AHPC will file Form 15

The board of AHPC Holdings (Glendale Heights, Illinois), a distributor and supplier of disposable gloves and other products to the foodservice, healthcare, retail and industrial markets, said it would file a Form 15 with the SEC to deregister the company's common stock and suspend its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Upon filing the Form 15, the company's obligation to file certain reports and forms, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, with the SEC will be suspended.

AHA study examines healthcare protocols

Improving how healthcare providers follow proven protocols could reduce the risks of subsequent heart problems for heart disease patients, according to a study reported in a cardiovascular surgery supplement of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

A study of the American Heart Association’s (Dallas) Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) database found significant differences in how hospitals carry out many of the association’s secondary prevention recommendations.

Specifically, patients who received percutaneous catheter intervention were more likely to get the proven measures that could significantly reduce their risks for later heart attack, as compared to patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery or no intervention at all.

“GWTG is an evidence-based, hospital quality improvement program that helps ensure patients receive quality care during treatment and discharge based on specific guidelines that will reduce the risk of secondary cardiac events,” said Loren Hiratzka, MD, lead author of the study and co-author of the 2006 GWTG update. “The program empowers providers to consistently treat heart and stroke patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines.”

Hiratzka said a key part of GWTG is the education healthcare providers give when a patient is discharged from the hospital after a heart attack or other cardiac event. The guidelines call for patients to receive specific instructions, counseling and medication recommendations — all of which can reduce the progression of atherosclerosis, the hardening of arteries that can contribute to heart disease. Most hospitals that implement GWTG realize measurable results, including improved patient outcomes.

Kettering U. dedicates Bio-Engineering Lab

Kettering University (Flint, Michigan) has dedicated the Dane and Mary Louise Miller Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering Laboratories.

The labs are designed to “better understand the most elegantly engineered structure known - the human body,” said Patrick Atkinson, PhD, professor of mechanical engineering at Kettering.

The Bio-Engineering labs support new curriculum enabling students to get an engineering degree as preparation for medical school or a career in pharmaceuticals, said Atkinson. “The labs are multi-use spaces that can be used in tandem or separately by converting to surgery simulation suites complete with surgical scrub sinks where students will perform simulated surgery,” he said.

Kettering University offers a professional co-operative education program and provides 2,200 undergraduate students with career-based education.

Tray-Pak adding class 100,000 clean room

Tray-Pak (Reading, Pennsylvania), a company specializing in plastic thermoformed packaging, said it is adding to its list of substantial resources by adding a class 100,000 clean room. The clean room is expected to be operational in 4Q07.

The environment of the clean room is designed for medical and pharmaceutical applications, and will also meet the packaging requirements needed for sophisticated industries such as electronics and aerospace, the company said.

The clean room is designed to house two thermoforming machines and employ up to 18 additional people with the ability to run three shifts. Tray-Pak is an ISO 2000:9001-certified company.

Vermillion back in NASDAQ compliance

Vermillion (Fremont, California) said that it received written notification from the NASDAQ Stock Market that the company has regained compliance with NASDAQ marketplace rules. As a result of achieving a market value of listed securities of the company’s common stock of $35 million or more for a period of 10 consecutive business days. NASDAQ notified the company on Aug. 17 that the it was not in compliance with the minimum requirements that a company listed on NASDAQ have a minimum of $2.5 million stockholders’ equity, $35 million market value of listed securities or $500,000 of net income from continuing operations. According to the NASDAQ, this matter is now closed.

Vermillion makes diagnostic specializing in oncology/hematology, cardiology and women’s health with an initial focus in ovarian cancer.

S.M.A.R.T. joins alliance

S.M.A.R.T. Association (Roseville, California), said that it has become a “Healthcare Council Member” of the Smart Card Alliance, a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of Smart Card technology.

The Smart Card Alliance is the sole industry voice for smart card technology, leading industry discussions on the impact and value of Smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought.

S.M.A.R.T. Association makes permission-based membership marketing systems and operations for healthcare providers.