export value surges past $7 billion

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MW Manufacturing Co. has announced the export value of its passenger vehicles through the Port of Charleston in 2011 totaled $7.4 billion, confirming the company’s South Carolina facility as the leading U.S. automotive exporter. According to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, this accomplishment represents a 68 percent increase over BMW’s 2010 value. In 2011, more than 192,000 vehicles were exported from its South Carolina plant.

Josef Kerscher, president of BMW Manufacturing, stated that “since the plant’s production grew 73 percent in 2011, the plant’s year-end export value proves the company’s significant contribution to the U.S. balance of trade and strengthens its position as the leading provider of premium vehicles.”

The company currently produces more than 1,000 vehicles each day and is the exclusive exporter of passenger vehicles through the Port of Charleston to more than 130 global markets. In January, the plant announced its volume would increase to 300,000 for 2012, and it would create 300 new jobs.

By the end of 2014, the South Carolina facility will add a new model, the BMW X4, and increase capacity to 350,000 units.

The BMW Group also achieved its best ever first quarter in worldwide sales, experiencing 16 percent growth in the U.S.

Boeing rolls out first South Carolina-made Dreamliner

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oeing executives and employees were joined by state officials in North Charleston as the company rolled out the first Dreamliner assembled in South Carolina. The day of celebration marked the first time Boeing has finished an airplane somewhere other than Puget Sound.

Boeing employees began assembling the pieces at the company’s North Charleston facility last summer. Boeing’s North Charleston plant is one of only three places around the world that makes wide-body commercial airplanes.

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he federal district court judge in the case filed by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce against the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that employers do not have to post a notice informing their employees of certain rights to unionize. The case is the result of a lawsuit filed by the South Carolina Chamber and others against the NLRB challenging the NLRB’s proposed rule to require employers to post a notice informing their employees of certain selected rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

The court held that the NLRB “exceeded its authority in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.” This ruling came on the heels of a March ruling by a federal district court 4

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in Washington, D.C. that upheld the NLRB’s authority to issue the notice posting rule but limited the remedies available to the board under the rule for a failure to post. The associations involved in the lawsuit and the NLRB have both appealed that decision.

In part based on the South Carolina decision, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has now enjoined enforcement of the rule until the appeal in that case is complete. This means that no employer is required to post the notice of NLRA rights at this time.

The South Carolina Chamber thanks its members who supported this important effort and recognizes the efforts of partners at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ogletree, Deakins,

Nash, Smoak & Stewart, who helped bring the Chamber to this point in the litigation. This ruling is an excellent example of the importance of the unified voice of business in standing up for rights against government encroachment.

images C o urtes y o f b o eing , michelin , scpa , sccc

S.C. Chamber of Commerce prevails in lawsuit against NLRB

AT&T announces quarter-billion-dollar expansion of education commitment

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T&T is launching a quarter-billion-dollar campaign to help more students graduate from high school ready for careers and college and ensure the country is better prepared to meet global competition.

AT&T Aspire, already among the most significant U.S. corporate educational initiatives with more than $100 million invested since 2008, will tackle high school success and college/career readiness for students at-risk of dropping out of high school through a much larger, “socially innovative” approach. The Aspire effort already has impacted more than one million U.S. high school students, helping them prepare for success in the workplace and college.

“Education is the key to unlock the future for young people and help them reach their potential,” said Pamela Lackey, president, AT&T South Carolina. “It will take all of us working together and supporting educators’ hard work to continue to improve graduation rates and preparedness for careers and college. American business has an enormous stake in the success of our students. It’s time to commit more innovation and resources to the task.”

The greatly expanded effort centers on a new, $250 million financial commitment planned over five years. AT&T Aspire will build on that commitment by using technology to connect with students in new and more effective ways, such as with interactive gamification, Web-based

Business Week, presented by SCCTA, to prepare future business leaders

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tudents from across the state are gearing up for South Carolina Business Week, July 15-20 at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. Each year, Business Week offers bright, young adults the unique opportunity to interact with business leaders and their peers to learn more about the ins and outs of a successful career.

Business Week 2012 is presented by the South Carolina Cable Television Association (SCCTA), which was founded in 1971 as a non-profit trade association to advance the common interests of the cable industry in South Carolina.

Business Week contributes to the preparation of young adults for the business environment by introducing them to the principles of leadership, teamwork and the American free enterprise system while promoting selfreliance, individual responsibility and entrepreneurship. During the week, teams of students develop mock companies, led by company advisors loaned from some of South Carolina’s most successful businesses.

Students attend workshops to learn about all aspects of business and test their newly acquired knowledge in a business simulation designed to achieve a real company feel with challenging, real-world situations.

Companies interested in providing student sponsorships for Business Week should visit www.scbusinessweek.com, or contact Robbie Barnett at 803-255-2625.

content and social media. The company will also tap the innovation engine of the AT&T Foundry to look for fresh or atypical approaches to educational obstacles. Finally, AT&T Aspire will capitalize on the power of personal connections in the form of mentoring, internships and other voluntary efforts that involve many of AT&T’s approximately 260,000 employees.

Report: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina annually contributes $4.8 billion to economy

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ccording to an economic impact study conducted by the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina contributes $4.8 billion annually to South Carolina, and its overall economic impact to the state is comparable to the impact of an entire industry.

The report looked at the total economic impact on the state as well as the impact of each individual branch on its local region using a research model that estimated economic output, employment and labor income.

Through the lens of the economic multiplier effect, the report concluded that the organization’s employment of more than 10,000 “either directly or through hired contractors and temporary positions, led to approximately

26,324 jobs attributed to the presence of BCBS.” “While most people think of the organization as a health plan, the diversification of our enterprise and strength of our technology platform are key factors also in our ability to create good paying jobs for South Carolinians,” said David Pankau, president and chief executive officer of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. “These findings restate the enormous responsibility and privilege we have as a major employer and driver of the state’s economic health.”

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B y D r . M urray B rockman & K im B owman

C o urtes y o f G S S M

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or nearly 24 years, Designed to cultivate the next generation the South Carolina of creative engineers and technical leaders, Governor’s School for Accelerate offers motivated high school Science and Mathematics students in any South Carolina high school (GSSM) has answered the call an innovative and accelerated path toward to develop talent for science, engineering degrees. technology, engineering and GSSM is passionately dedicated to math (STEM) careers in South retaining talent in the Palmetto State and Carolina. Fortunately for is on a mission to reengineer engineering the Palmetto State, GSSM’s education in South Carolina and provide momentum and commitment top-level support to the four engineering continue to build. colleges and the numerous engineering Furthering its mission Accelerate offers motivated high companies that do business here. to deliver top-flight STEM school students an innovative This new initiative will accelerate education opportunities to and accelerated path towards completion of first-year college engineering South Carolina students, engineering degrees. courses during 10th, 11th and 12th grades.

GSSM recently revealed its It will include year-round, virtual instruction newest outreach initiative: Accelerate, South Carolina’s on high school campuses resulting in early completion Engineering Launchpad. of college curriculum requirements, plus team-based A 2011 report by the Alliance for Science & projects during weekends and summers.

Technology Research in America says South Carolina Since 1988, GSSM has led the state in STEM must fill 85,000 STEM-related jobs by 2018. Meanwhile, education. GSSM recruits academically talented high a 2011 Change the Equation report shows that only 15 school sophomores from every South Carolina county. percent of bachelor’s degrees conferred in the state are Once admitted, students live on GSSM’s Hartsville in STEM fields. campus for their junior and senior years and engage

in a challenging curriculum, including college-level scientific research and a robust exposure to economics and entrepreneurship.

In addition to its exceptional residential program, GSSM leverages its expertise through outreach to South Carolina students and teachers across the state with hands-on, minds-on, STEM-based programs. In 2011, GSSM’s efforts impacted more than 100 schools and 24,000 individuals.

GSSM aims to double those numbers over the next few years. Accelerate will help make that happen.

Accelerate marks the next dimension of GSSM and the next stage of the school’s ongoing success as one of the nation’s leading STEM schools. It’s time to accelerate.

E c o n o mic D ri v ers

Accelerating STEM education in S.C.

Dr. Murray Brockman is the president of GSSM. Kim Bowman is CEO of the GSSM Foundation and EVP for strategic direction at GSSM.

Health care reform two years later B y J ulius W. ”J ay “ M c K ay , II

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t has been two years must cover women’s since President Barack preventive services, Obama signed the such as well visits, Patient Protection and mammograms and Affordable Care Act into contraception. 2013 law. Since then, 26 states, ushers in a series of including South Carolina, higher taxes. Companies have responded by filing that manufacture certain lawsuits that question medical devices will face the constitutionality of a 2.3 percent excise tax. the individual insurance By 2014, the small business health insurance tax will The Medicare payroll mandate. tax will increase to 2.35 fall on the vast majority of plans that small businesses To date, two of the purchase. percent, and there will four federal appeals be a 3.8 percent tax on courts have ruled that the mandates are constitutional investment incomes for higher-income taxpayers. under Congress’ ability to regulate interstate By 2014, the small business health insurance tax will commerce. The third ruled that the individual mandate fall on the vast majority of plans that small businesses is unconstitutional, while the fourth ruled that the purchase. The health insurance exchange market will issue could not be decided until taxpayers begin to pay open to individuals and small businesses with up to penalties for failure to purchase health insurance in 50 employees. Businesses that purchase insurance 2015. The Supreme Court began hearing arguments through the exchange will be eligible to receive a tax in the case March 26. credit.

For now, the implementation of what many refer to Also in 2014, a complex set of new employer as “Obamacare” is scheduled to proceed as planned. mandates requiring some businesses to provide health How will these changes affect business? insurance, vouchers, higher salary subsidies, penalties Beginning in 2012, all new insurance plans or both will be implemented. While the ultimate effect

of the new mandates, should they go forward, would vary, businesses can expect to pay an estimated $2,000 per employee if they refuse to provide health insurance or drop employee coverage from their current plans.

Also in 2014, insurers are prohibited from establishing spending caps.

While we could easily feel the effects of health care reform until 2020 when the Medicare Part D coverage gap is completely phased out, it seems the Supreme Court will have the final say in the status of the health care reform law. For South Carolina’s employers and business leaders, it is best to be prepared for the changes that are approaching.

Julius W. “Jay” McKay, II is a partner with McKay, Cauthen, Settana & Stubley P.A. in Columbia, S.C.

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Where S.C. stands in the health exchange debate B y T odd A twater

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s part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), states are authorized to create American Health Benefit Exchanges and Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Exchanges no later than January 1, 2014. State level health exchanges are expected to significantly impact the avenues by which self-employed individuals, employees whose employers do not provide health insurance and small businesses purchase health insurance.

A beneficial way to think about how an exchange may operate is to look at the similar model of one avenue some choose to purchase airline tickets: Expedia.

With Expedia, one inputs the requested information online into the correct fields, and Expedia produces options for potential flights varying by departure and arrival times, price, number of stops and so forth. With exchanges, the concept is that instead of filling out the same information for health insurance and submitting it to each carrier, one would submit the information online one time to the exchange, and options for health insurance would be produced. These options

would vary by level of coverage requested, deductible amounts and other factors.

Where does South Carolina fit into the exchange landscape? The state received a $1 million grant in September 2010 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to study the feasibility of establishing a South Carolina-based exchange.

Subsequently, Governor Nikki Haley issued Executive Order 2011-09 creating the South Carolina Health Planning Committee (SCHPC), which was tasked with producing a recommendation as to the course of action South Carolina should take regarding the establishment of an exchange. The SCHPC recommended that South Carolina not implement a state-based exchange due to the lack of clarity and guidance in the PPACA and accompanying regulations. However, the SCHPC recommended that the state should encourage the establishment of private exchanges.

South Carolina has, for the time being and for all practical purposes, chosen not to create a state-run exchange, thereby permitting the federal government to create one for the state by January 1, 2014. The

immediate result of this decision is the state has placed the burden back upon the federal government to develop and operate an exchange. Moreover, businesses and citizens will not shoulder the load of a greater tax burden to fund a state run exchange, for now. The more long-term result is most unclear. Much will hinge upon the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the PPACA, expected before the summer recess, and the presidential election in November.

Todd Atwater is the CEO of the South Carolina Medical Association and a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Expanding Your Business.

South Carolina St yle

We have a good thing going here in the Palmetto State. There’s plenty of room to grow, unmatched recreational opportunities, a low cost of living, a willing and able workforce, an unbeatable business climate and South Carolina’s Power Team.

The Power Team is composed of Santee Cooper and the state’s 20 electric cooperatives. Together, we are committed to building strategic partnerships with smart, forward-thinking businesses. And we back this commitment by delivering quality service and reliable electric power at some of the lowest rates in the nation.

To find out more, visit www.scprimesite.com/SCB.

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Plan B: Paying back unions B y D an E llzey

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he Obama administration owes organized labor a huge debt for the dollars and votes delivered in the 2008 election. The administration planned to satisfy the debt by supporting the Employee Free Choice Act, which would eliminate secret ballot union elections in favor of card checks. That failed – and the debt remained unpaid.

Then, the administration moved to Plan B. Plan B involves the administration’s support for five administrative changes that make it easier for unions to organize. mission accomplished Three of the changes are presently effective.

Mini Units This new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision allows unions to hold elections in small groups of employees that favor the union. This is a monumental policy change that will guarantee unions a foot in the door of many companies.

Union Access If a company is charged with certain unfair labor practices (no finding of guilt required), the NLRB now sues to provide union organizers access to company property to post notices on bulletin boards, make speeches, etc.

Quick Election Rules These rules will require most elections to be held within 15 to 25 days after a petition for election is filed. In recent years, most union elections were held within an average of 38 days. This reduction in time will significantly limit an employer’s opportunity to communicate with employees about its position on unions. The rule also eliminates an employer’s right to litigate supervisory status prior to an election. For example, the union may claim that certain employees are actually supervisors. Instead of litigating and resolving this matter, the NLRB will now allow the employees to vote challenged ballots. If necessary, the supervisory status will be resolved after the election. That strategy, however, puts employers in an impossible position. Because the employer does not know for sure whether the employees will be considered supervisors or not prior to the election, the employer has no idea exactly what it can say and what role the employees can play in the election. mid-september One of the changes has been delayed until approximately mid-September 2012.

Posting Rule The NLRB rule requiring employers to post notices of employee rights to unionize has been the subject of litigation in two different lawsuits. The lawsuits challenge the authority of the NLRB to require the notice. In the first lawsuit, the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia held that the NLRB has the authority to require the notice posting. That decision is on appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. In the second lawsuit, the Federal District Court for the District of South Carolina held that the NLRB does not have the authority to require the notice posting. On April 17, the Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an injunction blocking the implementation of the notice posting rule set for April 30. The Court also set a briefing and oral argument schedule that will run through mid-September. No decision is expected prior to that time. In addition, it is very likely the NLRB will appeal the decision of the District Court for the District of South Carolina. If there is a split between the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, the matter may be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

supervisory training, campaign strategy, etc.) will have to be reported by the law firm/ consultant and the employer. No action has been taken on the proposed rule, and it now appears the DOL will wait until after the November election to issue its final rule.

Be prepared. All employers, particularly those who suspect they will be targeted for union organizing, must take immediate steps to prepare for these five policy changes. Under the new rules, there will be insufficient time to react when a union is on the scene.

Dan Ellzey is a certified labor and employment law specialist in the Columbia office of Fisher & Phillips LLP.

AFTER THE ELECTION It now appears the last of the five rule changes will take place after the November presidential election.

Persuader Reporting The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule change (June 2011) that will require employers and law firms/consultants to report campaign activity that was not previously required. Any activity by law firm/consultants aimed at persuading employees (including the development of policies, drafting or revising speeches, s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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Why health care coverage is so expensive B y J im D eyling

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he national debate on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act continues to dominate news concerning the Supreme Court, Congress and the presidential race. Meanwhile, large and small businesses focus on paying their bills while health care coverage consumes an ever-expanding share of their budgets. Many business owners wonder why health care coverage is so expensive and whether there is any way to mitigate the rising costs. It’s a heavy burden for businesses, since 56 percent of Americans under age 65 get their insurance from their employers.

You might assume that subsidies for Medicare, Medicaid and the uninsured are major reasons for the escalating costs, especially with our aging population.

And you would be correct. But there also are other reasons for the growing burden of health care costs, including at least three important trends.

Pharmaceutical companies are focusing much of their research on developing biologic drugs, which often must be administered in clinical settings.

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Pharmacy and technology The first trend is increased use of pharmacy services and technology. In a 2010 report, the National Center for Health Statistics found that during the last 10 years, annual spending on prescription drugs more than doubled to $234.1 billion.

The segment of Americans who took at least one prescription drug per month increased from 44 percent to 48 percent.

There is no reason to expect this increase to reverse. Currently, pharmaceutical companies are focusing much of their research on developing biologic drugs, which often must be administered in clinical settings. This is one of the more expensive means of testing.

The good news in this area is that more providers are focusing on a practice called “preferencing.” That means they are trying to identify lower-cost drugs that offer the same therapeutic benefits as more expensive, brand-name medications.

Dovetailing with prescription drug

practices is an increasing reliance on technology, especially in diagnosing illnesses. According to a study by the International Monetary Fund, more expensive new technologies and broader treatments may account for as much as two-thirds of the projected increase in health care spending. As more of these high-tech diagnostics are offered, use increases — and so do the costs.

Nowhere is that more evident than in the proliferation of outpatient diagnostic imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), nuclear cardiology and positron emission tomography (PET) scans. This is the fastest-growing category of medical spending in the United States. These technological advances help doctors diagnose disease at an earlier stage, which often provides better outcomes for patients. It also may help them avoid more invasive and costly diagnostic procedures.

Many insurers are responding to this increase in demand with programs to prescreen non-emergency, outpatient use of diagnostic imaging tests such as PET scans. For example, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina uses evidencebased practice guidelines that draw upon criteria established by the American College of Radiology. These pre-screenings help to curtail costs.

Health care waste and fraud Another significant trend is the problem of waste and fraud. In health care, we define waste as health care spending that could be eliminated without reducing the quality of care. Estimates suggest that health care consumers spend $700 billion to $850 billion annually by paying for more care rather than better care.

One of the ways BlueCross is addressing waste — and improving quality — is by partnering with providers in patient-centered medical homes. These The FBI estimates that fraudulent billing to Medicare, arrangements focus on an Medicaid and health insurers averages from 3 to 10 integrated, team approach percent of total health spending.

tmca st o ck

to delivering care. Health care providers coordinate a personalized plan for patients, ensuring they get all the services they need. This achieves what we call the Triple Aim of improved outcomes, enhanced patient/member experience and reduced health care costs.

As for fraud, most insurers have processes in place to identify fraud and are successfully recovering revenues. The challenge is the scale of the problem.

The FBI estimates that fraudulent billing to Medicare, Medicaid and health insurers averages from 3 to 10 percent of total health spending. This includes billing for services never provided, kickbacks for referrals, misrepresentation and intentionally prescribing unnecessary or inappropriate services. At BlueCross, we have a robust anti-fraud program that is a model for other industries.

Unhealthy lifestyles A third significant trend is increased chronic disease that is linked to people’s lifestyle choices. As employers, you may have the greatest influence in this area. There are steps you can take to mitigate rising costs, reduce absenteeism and enhance the health of your workforce. According to findings published in October 2009 by Thomson Reuters, common behaviors such as lack of exercise, overeating that leads to obesity, alcohol and substance abuse and tobacco use contribute $150 billion to $200 billion annually in avoidable costs.

These behaviors hurt your employees’ quality of life. Medical experts link a wide range of serious illnesses — including diabetes, heart disease, depression and some cancers — to lifestyle factors.

Talk to your insurance carrier about how you can implement low-cost ways to encourage employees’ healthy behaviors. For example, ensure that you and your employees have information to make good personal decisions about lifestyle choices. Explain how everyone can save money through practices such as choosing generic drugs over expensive brands.

Encourage walking during breaks or at lunchtime. Offer smoking Medical experts link a wide range of serious cessation programs. If illnesses— including diabetes, heart disease,

you have a cafeteria or vending machines, offer a selection of healthy food choices.

You also can help employees understand steps they can take to reduce their own health risks. For example, many people put off routine screenings such as mammography and colonoscopy. But these screenings can make a big difference in early detection of disease. Your insurance carrier can help you design ways to raise awareness among employees.

The search for solutions Rising health care costs pose complex problems. Unfortunately, there is no one right answer, no quick fix. But through a wide variety of targeted approaches, we are working toward solutions.

The move toward more integrative delivery systems is a sign of increased collaboration between payers and providers. Health care payment incentives are shifting to support and reward quality outcomes for patients.

There is a growing emphasis on primary care, ensuring that patients get the right care at the right time and in the right setting. Finally, there is promising paradigm shift from a focus on illness to a focus on prevention. We need all of these strategies to promote sustainable change.

The burden of health care costs affects all of us. Our challenge is to continue the momentum toward positive change. We must continue the dialogue, consider the impact of our lifestyles and be innovative in our thinking.

We must identify — and act on — more opportunities for cost savings while improving the quality of health care. This will help our businesses, employees, families and communities.

Jim Deyling is president of private business at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

depression and some cancers — to lifestyle factors. s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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The future of nursing B y S halama J ackson

Nursing is a profession that continually tops the list of jobs in high demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the health care industry is rapidly growing. Between 2008 and 2018, it is estimated that the field will generate 3.2 million new wage and salary jobs, which is more than any other industry in the nation.

T

he high demand for health care employees is largely being fueled by the baby boomer generation, which is set to retire and leave thousands of positions nationwide vacant in the near future. At the same time, as these individuals age, they will require care from professionals like registered nurses (RN).

“People are getting older,” said Jimmy Walker, South Carolina Hospital Association senior vice president of workforce.

“Regardless of the Affordable Care Act, baby boomers are going to be impacting the health care system for the next 15 years, in waves we haven’t seen before.”

The current median age of nurses is 46 years, while the largest group is in their 50s, according to the American Association of Colleges and Nursing.

Compounding the problem is the fact that colleges and universities across the nation and in South Carolina are turning away qualified applicants to their nursing programs because they do not have the faculty or space to accommodate them.

In a 2011 report, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing highlighted the nationwide extent of the problem.

“Though interest in baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs is strong, thousands of qualified applicants are being turned away from four-year colleges and universities. In 2010, 67,563 qualified applications were not accepted at schools of nursing due primarily to a shortage of faculty and resource constraints,” the report said.

The report also said that, as a group, nursing faculty across the nation are aging rapidly, with many nearing retirement age.

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(Above) Andrea Briscoe, RN, cares for a patient in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at AnMed Health Medical Center. (Right) A nurse on the Mother/Baby Unit at Lexington Medical Center cares for a newborn.

“Specifically, the average age of doctorallyprepared faculty by rank was 60.5 years for professors, 57.1 years for associate professors and 51.5 years for assistant professors,” the report said.

In South Carolina, organizations have been working together to address these problems.

In 2006, nursing leaders held a summit to address the lack of nursing faculty and its impact on the nursing shortage. In 2007, the General Assembly enacted the Critical Needs Nursing Initiative (CNNI), which established the infrastructure to expand the number of new nurse graduates by concentrating on five priorities, including enhancing current full-time faculty salaries to competitive levels, increasing the number of full-time faculty, providing scholarships and loans for nurses who want to become faculty, establishing the Office for Healthcare Workforce Research and developing new ways to teach nurses through simulation technology.

The goal of the One Voice One Plan Nursing Initiative is to implement a long-term solution to help alleviate the nursing shortage.

“We have to educate a whole new generation of nurses, from the bedside to the classroom,” said Nancy Duffy, DNP, RN,

CEN, CNE, associate professor and director of the Undergraduate Programs at the Medical University of South Carolina.

In late 2010, a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, recommended that 80 percent of the nursing workforce be prepared at the baccalaureate level by the year 2020. About half of nurses in the United States have baccalaureate or higher degrees.

Currently, about 35 percent of South Carolina’s RNs have a bachelor’s degree, according to the Office for Healthcare Workforce Analysis and Planning at the Medical University of South Carolina.

South Carolina nursing leaders have set a goal that 50 percent of the state’s workforce will hold a bachelor’s degree by 2020, at which time there will also be more nurses with master’s and doctorates.

In order to reach the goal of 50 percent of staff nurses holding at least a bachelor’s degree or higher, 4,189 South Carolina nurses would need to move from a diploma or associate

degree level to the baccalaureate level.

“I think we have an opportunity of a career lifetime to make something different and get on top of a good list,” said Duffy. “We have a coordinated effort to make changes. It is going to take time, energy and resources. There are a lot of people who are committed to it, so I think we will see results.”

Shalama Jackson is a communications manager at the South Carolina Hospital Association.

s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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G E Hea l t h care

Mike Eggleston and Eric Hinton

May~June 2012 Centerfold

s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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B y M atthew G regory

P h o t o graph y b y pat crawf o rd

very day, people around the world visit doctors’ offices and hospitals to use Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. MRI technology allows health care professionals to see internal organs, muscles, tissues, joints, areas of infection and more without having to rely on X-rays or surgery. While many of the patients that benefit from this technology likely don’t think about what goes into crafting these imaging devices, many of the machines are built at GE Healthcare’s Florence, S.C. facility.

“It’s a big part of the reason people are proud to work for GE Healthcare. I think everyone in this building has a personal story of people who have been impacted – maybe by MRI or maybe by some other GE technology,” said Mike Eggleston, general manager of China magnet operations.

“You know you impact people’s lives in a very important way. It’s more ingrained in people because of those life experiences,” said Eric Hinton, plant manager of the Florence facility.

E

Talent magnet

May~June 2012 Centerfold Mike Eggleston and Eric Hinton G E Hea l t h care

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A

fter earning a mechanical engineering degree from and ships from the site to customers around the globe.

The MRI machines produced by GE Healthcare’s Florence facility rely Virginia Tech, Eggleston spent 12 years with GE’s Global Research Center in New York before joining on a superconductor made up of a niobium-titanium alloy that’s inside a GE Healthcare in 1997. Under his leadership as plant matrix of copper. That wire gets wound onto structures that are built into a manager, the Florence plant has thrived, producing cryostat, which is essentially an extremely high-performance thermos. The magnet sits in a container of liquid helium, which is at 4.2 Kelvin or about about 900 MRI machines a year.

This June, Eggleston will move to China, where the minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit. The cryostat enables the magnet’s wire to MRI market is growing significantly. Over the past five years, the number of be kept in a bath of liquid helium in order to sustain superconductivity. The products shipped out of Florence to China has more than tripled. Eggleston Florence plant makes four basic models that weigh five to 10 tons each.

Given the numerous patients who depend on GE Healthcare’s finished will help improve GE’s distribution process in China, where partially built products will be shipped for final assembly and testing. Eggleston, who products, a thorough process requires each magnet to be tested for seven will stay in close communications with a team at the Florence plant, will to 10 days. The costs of establishing medical facilities with MRI machines are high, so customers like South Carolina hospitals expect the magnet help transfer this knowledge.

“It’s about cost, but it’s more about responsiveness to customers and to operate for at least 10 years.

In addition to having a big impact on the lives of millions of patients, the marketplace,” said Eggleston.

Hinton is the new plant manager of the Florence facility, bringing GE Healthcare has also had a substantial economic impact in the Florence with him many years of experience as a design engineer. The aerospace area.

“We’re constantly hiring new employees. That reflects both the engineering major has spent most of his career with GE Aviation in various engine assembly and plant leader roles. The shift from GE Aviation to GE growth of the MRI market and retirements. We have a lot of employees Healthcare isn’t unusual in the GE corporate structure, as the company who came to us in 1972, so as long-term employees retire, we’re looking to hire new people in the community,” said constantly shares technology, best practices Eggleston. and staff between divisions.

Joe King, executive director of the “With GE’s Global Research Center, Florence County Economic Development we’re developing technologies and sharing Partnership, said, “We always tout our them across businesses. We also crossexisting industry that we have in the pollinate businesses where technologies county when we’re trying to recruit new might apply. For instance, there might businesses. One of the first businesses we be some things we do with welding talk about is GE. It’s an iconic name. They technology in GE Aviation that we share pay high wages and attract a high-end with GE Healthcare and GE Energy. Then, workforce.” you have some manufacturing technologies GE Healthcare is also heavily involved that you can leverage,” said Hinton. in the Florence community, providing A prime example of this corporate programs for local students, helping synergy exists in GE Energy’s next generation improve infrastructure of schools wind turbines, which use GE Healthcare’s and working with non-profit health MRI technology. GE researchers determined organizations like the Mercy Medicine that wind turbines can use superconducting Clinic, which provides medical care to magnets just like MRI machines. The residents of Florence and Dillon Counties discovery led to GE researchers getting a who would not otherwise receive it. GE $3 million Department of Energy grant to Healthcare also has an internship program develop wind turbine generators that use with Florence-Darlington Technical College superconducting magnets. where students work 20 hours a week GE Healthcare’s Florence plant was at the plant. Some of these interns are established in 1972 as a mobile radio eventually hired for full-time employment manufacturing plant. When GE got involved at the plant. in MRI technology in the mid-80s, the plant Heyward Matthews performs final touch-up welding.

Despite all that GE Healthcare has was converted into a GE Healthcare facility.

GE Healthcare’s MRI business is based in Milwaukee, where systems and done for the Pee Dee and South Carolina as a whole, the Florence software are designed. The Florence plant is responsible for the hardware plant is just one small portion of the company’s impact on health

care. GE Healthcare is involved in many key care areas, including cardiology, neurology, emergency medicine and oncology. The company’s Surgery business creates intraoperative and interventional imaging products that help with minimally invasive surgical procedures. In addition to its MRI technology, the company’s Healthcare Systems provide X-ray, digital mammography, molecular imaging, patient monitoring, interventional imaging and more. GE Healthcare’s Life Sciences business has made numerous breakthroughs in drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and cutting-edge cellular technologies.

GE’s HealthAhead initiative has also had a huge impact on employees by helping them live better lives through healthier choices.

“That really comes down to helping our employees understand what fitness centers are out there and subsidizing them for our employees, making healthier choices when we cater food and stock vending machines and getting employees better information so they can make their own health care choices,” said Eggleston.

GE is also taking a serious look at health care costs, quality and access through its healthymagination initiative. The company has committed $6 billion to provide better health for more people at lower costs. Since healthymagination’s launch in May 2009, more than two dozen GE Healthcare products, technologies and innovations have been designated as healthymagination validated. Examples include the pocket-sized Vscan ultrasound device, the AgileTrac care traffic control system that provides real-time location system (RTLS) technology to track patients in hospitals and the Achilles bone ultrasonometer that lets doctors provide patients with more comfortable fracture risk assessments. GE’s goal is to launch more than 100 healthymagination validated innovations by 2015.

“Being part of a company that offers such a broad portfolio is a huge advantage to the Florence site,” said Eggleston. “It’s an advantage because when we go talk to hospitals, we can talk to them about a complete solution and a broad package of solutions as opposed to just one product.”

In addition to providing jobs for many long-time Florence residents, the Florence plant has hired employees from around the world. Eggleston and Hinton said GE Healthcare’s commitment to the state will continue for years to come.

“One thing that GE has provided in Florence is a real stable presence of high-paying, good, safe jobs that are long-term,” said Eggleston.

Hinton said GE’s ongoing presence in South Carolina shows just how strong of a business climate the state has.

“You’ve got GE Aviation, GE Energy and GE Healthcare – three of the biggest parts of the company’s business, and they’re all here in South Carolina.”

Janie Crawford makes technical adjustments during cryostat assembly.

Al Cameron services a magnet in final test.

Matthew Gregory is the multimedia coordinator at the South Carolina Chamber and the editor of South Carolina Business. s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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Thank you to our 2012 March for Babies Chairs for taking steps for healthier babies in South Carolina!

John Kuta

Senior Vice President and Technical Plant Manager Robert Bosch LLC

Allen Carroll

CEO of Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital

Cherokee

Steve Mueller

Sheriff Cherokee County Sherriff’s Office

Laurens

Lake City

Linda Godwin

Jo Etta Floyd

Branch Manager/VP SC Bank and Trust

Joe Byouk

President CeramTec North America

Cindy Sweat-Bass

Manager Walmart

Brian Newman

Vice President Honda of South Carolina Mfg., Inc.

Oconee

Glenn Buddin

Georgetown

Florence

Dillon

CEO, Blue Ridge Bank of Walhalla

Tammy Swails

Loan Officer, Georgetown Kraft Credit Union

Orangeburg

Thomas C. Dandridge President and CEO Regional Medical Center

Pickens

Hunter Kome

Chief Operating Officer Oconee Medical Center

Greenville

Bob Stegner

Senior VP Marketing North America Synnex Corporation

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Michael Rackley COO & Senior VP Norgenix

Horry County

Greenwood

Trey Fenner

Tony Brumfield

Plant Manager Eaton Electrical

President, FSA

Sumter

York County

Bronwyn McElveen

Assistant Solicitor Sumter County Solicitor’s Office

Todd Lumpkin

Regional Vice President Piedmont Region at TD Bank

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South Carolina’s health care successes B y S andy M au

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m o nique he y denr y ch

L

ike its sister states across the Southeast, South Carolina lags near the back of the pack in terms of health outcomes for citizens. Poor access to appropriate care in rural communities, exacerbated by a large uninsured population that can’t afford to seek preventive care, poses significant challenges to lifting the state’s population health profile.

But there have been some remarkable health successes. Within a year of launching an effort to boost early childhood immunization rates in the early 1990s, the state ranked first in the nation and maintains a top-tier position on this preventive health quality marker. More recent statistics for South Carolina’s children offer glimmers of hope for our future. According to a 2011 Commonwealth Fund report on children’s health indicators, South Carolina is in the top quartile for preventive dental care, referrals for special health care needs and for race, ethnicity and income equity.

Across the state, the byword for positive change is collaboration. Health care leadership in South Carolina is learning to work across industry type and even with competitors to make measurable improvements in the way care is delivered. New models of care like the patient-centered medical home are beginning to gain traction, as are early efforts to pay providers for whole-person care rather than individual tests, visits and procedures. In fact, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ranked the state in the top five in the nation for improvement across quality measures in 2010.

“Although South Carolina has really poor population health outcomes, it actually has a health care system that is working very well,” said Anthony “Tony” Keck, director of South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services. “Health is different from availability of health care services. Ninety percent of health and wellbeing for individuals has to do with income, education, personal choices, genetics and the environment. Our most important task is to make health care more affordable while finding ways to contribute to the overall vision of helping people become more healthy and live healthy lives.”

Keck is championing a systemic effort to move the state’s healthy birth outcomes statistics up from bottom tier status.

Since Medicaid dollars pay for more than half of the state’s births, it is an area ripe for improvement in terms of both health and costs. Working from a model he put in place while in Louisiana

ph o t o graph y c o urtes y o f S C H A

Governor Bobby Jindal’s administration, Keck worked in collaboration with the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) to obtain a commitment from birthing hospitals to reduce the number of early elective deliveries.

These convenience deliveries account for about 13 percent of Maureen Bisognano, president and CEO of the Institute all South Carolina for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) births and can lead to low birth weight, medical complications and poor health over the child’s lifetime.

Keck said BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, which administers a Medicaid managed care program, participated in the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative as well. Although the initiative has only been in place since October 2011, early results show a 5 percent reduction in the number of Medicaid low birth weight babies, a 3 percent reduction in the number of premature Medicaid births and a 3 percent reduction in the number of Medicare births Rick Foster, MD, SCHA’s senior with a neonatal ICU hospital stay. vice president of quality and That model of cooperation has patient safety captured another first for South Carolina.

In 2011, the state’s top health players— BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina (the state’s largest insurer), Health Sciences South Carolina (the biomedical research collaborative) and SCHA—formed the South Carolina Partnership for Health, the first voluntary statewide collaboration among diverse stakeholders in the nation.

The group’s first initiative will address care transitions, which occur when patients move between health care practitioners and settings as their condition and care needs change. Care transitions are a major health care challenge across the Lee Pearson, director of the South country; because no single practitioner Carolina Institute of Medicine and is responsible for a patient’s overall care, Public Health medication errors and other patient safety issues are more likely to occur over these transitions. Lack of care coordination during transitions is a prime driver of costly hospital re-admissions. The group will develop a care transitions tool kit and learning collaborative.

“Our goal is to improve coordination of care, especially for patients with chronic illness,” said Rick Foster, MD, SCHA’s senior vice president of quality and patient safety and an active leader in the South Carolina Partnership for Health. “Our success measurement will be reducing hospital readmissions by 20 percent.”

Bringing together the state’s diverse stakeholders—employers and the state Medicaid leaders who pay for health care; insurers and providers of care; biomedical research groups and others—is essential to build a strong health improvement infrastructure. Competitors who could squabble over turf are instead making a refreshing effort to work together for better health outcomes.

The common goal is to achieve the Triple Aim for South Carolina: improve

Thornton Kirby, president and CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association, talks with surgeon and author, Dr. Atul Gawande.

health of the population; enhance the quality of patient care; and reduce, or at least control, the per capita cost of care.

The effort has captured the attention of national leaders in health care transformation, including surgeon and author Atul Gawande, MD, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) President and CEO Maureen Bisognano and Don Berwick, MD, founder of IHI and former administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both Gawande and Bisognano have traveled to South Carolina to address health care leaders.

Another example of statewide collaboration is the Reengineering Committee, which began as the convener for public and private organizations to collaborate in the 2006-2008 5 Million Lives patient safety quality initiative.

In 2012, it is becoming the South Carolina Health Coordinating Council, with equal governance from the business community, the state Department of Health and Human Services, SCHA, primary care provider groups and other health care leaders. The new entity will have its first meeting in May, with an eye toward creating a financial sustainability plan for ongoing quality improvement and patient safety initiatives.

“Real results are on the horizon,” said Lee Pearson, director of the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health. “I would think that by the year 2020, we will begin to see the needle move on some of the critical concerns that we have. The efforts made in last five years to synthesize efforts and create synergy wherever possible are beginning to generate momentum like I’ve never seen before. I’ve worked health care in South Carolina for 20 years, and I’ve seen a seismic shift. I’m optimistic that by 2020, we will be able to take pride in more tangible improvement in health outcomes in this state.”

Sandy Mau is a freelance writer based in Columbia, S.C.

s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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Improving

health care and the health of our economy B y B ill M ahoney

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CRA Technology Ventures’ flagship program, SC Launch, was formed to build and strengthen South Carolina’s knowledge economy. Strengthening the knowledge economy is primarily accomplished through the investment and business support of innovative, hi-tech companies. Since inception in 2006, the SC Launch program has helped 251 companies, supported more than 12 relocation landing parties and provided matching funds for 36 SBIR Phase I grants in South Carolina. The leading 53 SC Launch companies have captured more than $170 million in add-on private investment.

While these companies represent a variety of industries, many of them are bringing health and medical technologies to market. While reaching technology commercialization milestones, they are also making significant contributions, both to our state’s knowledge economy and to medical care in South Carolina. And while each new venture has its own unique journey, there are three SC Launch companies that demonstrate the quality of companies, health-related technologies, resources and successes that are possible in South Carolina.

In 2007, SC Launch made one of its early investments in a start-up called Selah Technologies.

Selah was founded in the Upstate to commercialize nanotechnology from Clemson University in cancer diagnostics. In 2009, Selah was acquired by a leading molecular diagnostics company called Lab21 as a launch platform to the North American markets.

Selah’s founder and his executive team now direct Lab21 operations in the Upstate from the NEXT Innovation Center. Lab21’s Greenville location serves as its North American subsidiary headquarters, while the remainder of the company operates from facilities in the United Kingdom.

Lab21 is a rapidly growing health care company that manufactures and distributes diagnostic test kits to more than 120 countries worldwide. Its Greenville location is designed and equipped to provide advanced diagnostic services with a focus on enabling personalized medicine for oncology and virology.

Lab21 recently announced a game-changing initiative to demonstrate the clinical utility of next generation sequencing technology. The Lab21 Clinical Genomics Center is located within the Greenville Hospital Systems’ Institute for Translational Oncology Research (ITOR).

In only five years, this venture licensed technologies from all three of the state’s largest research universities, brought a product to market, attracted a larger, fast-growing, international company’s U.S. headquarters and is now leveraging growth and partnerships based here in South Carolina across North America.

“We have benefited greatly from the support of a

P h o t o s c o urtes y o f S C launch

number of individuals and organizations in South Carolina’s dynamic business environment. We are now blessed with the unique opportunity to bring game-changing diagnostic tools to the fight against cancer and infectious disease,” said Lab21 President Michael Bolick. “At the same time, we see an outstanding opportunity to leverage exciting advances in genetic sequencing to take a leadership role in the global transition to personalize medicine – right here from our beautiful home state of South Carolina.”

Another emerging SC Launch client company is making similar strides in development. MicroVide, a technology company formed in 2008 based on intellectual property from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), is working to commercialize basic discoveries regarding microdialysis and proteolytic pathways. Based in the SCRA University of South Carolina Innovation Center in Columbia, MicroVide’s technology provides for a real-time measurement of critical drug levels in patients during surgical procedures or during delivery of drugs, monitoring for side effects and toxicity.

The flexibility of this technology to measure multiple markers of interest increases market applications to include cardiac surgery, surgical oncology and chemotherapy, orthopedic and osteoarthritic disease, metabolic diseases and initial drug screening and preclinical testing.

SC Launch client companies in the Lowcountry are also offering new health care technologies and growth opportunities. When originally founded in 2009, Immunologix licensed an MUSC technology that generated fully human antibodies from naïve B-cells isolated from tonsil tissue. This truly unique technology permits the discovery of fully human antibodies through an in-vitro system to any antigen. The company set up operations in the SCRA MUSC Innovation Center in Charleston and began a rapid investment and development period.

After 18 months, Immunologix was acquired by Intrexon, a synthetic biology company that uses modular DNA control systems to enhance capabilities, improve safety and lower costs. Upon acquisition, Intrexon expanded from one to four laboratory suites in the SCRA MUSC Innovation Center. The company is positioned for further growth as the current market for therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies is estimated to exceed $40 billion per year worldwide, and many of the current marketed antibodies are not fully human as the licensed MUSC technology provides.

These are only three of the stories that are unfolding from the SC Launch program, but they make a significant and important demonstration. South Carolina has tremendous potential to develop our own future in the health care and medical industries. A recent survey and economic impact study show that these knowledge economy companies offer average salaries well above the state and national average and are generating higher per capita income in our state. SCRA is delighted to support these promising technology companies and looks forward to the continued business success, health care improvements and economic development they will bring.

Selah Technologies was founded in the Upstate to commercialize nanotechnology from Clemson University in cancer diagnostics. In 2009, Selah was acquired by Lab21, a leading molecular diagnostics company.

Immunologix licensed an MUSC technology that generated fully human antibodies from naïve B-cells isolated from tonsil tissue.

Bill Mahoney is CEO of SCRA. s c c h a m b e r. n e t | M a y / J u n e 2 0 1 2 | S o u t h C a r o l i n a B u s i n e ss |

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M e mb e r S p o t l i g h t

Transforming the business landscape for 125 years B y M atthew G regory

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bonds, which have been used for not only BMW but also many economic development efforts since then.

“We also created legislation that authorized economic development bonds as a special subset for the state’s general obligation funds that were outside the preexisting debt limit. The state has been able to use that for Boeing and other major development projects,” said Matthews.

W. Francis (Frankie) Marion, Jr., a shareholder in the Greenville office who was exposed to the firm at an early age when he went to the office on Saturdays with his father, Managing Partner Francis Marion, said Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. has always maintained a nice balance between helping the business community and maintaining a strong reputation for its litigation work.

“From a litigator standpoint, I can walk upstairs to someone in the business department to get questions answered. By the same token, they might come down to me and ask about something in a contract,” said Marion.

Community involvement is also an important part of the firm’s culture.

“We try to instill in our young people the importance of being involved in the community where their interests are,” said John H. Tiller, a shareholder in the Charleston office who was named the 2012 South Carolina Litigator of the Year by Benchmark Litigation.

“This firm has always expected that if you’re making a living in the community, you give back to the community,” said Knowlton.

Boyd said one of the major contributions the firm has made over the years is its involvement in all of the communities in which its attorneys practice. However, one instance stands out in his mind. In the early 1960s during the integration of the school system, the firm represented the Columbia city school district.

“I think we made a real impact on ensuring the integration of the schools without incidents like so many other cities had,” said Boyd.

With 125 years of experience behind it, the firm is looking forward to the future. The firm’s Greenville office will be moving to a new complex at the corner of Main Street and Washington Street in Greenville as part of the community’s downtown revitalization efforts. In addition, the firm has formed a new subsidiary called Copper Dome Strategies LLC to provide state and federal representation for national and international clients. In forming Copper Dome Strategies, Jeff Thordahl, Billy Routh and Kimberly Varnadoe (Kim) Kent have been added to the firm’s Governmental Relations team and are joining Governmental Relations Advisor Carl Blackstone in the firm’s Columbia office. The group will also work with Mike Tongour, special counsel, who heads the firm’s federal legislative office in Washington.

Despite the many changes the legal field has been through during the past 125 years, including a greater

The offices of Haynsworth & Parker, shown in the 1890s, were opened by Harry J. Haynsworth (left) and Lewis Parker in Greenville, S.C.

(Left to Right) As part of their commitment to the business community, Shareholder Steve A. Matthews is a current South Carolina Chamber of Commerce board member, Managing Director Anne S. Ellefson is a former South Carolina Chamber board member and William C. (Bill) Boyd is a former Chamber board chair.

focus on specialization, technological breakthroughs and a growing number of attorneys joining the bar, one aspect has remained the same for Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. – its commitment to strengthening South Carolina’s business climate.

“Everybody in all of our offices is active in their communities and leading the charge in areas that make big, transformational impacts,” said Boyd.

Matthew Gregory is the multimedia coordinator at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and editor of South Carolina Business.

P h o t o s c o urtes y o f H ay nsw o rth sinkler b o y d , P. A . / matthew greg o r y

I

n 1887, the United States Senate allowed the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base, construction began on the Eiffel Tower and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance. It was also the year young lawyer Harry John Haynsworth began his practice with his first partner, William A. Williams. The two men started Williams & Haynsworth in downtown Greenville, S.C., which had a peak population of 9,200 people.

While much has changed in the past 125 years, including different names for Haynsworth’s law firm as he found new partners and merged with other firms, one constant has been the impact the law firm now known as Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. has had on South Carolina’s business community. With offices in Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, Myrtle Beach and Washington, D.C., the firm’s 130 attorneys continue to shape business policy and legislation on a daily basis.

“Almost all of the cases we get involved in are positives for the state and the economic environment because they involve businesses that are either entering the state or remaining in the state and providing jobs,” said Anne S. Ellefson, a real estate lawyer and managing director of the firm.

When Ellefson was elected managing director by her colleagues at the firm in 2008, she became the first female to lead a South Carolina-based law firm with more than 100 attorneys. Ellefson said women have always had a big role in the firm, citing previous firm attorneys like Jean Galloway Bissell, who was the first woman from South Carolina to serve as a federal judge, Karen Henderson, who was the first woman to have a seat on the D.C. Circuit Court, and Jean Toal, the first woman to serve as chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court.

“We’ve been involved with pro-business initiatives on every level, and that includes people who’ve served in helping draft better legislation,” said Robert (Bob) Knowlton, a shareholder in the Columbia office.

William C. (Bill) Boyd, a shareholder in the Columbia office whose father, William C. (Crip) Boyd, was the originating Boyd in the firm’s name, cited the initial development of Kiawah Island as just one of the many projects the firm has been involved with that has had a significant impact on economic development.

Steve A. Matthews, a shareholder in the firm’s Columbia office who was nominated by President George W. Bush to a judgeship on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., recalled the role the firm had in Governor Carroll Campbell’s recruitment of BMW to South Carolina in the early 1990s. According to Matthews, there was a need for some financing, but there was no vehicle for it since local governments didn’t want to tie up their general debt capability. Matthews drafted legislation that created special source revenue

After the event

S.C. congressional delegation addresses business community at Washington Night

S

outh Carolina’s congressional delegation took questions from South Carolina’s business community at the Columbia Marriott April 3 during a panel discussion at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s Washington Night in South Carolina, presented by Nutramax Laboratories Inc. U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, U.S. Rep. Tim Scott, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson and U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint were all in attendance.

When asked what legislation should be passed to spur economic development, Rep. Scott said tax reform would greatly help, specifically saying the corporate income tax rate needs to be lowered. Rep. Gowdy said he’d like to see regulatory reform passed, while Sen. DeMint said a balanced budget amendment and a low, flat tax rate would build the economy more than anything.

The panel was asked about the reauthorization of the Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank of the United States, the official export credit agency of the U.S. that assists

in financing the export of goods and services at no cost to taxpayers. While some panel members disagreed on whether the Bank should be reauthorized, Rep. Clyburn said he fully supported reauthorization, calling the Bank a lifeline for many companies like Boeing.

Energy issues were also discussed, with Rep. Duncan calling for an all-of-the-above energy policy incorporating multiple energy sources, including coal, oil, gas, nuclear, wind and solar energy. Rep. Scott said when coal, oil and gas are added together, the U.S. has more resources than any other country, but he said there is a lack of desire by some to pursue some of these sources, referencing the Keystone XL pipeline. Rep. Wilson said many South Carolina businesses would benefit from this domestic energy exploration, citing tire and engine manufacturers located in the state.

Other issues discussed by the panel included gas prices, education and the importance of port expansion in South Carolina.

South Carolina’s congressional delegation answers questions from South Carolina business leaders.

Sen. Jim DeMint, left, talks with Dr. Robert “Bob” Henderson, president, CEO and chairman of the board of Nutramax Laboratories Inc. and Nutramax Manufacturing.

(L to R) Steve Evered, vice president, government affairs at Michelin North America, and Pete Selleck, chairman and president of Michelin North America, speak with Total Comfort Solutions CEO and S.C. Chamber Board Chairman Jim Reynolds before the start of Washington Night.

S p onsors Presenting Nutramax Laboratories Inc. Platinum BB&T Gold AT&T The Boeing Company BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Duke Energy Carolinas FUJIFILM Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Professional Printers SCANA Silver Agape Senior Alcoa Mt. Holly BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC Bridgestone Americas The Electric Cooperatives of SC, Inc. Michelin North America, Inc. Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Palmetto Health Progress Energy Santee Cooper Sonoco South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation Total Comfort Solutions Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP Bronze ArborGen Inc. The Capital Corporation Carolinas AGC, Inc. Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Hitachi Electronic Devices USA, Inc. Lexington Medical Center Milliken & Company Nestle Prepared Foods Company Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. Piedmont Natural Gas S.C. Petroleum Council S.C. SHRM State Council SC Credit Union League & Affiliates Southeastern Insurance Consultants Time Warner Cable The Timken Company Contributors Childs & Halligan, P.A. Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center Kyle Michel Law Firm North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce Convention and Visitors Bureau Tri-County Regional Chamber of Commerce

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U pc o m i n g e v e n t

Pure Power Technologies receives S.C. Manufacturer of the Year Award for commitment to state B y J essica L ovelace

S.C. Chamber President and CEO Otis Rawl and SCMEP Senior Vice President of Operations Joe Jacobs present the 2011 S.C. Manufacturer of the Year Award – Medium Employer to Greg Butler of Pure Power Technologies.

B

eing recognized by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce as the 2011 South Carolina Medium Manufacturer of the Year was important for Pure Power Technologies and its employees because the last few years have been what some would call an emotional roller coaster. The business had changed hands four times in two years and was scheduled to close permanently in May 2010, with 450 jobs moving out of South Carolina. Fortunately, before that could happen, Navistar bought the facility, and Pure Power Technologies was created with the mission to pioneer the next generation of clean engine control and emissions management solutions.

When the opportunity to apply for the Manufacturer of the Year award came up, we understood that it was a long shot because we’d only been operating as Pure Power Technologies for a little more than a year. Ultimately, the decision was made to move forward because we knew our organization embodied the criteria for the award.

Throughout the first year, our employees worked hard to create an environment where safety and quality come first, employees give back to the community and we work to cultivate relationships throughout South Carolina in order to bring business to our state. Not only did the award signal to the business community that Pure Power Technologies was open for business, it showed our employees that Navistar is committed to keeping jobs in South Carolina.

To be honored amongst companies such as Cox Industries and PPG Industries Fiber Glass Products Inc., the South Carolina Small Manufacturers of the Year, and Honda of South Carolina Manufacturing Inc., the South Carolina Large Manufacturer of the Year, is truly a testament to the employees at Pure Power. When you walk into the plant, there are two banners: one with our mission statement reminding employees what we strive to do and another congratulating them for winning the 2011 South Carolina Medium Manufacturer of the Year Award. These banners show both employees and visitors how far we’ve come and what is possible for our future.

Jessica Lovelace is the HR generalist at Pure Power Technologies LLC. PurePOWER™ Technologies LLC focuses on customer-friendly technologies that enhance in-cylinder combustion, including the development and advancement of proprietary fuel and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR).

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for the 2012 South Carolina Manufacturer of the Year Awards. Nominees must have a strong economic impact, exemplify quality and environmental improvement, have a commitment to the workforce and contribute to their communities. Download the application at www.scchamber.net under “Events” and ”Applications and Recognition.” The deadline for entries is Thursday, June 15 at 5 p.m. The South Carolina Chamber’s Manufacturer of the Year Awards luncheon, presented by Nexsen Pruet, LLC, is Wednesday, August 29 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia.

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U pc o m i n g e v e n t

Best Places to Work honor confirms SPARC’s successful culture B y J ohn E. S mith

Best Places to Work in South Carolina is open to all South Carolina for-profit and not-for-profit organizations with at least 15 employees working in South Carolina. Apply online at www. bestplacestoworksc.com. Applications must be completed before May 25. Upon completion of the assessment process, all participating companies will receive an Employee Feedback Report, which details the results of their specific survey. Similar reports can cost thousands of dollars if initiated independently. Winners will be contacted in early August. Call Best Companies Group toll free at 877455-2159 with questions regarding the application process. Also, save the date for the recognition event, presented

by Colonial Life, October 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Columbia.

Representatives from SPARC LLC are presented with the 2011 Best Place to Work in South Carolina – Small/Medium category.

B

eing a company that was only two years old and going through rapid growth, SPARC was extremely excited just to make the top 10 list of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina. I can still remember being at the banquet and hearing the presenters count down to the top company. Before we knew it, it was down to the last three companies. After being in business for only two years and struggling through sporadic growth, we had actually won the Best Places to Work in South Carolina!

SPARC is a software development company focused on both product development and integration services for federal, defense and commercial customers.

Very early on in the evolution of SPARC, we created our core values, even though at the time we did not understand how fundamentally important they were to creating a great culture and how important having a great culture would be to creating a successful business. At SPARC, we now understand culture plays an important and critical role in every decision we make. Culture helps guide our innovation, strategy and brand and gives us the ability to help our customers achieve their goals by attracting the talent they need to be successful.

Winning the Best Places to Work in South Carolina award really confirmed we are doing the right things and making a difference in the community and people’s lives. The energy and excitement from this confirmation aligned the whole company around doing even more. Our team members are now more engaged with each other, and the company continues to shine with new initiatives to focus SPARC on maintaining itself as a great place to work. We now have several committees comprised of volunteer team members that drive education, culture, communication and charity for the company.

Through having a great partnership with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, winning the award, reviewing our results data and committing to staying a great place to work, SPARC has really benefited from the entire experience. Our team members are extremely proud of where they work and enjoy conversations with friends, family and even complete strangers about what winning the award means to them personally. While we signed up for just a simple award, we embarked on an unexpected journey we hope will never stop.

John E. Smith is CTO/chief evangelist at SPARC LLC.

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M E M B ER NE W S Apprenticeship Carolina™, an integral part of the SC Technical College System, has announced that Total Comfort Solutions is sponsoring a structured, three-year apprenticeship program that will offer classroom and practical hands-on experience for their HVAC technicians. Working closely with Midlands Technical College, Total Comfort Solutions will provide in-depth education and training on customer relations skills, advanced troubleshooting techniques, systems and components maintenance and systems diagnostics and repair.

(L to R) Steve Mathis, vice president of operations; Todd Hyneman, president; Moryah Jackson, Apprenticeship Carolina; Rich Sweet, chief financial officer; Jim Reynolds, chief executive officer; Craig Dunlavy, Columbia general manager; Kristi Eidson, personnel development manager and Mike Branham, Columbia service manager

Theresa Singleton retired from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on February 29 after 38 years with the agency. Singleton had served as deputy district director of the SBA South Carolina District Office since January 2003. Among those attending Singleton’s retirement celebration was Mike Brenan, president of BB&T South Carolina and chair-elect of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

AFL has announced that the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) Foundation is the recipient of a $6,000 AFL grant that will support the Summer Program for Research Interns (SPRI) during the summer of 2012. SPRI gives South Carolina high school students the opportunity to gain real-world scientific research experience in professional environments, preparing them as future leaders in South Carolina’s knowledgebased economy.

AlliedBarton Security Services has received the State of Missouri Flag of Freedom Award from the ShowMe Heroes program for its military hiring effort in 2011. AlliedBarton was presented with this award during the Veteran’s Career Expo & Benefits Fair in Kansas City, Mo. The Flag of Freedom

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award recognizes Missouri employers that have recruited and hired Missouri veterans as part of the Show-Me Heroes program.

Andrew Baum has been named president and CEO of ArborGen, a Summerville company specializing in the development of commercialized trees.

Baum has also accepted a seat on the company’s board of directors.

A.T. LOCKE, an Upstate provider of accounting services, business analysis and financial and strategic guidance to emerging and mid-sized organizations, has added Tina Smerdon as an accounting analyst and Stacy Galin as an accounting specialist on the firm’s fast-growing team.

AT&T invested more than $950 million

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce Pure Power Technologies is a sponsor of the Pure Power Conference Room.

Located at the South Carolina Chamber’s office at the Tower at 1301 Gervais in Columbia, the Pure Power Conference Room provides a hightech work environment for Chamber staff and member companies.

in its South Carolina wireless and wireline networks from 2008 through 2011 with a focus on improving the company’s mobile broadband coverage and overall performance of its networks.

During 2011, AT&T made more than 950 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in South Carolina.

The Brandon Agency has been selected as agency of record for Glory Foods Inc. The Brandon Agency will develop and execute all marketing initiatives for Glory Foods in the areas of strategic marketing and brand planning as well as creative, website development, public relations, social media and paid media campaigns.

Clemson University’s Richard H. Pennell Center for Real Estate Development has received the 2012

Outstanding Leadership Organization Award from CREW (Commercial Real Estate Women) Upstate South Carolina in recognition of the center’s advancement of women in the commercial real estate industry.

Collins & Lacy P.C. has opened a Charleston, S.C. office. The Charleston office will be home to Shareholders Tom Bacon and Bennett Crites and attorney Mikell Wyman. Bacon has spent seven years practicing solely in workers’ compensation. Crites’ practice focuses on products liability, premises liability, automobile negligence, defamation, insurance bad faith and commercial trucking law. Wyman started his 10-year legal career working in civil litigation, family law, residential real estate and workers’ compensation defense matters.

M E M B ER NE W S

Axson

Bacon

Barrett

Bearden

Cauthen

Crites

Elkins

Erwin

Fowler

Hayes

Jackson

Justice

Kresken

Lawson

Martin

Matthews

Myers

Sharp

Smith

Stewart

Compiled by Matthew Gregory (Send publicity and event photos to: matthew.gregory@scchamber.net)

Suggs

Wyman

Elliott Davis LLC has hired Doug Hayes as senior manager in its tax practice. He will share his time between the firm’s Greenville, S.C. and Charlotte, N.C. offices.

The American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina (ACEC) has awarded GEL Engineering LLC (GEL) a 2012 Award for Engineering Excellence.

GEL was recognized for the firm’s environmental and engineering services performed during the remediation and redevelopment of Bay Creek Park for the Town of Edisto Beach.

General Dynamics Land Systems –Force Protection recently delivered its first Stryker double-v hull to the United States Army for deployment to Afghanistan. Land Systems-Force Protection began installing survivability kits and additional combat-related equipment on 292 double-v hull Strykers in early April. The work is being completed at General Dynamic's manufacturing facility in Ladson, S.C. The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the addition of Lee Catoe as vice president and special assistant to the CEO for community affairs and Susan Vaughan McPherson as director of governmental affairs and regionalism.

Beaufort County-based cable and telephone company Hargray Communications and Charter Communications have entered into a definitive agreement under which Hargray will acquire Charter’s Beaufort cable system. The transaction involves approximately 7,000 customers in

Beaufort and is expected to close by June 30, 2012, subject to customary closing conditions.

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd’s Public Finance Practice Group has been ranked first among bond counsel in South Carolina for 2011, according to The Bond Buyer. The daily newspaper serving the nation’s municipal bond industry has placed the firm first in South Carolina for four of the last five years.

The law firm served as bond counsel for more than $1.25 billion of bond sales in the state last year.

Welcome, New Members Austin Master Services North Charleston

Palmetto Pigeon Plant Inc. Sumter

Beam Pharmacies Sumter

Rogers, Townsend & Thomas PC Columbia

Benefit Controls of South Carolina Inc. Greenville

Roly Poly Columbia

BVG Inc. Charleston

Safelite Autoglass Columbia

CarMax Richmond, Va.

Sandlapper Securities LLC Greenville

Charles C. Blanchard Construction Charleston

Sandler Training Columbia

CMG Marketing & Promotions Columbia

The Shissias Law Firm LLC Columbia

Engineered Metals & Composites Columbia

South Carolina Women’s Business Center Charleston

The National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN) has awarded Hospice Care of South Carolina the NBCHPN 2012 Employer of the Year Award.

ICI - Innovative Composites International Inc. Orangeburg Institute for Child Success Greenville

Start Advertising & Marketing Inc. Rock Hill

The Greenville Area Development Corporation has named Larry Jackson, chairman of Jackson Marketing Group, Greenville County’s Economic Development Ambassador for 2011.

Governor Nikki Haley recognized Jackson and other ambassadors from across the state for their exceptional contributions to community and state economic development April 17 during Industry Appreciation Week.

Interstate Container Reading, Pa.

Thompson Industrial Services Sumter

Joyce Engineering Inc. North Charleston

Upstate Carolina Angel Network Greenville

Manpower Aiken

Wallace Tool & Die LLC Liberty

Martech Research Bishopville

Westinghouse Electric Company Columbia

KeenanSuggs has recognized four of its brokers for excellence at the independent insurance firm’s annual BEST Partners Banquet. Bob Graham, James Martin, Eric Elkins and Tommy Suggs were recognized as 2011 Executive Brokers at the event, which also honors insurance carriers from around the country with whom KeenanSuggs does business.

Lexington Medical Center has welcomed Joshua Lawson, MD to Lexington Radiation Oncology, a

SPARC LLC Charleston

Otis Elevator Florence physician practice that is part of the hospital’s network of care. Dr. Lawson will join Quillin Davis, MD in providing the latest technology in radiation medicine to cancer patients.

Mashburn Construction has welcomed Zach Bearden, RLA, LEED® AP to its Charleston, S.C. office as business developer. Bearden is a LEED accredited professional, licensed landscape architect in the state of South

Carolina and a certified arborist by the International Society of Arboriculture.

Mark D. Cauthen, a partner in McKay, Cauthen, Settana, & Stubley P.A. (The McKay Firm) and member of the firm’s Workers’ Compensation Team, has been selected to serve on the 2012 Annual Educational Conference Committee for the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Educational Association.

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M E M B ER NE W S

Events

Calendar May 10, 2012 Legislative Agenda Task Force Columbia May 11, 2012 Diversity Council Meeting Columbia May 16, 2012 Quality Forum Columbia Salute to Small Business 2012 Columbia May 24, 2012 Tax Committee Columbia June 1, 2012 Environmental Technical Committee Columbia June 7, 2012 Lowcountry Membership Reception Mt. Pleasant Human Resources Committee Columbia June 12, 2012 Pee Dee Membership Reception Florence June 14, 2012 Upstate Membership Reception Greer June 19, 2012 Midlands Membership Reception Columbia Safety, Health & Security Committee Columbia June 20, 2012 Quality Forum Columbia June 21, 2012 Executive Committee Meeting Greenville June 21-22, 2012 Board of Directors Retreat Greenville

For additional events, visit scchamber.net.

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Milliken & Company has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2012 by the Ethisphere Institute for a sixth consecutive year.

Ethisphere reviewed hundreds of companies and evaluated a record number of applications, naming the companies that surpassed their industry peers to this year’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list. Milliken secured a spot on the list by implementing and maintaining upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company’s success, benefit the community and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry.

Lloyd I. Hendricks, president and CEO of the South Carolina Bankers Association (SCBA), will retire after 25 years of service to the 112-year-old trade association. The SCBA board of directors announced in February 2012 that he will be succeeded by Fred L. Green, III, who will take the reins on July 1, 2012. Hendricks will remain as a consultant for a short period of time thereafter to ensure continuity for the 88 banks that are members of the SCBA.

Gray Wallington has joined Nexsen Pruet as the director of eDiscovery and ESI Services. The newly-created position will strengthen the firm’s comprehensive litigation and other document-management capabilities.

William W. “Billy” Wilkins, a member (partner) in the firm’s Greenville office, has been selected as a 2012 Platinum Compleat Lawyer by the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Spartanburg Water has hired Kevin D. Smith as project engineer II. Smith will manage water and sewer projects, including capital projects from design phase to completion. He will also review engineering specifications, prepare engineering reports and designs, and ensure compliance with established contracts, regulations and standards.

Water Plant Lead Operator Jeff Erwin has received the Water Environment Association of South Carolina Water Treatment Plant Operator of the Year Award.

Erin Rowan Myers has joined PHT Services Ltd. as senior claims consultant, responsible for the investigation and management of liability claims for Palmetto Healthcare Liability Insurance Program. Associate Sandra K. Axson, CPCU, AIC, AIM, AIS has attained the Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) professional designation.

TD Bank has promoted Scott E. Sharp to regional vice president for the North Coast and Wilmington regions of South Carolina. Nancy E. Matthews has been named commercial relationship manager in commercial banking in Florence, S.C. Nate G. Barrett has been promoted to senior commercial relationship manager in commercial banking in Greenville, S.C.

Richardson, Plowden & Robinson P.A. attorney Drew Hamilton Butler is the recipient of the A. William Roberts Jr. & Associates (AWR) Litigator of the Year award. The award was presented to Butler by Bill Roberts, AWR CEO, at the South Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leaders in Law Ceremony in March.

Turner Padget Graham & Laney P.A. Shareholder Arthur E. Justice Jr. received the United Way of Florence County’s Ashpy P. Lowrimore Annual Award during the organization’s annual meeting held April 3. The Ashpy P. Lowrimore Award is the United Way of Florence County’s most esteemed award given for community service. Jonathan P. Kresken has joined the firm’s Myrtle Beach office and will concentrate his practice in the areas of real estate, estate planning, estate administration, bankruptcy, business formation and probate litigation. Elaine H. Fowler has been selected as a recipient of the 2012 Leadership in Law award by South Carolina Lawyers Weekly.

Veteran insurance and risk management professional Alice Stewart has been named senior account manager for commercial lines at Rosenfeld Einstein.

During a March 31 ceremony at Fort Belvoir, Va., SC State University Army ROTC cadets Clifton Parker, Harrison T. Goins and Adrianne V. Scott were awarded The Rocks Inc. Brig Gen. Roscoe C. Cartwright Leadership Scholarship.

Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP has been named a 2012 Go-To Law Firm for the Top 500 Companies for its work in two categories: Litigation and Labor & Employment. Nominated by a Fortune 500® client, Smith Moore Leatherwood was selected for the honor after in-depth research of numerous resources, including public records, leading publications and well-respected commercial databases.

VC3 has been named to CRN’s annual list of the Tech Elite 250 for the second consecutive year. Companies on the 2012 Tech Elite 250 list represent an elite group of IT solution providers that have invested in the training and education needed to earn the most technical certifications in the IT Channel.

VC3 is one of only two companies in South Carolina to earn this distinction.

Advertiser Index Agape Senior................................................... 21 BlueCross BlueShield of SC....Inside Front Cover Converging Media.......................................... 20 Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd PA..............................1 March of Dimes............................................... 20 Membership Receptions................................. 28 Palmetto Health.................................Back Cover Safety Winners................................................. 29 Santee Cooper....................................................8 Self Regional Healthcare.................................. 14 Sonoco................................................................6 Upcoming Awards.......................................... 28 Womble Carlyle............................................... 15

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Our concerns are our members’ concerns. Strong business advocacy ensures South Carolina becomes more globally competitive.

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— Otis Rawl, President and CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1940, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is the Palmetto State’s largest statewide broad-based business and industry association and voice of business at the State House.

Agenda, is based on feedback from the more than 18,000 businesses the Chamber represents.

Over the past four years alone, the return on investment for South Carolina The South Carolina Chamber keeps a close businesses has been $2 billion through eye and constant presence at the State legislative advocacy on issues like workers’ House, engaging legislators in meaningful compensation reform, Employment Security Commission reform, port dialogue while working to get positive business legislation passed and halting restructuring and more. dangerous anti-business bills.

The business community’s annual list of legislative priorities, the Competitiveness

Contact us today at 800-799-4601.

Learn more at www.scchamber.net.

TO FACE “FACE HAND TO HAND HEART TO HEART At Palmetto Health, we see people at their best and worst moments, when we see life begin and end. We have an opportunity to make a difference.

It’s that connection with patients and their families that inspires us to come to work every day at a place recognized for being the best.

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Stephany Branham Palmetto Health Employee with patient, Truman Fallaw

EXTRAORDINARY CARE