Broward Health Coral Springs, which has been treating heartburn sufferers for more than two decades, has recently launched a new Heartburn Center that offers the latest in surgical treatments and endoscopic therapies. This specialized, multidisciplinary center provides treatment for a wide variety of conditions that cause heartburn, such as gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Mark Shachner, M.D., the Center’s medical director, said many heartburn patients simply reach for over-the-counter medications to ease the symptoms when more permanent solutions are available. Receiving a professional medical evaluation of heartburn symptoms may help reveal more serious underlying conditions.
 
“GERD is a progressive disease,” said Shachner. “What starts out as heartburn can lead to severe issues, such as a chronic cough, hoarseness, dental erosion, even cancer. Our multidisciplinary approach helps ensure patients receive a thorough assessment and treatment plan.”
 
Among the variety of conditions diagnosed and treated at Broward Health Coral Springs’ Heartburn Center include hiatal hernia, Barrett’s esophagus, motility disorders, achalasia and anatomic disorders interfering with swallowing. When more serious conditions are diagnosed, Broward Health can sometimes offer several non-surgical and minimally invasive surgical treatment options with short recovery periods.


Despite mandated COVID-19 prevention measures that restricted visitation, the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center has kept the lines of communication open over the past six months for its 111 residents and their families. Gary Teitelbaum appreciates the ongoing information he receives about his 56-year old brother Eric, who has lived at the skilled nursing center in Riviera Beach for the past five years.

“Every single time there is progress or something happens with my brother, who is confined to a wheelchair, they call me about it,” said Teitelbaum. “I’ve been overwhelmed with joy by the emails and calls that I’ve received. I think the care there is exceptional.”
 
The 120-bed facility, which is owned and operated by the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, sends families weekly emails with updates on their loved ones in English, Spanish and Creole and then follows up to ensure the email or letter was received. The skilled nursing home’s staff also provides iPads to residents so they can see and speak privately with their family and friends via FaceTime and Skype several times a week.
 

“The most important thing is to ensure that the residents’ psychological, emotional and medical needs are met,” said Shelly Ann Lau, Executive Director of the Healey Center. “We understand it’s difficult not to socialize closely with others as we maintain social distancing requirements, so we try to accommodate safe interaction with others.”
 
The Healey Center’s activities, admissions and social services staff replaced bingo games, shopping trips and communal dining with other options. They coordinate with families who deliver their loved ones’ favorite foods and then decorate the residents’ rooms and wheelchairs to celebrate special occasions like birthdays. Staff shops online for items that residents request. Growing vegetables also engages residents in the outdoor patio garden. Unlike most nursing homes that serve senior adults, the average age of Healey Center residents is 61. Their activities are based on their ability levels and interests.
 


Dr. Dror Paley, medical director of the Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute at St. Mary’s Medical Center & Palm Beach Children’s Hospital, is the first surgeon in the world to perform a new procedure utilizing the new PRECICE™ Plating System, an all-internal remote-controlled limb lengthening device from NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics. Dr. Paley is a co-developer of The PRECICE™ Plate technology, which is designed for complex limb reconstruction, including procedures to treat limb-lengthening discrepancies resulting from congenital abnormalities, major fractures of the legs and arms, and shortened bones due to cancer or other diseases. The PRECICE™ Plate implant and surgical technique are mounted on the outside of the bone which is designed to avoid disturbance to the patient’s growth plates, which is especially important in younger, growing pediatric patients. The mounting location of the plate is also intended to present less risk to the bone’s blood supply.



The West Boca Medical Center Satellite Emergency Center in Coconut Creek reached a milestone as they celebrated five years of providing care to the community. Since its inception, the satellite ED has treated nearly 45,000 patients. Chief Nursing Officer for West Boca Medical Center, Ricky Ramirez, not only celebrated the day with staff, but also mentioned the importance of the community recognizing they can come to the emergency center in their time of need, and the unique opportunity West Boca Medical Center has to serve both Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Pictured (l-r) Ricky Ramirez and Patricia O’Brien, ER Director for WBMC Satellite Emergency Center in Coconut Creek.
 
 


Four researchers from Florida Atlantic University have received the coveted National Science Foundation (NSF) Early Career (CAREER) award. The CAREER program offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Waseem Asghar, Ph.D., associate professor, received $500,000 over five years to develop a point-of-care platform to detect infectious diseases.
 
Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., associate professor and faculty fellow at FAU’s Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE), received $524,191 over five years to develop a cognitive screening tool for the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease using wearables and a smartphone that can detect at-risk individuals and monitor the disease progression rate in any clinical setting without the need for specialists or specialized medical equipment.
 
Feng-Hao Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor, all within the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, received $500,000 over five years to develop mathematical tools and new ways of coding to prevent information leakage and secure portable devices such as smart phones and iPads, under physical attacks.
 
Marianne E. Porter, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, received $625,943 over five years for research to better understand how marine animals tune, or dynamically adjust their movements using their skin and skeletons.