Economic activity supports families, neighborhoods and community life in Florida

September 15, 2021 – Cleveland Clinic contributed $4.12 billion to Florida’s economy in 2019, according to the health system’s most recent economic and fiscal impact report, “A Vital Force in Our Nation’s Economy.”

“Caring for the community is a priority at Cleveland Clinic,” said Tom Mihaljevic, M.D., Cleveland Clinic CEO and President. “As we celebrate our 100th anniversary, we are proud of our impact on the physical and economic health of our neighborhoods and embrace our role as an anchor institution.”

Cleveland Clinic in Florida serves as a job creator. It invests in local businesses through the purchase of goods and services. And it helps cities and neighborhoods thrive through tax revenues that support critical health services and infrastructure.

In 2019, more than 25,300 jobs generating approximately $1.6 billion in wages and earnings were directly and indirectly attributed to Cleveland Clinic in Florida. Households supported by Cleveland Clinic purchased $190 million of goods and services from Florida businesses. Cleveland Clinic in Florida’s economic activity was accountable for $428 million in federal income taxes and $181 million in total state and local taxes paid by employees and vendors.

Patients and visitors who traveled to Cleveland Clinic in Florida contributed $26.3 million in economic activity. That included more than 67,000 visitors who came from out of state or across Florida to receive care, participate in education activities or attend events.

“Cleveland Clinic continues to positively influence Florida’s economy by supporting our caregivers, their families, and our communities,” said Conor Delaney, M.D., Ph.D., Cleveland Clinic Florida CEO and President. “As our footprint in Florida continues to grow, so too will our contributions to a healthy economy in the state.”

Cleveland Clinic’s economic impact in Florida was part of a broader investment nationally. In 2019, Cleveland Clinic directly and indirectly supported $34.5 billion of economic activity in the United States through its ongoing operations and construction activities. Cleveland Clinic directly supported an estimated 72,045 jobs in Ohio, Florida and Nevada.

For every direct Cleveland Clinic job, approximately 1.7 additional jobs across the country can be attributed to the health system. An estimated $13.3 billion of annual labor income, including benefits, was associated with the total jobs. These jobs and associated earnings sustained 124,831 U.S. households, which spent approximately $11.2 billion purchasing goods and services.

Cleveland Clinic’s operating and construction activities resulted in the generation of $1.9 billion of state and local taxes and $3.5 billion of federal taxes in the U.S. in 2019.

Additionally, patients visiting Cleveland Clinic spent an estimated $309 million in Ohio, Florida and Nevada.

Cleveland Clinic produces economic impact reports every three years. This year’s report is based on 2019 data. The previous report, based on 2016 data, showed that Cleveland Clinic in Florida had a total economic output of up to $1.2 billion.

Beyond 2019, Cleveland Clinic has continued to serve as a stabilizing economic influence. The health system took steps during the COVID-19 pandemic to preserve jobs, which helped support caregivers, their families and the communities where they live.

The report is the result of an economic analysis completed by Silverlode Consulting utilizing IMPLAN, a widely used economic impact modeling system.

To learn more, view the full report here and a video here .

About the Cleveland Clinic Florida region

The Cleveland Clinic Florida region is a nonprofit, multi-specialty healthcare provider that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. The Florida region now includes Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Martin Health, and Cleveland Clinic Weston Hospital, with five hospitals and numerous outpatient centers in Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties. The Florida region is an integral part of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where providing outstanding patient care is based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Physicians at Cleveland Clinic are experts in the treatment of complex conditions that are difficult to diagnose. For more information about Cleveland Clinic Florida, visit www.clevelandclinicflorida.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

The following statement is attributable to:
Gerald E. Harmon, M.D. President, American Medical Association

September 245 2021 – “We applaud and fully support the leadership shown by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., in permitting a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adults at risk of occupational or environmental exposure, particularly for health care professionals. Given that we are in the midst of a global pandemic that continues to cause widespread illness and death, we must do everything we can to protect our frontline health care professionals. We believe this recommendation is a critical step to preserve our nation’s health care capacity and prevent illness among those who have continued to put their own health and safety at risk to care for patients.”

September 24 2021 – Golisano Children’s Hospital’s Mobile Pediatric Vaccination Clinic will be making stops around Southwest Florida next week to vaccinate children 12 years-old and older for COVID-19.

The Mobile Pediatric Vaccination Clinic is walk-up only, and there is no cost for the COVID-19 vaccine, which will be Pfizer.

The mobile clinic will be at the following locations next week:

Monday, Sept. 27, 5-8 p.m., Dunbar High School, 3800 Edison Ave., Fort Myers
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 4-6:30 p.m., Goodwill Resource Center- Tice location, 5100 Tice St., Fort Myers
Wednesday, Sept. 29, 3-5 p.m., Hector A. Cafferata, Jr. Elementary School, 250 Santa Barbara Blvd. N., Cape Coral *This stop is primarily for 2^nd doses, however, 1^st doses will be provided to those who would like them. Anyone who receives a 1^st dose at this location may have to attend another site for their 2^nd dose.
Thursday, Sept. 30, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Spring Creek Elementary School, 25571 Elementary Way, Bonita Springs *This stop is primarily for 2^nd doses, however, 1^st doses will be provided to those who would like them. Anyone who receives a 1^st dose at this location may have to attend another site for their 2^nd dose.
Saturday, Oct. 2, 9 a.m.-noon, Utopia Unisex Salon, 3071 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers *This stop is primarily for 2^nd doses, however, 1^st doses will be provided to those who would like them. Anyone who receives a 1^st dose at this location may have to attend another site for their 2^nd dose.

A parent or authorized guardian must accompany a minor for vaccination. The second dose will be set for the same location or one nearby.

Anyone 12 years old and older can also receive their COVID-19 vaccine at no cost at Lee Health’s Community Vaccination Clinic, located at Gulf Coast Medical Center. For more information, visit www.leehealth.org.

About Lee Health

Since the opening of the first hospital in 1916, Lee Health has been a health care leader in Southwest Florida, constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community. A non-profit, integrated health care services organization, Lee Health is committed to the well-being of every individual served, focused on healthy living and maintaining good health. Staffed by caring people, inspiring health, services are conveniently located throughout the community in four acute care hospitals, two specialty hospitals, outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers, primary care and specialty physician practices and other services across the continuum of care. Learn more at www.LeeHealth.org.

Britner Joins from HCA Healthcare’s East Florida Division

September 23, 2021 – University Hospital and Medical Center (University Hospital), an industry leading 317-bed acute care hospital in the heart of South Florida, announced today that Joseph “Joe” Britner has joined as Chief Operating Officer. In this capacity, Britner will lead operational enhancements, strengthen physician alignment and ensure successful growth across the hospital’s key service lines such as orthopedics, robotics and general surgery.

“For nearly 50 years, University Hospital and Medical Center has been providing unparalleled care and offering state-of-the-art technological advancements to Tamarac and the surrounding communities,” said Britner. “I was fortunate to work closely with the team in my previous role and look forward to furthering our mission and creating greater opportunities for growth across our service lines and partnerships.”

For more than 10 years, Joe has been instrumental in leading supply chain operations. Prior to joining University Hospital, Britner served as East Florida Division’s Chief Operating Officer of Supply Chain for HCA HealthTrust, where he led 450 employees and operations across 14 hospitals, with more than 4,300 beds and $600M in supply spend. He also successfully oversaw COVID-19 logistics, such as the distribution of vaccines, personal protective equipment and ventilators.

“Joe is a wonderful and respected leader, who has made significant contributions to our organization, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ben Harris, Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital. “Under his leadership, Joe and his team were integral in providing necessary supplies 24/7, ensuring that our Division hospitals could provide our patients, colleagues and community with the immediate support they needed.”

While with the Division, Britner also oversaw the implementation of an in-house dialysis program for four of East Florida Division’s largest facilities. He also oversaw an emergency department single scan project, the largest in the Division, which resulted in improved nursing satisfaction and $3.2M in increased revenue.

“Joe provided exemplary leadership while at Division and I know he will help to elevate our hospital’s growth, patient experience and reputation,” said Harris.

Britner earned his Bachelor of Science in supply chain management and marketing and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Indianapolis. He is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and is a Purdue University Advanced Manufacturing Lean Practitioner.

About University Hospital and Medical Center

University Hospital and Medical Center is a 317-bed acute care hospital. Since opening in 1974, University Hospital has been a leader in bringing breakthroughs in orthopedic care and joint replacement. The hospital recently received several awards from Healthgrades and was named among the top five percent of hospitals in the nation for patient safety.

University Hospital is part of HCA East Florida, the largest healthcare system in Eastern Florida and an affiliate of HCA Healthcare. HCA East Florida offers multiple ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, urgent care and free-standing emergency care facilities, as well as a supply chain center and an integrated regional lab. Together, HCA East Florida employs more than 18,800 employees and has more than 6,900 physicians on staff. For more information, visit HCAEastFlorida.com.

NIH study in mice demonstrates the importance of quickly addressing infection.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other injuries to blood vessels in the brain, like stroke, are a leading cause of long-term disability or death. Researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health, have found a possible explanation for why some patients recover much more poorly from brain injury if they later become infected. The findings were published in Nature Immunology.

Viral Infection Slows Blood Vessel Repair After TBI: Seven days after mTBI, the blood vessels (stained in red) in the tissues around the brain are not completely repaired. A marker for intact vessels was used (labeled in green) to distinguish fully functional blood vessels (yellow) from ones that are still damaged (red).McGavern Lab, NINDS

Making use of a mouse model for mild TBI (mTBI) that they had developed previously, the team of researchers led by NINDS scientist Dorian McGavern, Ph.D., discovered that viral, fungal, or a mimic for bacterial infections all impacted blood vessel repair within the meninges, the protective covering of the brain. When they looked closer, they observed that some cells of the immune system no longer moved into the site of the injury, which occurred in the uninfected animals, suggesting they were responding to systemic infection. The study also looked in a second injury model affecting the blood vessels in the brain, called a cerebrovascular injury (CVI), and saw a similar effect on repair.

“Evolution prioritizes mobilizing the immune system to fight off infection over repair,” said Dr. McGavern. “Because the body is dealing with a greater threat, cells that would normally repair the damaged blood vessels in or around the brain are needed elsewhere.”

This change in priority for the immune system is not permanent, as infected mice were able to eventually repair the blood vessel damage at a later time compared to uninfected mice, unless a second infection was encountered. This timing is especially critical in the case of CVI mice, because the delay in response produced by infection led to permanent cognitive dysfunction and damage to the brain tissue. The repaired brain blood vessels, which are normally very well sealed, remained permanently leaky.

“The presence of infection causes the immune system to take a break from repair while it fights off the virus,” said Dr. McGavern. “In the case of mild TBI, this seems to be ok, but when you have a large vascular injury in the brain itself, like a stroke, every minute counts. These findings highlight the utmost importance in quickly identifying and treating infections in patients.”

Although the presence of infection was affecting the immune system’s ability to respond to mTBI, the exact cause remained unknown. When cells in the body become infected, they call for help by releasing proteins that signal the immune system. One group of proteins released after viral infection are called type I interferons (IFN-I), which turn on a variety of genes that affect the immune response. Following mTBI, the researchers saw a large increase in IFN-I-related genes in infected compared to non-infected mice.

Additional experiments confirmed the importance of IFN-I in shifting the focus of the immune system away from blood vessel repair. Mice that have had their genome altered so that their immune cells cannot sense the presence of IFN-1 showed similar rates of repair after mTBI regardless of whether they had a viral infection. Deleting the IFN-I sensor only in one type of immune cell known to be important for repairing blood vessels after mTBI also eliminated the defect produced by infection. Finally, directly applying one of the IFN-I proteins directly to the injury site prevented blood vessel repair without the presence of infection. IFN-I signaling also appeared to play a critical role in the repair delay seen in CVI mice.

Systemic infections are common among patients hospitalized for TBI and CVI, and they have been linked to poorer outcomes. The findings in this study highlight the importance of controlling those infections (whether bacterial or viral) as quickly as possible. This is especially true for CVI patients, as a delay in repair can lead to permanent damage to the brain.

This study was supported by the Intramural Research Program at NINDS.

NINDS is the nation’s leading funder of research on the brain and nervous system. The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.