NEW YORK, March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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OneMain Financial: Homeowners use several forms of financing to make renovations or updates to their homes, including personal loans, home improvement loans, home equity loans, or a home equity line of credit. Each lender will have their own credit score requirements, and some may be more stringent than others.
Review this list of the most common types of home improvement loans for more details.
1. Home equity loan
While lenders often look for a credit score of at least 680 or higher to approve a standard home improvement loan, the qualifications for a home equity loan differ. This type of loan is secured by the equity the homeowner has in their home, which means some of the risks that the lender takes in issuing the loan is mitigated. The applicant's credit score is still important, but the minimum required score may be lower.
Keep in mind that equity is the value of the home that has already been paid for through the principal portion of the mortgage payments but does not include any interest payments or unpaid balance due. The value of the homeowner's equity may rise or fall based on the appraised value of a home. The lender may require an appraisal before approving the loan.
2. Home equity line of credit (HELOC)
Similar to a home equity loan, a credit score of 680 is typically required for a HELOC loan. With a HELOC, the borrower is approved to tap into a set amount, i.e., the line of credit, and then can withdraw from it in increments to fund the home improvement project.
HELOCs are a great option for home improvement because homeowners can limit their borrowing to only what they need. If the improvement increases the home's value, the HELOC will likely pay for itself. The homeowner is given a period of time when they can withdraw funds from the line of credit, i.e., the draw period. A HELOC also has a period that starts 10-15 years after the first withdrawal is taken during which the loan must be paid back. It's good to keep in mind that payments are generally subject to a variable annual percentage rate.
3. Cash-out refinance
This borrowing option allows the homeowner to take a second mortgage on their home for a larger amount than what is currently due on the first mortgage. The first mortgage is paid off and the excess proceeds would be used to fund the home improvement project. The minimum credit score requirement for this is usually 620, but some lenders may approve an applicant whose score is 580 or above.
The primary factor determining whether to approve an application for a cash-out refinance is the homeowner's debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The DTI compares the applicant's monthly debt payments to their gross monthly income. If the DTI is low, the chances of approval are higher, and the credit score requirement is not as strict. A good DTI is 36% or lower. The maximum DTI for most lenders is 43%.
4. FHA 203(K) rehab loan
Though not necessarily the right choice for everyone, the FHA 203(K) rehab loan is ideal for new homeowners who buy "fixer-upper" homes. It's essentially a mortgage and home improvement loan combined. The minimum credit score requirement is around 620, the FHA requires a 3.5% down payment, and the renovation cost must be at least $5,000.
Notice: Information provided in this article is for information purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views of [publisher] or its employees. Please be sure to consult your financial advisor about your financial circumstances and options. This site may receive compensation from advertisers for links to third-party websites.
OneMain Financial is the leader in offering nonprime customers responsible access to credit and is dedicated to improving the financial well-being of hardworking Americans.
Notice: Information provided in this article is for information purposes only and does not necessarily reflect the views of [publisher] or its employees. Please be sure to consult your financial advisor about your financial circumstances and options. This site may receive compensation from advertisers for links to third-party websites.
New Orleans is a city of mystery and the supernatural. It’s filled with legends, history, and quite a lot of voodoo. And now you can add Renfield and Dracula to the mix.
Renfield hits theaters this April (and has a brand-new trailer coming out tomorrow) and stars Nicholas Hoult as Renfield and Nicolas Cage as his master, Dracula. It’s a monster of a relationship and it has spanned for over a hundred years. And now Renfield has had enough of bringing his master his dinner and then cleaning up after him.
Directed by Chris McKay (director of the underrated The Tomorrow War) from an idea by Robert Kirkman and written by Ryan Ridley, Renfield is a mix of classic Universal horror, silent film style, splatter, and comedy. The cast is top tier with Hoult and Cage joined by Ben Schwartz, Awkwafina, and Shohreh Aghdashloo.
It was a dream come true to get to go on the set of the shoot in New Orleans and worth the battle through a massive thunderstorm (a tornado had happened only a few days prior which had delayed things a bit). Within a massive soundstage the filmmakers had built Dracula’s lair and on that day Dracula and Renfield were doing battle with some very brave vampire hunters who are having a very bad day.
Our own Jessica Dwyer watches enviously as a journalist on-set gets to try on Dracula’s infamous cape
The set was beautiful and filled with a dilapidated regality that matches Dracula’s own life in the film where the vampire has seen better days. Renfield has messed up and is having to run through a rampant fire (Nicholas Hoult doing some impressive stunt work) to come to his boss’s aid. Dracula for his part (Nick Cage also does some of his own stunts) is battling it out in snarling, raging fashion while in a satin dressing the color of blood.
Watching this scene be shot, with Nick Cage getting himself ready for the fight and coming at the camera in full fanged and frothing fury was amazing. I’m not ashamed to say I may have been cheering a little too loudly and had to quiet down because it was Nick Cage as Dracula beating down wannabe Van Helsing’s on the other side of the wall. How do you not geek out?
Getting to see the costumes and the paraphernalia being worn and used by the actors, and the amount of detail that was being worked onto the screen was amazing. These are fans of the genre and the characters bringing them to life and they are doing it with a lot of love and a lot of talent. And when I say love I mean the real thing. The crew rescued a bulldog that was found wandering around near filming and they got him vet treatment, cleaned up and fed and now he’s being adopted by one of them.
This is the lucky bulldog that was rescued and adopted by the crew.
Oh and bugs…It’s Renfield after all and yes…I ate bugs with Renfield AKA Nicolas Hoult who actually did eat some real bugs. Unlike his co-star who ate a live cockroach though in Vampire’s Kiss, Hoult’s bugs are all dead and some of them are fake. I ate the fake ones (sorry I’m not that hardcore) but I did see one of our guides on set eat a rather crunchy real bug that I feel she immediately regretted. It was loud.
And oh yeah, yours truly got to wear THE CAPE (and yes, all caps is what that deserves).
Our correspondent Jessica Dwyer tried on Dracula’s cape and has been feeding on blood ever since
For the first part of our set-visit, we got to chat a bit production designer Alex Hammond, who gave us some insight about the film’s setting and style. One thing that’s noteworthy is that the film, is some ways, is a continuation/hommage to the classic 1931 Bela Lugosi version.
Alec Hammond: We’re actually using some direct references to the original films, and to some of the actual Universal horror movies. The original ones. So, the — so, we established for the audience those actual film — and some of those actual film images early, with this sort of, semi-unaltered. So, what — in some ways I have no choice but to — as, sort of as a designer, play off the visual world that is established in those films. We don’t go into them in depth. We definitely use some of those frames. So, even if you’d never seen the 1931 Dracula movie. If you’ve never seen Bela Lugosi, you will. And you will a little bit, in terms of — of those, sort, of cinematic images. So, everything that we do after that is a direct play off of them. One of the things I was — because we’re contemporary, obviously.
So, one of the things that I was interested in doing is maintaining the scope, the scale — those are big spaces. Like, that staircase, when he first meets Renfield is gigantic. You have a — and it sets up a couple of things. It sets up the — we’re — we need to see an en — we need to see an event. We need to see an event movie, but we also, and we — it tells who the character is. It tells us who Dracula is. It gives us a lot of information about Renfield being a real estate agent in London, coming and being sort of over — personally overwhelmed. It gives you character ideas as you’re watching the film, about who he is. And that has a direct relationship of his conflict right now — and who Dracula was. And, so one of the things that I did with those movies is more than trying to ape the design that happened, I tried to figure out what the — what was really happening with the characters and who the characters were in those, and then how the environments in those original films added to that and helped tell that story. And then, take those same things and apply them to our version, or our film, which is in the same linear — not with the same tone, but in the same linear world as those. So, when you see — think about Renfield, ‘cause I have spaces to design for Renfield for those movie that are really his — contemporary spaces they’re his. You have to, then, put yourself — okay, he’s been working with Dracula since 1931. He’s been procuring victims for him and he’s in a very different place in his life right now. But, in order to not have him just be an ass who brings people to this monster to be killed, you have to sort of get yourself into who that character is. And when you do that, you realize he’d never seen anything like that. He was being taken to, in a time where we don’t Twitter and we don’t have, you know, television, and we haven’t seen house — you know, houses of the rich and famous. He gets to go to this place that he’s never been. He’s completely overwhelmed.
Alec Hammond shows us Dracula’s iconic fangs
Hammond also discussed the challenge of bringing Dracula to the 21st Century, and how, in the end, Nicolas Cage was born to play the role.
One of the things that I talked to McKay about when I first read the script before knowing any of the cast or any of this is Dracula is a movie star. You know, he has to be a movie star. And, not in terms of the casting, but just who that character is because we have to feel like, oh, my God, I’d do anything to work with him. The charisma of that character has to be — because you gotta do it for a long time. You brought him a lot of people to be sucked dry and eaten in the last 99 years. And so, if it’s not somebody who has that — I mean, he’s in the most wonderful — thankfully not political, but the most wonderful narcissist you’ve ever met. And, you have — but you have to — with all those characters there has to be an end to it. So, in some ways, what I — and I think what I always try to do is, I try to build the designs from the characters out. Because nobody is coming to watch the scenery. I hope that the scenery adds to that, and they actually are — we have some wild moments in this film, in terms of what the design does, but we’re coming to watch the characters. We’re coming to watch a Dracula movie. We’re coming to watch a Renfield movie. I am a designer, and I don’t — maybe Dune, but other than Dune — other than Dune, I don’t know that I’d go to the movies to watch the scenery. Definitely went to Dune to watch the scenery.
Hammond also discussed what made the Renfield team choose New Orleans as their setting:
I like designing genre movies and I like designing theatrical genre movies because they distill down the things that we all go through on a day-to-day basis and make them so much larger than life that, in some ways, the scenery and the designs have to come up to that. So, it allows us to do, you know, I never want to live there. That’s my — I’d never want that to be my office, but damn was it fun to design. For — Ella Lobo. And, you know, you get to do things that are larger than life — excuse me — that are, sort of, over scaled, that match the — match the extreme behavior and situations of the movie. You have someone who lives on, you know, drinking — that lives from drinking somebody else’s blood. I mean, it — and you deal with that in a very straightforward way, which we also got to do. How does that work? How does it work when some — when Dracula’s reduced to needing to be nursed back to health? How would you go about, you know — you can’t breast feed the guy. How do you actually get — how do you get blood in him? And, in some ways, from sort of, these first images, which are Dracula still with some of his trappings of grandeur. Then, where he ends up, when we set him in New Orleans, is sort of, hints on the tone of this film, which is, you think of castles in Transylvania Roman — Transylvania region of Romania. I’ve been to the Vlad Dracul castle scouting for another film and they’re fantastic. But, you have that kind of bold, European grandeur and then you have the place where the movie is set, in the United States, the most — the epitome of what we would think of — the American gothic. You know? It’s — it’s the home of Lestat. It’s the home of mid — all of the vampire lore. There aren’t a lot of vampires that exist in Alburquerque. But it not a lot of historic ones. If we — if we all — if you pulled everybody in the United States and said, ‘where would a vampire live in the United States,’ they’d probably say New Orleans. And, what we get to do, in this film, and what I go to do as a designer, is go into the place where you think, great, we’re gonna go down magazine street straight and take right into the upper garden district and there’s one of those great old mansions. Got a huge, live oak in front. It has moss dropping down from everywhere, so that all falling down, it’s all boarded up, and we go directly toward it and take a left-hand turn and end up in an abandoned hospital. And, how far Dracula has fallen. But we found an abandoned hospital that looks like a castle. You know, it’s 1930s — 1932 — completely symmetrical. Feels like it could be one of those European castles. And then, he lives in the basement. And, he — it has all fallen down and how far the mighty have fallen. And, you know, there’s — I don’t know if it’s stage direction or a line, but you know Marverel’s of Ishford (ph) — vampires. Now, with Twitter and TrueCrime and, you know, in New Orleans, if you drive around here too much, you’ll probably get a speeding ticket because there’s cameras on every corner. And it’s — it would be a tough place to actually have to find victims.
Next up, we had a little impromptu group chat with writer Ryan Ridley, who explains the delicate mix of genre the filmmakers are trying to pull off with this blend of horror, action and comedy.
So, you’ve written a lot of animation. Writing live action versus animation — does it make it easier for you to have a more — physically having to be able to control the environment or are you more happy when it’s, like broad strokes that you can do?
Ryan Ridley: Well, I’d prefer live action, fundamentally, just ‘cause I like the live — liveness of it, like being a set, work with actors in real-time and the moments they can create. Whereas, like animation is just a long, I don’t want to use the word slog, but you know, it’s n — you’re not immersed in the process as much in the real-time process of it. But you can also do much crazier things, in theory, with animation that would be much more expensive in live action. So, it’s always a pro and con, but I prefer live action for many reasons.
Can you talk about striking the tone between, you know, we hear there’s lots of limbs flying. So, between the horror and the humor.
I think they go hand in hand, pretty — severed hand in severed hand, pretty well. You know, it’s like the darker the, you know, the darker the violence than the funnier the comedy will be, often times, you know. So, and that’s certainly my, like inspiration is like Sam Ramey and early Peter Jackson and Return of the Living Dead. So, that’s just, like in my, you know, creative DNA. So, it was easy, in theory.
So, when you were creating the relationship between Dracula and Renfield, in the original film, their relationship didn’t end great. They — he was murdered. So, can you talk about how that works in this film and writing for Nick and Nick.
Yeah, well, I guess, so, now I’m feeling busted. Renfield dies in the original film?
Yes.
Well, let’s pretend that was — you know what, what we’ll learn is that through supernatural abilities, he’s never really dead, or at least he can come back from — he’s really wounded. So, you know, the idea is, like what if, after that first movie, throughout the next x-amount of decades, they continue to have adventures together and continued the cycle of what we’re going to see in this, you know, scene that’s being shot today. Like, the ultimate, you know, the destruction of Dracula once his enemies — vampire enemies find him, and then Renfield’s always trying to — always picking up the pieces. And so, it’s like the relationship is like, you know, kind of just like being the personal assistant to, like the most self-destructive, like rock star, movie star, whatever, in history and so, it’s sort of, like intertwining that classic Dracula familiar — am I allowed to still talk — relationship with the classic, like, modern contemporary assistant-boss relationship. You know? So. Yeah.
The latest trailer for Renfield comes out tomorrow! Read our interview with Nicolas Cage here. More to come later this week from director Chris McKay and Awkwafina!
Carbonmark offers instant access to tens of millions of carbon credits, prioritizes user experience, and empowers institutional access to KlimaDAO's digital carbon infrastructure without additional fees.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Carbonmark launches as the go-to platform for acquiring, trading, and retiring digital carbon. It will serve as the gateway for users to access to the Digital Carbon Market (DCM) - the segment of the Voluntary Carbon Market which leverages the benefits of public blockchain technologies - giving access to tens of millions of carbon credits from hundreds of projects instantly.
Carbonmark prioritizes user experience with a seamless marketplace interface - it does not charge any platform fees for buyers or sellers and lists more carbon projects than any other carbon credit storefront thanks to the interoperable standards that KlimaDAO has helped to establish.
As a frictionless access point to the DCM on top of the Polygon blockchain, users can now source carbon credits with unprecedented transparency and speed. The platform does not require any authorization to access - as such, all carbon market stakeholders can plug into the marketplace.
With transparent pricing, and the ability to execute transactions using smart contract technologies, the marketplace stands to reduce transaction costs within the market and reduce lead times across the carbon market's entire value chain.
Speaking of the launch, Gabriel Kent, Head of Product at Carbonmark, said:
"The development of open, public, and neutral infrastructure that will unlock transparency and trust within the Voluntary Carbon Markets is of utmost importance if the market is to scale and fulfill its role in the fight against climate change.
Carbonmark is an essential infrastructure for sellers to create a carbon storefront and for buyers to search, purchase, or retire carbon credits instantly. We're excited to launch with the world's largest selection of digital carbon and with zero-commission trading. Carbonmark will revolutionize access to the Voluntary Carbon Market."
About Carbonmark
Carbonmark.com is the universal carbon marketplace, with the largest selection of digital carbon credits worldwide. Buy, sell, and retire digital carbon from any project instantly with zero-commission trading. Contact us.
Legionnaires' disease cases have increased nearly tenfold in recent decades, leading to thousands of hospitalizations and deaths. Outbreaks are linked to Legionella, a bacteria found in potable water systems in large facilities like hospitals, multi-family buildings, resorts, and office buildings. A recently published study shows that copper-silver ionization effectively controls Legionella in building water systems to prevent Legionnaires' disease.
Copper-Silver Ionization System A copper-silver ionization system installed in a building to prevent Legionella in the potable water supply.
LOMBARD, Ill., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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A new study published in the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Science journal shows that copper-silver ionization effectively controls Legionella in building water systems. The study, conducted by Dr. Mark LeChevallier with technical and financial support from LiquiTech, examines more than 80 sources of research studies and related literature to analyze the efficacy of copper-silver ionization as a water treatment solution. Dr. LeChevallier concludes "that use of copper-silver ionization to control Legionella and other opportunistic pathogens is highly effective when the units are properly designed, maintained, and operated."
Legionnaires' disease cases have increased nearly tenfold in recent decades, leading to thousands of hospitalizations. Those who catch Legionnaires' disease experience a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella, a bacteria found in poorly maintained water systems.
Studies show that Legionella is responsible for about two-thirds of all disease outbreaks from drinking water and the cause of all documented deaths attributed to drinking water-associated infections.
Historically, outbreaks were linked to cooling tower systems. As our understanding of Legionella has advanced over recent decades, most outbreaks are now connected to potable water systems in large facilities, such as hospitals, long-term healthcare facilities, resorts, and office buildings. It's estimated that 54% of all potable building water systems have some level of Legionella present.
Plumbing codes and regulations have been developed to standardize the design, structure, and management of building water systems to prevent waterborne diseases. However, based on the studies cited in this article and elsewhere, there is a need for supplemental treatment of building water systems.
One such supplemental treatment is copper-silver ionization, a chemical-free disinfection solution for potable water systems. It releases copper and silver ions into the building's water system to destroy waterborne pathogens like Legionella.
Copper-silver ionization is not a new water treatment option. Silver ionization was used in the 1960s by NASA for the sanitation of water on spacecraft. In the 1980s, copper-silver ionization was used in swimming pools as an alternative to chlorine.
Later, in 1994, copper-silver ionization was the first reported effective treatment for controlling Legionella in a hospital. Today, copper-silver ionization is used to prevent waterborne pathogens in a variety of buildings with complex water systems.
Although copper-silver ionization is a low-cost and chemical-free option for water disinfection, the system must be designed properly and used in the appropriate applications to achieve optimal results. Crucial to its effectiveness is identifying and responding to abnormalities in water usage patterns and chemistry.
Dr. LeChevallier, a drinking water research scientist with a Ph.D. in Microbiology, examined literature and studies related to copper-silver ionization system design, maintenance, and operations, and the impact water chemistry has on its performance. In addition to authoring more than 300 research papers, Dr. LeChevallier is a member of the Drinking Water Subcommittee of the Science Advisory Board of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), a past member of the Water Science Technology Board of the National Academies of Science, and the past Chair of the AWWA Water Science & Research Division.
In his recently published study, Dr. LeChevallier explained, "These water quality and operational characteristics must be properly addressed to assure that the highest disinfection efficacy is obtained through copper-silver ionization."
He reviewed research and related literature to investigate the mechanisms of copper and silver disinfection. Copper-silver ionization works by treating water through electrolysis. An electric current is applied to a copper and silver bar to produce and release positively charged ions. These copper and silver ions then find microorganisms in the water with a negative charge, like Legionella. The copper ions bond to the negative walls of the microorganisms, disrupting cell wall permeability and the absorption of life-sustaining nutrients. This disruption to the cell wall allows the silver ions to enter and destroy the core of the bacteria, thus making it impossible to survive.
Dr. LeChevallier cited studies showing that copper and silver can work as biocides independently or together. One study emphasized that combined treatment with copper and silver was associated with decreased incidence of Legionella and a faster reduction of bacteria than copper or silver alone.
In addition to copper-silver ionization being considered an effective supplemental method for water treatment by researchers, the US EPA has recognized both copper and silver as metallic antimicrobial agents. Studies show that copper-silver ionization is effective against many waterborne pathogens, including Legionella, Nontuberculous Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Acinetobacter, and fungi.
While the issue of copper-silver resistance was discussed in portions of the literature that Dr. LeChevallier reviewed, it's important to note that there was no evidence of it occurring with Legionella. Copper-silver resistance, where pathogens can continue to grow and thrive even in the presence of copper and silver, was only observed with E. coli and Salmonella.
During his investigation, Dr. LeChevallier found that the design, operation, and maintenance of copper-silver ionization systems are critical to their effective functionality. In his published paper, he explained that copper-silver ionization will act as a water disinfectant; however, the proper engineering and operation of the system are integral to its success.
Essential components of the copper-silver ionization system include the electrodes, flow cells, power supply, control panel, flow meter, and web interface. Each component must be operated and maintained for copper-silver ionization to be most effective.
"Buyers of [copper-silver ionization] systems should pay attention to the design and configuration of the electrodes - particularly as they wear. The construction of the flow cell and the adequacy of the power supply are important to deliver the necessary amperage to achieve the target copper and silver concentrations. Copper and silver doses should be flow paced and can be remotely monitored with a web-based interface," said Dr. LeChevallier.
Additionally, Dr. LeChevallier cautioned that water quality can impact copper-silver ionization as a water treatment. He explained that water chemistry, physiochemical, and environmental factors can influence the efficacy of copper-silver ionization if not considered and managed correctly.
Specific factors to consider include temperature, oxygen levels in the water, flow, pH levels, and levels of biofilm, sediment, and other chemicals that can impact the performance of copper-silver ionization. He stressed that these factors must be considered during planning, commissioning, and system operations for copper-silver ionization to be successful.
Dr. LeChevallier cited several case studies where copper-silver ionization was implemented in a building water system with positive outcomes. He explained that University of Pittsburgh researchers Dr. Stout and Dr. Yu found that copper-silver ionization is a viable proactive strategy for long-term Legionella control, specifically for healthcare facilities.
The studies collected data from 16 hospitals with copper-silver ionization systems over the course of five to 11 years. These studies found that 50% of the hospitals had not reported any indications of Legionella, and 43% had no indications for another five years.
In addition to the promising implementation of copper-silver ionization at hospitals, other case studies found benefits in multi-family buildings, hotels, and other specialized hospitals, including children's and veterans' hospitals.
Summarizing his findings, Dr. LeChevallier concluded, "This study has shown that [copper-silver ionization] can be effectively used for management of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens through the installation of a properly designed and maintained [copper-silver ionization] system and the details of the engineering and operation of the system are important to ensure the consistent delivery of copper and silver ions at their target levels."
About LiquiTech
For more than 30 years, LiquiTech has partnered with businesses worldwide to provide chemical-free, sustainable water treatment solutions. Their highly engineered approach brings together the right combination of products, services, and expertise to solve the most challenging water quality issues and help businesses get the most out of their water-bearing equipment. With more than 3,000 installations, LiquiTech is the worldwide leader in smart, clean solutions for water treatment. Learn more at liquitech.com.
Contact Information:
Kelsey Raftery
Director of Marketing [email protected]
847.738.0933
An innovator in virtual care, LTI is one of the fastest-growing companies in the Americas with a 1,256 percent growth rate between 2018 and 2021.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Let's Talk Interactive, Inc. (LTI), a leader in customizable virtual care solutions, is ranked number 50 in the Financial Times' fourth edition of The Americas' Fastest-Growing Companies, a ranking and special report on high-growth businesses in North, Central, and South America, based on companies with the strongest revenue growth between 2018 and 2021.
"It's an honor for Let's Talk Interactive, Inc. to be named among the Financial Times' fastest-growing companies," CEO and Founder Art Cooksey said. "This comes on the heels of being recognized by Inc magazine as well, reinforcing our standing as a company that has a high growth potential."
For this special report, the Financial Times examined over 7,000 public companies across 20 countries. The data was collected via desk research in official sources like publicly available earning presentations, investor relations, websites, and annual reports.
"We continue to innovate in the virtual care sector, one that has experienced challenges and consolidation recently," Cooksey said. LTI offers healthcare providers a HIPAA-compliant telehealth platform and medical device integrations that increase patient access to quality healthcare.
LTI's new enterprise telehealth platform, TrustVideo, is customizable with any workflow, can integrate with any EMR/EHR, and serves any medical use case. LTI's Medcart software pairs with medical hardware such as telemedicine carts, soft packs, and peripherals, which are all part of LTI's overall custom digital healthcare solutions that enable providers to evaluate patients remotely.
"We are continuing global growth with our partners, AWS, Ingram Micro, Liberty Wesco, and continue to focus on our mission to expand access to healthcare," Cooksey said. "We are experiencing tremendous growth and look forward to continuing to provide excellent telemedicine solutions to our customers."
As a leader in creating innovative digital healthcare solutions, the company's award-winning HIPAA-compliant software is enhanced with custom web and software development as well as provider network solutions that improve access to care at any time, from anywhere in the world.
About Let's Talk Interactive, Inc.
Let's Talk Interactive, Inc. is an innovator in telehealth that has developed the most complete and configurable HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform in the world. Through proprietary telehealth software, medical hardware, and provider network solutions, LTI gives those in need instant access to care. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, the company ranked No. 496 on the 2022 Inc. 5000 annual list of fastest-growing companies. LTI is committed to providing innovative solutions for patients and healthcare providers in the post-COVID-19 era. For more information about Let's Talk Interactive, visitwww.letstalkinteractive.com.
Contact Information:
Caitlin Wolf
PR and Communications Executive, LTI [email protected]
980-220-3777
VANCOUVER, Wash., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Today, in honor of National Choking Awareness Day, Sinceri Senior Living announced its partnership with LifeVac, a company that provides lifesaving choking devices.
"At Sinceri Senior Living, we partner with companies that create value for our residents, families, and shareholders," stated Kayla Wersal, Vice President of Programming for Sinceri Senior Living. "This is why we chose to partner with LifeVac, a non-invasive choking assistance device. As a leader in senior care and Alzheimer's, we realize how important it is to put the correct tools in the hands of our staff that will help keep our residents safe."
The LifeVac device offers a safe and effective way to save people from choking when other methods fail or cannot be performed. Wersal stated that Sinceri rolled out the partnership in February and encouraged each community to order the lifesaving device. LifeVac worked with Sinceri training its staff and making sure the orders were shipped to each of its locations.
"Since our partnership started, I am excited to announce that we have already saved two lives using LifeVac during choking incidents. We look forward to strengthening our partnership and continue saving lives."
Founded in 2010, LifeVac is the only portable, non-invasive airway clearance device registered and fully regulated by the FDA as a Class II suction device. LifeVac uses a one-way valve system, which means that when applied, air vents outside of the unit and not into the person who is choking. The rescue device uses a short burst of suction, with minimal air volume, to mimic a forceful cough. When the handle of the plunger is pushed down, air escapes through the vents; when the plunger handle is pulled back, negative pressure is generated, and it suctions out the lodged material. LifeVac's Airway Clearance Device is essential for seniors in wheelchairs, as standard choking protocols cannot be performed.
"It's so important for LifeVac to be available to take care of those that have taken care of us. The elderly are at a higher risk of choking and may not have an option in a choking emergency," stated Arthur Lih, the inventor of LifeVac. The two companies are looking forward to serving the seniors at Sinceri Senior Living and continuing to give them the excellent care they deserve.
About Sinceri Senior Living:
Sinceri Senior Living is a premier senior living management company that provides service to seniors in 21 states, serving approximately 3,800 seniors across the U.S. Sinceri Senior Living manages all levels of care, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing communities. From the legacy of its first dedicated memory care community more than 35 years ago, Sinceri Senior Living has built a reputation for expertly managing senior living properties, including owned and managed facilities, with highly sought personalized care and exceptional, unique programming for residents and their families.
Enlyt Shine Aims to Guide Patients to Better Health through Journeys
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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The path to better health just got more efficient with Enlyt Shine now available for Payers & Providers. Over 150 Million in the US and 1.7 Billion people globally are affected by chronic conditions. Enlyt Shine's e-learning health platform offers definitive and comprehensive support from the world's most renowned experts following a critical diagnosis.
"I am thrilled to announce the launch of Enlyt Shine alongside my good friend Mike McGraw. Shine is the latest platform innovation delivering highly specialized care journeys that leverage custom content created by the world's leading physicians, gamification, and an accountability structure that focuses on one thing - Optimal healthcare outcomes!" said Scott Fielder, Enlyt Shine's Co-Founder. "With the addition of Enlyt Shine, Enlyt is the only member and patient access platform delivering an entire front to back suite of tools pre-connected to EHRs, Telehealth, Wayfinding, CRM, CMS, etc… and ready to transform the ways healthcare providers and payers develop long lasting and trusting relationships with their patients. I am so proud to serve alongside my teams in delivering Shine and our focus shining the light of hope and truth into users' health journeys."
Patients lack supportive wellness strategies from their healthcare providers. Enlyt Shine, in partnership with world-renown doctors and scientists, create category-specific masterclasses to support an array of treatment plans. Find out more about the problems we are solving with Enlyt Shine: https://enlythealth.com/shine-by-enlyt
About Enlyt Health
Enlyt Health helps organizations build Digital Front Doors faster by providing a Low Code Mobile Platform that breaks down silos, provides brand recognition, removes disjointed end user frustration and enhances patient experience all in one future innovation focused platform. Customers can deploy their Digital Front Door mobile application in as little as 90 days delivering exponentially higher ROI than ground up builds, the comfort of knowing their applications are built on an industry proven platform, and know their patients are getting industry leading patient engagement. Learn more at www.enlythealth.com.
Contact Information:
Ryan Blachly
COO [email protected]
888-223-1615
AUSTIN, Texas, March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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BrainCheck, creator of a digital cognitive assessment and care management platform, today announced the appointment of veteran healthcare executive Kim Rodriguez as its new Chief Executive Officer. The company has raised $21M to date and its products are used by 1,200 providers in over 400 primary care and neurology practices to manage the cognitive health of over 150,000 patients.
"I'm thrilled to welcome Kim to the BrainCheck team, as the company digitally transforms the early detection and treatment of cognitive diseases like Alzheimer's and other dementias," said Mike Smerklo, BrainCheck Board Member and General Partner at Next Coast Ventures. "She is a highly regarded leader with an excellent track record and extensive experience across healthcare, product development, and commercialization. Kim is uniquely positioned to lead the company as its growth accelerates."
Rodriguez's career has spanned 25 years in the healthcare and medical device industry, globally, across multiple therapeutic areas—including neurology, cardiology, and women's health. Most recently, as a Venture Partner at S3 Ventures, she supported the firm's healthcare investments. Earlier, she served as CEO & Co-Founder of Acessa Health—a venture-backed startup providing a minimally-invasive, uterine-sparing fibroid treatment for women. Under her leadership, the company raised $30M, launched a new product, obtained broad insurance coverage, and was acquired by Hologic for over $120M in upfront and expected follow-on payments.
Previously, Kim was CEO at Halt Medical and led the largest business unit, Vascular Intervention, at Spectranetics (acq. by Royal Philips for $2.2B). She has held senior leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson, Blockade Medical (acq. by Balt International), Concentric Medical (acq. by Stryker Neurovascular), Guidant Corporation (acq. by Abbott Vascular), and Microvena (acq. by ev3).
"I'm honored to serve the BrainCheck team, providers, and patients to advance a transformative solution at the intersection of healthcare and software," said Rodriguez. "Due to our country's aging population, Alzheimer's and other dementias are one of the largest blind spots in our healthcare system. With the power of BrainCheck's digital platform, we will greatly expand patient access to early detection, longitudinal tracking, and personalized care."
Cognitive impairment is extremely common and affects millions of people, but it is rarely diagnosed. BrainCheck provides an easy-to-use platform that enables primary care doctors to perform cognitive assessment and intervention at the point of care—in lieu of a referral to a specialist. Diagnosing and addressing problems sooner provides massive clinical benefit and relief to patients and families—all while saving healthcare costs and providing financial benefit to doctors and health systems.
About BrainCheck
BrainCheck is addressing a growing gap in care by providing a rapid, mobile cognitive assessment and decision support technology to physicians—empowering them to deliver high-quality, personalized, and reimbursable cognitive healthcare to patients at the point of care. Patients perform the assessment on any web-enabled device—either in the office or at home; their input is analyzed, and then objective, validated results are autogenerated for providers to inform diagnosis and track cognition over time. BrainCheck was founded in 2015 by neuroscientists and technologists Drs. Yael Katz and David Eagleman to help lessen the human and economic toll of cognitive impairment and dementia. BrainCheck is used by over 1,200 providers in over 400 primary care and neurology practices to manage the cognitive health of over 150,000 patients. By detecting cognitive changes early and tracking them over time, BrainCheck enables patients, caregivers, and clinicians to work together to implement personalized recommendations to preserve brain health and functional independence. To learn more, please visit braincheck.com.
All-new Yunuverse cloud community capabilities, now standard on the Yunu platform, make it possible for over 1,000 on-demand specialty-trained radiologists, technologists, and study staff to be invited and instantly participate in any of the 4,000 in-flight imaging clinical trials running on the system today. Cancer centers may now extend the reach of trial programs to satellite sites and imaging centers, improving patient access to sophisticated oncology trials.
Yunu is ensuring breakthrough therapies \n\u200bare accessible to everyone by delivering a new standard \u200bof clinical trial imaging workflow.
CARY, N.C., March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Yunu, a clinical trials imaging assessment workflow and data management platform, has opened access to their new Yunuverse for collaboration among pharma sponsors, trial sites, clinical research organizations (CROs), and on-demand clinician groups to transform the way imaging-based trials are conducted. Yunu is a fast-growing VC-backed SaaS eClinical solution company that announced its Series A investment from First Analysis and exited from stealth in September of 2022. The company's technology has already been used in trials sponsored by over 400 pharma companies.
Yunu's success stems from a platform built with deep domain expertise in medical imaging and oncology research to deliver transparency and efficiency in every detail of the trial imaging workflow, from scheduling and billing to response criteria customization, performing imaging assessments, and audit readiness. Yunu's cloud-based system creates a much-needed collaboration environment across all trial stakeholders. Customers who already manage hundreds of trials within each site, including many of the nation's busiest NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, can now effortlessly share imaging trial access, setup, staffing, and best practices with other sites and stakeholders within the application.
These new Yunu platform capabilities, called the Yunuverse, create an expansive network whereby Yunu stakeholders can invite new participants into their trials, including on-demand board-certified radiologists and other trial staffing resources, with no disruption or contracts, pre-set turn-around-times, and competitive 3rd party rates. Clinical research coordinators and administrative staff can choose local or offsite resources and make these selections on a trial-by-trial or individual study basis, with the freedom to adjust these preferences at any time.
As patient recruitment challenges and staffing shortages continue to plague clinical trials, the Yunuverse brings new avenues to extend trial access to new populations and augment trial teams, creating more diverse trials and accelerating the delivery of breakthrough therapies. Due to the difficulties imaging assessments present, trials have historically been limited to patient populations near the larger cancer centers that conduct them. As an alarming result, only 3% of US patients are enrolled in clinical trials where over 80% of Americans receive care. The Yunuverse is the first cloud collaboration tool to remove imaging barriers by decentralizing imaging assessments - patients and scanners can be in one location, with trial staff and physicians located anywhere.
"The Yunuverse addresses the vexing issues of patient access and staffing shortages in our nation's cancer centers and clinical trials programs. Current ways of working are insular, with each cancer center essentially on an island, being asked to run an increasing number of trials with a decreasing number of staff. Meanwhile, patients suffer from a lack of access because these trials are too difficult to run in community cancer centers and imaging centers," said Jeff Sorenson, Yunu Co-founder & CEO. He continued, "By facilitating collaboration across large and small sites, and by connecting CROs and pharma sponsors to sites in new ways, the Yunuverse is allowing institutions to rethink how they scale imaging operations in their clinical trials for the good of both patients and the research community."
The Yunuverse is being released in concert with two back-to-back industry events including the Outsourcing for Clinical Trials - Southeast conference in Raleigh, NC, on March 28th-29th and the Society for Clinical Research Sites - Global Oncology Site Solutions Summit in Austin, TX, on March 31st-April 1st.
ABILENE, Texas, March 28, 2023 (Newswire.com)
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Chike Nutrition recently added Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee to their lineup, a brand new flavor to savor and the first-of-its-kind protein chai product on the market. Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee is made with real coffee and black tea (not just chai-flavored like other options) and has a sweet blend of cinnamon, ginger, and clove for the perfect mix of spicy and sweet. Starting March 28, 2023, Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee will be available on Chike Nutrition's website and in participating grocery stores.
Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee gives you all of the taste and flavors of a traditional Chai Latte but with 20 grams of non-GMO whey protein, 150mg of caffeine, only 1 gram of sugar, and 120 calories per serving. Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee is perfect for an on-the-go snack or an afternoon pick-me-up.
This new addition follows the brand's commitment to creating healthy options that have a delicious flavor. A verified Chike Nutrition customer, Jasmine, left a 5-star review in 2020, stating, "At this point they could put out Chike water and we would rush to get it. If they ever put out a Chai Latte, it's over for us." The time has come, and Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee is now available for customers to enjoy.
Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee has a sweet and smooth flavor and an authentic Chai Latte taste with every sip. If someone has never had a Chai Latte before but enjoys drinks with a bit of spice and bite, such as Cinnamon or Pumpkin Spice, they will most likely love the Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee.
"This is an exciting launch for Chike Nutrition, not only because it's a new addition to our current flavor lineup but also because this is the first product like this on the market! Chike Nutrition's mission is to energize and empower your potential. We are excited to do that by offering Chike Chai Latte Protein Iced Coffee as an additional option. You have got to Chai this…you won't be disappointed!" said Mac Mascorro, Brand Manager of Chike Nutrition.
This delicious addition will help fill up one's cup and help power through their day. Chike Nutrition also offers healthy, low-sugar alternatives to coffeehouse favorites such as Mocha, Vanilla, and Caramel Protein Iced Coffee.
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About Chike Nutrition
Chike Nutrition is based in Abilene, Texas, and proudly manufactures and produces all eight (and counting!) of their current flavors, ensuring the quality and consistency that Chike Nutrition demands in their products. You can find all flavors on Chike Nutrition's website and follow new recipes, flavor launches, and more on Instagram. Learn more about Chike in their overview video.
