Author: cfelixcpa - Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report

Aug. 16, 2021 – Risk Strategies, a leading national specialty insurance brokerage and risk management firm, today announced it has acquired Danna-Gracey, a specialist in medical malpractice insurance headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida. Terms of the deal were not released.

Established in 2001, Danna-Gracey is the largest independent medical malpractice insurance agency in Florida dedicated solely to insurance coverage placement for doctors and other health care providers. In addition to placing coverage for specific medical specialties and practices, Danna-Gracey offers innovative approaches to effective, affordable coverage such as risk purchasing groups, which allow specialists with like risks to collectively negotiate for insurance coverage.

“Medical professional liability insurance and risk management are crucial for physicians and require deep expertise and strong relationships with the best carriers in the business,” said Bob Dubraski, Risk Strategies’ Chief Growth Officer and National Health Care Practice Leader. “Danna-Gracey has a great team and a well-deserved reputation in this complex specialty. We’re excited they have joined Risk Strategies and our national team of dedicated health care industry professionals.”

Risk Strategies’ Health Care Practice, one of the industry’s largest, is a fully integrated national specialty team offering all lines of insurance and reinsurance for all types of health care organizations. In 2017, it strategically augmented the capabilities of its team with the acquisition of Philadelphia-based Cornerstone Professional Liability Consultants, an insurance brokerage and risk management firm which specializes in medical malpractice insurance for physicians and surgeons. By joining this diverse and growing practice, Danna-Gracey gains a nationwide platform through which its experts can provide medical professional liability coverage for hospitals, doctors in private practices, nurses and health care workers.

“Specialty focus built our statewide success,” said Matt Gracey, President of Danna-Gracey. “Joining a national-scale firm with that same focus on specialist expertise means our business and its people can grow and our clients will have easy access to a wider range of experts and services.”

To learn more about Risk Strategies, click here.

About Risk Strategies
Risk Strategies is a specialty national insurance brokerage and risk management firm offering comprehensive risk management advice and insurance and reinsurance placement for property & casualty, and employee benefits risks. With 25 specialty practices, Risk Strategies serves commercial companies, nonprofits, public entities and individuals, and has access to all major insurance markets. Ranked among the top brokers in the country, Risk Strategies has offices located nationwide including Boston, New York City, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Grand Cayman, Miami, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. www.risk-strategies.com

August 16, 2021 – Memorial Healthcare System is strongly encouraging its employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and is providing incentives to motivate the approximately 39% of its workforce that has to date not done so.

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CEO **Aurelio M. Fernandez, III**, FACHE

The Hollywood-based provider, which operates six hospitals and numerous care facilities in South Florida, has set a deadline of October 1, 2021 for current employees and new hires to get one of the three, widely-available vaccines. While it stops short of terminating those who refuse the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson product, those employees will be required to abide by additional safety precautions that govern masking and meeting attendance to protect fellow caregivers from possible exposure to COVID-19’s highly contagious Delta variant.

“With this mandate, we are joining leading healthcare organizations in the U.S., including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Medical Association, American Nursing Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and more than 1,500 hospitals that support mandatory vaccination,” said Memorial Healthcare System President and CEO Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, FACHE. “It’s the only way to overcome COVID-19 and resume a safe and normal way of life.”

In an effort to ensure 100% participation, Memorial will award a $150 recognition bonus to employees that are fully vaccinated by October 1. Additionally, each staffer is eligible to receive another $100 if the team they are part of is 85% vaccinated by the deadline. Those with medical or religious reasons may be exempt from vaccination, but would still have to comply with the stricter requirements for the unvaccinated that include wearing a mask at all times on Memorial property, virtual meeting attendance, and strict restrictions from eating in indoor, public spaces at healthcare facilities.

The vaccination mandate comes amid the latest surge of COVID cases at Memorial hospitals, with close to 700 patients, and statistics that show nearly all those in COVID units nationwide are unvaccinated. “This fourth

and most dangerous COVID-19 surge was entirely preventable and, looking ahead, we can halt this pandemic if everyone in our communities gets vaccinated,” said Dr. Marc Napp, chief medical officer for Memorial Healthcare System.

In correspondence to employees explaining the vaccination mandate, Memorial mentions that more than 4.5 billion doses have been administered worldwide after extensive testing in clinical trials. All three of the vaccine products have proven to be effective at preventing coronavirus-associated illness, hospitalization, and death. While there have been a limited number of “breakthrough” infections among the fully-vaccinated, those individuals usually experience significantly milder cases and avoid hospitalization. “If you have not yet been vaccinated, I urge you to do it right away for your own well-being, that of your loved ones, and our patients,” said Fernandez.

Memorial Healthcare System (www.mhs.net) is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the U.S. and a national leader in quality care and patient, physician, and employee satisfaction. It is highly regarded for a patient and family-centered approach that prioritizes multi-disciplinary collaboration, research, innovation, and transparency.

A South Florida-based academic medical center, Memorial is committed to healing the body, mind, and spirit of those it cares for at six hospitals (including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital), numerous primary, urgent, and 24/7 care facilities, a health specialty center, and nursing home.

To learn more, visit mhs.net and connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

August 16 2021 – The American Medical Association (AMA) today announced the hiring of Sanjay Desai, M.D., as its new Chief Academic Officer and Group Vice President of Medical Education. Dr. Desai joins the AMA after serving most recently as Myron L. Weisfeldt Professor of Medicine, Director of the Osler Medical Residency, and Vice Chair for Education at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In these roles, Dr. Desai led the development of innovative programs, curricula, and research aimed at improving medical student and resident well-being, ensuring physicians-in-training are better prepared to navigate health systems, and enrolling more medical trainees from groups underrepresented in medicine.

“With his vast experience at the forefront of medical education innovation, Dr. Desai will be an excellent addition to the AMA team to help lead the next phase of our efforts to drive the future of medicine by reimagining medical education, training, and lifelong learning,” said James L. Madara, M.D., AMA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President. “We also thank Susan Skochelak, M.D., for dedicating more than a decade to the AMA. During her tenure, Dr. Skochelak created the AMA Accelerating Change in Medical Education initiative and guided nearly $40 million in partnership grants to develop innovations aimed at transforming medical education. Dr. Skochelak also led the creation of Health Systems Science as the new 3rd pillar of physician education, was the editor and author for two editions of the Health Systems Science textbook, and served as senior leader for the Council on Medical Education and Liaison Committee for Medical Education.”

“I am excited to join the AMA team and build on the efforts underway to ensure medical students, residents, and practicing physicians are equipped to provide the best care for patients in the rapidly-evolving health care environment, increase diversity in the physician workforce, and work on behalf of America’s physicians to improve the health of the nation,” said Sanjay Desai, M.D.

In addition to serving for more than a decade in a variety of medical education roles at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Desai simultaneously cared for patients as an attending physician in the medical ICU at the Johns Hopkins Hospital—most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to his work at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Desai served as Associate Program Director for both the Internal Medicine Residency Program and the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Georgetown University Washington Hospital Center.

Dr. Desai also served as a management consultant for several years before and during his medical training, an experience that helped him create a fellowship in health systems management, and a new medical student curriculum while at Johns Hopkins. The curriculum forms “consulting teams” of students who are tasked with solving problems across the health system.

Dr. Desai earned both a B.S. in bioengineering and economics from the University of Pennsylvania and earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Desai completed his residency, chief year, and a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Desai will join the AMA effective September 30.

August 13, 2021 – The C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics are encouraging individuals as young as age 12 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Health Care District of Palm Beach County’s Brumback Clinics have been rolling out three mobile clinics named Hero, Scout and Warrior that are crisscrossing the county to bring COVID-19 vaccinations to communities of need, areas with low vaccination rates, local events, colleges, businesses, and popular entertainment spots. In recognition of National Health Center Week 2021 (August 9-14), these Federally Qualified Health Centers continue the fight to achieve community immunity.

“Our mobile efforts are focused on making it easy and convenient for all who are eligible to get the shot and protect themselves, their families and the community against COVID-19,” said Belma Andric, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer for the Health Care District of Palm Beach County. “Our dedicated medical teams are also setting up at local businesses and organizations that request COVID-19 vaccinations for their staff and clients.”

This year’s National Health Center Week theme is: “The Chemistry for Strong Communities” to recognize the healthcare heroes at Community Health Centers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since December of 2020, the Health Care District and its Brumback Clinics have provided over 217,000 COVID-19 vaccinations in Palm Beach County. The Health Care District’s strategy of operating three mass vaccination sites this past winter shifted in the spring. As those sites closed, the mobile clinics hit the road, providing Pfizer vaccines to adults and children as young as 12 years of age with parental consent, as well as Johnson & Johnson vaccines to individuals 18 years and older.

In June, the mobile clinics set up at four School District of Palm Beach County sites across the county to provide daily access to the vaccinations for students and their families through the summer before the start of school. The Brumback Clinics, which are located in areas of need across Palm Beach County, also provide COVID-19 vaccinations to patients during regular doctors’ office visits at its nine C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinic sites.

The public can visit www.hcdpbc.org and click the blue COVID-19 Information Center button for the mobile clinic schedule. Local businesses and organizations interested in hosting free, COVID-19 vaccinations are invited to submit an online request form available at www.hcdpbc.org for review and approval. The Health Care District’s COVID-19 response is the result of a coordinated collaboration with Palm Beach County government, the Florida Department of Health for Palm Beach County, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel and the United Way.

The Brumback Clinics provide a medical home for some 40,000 adult and pediatric patients throughout Palm Beach County, regardless of whether or not they have insurance. To learn more about the Brumback Clinics, including hours and locations, call 561-642-1000 or visit www.BrumbackClinics.org.

About the Health Care District

The Health Care District of Palm Beach County provides primary medical care and dental services for adults and children at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics, a coordinated and lifesaving Trauma System that includes two FAA-certified Trauma Hawk air ambulances, registered nurses in nearly 170 public schools, short and long-term skilled nursing at the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach, and acute care at its teaching hospital, Lakeside Medical Center, which is accredited by The Joint Commission and serves the rural Glades’ communities.

About the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number H80CS25684 for Health Center Cluster in the award amount of $7,111,563. Of the total project, 81.9% is financed with nongovernmental sources. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. The C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics were granted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) deeming status effective January 1, 2021.