Columbia Hospital has announced Daniel R. Higgins, M.D.,F.A.C.S., as the new Chairman of the Board, and Mark M. Moser, M.D., as the new Vice Chair for its Board of Trustees.

Dr. Higgins is a board certified surgeon and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He earned his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and completed his surgical internship and residency at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Moser is board certified in Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine and is also board certified in Pain Management. He earned his M.D. degree from the University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada, and also completed his internship there. He completed a residency in Anesthesiology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital followed by a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.



Lower Keys Medical Center is proud to be the first hospital in the 60 plus HMA hospital system to have its new Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) integrated with its Physician Access System.

Physician Access, an HMA developed application, allows an attending physician with proper health information privacy log-on credentials to access and view laboratory test results, medical records, and now medical images from their medical office or home office.

“With PACS there is no more waiting for film to be developed and delivered, it will truly enhance the quality of treatment that our patients receive here,” said Jose Hernandez, Manager of the Radiology Department at LKMC. “Due to the huge amount of digital storage needed, we have been working on getting PACS integrated with Physicians Access online for our physicians for close to a year.”



The Florida Department of Health’s Division of Health Access and Tobacco (DHAT)/Bureau of Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program (BSCIP) has designated Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospital at Delray Medical Center as an Inpatient Rehabilitation Program for brain and spinal cord injuries.

The three-year designation follows a survey by a DHAT site review team, consisting of a health administrator, psychologist and two survivors of brain and spinal cord injuries. The team interviewed key staff members, toured the facility, met with patients and reviewed relevant policies and patient records before recommending the designation.



Barry University recently broke ground on the long anticipated Center for Community Health and Minority Medicine. Once complete, the Center will house the newly formed Division of Medicine, including the Schools of Graduate Medical Sciences and Podiatric Medicine. The School of Nursing will also utilize research and classroom space in the new facilities. It is hoped that students and faculty will be utilizing the facilities contained in Phase I by the fall of 2008.

(l-r) Chairman of the Board of Trustees Bill Heffernan, Barry University Chancellor Sister Jeanne O’Laughlin, Dean of the School of Nursing Pegge Bell, Dean of the School of Graduate and Medical Sciences Dr. Chet Evans, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Cyrus Jollivette and Barry University President Sister Linda Bevilacqua break ground on the Barry University Center for Community Health and Minority Medicine



Lower Keys Medical Center is proud to announce it has hired two new Mangers to its outstanding hospital management team.

The first hire is a new Business Office Manager, Kim Hopkinson. Hopkinson previously worked at Venice Regional Medical Center an HMA owned hospital in Sarasota County, FL. She has worked in medical billing field for 18 years and loves every minute of it.

The second hire is a new Human Resources Manager, Kim Watkins. Watkins has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance and a Master of Science Degree in Health Services Administration and has over 15 years of experience in all areas of Human Resources and Payroll Department.

Watkins comes to Key West, FL from Detroit, MI where she was Vice President of Human Resources at United Community Hospital and Director of Human Resources at Community Health Plan/Ultimed HMO of Michigan.