Spalding University has opened a new $5 million College of Health and Natural Sciences facility. The 50,000-s.f. building houses the school of nursing, the school of natural science, the Auerbach School of Occupational Therapy and the Kosair Charities enTech Center, Kentucky’s only public Microsoft Accessibility Resource Center for children and adults with disabilities.
Louisville-based Humana Inc., one of the nation’s largest health care benefits companies, has partnered with BG Medicine Inc. to launch a three-year medical research study aimed at developing new blood or imaging tests that could be used to identify individuals at very high risk for a first heart attack or stroke. “The BioImage study may hold the key to developing new treatments for these first cardiovascular events and their often devastating consequences,” said BG Medicine President and CEO Dr. Pieter Muntendam.
The Courier-Journal newspaper has eliminated 69 jobs in connection with a move by its parent company, Gannett Co. Inc., to reduce costs. Of the jobs eliminated, 17 are coming as a result of people who have elected to take voluntary severance packages. The layoffs represent 6.5 percent of the newspaper’s total staff.
Brown-Forman has sold its Bolla and Fontana Candida Italian wine brands to Gruppo Italiano Vini, an Italian company with which Brown-Forman has worked for many years. Brown-Forman Chief Executive Officer Paul Varga said the decision reflects the company’s evolving portfolio strategy and a continuation of its efforts to focus the time and resources of the company on their best opportunities for growth and shareholder returns. Brown-Forman, which has marketed Bolla wines since 1968, acquired a minority interest in the brand in 1972 and by 2000 owned the Bolla trademark and business outright. Brown-Forman has owned the Fontana Candida wine trademark since 1987.
Citing the financial problems facing businesses throughout the nation, General Electric has postponed previously announced plans to sell off its Louisville-based Consumer and Industrial Division. A news release issued by GE stated, “The challenging economic environment makes a spin or a sale now extremely difficult. Remaining part of GE and staying totally focused on operating the business effectively is the best move for the business as we prepare for what is shaping up to be another very tough year in 2009.” GE recently began laying off salaried workers from the Consumer and Industrial Division as part of a 5 percent reduction in the division’s global work force.
Almost Family Inc., a Louisville-based company that specializes in home health nursing services, has acquired the Kentucky Certificate of Need and home health license of the Medicare-certified home health agency formerly operated by Hardin Memorial Hospital in Elizabethtown. The certificate enables Almost Family to expand its service territory into Nelson, Meade, Larue and Breckenridge counties, enlarging the population of the company’s service area by about 10 percent. The company has also acquired the assets of the Medicare-certified home health agency owned by Fairfield Medical Center, located near Columbus, Ohio. Terms of the acquisition agreements have not been disclosed.
Louisville-based Sypris Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Sypris Solutions Inc., has announced plans to expand its manufacturing facility located in Morganton, N.C., where it produces components for the commercial vehicle and light truck industries. The company plans to close its facility in Kenton, Ohio, where it manufactures parts for the commercial trailer industry, and will transfer that work to the Morganton plant during the first half of 2009. The Morganton expansion is expected to create 203 new jobs by 2013.
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