Heard on the Street

TOP 100. Cox Health Systems and St. John's Health System have both been named among the top 100 integrated health care networks in the nation, according to a list compiled by SMG Marketing Group, a Chicago-based health care information and marketing company. Cox was ranked 60th on the list, the third year Cox has been included. St. John's ranked 74th on the list, its second year on the list. Health systems were analyzed in several different areas, including technology integration, hospital utilization, financial stability, services and access, outpatient utilization, contractual capabilities, physician participation and overall system integration. The list is published in the Jan. 31 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine.

CONSUMER. Willard resident Pat Raines was honored as Consumer of the Year Feb. 15 in Washington, D.C., for her volunteer efforts to increase public awareness about the pitfalls of sweepstakes. The award was presented by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators. Raines' efforts began after her parents became sweepstakes victims, spending more than $100,000 in connection with sweepstakes offers. Raines testified last year to government officials about her family's situation, and she started the organization Sweepstakes Survivors to aid other victims and their families. She was nominated for the award by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who was able to recover about $40,000 of the money spent by Raines' parents.

DAYS OUT. Days Inn at 2700 N. Glenstone is closed, and will probably not reopen anytime soon. Officials at John Q. Hammons Hotels, which owns the hotel, said there are plans for the property, but they are not ready to reveal them at this time. For now, officials said it would be too costly to maintain the Days Inn franchise for the north-side hotel.

KISS-OFF. Springfield/Branson Regional Airport folks are hoping a new promotion launched Feb. 15 will help alleviate traffic congestion in front of the terminal building. The new promotion, Kiss & Fly, declares the no-parking area in front of the terminal a kiss-and-fly zone and is designed to promote dropping passengers off and driving on, which would eliminate the congestion of unattended vehicles in front of the terminal. An announcement from airport officials said airport patrons have in the past been allowed the convenience of front-door parking for dropping off passengers, but because passenger traffic is increasing and terminal improvement projects are beginning, patrons need to use the short-term parking lot for quick visits to the airport. Rob Hancik, director of aviation, said he hopes the new program will put a positive spin on an important issue. "We're trying to take a friendly approach in our enforcement of the no- parking area and hope that airport patrons will appreciate our position," he said. The new promotion precedes strict enforcement of the no-parking zones by airport police.

ONE-STOP. According to Jeff Moseley, of Moseley's Discount Office Products, the latest trend in office product sales is an increasing demand for single-source vendors. "For a while now, people have been shopping here, there and everywhere ... doing a lot of price shopping," he said. But that's changing because "people are realizing how much that really costs in time." With single-source vendors, customers do all their shopping with one vendor, and the vendor provides "cut-to-the-bone prices" on everything it sells to customers, Moseley said.

MARDI GRAS. Who needs the French Quarter when there's Park Central Square? The Downtown Dining and Entertainment Commission will sponsor its fifth annual Fat Tuesday Celebration March 7, the day before the privations of Lent begin. Festivities start at 5 p.m. with free crawfish at 10 participating downtown establishments. A short parade around the square will be led by King Bacchus and feature a Dixieland band at 7 p.m. Organizers said anyone with a float or marching band is welcome to participate in the bead-throwing affair. A pub crawl of more than 14 downtown nightspots takes place at 9 p.m.-closing time. A $5 cover charge gets participants into all pub-crawl locations throughout the night. For more information, call Gary Harper, 864-5258. Where do we go for beignets and caf au lait Wednesday morning?

SLICE OF NICE. The Springfield office of the American Cancer Society has designated March 6-10 as Daffodil Days. Volunteers, along with UPS, will bring flowers to Springfield residents in a fund-raising effort for cancer research and local programs. The fresh-cut flowers will be available at all area Empire Bank locations. Businesses are encouraged to make advance orders for distribution. For more information, call 881-4668.