BusINess Magazine

SERVING NORTHWEST INDIANA & CHICAGOLAND

THE ENERGY CONNECTIONS POWER ISSUE TRAINING TURBINE BUILDERS

by Louisa Murzyn

US STEEL MAKING COKE CLEANER

by Bowdeya Tweh

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NWI Innovators at Work

28

Jim Jackson’s Fuel Efficient Faves

E-RECORDS CHALLENGE

by Dick Roskam

FUTURE OF CHESTERTON RIGHT NOW

by Pat Colander

SUMMER 2010

WINTER 2010 PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. JOSEPH, MI PERMIT #65

PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ST. JOSEPH, MI PERMIT #65

>> contents

Powering the future Kizhanipuram Vinodgopal, professor of electrochemistry at Indiana University Northwest, hopes to see Indiana become a leader in electric transportation.

Northwest Indiana connections 6 7 8

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publisher notes

by Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. By the numbers Statistics concerning the region’s economy COVER STORY Northwest Indiana connections 8 Making a career out of sailing close to the wind

by Louisa Murzyn 10 Fanning the job potential of making wind turbines

by Louisa Murzyn 11 Indiana seeks spotlight as electric vehicle capital

by Louisa Murzyn 12 The debate over alternative energy

by Philip Taylor 14 Cleaning the steel-making process

by Bowdeya Tweh 15 Training the auto technicians of the future

by Louisa Murzyn 16 The future of Chesterton: Internships with edge

by Pat Colander

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

18 22 24

BIZ BUZZ Updates on area businesses

28

keep moving Driving Detroit: a fuel-efficient return to tradition

by Jim Jackson

29

NEW FUTURES Health record revolution

by Dick Roskam, MD MBA

30

Business Calendar Upcoming events in the area SALUTE Promotions and accomplishments of local business people

my turn Environment, energy, economy - oh my!

by Kay Nelson

>> publisher’s letter

Focus on energy initiative a win-win

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riginally our reason for choosing a connections theme for this summer issue of the magazine was obvious: Northwest Indiana is a rapidly evolving transportation hub. Elected leadership moved fast this spring when the legislators passed the bill that literally paves the way to building the Illiana Expressway. There are several must-haves for economic development in Northwest Indiana—the Gary Airport is one—but the Illiana Expressway may be at the top of the list right now. Not only will the Illiana be a source of highway construction jobs on both sides of the state line, but the new road itself will become a job factory as businesses that need quick access have an opportunity to relocate nearby. Within weeks of the Illiana passage with the support of a democratic General Assembly and a Republican governor in Indiana, Governor Mitch Daniels and Illinois’ Governor Patrick Quinn had a meeting about a mile from my office at the Lansing airport and signed a bipartisan, bi-state agreement to fast-track the highway project. My congratulations to the state of Indiana leadership from the governor on down and to Times executive editor Bill Nangle, who believed in this project all along and kept the discussion going even when building the Illiana appeared hopelessly stalled.

But in spite of the progress being made in transportation, we realized much of the movement of goods and people is made possible by the continuing outreach and development of innovations in fuel efficiency from traditional sources as well as a new breed of alternatives. Indiana is already well known as a pioneer and leader in harnessing and exporting wind power, but more importantly, we are also a leader in training the energy workers of the future.

Also, Times expert on motoring, automotive columnist Jim Jackson, takes time out in this issue for some consumer advocacy to explain the advanced thinking in the industry about fuel processing under the hood. Yes, you can shrink your carbon footprint without sacrificing the driving experience or the safety of the vehicle.

The issue also explores the related educational innovations pushing economic development in general, and particularly in the new and growing energy industry there are special engineering programs sprouting up all over the region and even into Southwest Michigan. Once again, Indiana is at the forefront of technical high school programs where students learn how to construct projects, work as teams and motivate each other in solving real-world problems. These curricula are emerging around the country as a result of the business community cooperating with educators to train the next generation of workers. In Northwest Indiana, the Future of Chesterton is a thriving example of what business can do with the right attitude. In this issue, we talk with interns Christian Parroco and Annie Thieling about the discoveries they are making in their new capacity as learners and earners and what they see in the future for the growth and development of our area.

The nomination forms for the Times-BusINess annual 20 Under 40 recognition are on nwi.com already, so there are a few weeks left for you to send us letters of support for NWI’s best and brightest. You can read about them in the next issue coming up in the fall.

BUSINESS

S e rv i n g N o rt h w e s t I n d i a n a & C h i c ag o l a n d

Summer 2010

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 3

Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. Founding Editor Bill Nangle Associate Publisher/Editor Pat Colander Director of Product Development Chris Loretto Associate Editors Crista Zivanovic Julia Perla Matt Saltanovitz Art Director Joe Durk Graphic Designer Matt Huss Contributing Writers Heather Augustyn Cal Bellamy Keith Benman Dan Carden Wil Davis Lu Ann Franklin Jeremy Gantz Carmen McCollum Kathleen Quilligan Bill Thon Brian Williams Contributing Photographers Natalie Battaglia Jon L. Hendricks John Luke Robert Wray Advertising Director Lisa M. Daugherty Online Account Executive Craig Chism Advertising Managers Deb Anselm Eric Horon Frank Perea Jeffrey Precourt Business Advisory Board Dave Bochnowski Peoples Bank Wil Davis Gary Jet Center Tricia Geno NIPSCO Barb Greene Franciscan Physician Hospital Tom Gryzbek St. Margaret Mercy Hospital Terri G. Martin Gary Community Health Foundation Inc. Stephan K. Munsey Family Christian Center Bert Scott Indiana University Northwest

B il l M a ste R so n J r . PUBLISHER , B u s INes s WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK. E-mail me at bill.masterson@nwitimes.com or write to me at: BusINess Magazine, The Times, 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321

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SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Bill Thon Ivy Tech State College Copyright, Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland BusINess, 2010.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content without permission is prohibited.

>> by the numbers

Employment Lake County

LaPorte County

Cook County

Illinois

May 2009 Labor Force: 229,339 Employed: 204,794 Unemployed: 24,545 Rate: 10.7 percent

May 2009 Labor Force: 53,617 Employed: 47,297 Unemployed: 6,320 Rate: 11.8 percent

May 2009 Labor Force: 2,611,563 Employed: 2,334,355 Unemployed: 277,208 Rate: 10.6 percent

May 2009 Labor Force: 6,609,100 Employed: 5,958,200 Unemployed: 650,900 Rate: 9.8 percent

Porter County

Indiana

Will County

SOURCES: Indiana Department of Workforce Development/Illinois Department of Employment Security

May 2009 Labor Force: 85,116 Employed: 76,804 Unemployed: 8,312 Rate: 9.8 percent

May 2009 Labor Force: 3,233,606 Employed: 2,894,886 Unemployed: 338,720 Rate: 10.5 percent

May 2009 Labor Force: 365,493 Employed: 327,168 Unemployed: 38,325 Rate: 10.5 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 219,849 Employed: 196,659 Unemployed: 23,190 Rate: 10.5 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 80,717 Employed: 73,753 Unemployed: 6,964 Rate: 8.6 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 51,585 Employed: 45,685 Unemployed: 5,900 Rate: 11.4 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 2,619,525 Employed: 2,338,902 Unemployed: 280,623 Rate: 10.7 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 3,152,925 Employed: 2,846,438 Unemployed: 306,487 Rate: 9.7 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 366,876 Employed: 327,806 Unemployed: 39,070 Rate: 10.6 percent

May 2010 Labor Force: 6,645,000 Employed: 5,980,000 Unemployed: 665,000 Rate: 10 percent

Indiana’s economic growth

Region 1 (includes Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski and Starke counties.)

Average Wage (May 2008) Geography Gary Division Michigan City - La Porte MSA Indiana U.S.

Hourly $18.53 $16.43 $18.16 $20.32

Annual $38,530 $34,170 $37,770 $42,270

Hourly $14.80 $13.58 $14.59 $15.57

Annual $30,790 $28,240 $30,340 $32,390

Source: OES from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Indiana Department of Workforce Development

Median Wage (May 2008) Geography Gary Division Michigan City - La Porte MSA Indiana U.S. Source: OES from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Indiana Department of Workforce Development

Personal Income (2007, in millions) Region 1 Indiana U.S.

$27,489 $213,875 $11,879,800

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS SUMMER 2010

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>> Cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

making a career out of

Sailing Close Wind to the

by louisa murZyn

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arning: those who get sweaty palms and the heebiejeebies at the thought of being interviewed 20-stories up looking down at the ground below need not apply.

“The first time you stick your legs over a 300-foot high hub entry you definitely have to feel prepared,” says Rob Hefner.

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a career with a view Rob Hefner (right and opposite page) was one of the first graduates of Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Wind Turbine Technician program.

Hefner, 29, was among 16 students at Kalamazoo Valley Community College (KVCC) who feel their best employment opportunities are up in thin air. They were the first graduates of the KVCC’s new Wind Turbine Technician Academy.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” says the Lake Central graduate. “I had to climb out to one of the open portions so they could make sure I wasn’t shaking. Then they asked a few basic questions to make sure I had a processing mind at that point. I was thinking it was an excellent view.”

A wind turbine is a rotating machine that converts kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy.

Growth of the wind power industry has created a demand for a new profession: wind power technicians. After KVCC’s 26-week program, techs can earn from $30,000 to $45,000 annually before overtime. With experience, earning can be upwards of $38 an hour.

BusinessWeek found the median pay was $53,600 and ranked 12th on its list of 21 best-paying green jobs.

With an industrial power background, Hefner got a job as a wind sales specialist within two weeks. Classmates came from varied backgrounds: high school graduates, business, computer sales, the trades, slot machine, and auto glass.

Hefner was an entrepreneur but switched careers on the economic promise of green technology. “I wanted to be in an industry on the ground floor while I was young and be in a career I wouldn’t have to worry about declining,” he says. “I had a unique skill set as far as understanding power generation and the adventurous side of me to be willing to climb.”

KVCC’s training director, Cindy Buckley, stressed the program is vocational and its focus narrowed to maintenance and repair skills. “It will be interesting to see in five years how these careers have progressed,” she adds. “We have workers with basic skills so it’s a retraining that aligns

well with what we have in mind.”

The job outlook is virtually unlimited: quick growth is expected for the next 10 years.

Buckley says 1,500 to 2,400 technicians are needed annually to support the current pattern of industry growth. Graduates are recruited heavily, frequently getting three or four job offers. One wind power tech will be required for every 10 turbines.

The U.S. wind industry shattered all installation records in 2009, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Since 2002, turbine installations have jumped almost sevenfold.

And the government is poised to infuse billions of dollars into clean energy projects. KVCC has already received a $550,000 federal appropriation to buy specialized lab equipment, including a 90-foot tower and turbine unit for training purposes.

KVCC is the first and only school in the U.S. to offer a program based on a European certification standard and that trains people to work on utility grade turbines found on wind farms.

Hefner and his peers are on the cutting edge of careers blowing in the wind. “As we went our separate ways and started meeting new people we realized what we have done is exceptional,” he says. “The feeling that we are pioneers is starting to settle in.”

kalamazoo Valley Community College Wind turbine technician academy 7107 Elm Valley Drive Kalamazoo, MI 49009 (269) 353-1282 careeracademies@kvcc.edu mtec.kvcc.edu/ windtechacademy.html top employers - Siemens - Vestas American Wind Technology - Tetra Tech - GE Energy Wind turbine technician characteristics: - Strong mechanical, basic math, and communication skills - Ability to climb a 240 ft. ladder as well as carry 60 lbs.

- No fear of heights or confined spaces advanced positions - Wind farm manager $70,000-$90,000 - Project manager $50,000-$60,000 - Wind analyst $50,000-$65,000

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS SUMMER 2010

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>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

Fanning the job potential of making wind turbines

By LOUISA MURZYN

W

hile the wind industry is hiring technicians to keep the nation’s 30,000 turbines spinning, there is opportunity for manufacturers to catch some air as well. “It’s the economic development side we feel passionate about, not only supporting career paths,” says Cindy Buckley, executive director of training at Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

“We believe it will lead to more jobs not just in the technical field but in all of the supply chain that goes along with it. There are over 8,000 parts in a wind turbine and they have to be manufactured somewhere and it might as well be here in the U.S. and Midwest.”

European turbine makers are seeking suppliers in North America to meet the demands here. There is currently a shortage in the national capability to produce turbines. Since 2002, the country’s base installations have jumped almost sevenfold.

To make a wind turbine, the industry needs businesses such as iron foundries, metal fabricators, ball bearing makers, industrial fan producers, turbine manufacturers, circuit board companies and control device makers.

The Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) completed an analysis of the job-creating potential of renewable energy technologies. The results were encouraging for Indiana; potential component manufacturers could create 25,180 new jobs out of the total $62.2 billion in investment and 398,000 jobs will be created from the 185,000 megawatts of wind generation that should be installed in upcoming years.

REPP reports that Indiana is among the top ten states for investment and job creation potential. Indiana ranks sixth in the number of employees ­— 53,064 ­— working at firms that currently have the 10

technical potential to become active manufacturers of wind turbine components.

LaPorte County is listed among the top 20 counties in Indiana supplying component parts. Locally, ATI Casting Services in LaPorte has been supplying hubs, gear boxes and bases, according to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

One overall opportunity for wind is in the supply of large components that are costly to transport over long distances, such as tower sections, rotor blades, assemblies and covers, castings and forgings, and many other subcomponents.

Today, about half the components used in wind farms are made in the U.S., compared with 25 percent in 2004, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Bob Paden, of The Fuzion Group, located at the Purdue Technology Center in Indianapolis, provides supply chain advisory services. He admits opportunities exist but cautions the industry is in its infancy.

“Wind energy is a challenging market for someone to start dipping their toes into,” he says. “It’s a very emerging market and manufacturing standards across the industry are in the development stage. (But) there’s components such as gear boxes and bearings that need to be retooled. Those are things we know how to do here. To grow the industry means we’ll be creating ground level jobs.”

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

How Indiana Ranks

* Best in Midwest: low taxes 1st in Midwest and 12th nationally. Five consecutive years of top competitiveness Source: Tax Foundation 2009

* Best in Midwest: cost of doing business 1st in Midwest & 7th nationally Source: Forbes Best States for Business Index 2009

* Top state for business Source: CNBC, July 2009, www.indypartnership.com

* Best state business climate Indiana ranks 5th nationally Source: Site Selection Magazine 2008

* Second best state in the U.S. for renewable energy jobs and investment Source: Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP), 2008

* Fastest growing wind energy state in the country in 2008 Source: American Wind Energy Association, 2008

>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

Road to the Future Governor Mitch Daniels and Think Chief Executive Richard Canny hope to make Indiana an electric vehicle powerhouse

Indiana seeks spotlight as electric vehicle capital

By LOUISA MURZYN

T

he spotlight is glaring on Indiana as a potential leader in a technology that many think is the future: the emerging electric vehicle industry. Kizhanipuram Vinodgopal and Richard Canny, Chief Executive of the Norwegian electric carmaker Think, agree the Hoosier state has a vision to become home to electric transportation as well as an industrial base of key manufacturers.

“The goal is to make Indiana the ‘Silicon Valley’ of battery research and electric vehicles,” says Vinodgopal, Indiana University Northwest professor of electrochemistry.

“This is where the history of automobiles and batteries began. What’s required now is to develop a lead in it so those jobs will come to Indiana in the future.”

Hoosiers everywhere are hoping Elkhart, Indiana, once called the “RV Capital of the World” for its concentration of recreational vehicle manufacturers, will have a new nickname—“EV Capital of the World.” Think was offered more than $3 million in performance-based tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. The company plans to invest $43 million in the plant, which has the capacity to produce as many as 20,000 battery-electric vehicles, or BEVs, annually by 2013.

Indiana has many advantages, including a large pool of trained labor, especially in auto manufacturing, and a central location in the auto supplier corridor of the Midwest, Vinodgopal adds.

The state currently has a cast of impressive suppliers which produce key components needed for electric vehicles such as motors, power controllers and batteries.

Delphi, in Kokomo, which received $89.3 million from ARRA, produces electrical and electronic systems.

Indianapolis-based Allison Transmission produces transmissions and other components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Currently producing 100,000 EV packs annually, EnerDel, in Fishers, has been the only one in the U.S. capable of high-volume production of the lithium-ion batteries essential for EVs. Also, Indiana auto manufacturers this year met with Chinese auto executives and government officials in hopes of developing a business relationship for building hybrid and electric autos.

China is the world’s fastest-growing market for EVs and is expected to have 35 percent of all electric vehicles by 2020, up from three percent today, according to Energy Systems Network (ESN.) Vinodgopal gives credit to the federal

government grants. The state has received about $500 million of stimulus funding, according to ESN, an Indianapolis group which promotes alternative energy businesses. “The Department of Energy is putting a huge focus on EVs and that didn’t exist a couple of years ago,” Vinodgopal adds. “Without funding, none of this would have happened.”

MSNBC reported earlier this year that with its brain trust, supply base, trained work force and supportive government, university and private organizations all kicking in, Indiana may be in a powerful position to achieve Gov. Mitch Daniels’ goal of becoming the electric vehicle state. “We realize this kind of investment has to be backed by a trained workforce at all levels,” says Libbie Pelter, of Purdue University Calumet.

“We’re looking at making Indiana a source of not only manufacturing capital but also intellectual capital. Indiana has always had strong, hardworking people willing to learn and develop something new.

We should be a leader in this.”

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>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

The debate over alternative energy Weighing the costs of wind vs. coal

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n the flat, windswept farmlands of Benton County in Northwest Indiana, massive towers of steel and aluminum have sprouted from the ground like weeds.

Wind turbines have been shipped by the hundreds on the backs of flatbed trucks to be assembled in fields of soybeans and corn.

Transmission lines have been strung up to connect the towers to the regional grid and supply Midwest homes with clean, renewable energy.

In the past three years, Benton has built more than 500 wind towers that generate nearly a thousand megawatts, thanks in part to BP Alternative and Dominion Generation’s 600-megawatt Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, a gargantuan energy project that has become one of the largest of its kind in North America.

In the next four years, BP, Orion Energy and Horizon Wind Energy LLC plan to almost double Benton’s wind power capacity, continuing what has become an economic boon for the county of 9,000, says Kelly Kepner, Director of Benton County Economic Development.

But in an ironic twist, much of the power spun from the farms’ turbine fins is being shipped outside of the state and never consumed by Hoosiers. The wind power in Benton is purchased by utilities like Charlotte-based Duke Energy and sold to consumers in Ohio, Michigan and as far away as Virginia, where renewable energy is the law.

Indiana will be exporting its wind power because it is the only state in the Upper Midwest without a Renewable Energy Standard, a legislative mandate requiring electricity providers to purchase or generate an increasing percentage of renewable energy such as wind or biomass.

It’s not that the idea hasn’t been tried

12

in Indiana. Renewable energy bills have had several runs in the General Assembly, but none have passed muster in the state’s Republican-dominated Senate. They’ve run into a regiment of lawmakers and industry lobbyists who say renewable mandates would be unnecessary, costly and unreliable. “Right now wind energy is about two or three times as expensive as coal-based electricity,” says Mike Brian, spokesman for Indiana Michigan Power, a subsidiary of Columbus-based American Electric Power that serves the northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan region. “If you put a standard in, consumer costs are going to go up.”

So goes the conventional wisdom on renewable energy. The costs are too high and the power is too unreliable. In reality, both are true and both are false.

In the meantime at least, Hoosier winds will power the sails of other Midwestern states.

Catching up with carbon-free Renewable Energy Standards don’t make sexy headlines. Nor do phrases like “fuel portfolio,” “carbon management legislation,” or “Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle.” Yet they all have major roles to play in deciding what people pay to keep their air conditioners humming, their iPods charged and their milk cold.

Consider the fact that Indiana generates 96 percent of its electricity from coal, or that Hoosier residents have the fourth biggest carbon footprints in the country.

By contrast, both Illinois and Michigan get a significant portion of their energy from

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

carbon-free nuclear plants.

Now, consider that Congress is working hard to pass climate legislation that could send the price of coal-based, carbon-intensive electricity soaring. The longer Indiana stays on the coal wagon, so to speak, the harder it could crash if coal becomes pricey.

Is renewable energy sounding sexy yet?

“People don’t pay attention to energy until it hits them in the wallet,” says state Representative Ryan Dvorak (D-South Bend), who chairs the House environment committee. “Until recently we’ve had one of the lowest energy rates in the country.”

Hoosiers enjoy the third cheapest electricity rates east of the Mississippi, and both Michigan and Illinois are below the national average. Why would they want to change anything?

Dvorak in 2009 introduced an amendment to a bill passed by the House that would require the state to get 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025. Earlier this year, Sen. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) introduced a similar bill that would require 20 percent of Indiana’s energy to come from renewable sources and energy efficiency by 2021, but the bill stalled in the chamber’s Committee on Utilities & Technology.

The renewable energy argument hinges on the belief that coal is an inherently dirty, and ultimately more costly, way of producing energy. It’s cheap now only because its true costs — soot, smog, respiratory ailments and global warming — are still relatively invisible to its consumers. When that changes, coal will no longer be cheap.

A move towards renewable energy Renewable energy like wind involves high capital costs and is less reliable than coal, but it emits no carbon dioxide and costs very little to run.

The movement to renewable is gaining traction, Dvorak says, but it still finds a cool

photos by Philip Taylor

By Philip Taylor

reception among many Indiana lawmakers.

Those who bristle at the idea of government mandates will point to the wind farms already going up in Benton County, each of which have happened without pressure, and with little incentives, from the state.

“Mandates in Indiana are a little difficult to sell,” says state Senator Beverly Gard (R-Anderson), who says she is yet to see evidence of the need for renewable energy standards. “We have really come along with wind power, and the one thing I’d like to point out is that we’re doing them without mandates.”

Whether a utility needs mandates to invest in renewable energy could be debated to no end, but it’s important to look at the scale of investments being made in other parts of the Midwest, says Howard Learner, executive director of the Chicago-based Environmental Law and Policy Center. The ELPC played an instrumental role in getting Illinois’ renewable energy standard passed in 2007.

“Illinois policy makers recognized the opportunity to achieve environmental progress and economic development together by moving forward with one of the best renewable energy standards in the country,” Learner says.

In Illinois, 25 percent of the electricity consumed must come from renewable sources by 2025, 75 percent of which must come from wind. In the past two years alone, nearly 1,000 megawatts of new wind power has been plugged into the Illinois grid, according to statistics from the American Wind Energy Association, an industry trade group.

Michigan passed its own renewable standard in fall of 2008, requiring that 10 percent of its electricity come from renewable sources or clean coal technologies able to capture and store carbon by 2015.

The state has since increased its wind energy capacity to 150 megawatts, and state officials are looking into the possibility of tapping into the state’s vast potential for off-shore wind development, says Tom Stanton, who manages the state’s Renewable Energy Program.

W

ith the Obama administration bent on phasing in more renewable energy—either through a federal renewable energy standard, a carbon trading scheme or both—it’s important for Michigan to get greener now rather than later, Stanton says.

“The standards that have been enacted so far are like training wheels for what will happen when we do come face-to-face with de-carbonizing our electricity infrastruc-

ture,” Stanton says.

There’s vociferous support for more renewable energy in Indiana, but a Hoosier mandate may face additional obstacles from the state’s coal industry. Coal mines in southwest Indiana churn out 35 million tons of coal per year and sustain an estimated 14,000 jobs, according to the Indiana Center for Coal Technology Research, a state agency at Purdue University in West Lafayette. The mines supply about half of the coal burned at power plants in the state.

Transitioning away from fossil fuels would be a bold move for lawmakers in a state not known for taking big risks. Indiana already has cheap energy, so why fix it if it’s not broken? The challenge will be convincing lawmakers that the energy machine might be broken in the future, even though

it has been working fine for so many years.

Cheap and reliable energy in Indiana and much of Illinois and Michigan relies on a massive, sprawling infrastructure of transmission lines and aging coal-fired power plants. The system works as long as coal is plentiful and cheap, but it will be illprepared to add new fuels like wind, solar and biomass if the coal supply gets expensive in the future.

Can clean coal fill the energy gap?

Is renewable energy ready to supply Indiana and Michigan with a tenth of their power, and a quarter of the power in Illinois? After all, wind currently satisfies about 2 percent of energy demand nationwide.

“We wonder about the capability of generating 10 to 15 percent of our supply from Indiana wind,” says Stan Pinegar, spokesman for the Indiana Energy Association, a trade group representing the state’s largest

energy providers. “I wouldn’t say it’s the wrong way to go, but we’re not advocating for the passage of renewable mandates.”

Chief among utility concerns with wind power isn’t cost, but dependability. Wind power is intermittent by nature, meaning that when the wind dies down, so does your power source. The same goes for solar power.

Wind power only blows at capacity 35 percent of the time, and typically much less during the summer months when demand is at its peak. In 2007 for example, the Midwest Interconnection Service Organization, which monitors the area’s electricity supply and demand, testified that on the hottest day of the summer only 1.6 percent of the area’s wind power was available.

The extent of the issue was illustrated at a recent Indiana Energy Forum in Hammond, hosted by Chicago Public Radio. One of the panelists was Marty Irwin, who directs the state’s Center for Coal Technology Research in West Lafayette. He responded to a question about wind power in Indiana.

“You really have to look at how big the issue is. We have the second largest wind farm east of the Mississippi. We have ten ethanol plants and five biodiesel plants. All those combined account for 1.5 percent of the energy we use in this state. The bottom line is you’re talking about a huge, huge amount of energy that we need in this state.

Wind power is not the silver bullet. It’s the silver buckshot.”

Irwin says states like Indiana and Illinois instead should focus on their historical strength, coal. He pointed to the recent groundbreaking in Edwardsport, Indiana, of one of the most advanced coal-fired power plants ever built. The technology promises to filter out pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury, as well as have the capacity to capture CO2. If it can do all of this affordably—and even Irwin acknowledges that these are very big “ifs”— it would dramatically change the debate over renewable energy in the Midwest.

Irwin says he believes the Duke plant is worth the gamble. “Every dollar you spend in Indiana that stays here is better than a dollar you spend that goes away. That’s why Edwardsport is so important.”

*Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the April 2009 issue of Shore magazine, and has since been updated for current publication. The original version won an award for Best Coverage of the Environment, from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

Cleaning the steelmaking process New technology will build coke substitute precision control systems

By Bowdeya Tweh

O

ne of the country’s largest steelmakers is betting that in Gary it will be able to reduce its energy costs and improve the environment with the application of a technology that will create a product similar to coke.

United States Steel Corp. hopes to build four modules at its Gary Works integrated steelmaking complex that would generate up to 1 million tons of a semi-crystalline carbon alloy material that will substitute the need for coke, which is an important piece of the steelmaking process.

Company officials say the plans call for creating the country’s first large-scale commercial application of a continuous alternative coke-making process. Plano, Texas-based Carbonyx Inc. owns the technology U.S. Steel is licensing to use in Gary. Carbonyx, a privately held company founded in 2000, has a facility in Ardmore, Oklahoma. that does pilot testing of the product. “It is state-of-the-art and cutting-edge in terms of the steelmaking process and will be when applied, truly a breakthrough technology for steelmaking,” says spokeswoman Courtney Boone.

Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is seeking to build the four, 250,000-ton-capacity production modules in phases. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management finalized two draft air permits from U.S. Steel’s application to build the facilities. If the first permit clears the public comment period, then U.S. Steel could soon begin construction of the facility.

The project’s first phase of construction calls for building two modules at a cost of $220 million on or before Sept. 30. The two modules are expected to begin operating in fall 2011 and would replace about 20 percent of Gary Works coke requirements. Construction of the final two modules could happen after successful operation of the first two. The modules would sit near an existing sinter 14

plant and coal-handling facilities.

Officials from U.S. Steel and Carbonyx said the new process is that it is able to produce the coke substitute — bearing the trademark of Cokonyx — using different types of coals. Metallurgical, or coking, coal prices have been three or four times higher than thermal coal prices, says Joseph Innace, chief editor for steel at Platts, energy and metals information provider of the McGraw-Hill Cos. Anthracite coal has a higher carbon content and has a smaller composition of elements such as sulfur.

“So a technology that uses thermal coal — should such a lower price trend continue compared to met coal — would provide a cost advantage,” Innace explains. The benefit for the company is that it can better leverage itself against price fluctuations facing certain types of coal.

Differences in the production process allow for reduction in the amount of harmful emissions that are usually generated when producing coke. Mark Jeffrey, manager of environmental control at U.S. Steel, says the coke substitute production method helps prevent nitrogen oxides from forming in the process and has sulfur dioxide scrubbers that help remove the harmful pollutant created as a result of the process.

Estimates in the permit application show the alternative processing of the coke substitute would reduce emissions by 3,005 tons of carbon monoxide, 907 tons of nitrogen oxides and 706 tons of volatile organic compounds each year. But the emissions improvements are contingent on keeping the No. 3 coke battery shut down and planning shutdowns of the No. 5 and

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

No. 7 coke batteries once the third and fourth modules are built. The No. 2 coke battery would continue to operate.

While unaware of the specifics with the U.S. Steel project in Gary, Nancy Gravatt, spokeswoman for the American Iron and Steel Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group, says there are many technological advancements that are driving improvements in the steel industry. U.S. Steel is an AISI member.

“Our member companies are supporting, investing and exploring these breakthrough technologies to try to come up with new ways of making steel that would reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide emissions,” Gravatt says.

The production of carbon dioxide as part of the steelmaking process has long been considered unavoidable, but there’s research underway on other new technologies that could change the face of the industry.

Gravatt says a research project underway at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is working on producing iron by “molten oxide electrolysis,” a technique that would generate no carbon dioxide emissions. The goal of a project at the University of Utah is to replace carbon as a blast furnace fuel with hydrogen, and as a result reduce the amount of carbon dioxide created from the process.

Commercial demonstrations are about five years away on a unit called a paired straight hearth furnace. The furnace is a high-productivity, low-energy iron-making unit that can process steel plant wastes as well as virgin iron materials, Gravatt said.

Energy use reduction estimates using this technology have been placed at 30 percent of current costs, she says.

>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

Training the auto technicians of the future

By LOUISA MURZYN

P

photo by Tony V. Martin

rofessor Kizhanipuram Vinodgopal would love to create a generation of go-getting electrochemists, budding battery designers and automotive technicians whose mantra is “Dude! We’re getting 7,000 charge cycles!”

Indiana University Northwest, where Vinodgopal teaches, and Purdue University Calumet will participate in a consortium for electric-vehicle training and education through a $6.1 million work force development grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

“I tell all my students that electrochemistry is the future,” Vinodgopal says. “That’s where the new jobs are going to be. The field has been around for ages — but has been neglected.”

The Indiana Advanced Electric Vehicle Training and Education Consortium will help create the work force needed to design, manufacture and maintain electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure.

“Electrification is the future of transportation,” says Purdue University-Lafayette professor James Caruthers, the project’s director. Vinodgopal said the step to electric drive-trains will be like the switch from chokes and carburetors to fuel injection.

Educators will develop both academic and vocational components, which will include curriculum for K-12 schools, four-year undergraduate courses and two-year vocational programs, Caruthers says.

Libbie Pelter, an associate professor at Purdue Calumet, said the first modules will be ready by the fall. Another goal is to make the educational materials available worldwide by placing them at Purdue’s nanoHUB.org Web site, which has topped 100,000 users in one year. “Future jobs in our state economy are going to come from

this, and if kids are never exposed to this and never see the potential, they are not going to be prepared,” Pelter said.

“This is something people aren’t aware of, and there’s a glaring need for work force development.”

Lee Stahr, shop foreman at Anderson Chevrolet in Merrillville, says current high school and college programs don’t offer enough training on hybrid vehicles, so technicians must complete additional courses offered through auto manufacturers.

The technologies span electrochemistry for battery development, to mechanical engineering for motorized devices, to auto technology for repair of the green generation of vehicles. “Think of this as the beginning of the Silicon Valley,” Pelter says.

“If everybody collaborates, we can make Indiana the center of these technologies.”

Batteries used for cell phones, laptop computers and rechargeable drills are examples of electrochemistry. The challenge is adapting the science for a mass-produced vehicle.

The industry is seeking a breakthrough in high-power batteries that are small, light and stable enough to work reliably in cars.

The newest technology is coming out of Asia. The engineering would be the biggest shift in cars since the combustion engine, area academics say. A plug-in electric vehicle is an ordinary hybrid with an electric motor and gasoline engine modified, usually by adding a lithium battery, so it can go farther on electric power.

Purdue’s Caruthers agrees the biggest challenges are production and consumer costs, and recharging times. And there’s a direct correlation between the price of gas and the sales of hybrids. Public policy, such as tax rebates, is also a factor.

“This funding is pushing the direction for the car of the future,” IUN’s Vinodgopal says. “The key is marketability and an assembly line that can make batteries fast and cheap enough to be economically viable. And there has to be a greater degree of convenience to make it amenable to the average consumer.”

Lithium-ion batteries, the core technology for hybrids, have made huge gains compared to fuel cells, which are 20 years away from becoming a reality, he explains.

Fuel cells require fuel, such as hydrogen or methylated spirits, be placed directly into an electrochemical cell that oxidizes the material to produce the energy that powers the drive train. “The challenges of commercialization have been stubborn.”

Indiana once produced 100,000 lead batteries a day, and much of the current economic development of batteries has occurred in the Midwest. Both Indiana and Michigan offer advanced-battery tax credits to companies seeking to develop in the state. “Adding electric components is an enormous technological change for the whole manufacturing process and supply chain,” Caruthers says. “It’s an opportunity for Indiana business to participate in the changing of the transportation industry.”

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS SUMMER 2010

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>> cover story: Northwest Indiana connections

The future of Chesterton: internships with an edge By pat colander

Cream of the crop Future of Chesterton interns (from left) Neil Hicks, Annie Thieling and Christian Parroco

The Future of Chesterton was started in 2007 as a nonprofit that created and administered a partnership between the Town of Chesterton and the Duneland School Corp.­— more specifically, Chesterton High School. The two cofounders of the project are strong representatives of business innovation and student talent development going on in Northwest Indiana. Eric Kroeger was originally part of the Chesterton Hometown Improvement that worked with 60 high school students from the honors economic track to survey the business climate in Chesterton. The other cofounder of the organization is Gerard Pannekoek, who in 2002 was instrumental in launching the Chicago Climate Exchange—which trades pollution credits, and where he eventually became president and COO—before he semi-retired in 2005 at the age of 50. Since then he has worked on a variety of projects with fellow alumni from Notre Dame and Northwestern, including some economic development ideas in his own backyard. (Pannekoek has since left retirement for an intellectual property exchange, IPXI, but is still very much involved in the Future of Chesterton.)

The first student-led project was to estab16

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oth Annie Thieling and Christian Parroco, who were seniors at Chesterton High School back in January, knew what was in store and what the odds were when they opted to compete to be among a few, good interns chosen to work this summer as part of the Future of Chesterton project. And, it had nothing to do with résumébuilding and everything to do with the quality and reputation of the program, even though it has only been in existence a few years.

lish long-term objectives for Chesterton’s Strategic Economic Development Plan and was built literally from the ground up.

The student’s recommendations focused on developing better sidewalks, roads and parks. The results were that the student ideas were incorporated into the planning process and the extra benefit of the return of the Wizard of Oz festival to downtown Chesterton. The following year, the students recommended that a town manager be hired and a year after that, a town manager was hired. By 2009, the students were a firmly established economic development entity and so began their championship of innovative technology and online strategies for Chesterton. They reached something of a milestone last year, when two interns were hired by the town to work on implementation of those new strategies.

Students compete for internships provided by the Future of Chesterton—and supplied and funded by local businesses— that will help advance the community and create permanent jobs here that lure the students to return to once they’ve finished their education. This year’s competition was focused on “the Town of Chesterton going green,” as Kroeger told the town

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

council back in January. Over 400 students participated in looking at various aspects, tasks and strategies that involve going green.

Both Annie and Christian were on different winning teams. “Our class had the winning document,” Annie explains. “We focused more on rezoning and water conservation.

Even though there was one topic, there were three completely different proposals.”

Christian’s group went “the efficiency route as opposed to the alternative energy route,” he explains. “We looked at what things you could do to make sure that energy was used wisely.” The basics, he says, like more people walking instead of driving, are really an urbanization of Chesterton. He feels lucky to have “had the opportunity and the resources to look at some other areas, not just in the U.S. that opened up our eyes to current events and things that are happening” across the world.

Students were then rated on their work performances and contributions as individuals and also members on the team. Eventually, 14 were identified for internships at area companies, including Waretech, First American Management, Lakeside Financial, Porter Hospital and other Duneland area companies. Christian

explains that the internships are particularly coveted spots because employers are committed to making the jobs fit with company strategies and goals. “The employers take high school economics students and have them jump right in and do whatever it takes,” Christian says. “It’s meaningful work that gives students the sense of ownership.”

But Christian, Annie and Neil Hicks got new internship positions offered for the first time by the Future of Chesterton organization itself; they are marketing the program and have specific goals like building the number of internships and contributors who believe in the project.

Right now, that means going to “Rotary, Kiwanis Clubs, chambers and meeting with businesses all around NWI,” Christian explains. “Also, just word-of-mouth contacts. Businesses are usually in networks, and we see if any of them will be willing to contact people on our behalf.”

The trio asks to give a 20-minute presentation and then talks with the business leaders after the presentation. Christian and Annie (Neil was at IU orientation the day of

our interview) are very aware of their position as student ambassadors for the Future of Chesterton. “We are putting ourselves on the spot and showing the caliber of student that makes the difference,” Annie says.

The students understand that the internships are good for Duneland businesses as well as the college-bound seniors. As Annie explains, “When we’re giving our

employers realize that the interns are “superqualified, they will keep their minds open.”

At one of the financial institutions, the CEO told the rest of the directors, “You would be surprised what these kids can do,” Christian says. And when a Future of Chesterton intern helped them manage and update their website and marketing brochures, they were astounded by the results.

“It’s meaningful work that gives students the sense of ownership.”

— Future of Chesterton intern Christian Parroco presentation we can say, ‘Look what our interns have done already. For $2,400, the employer is getting $10,000 worth of work.

Interns may not have all the same skills and polish, but even if a business doesn’t want to do it at first, they have to look at the economic angle on getting a lot more work a lot cheaper.” She is encouraged that as the reputation of the program spreads and

Though they are pursuing different fields, both Annie and Christian would consider coming back to Chesterton to work as professionals at some point in the future.

Christian considered going to school back east, but when he was accepted at IU there was no question about where he would go.

Annie will be going to Purdue in the fall and majoring in pharmacy.

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS SUMMER 2010

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biz buzz Northwest Indiana credit unions merge

Charleyhorse Restaurant opens in Munster The Charleyhorse Restaurant in Munster has opened at the site of the former Charlie’s Ale House on Calumet Ave. Operating manager Bryan Sord already operates Charleyhorse restaurants in New Lenox and Tinley Park, Ill., and steak and seafood restaurant 94 West in Orland Park, Ill. Sord said he entered into a six-year lease on the property after the prior tenant vacated the site in December. Tim Rasmussen of Chicago Restaurant Corp. operated Charlie’s Ale House at that location from spring 2004 until it closed late last year.

Charleyhorse features sandwiches, steak, seafood, chicken and pasta entrees and a bar.

>> HAMMOND

Purdue Cal to start computer science grad program Purdue University Calumet is introducing a master of science degree program in computer science to debut in the fall.

The program, approved recently by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, will be the only such graduate level offering in Northwest Indiana, according a news release from the university Locally, statewide and nationally, computer science jobs are expected to grow at a rate of between 18 percent and 20 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Online registration in the program begins Monday. For more information, e-mail aelmendo@calumet.purdue.edu or call (219) 989-2704 or (800) HI-PURDUE, ext. 2704.

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SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

>> MUNSTER

Community named to top 50 hospital list for third straight year Health care rating organization HealthGrades has placed The Community Hospital in Munster on its list of America’s 50 Best Hospitals for the third straight year. “(This honor) demonstrates that our health care team is able to consistently deliver high quality care to our patients and that we have the processes in place to continue to strive to be the very best,” Community Hospital CEO Don Fesko said in a news release. “People in Northwest Indiana and the south suburbs of Chicago are able to receive nationally recognized care close to home at Community Hospital.”

To identify the 50 best hospitals, HealthGrades analyzed more than 130 million hospitalization records. To be listed, facilities must have demonstrated clinical outcomes that are among the top 5 percent in the nation in terms of mortality and complication rates. And they must have reached the threshold not just in one medical speciality but across 26 different procedures and conditions during a minimum of the past six straight years. Community Hospital is the only hospital in Indiana to achieve this distinction for the third consecutive year, according to the hospital.

John Gorski, Chief Operating Officer for Community Healthcare System, said, “Community Hospital’s record of outstanding care is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our physicians, staff and volunteers who incorporate excellence into everything they do.”

For more information, visit http://www.comhs.org/ community or www.healthgrades.com.

photograph by Robert Wray

>> MUNSTER

Members Source Credit Union and SMH Federal Credit Union have merged.

“We are pleased the members of SMH Federal Credit Union have voted in favor of this merger, and we look forward to offering them the same great service a credit union member can expect,” said Chuck Donovan, CEO of Members Source.

Members Source Credit Union is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, originally established as NIPSCO Industries Federal Credit Union in Hammond. Its main office is now located in Merrillville with a full-service branch in Griffith.

SMH Federal Credit Union was established in 1972 as St. Margaret Hospital Employees Federal Credit Union with a branch in St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond.

This merger will offer members of both credit unions fullservice office locations in Merrillville, Griffith and Munster and limited-service locations in the Hammond and Dyer hospital buildings. Additionally, Members Source Credit Union members can gain access to their accounts at more than 3,900 locations nationwide through the Credit Union Service Centers.

The combined credit union will use the Members Source Credit Union name. For more information, www.ms-cu.com or (800) 260-5183.

[ Updates on local businesses ] Indiana ranks No. 2 in wind energy development

Marco Perez, Point Imaging director of marketing

>> HOBART

Company wins Web award A digital graphics provider in Hobart has been named a winner in the inaugural web2awards by Printing Industries of America.

Point Imaging won best static Web site for companies under $10 million in sales.

“I’m glad the judges saw and felt the personal touch that we incorporated into the site,” said Marco Perez, PI’s director of marketing.

The most popular feedback was for the site’s “What’s Fresh” blog. Perez said having the blog, which is about “everything and anything related to our industry,” is nothing new in his business but it’s rare for competitors to maintain them.

The design and functionality of the site was a collaboration between Point Imaging’s marketing department and Golden Technologies of Valparaiso. For more information, visit www.pointimaging.com.

>> CHESTERTON

photograph by Jon L. Hendricks

Kramer & Leonard, Herman Miller join forces Contract furniture dealer Kramer & Leonard Office Products has joined Herman Miller’s authorized health care distribution network.

“We are excited about our new relationship with Herman Miller and particularly how the relationship benefits the health care community of Northwest Indiana,” said Greg Fox, President of Kramer & Leonard, Inc. For more information, visit www.kramerleonard.com or call (800) 922-5226.

The growth of large-scale wind developments in Indiana was second highest among states last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Indiana ranked second to Texas in 2009, short of the No. 1 ranking the Hoosier state achieved in 2008. In 2009, Texas’ estimated population was nearly 24.8 million, and Indiana had more than 6.4 million residents.

Last year, Indiana installed wind systems to generate 905 megawatts of power while Texas installed 2,300 megawatts of power. The association said about 10,000 megawatts of wind power was installed during the year to bring the total in the United States to 35,000 megawatts.

Indiana’s 2009 installation of wind capacity could generate electricity for at least 271,500 homes.

State officials touted the state’s low cost and regulation and business-friendly environment as drivers for the development.

>> LOWELL, MICHIGAN CITY

Local businesses honored with awards

Two local businesses were presented economic entrepreneurship awards by the state.

Total Green Energy Solutions and Global Engineering & Land Surveying were honored as Economic Development through Growth and Entrepreneurship Award (EDGE) winners during a Statehouse ceremony.

Sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s Small Business Development Centers, the awards recognize clients of the agency’s 10 regional centers located throughout the state in two categories — emerging and established.

Total Green Energy Solutions, of Lowell, focuses on geothermal solutions, hybrid heating and cooling, energy auditing and solar panels. H. Lynn Gray launched TGES to concentrate on geothermal energy, diverging from his original business that provided HVAC services.

Global Engineering & Land Surveying, of Michigan City, provides land surveying, engineering and additional services through its team of civil engineers, architects and planners.

For more information on the winners, visit www.totalgreenenergysolutions.com and www.global-landsurveying.com.

>> HAMMOND

Jason’s opens at former site of Short Stops

Jason’s Sports Bar and Grill, formerly Short Stops, has opened recently at 3949 Hohman Ave. Jason’s offers daily specials, a bar and catering.

For more information call (219) 933-1976.

NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS SUMMER 2010

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biz buzz >> HIGHLAND

New law office opens in Highland Attorney Marissa McDermott has opened the McDermott Law Office, 9013 Indianapolis Blvd. Her general practice office focuses in the areas of personal injury, employment law, business litigation, and criminal defense.

For more information, call (219) 838-9200 or visit www.mcdermottlegal.net.

>> INDIANAPOLIS

McShane’s honored by OfficeDealer Magazine MUNSTER | McShane’s Inc., has been named one of the country’s Elite Dealers by OfficeDealer magazine. The award is presented annually by the magazine to the top office equipment, office products and office furniture dealers in the United States.

A profile of McShane’s, Inc., is included in the Fall 2009 issue of OfficeDealer magazine.

This is the fourth year that McShane’s has been recognized as Elite. The family-owned business has more than 88 years in the community and industry.

“This award from the industry’s leading publication underlines the importance that we place on serving our clients and being an important part of the community,“ Brian McShane, president and CEO, said.

For more information, visit www.mcshanes.com.

>> MERRILLVILLE

Adult day care moves to new Merrillville center Medical adult day care provider Active Day has closed its Munster location and moved into the newly constructed Merrillville center. at 8672 Broadway.

The multi-purpose, 5050-square-foot building includes areas for large and small group activities, dining, medical assessments and treatment, showers and personal care and occupational, speech and physical rehabilitation. Active Day will host an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 14. Active Day provides nursing care and health services, meals, transportation and therapeutic activities for the elderly and disabled adults.

For more information, call (219) 769-6235 or e-mail smahl@ activeday.com.

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SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

The founder of White Lodging, the Merrillville-based developer of a $425 million Indianapolis hotel project, will give $5.4 million over the next three years to the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association to promote Indianapolis as a convention and tourism destination.

Crown Point billionaire Dean White presented the grant through the Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation Thursday at the association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis.

White Lodging is developer of a 1,625-room four-hotel project under construction at Marriott Place in downtown Indianapolis, including the blue glass sheathed 1,005-room J.W. Marriott scheduled to open in Feb. 2011.

Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association President Don Welsh said the organization was grateful for the gift.

Bruce White, chairman and CEO of White Lodging, said the company is proud to have been operating in downtown Indianapolis for more than 20 years.

“This grant underscores our faith in the positive direction Indianapolis is on, and we believe these funds will enable the city and the ICVA to sustain and build up the momentum that’s been created,” White said.

>> MERRILLVILLE

Methodist receives award for stroke care Methodist Hospitals has received the American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Stroke Silver Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes Methodist Hospitals’ commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

To receive the award, Methodist consistently complied for at least one year with the requirements in the Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program. These include aggressive use of medications like tPA, antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs, and smoking cessation. This 12-month evaluation period is the second in an ongoing self-evaluation by the hospital to continually reach the 85 percent compliance level needed to sustain this award.

For more information, visit www.methodisthospitals.org.

photograph by Robert Wray

>> MUNSTER

White supports Indianapolis tourism

business calendar To read more of the calendar, visit www.nwi.com/business. To include an item in the local business calendar, send event information, time, date, cost and location to: business@nwitimes.com or fax to (219) 933-3249.

Monday Merrillville | The Referral Organization of Indiana (ROI) Business Networking Group meets Mondays at A.J. Specialties, 1308 E. 85th Ave. Networking starts at 7:15 a.m.; meetings start at 7:30 a.m. Contact Tony Schifino at (219) 736-0367.

Merrillville | Toastmasters of Southlake Club meets from 7 to 8 p.m. on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at the University of Phoenix, 8401 Ohio Street. Call Kim Kosmas at (219) 218-3877.

Valparaiso | The Northwest Indiana Professional Network meets from 8 to 10 a.m. Mondays in the Alumni Room of the Harre Student Union, 1509 Chapel Drive, Valparaiso. Contact Sandra Alvarez at the Center of Workforce Innovations at (219) 462-2940 or salvarez@innovativeworkforce.com.

Tuesday Gary | The Indiana Business Professionals Chapter of the Networking Club meets from 7:30 to 8 a.m. Tuesdays at The Baker’s House upstairs meeting room, 6004 Miller Ave. Call Tammie Galloway at (888) 263-6926, ext 1.

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Merrillville | Referral Organization of Crown Point meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Café Divine, 9000 Taft St. Contact Lisa Gapen at (219) 433-8544 or generate@comcast.net. The Web site is http://roinetworkinc.com.

Merrillville | Toastmasters meets from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month at the Lake County Public Library. Call Dale Brooks at (219) 775-7788.

Munster | The Munster BNI (Business Networking International) business development group meets from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Centennial Park, 1005 S. Centennial Drive. Contact Michael Pelz at (219) 977-2090.

Thursday Merrillville | The Merrillville Noon Kiwanis Club meets from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at the Old Country Buffet off U.S. 30 (1634 E 80th Avenue). Call Aaron Yakovetz at (219) 7075023, e-mail aaron@goiim.com, or visit www.kiwanis.org.

Schererville | A BNI business development group meets from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Thursdays at the Holiday Inn Express, 1773 Fountain Park Drive, in the Fortis A Room. Call Michael Pelz at (219) 977-2090 or (815) 370-2940 for more information.

Hammond | The North Lake Chapter of BNI (Business Networking International) meets from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesdays at Cabela’s, 7700 Cabela Drive, in the upstairs conference center. Call Michael Pelz at (219) 977-2090 or (815) 370-2940.

Valparaiso | The Porter County Business League meets at 7 a.m. Thursdays at the Round-the-Clock restaurant, 217 E. Lincolnway. Visit http://www.portercounty.com.

Merrillville | Southshore Business Networking will meet from 8 to 9 a.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at Cafe Divine, 9000 Taft St. Call Rick Gosser at (219) 808-9888 or visit http://www.southshorebusinessnetworking.com.

Valparaiso | The Referral Organization of Indiana (ROI) Business Networking Group meets Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. at Regional Federal Credit Union, 2801 Boilermaker Court. Contact Cindy Zromkoski at (219) 741-7963.

Schererville | NWI PROs of Tri-Town meets Tuesdays at Tylers Tender, 350 E. U.S. 30. Networking starts at 7:15 a.m.; meetings start at 7:30 a.m. Contact Twila Kaye at twila@twilakaye.com or (219) 227-8875.

Homewood | The Homewood-Flossmoor Toastmasters meets from 8 to 10 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays each month at the Sylvan Learning Center in Park Place Plaza, 17936 S. Halsted. For more information, call Julie at (708) 903-0692.

Valparaiso | Small-business operators are invited to Duneland Chapter of Business Networking International from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Tuesdays at Strongbow Inn. Call Sandy Boland at (219) 926-2505.

Friday

Wednesday

Hammond | Free business counseling services are available through the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) from 9 and 10 a.m. Fridays at the Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce, 5246 Hohman Ave. Call (219) 931-1000 for an appointment.

Highland | NWI PROs (Professional Referral Organization) West Lake Chapter meets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at Mrs. Dornberg’s 24 Carrot Cuisine, Port De L’eau Plaza, 2130 45th St. Networking before and after. Call Dru Bocek at (219) 613-1125.

Merrillville | Northwest Indiana Networking Professionals meets at 7:15 a.m. Fridays at either Cafe Divine (Inside Living Hope Church) or AJ Specialties. Check the website for location, http://nwinetworking.org/events.php. Contact Carl Watroba at carl@compdrinc.com or call (219) 776-7423.

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

salute Promoting local business people who are climbing the professional ladder Priyanka Kakar has joined the La Porte Regional Physician Network and welcomes new patients to her La Porte office. Kakar provides family care for people of all ages for the treatment and management of acute and chronic medical conditions. Patricia Johnson, of Crown Point, recently joined LRPN as a new practice administrator.

Kakar

Bowman

Crown Point Allstate Insurance Agent Stephen Figurski received the company’s Agency Hands in the Community Award for volunteerism in the community. With this award comes a $500 grant from The Allstate Foundation to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, where Figurski volunteers.

Marcia Armogost, principal of Williston Middle School in North Dakota, was honored as North Dakota State Middle Level Principal of the Year. Armogost is originally from Munster.

The Rotary Club of Michigan City honored Bernie Scott with the 2009 Paul J. Alinsky Excellence award. The Rotary Club will donate $600 to the charities of Bernie’s choice. Bernie is owner and operator of Joy of Flowers.

Kimbrough

Matthew Underwood, of Valparaiso, has joined Horace Mann as an exclusive agent in Valparaiso.

Dannielle Carroll, owner of the St. John Stroller Strides program, recently attended the annual Stroller Strides National Conference. The conference featured two days of instructive activities related to successful business strategies and new developments in pre- and postnatal fitness.

Reynolds

Nolan 24

The Gary SouthShore RailCats have named Alan Bowman as director of group sales and Nikki Kimbrough as assistant manager of merchandise and community relations. Bowman was the Director of Ticket Sales for the Bowling Green Hot Rods and is a graduate of Valparaiso High School. Kimbrough, a Gary native, was part of the RailCats internship program in 2009 before being hired as a full-time employee.

SUMMER 2010 NORTHWEST INDIANA/CHICAGOLAND BUSIN ESS

Michael Matz, investor adviser representative at Matz Financial Services Inc. LTD in Crown Point, recently attended Summit Business Media’s inaugural Retirement Income Symposium in Chicago.

The Rev. Cynthia Reynolds has joined the Methodist Hospitals Board of Directors. Reynolds is the Calumet District Superintendent for the Methodist Church.

Beth Sullivan has joined Methodist Hospitals as the new executive director of business development, a newly created position that will ensure the development and achievement of the organizational mission and strategy through the effectiveness of all new business project plans and startup.

Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura, of Crown Point, senior judge of the Lake Superior Court, Juvenile Division, received a presidential citation at the Indiana State Bar Association’s annual meeting recently.

Jeff Biesen has joined Bekan Insurance Group, with offices in Lowell, Schererville and Valparaiso. Biesen designs risk management and insurance solutions for contractors and commercial developers.

Tracy Nolan, of Valparaiso, was named a Friends of Extension by the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service for her commitment to Extension and the community.

Dr. Tim Watkins has joined the Valparaiso office of HealthLinc.

Dr. Aileen Puno has joined the company’s Michigan City location.

Watkins will be HealthLinc’s new OB/ GYN, servicing pre- and post-natal women.

Puno will be the new pediatrician at the Michigan City location.

Michael Pagano, of Crown Point, was elected to the board of governors of the Indiana State Bar Association. Pagano will represent District 1 and his term will expire in 2011. Since 2003, Pagano has been magistrate of Lake Superior Court, County Division 3.

Jessica Kljajic was the Top Listings and Sales Producer at the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Schererville office for October. Bob Showalter was named the Top Volume Producer for October.

Jan Boren, RN, BSN, MHA has been named the new director of Women’s Services at Porter Valparaiso Hospital Campus. Boren started with Porter in 1989, and has been the acting interim unit director of Women’s Services since April.

Matt Harvey, of Valparaiso, has joined Scannell Wealth Management Group of Valparaiso, as an associate wealth advisor providing individualized financial planning, support and analysis services for its clients. Harvey is an Investment Adviser Representative licensed in Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio.

Randall Hile, MD, who has practiced internal medicine at St. Anthony Medical Center for 25 years, was a recipient of an annual St. Raphael Award, which recognizes physicians who have improved patient care through the nurse-doctor relationship.

Sandra Dalkilic, of Cedar Lake, was recently awarded the Graduate Realtor Institute designation. Dalkilic attended the 90 hours of classroom instruction, which covered contract law, professional standards, sales and marketing, finance and risk reduction.

Dwain Dodson, of Valparaiso, owner of Duneland Solutions, has recently returned from training in the United Kingdom where he became an accredited associate of the Institute for Independent Business.

The following local lia sophia advisers have earned top honors for the company’s Excellent Beginnings Program Achievers for their sales accomplishments and professionalism: Patricia Stovall, of Highland; Teresa Mikos, of Highland; Jeanette Ramos, of Hobart; Carey Millsap-Spears, of Hobart; and Katy Dowling, of St. John Michael Stockman has joined Hazard Control Technologies in Georgia as Territory Sales Representative for Illinois,

Indiana and Michigan. He is responsible for expansion of HCT’s fire suppression and environmental impact chemicals, systems, service, training and consulting.

Dr. Bernard San Gabriel has joined the Hammond Clinic and will see patients at the clinic’s Specialty Center in Munster. He specializes in internal medicine.

Tom McDonald, of Hobart, recently joined Lakeshore Public Television as account executive for Lakeshore Productions, the station’s mobile television broadcast service unit.

Crown Point resident Marge DeLoera of St. Margaret Mercy’s Dyer Campus earned the Going the Extra Mile award in October. DeLoera has been employed at St. Margaret Mercy since January 1995.

Schererville resident Ron Richardson of Clinical Engineering at the Dyer Campus is a St. Margaret Mercy GEM recipient in November. Richardson has been with St. Margaret Mercy since January 1989.

Whiting resident Laura Wright, Spiritual Care secretary at the Hammond Campus, is also a GEM recipient in November. Wright has been employed at St. Margaret Mercy since June 2000.

Dr. Mridula Prasad, a neurologist at Methodist Hospitals, was honored recently at the Annual Meeting for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Indiana with the Superstar Physician of the Year award.

Boren

Harvey

Wright

lia sophia has recognized Debbie Urban, of Highland, as a Monthly Achiever for ranking among the company’s top sales representatives.

Rick Lohmeyer recently joined Anderson Insurance in Valparaiso as a sales associate/risk manager. His areas of expertise are commercial and personal lines as well as group and individual health insurance.

Rishi Sukhija, MD, recently became Board Certified in interventional cardiology. He provides prevention, treatment and management of acute and chronic heart and vascular disease. Sukhija is a member of La Porte Regional Physician Network.

Lohmeyer

Sukhija

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salute Cardiologist Carl Wynter, MD, FACC, has joined La Porte Regional Physician Network. He provides consultation services, prevention and treatment and management of acute and chronic cardiovascular disease. He has offices in Knox and La Porte.

Wynter

Hess

Ronda Worden, of Portage, an active Indiana Dental Hygienists’ Association member, was recently awarded the Juanita Schisler Award for her dedication and constant contribution to the IDHA. Worden currently is on the faculty at Indiana University Northwest.

Charlotte Hess, of Valparaiso, has recently joined Carstar Collision Center in Crown Point and Schererville as the marketing manager for both Carstar collision facilities. Hess has 18 years of insurance experience and is a licensed property and casualty agent.

Michael Anton Jr., of Chesterton, and Julie Mendoza, of Valparaiso, both received the Certified School Risk Manager designation. Anton is the owner/principal of Anton Insurance Agency in Chesterton and Mendoza is a customer service agent specializing in commercial clients at Anton.

Fech

Kooy

Gonzalez

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Kauffman Chiropractic Practice Representative Kelly Dooley received the Chairman of the Board Award and Certificate of Appreciation in recognition for outstanding volunteer service, dedication, and support of the Merrillville Chamber of Commerce’s mission.

Nicole Fech has been named the chair of the Ivy Tech Northwest Paralegal Program. As department chair, she will direct and create curriculum that satisfies accreditation standards for the program, work with adjunct and full-time faculty, and develop opportunities for students.

Lawrence Leininger, of Leininger Veterinary Clinic in Crown Point, recently attended the American Association of Equine Practitioners’ 55th annual convention, a continuing education meeting for equine veterinarians. Sessions covered topics ranging from critical care to lameness.

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Porter Health System recently named Nancy Babich, director of diagnostic imaging, as Porter’s Clinical Manager of the Year, and Jeff Edgerly, director of environmental services, as Porter’s NonClinical Manager of the Year. Babich is responsible for overseeing all radiology functions including X-ray, CT, MRI, PET scans; nuclear medicine; mammography; and the women’s center. Edgerly oversees housekeeping responsibilities for all Porter facilities.

Dyer resident Kathy Kooy, clerk/ receptionist at St. Margaret Mercy’s Imaging Services in Dyer, has earned the Going the Extra Mile award in January.

Karri Morgan, licensed massage therapist, has joined the Portage Township YMCA, specializing in Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Massage.

Geoffrey Laciak, CPA, MBA, is an accounting manager with Laciak Accountancy Group PC, with offices in Schererville and Valparaiso. Brian Laciak, CPA, MBA has joined Laciak as an accounting manager. Valparaiso resident Michelle Gonzalez, CPA, has joined Laciak as an accounting manager. With 10 years of experience in public accounting, her responsibilities include assisting clients with accounting, tax preparation and consulting services.

Mattison Dilts and Maggie Reister Walters, of WestPoint Financial in Merrillville, recently attended the MassMutual Financial Group’s Leaders Conference. Reister Walters and Dilts were recognized as Gold Bowl Trophy winners.

Karen Keltner-Karolzak has been named the manager of marketing and communications for Porter Health System.

Keltner-Karolzak has more than 20 years of health care public relations, marketing and development experience.

To submit an item for Salute, send information and a photo, if available, to 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN 46321, e-mail to business@nwitimes.com or fax to (219) 933-3249. Faxed photos will not be published.

[ keep moving ]

by Jim Jackson

Driving Detroit: a fuelefficient return to tradition

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his month marks the 234th running of Independence Day in the U.S.A. – a land draped in Red, White & Blue tradition made prosperous by the American Industrial Revolution and arrival of the automobile. But our nation’s colors bled last year with the economic spin-out that slid American automakers into the ditch – for some, leaving only Uncle Sam standing at the road’s edge with a tow strap. Of the Detroit Three Automakers -­Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. - Ford emerged the least damaged to become the first survivor of the recent American automotive wreckage.

A glance in the rearview mirror to Tuesday, December 2, 2008, reflects the scene of the tumbling U.S. economy. The Motor City’s automaker troika stands before Congress, hat in hand for a bailout to save their listing

Propane costs an average 30-percent less than gasoline companies. Ford stock closes that day at $2.70. Ford proudly passed on the Government Bailout and made in-house corporate concessions that allowed them to deal their own cards. Twenty months later, Ford stock is over $11.00 a share and on the road to recovery to become a predicted $40.00 stock.

This fall, our region will champion the production of the 2011 Ford Explorer at the Ford Chicago Assembly plant. With it come jobs, renewed hope and greater prosperity to our region. Add the next-generation Ford Explorer to the mounting stack of quality-built Ford vehicles already in production for another Gold Star on the American automaker’s forehead – albeit, they’d prefer a blue oval.

A New Jolt Pure plug-in electric cars have a future in America’s transportation picture but thus far only as City Cars.

California-based Tesla Motors, Inc., is the only U.S car company to have a production highway capable plug-in electric powered vehicle on the road. Tesla inherently comes with a high price tag, limited passenger and cargo

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space and worse - range anxiety. Travel range is limited and long-range trips take considerable planning to find suitable recharging (plug-in) stations.

GM’s Chevrolet Division was riding the greenest wave of any U.S. automaker with the foretold promise of a production four-passenger “Extended Range Electric Vehicle” sedan aptly named “Volt”. I enthusiastically reported on Volt as did every bonafide auto journalist in the land.

However, the hot media hoopla on Volt has cooled.

GM’s revolutionary plug-in electric car has gone slim.

So slim in fact, that consumers have not seen hide-nor-hair of Volt’s production schedule. During this same course of time, Chrysler has placed their Range-extended Electric Vehicle initiative on hold. Ford Motor Co. has none in the near-future plug-in pipeline. Indeed, a shame. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, three of every four drivers travel less than 40 miles a day in a vehicle.

With affordable plug-in passenger cars they could all travel locally with zero emissions and zero trips to the pump.

Chrysler Group, LLC is at the doorstep of its renaissance. Turned now to Italian bred Fiat ownership and finances, the American car company makes a humble return to the global market – first with the introduction of the gasoline powered Ram Heavy Duty Truck, and then lathered in patriotic stripes with the American-built Jeep Cherokee launch this July.

Fuel for thought General Motors is the leader banging the Flexfuel oil drum with E85 – a blend of home-grown 85-percent ethanol and 15-percent gasoline for their vehicle product line.

Chrysler is also on the E85 bandwagon. Though readily available in our region, E85 becomes a “Where’s Waldo?” search if heading cross-country.

Roush Performance Products, a Ford aftermarket enterprise in Livonia, Michigan, offers an answer to consumers’ perplexing question of future fuels – propane. Propane costs an average 30-percent less per gallon than gasoline.

With propane, there is no loss of vehicle horsepower, torque or towing capacity and at the same time reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Best of all, propane fuel is available now with an infrastructure in place and is prevalent throughout the U.S., making the jaunt across town or a trip cross-country the ‘go-to’ green wave of the future.

[ new futures ]

by Dick Roskam, MD MBA Chief Medical Information Officer Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc.

Health record revolution

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he 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) provides up to $36 billion in incentive payments to U.S. hospitals and officebased physicians who successfully adopt specific electronic medical record (EMR) technology between 2011 and 2015. A special provision within the stimulus bill, called the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Heath (HITECH) Act lays the groundwork for what is predicted to be a fundamental shift in the way hospitals, physicians, and patients maintain and use the patient medical record.

Most experts agree that HITECH Act incentive funding will significantly accelerate the rate of adoption of government-defined electronic medical record technology by U.S. hospitals and office-based physicians. So it is likely that the way hospitals and physicians keep and share patient records will change rather dramatically over the next five to ten years. The Sisters of St. Francis Health Services, Inc., (SSFHS) which operates 12 hospital facilities and employs over 350 physicians, strongly believes in the role of the EMR to improve the quality of care we deliver.

Today, SSFHS is implementing a state-of-the-art integrated EMR across all of its facilities and office practices. This “OneChart” project is the largest IT initiative undertaken by the Sisters in their 135 years of hospital ministry.

It is worth noting that the really significant improvements in the quality of U.S. healthcare may be driven by other, lesser known provisions of the HITECH bill. First, HITECH mandates broad access to electronic health information for both patients and providers of care through the electronic personal health record and the electronic exchange of patient health information between EMRs. For the first time, patients will be able to request their medical records in electronic form and maintain an electronic personal health record that they can take with them wherever they seek care. Care providers will have EMR technology that allows them to easily view and use medical information contained in another organization’s EMR if the patient has a record there. Any patient in an emergency room with a serious medical condition should feel safer when their physicians can have immediate electronic access to their relevant health information because their family physician, another hospital, or ER is using an EMR. Second, HITECH also mandates significant financial penalties for physicians and hospitals that fail to adopt

EMR technology. It is likely that these penalties, combined with other changes in healthcare reimbursement policy designed to control costs, will eventually force some providers out of the market and accelerate a period where technology-enabled health care providers will emerge and acquire weaker organizations. It may not be unrealistic to believe that, eventually, only those care providers that successfully adopt EMR technology to improve both quality and care efficiency will be left in the market.

Third, physicians and hospitals won’t see a penny of HITECH funding if they don’t also comply with broad federal government mandates on how quality is reported and if they cannot meet specific quality measures to be determined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). Under the terms of the HITECH bill, a provider qualifies for incentive payments only after meeting every single requirement for that year. In the first year there

Patients will be able to request their medical records in electronic form may be twenty to thirty quality measures, and in each successive year the number of outcomes requirements increase. This “all or nothing” payment scheme represents significant risk. Interestingly, an internal CMS audit of the HITECH bill predicted that less than half of hospitals and physicians would be able to meet all the criteria as written into the bill.

HITECH is not a free lunch. The average cost for a full EMR implementation in a physician practice has been estimated by the federal government at over $100,000 per physician. Most physicians who meet all HITECH provisions will receive about $44,000 over five years. The investment requirements for hospitals and integrated delivery networks are massive. A 12-hospital organization should expect to invest over $100 million in the type of integrated EMR solution that meets all federal mandates.

HITECH represents a defining moment in U.S. healthcare by rapidly accelerating the rate of EMR technology adoption by physicians and hospitals. Ten years from now, EMRs will seem as commonplace when you visit the hospital, emergency room or doctor’s office, as the stethoscope.

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[ my turn ]

by Kay Nelson Director of Economic Development for the Northwest Indiana Forum

Environment, energy, economy – oh my!

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hen it comes to the environment, energy and the economy, there is a lot of activity at the local, state and federal level. Here is a brief look at what I see as our region’s

critical issues:

Air One of the most exciting developments was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s designation of Lake and Porter Counties as “in attainment” for ozone. This came about because of the continued improvement by our industries and by our personal lifestyle changes.

Modifying our own travel and transportation habits have significantly contributed to this accomplishment. The education and outreach to engage the general public in making decisions to delay fueling vehicles on hot summer

Emission checks have been an important tool to improve ozone levels days, organizing and minimizing our driving for errands and being efficient with regards to our energy use at all levels has paid off.

That said, we have learned that the EPA is proposing to make the national ozone standards more stringent. It is recognized that ozone levels are detrimental to human health, so continuing to protect ourselves is necessary.

However, do not be disillusioned when these changes come about, or if our region doesn’t meet the new standards it won’t be because we’ve slipped – just that we have a new goal to meet.

In response to the most asked question: our responsibility to have our vehicles checked for compliance will not go away. Emission checks have been an important tool to improve the ozone levels and will continue to help us protect our air quality.

Water Northwest Indiana Forum members and regional environmental stakeholder group leaders were instrumental in the passage of the Great Lakes Compact in 2008.

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However, our work didn’t end there. In the remaining months of 2010, our workgroup will continue working with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as a water conservation guidance document is developed.

Whereas the Compact calls for this plan to be applied in the Great Lakes watershed, Indiana is once again showing leadership working to have the guidance document applied statewide.

The concern about the possibility of the invasive species, Asian carp, entering the Great Lakes is one we should all share. There is still a lot to be learned to truly understand the impact and how to control this fish while protecting the economy that is dependent upon inland waterway transportation.

Going forward, the general public needs to be aware of how they can assist in protecting our waterways. One easy task is to dispose of expired or unused prescription drugs at collections centers in your community or follow the federal guidelines found at www.whitehousedrugpolicy. gov/publications/pdf/prescrip_disposal.pdf. Do not dispose of them down the drain, as there is legitimate, growing concern about the impact of our pharmaceuticals in receiving streams and lakes.

Land Recent media coverage on underutilized properties, also known as brownfields, emphasized the importance of returning these locations to economic reuse through environmental remediation if necessary. Northwest Indiana leadership recognizes this need and can use your help. Underutilized properties are often held in private ownership.

Renewable Energy Many of us have had the opportunity to see the wind farms constructed along the Interstate 65 and U.S. 41 corridors. Whereas much is made of renewable energy sources, it must be pointed out that the wind doesn’t blow consistently, making wind a supporting energy source, not a primary one.

I conclude with a hope that this article and the issues the Forum addresses have peaked your interest and that you are encouraged to find out how you can help protect our environment.