The Ritter Fountain in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Rolland A. Ritter, residents of St. Andrews Estates North, an ACTS Retirement-Life Community located in Boca Raton, was recently dedicated. Pictured (l-r) Nestor Ortiz, President of Resident Board; Thomas Sliney, President, R.A. Ritter Foundation; Boca Raton Mayor Susan Whelchel; Lisa Sliney, Executive Director, St. Andrews Estates North; Elsie Norton, Sr. V.P. Quality Care ACTS Regional; and Charles Coxson, III, ACTS Regional VP Operations



Medical Director Dr. Michael Graubert is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Rafael Cabrera to the Palmetto Fertility Center medical team.

Prior to joining Palmetto Fertility Center, Dr. Cabrera was Medical Director of Houston IVF, a sister clinic of The Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine. He also served as Acting Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at The Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Cabrera has over thirteen years of experience in instruction, teaching medical students, residents, and fellows.



The Healthcare Team at University Hospital and Medical Center, in Tamarac recognized there was a need for an operational change in the Hospital that reflected the true purpose to their community – service! As a result the team at University Hospital and Medical Center implemented a direct admit program to assist physicians with a fast track process to quickly provide care for their patients and community.

The “One Call Program” was implemented for physicians in response to the need for a streamlined admissions process; also known as One Number, One Call, One Answer, Always yes!

(l-r) Tara DeWaal, Viridia Calderon, and Vanessa Anderson, registered nurses in the Observation Unit.

Upon the patient’s arrival at the Emergency Department or Outpatient entrance, they are greeted by name and placed in a wheelchair with the ID band placed on the patient’s wrist. The patient is then delivered to their pre-assigned room where they are greeted by their assigned nurse. The patient is then registered at bed side which allows the physician’s orders be carried out immediately. This process allows the patient to experience an expedited admission eliminating the overwhelming feeling of going to a vast system of unknowns.

Additionally, a similar process was created in the Imaging Department to allow physicians to call one number 24 hours a day to schedule their procedures with a person versus a standard answering message and accept patient walk-ins for the same day.

The team at University Hospital and Medical Center clearly recognized the need for an organizational shift, and these changes have now resulted in a patient centered program that has created very satisfied patients and physicians.



Cyndi Shamy, R.N., recently joined the team at University Hospital and Medical Center as the Director of Perioperative Services. After graduating with a B.S. in Nursing from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, TN, Cyndi started working as a Scrub Nurse gaining experience in Cardiology, Neurology, and Orthopedics. Her dedication and professionalism then led her to manage the daily operations for an Operating Room in Central Florida and then as an Administrative Director of Surgical Services in Palm Beach County. Patricia Conklin, R.N., M.S.N., joined the team at University Hospital and Medical Center in June as the Education, Infection Control and Employee Health Coordinator. Patricia brings extensive knowledge and expertise to the team at University in hospital education, development, delivery, and evaluating training programs. Her career started as a staff nurse in the CVICU, a Staff Educator, and the Cardiac Service Coordinator at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. In her most recent role, Patricia was a Director of Education and Resources. She recently acted as chairperson of the Clinical Assessment Review Team and the American Heart Associations’ Course Coordinator for BLS, PALS, ACLS and Regional Faculty for ACLS/BLS.



St. Mary’s Medical Center continues to expand its patient services with the opening of the Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute at the Joint Preservation and Bone Reconstruction Center in June. This center, adjacent to the hospital, includes operating rooms, physician offices and a physical therapy center. Heading up the Institute is Dror Paley, M.D., a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Paley is nationally and internationally recognized for his expertise in deformity correction and limb lengthening in both children and adults. These conditions include congenital limb deformities, post-traumatic limb conditions, bone healing problems, bone defects, skeletal dysplasias, metabolic disorders, foot deformities, peripheral nerve disorders and other miscellaneous developmental deformities. Dr. Paley has dedicated more than 22 years to improving the lives of patients with limb disorders.

The new technology at the Paley Advanced Limb Lengthening Institute is essential for the creation of new procedures and methods. The limb lengthening process works by using the body’s natural tendency to heal itself over time. For example, for a leg lengthening procedure, a patient’s shin and femur bones are broken and carefully set with pins and braces that allow the bones to be slowed pulled apart – approximately 1 mm each day. As time progresses, the body generates new bone and tissues as they’re pulled farther apart to make them longer.

Recently, Dr. Paley successfully performed his first limb lengthening surgery at St. Mary’s on Jabari Leake, a three-year-old boy who was born with a congenitally short femur, so his right leg is almost four inches shorter than his left. This rare condition happens to one in a quarter million babies, and without the medical intervention from Dr. Paley, would typically result in amputation of the shortened leg. This is because as patients like Jabari grow, the length difference between the two legs becomes more and more drastic, which eventually makes everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs and running almost impossible without the use of special lifted shoes.

According to Dr. Paley, St. Mary’s services provide all the critical elements required to effectively meet the specialized needs of patients like Jabari, as well as others who come to St. Mary’s from around the country – and the world. True to the Institute’s name, Dr. Paley and St. Mary’s will be introducing several new cutting edge advances in the coming years providing patients with the latest technology in limb lengthening and deformity correction surgery.