Elizabeth Justen and Steven Harvey Appointed to the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners

Elizabeth Justen and Steven Harvey were recently appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to the Board of Commissioners of the South Broward Hospital District, which oversees all actions of the Memorial Healthcare System. Justen and Harvey are serving alongside Chairman Douglas A. Harrison, Vice Chair Dr. Luis E. Orta, and Commissioners Jose Basulto, Brad Friedman and Laura Raybin Miller. Justen is also serving as secretary/treasurer on the board. Both of these appointments are for a four-year term.

Justen is the assistant executive director of the Sheriff’s Foundation of Broward County, a nonprofit organization which funds community programs and initiatives. She is also the key account manager at OFB Marketing and a principal at The Marketing Experience.

Harvey is the assistant dean of operations and administration at Nova Southeastern University, where he previously earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration.

FIU College of Medicine Appoints Interim Associate Dean of Diversity

Dr. Cheryl Holder has been named Interim Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Community Initiatives for the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM).

Holder is a highly respected clinician, educator, and community leader who has dedicated her medical career to serving underserved and vulnerable populations.

As an associate professor in the Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP program, Holder teaches and assesses the impact of social determinants of health on health outcomes. She was one of the first physicians to sound the alarm about the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on the African American community. She has advocated for more testing sites in black neighborhoods and better messaging to educate African Americans about the virus.

Holder is the president of the Florida State Medical Association, a regional arm of the National Medical Association, the largest and oldest organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. She also serves as co-chair of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, working to increase climate literacy and enhance awareness of the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations. She recently gave a TEDMED talk about the link between climate change, health, and poverty.

Jacob Elgie Joins VITAS® Healthcare as Vice President of Human Resources Shared Services

VITAS Healthcare has named Jacob Elgie, an experienced human resources (HR) and technology executive at several Fortune 500 companies, to vice president of HR shared services, reporting to Chief Human Resources Officer Diane Psaras.

Elgie comes to VITAS from Hilton, where he served since 2017 as senior director of global HR technology and innovation, responsible for leadership of the hotel chain’s HR team and for strategy and execution of its enterprise HR systems. He also led Hilton’s migration from a multi-system HR platform to the Oracle platform.

Elgie is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center Pulmonologist Dr. Joseph A. Giaimo Named American Osteopathic Association President-Elect

Dr. Joseph A. Giaimo, DO, FACOI, FCCP, on staff at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, is the new President-Elect of the American Osteopathic Association for the 2020-2021 calendar year.

The organization represents the professional interests of the nation’s more than 145,000 DO’s and osteopathic medical students. In this role, Dr. Giaimo’s responsibilities will include overseeing policymaking processes, secure leadership appointments, and work to implement goals of the AOA’s strategic plan.

Dr. Giaimo is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and sleep medicine. He received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and then did his internship at Metropolitan Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Dr. Giaimo completed his residency in internal medicine, and his fellowship in pulmonary medicine, at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Surgical Oncologist Joins the Center for Advanced Surgical Oncology

Rodrigo Arrangoiz, M.D., MS, FACS, a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist with a focus in the treatment of breast cancer, thyroid cancer, hyperparathyroidism and other types of head and neck cancers has joined the Center for Advanced Surgical Oncology, a Tenet Florida Physician Services (TFPS) medical practice located in Hialeah.

Prior to joining the CASO practice, Dr. Arrangoiz worked as a breast, thyroid, parathyroid, and head and neck surgeon and served as Assistant Professor of Surgery, at the American British Cowdray Medical Center located in Mexico City, Mexico. For his education and training, Dr. Arrangoiz participated in an advanced two-year fellowship in head and neck surgery, and oncology from the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncology Societies and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Arrangoiz completed his complex surgical oncology/head and neck training at the Fox Chase Cancer Center (FCCC) located in Philadelphia, PA.

In addition to his fellowships, Dr. Arrangoiz finished a general surgery internship and residency where he was appointed chief resident at the Michigan State University Department of Surgery in Lansing, MI.

Dr. Arrangoiz received a grant from FCCC in order for him to complete his Master’s of Science in clinical research for health care professionals from Drexel University in Philadelphia. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Anahuac University Medical School in Mexico City. Additionally, Dr. Arrangoiz completed his medical school internships with the National Institute of Perinatology, National Institute of Pediatrics’ in Mexico and at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.

Interventional Neurology Fellow Joins the Advanced Neuroscience Network Physicians Group

Tenet Florida Physician Services (TFPS) is pleased to announce Martha Montgomery Robinson, M.D., an interventional neurology fellow, has joined Advanced Neuroscience Network Physicians (ANNP) and the practice of interventional neurologist, Dr. Ritesh Kaushal, the National Stroke Medical Director for Tenet Healthcare.

Dr. Robinson is certified in Neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and recently completed a fellowship in vascular neurology at Tulane University, located in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Robinson completed her residency training at the Tulane University, Department of Neurology, wherein she served as the chief resident. Dr. Robinson graduated medical school from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine located in Lexington, KY, and completed a preliminary training year in general surgery at the University of Kentucky, Department of General Surgery.

Rolando Garcia, MD, Elected as Region Representative for Florida Orthopaedic Society

Dr. Rolando Garcia, a Miami-based spine surgeon and the first surgeon in Florida to perform spinal disc replacement surgery, has been elected to serve as the Region 5 (South Florida) representative for the Florida Orthopaedic Society (FOS) Board of Directors.

Dr. Garcia’s term began on July 9, 2020 during the FOS annual meeting, which took place virtually this year. As the South Florida regional representative, Dr. Garcia will serve a three-year term. He was inducted into his first year along with Region 4 representative Francisco Schwartz-Fernandez, M.D., MBA, an orthopaedic hand surgeon from Tampa. Both will serve alongside Region 1 representative Aaron Guyer, M.D; Region 2 representative Justin Deen, M.D.; and Region 3 representative Wade Van Sice, M.D.; and all under the leadership of newly inducted FOS president, Dr. Stephen Lucie of Jacksonville, Florida.

Dr. Garcia has been in practice for 23 years at Orthopedic Care Center, which has been serving the South Florida community for more than 30 years. He has also served as the Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center and been on staff at more than five hospitals throughout Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

Local Family Medicine Residents Celebrate Graduation

Lee Health recently celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2020 of The Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program and Global Health Fellowship. The residency program, based at Lee Memorial Hospital, was created to address an expected national shortage of primary care physicians. This issue is compounded locally by a rapidly growing aging population.

This year’s graduates include:

Dr. Jennifer Carrion, who will join the Lee Physician Group at the Surfside location in Cape Coral

Dr. Jaime Hall, who will join the Lee Physician Group at the Plantation location in Fort Myers

Dr. Murilo Lima, who will join Shell Point Retirement Community in Fort Myers

Dr. Christine Norton, who will join the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship in Greenwood, SC

Dr. Kristen Noud, who will join the Lee Physician Group Sanctuary location in Fort Myers

Dr. Hannah Schrubbe, who plans to remain in Fort Myers to practice Family Medicine

Dr. Shayna Smallwood, who will join NCH Family Medicine in Naples

Dr. Arieal Felix, who will join Cherokee Health Systems in Knoxville, TN

Dr. Aruna Khan, Global Health Fellow, who will join the Cleveland Clinic Martin Health System in Port St. Lucie, FL

Dr. Hailon Wong, Global Health Fellow, who will join the Lee Physician Group Residency Faculty in Fort Myers

The Florida State University College of Medicine Family Medicine Residency Program at Lee Health provides 36 months of training, which is divided into four-week blocks. These rotations are completed at Lee Memorial Hospital, HealthPark Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida. The program began with its inaugural class in July 2014.

University of Miami Health System Skin of Color Division Offers Medical, Cosmetic Skin Solutions

When dermatologist Heather Woolery-Lloyd, M.D., FAAD, became director of University of Miami’s Ethnic Skin Care Division in 2002, it became one of the first cosmetic skin centers for people of color. Today, she heads a three-physician team – all women of color – under a newly named Skin of Color Division in the Dr. Philip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Health System. Only a handful of dermatology programs across the country have so many physicians specializing in skin of color care.

Joining Dr. Woolery-Lloyd are Shasa Hu, M.D., FAAD, as director of cosmetic dermatology, and most recently, Laura Scott, M.D., FAAD, who joins as associate director for the Skin of Color Division. Following her training at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Scott came to the University of Miami for her dermatology residency and received mentoring from Dr. Woolery-Lloyd in skin of color care.

Treating skin and hair conditions is still a significant unmet need across the country, Dr. Woolery-Lloyd says. She explains some basic differences encountered by people of color – a group that includes Latinos, Asians and people of African descent: “The melanocyte (which makes the brown color) is more reactive, causing light or dark spots. For example, a pimple or mosquito bite can result in a dark mark on the skin that can last four months or longer, and often times, patients feel that pigment changes can be brushed off by other providers not accustomed to treating people with darker skin.”

Hair loss and scalp disorders also can look different in people of color. Dr. Woolery-Lloyd and her partners may be able to pinpoint the cause. “A scalp condition may be an allergic reaction to a particular hair gel or hair glue, for example,” she says.

“For a lot of patients, what draws people to us is the reassurance that we can diagnose exactly what they have,” Dr. Woolery-Lloyd continues. “We’re providing them with the confidence that even though they may have a challenging skin issue, we’re experts who can create a treatment plan tailored for them.”

Cleveland Clinic Florida Opens Florida Research and Innovation Center

Cleveland Clinic Florida has opened the Florida Research and Innovation Center in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Established in November 2019, the new center will advance innovative translational research, focused on immuno-oncology and infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

The Florida Research and Innovation Center will be closely integrated with Cleveland Clinic’s new Center for Global and Emerging Pathogens Research established in April 2020, which has brought together some of the world’s top research experts in virology, immunology, genomics, and population health to broaden

understanding of emerging pathogens – ranging from the Zika virus to SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) – and to expedite critically needed treatments and vaccines. The researchers will also collaborate with drug developers at Lerner Research Institute’s Center for Therapeutics Discovery to more rapidly move discoveries out of the laboratory and into the clinic for patient care.

The 107,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art research facility features modern laboratory space, biosafety level 3 facilities for work with infectious agents, and office space for support services on eight acres of land. Cleveland Clinic has recruited a team of renowned scientists to the Florida Research and Innovation Center to launch scientific programs that address both local and international health challenges, including cancer and emerging pathogens. The facility will additionally provide an exceptional training environment for researchers. Philanthropic funding of this research program will support the new center’s efforts to explore new treatments and technology.

The Florida Research and Innovation Center will complement and expand research underway at the Florida health system’s five hospitals and the Lerner Research Institute, which is home to 190 laboratories on Cleveland Clinic’s main campus in Cleveland, Ohio. The scientific teams will closely collaborate, tapping into resources at both facilities to develop new treatments for patients around the globe.

The Florida Research and Innovation Center is headed by Scientific Director Michaela Gack, Ph.D., who joined Cleveland Clinic Florida in July 2020. Previously, she was a professor in the Department of Microbiology and chair of the Committee on Microbiology at The University of Chicago in Chicago, Ill. Gack, a renowned virologist, has an extensive background in microbiology and infectious disease. Her research focuses on the immune system’s response to viruses, an essential step in developing safe and effective antivirals and vaccines. She has also done extensive research on immune evasion by Dengue, Influenza and Zika viruses.

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