BUSINESS BRIEFS: FDP Meeting, Milford Bariatric, Qualified Workers, N-95 Price Gouging, etc.

The chamber serves the communities of Bellingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopedale, Hopkinton, Medway, Milford, Mendon, Millis, and Upton. More information is available at https://www.tricountychamberma.org

Milford Regional has new Dir of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery

Donald Czerniach Jr., MD, (pictured above) was recently named the director of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at the Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Milford Regional Medical Center. In 2013, Dr. Czerniach co-founded the nationally-accredited FreshStart weight loss program offered at Milford Regional. Dr. Czerniach graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed his surgical residency at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. He fulfilled his fellowship training in advanced minimally invasive surgery at UMass Medical Center, where he was appointed assistant professor of surgery. According to Dr. Czerniach, critical to the success of the FreshStart program has been Milford Regional’s investment in three da Vinci robotic surgical systems, which provide optimal outcomes for patients by allowing less invasive surgeries, smaller incisions, quicker recoveries and shorter lengths of stay in the hospital, resulting in lower costs to the patient. “We are delighted to be able to pass on the benefits of the da Vinci robotic surgical systems to our FreshStart patients,” said Dr. Czerniach.

NFIB: Qualified Workers Still Hard to Find

According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, small business owners saw a slight decrease in their frustration finding qualified workers to fill open positions, but are still dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report shows that 40% of small business owners have job openings they couldn’t fill, down two points from last month and the lowest level since February 2021. However, another 36% of small business owners raised the amount they pay their employees and another 26% will raise compensation in the next three months. “A greater number of employers report raising their compensation to attract workers back into the workforce and fill open positions," said Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB State Director in Massachusetts. "It's a competitive job market right now and in order to hire and retain qualified workers, many small businesses are either increasing pay, or planning to do so over the next few months. It is important that Massachusetts lawmakers refrain from instituting a one-size-fits-all $20 minimum wage mandate and instead, allow small business owners to continue setting compensation based on what best fits the position." The percent of owners reporting labor quality as their top business operating problem remains elevated at 24%. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem to business owners decreased two points to 8%, five points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.

N95 “Price Gouging”?

Norfolk, Mass. man has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to price gouge hospitals for scarce N95 filtering facepiece respirators (N95 masks) at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jason Colantuoni, 35, was charged by an Information with one count of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court. According to the charging documents, on March 11, 2020, a longtime friend of Colantuoni (Individual 1) formed a company in Florida in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is alleged that from in or about March 2020 through April 2020, Colantuoni, Individual 1 and the company’s head of sales (Individual 2) conspired to use the company to exploit and profit off of the critical need of hospitals and healthcare workers for scarce N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waters to Present at Global Healthcare Conference

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) announced that Udit Batra Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the Bank of America Global Healthcare Conference in London on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 at 8:20AM Eastern Time (1:20PM British Summer Time (BST)). A live webcast of the event will be available on the 'Events & Presentations' section of Waters' Investor Relations website at https://ir.waters.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

CTA Construction Managers Completes New Ashland Public Safety Building.

CTA Construction Managers recently celebrated the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the Ashland Public Safety Building. CTA Construction was awarded the contract to build the new combined home for Ashland's Fire and Police departments in March 2021. "For the fire department, the project included new apparatus bays and support spaces, staff living quarters, training mezzanine, offices, and building support spaces," said Pat Tompkins, Principal CTA Construction Managers. "For the police department, the project included operations spaces, personnel support spaces, and detention and administration spaces. There is also a shared training/emergency operations room, fitness room and dispatch services in the facility," he continued.