Joseph J. Ricotta, M.D., MS, DFSVS, FACS, National Medical Director of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy for Tenet Healthcare, Chairman of Vascular Surgery Department at Delray Medical Center and Professor of Surgery and Program Director of the Vascular Surgery fellowship at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, Florida Atlantic University has been recognized as a 2020 TCAR Clinical Operator of Experience for improving carotid artery disease treatment using an innovative procedure called TransCarotid Artery Revascularization (TCAR). Delray Medical Center performed the first TCAR procedure in South Florida and the hospital has performed over 160 TCAR procedures, which is the most in the state of Florida. 



Cleveland Clinic Martin Health welcomes board-certified family medicine physician Robert Kawa, D.O.

Dr. Kawa earned his Doctorate of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. He completed his residency in family medicine at St. Vincent’s Family Medicine Center in Jacksonville. He completed his residency in neuromusculoskeletal medicine at Florida Hospital East in Orlando.
 
Prior to joining Martin Health, Dr. Kawa has practiced as a family medicine physician in Hawaii.
 
 


Improving safety for employees and patients, Baptist Health South Florida has unveiled its brand new Patient Safety Simulation Lab – on wheels. It’s the first of its kind in South Florida.

“It’s a bus, equipped with a full simulation lab, that can travel to Baptist Health facilities throughout Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties,” said Matt Arsenault, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Baptist Health. “By making the lab mobile, we’ve made crisis training more accessible to employees and physicians at all our locations spanning four counties.”
 
Used extensively in the aviation industry and in the military, simulation training in health care gives doctors, nurses and other caregivers the opportunity to practice a variety of realistic scenarios in a safe setting with lifelike mannequins programmed to replicate life-threatening emergencies.
 
“We also work with specific groups on crisis procedures that target their specialties, such as running through a complex surgical procedure or offering practice with new technology and equipment,” said Dr. Charles Augustus II, chief medical officer at Homestead Hospital, part of Baptist Health.
 
The U.S. ranks 65th in maternal death among industrialized nations, and the mortality rate is going up, as reported by the CDC.
 
“This is one of the reasons that The Joint Commission has recently included new care standards for obstetrical hemorrhage and obstetrical hypertensive crises,” said Dr. Larry Spiegelman, physician at Baptist Health. “Through the Mobile Simulation Lab, we will be able to educate medical staff members on the newest recommendations for treating these emergencies by mimicking real-life situations that occur in the healthcare setting.”


Broward County children undergoing cancer treatment will feel the comfort of a warm blanket and welcome entertainment, thanks to a $10,000 donation by VITAS Healthcare to the Broward Health Foundation.

Funds from VITAS support pediatric cancer patients at Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, which is operated by Broward Health. Salah specializes in family-centered care for newborns, children and youth.
 
The foundation earmarked the donation to purchase a tabletop warmer for up to 30 blankets to soothe children who often feel extremely cold during and following chemotherapy treatments. Remaining funds will purchase 10 iPads to keep the pediatric patients busy with games, movies and educational activities while they’re undergoing cancer care.
 
"VITAS Healthcare is proud to support Broward Health Foundation due to our shared dedication to the improved health of our community,” said George M. Tokesky, VITAS general manager for Broward County. “We chose to contribute to Salah Foundation Children’s Hospital because it provides direct comfort to local children receiving treatments for severe forms of cancer.”
 
“We greatly appreciate Broward Health Foundation Vice Chairman Tokesky and VITAS for their kind contribution to the foundation and the children who are being treated in our pediatric cancer unit,” said Bill Diggs, president of the Broward Health Foundation. “This donation is just one symbol of our partnership.”
 
Beginning in early 2021, the VITAS Healthcare Inpatient Unit at Broward Health Coral Springs will begin accepting patients with advanced illness at its recently constructed 12-bed unit.


Leandro J. Feo, M.D., FACS, FASCRS, a colorectal and general surgeon, has opened an office with Tenet Florida Physician Services (TFPS) in Boca Raton.
 
Erica R. Podolsky, M.D., FASMBS, a highly-experienced general surgeon with expertise in bariatric and minimally-invasive surgery, has also joined Tenet Florida Physician Services (TFPS) in Boca Raton. Currently, Dr. Podolsky is the Medical Director of the Surgical Weight Loss Program at Delray Medical Center.
 
Prior to joining TFPS, Dr. Feo worked as a colorectal surgeon at South Palm Beach Surgical Associates in Boca Raton as well as Delray Medical Center. His past experience also includes as attending physician in colorectal surgery at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, NH, as well as general practitioner for Corposuvida Health Company in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and Egidio Montesinos Hospital in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
 
Prior to joining TFPS, Dr. Podolsky worked for South Palm Beach Surgical Associates and on-staff at Delray Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center. Presently, Dr. Podolsky is an affiliate associate professor of clinical biomedical science at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. She also holds the role of director of medical students at Delray Medical Center.