July 13, 2021 – 

When Martin Ruffert was looking for a U.S. headquarters for IO Projects, the German-born businessman received an invitation to visit Delaware. He toured the state and listened intently when state representatives said he would have direct access to legislators, an advantage that West Coast locations couldn’t beat.

“I can see it’s small. I can see it’s nice, and you can do something for me – but come on,” Ruffert recalls thinking.

Then he attended a cocktail party for a German company that was opening a Wilmington subsidiary. For most of the evening, Ruffert chatted with “a nice couple,” he recalls. “He asked me so many questions about my business.”

The next day, the same man greeted Ruffert by name at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was then-Delaware Governor Jack Markell.

“I had spent the whole evening with the governor,” Ruffert says with some wonderment. “I still get goosebumps when I think about it. In Delaware, you are not a number. You’re a face and a name, and people recognize you.”

Choosing Delaware for IO Projects

Ruffert was convinced. He came to Delaware in 2017 to promote the digital sign business that is still IO Projects’ core European offering. But a handful of U.S. companies already dominate that marketplace. So, Ruffert did what he does so well: He stayed comfortably in the middle. 

“We fill the gap,” says the self-professed “nerd.” Instead of reinventing the wheel, IO Projects transforms a wide-scale global application into a turnkey product at an affordable price. IO Projects is the customer’s single point of contact,” Ruffert says. The company handles the interface with other contractors or manufacturers.  

“When a customer has a specific need, we find the best scalable solution on the market that’s a proven success and build the missing parts to create a perfect match for the customer,” he explains. “The existing platform may have 70% or 80% of what the customer requires, but 20% is missing.”

The approach is why Ruffert first dipped his toe into digital signage — Mercedes-Benz had a need. Today, his company operates 20,000 screens in Europe for Mercedes, a gas station chain and universities. 

In the United States, IO Projects provides digital screens to the new CSC Station, a coworking innovation hub space adjacent to the Wilmington train station on the Wilmington Riverfront. The building is owned and operated by Corporation Service Company, which offers a range of financial, legal and digital services. There are touchscreens at the entrance for visitor sign-in and digital displays that indicate whether or not a conference room is in use.

It didn’t take long for Ruffert to realize that CSC Station needed more than adaptable signage. For instance, the building required controlled access, which was no easy feat considering that those using the coworking space have varying membership plans. Clients can reserve a desk, an office or event space and use a day pass or rent for a month. 

Ruffert and his team did their homework. They chose Openpath, a keyless door-access control system that runs on a smartphone. To enter, a user holds the phone near the reader. 

The program was particularly appealing because it doesn’t rely on an internet connection. IO Projects engineered the system so that CSC Station can manage it in real time. It’s easy to revoke user access when a contract ends. IO Projects also programmed the technology to work seamlessly with other management tools, so the administrator does not need to update each automated program’s information. 

Given today’s hybrid workplaces, such technologies will be in demand. People may only come into an office for a limited amount of time. Companies with locations worldwide can control employee access to a door, floor or the entire building.

Ruffert is a CEO, but he can’t stop coding, he acknowledges. Nor can he stop spotting new opportunities. “The challenge comes from when people say something is impossible to do,” he says. “It’s OK. We can find a way to do it.”

He’s excited about technology that can turn a TV into a FaceTime-like device, an asset for assisted-living facilities with residents who aren’t tech-savvy.

He’s equally enthusiastic about an operation that installs kiosks in public places for computer repair. Much like the old photo-development kiosks, people drop off their broken tablet or phone. Workers in low-income communities would be trained to do the repairs. 

Appreciating Life in Wilmington

Ruffert has lived outside Paris and Berlin, so he appreciates living in the Wilmington area, which is near so many urban areas. Before the pandemic, it was not unusual for Ruffert and his wife to go to New York City to see a play, have dinner and then drive home.

And as for being up close and personal with legislators, he has another story to tell. When his E-2 visa was held up in Frankfurt, Germany, he visited Delaware Senator Tom Carper’s office.

“Three weeks later, I had an appointment in Frankfurt,” he says. “That is the amazing thing about Delaware. I’m living proof that it’s real.”

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June 25, 2021 –

When Bayhealth announced plans to build a new hospital off Route 1 in Milford, downtown residents were worried. Surrounded by homes, Milford Memorial Hospital was a beloved city fixture. Indeed, parts of the building date back to 1938.

“No one wanted to see a 250,000-square-foot facility boarded up to become a massive white elephant,” says Meir Gelley, CEO of Nationwide Healthcare Services, which purchased the old hospital site in June 2019.

Nationwide, which owns and operates long-term-care and skilled nursing facilities, specializes in turning around old properties. But the energetic Gelley did not want to limit the building’s reuse to long- and short-term, post-acute care. He saw the need for preventative and ongoing services.

“I always dreamed of creating a program so that if someone needs us, we’re still in touch and have services to offer,” he explains. 

With the help of Ohio-based Dynamis Advisors, Nationwide has transformed the former hospital into the vibrant Milford Wellness Village. In just a few years — and during a pandemic — the $30 million Milford Wellness Village has racked up an impressive roster of tenants that have created new jobs: 220 and counting. 

Checking All the Boxes

Bayhealth hired Dynamis Advisors to explore the potential use for the hospital after the healthcare system’s departure. The firm helps providers and the communities design, finance, develop and manage innovative healthcare real estate projects.

Having worked with Nationwide in the past, Dynamis President Scott Keller reached out to Gelley. “We said, ‘Are you interested?’ He said, ‘Yes,’ and the rest is history.”

“Dynamis was extremely helpful,” Gelley recalls. “We met with all the stakeholders and the community.” 

Milford was a logical setting for the ambitious multi-use endeavor. “Milford is one of the fastest-growing towns in the state,” Gelley notes. It sits on the border between Kent and Sussex Counties, which have a large population of retirees and people who need affordable services. 

The Clarke Avenue building was available and had the proper infrastructure. Although it required renovations — one wing dates to 1954 — it had been maintained up until Bayhealth opened its new hospital near Route 1. “It checked all the boxes,” Gelley says of the facility.

The site was also in Delaware. “There are friendly opportunities and room for advancement here,” says Gelley, who has worked in surrounding states. “Delaware is very welcoming.”

The village is not his first project in the First State. Nationwide, which came to Delaware in 2006, also operates Regal Heights Healthcare & Rehabilitation in Hockessin and Regency Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center in Wilmington.

It Takes a Village

Nationwide removed the hospital’s labyrinth of corridors to create a straightforward “Main Street”-style flow between tenant services. 

Polaris Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center, licensed for 150 beds, occupies the second and third floors while Banyan Treatment Centers is on the fourth. La Red Health Center, a familiar name in Sussex County, opened in the village in November 2019.

Also on board:

• Kidz Ink Academy of Early Academics Child Care Center, which has classrooms for 160 children
  
• Nurses ’n Kids, which cares for infants and children with acute and chronic medical needs, developmental delays and nutritional deficiencies
  
• The Lab at Seascape
  
• WeCare Program, which helps seniors stay healthy in their own homes
  
• AquaCare Physical Therapy 
  

The village does not duplicate services, Gelley says. “It’s really filling in the gaps.” He’s hoping to lease space to a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly or PACE program, which is like a “nursing home without the overnight stay,” he explains. “They have access to doctors, dietitians and pain care.” Currently, he says, there is only one PACE program in Delaware.

Such services have become especially important as so many people want to remain in their homes. Since the pandemic, many seniors have become skittish about long-term-care facilities, which were vulnerable in COVID-19’s early days.

The village has space for additional “like-minded” organizations that “enhance each other and benefit from each other’s presence,” he says. There is a spirit of collaboration. La Red, for instance, offered COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone in the building.

Gelley does not hesitate when asked how he will measure the project’s success. “When I am making people’s lives better — that’s what I consider my success.”

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June 11, 2021 –

Bayhealth — recognized as one of the nation’s Most Wired health systems, with hospitals in Dover and Milford — is always looking for IT superstars: caring, compassionate, patient and motivated talent who get excited about going to work every day.

Healthcare may not be the first industry that comes to mind for young talent looking to launch a career in information technology (IT) — or for seasoned talent looking to retrain or upskill for a second career, for that matter. But the trajectory of change that has steadily increased the pace of technology advances over the last 20 years — fuel-injected by virtual demands created in the last year by the COVID-19 pandemic — make healthcare IT one of today’s fastest-growing, most exciting career options for those hoping to advance their earning potential while making a difference in their community. 

The IT team at Bayhealth believes there is no better place to put the winning combination of hard skills and soft talents that are required in the healthcare industry to work than in Central or Southern Delaware.

“Bayhealth uses technology to do what needs to be done to care for patients,” says Vice President and Chief Information Officer Richard Mohnk. “We have programs in place to train and educate our team as they advance in their careers, but we need to continuously feed those programs with talented people who have a desire to be great.”

Wesley Coombs, Bayhealth’s Service Desk supervisor, leads the team that takes calls around the clock from both employees and patients looking for help with software and application issues. Because they support more than 200 IT applications, Coombs says the Service Desk is a great place to get a foot in the door and gain valuable experience for a career in healthcare IT.

Bayhealth is certainly not alone in the search for great technical talent, but the healthcare industry’s IT needs are so specialized that it’s almost unheard of for someone to transition from another industry directly into a mid-to-advanced seniority analyst or project manager position with a medical center. Those positions typically require a four-year degree or a minimum of three years of healthcare-related work experience. 

By partnering with their Central Delaware academic neighbors – Delaware State University, Delaware Technical Community College and Wilmington University – Bayhealth has created a pipeline that already has brought in 22 entry-level staff who work up to 24 hours a week on the IT department’s Service Desk while they finish their degrees.

As team members sharpen their IT skills and gain familiarity with the clinical areas that need support throughout the medical center, they are first in line for opportunities to advance to higher-paying analyst and project manager positions within Bayhealth. But that leaves openings for Coombs to fill back on the Service Desk.

To meet the challenge, the retired veteran called on his own experience as a drill sergeant. Just as the military teaches someone with the right personal attributes to be a soldier, Coombs realized that he is in a position to help the right candidates gain the work-related experienced needed to advance to a higher-level position in healthcare IT.

For example, most IT professionals have great technical skills, understand hardware and know how to manipulate applications. But taking a call from a clinician who needs trouble-shooting help under pressure to access a patient’s imaging report, or from an elderly member of the community trying to figure out how to use a smartphone app to schedule a virtual appointment, takes patience, compassion and a true desire to help, according to Coombs.

“Under Wesley’s supervision, Bayhealth’s Service Desk offers a remarkable entry-level process with great exposure to healthcare to create a career path from within,” says Mohnk. 

Fueling Delaware’s IT Pipeline 

IT needs remain a key concern for employers throughout Delaware, with talent needed at all levels – from entry to highly specialized – who are qualified in software, networks, cyber security, data management and tech support. Two-thirds of Delaware’s IT jobs are found outside the traditional “tech” sector in areas of finance, manufacturing, education, government and, of course, healthcare. 

To help build a more diverse tech talent pipeline for 2021 and beyond, Delaware Prosperity Partnership is leading a public-private initiative of more than 50 stakeholders representing Delaware businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions and workforce development organizations. Collectively, they are developing a coordinated and demand-driven approach to meeting the state’s IT talent demands. Their work is funded by a workforce readiness grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. 

Systems Shine When Superstars Use the Right Tools

At Bayhealth, Coombs’ mission aligns with the state’s aims as he focuses on bringing in the right people to work the Service Desk in preparation for their next step on the career ladder. He says he finds it fulfilling to watch his team grow, develop and gain confidence.

“Seeing my team help our employees and patients get the help they need really is one of the most rewarding feelings,” Coombs says. “It feels like we are giving back.”

Mohnk agrees.

“We enjoy teamwork and camaraderie here at Bayhealth,” Mohnk says. “We’re always looking to bring in the next IT superstar — and our goal is to see hard-working, great talent succeed.”

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June 4, 2021 –

On nearly an hourly basis, most of us edit a text, document or social media post. We delete one word or replace another to best express our thoughts.

Similarly, CRISPR-Cas9 removes, adds or alters regions of DNA. The gene-editing tool could help cure such illnesses as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis. It is also a gamechanger in agriculture. 

No wonder CRISPR is the subject of news articles, radio segments and TV programs. Last October, for instance, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Berlin-based Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogen made headlines for winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The researchers were honored for the discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic “scissors.”  

But no matter how precise the cut, CRISPR can also negatively impact the areas near the repair site. To find and categorize these genetic scars, ChristianaCare’s Gene Editing Institute released DECODR, an affordable software application.

“We developed DECODR to accelerate the development of CRISPR gene therapies by providing a way to detect these changes rapidly so we can determine whether they pose a risk to patients,” explains Eric Kmiec, Ph.D., director of the Gene Editing Institute in Newark, Delaware, and principal author of a study on the app published in The CRISPR Journal.

Short for deconvolution of complex DNA repair, DECODR is the brainchild of a high school student and a Ph.D. candidate who, in many ways, reflect Delaware’s talent pool in cutting-edge fields.

CRISPR 101

 CRISPR — which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats — is part of an antiviral system in certain bacterial species. Thanks to the Nobel Prize winners and their associates, CRISPR is also a gene-editing tool.

 At the ChristianaCare Gene Editing Institute, located in the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center, researchers are studying how CRISPR-Cas9 can delete the gene responsible for chemotherapy-resistant lung cancer tumors, decrease a solid tumor’s volume and stop its growth.

Using CRISPR safely is paramount as studies move into clinical trials. 

“Like many medical interventions, CRISPR gene therapies are likely to come with a mix of risks and benefits,” Kmiec says. “More information is needed to ensure patients can make an informed decision.”

Pinpointing the potential for problems requires painstaking DNA sequencing — no easy feat. “Targeting deep sequencing is generally used for large patches of DNA like the entire genome of a person. It can take weeks to months,” explains research fellow Kevin Bloh, lead author of the study published in The CRISPR Journal and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Delaware. It’s also costly. 

Sanger sequencing takes less than 24 hours but may not reveal all the possible mutations, Bloh notes. It could take up to 40 minutes for a person to manually analyze one CRISPR-edited sequence

Enter Rohan Kanchana, a high school intern who cut his teeth on computer coding in sixth grade. Kanchana was not permitted to work in the Institute’s actual lab, but he could use his savvy software skills outside it.

Sorting & Translating

While at Newark Charter School, Kanchana was intrigued when Bloh and researcher Brett Sansbury told him that a single gene edit could produce volumes of DNA data. Afterward, DNA sequences appear like a stack of sentences piled atop each other. “You can’t read it,” notes Kanchana. 

DECODR’s algorithms separate the sentences one by one from the messy pile so researchers can read each sequence, Kanchana says. The program also quickly and accurately finds a wide range of DNA code insertions and deletions that might happen after a CRISPR-directed gene repair. 

The results indicate specific mutations and highlight genes that have fixed themselves. However, it is up to the clinician to interpret the results and analyze accidental mutations’ risk. 

The software is easily updated. While a variety of platforms can support the web-based application, it runs best on computers or desktops, Kanchana said. 

A free version of DECODR is available online at decodr.org/analyze. The Gene Editing Institute is pursuing a licensed commercial version that could offer more options while still providing highly accurate data.

The Right Stuff

Bloh, who is studying medical and molecular sciences, has used DECODR both at work and for his academic research. The alumnus of Salesianum High School in Wilmington earned a master’s degree at nearby Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Having the Gene Editing Institute within a patient-based healthcare system makes Delaware special, he says. “It is the only place where this type of research [on lung cancer tumors] could make [a direct] impact.”

Kanchana adds that Delaware is the ideal learning environment for students who want to pursue software development. 

“Computer programming is valuable anywhere, but especially in Delaware,” he says. “If you reach out to people [in the STEM community] and say you can work with computers and develop software, they are very open and welcoming. It’s special about Delaware.”

For proof, consider that his father, a gastroenterologist, reached out to Kmiec about the internship, saying the student’s talent with a computer might prove useful.

Kanchana has benefited from the active STEM program at his school, which has career pathways for biotechnology and computer science. “They offer very specialized and very intensive tracks,” he notes.

He hopes to study computational biology in college. DECODR has put him on the right path toward the degree. “It’s the perfect application of using computer code and algorithms to analyze biological data,” he says. “The Gene Editing Institute was a wonderful opportunity for me. “

He is not the only one. “Our projects tend to attract outstanding young scientists, and we have been fortunate to retain many of those who have trained with us as graduate students,” Kmiec says. “DECODR will only amplify this since the analysis of the type of genetic footprint CRISPR leaves behind after it edits the DNA is at the heart of therapeutic development.”

The release of DECODR could lead to the expansion of the institute’s analytical team, he says.  Meanwhile, it’s back to business as usual — breaking new ground.

“We have been fortunate to be part of the CRISPR revolution,” says Kmiec, “and believe we’ve contributed some important discoveries on the fundamentals of how CRISPR actually edits human DNA.”

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May 14, 2021 – 

Jeff Flynn knows his way around Wilmington. The Delaware native has been in city government since 2002 and has held the position of director of economic development since late 2015. The seasoned director has worked under three mayors.

In many respects, Flynn was destined for the job. His godfather was former Wilmington Mayor Tom Maloney, who was best friends with Flynn’s father, John Flynn. When Maloney was elected mayor, the older Flynn — previously a chemical engineer with DuPont — became his chief of staff.

“I have fond memories of riding around in trash trucks and going to the Bicentennial celebration,” Jeff Flynn recalls. But before entering city government, he worked for MBNA and founded two small businesses, one of which involved real estate.

What attracted you to the field of economic development? 

Initially, what attracted me was the intersection of business, government and real estate. What has kept me in the field is the ability to make tangible, positive impacts on my community: I enjoy playing for the home team.

This occupation offers a surprising degree of diversity. One day you’re working with a small business. Another day, you’re assisting a corporate client in resolving an issue or advancing a land acquisition transaction or construction project. Every action is geared toward improving the quality of life

What is the unique selling proposition for Wilmington?

If you want an urban experience in Delaware without going to Philadelphia, Wilmington is it. You have big city amenities in a central location. Wilmington has so much to offer in a small area. 

We have an educated workforce, with roots in engineering and science thanks to the DuPont Company. The Financial Center Development Act developed our talent in financial services technology, and our reputation in corporate law and governance is highly regarded.

What sectors are strong in Wilmington, and what sectors are you looking to grow?

To attract a talented workforce, you need places to live near parks and cultural amenities. Of course, we have gorgeous parks. With the development of the Wilmington Riverfront, we are looking to build a cultural energy. We’ve been very focused on restaurants, entertainment, open spaces and recreation. These amenities attract talent, which in turn attracts employers and entrepreneurs. 

What have businesses found most appealing about Wilmington?

You have access to government at all levels, and there is a low cost of living and a low cost of doing business. 

What is the advantage of promoting an area in the United States’ second-smallest state? 

We’re all in this together. Since it takes five minutes to drive outside the city limits, it’s in everyone’s best interest not to pursue a zero-sum game.

It’s only getting better. When Kurt Foreman joined the Delaware Prosperity Partnership as president and CEO, development went to the next level. The DPP brings all of us in the profession — across the state — together. 

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I don’t recall anything that stands out. 

What did you study in college?

I studied history and had the opportunity to travel to Greece and study history and archeology. When you study the liberal arts, you learn how to read, write and think critically.

What was the last book you read?

I just finished “Foresight Investing: A Complete Guide to Finding Your Next Great Trade”

by Wilmington’s own futurist, Jim Lee. He’s a friend of mine from the Trolley Square neighborhood.

The last novel I read was “Circe” by Madeline Miller, a wonderful adaptation of Homer’s “Odyssey.” 

Whom do you admire?

At the moment, I admire Deb DeHart, the performing arts teacher at my son’s school, St. Edmond’s Academy. She is producing the spring musical for middle-schoolers. Using Zoom, she’s teaching 40 kids to sing. They have all these parts, and they’re editing it all on the computer using virtual backgrounds. It’s going to be distributed online. It’s an incredible effort.

I admire her and all others who put in the extra effort to deliver their passion rather than cancel. 

What advice would you give someone considering a career in economic development?

A real estate background is helpful. Community involvement — I am more effective at my job because of time spent chairing the Delaware Avenue Community Association. I can better relate to community leaders who approach the city.

Learning how to write, speak and communicate is important to be successful in any career, especially in this field, and there’s a great organization called the National Development Council that offers classes. I recommend Economic Development 101.

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