Strictly Business

Lawley Benefits Group is introducing a private benefits exchange that is intended to help employers manage their health care costs more efficiently while giving their employees more options in choosing the right coverage for them.

The exchange, known as Lawley Marketplace, is different from the public exchanges that are being created under the terms of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Lawley, an employee benefits broker and provider of consulting services, partnered with Liazon, a health-care technology company that designs private benefits exchanges, in setting up the portal.

Officials with the companies introduced the exchange to the Lawley sales force Tuesday afternoon in a meeting at WNED's downtown studios.

Lawley and Liazon executives say the exchange helps employers, particularly those who have between 10 and 200 workers, by offering a streamlined administrative process and allowing them greater certainty in their health care costs.

Instead of a human resources official having to choose the handful of health plans that will be offered to a company's employees, the private benefits exchange allows the workers themselves to select from a wider array of plan options, said T.J. Revelas, Lawley's managing partner.

Lawley plans to heavily market the exchange in the Buffalo and Rochester markets, with an eye toward signing up companies and employees over the summer and early fall. The Martin Group worked with Lawley on the public-relations and advertising campaign.

The members of the sales team were shown a promotional video and watched as a Lawley official walked them through a demonstration of the online registration and selection process that an employee would use to choose his or her health insurance package.

Lawley executives compared the process of shopping for a health plan to the steps someone would take to buy something on Amazon or search for a mate on a dating website.

Ashok Subramanian, Liazon's CEO and co-founder, said there are a number of other national companies that have started offering private benefits exchanges, but he contended that so far these are inferior or less comprehensive.

Subramanian also said the partners have learned a lesson as they've watched how the exchange has been used by employees in test cases. "People choose differently than companies specifically choose for them," he said.

---Stephen T. Watson

The University at Buffalo has created a new department of biomedical informatics and has recruited an official from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to serve as its first chair.

Dr. Peter L. Elkin, vice president and professor of medicine at Mount Sinai and director of its Center for Biomedical Informatics will begin his duties at UB as a professor and department chair this summer, the university announced.

Including Elkin, Dr. Michael E. Cain, UB's vice president for health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has named 10 chairs or chair-level appointees over the past five years. Cain's recruiting push is part of UB's effort to hire 100 new Medical School faculty over the next five years, a key component of the UB 2020 planning initiative.

Biomedical informatics explores how best to use clinical, genetic and related information to improve health care, public health, the treatment of patients and biomedical research.

“Biomedical informatics is now essential to the delivery of health care,” Cain said in a statement.

Elkin has developed standards for collecting, using and storing electronic medical records, among other areas of research, and was selected following a national search.

---Stephen T. Watson

The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning is hosting a May 30 workshop on the programs and sources of funding available to businesses and not-for-profit groups that want to reduce their energy consumption and costs.

The Renew Erie County Business Energy event, which includes lunch, runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Campbell Student Union, Room 302, on the SUNY Buffalo State campus, 1300 Elmwood Ave.

Attendees will learn about the incentives and other programs available to help them make their properties and vehicle fleets more energy efficient.

Thomas R. Hersey Jr., the department's deputy commissioner, will deliver the opening remarks. Presenters include representatives from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, National Grid and New York State Electric & Gas.

Pre-register and get more information at www.reneweriecounty.org or by calling (866) 495-2959. Lunch and parking are free for attendees.

---Stephen T. Watson

Representatives from several companies will speak Thursday afternoon in Buffalo at a panel discussion on pursuing a career in the life sciences, advanced manufacturing or other high-tech industries.

The Superior Group and the University at Buffalo’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences are hosting the event from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s Center for Genetics and Pharmacology, 701 Ellicott St.

The group of panelists will talk about the many jobs available in the region’s life sciences, biomedical and advanced manufacturing sectors, from the entry level to those that require advanced degrees.

The panelists are:

• Grant Carr, senior director of lead discovery at Albany Molecular Research Inc.
• Lyn Dyster, senior vice president of operations, Kinex Pharmaceuticals
• Bridget Russo, vice president of talent acquisition and development at Catholic Health System
• Emily Martin, human resource specialist at Graphic Controls
• Melissa Stephan, senior human resources generalist from Harmac Medical Products Inc.

The moderator is Steve Kimmel-Hurt, account manager at Superior Group. Anyone interested in attending the panel discussion must register by 3 p.m. Thursday at superior2013.eventbrite.com.

---Stephen T. Watson

The music isn't stopping at the city's Zoning Board of Appeals. In fact, for some applicants, it's just getting started.

According to the agenda for the board's May 29 meeting, at least two petitioners are seeking permission to allow "live" music at East Side restaurants.

Latisha Andrews wants to "re-establish" a restaurant to include live music at 133 Kingsley Street, between Jefferson Avenue and the Kensington Expressway, north of Best Street. That's the site of Club 133.

Joseph Carrier wants to put in an outdoor patio and have live music at the Big 6 VIP Club, at 600 East North Street, in a residential district right next to the Kensington, also at the Best Street exit.

One of Tops Friendly Markets’ five franchised locations has undergone an extreme makeover.

Anthony DiMino cut the ribbon on his newly renovated, Center Street store in Lewiston Wednesday. He spent $900,000 over the last two years upgrading every department in the store.

The store has eco-friendly upgrades, such as LED lighting and energy-efficient coolers, all new decor with earth tones and dark wood, and expanded produce, deli, cheese, carry-out cafe, organic and natural food sections.

DiMino’s father, Alphonso DiMino, first opened the Tops franchise in 1964. Most of the original franchised Tops locations were bought back by the company during the 1970s, but five of Tops 153 grocery stores are still franchised.

The Tops Markets on Grand Island Boulevard in Grand Island will unveil its newly remodeled store Monday. The corporation invested roughly $1 million to completely overhaul that store.

-- Samantha Maziarz Christmann

By Samantha Maziarz Christmann

The Elmwood Village will soon get a self-service frozen yogurt shop.

White Rabbit Frozen Yogurt will open at 802 Elmwood Ave. in June. The restaurant will occupy the former Dolci location. 

The shop will offer 40 rotating flavors of frozen yogurt, such as red velvet and cotton candy.

Andy Kandola, the restaurant's part owner, is also readying another location at 1750 Niagara Falls Boulevard in Niagara Falls. 

A competing self-serve frozen yogurt shop is also headed for the Elmwood Village. Yotality has a location planned for 715 Elmwood Avenue, but has not yet announced an opening date. It will open a location at 5759 Main Street in Williamsville near Garrison Road Thursday and has plans to open a third local shop in East Aurora.

Yotality has locations in Pittsford and Victor.

During a news conference today, New York State unveiled a new 30-second television ad that will be shown in other markets touting the Buffalo Niagara region as a good place for investment. The ad, part of the state’s broader advertising campaign to promote investment opportunities statewide, will primarily appear in markets outside Western New York, said Howard Zemsky, the local developer who is co-chairman of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council. 

The ad features Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, Emmy Award winning actress Christine Baranski, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, Zemsky, local businesswoman Sundra Ryce and the Geico Gecko:

The stock charts that ran in the Sunday, May 5 editions of The Buffalo News were from a previous date in January.  We apologize for this error, which occurred somewhere in the publishing process.

The charts for the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ National Market, and the Mutual Funds were all from January 18.

The correct charts for May 5 are available by clicking on this link.

We have instituted internal safeguards to prevent this from happening again. We are very sorry for the error.

-- Grove Potter