Briefly in the News: April

Quick care

University of Missouri Health Care and Hy-Vee announced Feb. 25 that they are partnering to open walk-in medical clinics at Hy-Vee’s three Columbia locations.

Construction for the Mizzou Quick Care clinics will begin in mid-March. Clinics in Hy-Vee’s Conley Road and Nifong Boulevard locations will open by Aug. 1, with the Broadway Hy-Vee clinic coming Oct. 1.

The clinics will be open seven days a week and will provide physicals, flu shots, pregnancy tests, some adult immunizations and treatment for patients with minor illnesses and injuries.

Susan Pereira, a family medicine physician at MU Health Care and an MU School of Medicine associate professor, will be the medical director of the clinics.

Mitch Wasden, MU Health Care’s CEO and chief operating officer, says the clinics will be good choices for patients who don’t need to go to the emergency room but can’t reach their primary care doctors.

Price appreciation

Although home sales in January were down in Missouri, the Columbia-based Missouri Realtors Trade Association found that the average selling price of properties was higher, and time on the market held steady.

More than 3,600 homes were sold in January 2014, down from 4,770 in December 2013 and almost 4,000 a year ago. Both the average and median home prices increased in January. The average price rose 12.5 percent to $147,541, compared to $131,133 a year ago, and the median price of $115,000 was up 9.1 percent from $105,409 in 2013.

New clips

A new Supercuts hair salon will open this spring on Broadway Bluffs Drive next to Chipotle in Columbia.

The location will employ five or six stylists and will be the third Columbia Supercuts. Franchise owner Adam Crews’ family also owns Columbia’s three Cost Cutters Family Hair Salons, along with six other individual Cost Cutters locations across the state.

The new Supercuts will join more than 2,300 locations in North America.

Smashing records

Aiming to raise a record $150 million this fiscal year, the MU Office of Advancement is on track to meet its goal, having raised $88.3 million in the year’s first six months.

“Right now, Mizzou is all about progress,” says Tom Hiles, MU vice chancellor for advancement. “We have a wonderful new chancellor and a great team of advancement professionals in place. It’s an exciting time to work with donors and alumni who care so deeply about Mizzou.”

Recent major gifts included $1 million toward scholarships for veterans and $1 million toward general scholarships, a total $7.7 million from two different donors for the School of Journalism, $14 million in confidential gifts for various schools and $1.57 million for the School of Law.

Gym upgrades

Fayette-based Central Methodist University will see 7,000 square feet added to its 28,000-square-foot recreation center as part of a more than $1 million facility renovation.

The upgrade will include a new multipurpose room and multiuse court suitable for sports such as basketball and volleyball. The project will start in March and has a September estimated completion.

Columbia’s PW Architects Inc. and Coil Construction will serve as the project’s architect and general contractor, respectively.

Cultural affairs

The Mid-Missouri Tourism Council presented a $1,000 check to Columbia’s Office of Cultural Affairs after raising funds through its fourth annual online silent auction.

The funds will be distributed to mid-Missouri applicants such as Greenhouse Theatre Project and the We Always Swing Jazz Series.

The council is also moving forward with plans to create a scholarship for top students majoring in the MU’s hospitality management program. The council established a scholarship account, which will be increased until the award can be given annually.

Forbes award

Forbes named Central Bancompany, the parent company of Boone County National Bank, to its 2014 America’s Best Banks issue.

This is the fifth consecutive year the bank holding company has made the list.

Central Bancompany is Missouri based and has 13 full-service community banks and more than 250 locations in 66 communities serving consumers and businesses in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.

Top design

Debby Cook of Columbia’s Debby Cook Interiors has been awarded a 2014 Best of Houzz award from Houzz, a home remodeling and design website. The more than 16 million monthly users who comprise the Houzz community chose Cook’s 10-year-old interior design firm.

Cook won the award for customer service. A Houzz statement says customer satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2013.

Sub love

Erbert & Gerbert’s Sandwich Shop, a Wisconsin-based national sandwich chain known for its gourmet subs, is expanding to Columbia, with plans to open two locations within the next few years.

The company plans to add six to eight total locations in Missouri over the next three to five years. The chain celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013 and currently operates 70 locations across the country.

Marketing honors

Columbia College’s marketing department recently won two Education Digital Marketing Awards for its internal Marketing Channel and “Go for Greater” campaign. Recognition was based on creativity, marketing execution, message impact, technology application and innovative content. The Higher Education Marketing Report, a publication for college marketing professionals, presented the awards

The college earned a gold award in the blog sites category for its Marketing Channel, which aims to educate internal audiences on various marketing initiatives. It also earned a silver award in the online display ad category for the “Go for Greater” campaign.

Finding homes

Boone County National Bank was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to support homeownership opportunities for families and individuals across five Midwestern states.

The grant supports homebuyers who can make a mortgage payment but are unable to purchase a home because they cannot afford upfront costs. The homeownership fund program grants them funds to assist with down payments, closing costs, counseling or property rehabilitation.

“The homeownership fund will allow us to help members of our community transition into homeowners,” Deborah Graves, senior vice president mortgage loan department manager, said in a statement.

Video goggles

Patients at Women’s and Children’s Hospital can now watch their favorite movies while having an MRI scan performed. More than a dozen mid-Missouri credit unions raised funds to purchase a set of $44,000 MRI-compatible video goggles and headphones.

“We appreciate this generous donation from credit unions of central Missouri,” Keri Simon executive director of Women’s and Children’s Hospital, said in a statement. “Support like this from our community helps us provide family-friendly care to children throughout our state.”

Women’s and Children’s hospital performs 2,500 to 2,700 MRI scans of children each year.

Beginning in the fall of 2011, more than a dozen members of the Missouri Credit Union Association Central Chapter held bake sales and other events to raise money to buy the goggles.

3-D knee

Irene Sackreiter of Columbia became one of the first people in the United States to have a knee implant developed using 3-D printing technology.

Doctors used advanced imaging technology to create a 3-D map of Sackreiter’s knee, which helped them produce a 3-D printed knee that exactly matched the size and shape of her natural knee. Most off-the-shelf knee replacements come in a limited range of sizes. Better-fitting knees allow surgeons to remove less bone, which can speed up recovery.

Dr. Sonny Bal of the MU School of Medicine is among the first surgeons in the United States to use this technology for knee replacements.