Gemini Corps founder Lynn Carlson will speak at the American Society for Quality Columbia Basin ASQ section 0614 membership dinner on Tuesday, March 10 at the Jokers Event Center in Richland, WA. The presentation “What Makes an Effective Team?” will focus on nine measurable team characteristics and how to grow them.

Program check-in and networking starts at 5:30 pm with the presentation starting at 6:30 pm. The cost is $5 for ASQ non-members with dinner available for purchase. Attendees can register online at www.asq614.org, via e-mail at 0614asg@gmail.com. The registration deadline is Friday, March 6.

Gemini Corps, LLC is an organizational development consulting company that helps businesses address the human factors of performance and develop these capacities to improve organizational effectiveness. For further details about the Gemini Corps, visit www.geminicorps.com or call 541.595.8818.

The Tri-Cities Cancer Center is holding a free skin cancer screening in partnership with Christy Masterman, DCNP of Dermatology Solutions. Christy will provide spot checks to help keep you healthy. The free screening will be held on Saturday, March 7th, 2019 from 9:00AM to 12:00PM at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center. Our community is encouraged to take part in this free screening.

Participation is by appointment only. To schedule your appointment, please call (509) 737-3420.

Skin cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the U.S. With over 300 days of sunshine in our region, residents must protect themselves from harmful UV rays. According to the National Institute of Health, individuals should be checked for any suspicious skin markings and any changes in the way their skin looks. Early detection leads to more treatment options and better outcomes. If not treated, some types of skin cancer cells can spread to other tissues and organs.

The Tri-Cities Cancer Center is able to offer programs like this, at no cost, thanks to community support through the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation. Donations to the Tri-Cities Cancer Center Foundation stay local and provide valuable non-reimbursed cancer programs and services for patients, their families, and the community.

What: Free Skin Cancer Screening
When: Saturday, March 7th, 2019 from 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Where: Tri-Cities Cancer Center, 7350 W. Deschutes Ave., Kennewick

Lily joins Century 21 Tri-Cities with more than 20 years of real estate experience in four different states! Her career began in Massachusetts where she worked for a family owned brokerage. Lily enjoys living in Tri-Cities with her husband of almost two decades, who is a U.S. Army Veteran, along with their two rescue Chihuahuas. With Lily’s extensive real estate background, she is confident in her negotiating skills when representing both sellers and buyers. She prides herself in creating a “Win-Win” outcome for both sides of every transaction.

Lily’s main focus is to deliver the best customer service experience. Her philosophy of “Do Unto Others As You Would Have Done To You” is implemented into her relationships with her clients by ensuring that she is there for you every step of the way. Lily is motivated and ready to kick-off the next stage of her career by helping you with all your real estate needs. Call, text or e-mail her today!

Century 21 Tri-Cities is a local residential and commercial real estate sales organization and broker office serving the Tri-Cities area. For more details about Century 21 Tri-Cities, please visit
www.c21-tc.com or call us at 509.572.2465.

The Mid-Columbia Mastersingers invites singers from around the region to attend its Spring Choral Singer Workshop, led by singers from Male Ensemble Northwest (M.E.N.). The workshop will be held on Saturday, March 7th at McLoughlin Middle School in Pasco.
 
This educational event is open to singers age 9 and up, and will be held in in two sessions: the morning session (9am-12:45pm) is for Soprano and Alto voices in grades 4-7, and the afternoon session (2pm-5:45pm) is for Tenor and Bass voices of all ages, including adults and changing adolescent voices. Each session will focus on producing good singing voices while being mindful of vocal care, well-being, and technical aspects of one's voice. Participants will learn songs on-site as a group, then perform together at the end of the session. The morning performance at 12:00 noon will also feature special guestsperformers Mastersingers Youth Girls’ Choir and Boys’ Choir, and the afternoon performance at 5:00 pm will feature special guest performers M.E.N. Both performances are free and open to the public.
 
Registration fee to participate in the workshop is $15, with discounts available for groups of 10 or more participants. Registration is online at the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers website, www.mcmastersingers.org.

The latest round of local artwork is now installed at the Tri-Cities Airport. The airport’s selections for 2020 were curated by the Airport Art Committee and Davin Diaz, Executive Director of Art Center Task Force and owner of DrewBoy Creative Art Gallery. Malaura Bricker, Sena Clara Creston, and David V35 are all local artists who have created pieces in a dynamic mix of styles and materials that specifically highlight the Tri-Cities region.
 
“We love showcasing local artists at the airport,” said Buck Taft, Director of Tri-Cities Airport. “Each artist’s individual take on the region helps our passengers learn more about our beautiful region, and provides a unique sense of place that makes the Tri-Cities Airport one of a kind.”
 
Each artist has a separate wall in the terminal to showcase their pieces, and the artists’ displays will be up through the year. 

SCORE Mid-Columbia is planning to host a Fall 2020 Business Fair in collaboration with several local chambers of commerce, economic development organizations, and state small business liaison teams. SCORE is interested in soliciting feedback on topics of interests from local businesses and entrepreneurs.

The survey is available now to fill out, and will close on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2020.

Take the survey now: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/28T3C5R

Yakima Federal Savings & Loan has opened a new branch in Richland, WA.

The new bank building, it’s first in nearly 18 years, is located at 3100 Duportail Street in the expanding Queensgate/Keene/Duportail area of Richland.

Yakima Federal opened their first Richland branch in 1954. The now-closed Richland office at the corner of Swift and Jadwin has been occupied since 1968.

“Yakima Federal has had great success placing branch offices in areas of housing growth.” stated Leanne Antonio, President and CEO of Yakima Federal. “We believe this location on Duportail will be very convenient for current and new Yakima Federal customers.”

The new location offers a wide range of consumer banking services and home loans.

BOR Architecture of Yakima is responsible for the building design. Banlin Construction LLC, Kennewick, Washington, is the General Contractor.

Trios Health is pleased to announce that Jessica DiNizio, DO, has joined Trios Health as a Family Medicine provider. Dr. DiNizio sees patients at the Trios Care Center at Spaulding, located at 216 W. 10th Ave. in Kennewick. She can help patients with women’s health, immunizations, annual physicals, preventive care, osteopathic manipulative treatment, pediatrics, and more. She is available to see patients on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon. Patients can make appointments by calling 509.221.5520.

Dr. DiNizio attended medical school at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, New York, and completed her residency at Frankford Hospital in Langford, Pennsylvania.

In addition to seeing patients, Dr. DiNizio will also serve as our Family Medicine Residency Program Director. In this role, she will help supervise family medicine residents completing their three-year residencies at Trios Health. Trios Health, a UW Medicine Community Health Partner, operates two hospitals to accommodate the area’s fast-growing population: Trios Women’s and Children’s Hospital at its downtown Kennewick location and Trios Southridge Hospital in south Kennewick. Trios Medical Group, comprised of nearly 100 employed physicians and providers, serves as the core of a growing medical staff network of 325+ providers throughout the Tri-Cities and includes practices and services at six Care Centers and one Urgent Care Center. For more, visit Trios online or follow us on Facebook.

The Tri-Cities Cancer Center is offering a free community presentation on Thursday, February 27th from 4 – 5pm called Be the Match! During the presentation, speaker Joseph Wilson from the National Marrow Donor Program will walk through the act of donating healthy bone marrow and how it saves lives. We invite members of our community to come and learn about the process and the promise. Multiple myeloma, leukemia and other forms of cancer originating from our bone marrow can often be cured or controlled with a bone marrow transplant.

If you are interested in attending, RSVP is required. Please call (509) 737-3427 or visit
https://tccancer.org/event/free-community-presentation-be-the-match/ to RSVP.

When: Thursday, February 27th from 4 – 5pm
Where: Tri-Cities Cancer Center Wellness Center, 7350 W. Deschutes Ave, Kennewick
Cost: Free, but RSVP is required.

Erika Wier, joined Lourdes as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in February, 2020. Previously, Erika worked at Memorial Medical Center (a LifePoint hospital) in Las Cruces, New Mexico where she was Assistant CFO and served as compliance officer. During this time, she was responsible for the oversight of several departments, including case management, revenue cycle, information technology, central scheduling and admissions.

While serving at Memorial Medical Center, Erika was lead facilitator for the organization’s rapid improvement project focusing on payer denial rates. Hospital denial rates averaged 6% of net revenue at the start of the project. Post project outcomes showed a reduction in the average denial rate to 3-4% with a continued downward trend.

Ms. Wier began her career in healthcare and finance in 2002 at Tenet Healthcare’s Sierra Medical Center, a 351-bed acute care hospital in El Paso, TX. Her experience with Tenet ranged from accountant to controller for Sierra Medical Center.

Erika is from Wisconsin but spent much of her life in El Paso, TX. She, along with her significant other, Mike, and youngest son, Evan, are new to the Pacific Northwest. Erika’s oldest son, Ethan, is a junior at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

When she is not at work, Erika loves to entertain and cook for friends and family. She considers herself to be an avid foodie and enjoys the quest for new and interesting foods.