Florida Hospital Flagler Delivers the State of the Hospital Address

PALM COAST, Fla., March 31, 2017 On March 28, Florida Hospital Flagler delivered the sixth annual State of the Hospital address to a crowd of nearly 150 community members.

During the event, the Florida Hospital Flagler Foundation displayed some of the equipment recently purchased for the Palm Coast hospital. This included UV lights to aid in disinfecting the hospital environment and patient rooms, as well as a vein visualization system, to locate a patient's best vein to improve first stick success and reduce patient pain.

We are so thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase some of this equipment tonight, said John Subers, Florida Hospital Flagler Foundation executive director. These donations were made possible by the generous support of our donors, many of whom are here with us tonight. We are proud of the advancements and future of Florida Hospital Flagler, and I'm so glad some of our donors had the chance to see the real impact their donations have made on our community.

At the event, Florida Hospital Flagler CEO Dr. Ron Jimenez, as well as several physicians, discussed the hospital's recent advancements.

In February, the Palm Coast hospital completed a $4.5 million construction project to expand the Cancer Center by 2,000 square feet and add a second linear accelerator for radiation oncology treatments.

Our new TrueBeam linear accelerator treats some of the most complex cancers in the head and neck, lung, breast, prostate, abdomen and liver. This technology is the only of its kind in Volusia, Flagler or St. Johns counties, said hematologist/oncologist Dr. Padmaja Sai. Treatments with TrueBeam technology are a huge benefit to my patients. With this new technology, radiation treatments are fast and can be completed with just a few minutes a day. Treatments that once took 10 to 30 minutes can now be completed in less than two minutes.

Gynecologist Dr. Steven Brown showcased the hospital's da Vinci Surgical System, which is used during minimally invasive procedures.

Physicians here at Florida Hospital Flagler use the da Vinci Surgical System as an alternative to complex, open or laparoscopic surgery, creating small incisions with little-to-no scarring, said Brown. Even though it is referred to as robotics, it is a bit misleading because there isn't a robot performing the surgery.

Instead, the surgeon sits comfortably at a console, viewing a 3D, high-definition image of the patient's anatomy during the procedure.

Seated at the console, instead of standing directly over the patient, the surgeon uses controls to robotically move the instrument arms and camera. In real-time, the system translates the surgeon's hand, wrist and finger movements into more precise movements of the miniaturized instruments inside the patient, Brown explained. There are so many benefits to performing surgeries with this robotic system. Patients can have virtually scarless surgery while minimizing overall pain and blood loss. In addition, patients have a faster recovery and enjoy a shorter hospital stay.

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Keen celebrated Florida Hospital Flagler's Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission for shoulder replacements, an accolade that designates the hospital as a Center of Excellence for total shoulder replacement surgery. Florida Hospital Flagler is one of only four hospitals in the state to earn this prestigious designation.

This recognition is the highest of its kind in the field of orthopedic surgery and assures the community they are receiving the best orthopedic surgery care possible at our facility, Keen said. Not only have we earned this recognition, but Florida Hospital Flagler is the only facility within Flagler, St. Johns and Volusia counties to receive accreditation in all three joint replacement areas: shoulder, hip, and knee.

Lastly, Dr. John Blevins of Sound Physicians explained Florida Hospital Flagler's hospitalist program.

Hospitalists are physicians whose primary focus is caring for hospitalized patients. We work inside the hospital, caring for inpatients, and have experience and expertise on the unique aspects of a patient's needs during a hospital stay, said Blevins, Florida Hospital Flagler's chief hospitalist.

Sound Physicians is Florida Hospital Flagler's team of hospitalists, and working with the hospital's leadership, they focus on improving quality, while at the same time, lowering the cost of care for inpatients.

In his first ever delivery of the State of the Hospital address at Florida Hospital Flagler, CEO Dr. Ron Jimenez reflected on the hospitals continued growth and the important role the facility has within the community.

This annual event serves as a great opportunity for us to pause and reflect on the growth we've experienced over the years, Jimenez said. When we opened our doors in 2002, we started with just 300 employees. Today, we employ nearly 1,000, and most of our staff live in Flagler County.

Jimenez emphasized the importance of being a strong partner with the community.

"As a hospital, we touch many lives and are here for our community in a variety circumstances, whether its something as simple as a routine cancer screening, or perhaps more life-altering, with a cancer diagnosis. We care for our community during emergencies in the ER, or after the wear-and-tear out on the golf course. Our team provides skilled cardiac services for our neighbor's hearts, and our rehab team helps patients recover from injuries or from a health event, he added. We cover the whole continuum of care here at Florida Hospital Flagler, and I think many times, our community might not know about the wealth of services we provide, or the skilled expertise of our physicians and staff, or even the advanced technology that's available right here in their own backyard.

This annual event was sponsored by the Florida Hospital Flagler Foundations 20/20 Society, a group of supporters with a shared vision of providing quality, state-of-the-art health care and community wellness to Flagler County. The goal of the Florida Hospital Flagler 20/20 Society is to raise $1 million to assist in advancing the health care available within Flagler County by the year 2020.

About Florida Hospital Flagler

Florida Hospital Flagler is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 99-beds, Florida Hospital Flagler is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 907 beds and nearly 6,000 employees. With a mission to extend the healing ministry of Christ, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region collectively contributed nearly $120 million in benefits in 2015 to the underprivileged, the community's overall health and wellness and spiritual needs, and capital improvements. For more information about Florida Hospital Flagler, visit www.FloridaHospitalFlagler.com.

Photo Caption:

On March 28, Florida Hospital Flagler CEO Dr. Ron Jimenez delivered the sixth annual State of the Hospital address to a crowd of nearly 150 community members. Jimenez, along with several physicians, discussed the hospitals recent advancements.