Florida Doctor Central Florida October 2011 : Page 5
of Nemours Children’s Hospital when it opens in Lake Nona Medical City the fall of 2012. “We are thrilled that so many fami-lies took part in the voting and helped shape the Nemours Children’s Hospital,” said Roger Oxendale , CEO of Nemours Children’s Hospital. “This involvement helps us achieve Nemours’ mission of Roger Oxendale, CEO of being a hospital built for families, by Nemours Children’s Hospital families.” Through Nemours KidsTRACK (Teaching, Research, Advocacy, Community and Knowledge), a care coordinator will provide a single point of contact for families. Whether it’s helping set up doctors’ appointments and talking to insurance agencies, or preparing families to return home by providing training on proper use of medication, Nemours care coordina-tors will be there for families every step of the way, ensuring a smooth transition from hospital to home life. “It is a challenge to keep track of visits, appointments and medications. KidsTRACK will make this process a lot more manageable for so many families,” said Marina Molito , whose 12 year old daughter was born with Spina Bifida and sits on Nemours Family Advisory Council. “Nemours has always taken our recommendations into account. It’s impressive that they put this decision in the hands of those who know best, the families.” Pink fire trucks from the Pink Heals Tour stopped on the Orlando Health cam-pus, seen here in front of MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, the facility that will benefit from tour proceeds; Yamiled Martinez, a patient at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children signs a pink fire truck with the help of Arnold Palmer Hospital team member Christina Diaz. The pink fire trucks are traveling the nation to spread can-cer awareness as part of the “Pink Heals Tour.” The tour is manned by professional firefighters in full pink gear who call themselves the “Guardians of the Ribbon.” “MD Anderson -Orlando was honored to be a stop on the Pink Heals National Tour,” said Clarence Brown, III, M.D. , President and CEO of MD Anderson – Orlando. “Events like this not only help us move closer to finding a cure for cancer but also provide hope and support for Central Floridians bat-tling this disease.” “Saving lives and raising awareness about cancer is fun-damental to the wellness of our community, so it is our honor to wear our pink with pride and support this wor-thy cause,” added Jamal Afrifa , Orange County Firefighters Benevolent Fund. neMours AnnounCes hoW FAMilies voteD to sPenD $500,000 to helP kiDs A program designed to help families struggling with a child’s complex medical condition will be enhanced with a $500,000 grant from the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation. Hundreds of Central Florida families selected ‘KidsTRACK Care Coordination” by voting in a specially designed Facebook poll. Families were asked to choose between three worthy programs that could have been expanded with the half mil-lion dollar grant. The other two programs will still be a part orlAnDo heAlth AnD PhysiCiAn AssoCiAtes sign AFFiliAtion AgreeMent Orlando Health and Physician Associates have signed an affiliation agreement that will improve patients’ access to pri-mary care physicians, enhance the quality of care they receive, and better coordinate care between the in-patient and out-patient setting. The non-exclusive agreement became official July 1, 2011. Through the affiliation agreement, efforts are currently underway to implement programs to address the four most costly chronic diseases facing Americans and Central Floridians: diabetes, hypertension, conges-tive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients who suffer from these ailments will be part of a joint initiative between Orlando Health and Physician Associates designed to bet-ter manage their symptoms to avoid epi-sodic hospital visits. “The role of the primary care physi-Jennifer Endicott cian is immensely important in provid-ing healthcare that helps keep patients healthy,” said Jennifer Endicott , vice president, clinical inte-gration, Orlando Health Physician Partners. “This affiliation agreement makes it possible for us to work more closely with Physician Associates, as well as our own primary care prac-tices, to provide timely and seamless care to patients.” This new agreement also encourages primary care prac-tices to become accredited as patient-centered medical homes (PCMH) through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). A PCMH is especially helpful to patients who might require additional services such as those provided by social workers or dieticians in order to maintain their health. This could include patients who are elderly, suffer from chronic www . beson 4 media . com •••• october 2011 5
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