Ft. Thomas : Innovation + Startup News

A University of Cincinnati professor is one of three leading investigators in a national study that is comparing two treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

The 17-site, $9 million study will take about three years to complete, and it will involve approximately 500 veterans at VA medical facilities across the country, says UC Clinical Psychiatry Professor Kathleen Chard.

Researchers will compare two proven PTSD treatments:

Prolonged Exposure (PE), which allows patients to work through painful memories by re-experiencing traumatic events in  safe and supportive environments, and to engage in activities they've avoided because of trauma. Prolonged exposure also emphasizes education about treatment, common reactions to trauma and breath retraining.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which focuses on patients' thoughts and feelings. This approach emphasizes how traumatic experiences changed the patients' thoughts and beliefs, and how those thoughts influence current feelings and behaviors. Patients identify and challenge unhelpful thoughts through structured therapy sessions and practice assignments.

The Institute of Medicine and the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences have endorsed both PSTD treatments, which are used for both military and civilian patients. One of the study's goals will be to determine which treatment works better when a patient has other problems, like depression or substance abuse.

Chard is co-author of the CPT military/veteran manual and the national CPT implementation director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Both are gold standard treatments, but what we don't know is, if I have patient 'X,' which one should I put them in," she says. "What we have now is informed patient choice. We tell them about the treatments and they can decide what to do. We don't have solid research about what works best."

Chard is also director of UC's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience PTSD division, which is based at the Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center facility in Ft. Thomas. It likely will be one of the 17 testing sites.

The findings of the study will have an impact that reaches beyond treatment for members of the military, as PTSD has been diagnosed in people who have never been in the miliary, but who have seen or lived through dangerous events, including survivors of physical and sexual assault, abuse, accidents and natural disasters.

By Feoshia H. Davis
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A small Fort Thomas credit and debit card processing company will nearly double its size with major expansion plans that include hiring 25 employees.

OMEGA Processing Solutions was founded in 2003 by business partners and industry experts Scott Anderson and Todd McHugh. It recently received preliminary approval for up to $325,000 in incentives from the Kentucky Economic Development Finances Authority for its expansion, which also includes doubling the size of its Northern Kentucky headquarters. The company will invest $475,000.

OMEGA Processing Solutions is an electronic point-of-sale processing company that specializes in credit and debit cards. The company has been steadily growing, and was named to the 2011 Inc. 500|5000 list in August.

"I've been in the industry since 1981, and I love the business and find fascinating the changes that have happened in it. The way people in world decide to pay for things continues to evolve and change, so it's an exciting place to be," says CEO Anderson.

The company plans to complete its building expansion by early spring, and will soon start hiring, Anderson says. He'll be adding employees to customer retention, customer service and support and more.

Anderson is a native of Iowa who lives with his wife, a Northern Kentucky native, in Fort Thomas. Anderson moved to area for a previous job with VeriFone Systems, a large international electronic payments company. Anderson caught the entrepreneurial bug while working there. He eventually decided to start OMEGA with McHugh, who has an MBA and more than 20 years of management and administrative experience in the credit card processing industry.

Anderson credits the company's growth to hiring great employees, treating them well, making the work environment fun and strategic company investment.

"We aren’t ones to highly leverage ourselves. We look at areas to expand in and will invest a dollar if we can make a dollar in 10 cents. We make sure training programs in place. We make sure it's a fun environment to work in. We work hard and we play hard," Anderson says.

By Feoshia Henderson
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