Sleep Testing and Respiratory Services (S.T.A.R.S.) received top honors in this year’s Best in Biz Awards, the only independent business awards program judged by members of the press and industry analysts. The company’s Director of Human Resources, Kara Chase, was honored with a Gold Best in Biz Award for Human Resources Executive of the Year.

Chase was recognized for her integral role in the 2011 S.T.A.R.S. asset purchase, and for her leadership and management as head of Human Resources for S.T.A.R.S. and its sister companies, Heartland Health and Clinical Research Advantage.

“Kara Chase has been instrumental in the success of S.T.A.R.S., Heartland Health and Clinical Research Advantage,” said Mark S. Hanley, Chief Executive Officer of S.T.A.R.S. “She was responsible for leading a series of initiatives to safeguard each company as it grew. This enabled us to manage our unprecedented growth while upholding our high standards for quality and service.”

More than 400 entries were received in this year’s awards program, from a wide array of public and private companies of all sizes and from a variety of industries and regions in the U.S. and Canada.

Winners of Best in Biz Awards 2012 were determined by an independent panel of 32 judges from top-tier news, business and technology publications, as well as broadcast outlets and analyst firms, such as ABC, Businessweek, Computerworld, ECT News Network, Entrepreneur, eWeek, Examiner, Financial Times, Forbes, FOX News, Hartford Business Journal, IDG Ventures, IEEE Institute, Inc., Insight Media, King Features Syndicate, Lab Reviews, Network World, The News and Observer, PC Magazine, ReadWriteWeb, South Florida Business Journal, Tech-Gaming, Techtalk, Upstart Business Journal, USA Today and ZDNet.