At Gilda’s Club South Florida, we find that spirituality is a source of comfort for anyone touched by cancer, including family members and friends, to promote a better quality of life.

What we have learned from our members, is that one does not necessarily have to be religious to be spiritual. Spirituality fulfills two essential needs; one is on the physical level and the second on the emotional level.

On the physical level; Yoga, Meditation, Tai Chi, Visualization, Native American Drumming, Reiki and Sekhem workshops help members be more in tune to achieve a better sense of themselves. Yoga connects mind, body and spirit by offering visualization and meditation that is introspective and forces one to slow down and be in touch with their inner self. These exercises claim to lower blood pressure, relax the body and most find they are able to cope emotionally and physically with their illness and feel more grounded.

“Yoga not only gives me the flexibility of my body, but in my mind as well. I am so relaxed, I feel more serene and I am better equipped to meet daily challenges.” per a 52 year old member.

On the emotional level; when one is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness one is irrevocably confronted with his or her own mortality. Feelings of helplessness, depression, anxiety and isolation surface.

Gilda’s Club offers “Interactive Mind Body Techniques for Wellness”, “Creative Expression through Poetry”, “Death and Dying Dialogue”. (“In talking about death, I am less fearful of it and more accepting” said a 25 year old member) and intuitive guests such as Sally Brazier “Ask about your Astral Life” and Iris Saltzman, “Third Eye”.

A 50-year old male member said, “In channeling with Sally, I feel more at peace with myself and understand why I am here and what I am supposed to do with my life.”

The diagnosis of cancer does not make sense. When confronted with thoughts of mortality, one questions their life and purpose and tends to explore and awaken a quest for spirituality. Some reasons to pursue spirituality are fear of the unknown, or to gain comfort from the known. Gilda’s Club offers the mind/body/spirit workshops to meet our member’s requests and needs.

Yoga, Meditation, Tai Chi, Deep Relaxation, etc… are popular workshops at Gilda’s Club with our members who seek out alternative and additional methods of living with and managing cancer, no matter what the outcome.

These workshops, and more, are offered every month. If you would like a calendar, please check out www.gildasclubsouthflorida.org or call (954) 763-6776 for information. Gilda’s Club® South Florida is a free, nonprofit, nonresidential, social and emotional support community for men, women and children living with cancer, including families and friends.



As you enter the newly constructed Memorial Breast Cancer Center, your senses will be captivated with soothing music and photos of beautiful landscapes. But the ambiance – modeled with the patient in mind – is only part of the experience. Behind the soothing comfort are breast oncologists and a cadre of medical professionals ready to design a highly individualized approach to treating breast cancer.

Celebrating the dedication of Memorial Breast Cancer Center on March 30, 2005, are (l -r): Jonathan Weiser, MD; Phyllis Neimark, MD; Laura Raybin Miller, SBHD Commissioner; Atif Hussein, MD, medical director of Memorial Cancer Institute; Alejandra Perez, MD, co-director of the Memorial Breast Cancer Center; Frank V. Sacco, chief executive officer of Memorial Healthcare System; Sandra Franco, MD, co-director of the Memorial Breast Cancer Center; Jay E. Piriz, administrator of Memorial Regional Hospital; Jan R. Cummings, honored donor and breast cancer survivor; Albert C. Jones, SBHD Chairman; Kathleen A. Durham, SBHD Commissioner; Sara E. Wolfer, SBHD Commissioner; Shirlee LaFleur, aide to Congressman Kendrick Meek; and Vivian Piereschi, aide to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.

As of April 1st, the Memorial Breast Cancer Center began seeing patients in its new facility. True to its multidisciplinary approach, Memorial Breast Cancer Center physicians now gather as a team to prepare specific treatment plans that includes input from pathologists, surgeons and oncologists. A nurse practitioner explains every step of the treatment plan to each patient. A Wellness Institutional Navigator then guides each patient through the various services needed to begin treatment.

The 6,000-square-foot Center encompasses 6 exam rooms, 12 chemotherapy suites, a refreshment area, and a computerized pharmacy system. To keep spirits high and energies focused on the positive, all exam rooms are named to inspire hopefulness and tranquility. A large conference room is used for support groups, meditation and music therapy.



Florida Medical Quality Assurance, Inc. (FMQAI), the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization in Florida, recently presented its Hospital Performance Achievement Award to 26 Florida hospitals, including Baptist Hospital of Miami, Bethesda Memorial Hospital, Homestead Hospital, Memorial Hospital Pembroke, Memorial Hospital West, Memorial Regional Hospital, Pan American Hospital, and Westchester Memorial Hospital. The hospitals have made significant improvement in one or more of the national inpatient topics (acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, pneumonia, and surgical infection prevention).

“We commend all the hospitals that participated with FMQAI and applaud their dedication to improving quality of care,” said Gladys Worlds, RHIA, MS, CPHQ, FMQAI hospital community of practice leader. “These efforts not only demonstrate an improvement in the rate of compliance on clinical measures but also ultimately reflect an improvement in the care provided to their patients.”

FMQAI works with Florida hospitals on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, quality improvement projects by offering hands-on resources, one-on-one training and staff education. The recognized hospitals participated with FMQAI from 2002 to 2005. “The successes achieved here will allow for future partnerships between FMQAI and participating hospitals as well as a continued focus on quality improvement as we move forward,” Worlds said.



While working for HospiceCare of Southeast Florida, Caren Bock realized the need for a children’s book that could prepare, inform, and guide children through the experience of a loss. Inspired by her husband John, family, and dear friend Susan G. Telli, Caren created Wings: A Story of Transformation, a delightful children’s book about the transformation of life and death. This unique story is about a young boy named Christopher and his friend, a caterpillar named “Fuzzy”, who through transformation becomes a beautiful butterfly leaving Christopher to cope with his change. As a critical care pediatric RN, Caren feels this book will help many families through difficult times. Wings offers care and support to children, parents, grandparents, guardians and families, counselors as well as healthcare providers as they face end-of-life, and deal with the issues that come after the death of a loved one.

All proceeds of this book will be donated to HospiceCare of Southeast Florida, Inc.

HospiceCare of Southeast Florida, Inc. will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary with the Book Launching of Wings, on November 17th from 5:30-8:30 p.m. For more information, call (954) 467-7423 or visit www.hospicecareflorida.org.



Rendina Companies is pleased to announce that the third Medical Arts Pavilion on Wellington Regional Medical Center’s campus in Wellington is 100% leased prior to the start of construction. Wellington Medical Arts Pavilion III will be located just west of Medical Arts Pavilion II on the hospital campus. The anticipated completion date for the project is December 2006.

The tenants in Wellington Medical Arts Pavilion III will include specialties such as Internal Medicine, Urology, Family Practice, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Bariatric Surgery, a Sleep Lab, and a Wound Care Center with a Hyperbaric Chamber.

“We are very excited and are looking forward to moving our practice to the new Medical Arts Pavilion,” stated Earl C. Lysaker, M.D., FACP. “We feel this will allow us to continue to provide high quality healthcare to our patients.”

“Rendina Companies is extremely pleased with our relationship with Wellington Regional Medical Center and Universal Health Services,” stated Daniel S. Messina, President of Rendina Companies. “The 100% leasing of this medical arts pavilion represents three very successful projects on the campus of Wellington Regional.”