SPRING 2008

Baptist Health South Florida Chairman of the Board, theRev. David Cleeland; President, Brian Keeley. Trustees:Tony Alonso, Calvin Babcock, Wendell Beard, GeorgeCadman III, James Carr, the Rev. William Chambers III,George Corrigan, William Dickinson, Judge Robert Dubé,Herbert Greene, M.D., George Harth, Jay Hershoff, CharlesHood III, Norman Kenyon, M.D., the Rev. Richard Ledgister,the Rev. Wilner Maxy, Paul May, Arva Parks McCabe, the Rev. Dr. Marcos Ramos, Aida Shafer, Ronald Shuffield,Roberta Stokes, W. Peter Temling, the Rev. Tom Thompson,Bill Tillett, Scott Weston, the Rev. Dr. William White.

Baptist Hospital of Miami Chairman of the Board, CalvinBabcock; President, Baptist Hospital Medical Staff,Eugene Eisner, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer, Bo Boulenger.

South Miami Hospital Chairman of the Board,Judge Robert Dubé; President, South Miami HospitalMedical Staff, Jorge Rabaza, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer,Javier Hernandez-Lichtl.

Homestead Hospital Chairman of the Board, the Rev.William Chambers III; President, Homestead HospitalMedical Staff, Theodore Evans, M.D.; Chief ExecutiveOfficer, William Duquette.

Mariners Hospital Chairman of the Board, Jay Hershoff;President, Mariners Hospital Medical Staff, DennisRainwater, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Lazo.

Doctors Hospital Chairman of the Board, Norman Kenyon,M.D.; President, Doctors Hospital Medical Staff, LuisQuintero, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln Mendez.

Baptist Outpatient Services Chairman of the Board, TonyAlonso; Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Rosello.

Baptist Health Enterprises Chairman of the Board,James Carr; Chief Executive Officer, Ana Lopez-Blazquez.

Baptist Health South Florida Foundation Chairman of theBoard, Bill Tillett; Chief Executive Officer, Robert Baal.

Directors of Affiliated Boards Yvette Aleman, RichardAlger, Dick Anderson, George Aronoff, Orlando Bajos,William Baldwin, James Barker, Yerby Barker, RodneyBarreto, Kerrin Bermont, Robert Berrin, Carol Berry,Bonnie Blaire, James Bokor, James Boruszak, Bette Brown,Joseph Buchanan, Mita Burke, Oscar Bustillo Jr., BarbaraCalev, Thomas Carlos, Willie Carpenter, James Carr, SusanCarr, Gerald Case, Ray Castellanos, Joe Catarineau,Mauricio Cayon, Barron Channer, Carol Cianciolo, PatDahne, Denise Ehrich, Joyce Elam, Allan Feingold, M.D.,Maria Garza, Augusto Gil, William Gilbert Jr., Robert Gintel,Gretchen Goslin, K. Lawrence Gragg, Michael Graham,M.D., Curtis Gray, David Hallstrand, M.D., Barry Halpern,M.D., Kent Hamill, Barbara Hanck, James Harris, ElizabethHernandez, Agustin Herran, Gerald Hirsch, Nathan Hirsch,M.D., Jacque Huttoe, the Rev. Dr. Gary Johnson, DavidJohnson, Lane Jones, S. Lawrence Kahn III, George Knox,Deborah Korge, Rudy Kranys, Manuel Lasaga, KatrinaLavene, Maria Camila Leiva, Orlando Leon, M.D., JamesLoewenherz, M.D., Miriam Lopez, Bruce MacArthur,Joseph McCain, DMD, Derek McDowell, Stanley Margulies,M.D., Joy Martin, Charlie Martinez, Jo McGregor, HansMueller, Patricia Mull, Thomas Murphy Jr., Ramon Oyarzun,Martha Pantin, Omar Pasalodos, M.D., Johanna Paterson,Ramón Rasco, Charlen Regan, Ian Reiss, M.D., BonnieRippingille, Domingo Rodriguez, Gonzalo Sanabria, StevenSapp, Betty Schilling, I.E. Schilling, Aida Shafer, EmerySheer, Steve Shiver, Ronald Shuffield, Paul Soulé, PatriciaStanley, Lee Stapleton, Rene Taylor, Joseph Traina, M.D.,Sats Tripathy, Wanda Trouba, Victoria Villalba, WarrenWeiser, Lisa White, William Wilson III, Philip Wolman,Leonard Zwerling, M.D.

TO SEND COMMENTS, ADDRESS CHANGES OR TO UNSUBSCRIBE, E-MAIL MyResource @ baptisthealth.net

6855 Red Road, Suite 600,Coral Gables, FL 33143www.baptisthealth.net

On the cover: Natalie Carlos, an avid runner, did exhaustive research to find the bestsurgical option for her lung tumor. (See story, page 4.)

EDITOR Jo Baxter ASSISTANT EDITOR Patty ShillingtonART DIRECTOR Elizabeth Lane Lawhorn CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Anne Streeter, Adrienne SylverWRITERS Jennifer Pages, Elizabeth Rosenthal, Bethany Rundell, Phyllis TeitelbaumEDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Georgette Koch, Barbara Moore,Laura Pincus, Dorothy SteinPHOTOGRAPHY Fareed Al Mashat, Joshua Prezant, Tammi Robbins, Mabel Rodriguez

Relax. Recharge. Renew. “You Look SPAvelous” is a day just for you!

Designed with your pampering needs in mind, this free event puts you in the capable

hands of massage therapists, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, vein specialists,

podiatrists, and our experts in bariatrics and breast health—an incredible team of

medical professionals who specialize in making you feel better and look great.

Throughout the afternoon, get your

questions answered in private mini-

consultations with physicians.

It’s about connecting overall

wellness with beauty—

head to toe, inside and out.

Treat yourself. Escape for

this fabulous day of fun, food,

exclusive prizes — and, of course,

pampering! No reservations

are needed.

You LookSPAvelous:Feeling Good, Looking Better

Sunday, May 4 , 1- 4 p.m.

Clarke Education CenterU.S.1 and SW 62 Avenue

R E S O U R C E 3

offee klatches and tea parties may be agreat way to keep your memory sharp.

A French study found that olderwomen who drank more than threecups of coffee a day (or the caffeine

equivalent in six cups of tea) were 33 per-cent less likely to forget words thanwomen who drank one cup of coffee orless. They also had an 18 percent lowerchance of nonverbal memory loss.

The four-year study of 4,197 womenand 2,820 men age 65 and older looked atthe benefits of caffeine in fending offdeclines in mental function. No benefitswere found for men. The protective effectin women appeared to increase as womenaged, with those older than age 80 gettingthe most benefits. Women had to drink at

least two cups of coffee a day to get anybenefit.

Caffeine, called a “psychostimulant”by the researchers, did not slow the pro-gression of dementia in men or women.

While women drank more tea thancoffee, the study showed that it didn’t mat-ter which beverage they drank to receivethe caffeine-related memory boost. Thestudy did not consider whether the cof-fee was filtered, instant or brewed, orwhether the tea was black or green.

The study’s authors warned that moreresearch was needed before recommend-ing caffeine to prevent cognitive loss.

— Anne Streeter

Caffeine improves memory

C

omen who took a daily aspirin had a25 percent lower risk of death thanthose who did not take aspirin regu-larly, according to a study reportedin the Archives of Internal Medicine.

An analysis of data on 79,439 womenparticipating in the 24-year Nurses HealthStudy found that aspirin use was associ-ated with a 38 percent lower risk of deathfrom cardiovascular disease, includingstroke. Significant benefits were evidentwithin five years. There was also a 12 per-cent lower risk of death from cancer—par-

ticularly colorectal. It took 10 years for the“modest benefit” to emerge for cancer.

The findings on heart disease differfrom a 2005 Women’s Health Study thatconcluded that aspirin had no effect onpreventing death from cardiovascular dis-ease or other causes.

Increasing evidence that aspirin maybenefit healthy women as well as those atrisk for heart disease prompted the Amer-ican Heart Association to change its guide-lines last year to recommend the following:

•Routine low-dose aspirin therapy for

Aspirin may cut death risk

W

Women & Hea l th

QUICK TEST FOR OSTEOPOROSISA quick, painless screening for osteoporosis is being offered by Baptist Health throughout May for a

special price of $5 (instead of the usual $15 fee). The screenings are offered during National

Osteoporosis Month, a time to raise awareness about how to prevent, diagnose and treat the debilitat-

ing brittle bone disease.

The ultrasound screening measures the heel’s bone density. The results help determine whether a more

sensitive test using bone densitometry is needed. Call 786-596-3812 for an appointment, dates and locations.

women age 65 or older, regardless ofwhether they are at risk for cardiovasculardisease, if the benefits outweigh other risks(such as bleeding).

• Increasing the aspirin dose for womenat high risk to 325 mg per day rather than162 mg.

Talk to your doctor about whetheraspirin should be part of your preventivehealth plan. For a free referral to a BaptistHealth physician, call 786-596-6557 (toll-free, 800-228-6557), or visit www.bap-tisthealth.net for an online referral.

— Anne Streeter

4 R E S O U R C E

Jim Gossett and Carla Rossby lead active lives following Mr. Gossett’s heart surgery.

The educated patientf you want to know how to be an edu-cated medical consumer, and why it’simportant, listen to the story of husbandand wife Jim Gossett and Carla Rossby,both longtime firefighters.

When Mr. Gossett, fit and health-con-scious at 46, developed a heart murmur,Ms. Rossby kicked into high gear. She hitthe Internet and “googled” the condition—what it is and how to treat it. She pulledhis medical records for possible clues.She subscribed to the New England Jour-nal of Medicine to review research arti-cles about heart valve problems. She usedall her personal and professional contactsto find the best medical specialists ontheir insurance plan. Since many heartmurmurs are benign conditions, a topcardiologist recommended a wait-and-see approach.

In the end, Ms. Rossby’s diligencehelped save her husband’s career andadventurous lifestyle—and perhaps evenhis life. One day in early 2007, Mr. Gossett’sfaulty heart valve ruptured after an on-the-job sprint, leaving his chest undulating likea washing machine. Ms. Rossby directedparamedics to take him to Baptist Hospital.Before the crisis, she had decided that ifhe ever needed heart valve surgery, shewanted it done by Baptist Cardiac & Vascu-lar Institute heart surgeon Joseph Lame-las, M.D., who is experienced in a mini-mally invasive approach.

“I would have gone anywhere to getJimmy the best treatment, and it ended upbeing right here at our doorstep,” Ms.Rossby said.

Instead of sawing open Mr. Gossett’sbreastbone, the conventional method, Dr.Lamelas made a three-inch incision on theright side of his chest. He used long, thininstruments to reach in and repair thevalve. “Jimmy’s pain was really minimal,”Ms. Rossby said. “I was amazed.”

I

R E S O U R C E 5

With other potential treatments, Mr.Gossett would have had to take a blood-thinning medication for the rest of his life,ending his career as a firefighter and res-cue diver. The couple’s diving trips on their40-foot powered catamaran also wouldhave been history. Instead, Mr. Gossett wasback on full duty by summer.

Ramon Quesada, M.D., the Institute’smedical director of interventional cardiol-ogy, said the rise of the informed health-care consumer has made for a better part-nership between doctor and patient. Hesaid many patients travel to the Institutefrom around and outside the country forits multidisciplinary, minimally invasiveapproach.

“People are more sophisticated thesedays, which is important,” Dr. Quesadasaid. “You type ‘stent’ in Google and geteasy access to information.”

The Institute’s new website,www.baptistheart.net, offers informationand interactive videos about major cardio-vascular conditions, including aorticaneurysm, heart valve disease, irregularheartbeat and carotid artery disease. “Thisis a team approach,” Dr. Quesada said.“The patient has the responsibility to knowmore and we have the responsibility toexplain more. You just have to helppatients put their reading in perspective.”

Twenty-first century technologicaladvances give patients more options—especially when they do their homework.Consider the case of Natalie Carlos, anattorney who went to the ER at SouthMiami Hospital with stabbing back pain. ACT scan revealed a softball-size tumor inher left lung. To the “great relief” of the 36-year-old mother of two, a biopsy showedthe tumor was not cancerous. But it had tocome out. She was referred to a cardiotho-racic surgeon, who proposed cutting openher chest—known as a thoracotomy—to

remove the tumor. It would require a two-week hospital stay, months of recovery andleave a huge scar. “It was a very invasiveand complex procedure and I did not wantto do it,” said Ms. Carlos, an avid runner.

She did what informed medical con-sumers should do—sought a second opin-ion. “The second surgeon told me the samething. But I still believed there had to beless invasive alternatives. So I did my ownresearch.” Ms. Carlos asked colleagues atwork, and one recom-mended South MiamiHospital surgeon MarkDylewski, M.D., and theda Vinci Surgical System,a robot used in minimallyinvasive operations. Sheresearched Dr. Dylewski’scredentials online andfound information aboutthe robot. She discoveredDr. Dylewski is the onlySouth Florida surgeonusing the robot for tho-racic operations. “I knewimmediately based onmy active lifestyle thatthis procedure was theperfect option for me,”she said.

Dr. Dylewski, who uses South MiamiHospital’s da Vinci robot for 90 percent ofhis surgeries for early lung cancer, biop-sies and other procedures, said Ms. Car-los was the perfect candidate for the leastinvasive way to remove the tumor. “Mymotivation is to try to avoid thoracotomiesin patients who don’t need it,” said Dr.Dylewski, who also does minimally inva-sive lung surgery using thin instruments. “Igave her various options to consider. Sheand her husband took time to mull it overand contacted me with questions.”

The robot allowed Dr. Dylewski to

remove Ms. Carlos’s tumor last May withless trauma to the chest wall and less post-operative pain. “The advantage with therobot is we don’t have to do any rib-spreading,” Dr. Dylewski said. “We canextract the mass from the lower chestbelow the rib cage.”

Ms. Carlos recovered quickly. She wasout of the hospital in a day and a half andback running in three weeks. “I have threevery small scars on the side of my chest

and they will fade with time,” she said.Knowledge and education can come

from many sources. For Frankie Stillson ofWeston, the TV show Live with Regis andKathie Lee changed her life. The show waspaying for an uninsured woman to receiveGamma Knife radiosurgery, a high-tech,noninvasive procedure, for trigeminalneuralgia. Ms. Stillson had the condition,marked by stabbing bursts of facial nervepain, and could no longer take the med-ication that had kept the pain at bay foralmost two years. Ms. Stillson didn’t hearwhere the Gamma Knife was available, soshe called the TV show and learned the

Continued on page 6

“I would have gone anywhere to get Jimmy the best treatment, and itended up being right here at our doorstep.” — Carla Rossby

C O V E R S T O R Y

Natalie Carlos resumed running three weeks after herlung tumor was removed.

6 R E S O U R C E

How to be a smart healthcare consumerIn this global media and communi-cation age, the question is not usu-ally how to get information, butwhich information to trust and howto use it. That’s certainly true withhealth and medical issues.

Thinh Tran, M.D., chief qualityofficer for Baptist Health, suggeststhat gathering information is animportant first step toward per-sonal interaction with your physi-cians. “Arm yourself with reliable,unbiased information that drivesmeaningful discussion with yourphysicians to make the best health-care decisions for yourself andyour loved ones,” Dr. Tran said.

George Tershakovec, M.D.,president-elect of the HomesteadHospital Medical Staff, agrees. “Iencourage patients to be wellinformed about their health condi-tions and problems by reading, lis-tening and asking questions. Thebetter informed the patient is, themore they can participate in theircare and lessen the anxiety.”

Where to start?

Dr. Tran recommends medical spe-cialties associations, such as theAmerican College of Gynecology(www.acog.org) and the AmericanAcademy of Neurology(www.aan.com). Their websiteshave sections for the public thatoffer educational information onconditions, symptoms and treat-ments, as well as links to otherhelpful sites.

In addition, many conditionshave foundations that provideinformation and support—from thewell-known (American Cancer Soci-ety, www.cancer.org, and AmericanHeart Association, www.american-heart.org) to the less visible(National Organization for Rare Dis-orders, www.rarediseases.org,which covers more than 1,100uncommon conditions).

Reputable healthcare organiza-tions, including Baptist Health(www.baptisthealth.net), also offerhealth information, including pod-casts and video animations of thebody’s anatomy.

Government-related websites alsoprovide a wealth of information forhealthcare consumers:

• The National Institutes of Health’sMedline Plus, www.medline-plus.gov, and National Library of Medicine, www.nlm.nih.gov

• The National Academy of Sci-ence’s Institute of Medicine:www.iom.edu

• Agency for Healthcare Researchand Quality: www.ahrq.gov andwww.healthcare411.org

• Centers for Disease Control andPrevention: www.cdc.gov

• Centers for Medicare & MedicaidServices: www.cms.hhs.gov

• U.S. Food and Drug Administra-tion: www.fda.gov

woman was heading to Doctors Hospitalin Coral Gables (see related article onpage 16).

“I was so thrilled that there was some-thing out there that maybe could helpme,” she said. “I was facing jump-off-the-building time with the pain.”

In patients with trigeminal neuralgia,the Gamma Knife’s radiation deadens theroot of the trigeminal nerve so it can’t sendpain signals to the brain. A 17-minute pro-cedure with the Gamma Knife, performedby Doctors Hospital neurosurgeon AizikWolf, M.D., brought an end to her suffering.

Now, Ms. Stillson has become an edu-cator, sharing her experience with anyonefacing the pain of trigeminal neuralgia.“The Gamma Knife was wonderful,” shesaid. “I have not had the pain since theprocedure.”

— Patty Shillington Frankie Stillson, free of facial pain, enjoys baking.

Committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence

*Data compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Hospital Quality Alliance. Baptist Health had 56% of the quality measures in the top 10th percentile, versus 22% for the other Miami-Dade and Monroe hospitals and 12% for hospitals on the Honor Roll.

Is it possible to measure how well you’re cared for?With hospitals, yes.

If you or a loved one needs to go to the hospital, you want the best care. The federal government recentlybegan gathering data from patient records to see which hospitals achieve the best results in various measuresof quality. On average, Baptist Health scores more than two times as high as other hospitals in Miami-Dadeand Monroe Counties. We even beat the hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report’s Honor Roll.* We’re allabout quality — it’s that simple.

For more information or a physician referral, please call 786-596-6557 or visit us at www.baptisthealth.net.

QU A

LITY

OF

CARE

Other Area Hospitals U.S. News & World Baptist HealthReport Honor Roll

22%

56%

12%

f you’re a salad-eater, will your child be? Ifyou snack on cookies and cakes, will yourkids? Contrary to popular belief, childrendo pay attention to their parents. Accord-ing to health experts, there is a significant

link between the nutrition habits of parentsand those of their children.

“It makes sense,” said pediatricianStanley Zuba, M.D. “When I have an over-weight patient, there’s a very good chancethat at least one parent is overweight. Yes,genetics is involved, but the child haslikely picked up poor eating habits.”

AWall Street Journal article pointed outthe unique role a mother has in influencingwhat her daughter eats. Doctors, however,are quick to say that both fathers and moth-

ers play a role in modeling good behavior.“Both parents influence eating habits,”

said child psychologist Gary Lancelotta,Ph.D. “It’s not fair to expect a child’sbehavior to change when every day theyare faced with a bad role model.”

According to Adriana Castro, M.D., aBaptist Children’s Hospital pediatrician,the problems with food can start early.Even babies and toddlers can be overfed,she said. “If parents tend to eat when theyare not hungry, they’ll likely duplicate thatin their children. Instead of looking forcues that their children are hungry, they’llfeed them anyway.”

The most difficult cases, Dr. Castrosaid, involve families who have one child

who is overweight and one who is thin.“Often, there are two standards in thehouse. The thin child is allowed andencouraged to eat more and to eat what-ever he or she wants, which isn’t healthyeither, and the heavy child is put on calo-rie restrictions.”

It doesn’t get easier in those house-holds unless everyone in the familychanges or until they become older, Dr.Castro said. At a certain age, they are ableto see that it’s not about getting somethingtheir brother or sister has, she added.

“Sometimes they’ll eat out of spite andthat’s exactly what you don’t want,” shesaid. “I commiserate with their frustration.I used to be on the other end—always askinny kid, unable to gain weight evenafter I had my own children. I try to explainto them that they must work harder to tryto lose weight than others, just as I workharder to gain weight than others.”

So what does a parent do? Put awaythe sodas and bring out the water, startwalking or going to the gym with yourchild and eat smaller portions, said regis-tered dietitian Susan Nowrouzi with Bap-tist Hospital’s Outpatient Nutrition Ser-vices. She advises entire families on howto design an eating program that ishealthy for everyone.

“It really needs to be a family affair,”she said. “It’s about health, not weight.And telling kids to do something is notenough. At some point, the more you sayno, the more they want to do whatever it isyou are saying no to.” — Adrienne Sylver

Eating helpNeed nutrition advice for your child? Thewhole family? Baptist and South MiamiHospitals offer personalized nutritioncounseling. For an appointment, call 786-596-7219 at Baptist or 786-662-8331 atSouth Miami. Cost is $160 for the initialvisit, $80 for each follow-up. If you havehigh blood pressure, high cholesterol orsome other health condition, your insur-ance company may cover a portion of thecost. Check with them.

8 R E S O U R C E

KidStuffEat what I say,not what I eat?

I

Dorothy Delights Kylie Quintana, 3, is thrilled with a surprise visit from Dorothy (actress Leslie McQueen from The Wizard of Oz), who vis-ited and sang for patients at Baptist Children’s Hospital early this year. Bap-tist Children’s Hospital is a sponsor of Actors’ Playhouse children’s theater,which is presenting the timeless musical at the Miracle Theatre in CoralGables through March 29.

Kids learn toget fit

R E S O U R C E 9

leven-year-old Paulina Bernau’s pediatrician recommended that she start anexercise program to combat high cholesterol, high blood pressure and anunhealthy weight—problems experienced by many youngsters these days. That’swhen her parents enrolled her in KidFIT at Baptist Hospital, a twice-a-week fit-ness class for children and teens that doesn’t count its successes in pounds lost.“We teach them how to lead a healthy lifestyle through exercise and nutrition

education,” said Rebecca Mojica, supervisor of KidFIT, which stands for Fitnessinto Tomorrow. “That’s our main focus. Weight loss just happens to come as aresult of that.”

But Paulina still prides herself on the fact that she’s lost five pounds since join-ing the program last summer. “I’m really happy about it,” she said. “I feel muchbetter and I definitely have a lot more energy than I did before.”

As part of the program’s pre-enrollment evaluation, youths receive a physicalfitness assessment and meet with a registered dietitian. They then exercise underthe supervision of an exercise physiologist, doing cardiovascular, strengtheningand stretching exercises.

“It’s not easy, but it’s not hard either,” Paulina said. “Exercising is actuallykind of fun.”

Participants receive a list of 13 goals that are checked off weekly—and verifiedby their parents. They include limiting TV to 30 minutes per day, trying a new fruiteach week, engaging in physical activity at least 30 minutes per day and drinkingat least four glasses of water per day.

“It’s really rewarding to see these kids incorporate what they learn here intotheir everyday lives,” said exercise physiologist Christy Bowen. “Kids like Paulinaare committed and understand how important their health is, even at this age. Shealso has the support of her family, which is key.”

The cost of the program is $200 for the initial evaluation and $65 per month afterenrolling. The one-hour class for youths ages 6 to 14 meets Tuesdays and Thursdays.For more information, call 786-596-5188. — Jennifer Pages

Join the parenting experts at Baptist Chil-dren’s Hospital for enlightening conversationand practical advice. Each program is heldin the auditorium at Baptist Hospital andcosts $5, unless otherwise noted. You mustreserve your space by calling 786-596-3812.

GETTING ALONG WITH SIBLINGS Thursday, March 27, 7-9 p.m.

“He hit me!” “She calledme a name!” Does thissound all too familiar inyour house? Psycholo-gist Richard Toister,Ph.D., offers tips to helpyour children keep thepeace with other kids. For par-ents of school-age children.

BOOSTING BRAIN POWERThursday, April 24, 7-9 p.m.

You might have a petite Picasso or abudding Beethoven, butyour child doesn’t have tobe a prodigy to benefitfrom the brain-boostingpower of art and music.Art therapist Patricia Isis,Ph.D., and music therapistJoseph Goelz help parentsbring the magic of art and music totheir children. For parents of toddlersand young children.

PARENTING IN AN AGE OF EXCESSThursday, May 22, 7-9 p.m.

Do your kids want the latest videogames? The most expensive sneak-ers? Psychologist Gary Lancelotta,Ph.D., reviews the mes-sages parents give theirchildren about moneyand material goods anddiscusses how to pro-mote a healthy apprecia-tion for hard work andself-sufficiency. For par-ents of school-age children.

All about kids

8900 North Kendall Drive

Paulina Bernau, 11, gets the most from her push-ups during a KidFIT class.

E

10 R E S O U R C E

Senior{Focus

ohn Pantesco loves fishing thebackwaters of the Keys andworking part time in the paintdepartment at Home Depot. Butwhen the 80-year-old’s arthritic

right ankle became so painful hecould barely walk, he thought hemight be confined to a sedentarylifestyle. Today, though, he’s backdoing what he loves, thanks to a newprosthetic ankle.

“I worked three days a week,” Mr.Pantesco said. “Before the surgery, Icould make it through the first daywith painkillers. Day two was rough.By the third day it was nearlyunbearable. I have a high pain toler-ance, but this was bone rubbing onbone.”

Ankle cartilage is a quarter-inchshock-absorber between the bonesthat allows the joint to movesmoothly. Those with arthritis, likeMr. Pantesco, have little to no carti-lage left. As the cartilage deteriorates,the three bones in the ankle—theend of the tibia (shinbone), the fibula(the smaller bone in the lower leg)and the talus (the bone that sits ontop of the heel and fits into the socketformed by the tibia and the fibula)—grindtogether, often causing severe pain.

For years, orthopedic doctors havesearched for the best solution to the prob-lem. Ankle fusion, in which the bones arepermanently joined together, was oneanswer. Ankle replacement was another.

“Unfortunately, when you fuse thebones, you lose motion. For some patients,that’s not acceptable,” said Thomas SanGiovanni, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon atDoctors Hospital. “And the earlierimplants, from the 1970s or so, wereflawed in terms of design and the materialsused to stabilize them. Eventually, theorthopedic community basically aban-doned the practice of ankle replacement.”

For patients with ankle injuries, osteo-arthritis or other types of arthritis, this meantfusion or temporary pain control measuressuch as cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory

medications and bracing. That changedwhen a new generation of replacement wasrecently approved by the FDA.

“The particular prosthesis I use has amore anatomical design than the previ-ous ones,” Dr. San Giovanni said. “Thealignment is better and the surgeonremoves less bone. The implant has a spe-cial coating that allows the bone to growinto it so cement is not needed.”

Dr. San Giovanni, who completed aFoot & Ankle Fellowship at Harvard Med-

ical School, said the new replace-ment has longevity, something theolder prosthetics lacked. “The newerdevices have been used in Europeand are looking strong in the 15-yearfollow-up studies.”

The procedure involves makinga vertical incision at the front of theankle and cutting or shaving thebones so the prosthesis will fit prop-erly. Generally, patients are hospital-ized for a couple of days and remainin a cast and off their feet for about amonth. Physical therapy ranges fromsix weeks to three months with thepatient in a walking boot or brace.

Not every patient is a candidatefor ankle replacement, or arthro-plasty. The procedure is best forolder patients, not younger adultswho want to continue high-impactsports. Those who have severe defor-mity with considerable bone lossshould also consider other options.Finally, people who are significantlyoverweight are discouraged fromhaving the surgery because the anklejoint is smaller than most otherjoints and receives more force, aboutfour times the body weight, with

every step.“The replacement is best for someone

who is active, who likes to golf, swim andbicycle, but not necessarily for a runneror someone who is still putting a greatdeal of stress on the joint,” Dr. San Gio-vanni said.

“I’m walking with little to no pain now.I’m lucky that I can get back to my lifeknowing that my ankle replacement willprobably outlast me,” Mr. Pantesco joked.

— Adrienne Sylver

Walk like new withan ankle replacement

J

Thomas San Giovanni, M.D., checks John Pantesco’srange of motion after his ankle surgery.

The artificial ankle joint is shown in this view from the back

of the left leg. The top piece of the prosthesis fits into the

tibia, or shin bone. The lower piece fits into the bone that

sits on top of the heel, the talus. The foot relies on the new

joint to flex and extend.

R E S O U R C E 11

Baptist Medical Plaza at Doral9915 NW 41 Street, Suite 210Health Resource Center

Aging Well (in Spanish), Wednesday,March 12, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Raiza Perez, inter-nal medicine.

Overcoming Depression (in Spanish),Monday, April 21, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Catalina Jacobs-Fernandez,psychologist.

Memory Loss: Is It Normal Aging orAlzheimer’s? Wednesday, May 7, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Rafael Rivas-Vazquez, psychologist.

Baptist Health Resource Center at Informed Families2490 Coral Way, 2nd Floor

Tame Hunger: Foods that Help You FeelFull, Monday, March 10, 7-8 p.m., Susan Cote, clinical dietitian.

Is It Forgetfulness or Is It Alzheimer’s?(in Spanish), Tuesday, March 25, 1-2p.m., Dr. Gonzalo Yanez, neurologist.

Coping with the Symptoms of Shingles,Friday, April 18, 1-2 p.m., Dr. Tomas Villanueva, internal medicine.

Nothing toSneeze At:Treating Aller-gies (in Span-ish), Monday,May 19, 7-8p.m., Dr. Carlos

Piniella, allergist/immunologist.

Baptist Medical Plaza atWestchester8820 Bird Road, Suite 400Health Resource Center

Treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers, Thursday,March 6, 7-8 p.m., Dr. ChristopherBlanco, podiatrist.

Bloating and Consti-pation: Take Control(in Spanish), Friday,March 14, 1:30-2:30p.m., Dr. AlfredoRabassa, gastroen-terologist.

Aging and Spirituality (in Spanish),Wednesday, April 23, 10:30-11:30 a.m.,Chaplain Guillermo Escalona.

Strike Back Against Stroke (in Spanish),Thursday, May 8, 7-8 p.m., Dr. SergioGonzalez-Arias, neurosurgeon.

Doctors Hospital5000 University Drive

Best Defense: Facts and Myths AboutColonoscopy (in Spanish), Wednesday,March 26, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Jose ManuelSanchez, gastroenterologist.

Ankle Arthritis and Ankle ReplacementSurgery, Tuesday, April 15, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Thomas San Giovanni, orthopedicsurgeon.

No Bones About It: Prevention andTreatment of Osteoporosis (in Spanish),Wednesday, May 28, 7-8 p.m., Dr. RafaelFernandez, orthopedic surgeon.

Homestead HospitalCampbell Drive & SW 147 Avenue

The Highs and Lows of Blood Pressure(in Spanish), Tuesday, March 18, 7-8p.m., Dr. Luisa Lopez-Luciano, familypractitioner.

Hip and Knee Replacement, Tuesday,April 8, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Richard Pell, ortho-pedic surgeon.

The Sleep and Diabetes Relationship,Tuesday, May 13, 7-8 p.m., Dr. JamesKrainson, pulmonologist.

Homestead Senior Center43 NE 16 Street

Prescription Drug Abuse, Wednesday,March 19, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Marie-ElsieAde, pharmacist.

Memory Techniques and Strategies,Wednesday, April, 30, 10:30-11:30 a.m.,Dr. Andrea Draizar, speech and languagepathologist.

Leg Ulcers: What You Need to Know,Wednesday, May 14, 10:30-11:30 a.m.,Mary Wood-Vera, registered nurse.

Women’s Health Resource Center8950 N. Kendall Drive, Suite 105

Need to Gain Weight? Healthy Eatingthat Puts on the Pounds, Tuesday,March 4, 1-2 p.m., Susan Nowrouzi, reg-istered dietitian.

Eating Healthy: Latin the Lite Way (inSpanish), Tuesday, March 11, 7-8 p.m.,Karla Otero, registered dietitian.

Travel Troubles:How to Avoid Illness When You Travel,Thursday, April 10, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Lorraine Dowdy, infectious disease specialist.

Strike Back Against Stroke, Friday, May 16, 1-2 p.m., Dr. Paul Damski, neurologist.

Ongoing ProgramsOsteoporosis Screening. In celebrationof National Osteoporosis Month, BaptistHealth will offer osteoporosis screeningsin May for a special fee of $5 (normally$15). Screening available by appointment.Call 786-596-3812 for dates and locations.

SHINE. Get help with Medicare andother insurance concerns. Free. Call 305-670-6500, Ext. 270, for an appointmentwith a bilingual counselor.

March, April & MayIf you’re 55 or older, take advantage of the programs and health screenings offered by Baptist Health. While most programs are $5, people55 and older attend free, unless otherwise noted. Registration is required for all programs, including those that are free. Call 786-596-3812.For Spanish programs, call 786-596-3814. For more information on other Baptist Health programs, visit www.baptisthealth.net.

SeniorCalendar

12 R E S O U R C E

Here & There

very three months, a Baptist Hospi-tal surgical team carrying severaldozen 70-pound duffle bags stuffedwith medical supplies travels to avillage in Haiti to operate on people

in desperate need of medical care.It’s a joint undertaking of Baptist

Health and two other not-for-profitgroups—Living Hope Haiti Christian Mis-sion, co-founded by Baptist HospitalBoard Chairman Calvin Babcock, andDouble Harvest, another Christian mis-sion that built a medical clinic with twonew, but underused, operating rooms.

“We’ve got world-class surgeons, nursesand staff who are the best there is,” Mr. Bab-cock said. “These Baptist Hospital folks arethe most incredible, hardworking, kind andloving people that I’ve ever had the oppor-tunity to work with. It just amazes me.”

Baptist Health committed to donatingits staff and supplies for four surgical mis-sions each year to Croix des Bouquets, lessthan an hour outside the capital of Port-au-Prince.

The hospital surgeons, nurses andother operating room staff work 16-hourdays to do as many surgeries as possible—including hysterectomies and other gyne-cologic procedures for women, hernia

repairs for men, andcleft palate and otherdeformity correctionsfor children. Thoughmany of these opera-tions would be routineby U.S. standards, inHaiti the patients’ con-ditions have grown com-plicated from decadeswithout treatment. Eventhough the OR roomsare the best Haiti has tooffer, no imaging equip-ment or other high-techmachines are availableto diagnose problemsand help guide treat-ment.

“We come across men and women intheir 70s who have never had any med-ical care,” said Michele Ryder, R.N., a sur-gical nurse and Baptist Hospital vice pres-ident who organizes and leads the trips,along with nurse anesthetist Aly Kendonand OR nurse Elaine Desmarais, R.N.

“These people are in such need andthese are high-risk procedures,” Ms. Rydersaid. “You don’t know what’s going to hap-pen and you say a lot of prayers. Hopefully,

we can make their lives a little easier.”Last fall, the surgical team did an

eight-day mission, performing about 20hysterectomies, 40 general proceduresand 10 operations for children. The nexttrip was set for the end of February. Bap-tist Health doctors who have donatedtheir time and expertise in Haiti includeDrs. Anthony Gonzalez, Michael Canning,Cosme Gomez, Robert Puig, ManuelPeñalver, Joel Levin and Victor Gonzalez.

Ms. Desmarais, a five-year Baptist Hos-pital employee who is involved in manylocal volunteer activities, said she woulddo surgical missions full time if she could.“It’s a humbling experience and it’sextremely fulfilling to know that these peo-ple wouldn’t have the care they’re gettingwithout us going there,” she said. “It’s a realspiritual thing and it brings us all closer.”

Mr. Babcock co-founded Living HopeHaiti in 2002 with the construction of anelementary school. The mission hasgrown to include four schools, three med-ical clinics and adult literacy classes, inaddition to the surgical team and otherprojects. For more information, visitwww.livinghopehaiti.com.

— Patty Shillington

E

Patients rest after surgery in this overflowpost-op area.

Baptist Hospital nurse anesthetist Jorge Valdez helpskeep a patient smiling and upbeat before surgery.

Martha Sussenberger scrubssurgical instruments.

Missions of mercy

Need a doctor? Call us! (Or go online)Baptist Health’s Physician Referral Service has come a long way since its start in1987—growing from one representative handling 500 calls per month to fourbilingual representatives handling 3,000 calls per month. In its first two decades,some 250,000 consumers have been helped by the staff. Nearly 1,000 BaptistHealth physicians participate in the service, according to Maria Kahl, who hassupervised the referral service since its inception.

The free service is keeping up with the latest technology by introducing aneven quicker way to locate a physician on staff at a Baptist Health hospital. Byusing the “Quick Search” option on the Baptist Health website, www.bap-tisthealth.net, you can get an instant online referral. All you need to do is enterinformation such as the medical specialty needed, your health plan and the pre-ferred hospital and language.

Ms. Kahl says the service is beneficial in many ways—whether it be for a parent seeking a pediatrician for achild or a patient needing follow-up care after an emer-gency room visit. “People use our service because theyare confident in a physician referred by Baptist Health,”Ms. Kahl said. “Many don’t feel comfortable choosing adoctor at random from a phone book.”

The service also provides background information onthe doctors, such as how many years they’ve been inpractice, specifics on their medical training and whathealth plans they accept.

In addition to “Quick Search,” people can also use the online referral form orsend an e-mail to referral@baptisthealth.net for a personal response within onebusiness day.

To speak to a representative, call 786-596-6557 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.to 5:30 p.m. (outside Miami-Dade County, call toll-free 800-228-6557).

For a referral to a physician affiliated with Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute,call 786-596-2700 (toll-free 800-273-2700). For a referral to a physician affiliatedwith South Miami Heart Center, call 786-662-2222 (toll-free 866-860-8174).

Not all Baptist Health doctors participate in the service. For a complete listingof physicians, use the online physician directory.

— Jennifer Pages

Baptist Salud, a quarterly Spanish-

language publication focusing on

healthy lifestyles and featuring news

about advances in medicine, will be

published for the first time in March

by Baptist Health. The magazine is

intended to serve South Florida’s His-

panic population with culturally rele-

vant health, lifestyle and community

information, according to Jo Baxter,

corporate vice president of Baptist

Health and editor of Resource.

“This is a natural progression for

us,” Ms. Baxter said. “We’ve had

many requests for Resource to be

published in Spanish. But we felt it

made more sense to develop a publi-

cation that is not a translation of

Resource, but one created by and for

Hispanics.”

Roymi Membiela is Baptist Salud’s

editor. She said the magazine will be

distributed in El Nuevo Herald and

Diario Las Americas, as well as by

mail to people who request it.

If you would like to be added to

Baptist Salud’s mailing list, e-mail

pattyo@baptisthealth.net or call 786-

596-5857.

R E S O U R C E 13

‘Superior service’Baptist Health’s International Services was honored by the U.S. Department of

State and Foreign Service for giving “superior service” to American Embassy

personnel and their family members. The State Department is just one of

International Services’ clients. Each year, more than 10,000 patients from

many countries travel to Baptist, South Miami or Doctors Hospital for high-

tech healthcare often unavailable in their homeland.

Maria Kahl

14 R E S O U R C E

Here & There

QUALITY EXPERTS VISIT BAPTIST HOSPITALIt’s not always easy to judge whether or not a hospital provides exceptional care, but national organizations like the

Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) help patients by collecting quality data and recognizing top-performing hos-

pitals. Recently, Baptist Hospital was the only Florida recipient of a visit from IHI representatives—a visit designed to

acknowledge the highest-quality hospitals around the country.

IHI is a grassroots organization with the goal of improving quality and safety in healthcare. One of the reasons the

group honored Baptist Hospital was for its success in preventing surgical site infections. Baptist, Doctors and South

Miami Hospitals have been recognized for performing better than expected in a number of areas measured in the

National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, one study used to compare and improve care among hospitals.

For a look at how hospitals compare in surgical care, heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia care, go to

www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.

outh Miami Hospital doctors andnurses now have a high-tech weaponto prevent heart muscle loss in patientssuffering heart attacks—wireless tech-nology that transmits patients’ electro-

cardiograms (EKGs) from rescue trucks todoctors’ and nurses’ handheld personal dig-ital assistants, or PDAs.

The hospital’s Heart Attack Unit staffhas teamed with paramedics from CoralGables Fire Rescue to participate in a DukeUniversity study that is testing whetherfaster responses to and treatment of heartattacks can save heart muscle and lives.

Rescue trucks in Coral Gables have beenequipped with 12-lead EKG machines that,

with the flip of a switch, simultaneouslytransmit a patient’s EKG to the Heart AttackUnit’s medical director, on-call cardiologist,Emergency Center physician and nursemanager. No matter where these individu-als are when the EKG is sent, they receivevaluable information about the patient’sheart in the palm of their hand. This allowsthe staff to evaluate the patient’s conditionand activate the hospital’s catheterizationteam to open the blocked blood vesselcausing the heart attack.

“We’re trying to measure how manycrucial minutes can be saved by transmit-ting vital information to the Emergencystaff before the patient arrives at ourdoor,” said Armando Garcia, M.D., med-ical director of the Heart Attack Unit forSouth Miami Heart Center. “The out-comes are very good for patients whosearteries can be opened in less than 90minutes. Our goal now is to get to them inless than 60 minutes.”

South Miami Hospital is one of onlyseven sites nationwide participating inDuke’s time study and the only one in SouthFlorida. Preparations for the yearlong studyhave taken almost three years and werecoordinated by the Heart Center’s researchdepartment.

— Bethany Rundell

SWireless technologyspeeds care

Emergency Center physician Yvonne Johnson, M.D., reviews an EKG to determineif the hospital’s catheterization lab team is needed.

R E S O U R C E 15

For the third year in a row, Baptist Hospital will host theAmerican Cancer Society's East Kendall Relay for Life,an all-night camp-out, survivors’ celebration and relay-style walk around the hospital lake.

And for the first time, Homestead Hospital will hostthe Homestead Relay for Life, another all-nightfundraising event and celebration around the lakes atthe new hospital.

The Relay for Life at Baptist Hospital, 8900 NorthKendall Drive, which raised a record $243,000 last yearfor the Cancer Society, begins at 4 p.m. Saturday,March 15, and ends the next morning at 7. The event atHomestead Hospital, Southwest 147th Avenue andCampbell Drive, is set to start at 6 p.m. Friday, April 11,and end the next morning at 7.

The American Cancer Society holds hundreds ofRelays for Life across the country each year to raisemoney for research, education and patient services.Relay for Life is supported by the Baptist-South MiamiRegional Cancer Program. To join the cause, people ofall ages form 10- to 15-member teams to walk relay-style. Team registration is $100, plus any other moneythe team may collect from pledges and fundraisers.

For more information or to register for the EastKendall Relay for Life at Baptist Hospital, call the Amer-ican Cancer Society at 305-779-2843 or go towww.events.cancer.org/rflekfl. For the HomesteadRelay for Life at Homestead Hospital, call 305-779-2849

or go to www.events.cancer.org/rflhomesteadfl.

Camp out to combat cancer

EXPRESS YOURSELF AT CANCER SURVIVORS DAYCancer survivors and their loved ones can experience thedelight of expression through the creative arts at Cancer Sur-vivors Day on Sunday, May 18. The free eventwill run from 1 to 3 p.m. at South Miami Hos-pital’s Clarke Education Center, U.S. 1 andSW 62 Avenue.

Therapists from the South Miami Hospi-tal Behavioral and Collaborative MedicineProgram will provide interactive demonstra-tions to help participants discover the power ofcreativity through art, dance and the written word. Participantsare encouraged to bring an example of their own expressive artto share.

“The expressive arts encourage cancer survivors to processfeelings and communicate these feelings in a new way,” saidBeth Ruhmann, supervisor of the Arts in Healthcare Program atSouth Miami Hospital. “Tapping into creativity can increase joyand reduce stress.”

Cancer survivors, their families and friends are invited tothis event, sponsored by the Baptist-South Miami RegionalCancer Program. It’s part of National Cancer Survivors Day,which celebrates those living with and beyond cancer. A lightlunch will be served.

The event is free, but reservations are required. Call 786-

596-2871.

The Super Colon, 20 feet long and eight feet high, willbe featured at the Baptist Hospital Relay for Life onMarch 15. People can walk through the inflatable replicaof a human colon and learn about colorectal cancerprevention, detection and treatment options.

BAPTIST HEALTH TAPPED AGAIN TO ‘TOP 100’For the eighth time, Baptist Health has been named to Fortunemagazine’s annual list of the “100 Best Companies to WorkFor.”

“Being recognized eight times is a testa-ment to our commitment to do whateverwe need to do to be a great employer,”said Brian E. Keeley, president and CEO ofBaptist Health. “Our employees deservean outstanding workplace that can accom-modate their interests, challenges andneeds so that they, in turn, can give top-quality care to our patients.”

Baptist Health’s family-friendly benefits include a $10,000adoption benefit, onsite child care, a wellness program with freefitness centers and health screenings, and educational scholar-ship and tuition reimbursement programs.

If you are interested in job opportunities across BaptistHealth, go online to www.baptisthealth.net and click on the“Employment” tab at the top of the page.