Grand Rounds January on Orlando Medical News

Grand Rounds January

American Heart Association - National Performance Award Accepted by RMCBP

On Monday, November 10 at the American Heart Association's Annual Scientific Sessions, which was held in New Orleans, select hospitals from throughout the United States were recognized at a special banquet, for meeting the latest American Heart Association's "Get With The Guidelines" quality improvement program standards.
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point received two Get With The Guidelines Recognition Awards for 2008. One was the 2008 Gold - Coronary Artery Disease Performance Award and the other was the 2008 Silver - Heart Failure Performance Award. Dr. Rao Musunuru accepted the awards on behalf of Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point.

TGH marks 150th Lung Transplant

On November 9th, Tampa General Hospital performed its 150th lung transplant. The double lung recipient was John Innarelli, 64, of Leigh High Acres, a retired facilities engineer, father of three, and grandfather. Dr. Christiano Caldiera performed the surgery and under the care of Dr. Mark Rolfe and Dr. Tarik Haddad, pulmonary and critical care specialists. Innarelli and his wife Susan celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary in the hospital on November 17th. The patient is being released home today.
The first lung transplant at Tampa General took place on June 19, 2002. Five years later, on June 26, 2007, TGH marked its 100th lung transplant. According to the 2007 National ranking for solid organ transplant programs issued by UNOS, Tampa General's lung transplant program ranked 9th in the nation and first in the state.
The lungs have two major functions: to supply oxygen to your body and to eliminate the waste product carbon dioxide. Lung failure occurs when the lungs are damaged either through disease or environmental factors and are not able to perform these vital functions.
Both single and double lung transplants are performed at TGH, depending on the patient's needs.

Moffitt Cancer Center Doctor Honored Internationally

Dr. Lodovico Balducci at Moffitt Cancer Center, has been awarded the 17th Claude Jacquillat Award for Achievement in Clinical Oncology. The list of previous recipients represents a Who's Who in clinical oncology around the world. This award was established in 1991 in memory of Claude Jacquillat, an outstanding leader in clinical cancer research, by his collaborators, his students and his friends.
Being recognized for his excellence in the field is not something new for Balducci. He was awarded the first BJ Kennedy award from ASCO last year for his pioneer work in geriatric oncology. Two years ago, he was awarded the first Paul Calabresi Award for the International Society of Geriatric Oncology.
Though the amount of money associated with the award has not yet been confirmed, Balducci is excited about the award.

Moffitt Cancer Center Receives Award for Lung Cancer Research

Dr. Eric Haura, newly appointed program leader of Experimental Therapeutics, has received the 2008 Caine Halter Hope Now Award for Lung Cancer Research.
The one-year, $25,000 award recognizes Haura and his team for their "demonstrated progress in seeking to develop novel treatment options for lung cancer survivors," according to Joan's Legacy: Uniting Against Lung Cancer , a New York-based foundation that funds innovative lung cancer research around the United States.
Haura is developing new drugs that will block mutated proteins that cause lung cancer. He is also studying how inhibiting certain signaling pathways may kill lung cancer cells.
The Hope Now Award for Lung Cancer Research was established by Chawla Hope Initiatives. Retired technology company CEO Prem Chawla, a lung cancer survivor and nonsmoker in Chicago, started the philanthropic fund.

Florida Medical Association Marks Record Membership Growth Despite Challenging Time

While other membership organizations are struggling, the Florida Medical Association (FMA) announced today that it will close the year with record membership numbers – more than 19,000 members.
With an increase of more than 2,000 members since 2007, this achievement marks not only a milestone in the FMA's history, but unprecedented growth when most in the association industry are experiencing a downturn. "As people look for ways to cut costs, most associations are experiencing a loss in members during this bleak economic time," says Steven R. West, MD, FMA President. "However, what we are seeing is the exact opposite. Physicians across Florida are responding to our message. They know that the FMA is committed to making Florida a friendlier place for physicians to practice medicine and they want to be a part of that."  
"We are proud of the fact that FMA membership is growing," says Timothy J. Stapleton, FMA Executive Vice President. "This achievement is not some odd phenomenon, but rather a direct result of having strong physician leaders and a dedicated, professional staff that is focused on our core mission – Helping Physicians Practice Medicine."  
Just a few years ago, the FMA had a little more than 16,000 members and represented less than half of the practicing physicians in Florida. Today, the FMA represents over 19,000 members and is the largest organization representing physicians in the state.

New Program at Florida Hospital Apopka Offers Comprehensive Health Services for Aging Adults

As the baby boomer population begins to age, it becomes crucial for them to monitor their health closely, and Florida Hospital Apopka recently implemented an all-inclusive program that offers services specifically tailored to aging adults. In order to respond to the wellness and health care needs of the aging adult community, The Comprehensive Aging Assessment Center (CAAC) at Florida Hospital Apopka allows aging adults the opportunity to receive a comprehensive evaluation of their health at one convenient location.
Designed to bring together multiple clinical disciplines to better assess the medical and social needs of the at-risk aging adult, the CAAC at Florida Hospital Apopka is unique to Central Florida. Memory, mobility, social needs, incontinence, vision, hearing and depression are among the different assessments that the CAAC offers patients.
Dr. Jason Salagubang, leader of the CAAC, is a board certified Family Medicine Physician trained in geriatrics, leads a team of geriatric specialists, pharmacists, physical therapists and geriatric social workers. Dr. Salagubang is able to perform comprehensive assessments in order to offer in-depth diagnostic and medical information to patients' primary care physicians. His team is also experienced in providing rehabilitation, medical counseling, nutritional screening and other lifestyle recommendations to patients.

Central Florida Sleep Centers Receives National Accreditation

Central Florida Sleep Centers, with Kissimmee and Davenport locations, recently received national accreditation for both locations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
To receive accreditation, a sleep center must meet or exceed all standards for professional health care as designated by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The accreditation process involves detailed inspection of a center's facility and staff, including an evaluation of testing procedures, patient contacts, and a review of technologist and physician training. The Center's goals must also be clearly stated and include plans for positively affecting the quality of medical care in the community it serves.

Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute Welcomes New Doctor

Eddymé Danger, MD, recently joined the Orlando Health Rehabilitation Institute medical staff. Dr. Danger, fascinated by brain function and recovery, will treat outpatients and inpatients with various neurological conditions and looks forward to discoveries of new methods to stimulate brain recovery.
Dr. Danger received her undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, and her medical degree from Ponce School of Medicine. She completed a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residency at Baylor College of Medicine. She was a research assistant at the Pennsylvania State University and has performed critical review of the literature at Baylor College of Medicine. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Dr. Danger is fluent in Spanish.

Central Florida Regional Hospital Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary Coronary Intervention

SANFORD — Central Florida Regional Hospital (CFRH) received full Cycle II accreditation with Primary Coronary Intervention (PCI) from the Society of Chest Pain Center's (SCPC) Accreditation Review Committee on November 7, 2008. Accreditation expires January 26, 2012.
The Chest Pain Center at CFRH has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from the SCPC. Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate include:

Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly
Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
Ensuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training
Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.

Nemours Announces LEED Certification Registration

Nemours, one of the nation's largest pediatric health systems, recently announced that it has registered with the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for Nemours Children's Hospital and pediatric health care campus. Not only will the hospital be highly patient and family-friendly, but the design team is currently working to make sure it's extremely environmentally friendly as well by incorporating high performance green designs into the facility so that it can achieve this prestigious certification.
Nemours continues to work on its campus design with a team that includes more than 150 internal and external health care business experts, clinicians, architects and individuals that are collaborating to provide critical insight into pediatric care delivery for the new health system. The campus will consist of a children's hospital, clinic, emergency department, diagnostic and ambulatory programs, along with education and research centers spanning some 600,000 sq. ft. for a total project cost of approximately $400 million.
The LEED Green Building Rating System, as defined by USGBC, "encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria." Sustainable design concepts will allow Nemours to reduce the long term operational costs associated with running a facility of this size, but more importantly, it will also help reduce certain pollutants around the facility that could aggravate the conditions of patients.
In order to help the organization achieve LEED certification, Nemours chose Skanska USA Building Inc. in June to oversee the construction process. Skanska has a tremendous international and national reputation for building truly innovative structures, and their Central Florida team brings strong health care facility project experience including oversight of the Parrish Healthcare Center in Port St. John in 2004. This structure became the first outpatient facility to be awarded the LEED® Silver green building certification in Florida. Also, Skanska was recently named Business of the Year by the USGBC Central Florida Chapter for their continued "commitment to green building" and "leadership of sustainable practices" in the region.
Skanska will hold its first subcontractor prequalification open house for the construction of Nemours Children's Hospital on December 15 and 16 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Dubsdread Country Club located at 549 W. Par Street, Orlando, FL 32804. This will give the award-winning construction manager an opportunity to inform the local subcontractor and vendor community about the healthcare campus project and give them an overview of the potential schedule, prequalification process and procurement timeline. These meetings will also cover the project's safety program, LEED certification process as well as the Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) program. Nemours and Skanska consider the MWBE program an important part of the construction process and have agreed to identify and reach out to local MWBE firms in order to maximize the number of opportunities for these potential subcontractors and vendors. A specific MWBE open house for Skanska projects will be held at their Orlando offices on January 6th and the Nemours project will be a featured topic.