Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital welcomes board-certified pulmonary and sleep medicine specialist Andres Santiago Endara-Bravo, M.D. Dr. Endara will also serve as the Director of the Indian River Hospital Sleep Center.

Dr. Endara earned his doctorate of medicine from The Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. He completed additional training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Tulane University Hospital in New Orleans, and sleep medicine at University of Miami.
 
Prior to joining Indian River Hospital, Dr. Endara served as a pulmonary/sleep medicine/critical care physician in North Carolina and in Mississippi. He also currently serves in the United States Army Reserve.


More Transplants More Life (“MTML”) announced its recognition as a tax-exempt non-profit under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to MTML are now fully tax-deductible. Even more importantly, MTML is also eligible to apply for public and private grants. Leveraging grants with matching funds from donors will create more opportunities to improve availability of additional organs for transplantation to those in need. They will also provide support for living donors and recipients.

“This is a major milestone for our growing organization, and we are excited to help support patients on the organ transplant list as well as help educate the community about the importance of organ donation,” commented Louis Betz, President and Founder of MTML.
 
Betz, himself, contracted a rare autoimmune disease that resulted in a double lung transplant at the end of 2018. He learned first-hand about the great demand for organs and that every day people die while on waiting lists – or even trying to get on the list at all. Kidneys, lungs, hearts, and livers are desperately needed. In fact, while in the hospital recovering, one of his fellow patients died while waiting for lungs. It hit him hard; but blessed with a full recovery, he decided to share his experiences and improve the processes associated with organ transplants.
 
Since its original formation in mid-2019 as a Political Committee, MTML has been a growing voice about the importance of organ donation and in support of organ transplant candidates waiting on – or trying to be approved to – the National registry.
 
“This opens many doors for our organization to expand fundraising and increase advocacy on behalf of transplant candidates across the board,” added Betz.


Trulieve Cannabis Corp announces the promotion of Eric Powers to Chief Legal Officer, and the appointments of Ronda Sheffield to Chief Human Resources Officer, Zachary Kobrin to General Counsel, and Aaron Lopez to Director Government Affairs.

For the last two years, Eric Powers has served as Trulieve’s General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. He has more than 25 years of broad legal experience through his work in corporate and tax law, both in-house and private practice. Prior to joining Trulieve, Powers served as Vice President and Corporate Secretary for a >$1 billion revenue publicly-traded insurance company.
 
As a human resources executive for more than 20 years, Ronda Sheffield brings extensive experience leading organizational transformations. Most recently the Chief Human Resources Officer for ModWash, Sheffield has held HR leadership positions for top corporations including Lowe’s Home Improvement, Sprint Wireless, Starbucks Coffee Company, and Walmart Stores.
 
Zack Kobrin was a partner with Akerman LLP, where he was a leader in the firm’s nationally recognized cannabis practice group. Prior to Akerman, Zack was the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for a multi-state cannabis company. In his prior capacity, Kobrin advised a number of entities on corporate, business development and formation, as well as, legal, regulatory, and compliance matters in the cannabis and hemp industry throughout the United States and emerging international markets.
 
Aaron Lopez joins as Trulieve’s first Director of Government Affairs. Prior to joining Trulieve, Lopez was the founder of Political Capital LLC. He has served as head of government affairs across various industries including pharmaceutical, hospitality, oil and gas, and financial services. For the past five years, Lopez has worked with state agencies and legislators in Virginia and West Virginia on the creation of medical cannabis laws.
 
 


Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is now offering patients new treatment for valve repair and replacement procedures. The hospital is now able to perform minimally invasive surgery for several heart valve diseases. Dr. Nishant Patel, cardiothoracic surgeon, is one of the first, and currently the only surgeon performing this procedure at the hospital.

“These procedures are a breakthrough in our community, and we are looking forward to providing this level of care to our patients at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center,” said Dr. Patel. “Unlike traditional open heart surgery where the breast bone needs to be surgically separated, minimally invasive valve surgery is performed through a small incision between the ribs, which may offer less pain, scarring, and a faster return to your daily activities.”
 
The following minimally procedures are now being offered at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center:
• Mitral Valve Repair and Replacement
• Tricuspid Repair and Replacement
• Aortic Valve Replacement
• Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
• Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) Repair
• Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) Repair


Orthopaedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist Jonathan Hersch, M.D., FAAOS, with Tenet Florida Physician Services and West Boca Medical Center in Boca Raton, is now specializing in the new ExactTechGPS® Shoulder Application, a preoperative surgery planning tool. Dr. Hersch is using this technology as a tool to create guided personalized surgery for shoulder replacements. Similar to a GPS navigation device in a vehicle, this shoulder procedure platform gives the surgeon a visual map of the patient’s shoulder joint on a high-definition (HD) screen. This allows the shoulder specialist to combine their preoperative planning with intraoperative computer-assisted technology. Dr. Hersch said this helps to perform implant alignment relative to the patient’s needs.

“This is the latest advancement in technology providing surgeons with real-time visual guidance and alignment data in total shoulder surgery. The precision and accuracy is unparalleled,” said Dr. Hersch.
 
Dr. Hersch is now using this preoperative planning tool to plan cases based on a 3D anatomical model built during a patient’s visit to his office prior to surgery, thus allowing him to make any adjustments needed prior to the procedure.