Health Notes 4-30-21
Four Lee Health Hospitals earn “A” grades for patient safety
With patient safety as a top priority for Lee Health, the health system this week announced the highest national marks from The Leapfrog Group. The Leapfrog Group released its Spring 2021 Hospital Safety Grades, awarding Cape Coral Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center and Lee Memorial Hospital each “A” grades for the fifth straight reporting period. HealthPark Medical Center earned an “A” grade for the fourth straight reporting period.
The Safety Grade assigns letter grades of “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” and “F” to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections, and other harms.
Developed under the guidance of a national expert panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses up to 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,700 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Leapfrog Group’s grading system is peer-reviewed, fully transparent, and free to the public.
Since 2000, The Leapfrog Group has promoted improved health care safety, quality and affordability in the United States through a commitment to transparency.
Children’s hospitals are not included in The Leapfrog Group’s Spring grades, but Golisano Children’s Hospital has been named as a Top Children’s Hospital by The Leapfrog Group four times.
To learn more about Leapfrog’s Spring 2021 Hospital Safety Grades, please visit http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/.
U.S. Renal Care opens hew home dialysis clinic in Fort Myers
The U.S. Renal Care Winkler Home dialysis clinic in Fort Myers, which offers home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis for both adult and pediatric patients, will hold a ribbon-cutting Tuesday, May 6, at 4:30 p.m., at its new location at 2675 Winkler Avenue, Suite 130.
Led by Medical Director Gautham Mogilishetty, MD, U.S. Renal Care Winkler Home includes a knowledgeable and experienced group of home training staff. Along with Dr. Mogilishetty, the clinic has seven medical professionals on staff.
This facility, which features five state-of-the-art home training rooms and flexible scheduling for patient training on how to dialyze at home, has many patient amenities available including flexible and convenient times for training, heated massage chairs and Wi-Fi.
U.S. Renal Care Inc. partners with nephrologists and health systems to serve people living with chronic and acute kidney disease, offering a full range of services for patients including best-in-class in-center and home dialysis therapies. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, U.S. Renal Care serves approximately 26,000 patients in 339 dialysis facilities across 32 states and the Territory of Guam. For more information on U.S. Renal Care, Inc., please visit www.usrenalcare.com. The local clinic can be reached at 239-791-1747.
Physicians’ Primary Care physicians named Castle Connolly ‘Top Doctors’
Three Cape Coral physicians with Physicians’ Primary Care of Southwest Florida have been named “Top Doctors” by Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. in New York.
Castle Connolly is an independent research and information company that is the nation’s leading provider of information on top physicians.
The three Cape Coral physicians are:
* Charles Curtis, M.D., a family medicine physician in the Cape Coral office at 1255 Viscaya Parkway. Curtis is an eight-time repeat winner from 2013 to 2020.
* Stanley Wiggins, M.D., a pediatrician in the Cape Coral office at 1261 Viscaya Parkway and in the Lehigh Acres office at 5700 Lee Boulevard.
* Scott Wiley, M.D., a family medicine physician in the Cape Coral office at 1255 Viscaya Parkway.
A total of seven physicians from Physicians’ Primary Care of SWF were honored as Top Doctors. The others are:
* Georgia Rocha-Rodriquez, M.D., a pediatrician in the Fort Myers pediatrics office at 9350 Camelot Drive and in the Lehigh Acres office at 5700 Lee Blvd. Rocha-Rodriguez is a five-time repeat winner from 2016 to 2020.
* Shikha Shrestha, M.D., an internal medicine physician in the Lehigh Acres office at 5700 Lee Blvd.
* Staci Van Winkle, M.D., a family medicine physician in the Fort Myers office at 7381 College Parkway.
* Michael Verwest, M.D., a family medicine physician in the Lehigh Acres office at 5700 Lee Blvd.
Selections are made through a national survey of physicians and hospital administrators conducted by Castle Connolly. After the votes are tallied, Castle Connolly ensures that the physicians meet the company’s criteria, which include board certification, years of experience in their specialties, and a clean disciplinary record.
Physicians’ Primary Care of Southwest Florida, a physician-owned and operated medical practice, is celebrating its 25th year of caring for Southwest Florida families. The practice was formed in 1996 by many long practicing local physicians and has grown to become the largest independent physician-owned primary care practice in Southwest Florida.
Medical specialties include family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics. PPC’s offices are conveniently located in Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. For more information, visit www.ppcswfl.com
Burns appointed executive director of Cypress at Home
Christine Burns has been appointed executive director of Cypress at Home, a leading provider of home and community based services serving older adults in Southwest Florida.
In her new role, Burns will be responsible for the overall leadership, direction, growth and culture of the organization’s Home Health, Home Care, Care Management, and Medical Care operations.
Prior to accepting her new position as executive director of Cypress at Home, Burns worked in the healthcare arena for 20 years. She has served in various leadership positions within Lee Health, most recently as the Director of Post-Acute Intake & Business Development, and also served on various Home Health committees and workgroups.
Cypress at Home’s current suite of services includes its Aging Life Care Professionals who provide care coordination and advanced, dignified care for older adults under the Choices by Cypress at Home service, Care Management by Cypress at Home, Home Care by Cypress at Home comprised of a team of clinical and non-clinical members who provide non-Medicare, private duty support, and its Medical Care by Cypress at Home operations with its team of Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners led by Dr. Bob Rahmanian.
A graduate of a bachelor of science degree in healthcare administration, Burns is currently completing her master’s degree in healthcare administration from Bellevue University. The Cape Coral resident also serves as an officer of the District XVI Florida Healthcare Association and as a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Villaflor hired by Physicians’ Primary Care
Dr. Jennelle Villaflor has joined Physicians’ Primary Care of Southwest Florida as an internal medicine physician. She earned her medical degree from Far Eastern University in the Philippines and served her residency in internal medicine at Harlem Hospital Center in New York.
Villaflor has 15 years of experience as a physician in the Philippines and as a hospitalist in the United States. She is board-certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
She will see patients at the Fort Myers family medicine and internal medicine office of Physicians’ Primary Care at 7381 College Parkway, phone 239-482-1010. Her outpatient practice will include annual physical exams, comprehensive care and treatment, and same day appointments.
Physicians’ Primary Care of Southwest Florida, a physician-owned and operated medical practice, is celebrating its 25th anniversary of caring for Southwest Florida families. The practice was formed in 1996 by many local physicians and has grown to become the largest physician-owned independent primary care practice in Southwest Florida. Medical specialties include family practice, internal medicine and pediatrics. Offices are conveniently located throughout Lee County. For more information, visit www.ppcswfl.com.
Lee Health offers free workshop on HIV self-management
More than 1.2 million people in the United States have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Lee County, the Florida Department of Health estimates around 2,300 community members are living with HIV, and that number continues to grow.
Lee Health is offering a free self-management program in partnership with McGregor Community Services. The six-week workshop is focused on education and awareness.
The McGregor Clinic is one of the largest providers of HIV care in Southwest Florida. McGregor Community Services is a division of the clinic that offers different services to the community through their free HIV rapid testing, education, mobile unit outreach and community mobilization. Their team members have volunteered to teach the self-management workshop.
Through the program, which was originally developed by Stanford University, participants will learn how to: live with a chronic condition, more easily manage your medications, understand the benefits of exercise, make smarter decisions related to healthy eating, work more effectively with health professionals understand ways to manage difficult emotion and improve your sleep through different methods and tools
Virtual and in-person sessions are offered throughout the year. Participants of the program will be in small, confidential groups, and the classes will be lively and interactive. The next virtual workshop starts May 19 and runs through June 23.
For more information or to register, please call 239-343-9264.
Beattie joins Family Initiative board of directors
Family Initiative announced recently that it has named Paul Beattie to its board of directors. Beattie is the founder and president of Beattie Development and the Beattie Family of Companies.
Beattie’s track record of support for Family Initiative also includes a December 2020 matching-funds challenge that raised $10,000 for the nonprofit and enlistment of a volunteer group of Beattie company employees to paint the exterior of the newly opened Family Initiative Autism Services Center.
Beattie, who holds licenses as a general contractor, plumber and roofer, has been building and remodeling luxury custom homes in Southwest Florida since 2009. His Beattie brand portfolio includes new home building and remodeling, a full-service design center, cabinet company and real estate firm as well as B&C Granite and Bergau Plumbing. Beattie graduated from Clemson University with a degree in construction management.
Established in 2015, Family Initiative Inc. is a Southwest Florida-based 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to supporting children with autism and strengthening their families. Its team of clinicians serves children from a humanistic approach through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Occupational Therapy (OT) services, and also offers autism play groups, teen meetings, parent education and more. In addition, the organization provides child welfare caregiver training and support through its Family Impact Program. To learn more or donate, visit fi-florida.org.
Lee Health to present program on Type 2 diabetes
Have you been told that you have prediabetes? Would you like to learn about a variety of tools that have been proven to prevent or delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes?
Lee Health will present a free program designed to help you make modest lifestyle changes and cut your risk of Type 2 diabetes by more than half. This year-long program with weekly meetings for the first six months, then once or twice a month for the second six months, is part of the National Diabetes Prevention Program, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
Information presented in the workshop can help you become empowered to prevent Type 2 diabetes. Learn about the benefits of physical activity; manage symptoms of stress, make smarter decisions related to healthy eating, and tips to stay motivated. Participants will receive a participant guide to use as an ongoing reference tool once the classes are completed.
The next program will be done virtually through an online platform held on Mondays, beginning on May 3, from 6-7 p.m.
Registration is required. Please call 239-424-3127 for more information.