Sofia Mendez Rodriguez, IIDA, NCIDQ, has joined LEO A DALY’s Miami studio as Interior Designer. Mendez brings 6 years’ experience working on a variety of projects, with a focus on improving the user’s wellbeing through sustainability and design.  

Mendez will be working closely with LEO A DALY’s Miami Managing Principal, Eduardo S. Egea, AIA, NCARB by advising like-minded clients in aviation, public safety, commercial and healthcare design.
 
Mendez and her team are currently working on several public safety and hospitality renovation and expansion projects, which includes the City of Miami Beach’s Police Headquarters and Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club in Anguilla.
 
Mendez is a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Women in Healthcare, is a LEED Accredited Professional and holds her licensing from the National Council for Interior Design Qualification (NCIDQ). She has been an active volunteer in organizations such as Project HOME and her design work and thought leadership have been featured in MODO DE VIDA.
 


Michelle Cartwright
Chief Financial Officer
 
Michelle Cartwright serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Palm Beach Health Network and Delray Medical Center. In her role, Cartwright is responsible for overseeing the financial operations for Delray Medical Center and the other Palm Beach Health Network hospitals, including Good Samaritan Medical Center, Palm Beach Children’s Hospital, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, St. Mary’s Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. Cartwright has held financial leadership positions at St. Mary’s Medical Center & Palm Beach Children’s Hospital for more than a decade. Prior to being named CFO, she was a senior accountant, and then promoted to the role of assistant controller. Cartwright was later promoted to controller, and then to the CFO position at the hospital. She has helped lead growth initiatives for the highly acute and specialized services the hospitals offer. Cartwright received her Bachelor’s Degree from Palm Beach Atlantic University, and went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Accounting from Nova Southeastern University, and is a licensed Florida CPA . 


It’s been quite a ride through this pandemic, and yet much about life with COVID-19 in our midst remains to be explored. Every day, I answer questions posed by my patients and their parents regarding the virus that has affected our lives such as these below.

Q. Who needs a booster and when is the best time to receive it?
A. Pharmaceutical companies are researching booster shots and they may be available later this year. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently commented that the research to date supports the need for a booster somewhere between eight and 12 months. Another of the leading manufacturers, Moderna, is studying three potential boosters: a one-time, lower-dose shot that targets the original coronavirus; a shot that specifically attacks the B.1.351 (South African) and P.1 (Brazilian) variants; and a third, also a lower-dose combination of the two (original and variant boosters). A booster that works on the Delta variant is likely to be developed also. Moderna is working with the FDA to see if people who received another brand of vaccine can get a booster by Moderna safely. This would make it logistically easier for everyone if we can prove that mixing and matching of different vaccines is safe and as effective.
 
Q. Do you recommend that people wear masks to walk into a restaurant, even though most of us take it off at the table?
A. This question doesn’t have an easy, logical answer but illustrates the difficulty that we in the public health community have when making recommendations. We all know that if you are indoors and in close proximity to others without masks, there is a higher chance of spreading or contracting COVID-19. At the same time, you can’t eat or drink with a mask on. A compromise chosen by most restaurants is to ask patrons to wear their masks until they reach their tables and when they get up again to use the restroom or for any other reason. It’s not any ‘safer’ to be in a restaurant/bar within six feet of another person without a mask than it is anywhere else. I tell patients that it is still important to take precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitizer when in public. Otherwise, we would allow COVID-19 to continue to spread and mutate.
 
Q. I’m about to deliver my second child. Should I limit visitors? Should my older child, who is four, wear a mask around the baby?
A. Newborns can have visitors, but with precautions. I do recommend that parents consider limiting the number of visitors the baby is in close contact with, which was also true before the pandemic. Babies are unprotected when they are separated from the placenta, so I recommend that households with an infant limit their exposure to people outside of the household for the first two to three months. Your older child and visitors should wear a mask around the baby. These precautions will help you avoid all the common viruses, not just COVID-19. The flu, RSV and rotavirus are dangerous for infants.


June 28, 2021 – Leah A. Carpenter, FACHE, a nurse and longtime healthcare administrator, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer at Memorial Healthcare System. In her new role, Ms. Carpenter will oversee operations at all six Memorial hospitals, including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, and major service lines, such as oncology, neurosciences, behavioral health, rehabilitation, global health, laboratory and pharmacy services.
 
Most recently, Ms. Carpenter had been CEO at Memorial Hospital West, a position she previously held at Memorial Hospital Miramar and Memorial Hospital Pembroke. In all, she has spent nearly two decades in a variety of leadership roles within Memorial and 34 years overall in the healthcare industry. 
 
“With an unparalleled knowledge of healthcare systems and operations, Leah is exceptionally qualified to take on these new responsibilities,” said Aurelio M. Fernandez, III, FACHE, president and CEO, Memorial Healthcare System. “As a nurse, she possesses a deep understanding of Memorial’s focus on patient and family-centered care and has been intimately involved with the clinical side of healthcare.” 
 
At Memorial Hospital West, Ms. Carpenter oversaw one of the region’s busiest hospitals and, during the height of the pandemic, one of the highest COVID-19 patient volumes in the state. It was during this time the CEO traded her suit for scrubs and assisted nurses on the front lines of care, strengthening the collaborative bonds between the hospital’s administrative and clinical teams. “My background and experiences have enabled me to form critical relationships throughout the healthcare system, understand opportunities, communicate goals, and motivate individuals to work toward a common agenda. The perspective I bring to the COO position will ensure stability as Memorial continues to grow and become a destination for all levels of care,” said Ms. Carpenter. 
 
A native of Newark and dual graduate of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Ms. Carpenter is a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives and holds memberships in the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the National Honor Society for Public Administrators. She has received local and national recognition for leadership, patient safety, quality, service excellence, and a commitment to community, where the Miramar resident and mother is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations. 
 
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. 
 


Introducing Volume 18 Ÿ Issue 1

In case we haven’t spoken lately or mentioned it, here’s a great big Thank You!
 
This July 2021, Carol and I celebrate the 18th anniversary of South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report/Cannabis News Florida and although there have been days, especially in the last year, I’ve thought twice about our longevity, we’re here to stay! We’ve all had an incredibly tough year. But I can’t tell you how much we appreciate your editorial submissions, story ideas, Zoom participation and, because we both have this annoying penchant for eating, your print and online advertising support.
 
But on a sadder note, I must report that a special member of the Felix team is no longer with us … our very special Goldendoodle Gabby passed last month at the good old age of 15 years and 19 days. For us, she was the perfect companion, almost hypoallergenic, still ringing her Poochie Bells to go outside even after 15 years, and always happy to crawl into bed early, just like Carol and me. We even went so far as to cut off the legs on our bed, just to make it easier for her as she aged. She loyally spent the last 15 years in a series of comfortable beds right next to Carol’s desk, making sure we both did our utmost for the region’s healthcare community.
 
But, getting back to why you’re reading this. I hope you think your confidence in, and support of our publication has been well placed. We strive daily to provide information and ideas of interest to all. And if we fall short, I hope you always feel comfortable enough to let us know. Carol and I also would like to take this opportunity to thank some pivotal people – Nancy Carroll Lammie and Judy Gramm – who have been with us from the beginning. They’re the best and I hope they know how much we appreciate them.
 
So, keep on reading us and patronizing our advertisers – the people who enable us to produce South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report and Cannabis News Florida. And if you ever have an idea, a question, or something we can assist with, remember, we’re only a phone call away. And now if we’re all careful, we can even meet in person for coffee or lunch!