Over the past month Curaleaf Florida raised over $38,000 for Badges of Courage, a non-profit that benefits low-income women currently undergoing breast cancer treatment. On November 8, Curaleaf presented Badges of Courage with a check at their North Miami medical cannabis dispensary.
 
Pictured (l-r) Yesenia Garcia, Curaleaf Marketing Director, Macarena Zilveti, Badges of Courage Founder, and Maria Perez, Curaleaf Vice President of Sales.
 
 


 

 

 

 

 



The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance (GFLA) has named Broward Health SVP and Chief Financial Officer Alex Fernandez to its Board of Directors for the 2019-2020 term.

The GFLA is the primary public and private sector partnership dedicated to the economic development of Broward County.
 
The board, comprised of officers and directors, serve a one-year term from October 2019 to September 2020.
 
 
 
 


After almost two decades of co-ownership of Bonita Community Health Center, Lee Health and NCH Healthcare System have reached an agreement whereby Lee Health will become the sole owner of the facility.

Lee Health’s publicly-elected Board of Directors approved the purchase at its board meeting in October.
 
BCHC is a 100,000-square-foot facility with physician offices, urgent care center, diagnostics and imaging, surgery center and physical therapy services. It opened in December of 2000 as a joint operation of NCH and Lee Health with 50/50 ownership. At the time, South Lee County was beginning to grow rapidly but was medically underserved.
 
“Changing to a single owner will place Bonita Community Health Center in a stronger position to better serve South Lee County,” said Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA, President and CEO of Lee Health. “This acquisition creates the opportunity for Lee Health to plan services between BCHC and Lee Health Coconut Point as sister facilities, clinically and operationally coordinated to meet the needs of this growing community.”
 
While NCH will no longer have an ownership interest in BCHC, it will continue to serve the community through other nearby facilities, including NCH Healthcare Bonita, a 24 hour emergency center with imaging and physician practices on U.S. 41, as well as a comprehensive outpatient medical facility further south on U.S. 41 at Bonita Beach Road.
 
Lee Health has no immediate operational changes planned at the time of acquisition. Patients will continue to see the same familiar physicians and providers and staffing changes are not anticipated.


Good Samaritan Medical Center is honored by the Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Florida Department of Health, for being one of 19 delivery hospitals in the state of Florida achieving the national Healthy People 2020 recognition. One objective of this program is to reduce cesarean section deliveries for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies. 

While rare, cesarean births can carry risks, and more hospitals are working to reduce cesarean section births for low risk and first time mothers unless it’s necessary. Good Samaritan Medical Center reduced its cesarean rate to 23.9%. The national average is 26%, while the state average is just over 31%.