The Florida Hospital Association, the state’s leading voice for hospitals and health systems, provided the following update today on COVID-19 in the state. Statewide data is derived from the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

HHS Statewide COVID-19 Update:

Current Confirmed COVID-19 Hospitalizations: 14,279

7-Day Change in COVID-19 Hospitalizations: -9.9%

Total New COVID-19 Cases: 17,506

Inpatient Bed Availability (all patients): 16.2%

Inpatient ICU Bed Availability (adults): 6.1%

Percent of Inpatients with Confirmed COVID-19 (all patients): 29.7%

Source: COVID-19 Reported Patient Impact and Hospital Capacity by State

FHA Hospital Update:

The following information is being released by the Florida Hospital Association from a survey of hospitals completed Thursday, September 2, 2021. This survey reflects responses from hospitals representing 78% of Florida’s acute care hospital beds.

  • COVID-19 patients in ICU: 23.3% (steady from 8/30)
  • COVID-19 patients on ventilators: 18.2% (steady from 8/30)
  • COVID-19 patients transferred from nursing homes/long-term care: 2.6% (steady from 8/30)
  • Hospitals expecting critical staffing shortage in next 7 days: 74.6% (1.4% decline from steady from 8/26)
  • Hospitals expanding into non-care areas in next 7 days: 24.7% (3.1% decline from 8/30)

“The signs continue to point to the fact that COVID-19 hospitalizations have peaked in Florida,” said Mary C. Mayhew, President and CEO, Florida Hospital Association. “While the total number of hospitalizations remain high and workforce challenges remain, it is encouraging that fewer hospitals are expecting critical staffing and oxygen shortages. As Floridians continue to get vaccinated and with expanded availability of monoclonal antibody treatments for those who test positive, it looks like the worst of this surge may finally be behind us.” 

The Florida Hospital Association will continue communicating with all Florida hospitals and state officials and provide additional updates as events warrant.

About the Florida Hospital Association Founded in 1927, the Florida Hospital Association is the leading voice for health care in the State of Florida. Through representation and advocacy, education and informational services, the Florida Hospital Association supports the mission of more than 200 hospitals and health care systems to provide the highest quality of care to the patients we serve. Led by President and CEO Mary Mayhew, the Florida Hospital Association has offices in Tallahassee and Orlando and is governed by a Board of Trustees and officers elected by the member institutions. For more information, visit www.fha.org. 



September 2, 2021 – Cathy Swain-Jones, MD, has joined Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Gynecology & Women’s Health at Coral Springs Family Health Center.  

Dr. Swain-Jones has over 25 years of experience in gynecology in the United States and the Middle East. In 2014, Dr. Swain-Jones brought her expertise in urogynecology and gynecologic surgery to the United Arab Emirates in an effort to establish and advance care for women’s health issues at government and privately owned hospitals throughout the country.   

“Dr. Swain-Jones is a renowned expert in gynecology and urogynecology and we are pleased that she has joined our team of talented physicians,” said Rodolfo J. Blandon, MD, MBA, President of Cleveland Clinic Weston hospital. “We look to Dr. Swain-Jones to continue healing and empowering women with her extensive knowledge and skill in gynecology.  

Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Swain-Jones was a gynecologist and urogynecologist in Abu Dhabi at NMC Royal Women’s Hospital. She also spent 19 years in private practice in New Orleans.  

Dr. Swain-Jones earned her medical degree at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans.  

Dr. Swain-Jones is an active member of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG), a fellow American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). She also serves as members of American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL), American Urogynecologic Society (AUGS) and the European Society of Aesthetic Gynecology (ESAG).  

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 and St. Lucie 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. 



September 3 2021 – LeadingAge Florida recognized outstanding senior living communities, employees, and residents during its 58th Annual Convention and Exposition, held at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2.

“The LeadingAge Florida Awards showcase the best in the aging services field and recognizes outstanding members who have gone above and beyond to serve their communities, employees, and residents,” said LeadingAge Florida President & CEO Steve Bahmer. “We received a record number of nominations this year, which is a testament to the incredible work our members have done to keep seniors safe throughout the pandemic.”

“The passion, dedication and commitment of our award winners are second to none, and they are an affirmation of the values of LeadingAge Florida member communities. We are honored to recognize each of them.”

LeadingAge Florida recognized:
• Advocate of the Year – Hank Keith, Chief Financial Officer, Westminster Communities of Florida, for his outstanding advocacy efforts with local, state and national policy makers about public policy issues that affect the field of aging services.
• Caregiver of the Year – Ernestina Rodriguez, Bay Village of Sarasota, for her extraordinary dedication and commitment to enhancing the quality of life for residents within her community.
• Excellence in Collaboration – Cypress Cove, for their exceptional response and support of staff and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Executive of the Year – Carmen Shell, MorseLife Health System, for exceptional leadership, her commitment to mentoring others, and her significant contributions to the work of LeadingAge Florida.
• Innovation Award – Troy Churchill and Joe Velderman, Cypress Living, for their deployment of robotics and other technologies to enhance the overall resident experience, and to keep residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Volunteer of the Year – Barbara Hartwell, Westminster Palms, for her ceaseless commitment to the residents in her community and ensuring their continued well-being and independence.
• Service Coordinator of the Year – Manuel Del Valle, George Humphrey Towers, for his outstanding commitment and concern for each resident’s well-being and creative problem solving.
• Employee of the Year – Diane Hetrick, Waterman Village, for her extraordinary dedication, consistently excellent customer service, and commitment to the enhancement of the quality of life for residents.
• Emerging Leader – Robert Sorenson, Moorings Park, as a leader at the early or mid-stage of his career who has demonstrated commitment to professional growth as a leader and whose responsibilities within his organization continue to expand.
Video presentations featuring our award recipients can be found on the LeadingAge Florida YouTube™ Channel.

For more than 58 years, LeadingAge Florida has been the state’s leading advocate for high-quality senior living, aging services and care. We are the only statewide association representing the full continuum of care for seniors. The Association provides up-to-date regulatory information, a wide variety of educational opportunities, representation before the Legislature and government agencies, group purchasing services, and opportunities for networking with peers to help member communities best serve the needs of Florida’s senior population.



LINC Flagler Volusia bridges the care gap countywide, helping at-risk community members secure real-time services, including mental and behavioral health, housing, rent assistance, food security during the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond.

September 03, 2021 – Flagler Cares, an organization devoted to creating a coordinated safety net for residents in need, announces the rapid deployment of an advanced, innovative, digital care coordination and referral management platform called LINC, “Linking Individuals to Networks of Care.” LINC supports care coordination, ensuring at-risk county residents, including children, find the social and behavioral health and financial services needed to improve overall health and well-being. Flagler Cares will lower overall societal and personal costs associated with imminent care needs.

The LINC platform, powered by CrossTx®, supports automated care coordination and closed-loop referral management workflows necessary to support at-risk community members, specifically those facing challenges with social determinants of health. That is, the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age and which may be responsible for an astounding 80% of an individual’s overall health and wellbeing. LINC is expected to include a network of 50+ community-based organizations that address social determinants with concentrated efforts around behavioral health, homelessness, and social care services.

Flagler Cares selected the market-leading CrossTx® care coordination and closed-loop referral management offering based on its sophisticated yet flexible platform, implementation team, industry experience, and dedicated high-quality support. CrossTx specializes in supporting the transition to value-based care models, therefore becoming the natural choice for the Flagler and Volusia County network.

CrossTx deployed the initial system in just a matter of weeks. The system went live for all ten schools in Flagler County School District for behavioral health network and social services referrals. Now the teams will leverage the flexible attributes of the CrossTx® platform for a number of configurations to enable even more productivity, effectivity, and velocity associated with the LINC mission.

According to Carrie Baird, Executive Director of Flagler Cares, “The CrossTx team has done an amazing job managing the launch of LINC to meet a very aggressive timeline in support of our partner organization, Flagler Schools. The team was available to us throughout each step of the process and was able to configure the CrossTx system to meet our specific needs and work flow quickly. Their commitment to our long-range vision is unmistakable.”

“CrossTx is committed to supporting innovative new health and human services programs and the partnership with LINC Flagler Volusia the future of health and social services delivery,” shared Chad Nybo, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CrossTx.

 “With a heavy impact from the pandemic, growing numbers of at-risk members of our communities need immediate and sustained supports, from counseling and behavioral health services to assistance with financial needs, housing and proactive healthcare, otherwise societal problems will only exponentially grow.” Nybo continued “Flagler Cares’ vision for LINC goes well beyond what many other communities have today and we are excited to partner and configure CrossTx to power the LINC network.”

Although already in production and delivering value to the Flagler and Volusia communities, the evolution of LINC has just begun as the Flagler Cares team plans on enabling an end-to-end care coordination and referral management platform across neighboring counties.

About LINC Flagler Volusia

LINC is available to all Community Based Organizations at no cost to them, offering communication features, referrals, consultations, and other support including real-time data and metrics on services rendered. The CrossTx platform supports community and health system care coordination around the county through a HIPAA Compliant, HITRUST privacy and security framework, allowing providers to improve health outcomes while maintaining client privacy and consent. While LINC is already sending referrals via the school district’s network of health and social services providers, the platform will be available to all CBOs within Flagler this year and in Volusia Counties by June 2022.  Local organizations interested in joining the LINC network can reach out by contacting the Flagler Cares team at LINC@FlaglerCares.org.

About Flagler Cares

Flagler Cares is a nonprofit corporation focused on creating a seamless and connected safety net of services in Flagler and Volusia Counties. LINC Flagler Volusia represents the culmination of over five years of research and planning to develop and launch a secure digital solution to streamline our complex system of care. LINC Flagler Volusia is led by Flagler Cares in partnership with One Voice for Volusia, a nonprofit corporation in Volusia County with a shared vision for coordinated and collaborative systems of care.

About CrossTx

CrossTx, a leading cloud-based health and human services network technology platform, based in Bozeman, Montana, supports care coordination, patient discharge planning, referral management, and care management for value-based programs and initiatives. CrossTx impacts the health equity of counties like Flagler and Volusia by creating meaningful relationships between Community Based Organizations, healthcare, behavioral health organizations, and the individuals they serve, subsequently laying a framework of care for our most vulnerable populations.  This infrastructure helps minimize health disparity while calculating the transformational impact social initiatives have in meaningful ways.



First Drug Device Combination of Its Kind for Chronic Wound Care

September 2, 2021 –  Omeza, a skin science company, announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared Omeza® Collagen Matrix through the FDA 510(k) premarket notification process. Omeza® Collagen Matrix is Omeza’s first Rx product, and the first drug/device combination matrix of its kind for chronic wound care.

“No one is taking on the challenge of making advanced wound care products both effective and affordable, yet preventable amputations are on the rise. We are determined to bridge that gap,” said Sarah Kitlowski, President of Omeza. “Our mission is to give practitioners groundbreaking new tools to help protect and manage the wound during the natural processes of wound closure.”

Omeza® Collagen Matrix (OCM) is a wound care matrix comprised of hydrolyzed fish collagen infused with cod liver oil, which acts as an anhydrous skin protectant, and other plant-derived oils and waxes. When applied to a wound surface, the matrix is naturally incorporated into the wound over time. Omeza® Collagen Matrix is designed for intimate contact with both regular and irregular wound beds to provide a conducive environment for the patient’s natural wound healing process.

The product features a no-prep application supplied in easy to use, unit dose vials.

Omeza® Collagen Matrix is indicated for the management of wounds including partial and full-thickness wounds, pressure ulcers, venous ulcers, diabetic ulcers, chronic vascular ulcers, tunneled/undermined wounds, surgical wounds (donor sites/grafts, post-Moh’s surgery, post-laser surgery, podiatric, wound dehiscence), trauma wounds (abrasions, lacerations, superficial partial thickness burns, skin tears) and draining wounds.

In the United States, chronic ulcers are conservatively estimated to cost health care systems $28 billion each year as a primary diagnosis and $31.7 billion as a secondary diagnosis. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), over 9–12 million Americans suffer from chronic ulcers. The mortality rate for leg ulcers after the first amputation has dramatically doubled from 20% to 50% in the first 3 years to 70% after 5 years.*

* Human Wounds and Its Burden: An Updated Compendium of Estimates, by Chandan K. Sen, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

About Omeza: Omeza (www.omezapro.com) is a skin science company dedicated to equitable access to better wound care outcomes for patients at all sites of care. The company is based in Sarasota, FL USA. Inquiries from medical and health professionals should be directed to info@omezapro.com.