Dr. John Ragheb, Director of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Chief of the Department of Surgery at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, has been elected President of the American Society of Pediatric Neurosurgeons (ASPN).

Dr. Ragheb obtained his B.A. and M.A. with Honors from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD and then went on to the University of Michigan School of Medicine in Ann Arbor. He completed his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore, and then completed a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center, Bellevue Hospital in New York City.
 
Dr. Ragheb is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He is currently the Chairman of the Neurosurgery Specialty Committee for the American College of Surgeons. He recently completed a 10-year term as a Director on the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery, five of which he served as the Secretary-Treasurer.  Dr. Ragheb has also served on the American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Neurological Surgery executive committee, including a term as Chair.


VITAS Healthcare announces the addition of Vietnamese and Tagalog languages to its recently redesigned website, joining existing versions in English, Spanish and Mandarin.

VITAS, which has seen steady growth in multiple markets across the nation, also saw an increase in non-English users of its website (38,000 new users in 2018). This growing demand for non-English content led VITAS to add two of the highest in-demand languages, Vietnamese and Tagalog, to meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals with unique and diverse backgrounds. “Xin chào” and “kumusta” mean “hello,” respectively, in Vietnamese and Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.
 
“Providing the highest quality of care means giving patients, families and healthcare providers easy access to information in their preferred language and to hospice providers who understand their cultures and values,” said Drew Landmeier, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of VITAS Healthcare.
 
“By extending our website’s reach through careful translations, more people can easily access end-of-life-care resources from any device, resulting in an overall enhanced patient experience,” Landmeier explained. “This initiative also reinforces our longstanding investments in resources that meet the needs of our diverse communities, including patient and caregiver hospice training materials in Spanish, Mandarin, Creole and several other languages.”
 
Diane Deese, vice president of community affairs for VITAS, said an earlier translation of the website into Mandarin involved cooperation from Mandarin-fluent clinicians and religious leaders who continue to use it as a valuable educational resource.
 
“We want to remove language barriers and knowledge gaps that keep eligible patients from experiencing the benefits of compassionate, end-of-life care. Adding Vietnamese and Tagalog supports our goal of expanding access to hospice care in minority communities by providing information in their own languages,” Deese explained. “Further, by translating our resources that support health care professionals, clinicians have the necessary information to care for these communities.”


The Conine All-Star Golf Classic, now in its 26th year, raised $262,000 to underwrite expenses at the Conine Clubhouse at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood. The clubhouse is a hotel-like facility that provides free lodging to parents and siblings during a child’s hospital stay.

Since 1995, fundraising done at this tournament by former major league ballplayer Jeff and Cindy Conine has raised nearly $7 million to underwrite the facility’s operating expenses. To date, more than 12,000 families have stayed there to remain close to sick kids during critical times in their lives.
 
Celebrity attendees included: Pudge Rodriguez (pictured), Ki-Jana Carter, Tony Nathan, Gaby Sanchez, Bob Brudzinski, Luis Alicea, and many others.


VITAS® Healthcare expanded access to quality hospice care in North Naples and began accepting patients at the VITAS Inpatient Unit (IPU) at Solaris HealthCare Imperial.

“The Naples community is growing, and our expansion in Collier County allows us to provide comprehensive medical care and comfort-focused support to greater numbers of patients and their families near the end of life,” said Robert Johnson, general manager of VITAS in Collier County. “The VITAS amenities at Solaris provide extra layers of support around the clock from an expert hospice team in a place that feels like home.”
 
Located off US 41 in North Naples, the IPU features 12 private rooms, a family conference room, in-room TVs and internet access, private bathrooms, local artwork and an outdoor area. Family and friends can visit 24/7, with service animals welcome and pet visits upon request. Family accommodations are available at nearby hotels and restaurants.
 
To celebrate the opening of the new IPU, VITAS staff members and executives hosted an open house event for healthcare professionals on February 26. VITAS representatives showcased specialty services available to its patients and the community, including bereavement support and veterans’ services.
 
VITAS IPUs offer a temporary home away from home for patients near the end of life, along with their families, when symptoms can no longer be managed in their preferred setting of care. They receive 24/7 care from an interdisciplinary VITAS team comprising a physician, nurse, hospice aide, social worker, chaplain, volunteer and bereavement expert who attend to the medical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and their families.


President and CEO Nick Westfall of VITAS® Healthcare has been named one of seven new members of the board of directors of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

Westfall joined VITAS in 2012 to lead the company’s field operations, becoming chief operating officer in 2015 and president and CEO in 2016. He previously was director of information and technology and operations for Chemed Corporation (NYSE: CHE), the parent company of VITAS. Prior to Chemed, he was a senior manager at Deloitte and Touche LLP.
 
Westfall is a member of the Advisory Board to Programs in Health Management and Policy at the University of Miami Business School and a board member The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (CTAC). In 2018, he received a CEO Today Healthcare Award.
 
Westfall earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton in Ohio and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.