Erie Innovation Fund Investment Helps Four Local Start-Ups Get Started

Sept. 22, 2011 - PRLog -- ERIE, PA – Since the first announcement in March, 2011, regarding the Erie Innovation Fund - a partnership between Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) - there have been dozens of inquires about how to access this exciting opportunity that provides local entrepreneurs and business owners with a ready pool of investment capital in Erie County.

To date, the Erie Innovation Fund has invested in four local start-up companies:  PSI Medical Catheter Care, LLC; Green Lighting LED; CE Convergence LLC; and @Home FMS, LLC:

PSI Medical Catheter Care, LLC has developed the Catheter Care System (CCS) which pre-vents bacterial contaminations that lead to infection in healthcare settings.  The use of the three products that comprise the system, the DOCit™, HubScrub™, and Station will reduce the nearly $30 million in direct costs incurred by the hospitals to treat infections but, more importantly, will help eliminate the cause of death for nearly 99,000 people every year.  Chris Cuzzola, the com-pany’s General Manager, commented, “Healthcare-associated infections are one of the nation’s most important public health challenges with nearly 1.7 million patients affected a year.  The in-troduction of our products into the hospital setting will meet this challenge head-on and save thousands of lives every year.”  For more information contact Mr. Cuzzola at
ccuzzola@psipartners.com

Green Lighting LED, has designed a LED light fixture to be used in the harvesting of
mushrooms. Pennsylvania farmers, who in total represent 81 million square feet of production, need an alternative to the traditional fluorescent lighting fixtures, as these fixtures are not energy efficient, break easily, and contain mercury.  According to the company’s President, Joel Gehly, “The average mushroom farmer breaks about 300 fluorescent tubes a year when moving the
existing fixtures during cleaning cycles.  Broken tubes expose the personnel and crops to traces of mercury.  Our LED fixtures are environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient, and so durable you can stand on them.”  For more information contact joel@GreenLightingLED.com or see the website at www.GreenLightingLED.com

CE Convergence, LLC offers professionals a fully automated solution to maintain their
accreditation and to simplify the tasks associated with managing continuing education credits.  Mr. Gene Cherner, President and CEO of CE Convergence, commented, “We are the only company that currently offers a universal, comprehensive, and completely automated solution - and automation is the key.”  For more information see www.ceconvergence.com or contact Mr. Cherner at gene.cherner@ceconvergence.com

@Home FMS, LLC is a spin-off business of Comfort Care and Resources, Inc.  The @Home System represents a huge technological breakthrough, as it efficiently automates the current paper process for billing of Medicaid-approved homecare services for the elderly.  Mr. James Fetzner, CEO of @Home FMS said, “We have developed a low-cost, point-of-care communication system that doesn’t use a single piece of paper.” For more information please contact Mr. Fetzner directly at jfetzer@ComfortCareResources.com


About Ben Franklin Technology Partners
Ben Franklin Technology Partners/CNP, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Com-munity and Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, provides investment capital, operational assistance, and entrepreneurial support to emerging tech-based companies and small, existing manufacturers for the purpose of creating and retaining jobs in Pennsylvania.  Contact the central office of Ben Franklin in University Park at (814) 863-4559 or see our website at www.cnp.benfranklin.org  for a listing of satellite
offices.

# # #

About the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority
The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority is charged with distributing 1% of the State Gam-ing Revenue received by Erie County pursuant to the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (4 Pa. C.S.A. §1101 et seq.) and in accordance with the Settlement Agreement dated December 13, 2010. Further, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority invests, manages and deploys “uncommitted” State Gaming Revenue received of the County pursuant to the Eco-nomic Development Financing Law (73 P.S. §371 et seq.) in its discretion and in accordance with the aforementioned Settlement Agreement dated December 13, 2010.See www.ecgra.org for more information or contact Perry Wood at Pwood@ecgra.org