Michel Gagner, M.D., is a world renowned surgeon in the field of Minimally Invasive Surgery and the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach. Gagner has been consistently named as one of the top 100 minimally invasive surgeons in the country by New York Magazine. His innovations in laparoscopic surgical techniques in the early 1990’s are now considered mainstream surgical procedures throughout the world.

In 1992, advanced laparoscopic surgery was considered experimental surgery. Gagner successfully performed the first world laparoscopic adrenal tumor removal for Cushing Syndrome and pheochromocytoma in 1992. In 1992 and 1993 he performed the first world laparoscopic removal of pancreas tumors (distal and proximal). He then went on to perform the first world description of endoscopic neck surgery with parathyroid removals in 1995 and laparoscopic duodenal switch for severe obesity in 1999.

More recently, he was the co-surgeon for the first World transatlantic robotic gallbladder removal between New York City and Strasbourg, France in 2001. Gagner remains excited by the prospects of this evolving technology and hopes it will excite today’s medical students.

“Over the last decade the number of medical students pursuing surgery has declined. I believe it is one of the most rewarding and exciting fields of practice as you often see the immediate results of your intervention, where other specialties may not offer that.” Gagner believes that medical students have shied away from choosing surgery because of the lifestyle of night and weekend work associated with it. Gagner wants today students to know that most surgeons work in groups now. This allows for work schedule rotation and the ability to maintain a life-work balance.

Over the course of his 30 year career, Gagner has remained a committed academic. He has held the position of professor at a number of universities including the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and has co-authored four books on Minimally Invasive Surgery including, Controversies in Laparoscopic Surgery.

He is currently writing his fifth book with Dr. Eldo Frezza. They will present the 100-plus chapter book, International Principles of Laparoscopic Surgery, this fall in San Francisco at the American College of Surgeons conference.

Gagner hails from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He obtained his Diploma in Health Sciences at the Seminaire de Sherbrooke in 1978 and his medical degree from the Faculté de Medecine de l’Universite de Sherbrooke in 1982. He did his surgical training at McGill University in Montreal from 1982-1988. He has also completed fellowships in hepatic surgery at Hospital Villejuif in Paris and hepto-pancreatico-biliary surgery at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington Massachusetts from 1989-1990.

During his residency, he also pursued his Ph.D., submitting a thesis on “Human Lipolysis in Sepsis” at the Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University. He was motivated to pursue his Ph.D. because of his interest in understanding how fat cells behave during critical infections. His study led to the development of gastric bypass surgery techniques. His new procedure, development of the sleeve gastrectomy, differs from the “tummy pacemaker,” that regulates the sensation of hunger by electrodes.

Gagner began his current post as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center on February 4, 2008. Mount Sinai is one of only six statutory teaching hospitals in Florida with 21 residency and fellowship programs representing all major areas of medicine. In 2007, Mount Sinai was designated as one America’s Top Hospitals in Geriatrics by U.S. News & World Report.

Gagner has published over 150 journal articles and has been a visiting professor and surgical demonstrator in over 40 institutions in 25 countries. He has held prominent positions in more than 35 surgical societies, including honorary membership in the prestigious France Surgical Association, a society that has more than 100 year history. He has also been on the editorial boards of ten surgical journals.

While Gagner derives great satisfaction knowing his surgical innovations have had, and continue to have, a positive impact on millions of patients worldwide, this humble man remains proudest of his achievements as a father of three sons. “My greatest challenge has been to maintain balance between my personal life and my professional life. It often feels like I’m walking on a thread.” Gagner has much to be proud of as all of his children are multi-lingual and excel academically. His eldest son will follow in his steps this fall to pursue a future medical degree at his alma mater, McGill University. His middle child is awaiting acceptance to McGill University’s School of Business.



Al and Barbara Grant

Al and Barbara Grant, of West Boca Raton, have been generously volunteering one day a week at the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center for three years.

The Memory and Wellness Center, located on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, offers a wide range of services and programs to individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, the Grants enjoy volunteering for different organizations and taking cruises. They volunteer in the dementia-specific Adult Day Center of the Memory and Wellness Center.

Al’s mother suffered from dementia, so he holds a special place in his heart for the people with whom he interacts at the Center. He helps serve lunch, cleans, shoots pool with participants, and has recently taken to reading short stories and poems to the group.

During a recent group session, Al read a short story about World War II, which hit close to home for many of the participants.

Barbara helps with yoga classes, registration, lunch service, and maintains a library at the Center. “We love to give because we get so much back,” said Barbara.

Heather Jurist

Volunteer Heather Jurist has been volunteering at the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center for two and a half years.

She dedicates four full days each week to the Center assisting the main office manager of the memory disorder diagnostic clinic. Duties range from scheduling rooms and appointments to editing documents and answering the Center’s busy phone line. Watching her multitask with multiple phone lines ringing and people standing at her desk you know you are watching a retired professional!

Originally from New Jersey, Heather moved to Florida as a child. She was a teacher for 14 years and worked at IBM’s Boca Raton facility for eight years.

“I have learned so much about the mind from working at the Memory and Wellness Center,” said Heather. “And, I really enjoy working with such a caring and outstanding staff.”

The Memory and Wellness Center, located on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, offers a wide range of services and programs to individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

Anna Lisa Curtis

Currently a student at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Anna Lisa Curtis is studying psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and multimedia communications. She has been volunteering at the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center for the past year and ties her volunteer work into her studies by facilitating group discussions at the Day Center and using multimedia presentations to stimulate conversation.

The Memory and Wellness Center, located on FAU’s Boca Raton campus, offers a wide range of services and programs to individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia.

The Day Center is an active environment with frequent parties. For cognitive stimulation, Anna Lisa devised an activity that enabled the group to participate in the planning and organizing of a St. Patrick’s Day party. She prompted the participants with questions such as “What are the reasons that we would organize such a party?” and “What would you bring to a potluck?” Not only are participants are challenged to use cognitive skills, but they can reminisce and socialize at the same time.

Originally from Los Angeles, Anna Lisa has lived in Boca Raton for 13 years and plans to graduate from FAU in 2010.

“I love being able to identify with the people and I learn a great deal from them,” said Anna Lisa.



Barbara DeFazio

Good things come in small packages … and that phrase holds true for one committed volunteer, Barbara DeFazio. Unlike her petite size, Barbara holds a very large job as Coral Springs Medical Center’s Auxiliary President for the past 7 years, a term normally held for a maximum of 2 consecutive years. But with a decline in volunteers willing to accept this leadership role, Barbara has gracefully extended her commitment year after year rather than abandoning the Auxiliary. Now this is passion!

When you first meet Barbara, your impression may be one of a kind and loving grandmother. While she is that and more, she is also strong willed, determined and a dedicated leader who for the last 18 years has volunteered nearly 10,000 hours at the hospital.

While her donated hours are impressive, what’s most inspiring is her tenacity to make a difference. Leading by example, kindness and strength, Barbara successfully coordinates 400 volunteers and has raised nearly $1.5 million while CSMC Auxiliary President. These funds have purchased critical items like wheelchairs, heart monitors, stretchers, work carts, child birthing water tubs, and furniture just to name a few. In addition, annually the Auxiliary provides eight $1,500 scholarships for high school seniors seeking a career in the medical field.

Barbara has truly earned our utmost respect and her accomplishments exemplify a true commitment to serve the needs of the hospital and its community.

Joyce Freeman
Gift Shop Manager
Coral Springs Medical Center’s Auxiliary

What is your professional or volunteer job and what is your favorite part of it: As Manager of the Coral Springs Medical Center’s (CSMC) Auxiliary Gift Shop, I enjoy every aspect of my job: training new sales personnel, attending trade shows to find new and exciting merchandise, arranging and stocking the showcases and display shelves, helping customers make appropriate selection of a gift. Even dusting the shelves and sweeping the carpet!

Who has had the greatest impact on your life and/or career My father always encouraged me to stay strong and never give up.

Most rewarding aspect of a volunteer The feeling of being a part of a “family” working together towards a common goal: to make the CSMC the best it can possibly be. It gives me the incentive to strive to increase our sales so that the funds we raise go to the hospital to provide equipment not included in its budget. We have supplied extra amenities for the comfort of the patients and their families, such as lounge chairs and sleeper sofas, flat-screen televisions for Mother/Baby maternity rooms, a birthing tub, and State-of-the-Art diagnostic medical equipment. “I feel I am doing something constructive as well as productive with my life.”

What makes a lasting impression The good will that is engendered when employees share their good news with us such as the birth of a grandchild (with pictures, of course) and other happy events. I feel we are more than just a Gift Shop; we are an integral part of the hospital.

Favorite community groups and charities and why One of our most successful activities is the Annual Teddy Bear Parade at which time hundreds of teddy bears are collected, then distributed to the Police and Fire Departments which, in turn, are given to children as comfort when they are involved a traumatic situation.

With the money raised through the Gift Shop sales, as well as from our other fundraising activities, the Auxiliary is able to grant scholarships to young people entering the medical field. This year, we allocated $12,000 to eight deserving students.

What are you most proud of I am most proud of my wonderful sales staff. More than 25 dedicated women, many of whom have been in the Gift Shop since it opened nineteen years ago, have made it possible to keep it running. We only close for hurricanes! They have a very proprietary regard for the shop and are always looking for ways to improve its appearance. Besides the adult sales people, we have several teen volunteers who bring a youthful aspect to the shop. They are very quick, bright and eager to learn (this is part of their community services hours required for high school graduation.)

It is my pleasure to work closely with the other members of the Auxiliary Board whose tireless efforts have benefited the hospital as well. It is with their support and encouragement that I am able to maintain our high quality of service.

I also take great pride in the compliments we receive from customers as to the appearance of the shop and the selection of merchandise. I appreciate the “thank yous” from the nurses who use the equipment we provide for them.

Most fun at a charity event Watching others benefit from our charity efforts and knowing that our hard work pays off.

What makes your county special Coral Springs is the only city in Broward County, which has a summer camp for children with diabetes. It is called Camp KoralKids and is run by the Coral Springs Medical Center.

What community project are you currently working on The day-to-day responsibilities of managing and maintaining the Gift Shop is an ongoing project.

How do you relax I love to read and always have two to three books at my nightstand. I also love to play word games on the computer, which keeps my head sharp!

What’s a perfect day for you Lounging on the beach reading the latest Nora Roberts.

What’s a surprising fact about you I have no surprises. What you see is who I am.

Most prized possession and why I am in the process of sending my possessions to my two married children. I do not want to be burdened with “things”. If I did have a prized possession, it would be the plaque on my wall, which my husband and I won in 1985, for being the “Couples Champions” in a golf competition.



West Boca Medical Center recently celebrated its growth with a novel groundbreaking. Some of the facility’s former patients – all treated at West Boca’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – toted ceremonial shovels and performed the honors to officially mark construction on a four-story addition that will expand the medical center’s NICU services, as well as other areas.

The centerpiece of the new structure will be 10 state-of-the-art NICU beds housed on the first floor, increasing the facility’s capacity from 24 to 34 beds.

Back Row (l-r) Courtney Brogan, Frank Brogan’s wife; Frank Brogan, FAU President; Tony Manganello, Parent of NICU Graduate; Walt Mickens, WBMC CEO; Rajiv Jagarnauth, NICU Graduate; and Shanna St. John, March of Dimes. Front Row (l-r): NICU Graduates Landy Altidor, Nicholas Dutra, Kayla Manganello, Hailey Voss, and Twins Jake and Sam Sclaver.

The 3,200-square-foot NICU addition will further expand West Boca Medical Center’s capacity to provide services to premature and at-risk infants. West Boca’s NICU holds the only Level III designation in North Broward County and Boca Raton, the highest-level rating offered by the state.

“We have always been known for being one of the top institutions in South Florida for treating the most vulnerable newborns, and now with this expansion, we’ll be able to provide more service and save even more lives,” said Walter Mickens, CEO of West Boca Medical Center.

The complete addition will contain 8,600 square feet, and three additional floors that will house the Pharmacy and Physical Therapy Centers.



There are a few topics as provocative and challenging in medicine as that of addiction. We are all well aware of the scourge of drug addiction and its attendant ability to destroy lives across all economic and social strata. As if the human tragedy were not sufficient, the political ramifications have become increasingly challenging, with drug money going to fund terrorist initiatives in different parts of the world. However, the most troublesome fact about addiction is that the most common and most devastating forms are perfectly legal and readily available.

Cigarette smoking is the single leading cause of preventable disease in the United States. You will never find this habit as the cause of death next to the physician’s signature on a death certificate, but the toll of cardiovascular and cancer deaths that result from smoking is staggering. Cigarette smoking harms virtually every organ system in the human body, and yet has nearly no beneficial effects. The adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined. Despite huge legal settlements and massive campaigns to the contrary, approximately one quarter of the adult population continues to smoke, although the numbers are thankfully dropping. Aggressive efforts to reduce second hand smoke have recently been documented to correlate with diminished cardiorespiratory morbidity. Medication to aid cessation is improving, with one-year success rates jumping from the 10-15d% range to the 25% range—discouraging, but improving. The social image of the smoker is an ephemeral phenomenon, but the once “cool” smoker is increasingly finding him/herself standing outside in the smoking area, somewhat of an outcast rather than the rugged individual of the “Marlboro man” years. We have “come a long way baby” (Virginia Slims ad touting the perverse concept that women succumbing to the addiction of cigarette smoking was somehow a manifestation of social progress), but we have a long way to go.

The other readily identifiable “social” addiction is alcoholism. The medical issue here is much less pristine. There is now more than credible evidence that one to two drinks per day are actually beneficial in cardiovascular disease protection. For obvious reasons, the medical community has been very reticent to discuss this fact, lest people misinterpret the findings and decide “if some is good, more must be better” and convince themselves that their doctors gave them permission to overindulge in alcohol.. However, one must never forget that the curve is “U”—shaped; that is, even though one or two drinks per day may be good for your heart, more can be toxic. More importantly, aside from the well-known toxic impact that alcohol has on the liver, and the generally toxic impact on all body systems in high doses, the greater issue is one of the lethal nature of drunk driving (17,000 traffic deaths in 2006) and domestic violence. Unfortunately, this is a problem that is neither diminishing nor abating.

Perhaps it would not be inappropriate to consider adding one more behavior to this list. The epidemic of obesity is now threatening to overtake cigarette smoking as the leading cause of preventable illness in the western world. Although the problem is complex and multifactorial, there is ample evidence that despite genetic predisposition, problems of food additives and food production, and lack of physical activity to blame, much of the problem lies simply in our choice of foods. Calorie-dense, readily available and nutritionally dangerous foods in high quantity make up an increasing portion of the Western diet. And we are successfully exporting and marketing this lethal approach across the planet. A sober review of the data would lead one to conclude that the choice we make regarding food and exercise, combined with a modicum of medical vigilance and medication could well prevent the majority of what is now the leading killer of men and women in this country—cardiovascular disease.

It is our realization that the human factor is critical in understanding our addictions and their health consequences that has compelled the Florida Heart Research Institute to couple our leading edge scientific research with both professional and community outreach efforts at education and prevention. It is only through a combined approach can we continue to meet the enemy, who, painful as it may be to admit, is largely ourselves.