March 25 2021 – March is National Drug and Alcohol Awareness Month. Physicians can help provide guidance and resources to manage substance usage
 
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 40% of the population reports that the pandemic has negatively affected their mental well-being. The CDC says that approximately 13% of adults living in the United States either began to use substances or increased their use of substances during the pandemic.
“If you or a loved one are struggling with substance abuse, know that treatment options are available, and people do recover,” said Scott Walker, M.D., MPH, a psychiatrist with Broward Health Physician Group. “The journey to recovery can take many forms and may include individual counseling, support groups, and even medications to assist with cravings.”   
 
The first step is identifying the problem.  “Oftentimes, friends and family members can assist with this by speaking in an open and non-judgmental manner,” Dr. Walker added.  
 
Once you or your loved one are ready to take the next step, help is available. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a 24-hour helpline that can connect you to local care that meets your needs (1-800-662-HELP). Other options include speaking with your physician about your substance use or attending a virtual support meeting through a community-based organization such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. In cases of an emergency, call 911 immediately.
 
To learn more about the behavioral health services available at Broward Health, visit BrowardHealth.org/Services/Behavioral-Health. To find a physician, please visit BrowardHealth.org/Find-Doctor.
 
 
 
Broward Health, providing service for more than 80 years, is a nationally recognized system in South Florida that offers world-class healthcare to all. The Broward Health system includes the statutory teaching hospital Broward Health Medical Center, Broward Health North, Broward Health Imperial Point, Broward Health Coral Springs, Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital, Broward Health Weston, Broward Health Community Health Services, Broward Health Physician Group, Broward Health Urgent Care, Broward Health International, and Broward Health Foundation. For more information, visit BrowardHealth.org.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


March 24 2021 – The Heart Program at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is changing its name to the Heart Institute, a name that conveys its commitment and dedication to offering the next level of clinical care to children and families everywhere.
 
The transition to the new name, including a new logo, will begin during this month of March 2021.
 
"The Heart Institute name better captures our comprehensive range of state-of-the-art services and procedures, and supports our ongoing research goals to further the future of pediatric cardiovascular care for the patients we serve," said Dr. Lourdes Prieto, Interim Director of Cardiology for the Heart Institute.
 
"The Heart Institute at Nicklaus Children’s has a longstanding history of providing world-renowned, lifesaving and compassionate care to children with congenital heart defects and heart disease. We look forward to furthering our commitment to patients and their families through continued innovation and leadership," said Dr. Redmond Burke, Director of Cardiovascular Surgery for the Heart Institute.
 
The Heart Institute offers the most innovative, least invasive approaches in pediatric cardiology and cardiovascular surgery for the treatment of congenital heart disease. Many first-in-the-world procedures used around the world today were pioneered by the institute’s renowned pediatric cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons. The Heart Institute offers outpatient appointments in locations throughout South Florida spanning from Miami-Dade County to northern Palm Beach County.
 
For more information visit nicklauschildrens.org/Heart
 
 
 
About Nicklaus Children’s Hospital
Founded in 1950 by Variety Clubs International, Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is South Florida’s only licensed specialty hospital exclusively for children, with nearly 800 attending physicians and more than 475 pediatric subspecialists. The 309-bed hospital, known as Miami Children’s Hospital from 1983 through 2014, is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine with many specialty programs routinely ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. The hospital is also home to the largest pediatric teaching program in the southeastern United States and has been designated an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet facility, the nursing profession’s most prestigious institutional honor. For more information, please visit www.nicklauschildrens.org.


March 24, 2021 – Eight new family medicine residents will begin their training at Lee Health through The Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program. 
 
The first-year residents were announced at the annual Match Day celebration on Friday, March 19. The new residents include:
 
•Sandy Bolis, DO, Edward via College of Osteopathic Medicine
•Jessica Byas, MD, St. George’s University SOM
•Danielle Ferra, DO, Edward via College of Osteopathic Medicine
•Laura Hart, DO, Edward via College of Osteopathic Medicine
•Deliabell Hernandez, MD, Wayne State University SOM
•Nicole Jimenez, MD, Florida State University COM
•Stacy Stephen, MD, Government Medical College Kottayam
•Audrey Wagner, MD, University of Missouri-Columbia SOM
 
The residency program, based at Lee Memorial Hospital with The Florida State University College of Medicine as its institutional sponsor, accepts eight new doctors each year for a three-year residency. Medical school graduates are required to complete residency training in their specialty of choice to become independently practicing physicians.
 
These new resident physicians were selected after a rigorous vetting and interview process of the more than 1,500 applications received from U.S. medical students and physicians from around the world for the 8 available positions.
 
“We are very proud of the strong interest in our program as proven by the number of applications received,” said Alfred Gitu, M.D., Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Health. We’ve matched with eight outstanding candidates this year as our program continues to grow with residents who are dedicated, compassionate and academically accomplished. “
 
The National Resident Matching Program announced 2020 as its largest residency matching program ever with a 2.7% increase in matches over the previous year. This year was also unique in that all interviews nationwide were conducted virtually due travel restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
 
Lee Health launched the residency program in 2012 to address the shortage of primary care physicians in Southwest Florida.
 
About 60 percent of family medicine residents practice medicine in the same area where they undergo training. Of the 32 Lee Health program graduates, 19 (59 percent) have chosen to remain in Southwest Florida to practice.
 
 
 
 
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.
 
 
 
 
 


Serving children and families in the hospital and through five outpatient
centers in Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coral Springs and Wellington
 
March 23, 2021 – Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital names Dr. Dennis A. Hart, pediatric physiatrist, Chief of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In this role, Dr. Hart will be responsible for the care of patients with developmental disabilities or patients recovering from neurological or orthopedic injuries such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, peripheral nerve injury, spasticity and other conditions that require rehabilitation. In addition, he will lead the Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, where he is growing a multidisciplinary team of pediatric experts to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for all children.
 
“My ultimate goal is to help children lead happier lives by working toward meaningful milestones that will improve their quality of life,” said Dr. Dennis Hart. “I was compelled to take on this role at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, because our philosophies on compassionate care were so aligned.”
 
Throughout Dr. Hart’s career and training, he provided general pediatric rehabilitation services as well as specialized treatment of children with chronic pain and developmental disabilities, who often have complex challenges that can be difficult to treat. Dr. Hart says he is able to blend his expertise in pain management with physical medicine to help them improve their function, feel better, and be able to resume the activities and hobbies they love.
 
Additionally, Dr. Hart was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to serve on the board of directors for the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council. His clinical research interests include pediatric pain management; function outcomes in children and adolescents with chronic pain; evaluating the relationship between mental health and chronic pain; and the etiology and treatment of chronic widespread pain in patients with small fiber neuropathy, dysautonomia, postural orthostatic tachycardia and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
 
Before joining Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Dr. Hart served as the medical director of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine and the developmental behavioral pediatric rotation director at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. A medical graduate from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Austin, Dr. Hart also holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, and completed his fellowship in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of California, Davis and Shriner’s Hospital.
 
“Dr. Hart is an excellent addition to our team. His deep experience combined with his dedication to compassionate family-centered care, will make him a strong leader as he expands our pediatric rehabilitation services at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital throughout the tri-county area,” said Caitlin Stella, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Pediatric Administrator, Memorial Healthcare System.
 
For more information about Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Rehabilitation Center, visit https://www.jdch.com/services/rehabilitation.
 
About Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital 
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is one of South Florida’s leading pediatric hospitals, offering a comprehensive scope of healthcare services and programs in a caring, compassionate setting designed specifically for children.  Part of the Memorial Healthcare System, the level one pediatric trauma center combines advanced technology, the expertise of some of the region’s most diverse, board-certified specialists, and a patient and family-centered focus to heal the body, mind, and spirit of those it touches. To learn more, visit jdch.com and connect with @jdchospital on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and  Instagram.


 
March 23, 2021 – On April 2, the Alzheimer’s Association will continue its virtual “Ask the Expert” series with “Seeing the Brain Through the Eyes,” a free program that will explore how ophthalmology could hold the key to unlocking earlier detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
 
On hand to address this topic will be Dr. Delia Cabrera DeBuc, a research associate professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute who specializes in medical image processing and imaging biomarker development.
 
“Provided the eye is a window to the body’s health and that the retina may serve as a window to the brain, the retinal signatures may serve as a marker of Alzheimer’s disease,” DeBuc explained. “Therefore, a low-cost and noninvasive assessment of Alzheimer’s disease through the eye could facilitate risk detection and/or very early ascertainment of cognitive decline.”
 
The program will also include a presentation from Alzheimer’s Community Educator Aja Scott on the “10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s,” as well as an update from Alzheimer’s Association Senior Program Manager Stefanie Wardlow on the status of Alzheimer’s and dementia research in general.
“We are experiencing a new scientific revolution – the biomarker revolution,” Wardlow said. “Biomarkers are helping us to modernize the diagnostic process. We have brain scans that can help detect Alzheimer’s, but these can be expensive and hard to get, so scientists continue to research new kinds of biomarkers that will be lower in cost, noninvasive and reliable markers of disease. Tools are being developed to support measurement of factors in cerebrospinal fluid, blood, saliva and, as we will hear from Dr. DeBuc, eye tests.”
 
“Ask the Expert: Seeing the Brain Through the Eyes” will begin at 2 p.m. EDT on April 2. A Spanish version of the program will also be offered at 2 p.m. EDT on April 23. Those interested in attending either program may register by calling the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 Helpline at (800) 272-3900. Online registration is also available at http://bit.ly/SeeingTheBrain (English) or at http://bit.ly/ViendoElCerebro (Spanish).
 
 
Alzheimer’s Association®
The Alzheimer’s Association is a worldwide voluntary health organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia – by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. Visit alz.org or call (800) 272-3900.