Certifications

The Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation recently announced that Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg has been re-accredited as a Level III Trauma Center, thereby meeting their strict requirements for quality, patient outcomes, and education. The re-accreditation was granted based on a rigorous site survey conducted by the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation. Throughout Pennsylvania there are 30 accredited trauma centers and currently Pocono is the only Level III Trauma Center.

Good Deeds

The Sovereign Bank Foundation and National Penn Bank have each given The Alliance for Building Communities Inc. of Allentown grants for $5,000. The money from the two banks will be used for the renovation of condemned and blighted properties in the city.

Valley Wide Signs and Graphics of Allentown said it will donate 5 percent of all of its revenue from Sandy-related sign repair to the Lehigh Valley chapter of the American Red Cross. The funds will be earmarked specifically for relief in the local region.

Honors

The State Science and Technology Institute named Ben Franklin TechVentures the winner of its Building Entrepreneurial Capacity award Oct. 29 at SSTI's at its National Conference in Atlanta. TechVentures and five other organizations were named winners of the institute's 2012 Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development awards, serving as national models for states and regions investing in science, technology and innovation to grow their economies and create high-paying jobs. Ben Franklin TechVentures is owned and managed by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania on Lehigh University's Mountaintop Campus in Bethlehem.

Prudential Patt, White Real Estate of Allentown has been named a recipient of the Spirit of Volunteerism Award by the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley. The award was given for their work with the Cancer Support Community, previously known as the Wellness Community.

New Products

Olympus Corp. of Center Valley has added several new options to its DSX Series Opto-Digital Microscopes. The newly enhanced DSX500, DSX500i, and DSX100, launched worldwide Nov. 1. They will enable observation with higher image quality, enhanced operability, and extremely high reliability with guaranteed measurement precision.