In the Region
Emergency services consolidating
Albert Einstein Healthcare Network said Wednesday that it plans to close its emergency department on the campus of Germantown Community Health Services and consolidate emergency services at Albert Einstein Medical Center a mile away. It said it notified the state that the Germantown emergency department, located in what was once Germantown Hospital, will close Dec. 3. Einstein will open 11 new treatment bays in its emergency department that day. Beth Duffy, the health system's vice president for health-care services, said she expected that most of the 30 employees at the Germantown emergency department will be offered other jobs in the system. Germantown has had 20,000 to 21,000 emergency visits in recent years, but the seriousness of conditions treated has been declining. Einstein had 88,000 emergency visits last year.
- Stacey Burling
Rendell signs bill on job classification
Gov. Rendell signed into law a bill that aims to prevent construction companies from classifying their employees as independent contractors, thereby avoiding having to pay unemployment compensation and workers' compensation taxes. The bill, which had been backed by the
Pennsylvania State Council of Carpenters, focuses on construction, but the issue of misclassification of workers in all fields is gaining increasing regulatory and legislative attention across the nation.
- Jane M. Von Bergen
Ikea to install solar arrays
Ikea, the Swedish home-furnishings retailer whose U.S. operations are based in Conshohocken, plans to install rooftop solar-energy panels on eight of its California locations. The eight solar arrays will have 4.5 megawatts of generating capacity and are expected to produce 6.65 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. Ikea has 300 stores worldwide, including 37 in the United States.
- Andrew Maykuth
Investment for Discovery Labs
Discovery Laboratories Inc., Warrington, said it would get a $500,000 investment from
PharmaBio Development Inc. as Discovery continues development of treatments for respiratory diseases. PharmaBio already owned 5.6 million Discovery shares. It agreed to buy 2.4 million additional shares of common stock and warrants for about 1.2 million shares, Discovery said. PharmaBio is the former strategic-investing subsidiary of
Quintiles Transnational Corp. Discover Laboratories shares closed
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