Business briefs
Hospital signs with UPMC
Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport has signed a letter of intent to become part of UPMC Susquehanna, a four-hospital system based in Lycoming County. UPMC Susquehanna will provide management services to Cole, an 84-bed nonprofit hospital in Potter County, continuing a 10-year relationship between Cole and UPMC’s Erie hospital, which has provided heart care to Cole patients through the Medicor Associates physicians practice. Discussions are continuing to create an affiliation agreement between UPMC and Cole, which was expected to close before December. Included in the agreement is a UPMC pledge to invest at least $27.5 million in the hospital over the next seven years for improvements.
Consumer alert at Beta Bites
The Allegheny County Health Department posted a consumer alert at Beta Bites in Oakland after an inspection turned up more than a dozen serious food safety violations. Some of the problems at the South Bouquet Street eatery included numerous foods held at unsafe temperatures, lack of a certified food safety manager, improper cooling practices, no working refrigeration and no soap at the hand sink. The owner of the facility could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Inspection reports for food facilities in the county are available online at www.achd.net.
K&L Gates to shut Alaska office
Citing sluggish demand for legal services in its Anchorage, Alaska, office, K&L Gates said it is in the process of shutting down the office, which will likely be complete this summer. The firm cited a combination of factors, including assessment of client demand, future prospects for growth in the office and the approaching expiration of the office lease. At the start of the year, K&L Gates had four partners in Anchorage. Only one lawyer currently works there.
Credit unions on problem list
Two area credit unions landed on Bauer Financial’s list of problem institutions for the first quarter: Beaver Avenue Federal Credit Union on the North Side, which earned two stars, and Teamsters Local 30 in Jeannette, with zero stars. Institutions earning fewer than three stars out of five end up on the independent research group’s problem list. There were no area banks on the
problem list. Making the list does not signal that an institution is about to fail, but customers should make sure their deposits do not exceed federal insurance limits, BauerFinancial has said.
Institute names new head
Wendy Ann Pardee has been named president and CEO of the Children’s Institute in Squirrel Hill, effective Aug. 7. She is succeeding David Miles who is retiring after 40 years with the facility that specializes in pediatric rehabilitation services. Mr. Miles has been CEO since 2003. Ms. Pardee most recently was president and CEO of Hattie Larlham, a Twinsburg, Ohio, organization that provides medical, residential and work training services for children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
II-VI acquires company
Saxonburg-based optoelectronic component maker II-VI Inc., has acquired Integrated Photonics Inc. in a cash deal valued at about $45 million at closing plus a contractual provision allowing the seller to receive another $2.5 million upon reaching certain financial goals in the future. Integrated Photonics, in Hillsborough, N.J., was founded in 2000 as a spinout of the magneto-optic materials group of AT&T Bell Labs and its products are widely used in data centers and the global optical network infrastructure.
Dick’s opens new office
Findlay-based Dick’s Sporting Goods is opening a Team Sports HQ office in San Diego to serve as a West Coast technology and innovation center. The tech center will provide cloud based administrative infrastructure, management solutions, analytics and communications to National Governing Body customers to youth sporting associations. The center houses the former Affinity Sports, acquired by Dick’s in 2016. Team Sports HQ also has offices in New York, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.
PNC Bank resolves issue
PNC said the “technology” problem that restricted customer access Tuesday to its online and mobile banking services has been restored. In a series of tweets posted around 11 a.m., the Pittsburgh bank alerted its customers about the "issue,” which the bank has not specified. The Twitter feed, belonging to PNC Bank Help, told customers the company was working to address the issue and pointed clients to its brick-and-mortar and ATM locations.
Firm uses virtual reality
Retail app platform Branding Brand is integrating Apple’s ARKit to enable customers shopping online to virtually try on an outfit or see how an appliance will fit before they buy.