Local Businesses Leading Electric Vehicle Charge

With the help of EcoTechnologies, Inc., Florida's leading renewable energy and energy conservation integrator, a handful of forward-thinking businesses and municipalities are leading the charge to bring electric vehicles to the Suncoast. By installing charging stations in their parking lots, businesses like Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota/Bradenton-Airport, developed and constructed by Sarasota-based Finergy Development and Firmo Construction, plan to attract more of the zero-emissions vehicles to our community.

EcoTechnologies, Inc. supports businesses committed to this initiative, and has helped many obtain awards for charging equipment through the ChargePoint America Program, whose aim is to install 4600 stations nationwide by month’s end. Owners are responsible for footing the bill for the equipment’s installation and operation costs, but for Eric Collin, Executive Vice President of Finergy Development, the decision made sense.

"This is a logical continuation for us,” says Collin, whose hotel was the first in Sarasota to earn the US Green Building Certification, and the first of its chain to earn a LEED® Silver Certification. “We want to keep our properties on the leading edge of sustainability."

Charging stations like the ones being installed at Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota/Bradenton-Airport are part of Coloumb's ChargePoint Network, the world’s most advanced and easy to use electric vehicle-charging infrastructure. The charging stations are designed to accommodate electric vehicles (EV’s) as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (visit www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles for a current list of electric vehicles). Today’s plug-in EV’s typically do not require gasoline, but recharge their large on-board batteries with electricity. The typical result is an efficiency of over 100 miles per gallon – a two-fold increase over conventional hybrids.

Those interested in the future of electric vehicles are encouraged to attend the unveiling of the new charging stations at Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota/Bradenton-Airport, located at 975 University Parkway in Sarasota, on Wednesday, November 2,, 2011. A ribbon-cutting will be held at 4:30pm, during which guests can see the latest electric vehicles plugging in. A reception inside the hotel will follow from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, hosted by the General Manager, Michelle Siese and her team. For more information, please contact Michelle Siese at the Hampton Inn & Suites Sarasota/Bradenton-Airport at (941) 355-8140 ext. 600 or Michelle.Siese@hilton.com or contact Ken Stokes, EcoTechnologies consultant at (813) 789-1262 or Ken@EcoTechnoUSA.com.

About EcoTechnologies, Inc.: EcoTechnologies is Florida's EcoSquad for Solar Power, PhotoVoltiacs, Solar Hot Water Heater, Electric Vehicle Car Charging Stations, Energy Saving Cooling Systems and BioBased Spray Foam Insulation Systems. A full-service, green building and remodeling integrator for Florida's green homes, businesses and institutions, EcoTechnologies includes consulting, design, installation and customer service. EcoTechnologies is located at 2101 47th Street, Sarasota, Florida 34234, (941) 364-5900 and online at www.EcoTechnoUSA.com. INTERVIEWS, MEDIA TOURS, AND ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR NEWS STORIES AT THE CONVENIENCE OF THE PRESS. PLEASE CALL KEN STOKES AT (813) 789-1262.

SMH Approves Grant to Fund Parkinson Partners

This month, the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation (SMHF) voted to provide $75,400.00 in grant funding to Sarasota’s Neuro Challenge Foundation (NCF), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of people with Parkinson Disease (PD) and their caregivers. This is the first grant from SMHF toward Parkinson patient outreach, and will cover start-up costs related to NCF’s Parkinson Partners Resource Education Program, the first comprehensive out-patient care management program for Parkinson’s patients in Florida. Plans are underway to provide office space for program staff at Sarasota Memorial’s Institute for Advanced Medicine.

There are an estimated 9,000 people living with Parkinson Disease in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte Counties. NCF’s Parkinson Partners Program will provide customized resource recommendations for these patients and their caregivers, along with individualized education about the importance of utilizing PD-trained community resources as part of their overall health plan.

“This is important community work that will touch the lives of thousands of people living with Parkinson Disease in Sarasota,” says Dean Sutherland, MD, PhD, founder of the Southeastern Center for Parkinson Disease in Sarasota.

The multi-level Parkinson Partners program will include a PD crisis phone line, online resources, and individualized care plans based on physician recommendations and patient and caregiver-reported needs and interests. Parkinson Partners representatives will provide a valuable outreach channel to PD patients, particularly those who may not otherwise seek assistance. This innovative model envisions remarkable strides in patient outcomes through individualized education and the development of specialty-trained resources.

This summer, NCF will offer specialized PD care training to area businesses including home care services, rehabilitation services, independent, assisted and skilled living facilities, transportation and integrative medicine providers. Patients can be enrolled by their physicians beginning in April. The program will provide arm-in-arm guidance for patients and caregivers from the moment of diagnosis onward.

About Neuro Challenge Foundation: The Neuro Challenge Foundation (NCF) is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of people with Parkinson Disease and their caregivers through service, education and research. NCF funds programs and activities that promise to ease the burden of Parkinson Disease through patient-centered professional education, community forums and scientific and clinical research. Patients, caregivers and nationally recognized scientific experts advise us and lead the way as we invest in the science and services that will lead to a cure. For more information, please call (888) 623-4483 or visit www.neurochallenge.org.