WINTER 2004

B A P T I S T H E A L T H S O U T H F L O R I D A

Baptist Health expands charity program Page 5

Multiple births are on the rise Page 3

A new take on tonsils Page 4

CT boosts cancer treatment Page 16

ON THE COVER: Baptist Health neonatologist Bernardo Pimentel, M.D., makes friends with Raul Garcia, 15, at a SpecialOlympics health screening, one of many Baptist Health community outreach programs detailed in the 2004 Community BenefitReport beginning on page 5.

Baptist Health South Florida Chairman of the Board, George Cadman III; President, Brian Keeley. Trustees:Calvin Babcock, Wendell Beard, H. Robert Berry Sr., James Carr, the Rev. William Chambers, the Rev. DavidCleeland, George Corrigan, William Dickinson, Judge Robert Dubé, Herbert Greene, M.D., George Harth, JayHershoff, Charles Hood III, Norman Kenyon, M.D., the Rev. Richard Ledgister, the Rev. Wilner Maxy, Paul May,Arva Parks McCabe, the Rev. Dr. Marcos Ramos, Robert Singleton, Roberta Stokes, W. Peter Temling, the Rev.Tom Thompson, Scott Weston, the Rev. Dr. William White.

Baptist Hospital of Miami Chairman of the Board, Calvin Babcock; President, Baptist Hospital Medical Staff,Sergio González-Arias, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer, Lee Huntley.

South Miami Hospital Chairman of the Board, Judge Robert Dubé; President, South Miami Hospital MedicalStaff, George Tershakovec, M.D.; Chief Executive Officer, D. Wayne Brackin.

Homestead Hospital Chairman of the Board, the Rev. William Chambers III; Chief of Staff, J. Rudolph GossmanJr., DMD; Chief Executive Officer, Bo Boulenger.

Mariners Hospital Chairman of the Board, Jay Hershoff; Chief of Staff, Sanford Yankow, M.D.; Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Robert Luse.

Baptist HealthSouth Florida

6855 Red Road, Suite 600Coral Gables, FL 33143-3632

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

Baptist Health South Florida Foundation Chairman of the Board, James Carr; Chief Executive Officer, Robert Baal.

Baptist Outpatient Services Chairman of the Board, George Cadman III; Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Rosello.

Directors of Affiliated Boards Richard Alger, Cira Almeida, Tony Alonso, Dick Anderson, George Aronoff, OrlandoBajos, Oscar Barbara, James Barker, Yerby Barker, Rodney Barreto, Jill Beach, James Boilini, O.D., James Bokor,Joseph Bolton, James Boruszak, Robert Breier, Bette Brown, Oscar Bustillo Jr., Barbara Calev, A. Ruben Caride,M.D., Thomas Carlos, Willie Carpenter, Gerald Case, John Cassel, M.D., Mauricio Cayon, Carol Cianciolo, RichardDailey, Xavier de Amezola, Allan Feingold, M.D., Susan Gallagher, Mehdi Ghomeshi, Robert Gintel, Paul Gluck,M.D., K. Lawrence Gragg, Michael Graham, M.D., Curtis Gray, David Hallstrand, M.D., Barry Halpern, M.D., KentHamill, Barbara Hanck, Dan Hanrahan, Carl Hanson, James Harris, Steven Hayworth, Sara Herald, ElizabethHernandez, Agustin Herran, Gerald Hirsch, Nathan Hirsch, M.D., Jacque Huttoe, David Johnson, S. Lawrence KahnIII, George Knox, Rudy Kranys, Manuel Lasaga, Cynthia Leesfield, Orlando Leon, M.D., James Loewenherz, M.D.,Miriam Lopez, Bruce MacArthur, Luis Machado, Michael Marcus, Stanley Margulies, M.D., Charlie Martinez, HansMueller, Thomas Murphy Jr., Louise Orzel, Ramon Oyarzun, Omar Pasalodos, M.D., Gordon Present, AlfredoQuintero, Ramón Rasco, Charlen Regan, Ian Reiss, M.D., Mindy Rich, Ron Robison, Domingo Rodriguez, RuthRosenberg, Audrey Ross, James Russell, Steven Sapp, I.E. Schilling, Henry Tie Shue, Ronald Shuffield, KarlSmiley, M.D., Paul Soulé, Bill Tillett, Barbara Towner, Joseph Traina, M.D., Wanda Trouba, Frederick Vihlen, M.D.,Morton Weiner, Stuart Weiss, Lisa White, Philip Wolman, Leonard Zwerling, M.D.

Don’t change purses in the middle of the week!

Saturday, January 29, 12:30 - 4 p.m.Baptist Hospital, 8900 North Kendall Drive

Want to know how to keep life on track while juggling the demands of family and work? Justask Judge Marilyn Milian from The People’s Court. The feisty Miamijudge, wife and mother will share lessons she’s learned at Baptist

Health’s 14th annual Women’s Health Day on Saturday, January 29. JudgeMilian had 19 years of legal experience on the bench before being tapped in2001 to preside over television’s foremost court show. Now she splits herlife between television tapings in New York and her family in Miami.

After Judge Milian’s presentation, take part in lots of activities aimed atkeeping you healthy:◆ Free screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar (diabetes),

body fat ratio, bone density (osteoporosis) and more. ◆ Experts on hand to answer questions about heart disease, diabetes,

weight loss, cosmetic surgery, cancer and other topics.◆ Mini-lectures, cooking and fitness demonstrations, and exhibits.

No reservations are needed. This event will take place rain or shine. Bringsomeone you love.

14th Annual Women’s Health Day

Free parking is available in the Baptist Medical Arts Building garage, 8950 North Kendall Drive.

Judge Marilyn Milian speaks at 1 p.m.

The trend in childbirth seems to be“the more the merrier.” In the last20 years, twin births have gone up

74 percent, and the number of highermultiples (triplets or more) hasincreased fivefold in the United States.

“The incidence of multiple births ishuge,” said Nathan Hirsch, M.D., chiefof obstetrics/gynecology at South Miami

Hospital. “Right now we’re expectingtwo sets of triplets and one set of quadru-plets.” The increase is largely due toassisted reproductive techniques suchas in vitro fertilization (IVF). Also, morewomen over 30 — who are more likelyto have multiple births — are havingbabies.

The increase in multiple births is not

lost on Giselle Perez, who gave birth totriplets in October 2003. “Our case wasspecial,” Ms. Perez said. “We opted forIVF with Dr. Juergen Eisermann atSouth Miami. Two embryos wereimplanted. One embryo divided, and Igave birth to two identical boys and onegirl,” she said. “Dr. Hirsch was my obste-trician. He gave me some simple thingsto do during my pregnancy and kept aclose watch on my progress. The babieswere born very healthy and my husbandand I couldn’t be happier.”

The increase in triplets and quadru-plets may soon be reversed.“Eight years ago, we were

implanting up to four embryos in IVFprocedures,” said Michael Jacobs, M.D.,reproductive endocrinologist at BaptistHospital. “ Improved IVF techniquesmake it possible to implant fewerembryos. This reduces the likelihood oftriplets, which means less health risk tothe mother and babies.”

In September, the maternity staff atHomestead Hospital celebrated the birthof the hospital’s first-ever set of triplets,delivered by obstetrician Charles Augus-tus, M.D. From January to September,moms gave birth to 10 sets of twins atHomestead Hospital; 69 at South MiamiHospital; and 54 at Baptist Hospital. Mul-tiple births accounted for about 2 per-cent of the more than 8,500 births at thethree hospitals last year.

—-Tom Neile

Multiple births are on the riseWomen&Health

R E S O U R C E 3

Nine-month-old triplets Lucas, Samuel and Sophie Perez pause from anafternoon walk with big brother Gabriel, 2. The triplets, born at South MiamiHospital, are among the 2 percent of multiples born at Baptist Health hospitals.

Dancing helps healingAdance and movement program for women recovering from breast cancer sur-

gery, Focus on Healing, is offered at South Miami Hospital every Mondayfrom 4-5 p.m. South Miami is the first hospital in Miami-Dade County to offer theprogram.

The classes are taught by Wendy Weinshall, a physical therapist who is also abreast cancer survivor. She teaches simple dance movements to improve flexibil-ity, strength and range of motion in the arms and shoulders. These abilities oftenare limited after mastectomy and radiation therapy. The exercises also decreasethe risk of lymphedema and frozen shoulder, and help patients regain balance aftersurgery. No dance experience is necessary.

The cost is $5 per class. For information, call 786-662-8106. Wendy Weinshall

A new take on tonsils

4 R E S O U R C E

Almost like clockwork, my daughterClaire got sick every few months. Itstarted with a soaring fever, a night of

vomiting, and a swollen and sore throat. Thediagnosis and treatment were always the same:strep throat and antibiotics.

From preschool through first grade, Claireendured these miserable illnesses. Once shewas treated in the emergency room for dehy-dration after strep throat led to scarlet fever, adisease I thought had gone the way of polio. Inthe six months before she turned 7, Claire wassick four times with strep.

Time to see an ear, nose and throat doctor.From the 1940s-’60s, children routinely had

their tonsils removed, even if they didn’t have

sore throats. Then, in a backlash, tonsils wererarely removed in my childhood’s generation.

So I didn’t know what to expect when I tookClaire to see Brian Dougherty, M.D., a BaptistHealth otolaryngologist.

He explained that the role of tonsils, a lymphgland, is to boost an immature immune systemby trapping germs and attacking them withwhite blood cells. “Before age 2, you need ton-sils to block infection,” Dr. Dougherty said.“After that, the immune system starts to matureand you build up antibodies and need your ton-sils less and less.”

To avoid the extreme practices of thepast, physician groups have developed criteria to guide doctors and patients.According to the American Academy ofPediatrics, a child is a candidate for tonsil-lectomy after having a minimum of fourthroat infections in one year.

The American Academy of Otolaryn-gology’s additional criteria are difficultybreathing and swallowing, and sleep apneaor interrupted breathing. These are signsthat the tonsils and adenoid are obstruct-ing the airway, sometimes causing sleepdeprivation and behavioral problems. Hid-den from view by the soft palate, the ade-noid is a similar lymph gland. Claire oftencomplained it was hard to swallow. Andshe snored loudly.

Even though Claire qualified for sur-gery, Dr. Dougherty stressed that it waselective. How sick a person gets, the typesof throat infections that occur and theeffectiveness of treatments — as well aswhether the child has breathing issues —are important factors to consider beforeopting for surgery.

After we talked about it, Claire and Iboth favored surgery. It took lessthan an hour and required general

anesthesia. Dr. Dougherty, who doesabout 10 tonsillectomies a month, used anew surgical technique called coblation.Short for “cool ablation,” coblation usesradio waves to destroy tissue. The con-ventional method — electrocautery —burns tissue with electrical heat. Tworecent studies showed that children hadless pain and quicker recoveries withcoblation, compared with electrocautery.

Claire spent one night at Baptist Chil-dren’s Hospital. She had about two weeksof throat discomfort but no complications.Although she had worried that the opera-tion would hurt, afterward she said thepain was only “a little more” than strepthroat. Five healthy months after surgery,Claire no longer snores, and swallowing isa breeze.

“When you first wake up, you can’treally talk that much and your throat isreally sore,” Claire said. “But after awhile itfeels better.’’

— Patty Shillington

At Baptist Children’s Hospital, nurses gaugedClaire Shillington’s pain by having her pointto a face ranging from smiley to very sad.

Join the parenting experts atBaptist Children’s Hospital forenlightening conversation andpractical advice. Each program isheld in the auditorium at BaptistHospital and costs $5. You mustreserve your space by calling786-596-3812.

December - No program. Enjoythe holidays with your family.

Parenting: Who’s in ChargeThursday, January 27, 7-9 p.m.Do your kids constantly test you?Manipulate you? Push you to thelimit? It’s all part of growing up.But if they win the battlesmore often than not,you may wonderwho’s in charge.Regain controlwith tips fromchild psychologistRichard Toister,Ph.D. When you do,you’ll find that you and your chil-dren are happier and more pro-ductive. For parents of children ofall ages.

Kids and Video Games: TheGood, The Bad, The UglyThursday, February 24, 7-9 p.m.X-Box. Playstation. GameBoy. Theaverage child plays 10 hours ofvideo and computer games aweek, yet the industryis one of the leastscrutinized in theU.S. What mes-sages about gen-der, race and vio-lence are your kidsreceiving, and whatimpact is it having on them andyour family life? Join child psy-chologists Gary Lancelotta, Ph.D.,and Olga Garcia, Ph.D., as theygive you strategies to deal withvideo game overload. For parentsof school-age children.

BAPTIST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL PRESENTS

8900 North Kendall Drive

Baptist Children’s HospitalBAPTIST

2004Community Benefit Report

5

Baptist Health expands charity program

Tamarah Park, one of 20 millionemployed Americans without

health insurance, describes herselfas a “regular working Jo.”

The Upper Keys resident wastoiling day and night at the restaurantshe and her boyfriend recently boughtwhen she started having pain in herabdomen. “We scrape by, like mostnew businesses,” said Ms. Park, 45.“Whatever money is made goes backto paying the bills.”

Through Baptist Health’s charitycare program, and a free health clinicit supports, Ms. Park got the diagnosisand treatment she needed for free —a hysterectomy to remove a benigntumor in her uterus. She spent fourdays at Mariners Hospital.

“Had I had money or insuranceI gladly would have paid,” Ms. Parksaid. “But I didn’t. It was like anangel came out of the sky.”

It was her first experience in ahospital. “Everyone was fabulous,”she said. “The nurses were caring,loving, supportive and professional.”

Ms. Park is one of more thanhalf a million residents in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties whohave no health insurance. As thisnational crisis has swelled, so hasBaptist Health’s commitment to provide free care for people like Ms.Park, said Baptist Health Presidentand CEO Brian E. Keeley.

Through its charity care program,Baptist Health will give uninsuredpatients who qualify an estimated $93 million in free services in 2004,an increase of more than 60 percentfrom 2003.

“Part of Baptist Health’s missionas a faith-based organization is totake care of uninsured residents ofour community who are unable topay,” Mr. Keeley said.

For the past two years, Baptist

Health has increased the amount ofincome an uninsured family can earnand still qualify for free care. If afamily’s total income is up to threetimes the federal poverty guidelines(that’s $27,930 for one person, forexample, and $56,550 for a familyof four), they can get free care atany Baptist Health facility whenreferred by a Baptist Health doctoralso willing to care for them for free.Whether patients need a diagnosticmammogram, open-heart surgery oroutpatient physical therapy, BaptistHealth will foot the bill for their careat one of the organization’s five hos-pitals and seven outpatient centers.

“We believe Baptist Health’scharity care policy is a model in thecommunity,” Mr. Keeley said.

Advocates for the poor andunderserved agree.

“Baptist has gone far beyondany obligation to meet the needs ofthe uninsured and underinsured,”said Daniella Levine, executive

director of the Human ServicesCoalition of Dade County.

The amount of charity care atBaptist Health hospitals depends onthe patient population served.Homestead Hospital provides 8 percentof its services free to uninsuredpatients, the highest percentage of anyhospital in Miami-Dade County exceptJackson Memorial, which receivespublic tax dollars. Mariners Hospitalprovides about 7 percent of its servicesas charity care. Both Homestead andMariners are located in areas wherepart-time or seasonal workers have lessaccess to health insurance.

“Our charity care policy reflectsour desire to give back generously tothe community we serve,” Mr. Keeleysaid. “We cannot unilaterally solve thehealth insurance crisis, but we remaintrue to our mission to deliver top-quali-ty healthcare to those in need of ourservices, regardless of their financialstatus.”

Tamarah Park is back at work after free surgery at Mariners Hospital.

2004Community Benefit Report

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Extending our faith-based mission

Medical outcomes depend not only on quality medical care, but also on social and spiritual

support. CHAMP — Congregational Health AllianceMinistry Program — is a partnership between BaptistHealth and more than 80 congregations of all faiths to createa healthier community. CHAMP promotes communityhealth and well-being through faith-based programs includ-ing health education, preventive care, health screenings,home visitation of the sick or recently discharged patients,bereavement support groups and care teams. CHAMP alsoprovides practical and spiritual support to individuals with

health challenges.Under the direction of the Rev. Dale Young, who

founded the community outreach program in 1997 as a partof Baptist Health’s Pastoral Care Services, CHAMP hasprovided thousands of free health screenings to the unin-sured and under-insured. Volunteers are healthcare profes-sionals from Baptist Health’s hospitals.

CHAMP offers the following free training workshopsto any interested church or synagogue:

■ Training to assist a congregation in designing a healthministry program.

■ Home visitation of the sick.■ Bereavement facilitator support group training.■ Care teams training.■ Post-hospitalization spiritual care course. ■ Loss and grief seminars.

“The church members decide what their most pressinghealth needs are, and we work to help them meet thoseneeds,” Rev. Young said. Participating congregations andsynagogues form a health council of their members, whodetermine what services to offer. They may hold a healthfair or survey members to determine health risks. If achurch determines there is a concern about diabetes, forexample, the members may decide to offer programs onhealthy eating or blood sugar monitoring.

One of the most successful endeavors of CHAMP isthe Bereavement Facilitator Support Group Training. Anetwork of about 20 congregations now serves grief-strickenpeople in a variety of diverse religious and cultural settings.

At a health screening at Lord of Life Lutheran Church inWest Kendall, Baptist Health nurse Patricia Russell, R.N.,checks Phyllis Hudson’s blood pressure.

Nidia Campos has been living with diabetes since she was 12. Nowshe’s a 37-year-old single mother working in a medical clinic not affiliated with Baptist Health. Her employer doesn’t offer health insurance but provides her with insulin. In early 2004, Ms. Camposwas treated at Homestead Hospital for a serious kidney infection. Sheknew she couldn’t pay for it. She was urged to apply for assistance,and she qualified for free care. “I was very happy,” Ms. Campos said.“They treated me for 10 days and they never sent me a bill.”

“They never sent me a bill.”

7

Baptist Health physicians and nurses volunteer to give free health screenings to Special Olympics athletes. Nurse practitioner Deborah Coningsby gets to know Erik Hernandez, 14, at one such screening.

Special attention for special kids

Suzanne Rodriguez, R.N., of Baptist Hospital jokes withDavid Quintero, 12.

Maria Clara Cifuentes, 9, takes a deep breath for familyphysician Alan Seifer, M.D.

2004Community Benefit Report

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Free clinics depend on Baptist Health

Mariners Hospital Chief of Staff Sanford Yankow, M.D.,

volunteered regularly at two freehealth clinics for the poor and unin-sured — the Good News Care Centerin Florida City and the Open DoorHealth Center in Homestead.

“It was very fulfilling,” the UpperKeys gynecologist said. “But it wasn’tenough.” Dr. Yankow wanted to startanother clinic in Tavernier, his home,because needy people from the UpperKeys had no recourse but to travel tothe Miami-Dade clinics for care.

Nearly three years after Dr. Yankowlaunched the effort, supported byMariners Hospital and Upper Keysleaders and groups, the Good HealthClinic opened at mile marker 91.5.“Persistence is the key,” Dr. Yankowsaid.

Any uninsured Upper Keys resi-dent whose income is not more than150 percent of the federal povertyguidelines can get free care at GoodHealth.

The Good Health Clinic servespatients who need a specialist, suchas a gynecologist, orthopedist or surgeon. Just as with the Good Newsand Open Door clinics, if GoodHealth patients need hospital care oroutpatient services, they get it free ata Baptist Health hospital.

“Usually these are patients whohave delayed seeking primary careand because of that their illnesses aremore severe,” said Chaplain JimGustafson, who oversees charity careat Mariners and Homestead Hospitals.

On behalf of the Good HealthClinic, Dr. Yankow received the 2004

Service Provider of the Year awardfrom the Miami-Dade County HealthDepartment at the agency’s annualawards dinner in September.

Also honored with the 2004Lifetime Achievement award was theRev. Michael Daily, founder of theGood News Care Center.

In a trailer donated by BaptistHealth, on a church lot in FloridaCity, patients squeeze into the GoodNews clinic’s crowded waiting room.People like Iris Hernandez, 53, andMario Gustavo De Cicco, 45.

Ms. Hernandez is an uninsuredhomemaker who cares for two of hergrandchildren. Today she has come toget medicine for her allergies andhigh cholesterol.

Mr. De Cicco, an uninsuredKendall resident who works in an airline’s cargo department, takes med-ication for high blood pressure andhigh cholesterol. Before hearing aboutthe Good News clinic a year ago, hecouldn’t afford the medication heneeded. “I wouldn’t know what to doif I didn’t come here,” he said. “Idon’t have the money to pay a privatedoctor.”

Baptist Hospital supplies the clinic with free medications. “It’s soimportant,” said Ana Alves-Daily, theclinic administrator and Rev. Daily’swife. “The patient leaves with themedicine in hand.”

In addition, Baptist Healthdonates $350,000 a year to GoodNews, which cares for and educatesmany patients who otherwise mighthead to a hospital emergency roomfor primary care.

“We depend totally on BaptistHealth,” Rev. Daily said. “They trulyfinance our core operation.”

In 2005, Baptist Health will givea $231,000 grant to Open DoorThe new Good Health Clinic was the brainchild of Sanford Yankow, M.D.

Continued on next page

9

Baptist Health provides free care including hospitalization and outpatientservices to all patients of these three clinics:

■ Good News Care CenterOpened: 1996101 S. Redland Road, Florida City305-246-2844Number of patients in 2003: 4,328

■ Open Door Health CenterOpened: 20011350 SW Fourth St., Homestead305-246-2400Number of patients in 2003: 7,818

Obstetrician-gynecologist GeorgeBattle, M.D., chairs Baptist Health’sPhysician Community ServiceCommittee, which helps coordinatethe volunteer work by physicians.

■ Good Health ClinicOpened: January 200491555 Overseas Highway,Tavernier305-853-1788Number of patients in 2004:(through October) 53

Jakoby, Baptist Health’s director ofpastoral care.

Baptist Health also is involved inpatient education at Open Door. EachTuesday evening, Open Door runs amandatory program for clinic patientswith diabetes. Experts from theBaptist-South Miami Diabetes CareCenters have given presentations ondiet, exercise and other lifestylechanges patients can make to improvetheir health. Lois Exelbert, R.N.,administrator of the Diabetes CareCenter at Baptist Hospital, serves onthe advisory board for Open Door’s

diabetes project. “She’s always avail-able when we have someone with spe-cial needs,” said Nilda Soto, M.D.,medical director of Open Door.

Dr. Soto said Open Door “has avery strong foundation, with three big arms holding us up” — HealthFoundation of South Florida, theUniversity of Miami’s Area HealthEducation Center and Baptist Health.

“Many different volunteers fromBaptist have been very, very involvedin the clinic,” Dr. Soto said. “Theyreally go above and beyond what theywere supposed to do.”

Health Center, which has a waitinglist of 500 patients. “They’re going totry to hire another physician, at leastpart time,” said Chaplain Robert

People caring for peopleMedical excellence. Jobs for the community. Health screenings, education and support. Care for the needy. Somemight call it a lot of effort — and they’d be right. But for the people of Baptist Health, it’s just standard operatingprocedure.

Community Benefit Highlights FY 2003 FY 2004(estimated)

Charity care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 57 million $ 93 millionUncompensated care (Medicaid shortfalls, bad debt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 242 million $ 293 millionFlorida indigent care fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 10 million $ 15 millionEducational programs, free healthcare screenings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 million $ 2 million

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 310 million $ 403 million

You can help. Baptist Health South Florida Foundation supports the not-for-profit mission of BaptistHealth’s hospitals. All contributions are tax deductible. To find out how you can help, call the Foundation at786-596-6535.

2004Community Benefit Report

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Community partnerships promote health

The Human Services Coalition of Dade County, like other

community groups, knows it canturn to Baptist Health in times ofneed, said Daniella Levine, thecoalition’s executive director.

“We view Baptist Health as atremendous community asset andhospital organization,” Ms. Levinesaid.

The coalition takes on health-care and social-services issues, andrelies on community partnerships to do so. Part of Baptist Health’smission is to work with such groupsthat strive to improve life for SouthFlorida’s neediest people, especiallywhen it comes to healthcare.

“It’s simple,” said Phillis Oeters,Baptist Health’s corporate vicepresident of community relations.“We do this because it’s the rightthing to do.”

Homestead Hospital donatedoffice space when the coalition was setting up its program to helpresidents of deep south Miami-Dade

Baptist Health sponsors a walkinggroup at Dadeland Mall. One ofthe group’s most inspirationalmembers is Gerry Howlett, whoturned 100 years old in 2004.

Continued on next page

Baptist Health has sponsored the construction of four Habitat for Humanityhomes with the help of employee volunteers. South Miami Hospital employeeMary Beth Justiniana donated a weekend day working on a home in SouthMiami that would be owned by a hospital co-worker.

find health insurance through government-sponsored plans suchas KidCare. “Our KidCare outreachwork was made possible from theoutset because of that relationshipwith Baptist and the willingness ofHomestead Hospital to provide uswith a base of operation,” Ms.Levine said.

In a new partnership this year,Baptist Health has joined withInformed Families to offer parent-ing and community educationclasses at the Baptist HealthResource Center at InformedFamilies, 2490 Coral Way. Parents

11

At Children’s Health Day at BaptistChildren’s Hospital, kids get a hands-on look at healthcare. Here, nurseanesthetist Jennifer Fredrickson prepsBarbara Reyes for a pretend operation.

can get helpful information on suchtopics as understanding teens, andkids and drugs.

In other community outreach in2004, Baptist Health presented 142free and low-cost educational pro-grams (including many in Spanish)and health fairs to about 15,000residents of all ages. The popularWomen’s Health Day, Children’sHealth Day and Men’s Health Daydrew thousands of participants.

Baptist Health also gave com-fort to people facing prostate can-cer, stroke, diabetes, the loss of aspouse and other difficult problemsthrough 51 ongoing support groups.And special programs, likeDadeland Mall Walkers Club anddiscount dining, target seniors ages55 and up.

In the past year, Baptist Healthprovided 5,000 free and low-costhealth screenings to children andadults at the organization’s hospitals,

neighborhood centers and other set-tings. The screenings help peopleidentify conditions including highblood pressure, high cholesterol,diabetes and osteoporosis. In thepast two years alone, Baptist Healthhas spent $3 million on educationalprograms, health screenings andrelated community services.

Baptist Health also activelysupports caregiving organizationsthrough co-sponsorships andemployee fundraising. Among thepartners: the Susan G. KomenBreast Cancer Race for the Cure,United Way (to which employeesand Baptist Health contributed morethan $500,000 in the past twoyears), La Liga Contra el Cancer(League Against Cancer) and theChildren’s Cancer Caring Center,(to which Baptist Health contributed$250,000 each for free care for cancer patients).

Derrick Burgess was eating dinner when his left hand went numb.Then the numbness spread to the left side of his face. He ended up atHomestead Hospital for several days last February. All sorts of testswere done and many serious conditions were ruled out. Doctors neverfigured out conclusively what happened — perhaps a minor stroke. ForMr. Burgess, now 29, it was a wake-up call to improve his diet. “Itscared me,” he said. Working as a waiter without health insurance, Mr.Burgess was facing an $18,000 hospital bill. “I didn’t have the money,”he said. The hospital told him he could apply for financial assistance. Hedid and was approved. His hospital bill was erased: “They told me it wasall taken care of.”

“It was all taken care of.”

2004Community Benefit Report

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Doctors share ‘passion to give’

The case of Simone Alexandre reveals the frequent reality of

caring for an uninsured patient — itrequires a cooperative commitment togive among many doctors and facilities.

Ms. Alexandre, a multilingualnurse and women’s rights advocate inher homeland of Haiti, came to SouthFlorida in search of work and medicalhelp. She was going blind and suffer-ing headaches. “One doctor [in Haiti]told me I had glaucoma,” said Ms.Alexandre, 47. “But I had studiedpathology and I knew it wasn’t glaucoma.”

Last year, she was referred toGood News Care Center in FloridaCity by an acquaintance, and the ballwas rolling quickly to organize a teamof Baptist Health doctors to give herfree care. She saw ophthalmologistWilliam Trattler, M.D. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of herhead revealed a large tumor in herpituitary gland pressing on the opticnerve behind her forehead.

Other specialists stepped in,including Steven Fletcher, M.D., anear, nose and throat surgeon; endocri-nologist Carlos Barrera, M.D.; neurosurgeonGeorge Ibars,M.D.; and car-diologistRamon Lloret,M.D. In July,she spent aweek at BaptistHospital forsurgery toremove thebenign tumor. Dr. Ibars and Dr. Fletcher performedthe delicate operation. Her vision hasimproved so dramatically that shecan read again.

A grateful Ms. Alexandre said shethought she couldn’t get that kind of

care if she had neither insurance normoney. She said she has learned that“there are good people who care andwant to help other people facing difficulty.”

The Good News, Open Door andGood Health clinics turn to nearly100 Baptist Health doctors who volunteer their services when the clinics need specialty care for apatient. Many other doctors on theirown quietly see needy patients intheir offices without charge.

“The volunteers are the reasonwe are open,” said Nilda Soto, M.D.,medical director of Open Door.

Added Ana Alves-Daily, GoodNews administrator, “I have neverseen such a passion to give.”

Dr. Ibars said he enjoys donatinghis services. “I feel very stronglyabout this. We became physicians totake care of people — whether theyhave insurance or not,” he said. “Thisis something that physicians used todo a lot — give free care. It’s harderto do now because we’re so busy, butI still think it’s our obligation.”

Another Baptist Health surgeon,Cristina Lopez-Peñalver, M.D., was

honored in September with anOutstanding Service Award from theMiami-Dade Health Department forher volunteer work. “She has donetons of surgery free of charge,” Dr.Soto said. “She never says no.”

Dr. Lopez-Peñalver said she con-siders caring for the poor, especiallyimmigrants like her own family, “veryrewarding. To provide essentialhealthcare issomething thattouches myheart.”

SurgeonRobertoSantiesteban,M.D., does oneor two opera-tions a monthwithout charge.

“We bookthe case with less hassle [than aninsured patient] because we don’thave to go through any bureaucracy,”Dr. Santiesteban said. “We followthem in the office for as long as theyneed.”

Doctors say their willingness togive free care to patients often woulddead-end without the help of BaptistHealth. “Even if you want to donateservices as a surgeon, if you don’thave an institution to back you up,you can’t do it. I can’t do surgery inmy office,” Dr. Santiesteban said.

“Baptist Health has done anincredible job by putting this generousprogram in place. There are norestrictions, no limitations, no redtape.” Dr. Santiesteban said he feelsan obligation to help those in needbecause of the “great opportunity” hehas enjoyed.

“I feel I have to somehow giveback to this community, which hasbeen generous to me,” he said. “I feelprivileged to work with Baptist Health.”

Simone Alexandre

George Ibars, M.D.

RobertoSantiesteban, M.D.

R E S O U R C E 13

BAPTIST MEDICAL PLAZA AT WESTCHESTER8820 Bird Road, Suite 400, Health Resource Center

Taking Care of Your Diabetic Feet. Wednesday, Jan. 19, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Dr. Mark Maederer Jr., podiatrist.Eating for a Healthy Heart. Thursday, Feb. 3, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Tania Rivera, registered dietitian. Fee $5.

BAPTIST MEDICAL PLAZA AT WEST KENDALL13001 N. Kendall Drive, Suite 300, Health Resource Center

The Latest in Carotid Artery Disease. Friday, Jan. 14, 1-2 p.m., Margaret Kovacs, research manager, BaptistCardiac & Vascular Institute.Advances in Plastic Surgery (in Spanish). Tuesday,Jan. 25, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Eduardo Barroso, cosmetic surgeon.What to Expect from aColonoscopy (in Spanish).Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1-2 p.m.,Dr. Eugenio J. Hernandez,gastroenterologist.Treatment Options forIrregular Heartbeats.Thursday, Feb. 17, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Efrain Gonzalez,electrophysiologist, BaptistCardiac & Vascular Institute.

WOMEN’S HEALTH RESOURCE CENTER8950 N. Kendall Drive, Suite 105, Health Resource Center

To Carb or Not to Carb? (in Spanish). Tuesday, Jan. 11,7-8 p.m., Karla Otero, registered dietitian.

The Causes of and Cure for Bad Breath (inSpanish). Thursday, Feb. 10, 7-8 p.m., Dr.Frances Robles-Peña, gastroenterologist. Help for Bloating and Constipation.Wednesday, Feb. 9, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Eduardo Ruan,gastroenterologist.

SOUTH MIAMI HOSPITAL • U.S. 1 and SW 62Avenue, Victor E. Clarke Education Center

Managing Pain Through Non-drug Techniques.Tuesday, Feb. 1, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Kathryn Bishopric, socialworker, Collaborative and Behavioral Medicine.

BAPTIST MEDICAL PLAZA AT DORAL9915 NW 41 Street, Suite 210, Health Resource Center

Exercise: A Healthy Habit to Start. Tuesday, Jan. 18, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Magalis Gonzalez, exercise physiologist. Treatment Options for Irregular Heartbeats (in Spanish). Thursday, Feb. 3, 7-8 p.m., Dr. Efrain Gonzalez, electrophysiologist, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute.

HOMESTEAD SENIOR CENTER43 NE 16 Street

Eating for a Healthy Heart. Wednesday, Feb. 23, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Kathya Saenz, registered dietitian.

BAPTIST HEALTH RESOURCE CENTER AT INFORMED FAMILIES • 2490 Coral Way

Help for Headaches (in Spanish). Tuesday, Feb. 22,6:30-7:30 p.m., Dr. Hugo Mejia-Carrasco, neurologist.

MARINERS HOSPITAL • 91500 Overseas Highway,Tavernier

Back on Track: Prevention and Treatment of Back Problems.Thursday, Jan. 27, 6-7:30 p.m., Jason Seiler, physical therapist.Break Past Your Exercise Plateau. Wednesday, Feb. 16, 6-7:30 p.m., David Flench, Wellness Center director.

ONGOING PROGRAMS

CADRE (Cardiovascular and Diabetes RiskEradication). A weight-loss and exercise program forpeople who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease ordiabetes. Call 786-596-3696.Cardiac Screening. Screening and consultation availableby appointment. Fee $30. Call 786-573-3755.Dadeland Walking Club. Mondays, Wednesdays andFridays, 9-10 a.m. (registration on Mondays only),Dadeland Mall, Burdines-Macy’s Home Store. Enter mall infront of parking garage on northwest side. Led by anexercise specialist. Free. Call 786-596-7044.Osteoporosis Screening. Screening and consultationavailable by appointment. Fee $15. Call 786-596-3812.

W I N T E R C A L E N D A RIf you’re 55 or older, take advantage of the programs and health screenings offered by Baptist Health. There is a $5 charge formost programs; however, Senior Advantage members attend free unless otherwise noted. To get a Senior Advantage card, call786-596-3895. Registration is required for all programs, including those that are free. Call 786-596-3812. For Spanish pro-grams, call 786-596-3814.

S E N I O RF O C U S

14 R E S O U R C E

Adoctor and a donor are collaborating to create a centerof excellence to study and treat abnormalities of theheart’s electrical system. In the next two years, their

vision will be reality at South Miami Hospital’s Heart Center.The doctor is John R. Dylewski, M.D., a cardiac specialist in

electrophysiology. He treated the donor, L. Austin Weeks, foratrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm.

After Dr. Dylewski found the medication that solved Mr.Weeks’ problem, Mr. Weeks asked the doctor if there wasanything he could do for him. “Dr. Dylewski said he had inmind this center of excellence in electrophysiology, and that’show it started,” Mr. Weeks recalled.

Mr. Weeks’ gift to the South Miami Hospital Foundation —$10 million — is the largest donation ever received by Baptist

Health. It will fund three com-ponents: a new clinical areaequipped with state-of-the-artelectrophysiology and angiog-raphy equipment; an outpatientcardiac rhythm managementclinic for the diagnosis andmanagement of heart rhythmproblems; and an extensivecommitment to physician andpublic education about heartrhythm disturbances and theirtreatment.

Construction of the clinicalareas is underway as part of a major renovation and expansionat South Miami Hospital. Dr. Dylewski said he expects tolaunch public awareness and educational efforts next year, inaddition to planning an international medical education conference.

Dr. Dylewski said he was “awed” by Mr. Weeks’ gift. “Thiswill be a huge addition to the South Miami Heart Center,” hesaid. “It truly rounds out the capability of our cardiologistsand cardiac specialists to provide comprehensive heart treat-ment second to none.”

Stephen Parsons, Foundation vice president, said, “Mr.Weeks’ transformational gift will benefit generations ofpatients. It serves as a message to other donors in our

community who can also help create a margin of excellence forhealthcare at Baptist Health hospitals and facilities.”

Wayne Brackin, CEO of South Miami Hospital, said theentire community owes Mr. Weeks a debt of gratitude for his

donation. “We frankly could not do this with-out Mr. Weeks’ support,” Mr. Brackin said.“His philanthropy allows us to elevate thepractice of cardiac electrophysiology to thehighest standard.”

Mr. Weeks said his interest in medicinewas sparked when he was a pre-med studentat Brown University in the l940s. World WarII interrupted his career plans, but when theyoung Navy man returned to college afterthe war, he got two master’s degrees — inbacteriology and geology — at Columbia. Ittook him only two semesters.

The retired petroleum geologist and for-mer director of Weeks Petroleum Ltd., acompany founded by his father, is an avidphotographer. He and his wife, Marta, arelongtime benefactors of the University ofMiami and other philanthropic causes.

— Jo Baxter

$10 million gift benefits Heart CenterHERE&THERE

John R. Dylewski, M.D.

L. Austin Weeks with his wife, Marta.

Baptist Hospital wins consumer award

Your friends and neighbors say it’sso. For the ninth consecutive year,they’ve chosen Baptist Hospital as theMiami area’s most preferred hospital inthe National Research Corporation’ssurvey of 140,000 Americanhouseholds.

“It’s a very special honor because it’s like the People’s Choice awards ofhealthcare,” said Baptist Hospital CEO Lee Huntley. “It comes from thepeople we serve.”

The study, announced in Modern Healthcare magazine, is the mostcomprehensive consumer assessment of the healthcare industry. Otherhospitals receiving the award were Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore,Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center inLos Angeles.

R E S O U R C E 15

Living with cancerIf your life or the life of a

loved one has been touched bycancer, you’re familiar with thestress it can cause. To help youthrough this difficult time, joinus to learn about the healingpower of spirituality, relaxationtechniques, gentle therapeuticmovement and tai chi-styleexercise (focusing on move-ment rather than religiousaspects of tai chi). To registerfor this free program, call 786-596-2871.

Sunday, February 27, 1-3 p.m.

Victor E. Clarke Education Center

Baptist Healthtops for moms

For the 12th time, Baptist Health hasbeen named one of the “100 BestCompanies for Working Mothers”

by Working Mother magazine, one ofonly two companies in Florida to makethe list.

Baptist Health was recognized forservices including flextime, compressedwork weeks, telecommuting, job-shar-ing, affordable healthinsurance, retirementbenefits, child care cen-ters, adoption benefitsand an employee well-ness program.

“Great employeeslead to great patientcare,” Baptist HealthPresident and CEOBrian E. Keeley said.“Thanks to them, we’re able to achieveour mission of providing excellenthealthcare to all who come to us.”

— Sheila Fyfe

South Miami HospitalBAPTIST

U.S. 1 and SW 62 Avenue

The hospital doesn’t need to be a scary place. Especially atMiami Children’s Museum, where Baptist Children’s Hos-pital’s health exhibit lets kids pull on doctor gear and get

right to work in the emergency room. Besides discovering whatbeing a doctor and nurse are all about, children also learn about

nutrition and dentalhealth. And, they can

even climb aboard anexercise bike to pump off

some calories and get in shape. It’s allhands-on action. The museum is locatedat 980 MacArthur Causeway and is opendaily, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Admission is $10for adults and children (ages 12 monthsand under, free).

— Adrienne Sylver

Priscilla Hardie gives crutches a try in the museum ER, upper left, and thenlearns the right way to brush her teeth in a giant model of the mouth.

Healthy play at kids’ museum

Anew generation of radiation therapyis giving doctors at South MiamiHospital an unprecedented ability

to treat cancer with greater precision. Tomotherapy, as it’s called, links in one

machine the accuracy of intensity modu-lated radiation therapy (IMRT) with theimage-guided benefits of a built-in CT scan-ner. Tomotherapy takes its name from theCT scan — computed tomography —capabilities.

South Miami Hospital is the first inSouth Florida to install the $2.8 milliontomotherapy unit. Only about 20 have beeninstalled nationwide since doctors beganusing the new technology last year.

“Tomotherapy lets us lock onto theexact shape and size of a tumor to deliverhundreds of pencil-thin beams of radia-tion from every direction,” said StevenOlszewski, M.D., medical director of SouthMiami Hospital’s Radiation Treatment Center. “With the built-in CT scanner, we can get real-time images of the cancer sitewithout moving the patient. This lets us check the dose andsculpt the radiation before treatment to account for anychanges in the tumor itself, or in the surrounding organs andhealthy tissue.”

IMRT gives tomotherapy the capability of changing theintensity and shape of the radiation beams to precisely matchthe shape of the tumor.

Traditional therapy uses wider beams of radiation pro-jected at the tumor from a few different directions, whileIMRT hits the tumor from every direction. But with

IMRT alone, or traditional radiation therapy, patients need aseparate appointment for a CT scan before treatment. Thenpermanent ink is used on the patient’s skin to mark the targetfor radiation therapy.

“Now, we can do the CT image at the time of treatment,which means no permanent external markers are needed tohelp us aim the radiation,” Dr. Olszewski said.

The improved accuracy helps prevent damage to normaltissue and reduces side effects. Just as with a CT scan, thepatient reclines on a treatment table that moves through thedoughnut-shaped tomotherapy unit.

Radiation therapy for cancer has gone through majoradvances in recent years. Baptist-South Miami Regional Can-cer Program was one of the first in South Florida to introduceIMRT units in 2003. The radiation therapy centers at bothBaptist and South Miami Hospitals use IMRT.

Not all patients need tomotherapy. IMRT and other typesof radiation therapy such as high-dose brachytherapymay be better suited for some types of cancers,

depending on the location, type, stage and previous treatmentof the disease. Some patients may get a combination of IMRTand tomotherapy treatments.

Tomotherapy may be used on a variety of cancers, includ-ing prostate, breast, lung, brain, head and neck, bone and softtissue, lymphomas and multiple myeloma. Treatment is gen-erally given in daily doses, five days a week for about sixweeks. However, tomotherapy can also be used to deliver a sin-gle dose of radiation (called radiosurgery) to destroy sometypes of tumors.

For more information about tomotherapy and other services offered by Baptist-South Miami Regional Cancer Program, call 786-596-2430 (toll-free at 800-599-2456).

— Anne Streeter

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Editor: Jo Baxter. Art Directors: Martha Hesse, Denise Winston. Associate Editors: Patty Shillington, Anne Streeter. Writers: Jo Baxter, Sheila Fyfe, Tom Neile, Patty Shillington,Anne Streeter, Adrienne Sylver, Phyllis Teitelbaum.Editorial Assistants: Georgette Koch, Dee Kodiak, Barbara Moore, Patty Shillington, Dorothy Stein, Laura Pincus,Bethany Rundell. Photography: Faseed al-Mashat, Mabel Rodriguez.Cover Photograph: Mabel Rodriguez.Visit us: www.baptisthealth.net Copyright © 2004 Baptist Health South Florida. All rightsreserved. None of the contents of this publication may bereproduced or transmitted without the prior written permissionof the publisher.

Steven Olszewski, M.D., says the new unit targets tumors better.

CT boosts cancer treatment