The Dade County Medical Association (DCMA) is extremely pleased to announce that Rudolph Moise, D.O., J.D., M.B.A., has been selected as the next President of the Dade County Medical Foundation. The Foundation is the charitable arm of the Dade County Medical Association and a vehicle for physician members of the organization to invest in community projects and initiatives. 

Dr. Moise is nearing the end of his term as President of the DCMA. The organization has invested significant resources in the community over recent years under the leadership of Dr. Barbara Montford, Dr. Antonio Mesa, and Dr. Moise. This included the creation of a Community Outreach Committee that has championed several programs including mental health and behavioral issue identification training for local police departments, STEM programs for local students, the Trayvon Martin Foundation, and access to personal protective equipment for physicians and others in need of supplies during the pandemic. 

The DCMA leadership is pursuing a significant expansion of the Foundation over the coming years and has requested Dr. Moise to step into the position as we launch several important initiatives. The DCMA and DCMA Foundation are partnering with the Miami-Dade Mayor’s office to establish additional community locations for the delivery of COVID vaccine to underserved populations. We are also finalizing a physician wellness program that is mirrored after several successful programs currently operated in other counties across the nation.
 
Under Dr. Moise’s leadership, the Foundation will provide a broader platform for physician members to continue to give back to the health and wellbeing of our community.


Following the just-convened state legislative session, pregnant women eligible for Medicaid can now keep that coverage for a full year post-partum. The measure passed as part of the state budget with bipartisan acknowledgement that new mothers’ health and reducing maternal morbidity and mortality depend, in part, on access to quality health care.

Florida’s hospitals wholeheartedly supported this proposal as it reflects their longstanding commitment to giving every baby the best start in life and every pregnant woman the best care she needs for a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
 
The causes of maternal morbidity and mortality are many and complex. In Florida, there were 28.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019, according to the Florida Department of Health. Tragically, many of these deaths are avoidable.
 
Florida’s hospitals are dedicated to doing all they can to reduce pregnancy risks and promote healthy deliveries.
 
One example of that commitment is their ongoing work with the Agency for Health Care Administration, Department of Health, and Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative to reduce C-section rates as part of the national Healthy People initiative. In March 2021, that work expanded with the launch of My Birth Matters Florida, a consumer- and health care provider-focused educational campaign on the risks of unnecessary C-sections and to promote vaginal deliveries when possible. The campaign, which is being championed by State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees, offers free educational materials and resources for parents and providers, including posters, brochures, videos, and social media messages.
 
While lifesaving in certain cases, medically unnecessary C-sections can pose serious health risks for women such as hemorrhage, uterine rupture, cardiac events, and increased postpartum readmissions; and for babies, complications include infection, respiratory issues, and longer hospital stays in the neonatal intensive care unit. Women who deliver via c-section for her first birth have a much greater chance of having a C-section for subsequent births, increasing their risk for major complications.
 
The national Healthy People 2030 initiative goal for C-section deliveries for low-risk females with no prior births is 23.6 percent.
 
Florida has been making strides to reduce its C-section rate. Between 2015 and 2019, the rate decreased nearly a full percentage point, from 37.3 percent to 36.5 percent. In late 2020, AHCA and DOH recognized 15 Florida hospitals for meeting or exceeding the Healthy People 2020 goal for C-section deliveries (23.9 percent). An additional 10 hospitals were given an honorable mention for being within 1 percent of meeting the target goal.
 
Just like raising a baby, it takes a village to address all of the factors that contribute to poor maternal health. Florida’s hospitals are committed to leading the way and to delivering a healthier beginning and a healthier future for moms and babies. They are doing their part to encourage women to talk with their physicians about avoiding C-sections when medically unnecessary. The My Birth Matters campaign is just one way Florida’s hospitals are making Florida the healthiest place for moms and babies.


In February, Drew Grossman, former CEO of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Blue Springs, MO, was named Chief Executive Officer of Fishermen’s Community Hospital and Mariners Hospital, both part of Baptist Health South Florida.

Grossman, who also previously served as CEO of Broward Health Coral Springs and Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital, was excited at the prospect of returning to Florida and joining the Baptist Health team.
 
“Baptist Health South Florida has always been ranked as one of the best companies to work for in the country, not just in the state of Florida, but in the country,” he says. “They are recognized by Forbes Magazine, not only as one the top 100 companies, but health care companies alone. When I worked at Broward Health, I was also well aware of its reputation. When this opportunity came about, I was at a point in my career where I thought why not go work for a great company like Baptist Health?”
 
Grossman earned a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Health Services Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC. After completing his administrative residency at Parkway Medical Center in North Miami Beach, Grossman moved to Southern California to serve as Assistant Administrator at Centinela Hospital Medical Center, an acute care hospital serving Los Angeles and the South Bay regions. He returned to Florida in 2002 serving in leadership positions at Cleveland Clinic in Weston and Parkway Medical Center in North Miami Beach. Grossman then joined Broward Health as CEO of Broward Health Coral Springs and Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital.
 
His leadership philosophy is simple: do everything right from start to finish.
 
“The moment a patient pulls up to your main entrance road, the place should look good," Grossman says. “Once you get through the registration process and are greeted by wonderful people, patients should feel special, so when they leave, they say, ‘that’s my hospital, that’s where I want to go.’ That’s the bottom line. If you don’t do it right from start to finish, and you have a mistake along the way, patients will remember the negative things.”
 
One of his first priorities is getting Fishermen’s Community Hospital open and operational by June 7. Fishermen’s, which has been caring for the Florida Keys since 1962, was closed in September 2017 when Hurricane Irma swept through the area. Within days, Baptist Health established a mobile field hospital and then a custom-designed modular hospital to ensure no interruption of care to the Middle Keys community.
 
“Our primary focus is on patient experience and quality care, because that will always separate you from the competition,” says Grossman. “In addition, we want to focus on building relationships with the staff and ensure we have fruitful conversations and periodic meetings with them.”
 
The hospital will be built to Category 5 Hurricane standards with emergency backup generators. The ground on which the hospital sits has also been raised to an elevation of more than 11 feet, which exceeds the building code requirements. The tilt-up walls of the structure are reinforced concrete, and the roof will also be concrete.
 
“All of the housing of the HVAC equipment, generators and chillers are compartmentalized,” says Grossman. “It’s within a housing area in the back part of the hospital so it’s not exposed to outside elements. The walls surrounding this area are also poured concrete.”
 
In the event of a loss of power, the building will be outfitted with dual emergency generators.
 
“We have enough fuel that can last for several days on generators and enough water to last until help arrives,” adds Grossman. “The hospital will be safe.”
 
The new hospital will include:
• 8 inpatient beds including two intensive care beds with 24/7 monitoring
• 9 Emergency Department beds
• 5 additional recovery beds
• 24/7 emergency services
• Advanced diagnostic and imaging services; inpatient and intensive care, rehabilitation, and laboratory services. Additional services, including oncology care, surgery and endoscopy, will be available at a later date.
• Patient support services including admitting, patient registration, kitchen and dining; a chapel; and an on-site helipad
 
“Most importantly, patients will continue to receive compassionate, quality care,” says Grossman. “Our staff has been great throughout the entire transition, going from tents to the modular facility they’ve been in the last few years. We are extremely proud and grateful to them for their resiliency and commitment to caring for this community.”


With many businesses and schools in the United States now open post COVID-19, employers are faced with new challenges to keep the workplace safe for their employees, customers and students.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science have received a two-year $698,801 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test the effectiveness of various types of personal protection measures against airborne viral transmission. Building on their prior research, the project will result in experimentally verified computational strategies for mitigating airborne transmission of aerosolized droplets for a safe workplace environment.
 
Researchers will test and quantify the effectiveness of various protective measures under new American Society for Testing Materials standards and best safety practices in the workplace. They will evaluate facemasks and other personal protection equipment; physical safety barriers; interior designs of spaces; air filters, humidifiers; safe seating arrangements in a classroom setting and queuing at checkouts, as well as other measures.
 
“Employers are considering various protective measures in the workplace such as facemasks, placing safety barriers in offices and at workstations, reviewing ventilation/air conditioning systems in buildings, redesigning interior spaces as well as arranging safe queuing procedures at checkouts and other high-density environments,” said Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D., principal investigator, chair of FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, and professor and director of SeaTech. “With this CDC grant, we will conduct experimental simulation studies that will result in observations and analyses in support of social distancing and other preventative measures for mitigating airborne transmission of viral infections, which will be of particular interest to businesses, schools and the general public.”


Opening a new medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) in Florida can be challenging. Yet the biggest obstacle that INSA faces, according to CEO and cofounder Peter Gallagher, is the amount of time it takes to get everything operational in order to provide patients with its high-quality product.

“We’re very excited to serve patients in the Florida market; in every market we’ve come into, we’ve quickly won the loyalty and patronage of customers,” he said of the company that already operates in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. “We’re very grateful for the opportunity to build our business out here and get it operational—the hardest part of getting the license is waiting the year it will take to do that.”
 
 As part of the state’s vertically integrated industry, INSA, named for two dominant strains (Indica and Sativa) of the plant, will soon be growing, manufacturing and selling medical cannabis to patients. The company acquired its license in December of 2020, and is operating out of a temporary facility in southern Florida. Construction was recently started on its permanent facility, which will include an indoor cultivation facility, processing lab, edible production area and affiliated support areas.
 
“We’re hoping to start growing later this year, and then start commercial sales early next year,” said Gallagher, adding that the company is currently scouting dispensary locations.
 
The company is very familiar with the vertical model, as Massachusetts’ original medical cannabis program was designed the same way. “Everything we grew, we had to sell out of our own dispensaries,” said Gallagher. “Over time, the state broke up the license types to allow for wholesaling in the medical and adult-use markets.”
 
Before being allowed to purchase its Florida license, the company had to go through all of the required background checks and share its policies and procedures. A variance had to be approved, noting the difference between what the original owner of the license and INSA planned to do, and everything had to be submitted to the state before the license could be transferred.
 
“The state and the Department of Health did their homework on us to make sure that we were capable of operating in Florida,” said Gallagher. “We’re now in the process of developing plans to operationalize production facilities in order to scale our business.”
 
INSA plans to manufacture all of its own products from flowers to edibles and will launch retail locations once the inventory is ready. “We haven’t finalized things from a retail perspective, as we’re still dependent on how construction rolls out,” said Gallagher. “We want to open up with a full selection of products, and we don’t want to open more stores than we can successfully supply.”
 
Known for its high-quality products developed from cultivars with unique cannabinoid and terpene profiles, Gallagher says that the company is excited to introduce Floridians to something new.
 
“We have one of the best chocolatiers in the country making our confections, which include a number of unique flavors that we’re starting to roll out now,” he said. “We differentiate ourselves by the quality of our products and services, which includes allowing patients to spend as much time as they need to learn about our products and how different strains will affect them.
 
“For some, the store experience can be intimidating and purchasing products is high-pressure when it shouldn’t be,” he added, noting that customers don’t feel comfortable asking questions when there are lines of people behind them. “We strive to create a place where there is a lot less pressure on patients, and where they can find an ample variety of the highest quality products on the menu.”