Recently in Professional Services Category

Two  grant programs are available with ARRA funding to support the training and development of the skilled workforce required to support broad adoption and use of health information technology (health IT). 

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.,  announced the availability of
 
Information Technology Professionals in Health Care:

• Program of Assistance for University-Based Training Programs (University-Based Training Program)
• Competency Examination for Individuals (Competency Examination Program).

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the grants will strengthen and support the health IT workforce.

University Based Health IT Competency Training Program
The new grant programs will award $32 million to establish university-based certificate and advanced degree health IT training programs

University Based Health IT Competency Exam Program
$6 million dollars to develop a health IT competency examination program.

Community College Consortia Grants
These awards, together with the previous announced $80 million in workforce program grants (Community College Consortia on Nov. 24, 2009, and Curriculum Development Centers on Dec. 15, 2009), recognize the critical importance of developing a well-trained health IT workforce to support the adoption and meaningful use of health IT.

Applications are due by Jan. 25, 2010, with final awards expected in March 2010. 

ULE will soon test a number a range of products in line for environmental certification, including sunglasses, wind turbines, dishwashers and televisions

UL Environment, or U.L.E., new subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories that is launching global environmental-standards, has awarded its first product certification to EcoRock, a recycled drywall.

UL Environment gave Serious Materials in Sunnyvale, Calif., an environmental certification that will help the company sell EcoRock panels for building projects aiming for LEED certification from the USGBC. Kevin Surace, chief executive of Serious Materials, claims that EcoRock can contribute 8 of the 100 points necessary for the USGBC LEED rating.

U.L.E. verified the drywall's recycled materials content and tested for volatile organic compound emissions, mercury emissions and mold resistance.

The company will soon test a number of other products in line for environmental certification, including sunglasses, wind turbines, dishwashers and televisions, said the vice president and general manager of U.L.E., Marcello Manca.

RESOURCE: UL Environment

UL Environment's Database of Environmentally Sustainable Products
Manufacturers may submit their products for UL testing and environmental claims validation.

FinancialStability.gov provides olutions available to direct distressed homeowners into finance modification that can be the foundation for maintaining their qualify of life.

The www.FinancialStability.gov site outlines the US Department of the Treasury "Make Home Affordable" Refinance Program for Responsible Homeowners. This program is offering assistance to as many as 7 - 9 million homeowners who are current on their mortgage, but may be upside down or facing imminent hardship.

THE GOAL: reduce the amount homeowners owe per month to sustainable levels to stabilize communities.

Who the Financial Stability Program Reaches

• Homeowners at risk, such as those suffering serious hardships, decreases in income, increases in expenses, payment "shock," (with combined mortgage balance higher than the current market value of the house, etc.)
• Reaching Homeowners BEFORE they have missed payments, where they are at risk of imminent default...
• Only owner-occupied homes with a mortgage limit of $729,750 will be elligible.
• Homeowners with "back end" debt equal to 55% or more of their income will be required to agree to enter a HUD-certified couseling program as a condition for a modification.

CONTACT Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
General Information:
(202) 622-2000
Fax: (202) 622-6415
www.FinancialStability.gov
www.makinghomeaffordable.gov

According to the National Restaurant Association's 2009 forecast, approximately four in 10 full-service restaurant operators and almost three in 10 quick-service operators plan to devote more of their budgets to green initiatives.

New guidelines for going greener are available through the Green Restaurant Association, which has published Certified Green Restaurants 4.0 standards.

"Diners are increasingly environment-savvy," says Michael Oshman, executive director of the Green Restaurant Assoc.--which has been promoting sustainable restaurants since 1990. "Interest has spiked in the last year to 18 months, and businesses are responding." Calls asking for the GRA's consulting services have tripled in the last two years, he noted.

The new Green Restaurant standards allocate points for various categories, including

• energy use reduction
• water conservation
• waste reduction
• disposables
• chemical and pollution reduction
• sustainable food from local and organic sources
• sustainable furnishings that use recycled content or sustainable materials
• sustainable building materials

Newly built restaurants must accumulate 205 points via a specific matrix to achieve a Certified Green Restaurant Sustainabuild designation, as well as conduct a full-scale recycling program--including construction materials--and be free of Styrofoam and other polystyrene foams.

Restaurant chains, including Subway, McDonalds, Chipotle and Dunkin Donuts have pursued USGBC-sponsored LEED certification for individual units, through the Core-and-Shell or retail designations.

A member of the US Green Building Council since 2007--and a member of the LEED for Retail pilot program--McDonalds opened its first LEED-certified unit in 2005 at Abercorn Commons--the US' first LEED-certified shopping center--in Savannah, GA.

McDonalds' green program covers a wide variety of operational improvement programs including 

• high-efficiency rooftop mechanical equipment and boilers
• efficient interior lighting with skylights and daylight controls
• water-saving plumbing fixtures
• green roof
• stormwater management with permeable parking lot pavement and rain gardens
• LED exterior signage
• green power purchased through renewable energy credits

Many of these green stratgies can be scaled for small restaurants -- and many communities offer special programs to assist independent restaurants afford energy conservation.  The community benefits by reducing the peak energy load during heavy usage seasons and times of day, and restaurants can significantly reduce their energy costs.