SSOE announces the 2008 Founders Award Recipients

At SSOE’s December Shareholders’ Meeting, the first annual Alfred H. Samborn Founder’s Awards were presented to 14 SSOE employees from 3 separate project teams. These awards recognize individuals who exemplify the principles on which Mr. Samborn built the firm — quality, client service, and entrepreneurship. Continue Reading →

Healthcare Facilities: Finding the Upside of the Downturn

Healthcare Facilities: Finding the Upside of the Downturn
Decision makers in healthcare companies are spending more time than usual crunching numbers and making projections ... and some are shrugging their shoulders. Like every major U.S. industry, they are trying to figure out how to do business in this unpredictable economy. Although healthcare is traditionally one of its strongest segments (the sick will always be with us), people’s needs, behavior patterns, and priorities have shifted in response to the downturn. And this is all giving rise to new trends. Among the trend watchers are SSOE’s healthcare experts. They are helping clients take advantage of the slowdown’s effect on facilities’ projects. “Where is the silver lining?” you ask. Lower revenues, tight money, and risk aversion call for rethinking your strategies, but “there’s an upside,” suggests Matthew Kennedy an SSOE healthcare planning expert. “This is the perfect time to focus on your development strategy and careful project planning. Without the sense of urgency to break ground or start filling beds, you have the time to examine a broad range of options related to facilities projects.” Continue Reading →

Control Engineering Magazine Article: “How to Avoid Project Failure”

Control Engineering Magazine Article: "How to Avoid Project Failure"
In this article learn 10 signs of impending failure and 7 ways system integrators say you can keep your automation projects on track. SSOE's Dale Feldhaus, Industrial Process controls department manager and senior associate, is interviewed for this article. Continue Reading →

SSOE helps TVA market megasite

SSOE helps TVA market megasite
New land development is as hot in key southern states as a July afternoon. And the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is out in front of this trend. Since 2004, five sites have been sold to major corporations including Toyota, VW, Dow Corning, and Hemlock Semiconductor for large-scale manufacturing development in Mississippi and Tennessee. Only three are still available. The TVA developed and marketed the megasite’s program that requires the sites to be developed according to stringent standards. A 5,000-acre parcel in West Tennessee is sure to be on the radar of big name manufacturers looking for land, thanks in part to SSOE’s role in the marketing effort. TVA wanted the site to be “shovel ready” when potential buyers, automakers for example, show interest. SSOE developed a conceptual layout of all the major components that go into developing this megasite. This included the location of transportation access points such as highway interchanges, plant access roads, and railway. SSOE also conferred with various government agencies on options for water, wastewater, natural gas, and electricity services. Continue Reading →

Critical Access Hospitals

Critical Access Hospitals
Essential Services in a Smaller Footprint People who live far out in the country accept the inconvenience of long trips to a shopping mall or long rides on a school bus in exchange for the benefits of a rural lifestyle. But more than sixty years ago, the government decided that having to make too long of a trip to the hospital was an inequity that needed to be resolved. It committed federal dollars to the construction and improvement of hospitals in underserved areas. Then in 1997, as part of the Balanced Budget Act, Congress authorized the creation of critical access hospitals (CAH) to support the concept of small rural hospitals. To make it financially feasible for CAHs to offer essential services despite low patient volumes, these facilities receive more generous reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid than typical hospitals. To qualify, a CAH must meet these specific criteria: Provide inpatient care, emergency care, laboratory services, and radiology Have a maximum of 25 beds Be at least 35 miles from another hospital or be certified as a necessary provider Have a 96-hour average length of stay Contract with at least one physician Have an agreement with a network hospital for quality assurance, patient referral, credentialing, and more Despite the reimbursements, decisions related to space, staff, and services must be driven by cost efficiency if a CAH is to be fiscally viable. Continue Reading →