Heard On The Street

BLOOD. The suit brought by the American Red Cross against Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (and area hospitals involved with CBCO), alleging antitrust violations among numerous charges, marches on toward a scheduled trial date at the beginning of 1999. The suit was originally filed in federal court at the end of 1995. The case file for the suit has grown to six volumes. Among its recent additions is an affidavit from Christopher C. Pflaum, PhD, a principal in Spectrum Economics Inc. The Red Cross retained Pflaum to analyze the economic loss suffered by the Red Cross Blood Services as a result of CBCO. The bottom line after pages and pages of analysis, number crunching and theory is a $4.15 million net loss in the value of the business in southwest Missouri. Pflaum's affidavit showed the Greater Ozarks Blood Region had 1995 fiscal year revenues of $9.8 million. In its 1996 fiscal year, after CBCO began operations in the last half of 1995, revenue dropped to $3.9 million. Comparisons thereafter became more difficult, as the local Red Cross merged with its operations in Arkansas. The affidavit also noted that the Red Cross building on North Glenstone, sold earlier this year to the Assemblies of God, had a sale price of $1.75 million.

BLOOD II. The Greater Ozarks-Arkansas Region of American Red Cross Blood Services is holding an open house for its new home at 313-B E. Battlefield see the above item on why it moved. The open house is set for 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Oct. 22. "We're very excited about our new site and fortunate to have the new business neighbors that we do," said Ann Smith, territory manager. "Everyone has been very supportive of our move, and the donors who have come to donate have expressed how pleasant the facility is." The public is invited to attend the open house.

NIKE DATES. The 10th annual Nike Ozarks Open will be Aug. 9-15, 1999, at Highland Springs Country Club, organizers of the golf tournament announced recently. Consumers Food & Drug will be the sponsor of the event for the seventh year in a row. The 1998 version of the Ozarks Open set new records for attendance, funds raised and overall growth. Charitable beneficiaries for the 1999 tournament will be Special Olympics, Ronald McDonald House of the Ozarks, Boys & Girls Club of Springfield, A Sporting Chance, Camp Barnabas and Youth Life. The Springfield stop on the tournament tour is one of only three that have been part of the tour from its inception.

BIG TUNE. The Singing Doctors of Springfield, through the Greene County Medical Society, gave the University of Missouri at Columbia School of Medicine $225,000. The gift will establish a permanently endowed scholarship fund. Each year the fund will assist one or more medical students from southwest Missouri. The Singing Doctors has had a scholarship fund for almost 40 years, funded by income from the group's performances and sales of audio tapes. The group has raised more than $400,000 and awarded more than 200 scholarships. The Singing Doctors no longer performs, but hope the transfer of the endowment will attract tax-deductible contributions. Drs. Jim Brown, Don F. Gose, Harold H. Lurie, James R. Cook, F.T. H'Doubler Jr., Charles E. Lockhart and Fred C. Coller performed across the country at meetings of the American Medical Association and state medical associations.

WORLD WIDE STORK. The St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin said it will begin offering new parents an Internet announcement of the birth of their child. "It's a free service that we provide as an option to parents," said Nancy Totten, executive director of women's and children's services for the hospital. "We show a photo of the baby or the family. We give the baby's name, weight and length, and time and date of birth." The Internet Nursery takes a picture of the infant with a digital camera after a release is signed by the parents. For safety and security, only first and middle names of the child and parents are used, a release said. Check out the site at www.stjohns.com.

SLICE OF NICE. The Springfield Regional Opera and the Gillioz Theatre will present Phantoms and the Opera, a fundraiser for the organizations. The project is a haunted house, inside the Gillioz, that will be open 8-11 nightly Oct. 27-31. There will also be a Halloween party for young children 5:30-7:30 each night. The cost for the children's party is $2.50 per child, and the cost for the haunted house is $5 per person. For more information, please call 831-3549 or 863-1960.

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