The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their 2020 Five-Star Quality Ratings, awarding Gulf Coast Medical Center Skilled Nursing, HealthPark Care & Rehabilitation Center and Lee Memorial Hospital Skilled Nursing with five stars. The scores reflect recent improvements undertaken by the health system to continue improving its quality of care for the Southwest Florida community.

“With nursing homes under scrutiny during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s good to have this recognition from CMS. Their star rankings are a gold standard of nursing home quality and safety and we are honored to be recognized for the level of care we provide patients throughout Southwest Florida,” said Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA, Lee Health president & CEO. “Thank you to all of the doctors, advanced providers, nurses and support staff for their commitment to providing compassionate, high quality and safe care in our nursing facilities.”


This year, the World Health Organization christened 2020 as the year of “The International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.” And rightfully so with an astounding 20.7 million registered nurses and midwives in just the U.S. alone.

In this time of COVID-19, the world has celebrated the work ethic and principles of millions of healthcare workers originally set out by trailblazing men and women. Now more than ever, communities have proudly stood by and shown their support, whether it’s clapping at the “quarantine hour,” sounding sirens or drawing empowering chalk messages.
 
But the field didn’t get there by itself. Rather, it was fiercely led by the “the Lady with the Lamp” – Florence Nightingale – who revolutionized nursing and developed greater sanitation practices in hospitals. On the eve of her 200th birthday, Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC) demonstrated its own token of appreciation for Florence Nightingale, and nurses and midwives everywhere, by giving a juvenile loggerhead the name “Nightingale.”
 
On May 11, 2020, this honorary sea turtle patient was taken in after being stranded at Jensen Beach, FL. Upon “Nightingale’s” arrival, it was clear that the sea turtle was affected by chronic debilitation and anemia. Additionally, the patient was placed in freshwater for 24 hours to remove the barnacles and leeches on the shell. The turtle is currently placed on parenteral nutrition, to help speed its recovery, as well as antibiotics and fluids.
 
While the two forms of treatment fall into different corners, LMC recognizes the heart of healthcare. And from the Center’s outdoor sea turtle hospital, we salute our frontline heroes in scrubs! In the form of a sea turtle, thank you to all the dedicated nursing professionals who are living out what Florence Nightingale set forth centuries ago. 


Talking about end-of-life care is easier when patients and families have facts about what hospice is and how it can help. VITAS Healthcare has released a free, downloadable discussion guide called “Thinking About Hospice” to help patients have important conversations and reach informed healthcare decisions.

VITAS encourages frank and honest conversations. Patients need the help of their families, physicians and other trusted sources to decide on and document the types of care they want – and do not want – as they face the challenges of advanced illness and the end of life. Healthcare providers can also forward the guide via email to patients and families from the VITAS mobile referral app for clinicians.
 
“Hospice can be an important part of living the way you want to and having the quality of life that matters to you,” the guide reassures in its opening pages. Sprinkled with common patient/family scenarios and easy-to-use checklists, the robust guide:
• Describes hospice and palliative care, and the hospice team members who provide it
• Explains who pays for hospice
• Poses sample questions for patient-family conversations
• Describes the four levels of hospice care defined by Medicare
 
In plain, easy-to-understand language, the guide also provides helpful tips and resources on advance directives, advance care planning, spiritual and psychosocial support, grief, caregiving and other topics.
 
“It’s essential to understand that advance care planning is appropriate for adults at any age or stage of health,” says Dr. Joseph Shega, senior vice president and chief medical officer for VITAS. “It should be an ongoing process that takes place every time a patient’s medical condition changes. Our ‘Thinking About Hospice’ guide serves as an ideal foundation to ask the right questions and start the conversation.” 
 
Resources for healthcare professionals, too
VITAS encourages physicians and healthcare providers to embrace the confidence-building SPIKES protocol for delivering difficult news and helping patients and families understand their options for care as illness progresses.
 
The six-step SPIKES process (which stands for setting, perception, invitation, knowledge, emotions, and strategy-summary) was developed in 2000 at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. It provides clear directions for intense-but-rewarding conversations that help patients understand their disease, decide on their options for care, and document their end-of-life wishes and preferences. VITAS has produced short SPIKES reference graphics, as well as a 20-minute video showing the entire SPIKES experience with a patient so physicians can see the process in action.
 
Download a copy of the “Thinking About Hospice” guide at VITAS.com.


Holy Cross Hospital has named Mark Doyle as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective June 15, 2020.

Since 2014, Doyle has served as Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hospital Pembroke, a 301-bed community based hospital within the Memorial Healthcare System. His thoughtful and innovative approach to challenging issues has resulted in greater financial stability, improved employee engagement and increased access for marginalized communities.
 
Doyle began his senior leadership ascent in 1996 as Chief Financial Officer of Kindred Healthcare Hospitals – Arlington and Fort Worth. He went on to serve as Chief Financial Officer with Universal Health Services’ Northern Nevada Medical Center and Wellington Regional Medical Center, as well as Ascension Health (Jacksonville).
 
A finance minor, he earned his bachelor’s degree in General Business from Ohio’s Miami University and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. A member of the South Florida community for more than 15 years, Doyle also has held executive positions at Broward General Medical Center (now Broward Health) and Tenet Healthcare System’s Florida Medical Center.
 

 



VITAS Healthcare has promoted Natalia Hernandez to associate vice president of operations for its hospice services in Miami-Dade, Monroe and Broward counties. In this role, she oversees operations and community relations for regional hospice programs and provides leadership, direction and mentorship to program management.

As a 10-year veteran of VITAS, Hernandez steps into the role equipped with the skills, expertise, and cultural understanding necessary to lead hospice teams as they deliver care to patients with advanced illness, their families and caregivers. Hernandez joined VITAS in 2010 as a physician representative. She was promoted to director of market development (DMD) in Central Florida in 2014 and again to regional DMD in South Florida in 2017.