Conmergence

St. Joseph Medical Center (Houston) and MedConcierge to Demonstrate Telemedicine Solutions at FTTH Council Conference

Top Houston Hospital Selects MedConcierge to Offer Telemedicine to Corporations and Master Planned Communities

September 8, 2009 (Sarasota, FL & Houston, TX) - St. Joseph Medical Center, the largest, Level 3 trauma hospital in downtown Houston, has selected MedConcierge to provide its advanced telemedicine solution to leading communities and corporations. Both parties will demonstrate the user experience and benefits of telemedicine during the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, September 27th through October 1st.

"We are very excited to demonstrate the MedConcierge at St. Joseph Medical Center service to local community developers and corporate executives at the upcoming Fiber to the Home Conference," states St. Joseph chief executive officer Phillip D. Robinson, "Telemedicine will clearly be at the center of healthcare delivery moving forward and leveraging the technological advantages of the MedConcierge service over fiber-optic communications will help us extend patient services, generate additional revenue and save costs."

"St. Joseph is a leader in the Houston area, and we are thrilled to play a role in helping them deliver health and wellness services to residents of FTTH communities in and around the Houston metropolitan area," says MedConcierge director Rob Scheschareg. "Telemedicine offers competitive and financial benefits in a cost-effective fashion that is critical in today's market environment. We look forward to meeting service providers and developers at the FTTH Conference & Expo who want to take advantage of the billions being spent by consumers and the government in the next 30 months on home-based telemedicine."

Substantial news coverage, increasing consumer interest and adoption, and the allocation of billions of dollars in Federal stimulus funds specifically for broadband and healthcare information technology have placed telemedicine at the forefront of applications that benefit from fiber to the home networks.

"Fiber to the home provides benefits to consumers and employers that truly improve the quality of life. From our own industry research to that of our members and market followers, it is becoming increasingly evident that consumers want the benefits of improved healthcare services and access to doctors that services like MedConcierge and healthcare providers like St. Joseph can provide," states Joe Savage, president of the FTTH Council. "Telemedicine is a prime example of the type of applications that will be on display at our upcoming conference demonstrating the power of fiber".

To showcase the user experience, benefits and implementation of telemedicine services, MedConcierge and St. Joseph Medical Center will be hosting a number of activities at the upcoming 2009 FTTH Conference & Expo.  These include:

Corporate VIP Demonstration & Reception, Tuesday, September 29th.  For more information call the Corporate Health Connection at St. Joseph Medical Center at (713) 756-8600. 

MedConcierge Booth in the Fiber Zone, located on the show floor during exhibit hours. 

Phillip D. Robinson, CEO, St. Joseph Medical Center will be discussing telemedicine over FTTH networks as part of the Closing Keynote presentation Wednesday, September 30th at 2:00 pm.

For information about these events, visit the conference website at http://www.ftthconference.com.

About St. Joseph Medical Center

St. Joseph Medical Center, downtown Houston's only general acute care hospital, partners with Houston physicians to provide comprehensive health care to all.  As Houston's first hospital, St. Joseph Medical Center provides services for outpatients as well as inpatients, with a full continuum of care in surgery, cancer care, emergency care, Women's services, cardiovascular services, wound care, rehab, sports medicine, Corporate Health Connection and more. For more information on St. Joseph Medical Center, please visit http://www.sjmctx.com or call 713.757.1000.

About MedConcierge, LLC

MedConcierge is the leading provider of telemedicine solutions for community developers and operators, broadband service providers, healthcare providers, and municipalities, that deliver personal, concierge healthcare services to consumers at home, at work and while traveling. Utilizing our award-winning, patent-pending technology, MedConcierge provides unparalleled private and secure access to certified doctors, specialists and content. MedConcierge offerings range from real-time, live videoconference consultations, on demand, 24/7 with leading doctors, specialists, psychiatrists and wellness experts, to educational content, health status monitoring and dynamic electronic medical records - all accessible from the comfort, privacy and convenience of homes and facilities. For more information, visit http://www.medconcierge.com.

Governor Kaine Announces Results of Telework Day

From Telework Exchange Newsletter: 

Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that Virginia teleworkers saved approximately $113,000, avoided driving 140,000 miles, and removed 75.89 tons of pollutants from the air through participation in Telework Day on August 3, 2009.

"I commend the individuals and organizations that took the Telework Day pledge," Governor Kaine said. "The results are clear - telework plays an important role in meeting the Commonwealth's green objectives, reducing strain and traffic on our roads, increasing savings for our employees, and will provide our businesses with increased employee productivity."

The "What We Saved; What We Learned" report, compiled by Telework Exchange, also reveals an increase in productivity by participants and reports satisfaction with their teleworking experience.

Key findings:

• 4,267 employees teleworked on Telework Day - 22% of participants never teleworked before Telework Day; 95% of participants located in Virginia


• 69% of Virginia Telework Day participants said they accomplished more than on a typical day at the office


• 91% of Virginia Telework Day participants say they are now more likely to telework in the future


• Teleworking one day per week delivers approximately $2,000 in savings to each teleworker annually

To download the full report, please visit http://www.teleworkexchange.com/teleworkdayreport/.

FCC Workshops on Developing a National Broadband Plan on CSPAN

Throughout August and September, the FCC is holding a series of workshops to support the Commissioners as they draw up a national broadband plan. These sessions focused on broadband's impact on the economy, especially in rural areas, and on skills training and job hunting. The Recovery Act calls for a plan to be submitted to Congress by Feb. 17, 2010. Washington, DC

AM Session

PM Session

Track

http://twitter.com/fccdotgov

Hashtag: BBwkshp

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23BBwkshp

GridKa School 2009 Attendees

Some GridKa School 2009 Abstracts available here.

surname	first name	organisation	institute / project
Jurczyk	Melchior	Student HS Mannheim
Castejón	Francisco	CIEMAT	Fusion
Nilsson	Daniel	Chalmers University of Technology
Zurek	Marian	CERN	ETICS
Aktas	Adil	Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg	Physikalisches Institut
Abad Rodriguez	Andres	CERN
Knese	Karsten	SCC, KIT
Zimmer	Artur	KIT	SCC
Mehl	Jeron	KIT	SCC
Stegmann	Jens	Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim	TextGrid
Jäger	Axel	KIT	SCC
Haberhauer	Franz	Sun Microsystems GmbH
Braune	Stephan	Leibniz Universität Hannover, RRZN	GDI-Grid
DAVID	Romaric	Université de Strasbourg	Project Euforia
Poghosyan	Gevorg	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe	SCC
walker	rodney	LMU	ATLAS
Ressmann	Doris	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (KIT)	SCC
Dres	Helmut	KIT	SCC
Halstenberg	Silke	KIT	SCC
Möller	Klaus	DFN-CERT Services GmbH
Floros	Evangelos	GRNET S.A.	EGEE
Jin	Xin	Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen	OptiNum-Gridprojekt
Langner	Anja	KIT	SCC
Finston	Laurence	Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH, Göttingen	OptiNum Grid Project
Ratnikova	Natalia	KIT	EKP
Millar	Paul	DESY	dCache
Pattloch	Marcus	DFN-Verein
Metsch	Thijs	Sun Microsystems
Kemp	Yves	DESY
Jung	Christopher	SCC/KIT	HGF Alliance 'Physics on the Terascale'
Jrad	Foued	KIT	SCC / D-Grid
Gagliardi	Fabrizio	Microsoft
Sutter	Michael	KIT	IPE
Skole	Christian	KIT	EKP
Hanisch	Tim	Uni Karlsruhe	ekp
Bonsch	Markus	KIT	ekp
Gómez	Antonio	CIEMAT
Stotzka	Rainer	KIT-FZK	ipe / Grid Computing / EUFORIA-Meeting at IPE
Del Linz	Andrea	Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A. (ELETTRA)	DORII
Gabriel	Sven	NIKHEF
Gutschera	Max	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe	IPE
Spieß	Norbert	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe	IPE
Schlichting	Frank	Sun Microsystems GmbH
Neuberger	Patrick	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe	IPE
Götter	Michael	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe	IPE
Reißer	Sabine	KIT	SCC
Berger	Joram	KIT
Dichev	Kiril	HLRS
Mol	Xavier	Karlsruhe Institue of Technology	Steinbuch Centre for Computing
Verena	Geißelmann	SCC/KIT
Fedynitch	Anatoli	II. Physikalisches Institut, Univ. Goettingen
Landhäußer	Andreas	T-Systems Solutions for Research GmbH	HPC eScience
Bonn	Matthias	KIT/SCC	SCC
Baun	Christian	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH	Institut für Wissenschaftliches Rechnen
Wolf	Matthias	Universität Karlsruhe (TH)	EKP
Stober	Fred-Markus	KIT	EKP
Zeise	Manuel	Universität Karlsruhe	EKP
Krauß	Peter	Universität Karlsruhe	EKP
Hackstein	Christoph	KIT	IEKP
Oberst	Oliver	KIT	SCC / IEKP
Tsigenov	Oleg	RWTH - Aachen
Heiss	Andreas	KIT
Schaefer	Jan	DESY	IT
Baranova	Tatjana	DESY	IT
Schwarz	Kilian	GSI	ALICE
Troendle	Daniel	KIT	EKP
Richling	Sabine	Universität Heidelberg
Seifert	Marc	Universität zu Köln, RRZK	SuGI
Mauch	Viktor	SCC
Grosse-Oetringhaus	Jan Fiete	CERN
Hejc	Gerhard	TimeTech
Haefele	Matthieu	University of Strasbourg	EUFORIA
Hoenen	Olivier	University of Strasbourg	EUFORIA
Bylec	Katarzyna	PSNC	DORII
Bozic	Caslav	KIT	AIFB / IME
Navaro	Pierre	University of Strasbourg	EUFORIA
Mitterer	Christoph Anton	Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München	Fakultät für Physik
Böhringer	Stephanie	FZK	SCC/Gridka
Clevermann	Fabian	TU Dortmund	IceCube
Owsiak	Michał	PSNC	EUFORIA
Grybel	Kai	University of Siegen
Slavnic	Vladimir	Institute of Physics Belgrade Institute	EGEE-III
Plociennik	Marcin	PSNC	EUFORIA
Šubelj	Matjaž	LECAD lab, Fac. of Mech.Eng.	University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Kulovec	Simon	LECAD lab, Fac. of Mech.Eng.	University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Bartsch	Detlef	Universität Bonn
Kos	Leon	LECAD lab, Fac. of Mech.Eng.	University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Freitag	Stefan	TU Dortmund	D-Grid
Scheurer	Armin	KIT
Büge	Volker	KIT	EKP
Held	Hauke	KIT / EKP
Abbas	Zafar	Bergische Universität Wuppertal
Fernández	Enol	IFCA
Campos Plasencia	Isabel	CSIC	IFCA
Hau	Steffen	Universität Mannheim	Rechenzentrum
Martschei	Daniel	KIT / EKP
Heide	Lars	Forschungszentrum Jülich
Schulz	Frank	SAP Research
Büchner	Otto	Forschungszentrum Jülich	JSC
Manzano	Cristina	Forschungszentrum Jülich	JSC
Popov	Dmitry	Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg
Bozic	Stefan	KIT	SCC
Farcas	Felix	National Institute for RD of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies	IT Department
Bystritskaya	Elena	DESY
Gogitidze	Nelli	DESY
Limmer	Steffen	Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen
Padberg	Alexander	University of Bonn	Department of Geography
Berlich	Ruediger	Gemfony scientific
Bender	Andreas	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH
Fomenko	Alexander	DESY, Hamburg	H1 experiment/Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow
Poschlad	Angela	KIT/FZK	Steinbuch Center for Computing
Aldzhanov	Viacheslav
Koenig	Tobias	Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Mei	Wen	KIT / FZK	SCC
Motzke	Andreas	KIT / FZK	SCC / GridKa
Dulov	Oleg	KIT
Stadie	Hartmut	Universität Hamburg
Größer	Manfred	Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH	SCC
Schäffner	Ingrid	KIT	SCC / GridKa

Nashville Medical Trade Center and the Proposed Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Milt Capps reported on the Nashville Medical Trade Center and the proposed Nashville Entrepreneur Center here. Given today's technology I'd like to suggest that instead of building a PLACE it would be more strategic to offer a slate of SERVICES; specifically, those which would concentrate on the nexus of bioinformatics, cloud computing and distributed computing. With the recent gains in virtualization, the global build out of broadband, and the Obama Administration emphasis on healthcare, eHealth, medical devices and sensors, both the figurative and literal medical home, it seems there's an awful lot of emphasis on the part of executives to re-create an 1980 business model instead of looking ahead at the healthcare horizon. Nashville already has plenty of data centers to throw at this problem; a voucher system to pay for a computing services testbed while companies are bootstrapped is a more prudent first step -- not to mention, tremendously less expensive to capitalize. Graduate studies at local higher education institutions, Internet2 and extant supercomputing capabilites at Oak Ridge should all be tapped first before other steps are taken.</ed.note>

Carly Fiorina To Go All Mavricky

Computer World/Network World - Former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina may be launching a run for the U.S. Senate. Fiorina, a Republican, “filed for a tax identification number Tuesday and registered a campaign committee named ‘Carly for California,’” allowing her to raise money for a 2010 Senate run, according to the Associated Press. Fiorina would be attempting to win the seat of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California who became senator in 1992."

<ed.note>T'is a shame she decide not to use the Technotarian ticket and unify as many third parties as possible. We are apparently beyond the point in the development of the US political structure for a viable alternative party based on conservative (and transparent) fiscal and monetary policies along with compassionate, yet personal responsibility requiring (PRR) social policy. Given her global perspective and technology/telephony expetise she could have been an incredible boon to rural economic development based on individualized distance education and hybridized cloud and distributed computing.</ed.note>

Why Not An ADRIS Institute of "Have You Considered Doing It The Right Way?"?

<ed.note>I've been tweeting and stuffing content into my "delicious knowledge management repository" at a ferocious rate. Yet there's some outstanding stuff I want to note. A City Sponsored BOINC Distributed Computing Effort - what if every municipality took advantage of its citizens as voluntary compute cylce resources this way (instead of that "give us more tax money approach"). BOINC, Facebook, GridRepublic and Intel wed social networking to distribtued computing promotion. HIMSS crowdsources.</ed.note>

1) A City Sponsored BOINC Distributed Computing Effort

Zivis is the first "city-wide supercomputer". The project is run by the Zaragoza City Council, and the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex System (BIFI) at the University of Zaragoza. The objective is to harness local (and non-local) computing resources for local research; and at the same time to involve the community in the science being done locally. The initial research being done on Zivis is on the subject of fusion plasma ("Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations in Plasmas") -- improved understanding of this could lead to better designs for fusion power stations. (Fusion power is a form of nuclear energy that produces a lower volume of less dangerous waste than traditional nuclear fission power.)

Start Date: October 2005
Users: 2,359
Project URL: http://zivis.bifi.unizar.es

2) Intel introduces distributed computing to Facebook

Intel has set up a Facebook page designed to induce casual users to sign up for a distributed computing project that runs on the BOINC client system. Now Facebook users can crunch away on any of three DC projects... - Ars Technica

3) HIMSS crowdsources with Clinical Decision Support Wiki

Hello! The HIMSS Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Task Force helps guide and execute HIMSS efforts to ensure that CDS delivers on its promise to improve care delivery and outcomes.

What's a Wiki? A wiki is an easy-to-use Web site that makes it easy to collaborate. You can use it to run a project at work, plan a trip, teach a class, etc.

Why a Wiki? The wiki provides a forum where stakeholders can come together to help develop, use, and discuss Task Force deliverables. The links below provide access to pages where this conversation and work is unfolding. Please browse this home page and links, and join us on this important performance improvement journey.

On Telework Day in VA

<ed.note>Imagine what the Nashville workplace of 2009 would look like if we ACTUALLY VALUED INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION instead of just rhetorized about it at meetings we drive to. Of course, I should point out the Congress still requires its members to be physically present in order to vote vs. using some web-based tool or telephones. This is ironic since the IRS is perfectly happy to take my tax money -- which the Congress will be voting how to spend -- over the internet.</ed.note>

The Hon. James P. Moran of Virginia in the House of Representatives:

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Monday, August 3, as Telework Day in Virginia and applaud Governor Tim Kaine on this initiative.

On this day, thousands of Virginians will perform a full day’s work from their houses rather than their places of work. This practice empowers workers who feel that they can fulfill their obligations to their employer equally well from home as in a brick and mortar office. My colleagues, teleworking provides enormous benefits to employers and employees alike, as well as positive social and economic impacts. Teleworking, a practice which dates to the 1960s and then was dramatically expanded in the ’90s, thanks to a host of networking innovations, can save employers premises costs and office overhead fees.

If all eligible Federal employees teleworked 2 days per week, the Federal Government could realize $3.3 billion in savings in commuting costs annually and eliminate the emission of 2.7 million tons of pollutants each year. Furthermore, it would provide an easy and necessary means of operational continuity should the Nation’s Capital be the target of another horrific terror attack.

Teleworking can also increase productivity, typically 10 percent to 40 percent per person in large programs, by eliminating the often distressing and frustrating commute to and from work. For example, it eliminates commuting costs for employees because they do not have to pay for gas or public transportation. Given that the average round trip commute is 50 miles and commuters spend an average of 264 hours per year commuting (66 minutes per day), Americans would be relieved of the burden of spending so much time on the road that could be better spent with their families. Through this practice, employees are allowed the freedom of working at their optimal times; some might be more productive in the morning while others might be more productive late at night. Telework allows the workers to get into a personal daily rhythm and work when they please, thus maximizing individual liberty and occupational productivity. At this time, States and localities all around the Nation are grappling with ways in which congestion on the roadways can be reduced. We could facilitate greater capacity for mass transportation—but that requires heavy infrastructure investment and the vision to plan long-term. We could also build more roadways— but that would simply invite more cars and more traffic, while doing nothing to improve the quality of life for millions of hardworking Americans.

Those options taken together do indeed form a necessary component of traffic mitigation, but they take both time and money. Teleworking is simple to implement, economical to operate, and reflects the many ways in which technology has allowed the spheres of personal and professional life to blend together. It allows for a young professional to care for her newborn child or a son to care for his ailing mother in the comfort of their own homes, without worrying what would happen should they have to spend a portion of their day in an office, away from those who depend on their presence.

I am proud to say that at the end of 2005, Fairfax County in Virginia was able to meet the region-wide target of having 20 percent of eligible workers engaged in teleworking. I would invite my colleagues to take note of teleworking’s success and stand up for a worker’s ability to set his or her own schedule, with the expectation that it will allow for a more flexible lifestyle without compromising productivity. Rather than relying on the desks, chairs, and file cabinets that defined the average employee’s office a generation ago, telework allows Americans to bring the workplace to them, not the other way around.

Collaboration Tools I Have Loved

<ed.note>It occurs to me I need a post to record the tools I cite again and again. I hope to expand this over time.</ed.note>

Today's entries sponsored by the letters "B", "C" and "W":

Wave (Preview)

http://wave.google.com/

Web Conferencing

http://www.DimDim.com

http://www.gotomeeting.com

http://www.webex.com

Wikis

MediaWiki with PurpleNumbers Examples

http://colab.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/ (fedgov)

http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl/ (ontologists)

Sematic MediaWiki (Paul Allen backs some of Ontoprise's work, if I'm recalling correctly)

http://smwforum.ontoprise.com/smwforum/index.php/Webinars/Schedule_of_webinars#Session_1:_Using_SMW.2B_for_project_management

Blogs

* Open Source

** Links under construction 

LiveJournal, Movable Type, TypePad, and VOX (Six Apart)
Wordpress*

Content Management Systems
Dokuwiki**
DotNetNuke**
Drupal**
Joomla**
PHPFusion**
PMWiki**
PostNuke**

Stuff not to forget to include:

Micro-blogging Platforms

Identi.ca

http://webconf.soaphub.org/conf/room

Twitter.com

Yammer.com

Note: cmsmatrix.org

Announcement of United Cerebral Palsy of Middle Tennessee Development Position Opening

UCP of Mid TN is seeking a full-time employee or contractor to help our agency meet our commitment to the population that we serve through a variety of aggressive fund-raising endeavors, two of which involve sports-related special events. While we are obviously looking for applicants who have the confidence and ability to raise funds and to develop sponsorships & special events, the successful candidate we are seeking is not necessarily the traditional non-profit development person. We are seeking applicants who have a combination of unique skills, reliable community based contacts and basic know-how. This is not a learn-as-you-go position. The individual selected for this position will have to hit the ground at top speed and deliver. At the same time, we are looking for someone who fits in well with our team of staff and dedicated board members. Go to the following link for more information and specific instructions about how to apply:

http://www.ucpnashville.org/Development/PositionAnnouncement.htm

To learn more about UCP of Mid TN please see http://ucpmidtn.wordpress.com