The Nursing Shortage Consortium of South Florida has been awarded a $230,000 Health Foundation of South Florida grant to license and implement an interactive online system designed to maximize the use of available clinical teaching opportunities at area hospitals.

“This Health Foundation of South Florida grant will make it possible for the Consortium to work together with the Palm Healthcare Foundation to streamline student clinical rotation scheduling at hospitals from Miami-Dade through the Treasure Coast; maximizing the use of clinical space,” said Jackie Gonzalez, the project’s director and immediate past president of the Consortium. The Palm Healthcare Foundation (PHF) provided a matching grant for the clinical scheduling system in partnership with the Consortium.

Nursing programs turn away thousands of qualified applicants each year. Insufficient clinical sites are one of the major barriers to increasing nursing program capacity at community colleges and universities, according to data from the Florida Board of Education and the Florida Center for Nursing. Moreover, Health Resources and Services Administration statistics indicate that Florida faces a severe shortage of registered nurses, with 17,000 unfilled positions projected by 2010.

“The contributions from these organizations are critical to our moving forward with this project which provides an innovative and much-needed service,” said Claudia Distrito Consortium president.

Last year, a Consortium committee recognized that student clinical training could be better coordinated among area nursing schools and hospitals to create new placement opportunities. At the same time, a PHF committee identified similar concerns. Both organizations agreed to work together to implement a single system in the South Florida and Treasure Coast counties.



Palms West Hospital has realized the need for Pediatric Hematology Oncology care in the Western Communities, and as a result has recently started a program to offer these services. The program will include both inpatient and outpatient procedures and treatment.

Palms West Hospital has brought on staff the area’s only Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist, Melissa Singer, M.D., M.P.H. and Clinical Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Nurse Educator, Pat Swasey, R.N., M.S.N., C.P.O.N., to start the program. Dr. Singer is Board certified in both Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology Oncology. Her education includes an undergraduate degree from Cornell University, a medical degree from University of Miami where she also did her residency, as well as Fellowship training and a Master’s of Public Health from George Washington University, Children’s National Medical Center.



Radiation Oncologists at Boca Raton Community Hospital’s Lynn Cancer Institute recently announced that the Institute will be one of the first comprehensive cancer centers in Florida to adopt a new FDA-cleared technology to measure radiation absorption in cancer patients. Lynn Cancer Institute, formerly known as Lynn Regional Cancer Center, is one of the first centers world-wide, to begin using the Dose Verification System (DVS®) developed by Sicel Technologies, Inc.

Lynn Cancer Institute physicians will began using DVS, currently cleared for breast and prostate cancer patients in September. It is expected that the technology will be approved for other types of cancer, in the future.

DVS has four sub-systems: an implantable radiation dosimeter, an insertion tool, a reader system with a wand and base station and software for storing and reporting patient data.

Using a minimally invasive procedure, an interventional radiologist – or urologist for prostate cancer patients – uses an insertion tool to implant two tiny dosimeters in each patient: one inside the tumor and one in the surrounding tissue. This insertion procedure is performed in a doctor’s office. Shaped like a capsule, the dosimeter is just 2 mm in diameter and 18 mm long and includes a microprocessor, transmitter, and antenna.

Miniature sensors inside the dosimeter gather data on the precise amount of radiation being delivered to the tumor. Wireless technology with radio frequency (RF) is then used to transfer the data to a hand-held monitor. Radiation absorption data is read during daily radiation treatments, enabling doctors to verify treatment planning and validate that the patient is receiving the prescribed dose.

The dosimeters are permanent and there are no side effects for the patient.



Karen Cascardi, PTA, MS, ATC, was recently appointed to serve a two year term on the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy’s (FSBPT) Exam Development Committee. The FSBPT develops and administers the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for both physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Cascardi is a faculty member in the South University Physical Therapist Assisting program in West Palm Beach.



Nabil A. El Sanadi, M.D., Chairman and Director of Emergency Medicine at Broward General Medical Center has been appointed to the Florida Medical Association (FMA) Board of Governors. Dr. El Sanadi will serve as representative for both Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“We are very fortunate and pleased to have a physician of such high professional and ethical standards serve on our Board,” said Patrick M.J. Hutton, M.D., FMA president.

Dr. El Sanadi was a member of the Florida Board of Medicine from 2001 through 2005. During his tenure on the Board, he made patient safety a priority and worked with the FMA to publicize the Board’s policies and rules passed to reduce medical errors. Dr. El Sanadi has been an FMA member since 1995.