Quantum Foundation to accept submissions through July 30 for 11th annual Quantum in the Community 
 
May 20 2021 – This year marks the 11th annual Quantum in the Community (QIC) initiative to help local nonprofits working toward a healthier Palm Beach County by meeting the basic needs of residents through food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and more. Starting on June 7, Quantum Foundation will be accepting applications for grassroots nonprofits in Palm Beach County to receive their share of $1 million. Included in this year’s awards is a new Marie Thorpe Above and Beyond Award to be presented to an individual. The deadline for applications is July 30.
 
 
To acknowledge the incredible service and sacrifice of so many working to improve Palm Beach County, Quantum Foundation will celebrate a local everyday hero with the 2nd annual Marie Thorpe Above and Beyond Award in memory of staff member Marie Thorpe who served Quantum Foundation for 22 years. The $2,500 award will be presented at the annual QIC breakfast celebration to an individual for their selfless services that go beyond the call of duty as well as their supporting organization. The individual will receive $2500 as will their organization for a total of $5000.
 
Quantum leaders say the past year has exposed longstanding health inequities as well as the impacts of social determinants of health, especially for grassroots nonprofits. “Health is not simply the absence of illness; it is a positive state of physical and mental well-being,” said Eric Kelly, president of Quantum Foundation. “Our Quantum in the Community program has been addressing the needs of disinvested communities for 11 years. Those communities need us now, more than ever, to continue providing basic needs. Health equity is our way forward.”
 
A committee of Quantum Foundation staff and board members will carefully consider each application. Strict criteria are set up for those nonprofits applying:
•Organization must be registered as a 501(c)(3).
•Organization must have been working in Palm Beach County for at least six months.
•Annual operating budget may not exceed $500,000.
•Organization must provide basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, utilities, or transportation to the county’s most vulnerable residents.
 
Quantum Foundation is a health foundation that was formed from $135 million in proceeds from the sale of JFK Medical Center. Now in its third decade of community investment, the foundation has assets of approximately $170 million. Since its inception, Quantum Foundation has awarded $150 million to hundreds of Palm Beach County nonprofit grantees. Every dollar the foundation grants stays in the county to benefit local communities. 
 
To learn more about Quantum in the Community, visit the Quantum Foundation website at www.quantumfnd.org. All applications must be submitted using the foundation’s online system by the July 30 deadline. For general information about Quantum Foundation, or to learn about applying for grants, please visit www.quantumfnd.org or call 561-832-7497. 
 


May 19, 2021 – OpusCare of Florida broke ground on Miami-Dade County’s first free-standing 13 bed inpatient hospice unit on May 19, 2021. The new facility will be located at 9730 E. Fern Street in the Village of Palmetto Bay. 
 
 
Rendering of OpusCare of Florida’s new freestanding inpatient unit 
 
The new facility will help meet the needs of current and future OpusCare patients by improving the delivery of hospice care services. The facility will provide a home-like setting where patients and their families will be able to have privacy and access to supportive care from OpusCare’s hospice specialized staff. 
 
The oasis-style unit will be complete with 13 private suites, state-of-the-art technology, a meditation garden, chapel, and dedicated areas for counseling, spiritual, and bereavement services that are not easy nor ideal to provide in a hospital setting. 
 
“In September of 2017, we began our search for an ideal location for our freestanding hospice unit to better serve South Florida’s aging population,” said Dr. Ismael Roque-Velasco, President of CEO of OpusCare of Florida. “Today, as we break ground on this location that has been years in the making, we are pleased to know that this contemporary and state-of-the-art facility will provide hospice and palliative care to patients facing end-of-life in a comfortable environment outside of a hospital setting, as well as respite care and support for their families.” 
 
A freestanding hospice inpatient unit in Miami-Dade County would allow for OpusCare to extend and further enhance the quality and continuity of care that they currently provide. OpusCare’s specialized services, innovative facility, and qualified staffing will allow patients and their families to have an alternate, independent choice with the patient’s best interest in mind.
 
After careful consideration, OpusCare selected the Village of Palmetto Bay as the optimal location for the freestanding inpatient unit and for expansion of the company’s footprint in South Florida.  As OpusCare continues to anticipate the growing demand for hospice care in Miami-Dade County, this unit proactively prepares to meet those needs and demand. 
 
The groundbreaking ceremony was hosted by Dr. Roque-Velasco and OpusCare’s leadership team.
 
“As the fastest growing hospice and palliative care organization in South Florida, this new facility allows us to continue to expand our footprint across our community,” said Nicolas Roque, Administrator and Chief Compliance Officer for OpusCare, who has been intimately involved in overseeing the entire application process for this new facility. 
 
Candela and Partners are the architects for the new freestanding facility and CamCon is the general contractor. 
 
OpusCare of Florida has been serving the Miami-Dade community since 1991 and has three other locations in Texas including facilities in San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and the Rio Grande Valley. 
 
For more information about OpusCare of Florida visit opuscare.org/south-florida.
 


Strengthen Partnership During Challenging Covid Year
 
Miramar Park of Commerce donates 50,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space for PPE storage and extra parking for logistics and vaccine roll-out support during the pandemic
 
 
May 19, 2021 –  Miramar Park of Commerce, the largest locally owned and managed business park in South Florida, donated 50,000 sq. ft. in temporary space and additional parking to Memorial Healthcare System in an effort to help them meet logistical needs experienced during the height of the pandemic and through the vaccine roll-out. The Park has become a prominent hub of healthcare related companies with Memorial Healthcare most recently renewing its lease for 44,832 sq. ft. of IT flex-office space. That’s part of the more than 200,000 sq. ft. of space Memorial Healthcare leases in the Park. 
 
“As they rolled out the vaccine, Memorial Healthcare required double the amount of parking at its site in the park, which we were able to accommodate,” said Sunbeam Properties Vice President Maridee Bell, who along with Leasing Director Lauren Pace, represents the Park in all leasing transactions. “We were flexible with the parking and were happy to meet additional space requirements for PPE and other supplies at no cost. We always focus on tenant needs, but the pandemic brought it to a new level. We need to help each other during this time. We are all in this together.”
 
Memorial Healthcare System, one of the largest public healthcare systems in the U.S. and a national leader in quality care and patient, physician and employee satisfaction, has a strong presence in the Park with facilities for administration, training, pharmaceutical, IT and pathology. Excel Construction of Florida has been the general contractor for all Memorial Healthcare space in the Miramar Park of Commerce. 
 
“Miramar Park of Commerce is a valuable partner to Memorial Healthcare System, offering us the flexibility and space we need to continue to grow our presence,” said David Schlemmer, Vice President of Construction & Property Management, Memorial Healthcare System. “We appreciate how they jumped right in to meet our requests and address concerns as they have arisen, especially with the expansion of many of our services and our staff during COVID-19.”
 
The system’s major hospitals include Memorial Regional Hospital, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Memorial Regional Hospital South, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Hospital Pembroke, and Memorial Hospital Miramar. Bob Banks of R.W. Banks Real Estate represented Memorial Healthcare System in the transaction. 
 
In addition to Memorial Healthcare System, other notable healthcare related tenants in the Miramar Park of Commerce include Humana, Quest Diagnostics, Vitas Healthcare, HCA, Apria Healthcare, TEVA Pharmaceuticals, Codman – a division of Johnson and Johnson and Central Admixture Pharmacy Services – a division of B. Braun and Convey Health Solutions. 
 
“A well-established healthcare hub for more than two decades, the Park has attracted and retains high-profile healthcare and biotech tenants who benefit from our reasonable rates and our central location, which provides them with easy access to Florida’s Turnpike, I-75, I-595 and all South Florida airports and seaports,” noted Bell. 
 
 
 
About Miramar Park of Commerce
Since breaking ground in 1984, Sunbeam has developed the Miramar Park of Commerce into the largest locally owned and managed Business Park in South Florida, with over five million square feet of office/service, laboratory, pharmacy, light manufacturing and distribution space. The world class Park is home to more than 10,000 employees from more than 180 national and international companies including Siemens, Spirit Airlines, Tommy Hilfiger, Neiman Marcus, Humana, Quest Diagnostics, Toyota, Vitas Healthcare, Stanley Black & Decker, Pepperidge Farm, HEICO Corporation and Nissan. Flex/office space, corporate build-to-suits as well as a limited number of second-generation spaces are available in the Park. For more information, contact Lauren Pace (lpace@wsvn.com) or Maridee Bell (mbell@wsvn.com) at 10212 USA Today Way, Miramar, FL 33025 or call 954-450-7900
 


May 20 2021 – As Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital expands to meet the needs of its community, donations from South Florida-based Jewish organizations will ensure a kosher family lounge and kitchen will be part of the pediatric facility’s future. The philanthropic contributions are part of the “Catch the Love” fundraising campaign that will underwrite a substantial portion of the estimated $170 million cost to expand the children’s hospital, where construction is currently underway. 

 
The Jewish Federation of Broward County, Dorit and Ben J. Genet, and Healing Hearts have combined to contribute $350,000 to create and name the kosher family lounge and kitchen that will be located on the 8th floor of the children’s hospital. It will feature food prep and storage space plus areas to relax and pray. “The Jewish Federation is excited to partner with Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation to establish a place for the families of children under the medical care of JDCH. We support the important work that the hospital is doing to care for the needs of the children and join them in supporting the families,” said Bob Schneider, Jewish Federation board chair.
 
While patients who keep kosher have always been able to get meals that meet their dietary needs, the same hasn’t always been true for families that are sometimes at the hospital for extended periods of time. “The kosher lounge will be a healing space for a parent that just needs a breather while caring for a child that has been admitted to Joe DiMaggio,” said Rabbi Yochanon Klein, founder of Healing Hearts. 
 
The lounge will be part of an eighth-floor expansion that will also include recreation space created with the hospital’s “Power of Play” theme in mind. 
 
“Adding the kosher family lounge is in keeping with our mission to heal the body, mind and spirit of those we touch,” said Kevin Janser, senior vice president and chief development officer for Memorial Healthcare System. “It will provide a much-needed respite for those connected to the many observant Jewish patients treated each year at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.” 
 
The Hollywood-based facility serves children and families in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, home region to one of the country’s largest Jewish populations. In a recent two-year period, it is estimated that as many as 7,000 patients who identified themselves as Jewish were treated at the children’s hospital.  
 
Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital is one of the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals, offering a comprehensive scope of healthcare services and programs in a caring, compassionate setting designed specifically for children. A level one trauma center, it combines advanced technology, the expertise of board-certified specialists, and a patient and family-centered approach to heal the body, mind, and spirit of those it touches. 
 
The hospital’s nonprofit foundation focuses on philanthropy to positively impact patients, families, and underwrite programs, facilities, and equipment that support the pediatric facility’s mission.  
 
To learn more about Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, visit jdch.com and connect with @jdchospital on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.   
 


May 20, 2021- JFK Medical Center North Campus is committed to improving the orthopedic patient experience for patients in Palm Beach County.   The hospital is offering enhanced joint replacement surgery options using robotic technology, which is transforming the way total knee, partial knee and total hip replacements are being performed. The innovative, surgeon controlled robotic arm system aids in the accurate alignment and positioning of hip and knee implants. 
 
 
This month, JFK Medical Center North campus began performing joint replacement surgery using the Mako robot, which allows surgeons to perform a more customized joint replacement surgery.  “The 3D CT allows me to create a personalized surgical plan based on each patient’s unique anatomy,” said Dr. Lyall Ashberg, Orthopedic Surgeon at JFK Medical Center North Campus. “During surgery, I can validate the plan and make any necessary adjustments. This allows me to execute the procedure with the highest degree of precision and accuracy.” These minimally invasive procedures may allow for a faster recovery than traditional joint replacement procedures. Dr. Ashberg performed the hospitals first joint replacement procedure at JFK North utilizing the robotic-arm on Monday, May 17. 
 
Earlier this month, the hospital partnered with Palm Beach County Schools to encourage students to participate in their “Name the Robot” contest. Over 80 submissions were received and the surgical services team selected, Apollo which was submitted by Veronica Hernandez, a student in the Pre-Medical Academy at Woodlands Middle School in Lake Worth.  Veronica learned she was the winner during the hospital’s Robot Name Reveal party that was streamed live on Facebook.  Veronica choose Apollo, because he was the God of healing.  
 
“It’s exciting to be able to offer this transformative technology to our patients,” said JFK Medical Center North Campus, Chief Executive Officer, Ashley Vertuno.  “This addition to our orthopedic program further demonstrates our commitment to provide the community with outstanding healthcare.”
 
 
About JFK Medical Center North Campus
JFK North is a 280-bed acute care facility with over 40 years of experience providing high quality care to our communities. Our specialty trained and compassionate staff utilize leading-edge technology to offer patients superior outcomes, less pain and improved recovery times. Services include; 24-hour Emergency Department, Advanced Primary Certified Stroke Center, Orthopedic Institute, Critical Care Unit, Interventional Vascular Suite, Inpatient Diabetes Care, State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Imaging, Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, Center for Pain Care and a full spectrum of surgical services. As the largest provider of behavioral health services in Palm Beach County, JFK North offers a full continuum of prevention, treatment and support to address mental health and wellness for children, adolescents, adults and seniors.
 
JFK North Campus is a facility of HCA East Florida. HCA East Florida is the largest healthcare system in Eastern Florida and an affiliate of HCA Healthcare (HCA). HCA East Florida has 14 hospitals, multiple ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, physician practices, and free standing emergency care facilities, as well as a supply chain center and an integrated regional lab. Together, HCA East Florida employs more than 18,000 employees and has more than 6,600 physicians on staff. For more information, visit HCAEastFlorida.com.
 
HCA EAST FLORIDA
Aventura Hospital and Medical Center + Highlands Regional Medical Center + JFK Medical Center +
 JFK Medical Center North Campus + Kendall Regional Medical Center + Lawnwood Regional Medical Center + 
Mercy Hospital + Northwest Medical Center + Palms West Hospital + Plantation General Hospital + Raulerson Hospital + St. Lucie Medical Center + University Hospital & Medical Center + Westside Regional Medical Center