In The Know: News, updates from Greenville area businesses and nonprofits
Habitat Greenville Dedicates Arena Build Home
A woman who grew up in the Nicholtown community of Greenville will move into a new home just a few hundred feet away. The home was built by Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County
Gwendolyn Smith, a retired medical secretary, said she lived in apartments once named Jesse Jackson Townhomes. “It’s full circle. We used to walk through the woods to Nicholtown Elementary School. It’s the side of town that I know that I feel at home,” she said.
Her home is the fourth “arena build” in a partnership among the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Harley Davidson of Greenville, KW Beverage, Levy Restaurants, Pepsi, Southern First Bank, Spero Financial, The Spinx Co., TWIA Insurance Agency and United Home Loan Services.
Framing for the “arena homes” is completed inside the Bon Secours Wellness Arena; the homes are then moved to their permanent location in Nicholtown.
Smith moved to California before retiring to Greenville. Facing medical and rental costs, she joined the Habitat program and performed more than 200 hours of sweat equity to create her path back to the place where she grew up.
Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County opened its doors in 1985 to bring families, community partners and volunteers together to build affordable, energy-efficient homes.
Engenius Hires Digital Manager
Engenius, an Upstate digital marketing agency, has added Natalie Campa as a Digital Marketing Project Manager. Campa will ensure that Engenius’ digital marketing services are executed to achieve clients' marketing goals.
Campa is bilingual and has over eight years of experience in web development and digital marketing across the media and e-commerce industries, including design systems, social media platforms, SEO, and content marketing.
“Natalie works with our clients, partners, and teammates to keep tasks on schedule and perpetually focused on our clients’ business goals,” said Chris Manley, CEO and co-founder of Engenius.
Engenius, which has been creating websites and digital campaigns since 2008, won an Award of Distinction from the Academy of Interactive Visual Arts Communicator Awards for the Liberty Fellowship website. In 2022, Engenius received an ADDY from the Greenville Chapter of the American Advertising Federation for the Kopis website.
Bon Secours Achieves Zero Harm Awards
Bon Secours has received several 2023 Certified Zero Harm Awards, which recognize hospital units that have eliminated some of the most common medical errors in health care.
“This recognition is a testament to the hard work of our clinical leaders and team members who demonstrate a steadfast commitment to providing high-quality care for our patients,” said Matt Caldwell, President of Bon Secours St. Francis Health System.
South Carolina’s Zero Harm program was created in 2014 by the state Hospital Association in collaboration with The Duke Endowment and The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Health. For each award, hospitals must eliminate or avoid specific preventable hospital-acquired infections; the data must be verified by DHEC.
The Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown Hospital received Zero Harm awards in the areas of pressure injury and central line bloodstream infection for the second-floor surgical unit. Bon Secours St. Francis Eastside Hospital’s awards were in the areas of pressure injury and central line bloodstream infection on the third-floor medical/surgical unit, the ortho unit, and the ICU.
Both Bon Secours hospitals also received the Drive to Zero Workplace Violence Award, which recognizes that health care workers are at increased risk of violence in the workplace.
School Of Medicine Greenville Receives Grant From NIH
The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville in partnership with Prisma Health-Upstate received a $325,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to help medical school faculty determine whether their teaching materials integrate the latest research about the differences in health care to men and women.
Understanding the role of biological and sociocultural factors on health and disease is a key to personalized medicine, said Dr. Alyson McGregor, Associate Dean of Clinical Faculty Affairs and Development and Professor of Emergency Medicine at SOMG.
“NIH funding will enable educators at the School of Medicine Greenville to receive advanced training that will benefit our students and the health of the community,” she said.
Most medical research has been based on the study of men’s bodies; teaching at medical schools reflected that research. During the past 30 years, women have been increasingly included. Research shows that men and women can have different symptoms, treatments, side effects, prognoses, and health needs.
“Unfortunately, much of this knowledge is not included in medical education and does not adequately prepare medical students to care for women,” said Dr. Mary Rojek, Director of Clinical Faculty Affairs and Development at SOMG.
Bon Secours Certified For CAR T-Cell Therapy
Bon Secours St. Francis is now offering CAR T-Cell therapy, an immunotherapy used in cancer care. The treatment uses genetically engineered versions of a patient’s own immune cells to seek and destroy blood cancers including lymphomas, some leukemias, and multiple myeloma.
“We’re excited to be able to expand the care options available for our patients,” said Andrew Honeychuck, Administrative Director of Oncology Services for Bon Secours St. Francis.
T-cells are a type of white blood cell that helps the body’s immune system defend against foreign invaders. In the lab, the cells are genetically modified by adding a protein called chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, that helps the T-cells track down and kill cancer cells.
Bon Secours St. Francis Begins Therapy For Heart Failure
Bon Secours St. Francis is offering a minimally invasive treatment for patients experiencing heart failure, a condition that affects 6.5 million Americans.
Optimizer Smart Mini, launched by Impulse Dynamics, is an implantable device that delivers modulation therapy to the heart. It is the first treatment of its kind and supplies precisely timed electrical pulses to improve the contraction of the heart.
“It’s clear this therapy has the potential to fill a significant unmet medical need for patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Jeff Senfield, a Bon Secours cardiologist specializing in electrophysiology.
Heart failure is a condition in which the heart slowly weakens and cannot pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body. The device can help relieve symptoms such as breathlessness, fatigue, confusion, and swelling in the legs, Senfield said.
The Optimizer is similar in size to a pacemaker and is implanted under light sedation.
Greenville Therapist Helps Disabled Workers Find Jobs
Greenville native, Dede Norungolo, a certified rehabilitation counselor and the owner of Reintegrate Counseling LLC, recently earned a Vocational Evaluation Forensic Certificate through Auburn University’s College of Education.
The certificate is awarded after the successful completion of eight graduate-level courses designed to create better employment for individuals with disabilities, according to the university.
Norungolo said she sustained a traumatic brain injury more than 23 years ago. She said her goals are to help others find transferable skills and address resilience during any sort of life transition.
Norungolo has worked in the field of accessibility and disability services since 2006. She is a certified rehabilitation counselor, licensed professional counselor, licensed addiction counselor, and alcohol and drug counselor.
Joan Herlong Sotheby’s Adds Sales Associates
Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty of Greenville has added sales associates.
Most recently, the firm has added Beau Sylvester as a sales associate in its Clemson Lakes office.
Sylvester earned a law degree from Southern University. He was the managing partner in a private law firm for a decade before working as a director in the legal divisions for Walmart and Asurion. He and his wife moved to the Upstate, and he decided to begin selling real estate.
Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty has also added Brandy Bishop as an associate.
Bishop spent 10 years in luxury automotive sales and 16 years in the luxury salon field before going into real estate. She grew up in Mauldin.
Another new associate, Dixie Dulin, will be the first to focus on the Lake Murray region. Dulin was president and co-owner of an interior design company for more than five years. She has renovated multiple homes in Greenville. She and her family moved to Chapin last year. Their home overlooks Lake Murray.
Sijia Hughes is a broker associate at the Greenville office. Originally from Dalian, China, Hughes moved to Europe and earned her law degree. In 2010, she and her husband moved to Greenville. She began working in real estate in 2013 and has sold more than $20 million in residential and commercial real estate.
Hughes is also a real estate investor and has managed rental properties since 2016.
Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty was founded by owner and CEO Joan Herlong as AugustaRoad.com Realty in 2011. In 2017, the company affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, becoming Joan Herlong & Associates Sotheby’s International Realty.
Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC was founded in 1976 to provide independent brokerages with a marketing and referral program for luxury listings.
Windsor Aughtry Starts Hotel In Arkansas
Windsor Aughtry Co. in Greenville has begun construction of a 170-room Tapestry by Hilton hotel in Rogers, Arkansas. The hotel will have six stories, with the sixth floor featuring an open terrace bar, a steakhouse and banquet space.
Windsor Aughtry Co., a real estate and hospitality development firm, delivers projects across the United States. Tapestry Collection by Hilton is a portfolio of 110 hotels.
Greenville Life Coach Pens ‘Grab Life by the Dreams’
Greenville-based life coach Karin Freeland has written a book, “Grab Life by the Dreams: The Essential Guide to Getting Unstuck and Living Your Purpose.”
Freeland formerly worked for a Fortune 500 telecommunications company. In her book, she shares her experiences to help readers find fulfillment in their lives. Freeland introduces a framework to steer readers toward a life that focuses on simplicity, relationships, career, health, spiritual beliefs, and finances.
“Grab Life by the Dreams” draws from Freeland’s training and coaching sessions. It was released in September. Her company is called Karin Freeland Coaching & Consulting.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: In The Know: News, updates from Greenville businesses and nonprofits
