Vol. 29 No. 21 May 23, 2011 A Weekly Space Coast Business Magazine
Please see Health First, page 19
Please see Cardiac Arrest, page 16
PRESORTEDSTANDARD
US POSTAGEPAID
BREVARD BUSINESSNEWS, INC.
By Ken Datzman
Health First Inc. employees Osvaldo
“Ozzie” Cruz and Brandy Berry were
battling what tens of millions of Americans
face — a growing waistline and excess body
fat.
Both individuals were stacking on
weight, to the tune of 249 and 231 pounds,
respectively, and endangering their health.
Something had to change, they said.
One day, Berry said she came across an
e–mail sent to her by Health First an-
nouncing weight–loss competitions among
its employees. “Wow! Here’s my chance, I
thought. It really excited me. And there
was an option to have a Pro–Health &
Fitness Center personal trainer assist me.”
Berry said a steady diet of fast food and
high–calorie coffee drinks put her on a path
of weight gain she battled for years. She
said she tried a number of popular diets to
lose weight, but with little success.
Before enrolling in one of the Health
First competitions, Cruz said he was taking
medication for high–blood pressure. “My
blood pressure was in the 190s (systolic,
Health First employeeslose a ton of weight, withCruz, Berry winning titles
the top number; normal is less than 120).
That was certainly notification that I had
to do something to get it down.”
Both Berry and Cruz, as well as more
than 400 other Health First employees, are
living much healthier lifestyles today
because of their experiences competing in
the company’s first weight–loss contests.
They each won individual titles in two
different competitions, pushing themselves
to new levels of performance almost on a
weekly basis, and reshaping their lives in
the process.
Health First, which operates four
hospitals in the county, launched the
competitions to encourage its associates to
set an example in the community.
“This was the brainchild of Mike Means
(Health First president and CEO) and
Rusty Fischer (Health First board chair-
man),” said Suzie Bond, of Health First’s
Pro–Health & Fitness Center.
“The two of them asked that we put
together a program where employees
would compete in weight–loss contests. The
project involved a large number of people
Hospital operator Health First recently conducted two 12–week weight–loss competitions among itsemployees. The ‘Great Weight–off’ and the ‘Slim–to–Win Challenge’ were voluntary. In the firstevent, associates lost 2,288 pounds. The individual winner was Ozzie Cruz. Brandy Berry capturedthe Slim–to–Win title, rallying in the final week of competition. From left: Suzie Bond, Health First Pro–Health & Fitness Center; Cruz; Jill Wattenbarger, Pro–Health personal trainer; and Berry.
BBN photo — Adrienne B. Roth
By Lee BowmanScripps Howard Service
The shock of youthful, seemingly
healthy athletes collapsing and dying from
sudden cardiac arrest naturally makes
athletic trainers, coaches, sports physi-
cians, and parents want to do all they can
to prevent it.
Yet heart specialists and advocates are
divided over just what the best prevention
might be.
Some sports–medicine specialists and
the advocacy group Parent Heart Watch
are urging that all young athletes going
into the heavy training of high school or
even junior high school competitive sports
undergo cardiac screening as part of a pre–
participation physical. They argue that
testing should include an electrocardio-
gram and/or an echocardiogram before the
athlete is cleared to play.
But an evaluation of a mandatory
screening program for Israeli athletes,
published recently, suggests such testing
might be of limited value.
Dr. Sami Viskin of Tel Aviv University
examined 24 documented cases of sudden
cardiac deaths among competitive athletes
in Israel between 1985 and 2009. He found
that 11 of the cases occurred before 1997,
when mandatory testing of all competitive
athletes became required by law, and 13
happened after the screening started.
Dr. Viskin’s report was published in the
March 15 issue of the “Journal of the
American College of Cardiology.”
Dr. Viskin said an abnormal EKG
might be seen in 10 percent of athletes
being screened, requiring further costly
and time–consuming testing. Based on the
numbers in his review, he said, “over
30,000 athletes would have to be tested to
Sudden cardiac arrest in athletes confounds medical community
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MAY 23, 2011Call Adrienne Roth at 321-951-7777 for Advertising InformationBREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 2
BBN DIGESTFlorida Tech’s ‘Evening of Hope’function raises $190,000 for theScott Center for Autism Treatment
More than 260 people attended “An Evening of Hope
III,” which raised more than $190,000 for the Florida
Institute of Technology Scott Center for Autism Treat-
ment.
The event was held recently at the Merritt Island home
of Ed and Cheryl Scott, benefactors of the center.
“We raised the funds through sponsorships, a live
auction and a Rolex watch raffle. People responded
extremely generously to all these efforts, said J. Carey
Gleason, Florida Tech associate vice president for
development and community relations.
The Rolex, a model 16610 Rolex Oyster men’s watch,
was valued at $6,000 and donated by Kempf’s Jewelers in
Indialantic.
A portion of the funds raised from this year’s Evening
of Hope will go toward the creation of a resource room for
parents and teachers. It will be located on the second floor
of the Scott Center on the Florida Tech Melbourne
campus.
The Scott Center opened in October 2009. It provides
treatment, education and training for persons with autism
spectrum disorders and their families from Brevard,
Indian River, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and
Volusia counties.
The center implements research–based practices,
partners with schools and families and collaborates with
other professionals in this new facility. The center’s
website is http://research.fit.edu/scottcenter.
‘Get Started in Latin’ set for B&NBarnes & Noble in West Melbourne will host the
program “Get Started in Latin” each Thursday at 11 a.m.
throughout June and July. The store is at 1955 W. New
Haven Ave. Students of all ages who are interested in
learning Latin are welcome to attend the meetings. Scott
Miller of Central Middle School, a certified Latin teacher,
will present the program.
Payne named Maritime Person of the YearJ. Stanley Payne, executive director of the Canaveral
Port Authority, was named Maritime Person of the Year
for the Southeast Region of the Propeller Club at its recent
convention in Mobile, Ala. The region covers Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. Payne
was selected from a number of top people in the maritime
industry for his “effective leadership, dedication and
commitment to the maritime community.” As executive
director, Payne has overseen major improvements to Port
Canaveral infrastructure that have required a key effort
on his part to obtain cooperation from other federal, state
and local agencies whose operations impact Port
Canaveral. Port Canaveral is one of the engines driving
the economy of Brevard County. Payne is now eligible for
selection as International Maritime Person of the Year.
He will be competing against candidates from around the
world at the Propeller Club’s International Convention in
Le Havre, France, this October. The Port Canaveral club
is accepting new members. For more information visit
www.PropellerClubCanaveral.com.
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 3
Dr. Ray Armstrong’s $2.5 millionpledge starts the fund–raisingdrive for the School of Psychology
Florida Institute of Technology Trustee Dr. Raymond
Armstrong Sr. has pledged $2.5 million in support of the
School of Psychology.
The donation will go toward facilities renovation and
construction, and endowment.
“The School of Psychology’s success and community
outreach necessitate additional space and resources,” said
Florida Tech President Anthony Catanese. “Our growing
programs, first–class initiatives, student demand and
societal needs necessitate that we go forward with our
mission to equip the school with all that’s required to serve
our students and the people they benefit.”
A board of trustees member since 1984, Dr. Armstrong
said, “I recognize that the School of Psychology must
replace and modernize its buildings, facilities and equip-
ment to ensure an excellent academic environment. I
pledge to help in every way possible.”
One of the university’s current priorities is a new
building for the School of Psychology. Dr. Mary Beth
Kenkel, the school’s dean, said, “We believe that this very
welcome gift from Dr. Armstrong will provide the seed to
grow a strong funding effort.”
“This is the first substantial donation in a continuing
effort to enhance the resources of the School of Psychology,”
added Ken Stackpoole, Florida Tech’s senior vice president
for advancement. “It comes at an excellent time as we
solidify our plans to support the school.”
The School of Psychology originated in 1980 to focus on
preparing professionals to address some of the most
pressing needs of society. The school’s clinical psychology
doctorate program, nationally accredited since 1984, was
started to meet the need for a mental health work force for
the rapidly growing population of Florida and the South-
east. The school’s degrees and programs include indus-
trial–organizational psychology, forensic psychology and
applied behavior analysis.
The program reached national prominence with the
opening in fall 2009 of the Scott Center for Autism
Treatment on the Melbourne campus of Florida Tech. The
$5.4 million building was funded through a contribution
from Ed and Cheryl Scott and a grant from the Health
Resources and Services Administration.
Dr. Armstrong, former chief of surgery at Holmes
Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, and a leader in
community affairs, currently resides in Monroe, La.
For more information about the School of Psychology,
visit http://cpla.fit.edu/psych.
Sunflower House seeks donationsThe Sunflower House is accepting donations for its
medical–equipment bank. Wheelchairs, walkers with
seats, shower chairs, and bedside commodes are most
needed. The medical–equipment bank loans equipment to
individuals age 60 and older and to caregivers of individu-
als age 60 and older who are in need. This program is
donation–based. The Sunflower House, a senior and
caregiver resource center located in Merritt Square Mall, is
a program of Community Services Council of Brevard
County.
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 4
4300 Fortune Place, Suite DWest Melbourne, FL 32904
(321) 951–7777fax (321) 951–4444
BrevardBusinessNews.com
PUBLISHERAdrienne B. Roth
EDITORKen Datzman
OFFICE MANAGERFrank Schiffmann
Brevard Business News is published every Monday byBrevard Business News Inc. Bulk Rate postage is paid atMelbourne, FL and Cocoa, FL. This publication servesbusiness executives in Brevard County. It reports onnews, trends and ideas of interest to industry, trade,agribusiness, finance, health care, high technology,education and commerce.
Letters to the Editor must include the writer’s signatureand printed or typed name, full address and telephonenumber. Brevard Business News reserves the right to editall letters. Send your letters to: Editor, Brevard BusinessNews, 4300 Fortune Place, Suite D, West Melbourne, FL,32904, or email [email protected].
Subscription Rates for home or office mail delivery are$26.00 for one year (52 issues). Send all addresschanges to: Circulation Department, Brevard BusinessNews, 4300 Fortune Place, Suite D, West Melbourne, FL,32904, or email [email protected].
Insurance benefits for exercise programs can cut health costsBy Czerne M. Reid
Structured exercise and physical–activity programs
should be covered by insurance as a way to promote
health and reduce health–care costs, especially among
high health–risk populations such as those who have
diabetes.
So says Dr. Marco Pahor, director of the University of
Florida Institute on Aging, in a May 4 editorial in the
“Journal of the American Medical Association.” Dr.
Pahor’s paper accompanies an analysis of multiple clinical
trials that examined the effect of exercise and physical
activity on the control of blood–glucose levels.
“Cumulative work over the past few decades provides
solid evidence for public policymakers to consider
structured physical activity and exercise programs as
worthy of insurance reimbursement,” Dr. Pahor said.
A host of studies have linked exercise programs with
improved health measures related to blood pressure, lipid
levels — including cholesterol and triglycerides —
cardiovascular events, cognition, physical performance,
premature death and quality of life. People who take part
in programs that contain both aerobic and resistance
training are likely to get the greatest benefit, compared
with people who do only resistance exercises.
The study that Dr. Pahor’s editorial accompanied,
conducted by Daniel Umpierre, of the Hospital de Clinicas
de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and colleagues, compared the
association between physical activity advice and struc-
tured exercise programs, respectively, and markers of
diabetes.
Analyses of interventions to promote physical exercise
in adults have found that compared with no intervention,
exercise programs are cost–effective and have the
potential to improve survival rates and health–related
quality of life.
Some insurance providers already include a fitness
benefit for members, such as monthly membership at
certain fitness centers or access to personal trainers or
exercise classes at reduced cost. Use of such health plan–
sponsored club benefits by older adults has been linked to
slower increases in total health–care costs.
In one study, older adults who visited a health club two
or more times a week over two years incurred $1,252 less
in health–care costs in the second year than those who
visited a health club less than once a week. Programs
among people with lower incomes can also pay off,
because people in that group are otherwise more likely to
forego health–promoting physical activity because of
economic constraints or safety concerns.
“People are willing to invest in improved health, but if
you have a fixed amount of resources then you want to
choose where you get the most health for the dollar,” said
Erik Groessl, an assistant professor of family and
preventive medicine at the University of California, San
Diego, and director of the UCSD Health Services Research
Center. Groessl was not involved in the current analysis.
Group training or walking programs, for example, can
be cost–effective, sustainable forms of physical activity
that don’t require expensive health–care professionals or
equipment. But more costly interventions that yield
dramatic results might also be worth the expense.
With respect to type 2 diabetes, Medicare reimburses
for approved self–management education and medical
nutrition therapy programs. But no specific reimburse-
ment is given for any physical activity or exercise pro-
gram, despite evidence that such programs can help
improve health and cut costs.
Questions remain as to what format reimbursable
exercise and physical activity programs should take, what
population group should be targeted, and at what stage of
life or health status would a lifestyle intervention be most
cost–effective to implement.
Various studies, including the UF Institute on Aging
Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders, or
LIFE study, are aimed at answering those questions
through randomized controlled trials that can provide
data about the efficacy and cost–effectiveness of struc-
tured activity programs with respect to a range of health
outcomes.
Funded by the National Institute on Aging, the LIFE
study is the largest of its kind to examine physical activity
and health education as a way to prevent mobility
disability among older adults, and accounts for the largest
federal award to the University of Florida.
The institute will break ground on May 26 for a
40,000–square–foot complex within UF’s new $45 million,
120,000–square–foot Clinical and Translational Research
Building, which will serve as headquarters for this
research and others aimed at speeding scientific discover-
ies to patients.
“There is a lot of evidence that physical activity works,
and I think it’s time to start putting it into practice more
widely,” Groessl said.
Boy Scouts to recognize recipients of coveted Silver Beaver AwardThe Boy Scouts of America, acting through the
National Court of Honor, annually presents the Silver
Beaver Award for distinguished service to youth in the
community. The award will be presented at the Central
Florida Council Recognition Banquet, at 7 p.m. on Friday,
June 10, at the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa, 1900
Buena Vista Drive, in Lake Buena Vista.
Recipients of this award are registered adult leaders
who have made “an impact on the lives of youth through
service given to the council.”
The award is presented to those who implement the
Scouting program and perform community service
through “hard work, self–sacrifice, dedication, and many
years of service.” Most important, it is “presented to those
who do not actively seek it.” Fifty–nine qualified nomina-
tions were received and considered by the awards
committee.
Based upon prescribed criteria, related to the number
of youth served, the Central Florida Council has selected
14 award recipients.
The 2010–11 Class of Silver Beaver recipients are:
l Dennis Cowley, Challenger District, Brevard County.
l Melissa Haymes, Challenger District, Brevard County.
l Andy Ziegler, Riverside District, Brevard County.
l Brenda Carey, Seminole County Commissioner,
Seminole Springs District, Seminole County.
l Robert Foley, Apopka Shores District, West Orange
County.
l Bobbi Gnan, Little Econ District, East Orange County.
l Amy Iennaco, Fort Gatlin District, Orange County.
l James Marshall — Little Econ District, East Orange
County.
l Don Martino, Seminole Springs District, Seminole
County.
l Larry Middour, Little Econ District, East Orange
County.
l Eunice Phelps, Osceola District, Osceola County.
l Jim Radosevich, Sand Lake District, Orange County.
l Robert Utsey, Seminole Springs District, Seminole
County.
l Jeff Watson, Sand Lake District, Orange County.
l The 2010–2012 Class of Silver Beaver Honoree is Don
Stafford, a 50–year Central Florida Council veteran of the
Boy Scouts of America.
Visit BrevardBusinessNews.com for Advertising InformationMAY 23, 2011 BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 5
BBN DIGESTArea resident Brittany Rainbow namedas Outstanding Junior at Florida Tech;the Outstanding Senior is Adam Hanafi
Brittany Rainbow of Melbourne Beach was named
Outstanding Junior and Adam Hanafi of Agadir, Morocco,
was named Outstanding Senior at Florida Tech’s annual
Honors Convocation.
They were chosen by a faculty committee from among
those earning Outstanding Junior and Outstanding Senior
designations within each academic area.
Rainbow, an ecology major, has maintained excellence
academically and participated in a variety of extracurricu-
lar activities in her three years at Florida Tech. She has
been a member of the Phi Eta Sigma National Honor
Society, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the
Tri Beta Biology National Honor Society; played on the
Panther women’s soccer and track and field teams; and, for
Tri Beta, was a team captain in the Relay for Life event to
fight cancer.
Her honors include national semifinalist for NCAA
Division II Women’s Soccer, inclusion on the Athletic
Director’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List, and she is a
Distinguished Student Scholar.
Rainbow’s research experiences include work as an
intern at the Barrier Island Center for sea turtle nesting
research and a volunteer dolphin researcher at the Hubbs
Sea World Research Institute for Duke University. At
Hubbs, she helps with dolphin–radio tracking.
Rainbow has contributed to her local community as a
lector and Eucharistic minister at Immaculate Conception
Catholic Church and as a group leader at Chapel by the
Sea Vacation Bible School.
Hanafi, an electrical engineering major who holds a
near–perfect grade–point average, is in the university’s
Fast–Track program to earn a master’s degree in systems
engineering when he graduates with his bachelor’s degree.
He has held a variety of positions in Florida Tech
campus organizations and programs and has been Student
Government secretary for two consecutive years. He has
served as Homecoming chairman and president of the
student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electron-
ics Engineers and is a member of the honor societies Phi
Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi Engineering
Honor Societies.
Hanafi has earned recognition as a Rising Star Student
Leader of the Year and has received a variety of academic
grants, including the Florida Tech Academic Scholarship
for four years and been on the Dean’s List.
His community service includes volunteering for road
and beach clean–ups and raising funds for organizations
such as the American Red Cross, American Cancer Society
and Scott Center for Autism Research. He was also captain
of a Relay for Life team.
Hanafi has conducted research and earned placements
in his field at international businesses with offices near the
university. He currently works on the JPL Systems
engineering modeling project for the electrical system of a
spacecraft and helped design a robot for the IEEE South-
east Conference.
He just completed a co–op experience at General
Electric Energy Services and has started a summer
internship in the Harris Corp. Systems Engineering
Department.
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A Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Exclusions & limitations apply. The benefi t information provided herein is a brief summary, not a comprehensive description of benefi ts. For more information, contact the plan. 1National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Insurance Plan Rankings—Medicare & Private (2010–11). All rankings are displayed at www.ncqa.org. NCQA is a private, non-profi t organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality. 22011 Medicare Five-Star Ratings, www.Medicare.gov.H1099_EL2435_04811 File & Use 02222011
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 7
‘Operation Medicine Cabinet’ is a bigsuccess, area hospital teams with police
PALM BAY — More than a quarter ton of drugs were
turned in to authorities at Palm Bay Hospital over the
weekend as part of the hospital’s “Operation Medicine
Cabinet,” a joint effort between the hospital and local law
enforcement to reduce the amount of prescription and
over–the–counter drugs that can fall into the hands of
children and teenagers.
Palm Bay Hospital, together with the Palm Bay Police
Department, accepted all non–prescription, over–the–
counter medications, prescription medications, and even
pet medications. On April 30, Palm Bay Hospital collected
545 pounds of pills and other drugs. The effort was part of
National Drug Take Back Day by the U.S. Drug Enforce-
ment Administration.
“We were stunned by the volume of drugs turned in,”
said Palm Bay Hospital President Judy Gizinski. “Every
pill we collected is a pill that won’t find its way into a
child’s hands. That is exactly why we held the event, and
exactly what we were able to accomplish.”
Consider these statistics from the U.S. Drug Enforce-
ment Administration:
l Every day, on average, 2,500 teens use prescription
drugs to get high for the first time.
l Sixty percent of teens who abused prescription pain
relievers did so before the age of 15.
l Fifty–six percent of teens believe that prescription
drugs are easier to get than illicit drugs.
l Two in five teens believe that prescription drugs are
“much safer” than illegal drugs.
l Sixty–three percent of teens believe that prescription
drugs are easy to get from friends’ and family’s medicine
cabinets.
Scott to perform at museum’s ‘Jazz Friday’Winston Scott, a former astronaut and current dean of
Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics, will perform from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20, at the Brevard Art
Museum in Melbourne. Scott, a trumpeter, will be joined
by friends as they perform in the galleries as part of the
museum’s “Jazz Friday” program, held the third Friday of
the month. The event is free of charge to museum mem-
bers; $10 for others. The program is sponsored by WFIT
radio and AT&T Real Yellow Pages. For more details
about Jazz Friday, call 242–0737.
Playhouse to present ‘Impossible Dream’Titusville Playhouse Inc. will present acclaimed
Broadway actor Patrick Sullivan’s “Impossible Dream” at
7 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. Featuring some of those high–
kicking dancers from The Rockettes and New York actors
from such Broadway favorites as “Les Miserables” and
“Phantom of the Opera,” this Dean Martin–style variety
show will bring big–city entertainment to Brevard.
Sullivan, who has starred in such Broadway shows as
“42nd Street” and “Beauty and the Beast,” will bring a
veritable menagerie of fellow stars from the Broadway
companies of “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Oklahoma,” and
“Victor/Victoria.” This “one–of–a–kind opportunity” to see
Broadway–caliber performances is offered to the commu-
nity at $25 per ticket, a fraction of the cost it would be to
see these same actors in New York City.
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 8
Registration begins for fall term at BCCBrevard Community College opened online registra-
tion for fall credit courses on May 9. Walk–in registration
will begin on May 23. The college is also continuing
registration for the summer term. All forms of registra-
tion for the fall term will close Aug. 12. However,
students can still add courses until the first day of the
term, which is Aug. 15. The college offers eight–, 12– and
16–week courses during the fall term. Registration for
the summer session is officially open and ongoing. BCC
offers six–, eight– and 11–week courses during the
summer term, which started May 16. The school offers
nearly “100 degrees and career programs, small classes
with personalized attention, qualified and accessible
professors, guaranteed transfer to four–year universities
and affordable tuition.” To speak to an admissions
counselor, call 632–1111. Current students can register
for courses at www.brevardcc.edu, by logging into the
“MyBCC” Web portal.
AVET partners with area organization tosupport troops, raise safety awareness
The American Veterans Empowerment Team Project
Inc. at Patrick Air Force Base is partnering with the
Brevard County Chapter of ABATE, a leading motorcycle–
rights organization, to support AVET’s “Project Recupera-
tion and Reintegration,” a retreat program for returning
combat veterans.
The partnership also focuses on increasing the aware-
ness of motorcycle safety through ABATE’s “Can–U–See–
Me–Now” initiative.
PR&R is an AVET Project exclusive, where returning
combat veterans are selected for a three–day, two–night
retreat that provides an opportunity to decompress, relax,
and learn valuable reintegration skills after returning
from combat deployment.
PR&R also instructs these brave warriors on potential
veterans benefits and employment counseling, along with
a combination of techniques and coping strategies to deal
with the affects of combat.
The Brevard County Chapter of ABATE has estab-
lished itself as a “standout supporter of various causes
which are important to its membership and citizens in
general.”
Mike Pope, president of the local chapter of ABATE,
spearheaded this latest joint effort as a way to “support our
troops while at the same time focusing attention on
motorcycle awareness among all motorists who share the
roadways.”
Pope added, “ABATE chapters across Florida will
conduct a motorcycle ride we’ve termed ‘Can U See Me
Now” on May 22, with starting points located statewide —
originating at various American Legion Posts — and
meeting in Ormond Beach at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Destina-
tion Daytona.”
Pope said the proceeds will go toward supporting
ABATE outreach and AVET Project’s PR&R program.
Volunteer and vendor sales opportunities are available.
For information about the ride, visit
www.brevard.abateflorida.com or call Pope at 480–3619.
More details about AVETs’ various programs and services
can be found at www.avetproject.org and on Facebook, or
call 373–7046.
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Marines to clean Veterans’ CemeteryThe Marines of the Titusville community will lead a
detail of young men and women in the cleaning of the
Veterans Cemetery May 28 on Day Street in Titusville.
The young men and women, Marine recruits awaiting
their opportunity to attend basic training, will remove
trash, pressure–wash all head stones and place American
flags at every grave. At the conclusion of the cleaning,
estimated to occur at noon, a U.S. Navy chaplain will lead
the Marines and recruits in a service to honor the fallen.
Veterans, family of veterans and the public are invited to
participate in the honoring of Titusville’s veterans. The
cemetery contains the remains of 127 veterans; 13 of
which are Marines. All fallen service members within the
cemetery served in World War I, World War II, Korea or
Vietnam. Travis Hardware of Cocoa Village donated the
flags, Ace Hardware and Lowes in Titusville donated
equipment and necessary supplies. To attend the
ceremony or for further information, contact the Marine
Public Affairs representative for Central Florida, Sgt.
Paul Robbins Jr., at 436–0466 or send an e–mail message
Parrish Health & Fitness Center set tocelebrate annual National Senior Health
TITUSVILLE — Parrish Health & Fitness Center will
join an estimated 1,000 national events to celebrate the
18th annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day on
Wednesday, May 25.
As an official host site, Parrish Health & Fitness
Center, located at 2210 Cheney Highway in Titusville,
will hold a fun event focusing on senior health and
wellness.
An estimated 100,000 seniors across the country are
expected to help promote active, healthy lifestyles
through physical fitness, good nutrition and preventive
care.
At Parrish Health & Fitness Center, it’s a “special day
just for people over age 55. The event is free of charge and
open to the public.
The program will include a continental breakfast,
health screenings, vendor booths, health information,
fitness instruction, physician lectures, reduced–cost lab
testing, joint and balance screenings, and more.
All activities will be on a walk–in, first–come basis.
Seniors who join on this day will pay only $10 for
enrollment (it is normally $45). Senior rates are always
available on monthly dues.
“Our Senior Health & Fitness Day is a wonderful
opportunity for seniors to make, renew, and revitalize
their commitment to live healthier lives through better
health and wellness,” said Jessica Schwartz, Parrish
Health & Fitness Center’s general manager.
For more information about this event, call Robin
Rymkos at 268–6200 or visit
parrishhealthandfitness.com. Parrish Health & Fitness
Center is a service of Parrish Medical Center in Titusville.
National Senior Health & Fitness Day is always held
on the last Wednesday in May, in support of Older
Americans Month and National Physical Fitness and
Sports Month.
It is coordinated by the Mature Market Resource
Center. For more information, visit www.fitnessday.com/
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New senior–living community Grand Villa of Melbourne opens;company invests $7 million in project, creates 55 jobs; turns formerhotel into a showcase property on South Harbor City BoulevardBy Ken Datzman
Brevard County, with a fast–aging population, has
a new entry in the senior–living marketplace, Grand
Villa of Melbourne.
The elderly population in Florida and across
America is growing at double or triple the rate of the
overall U.S. population, creating the kind of demo-
graphic that spells entrepreneurial opportunity for
companies that specialize in these facilities.
One of the fastest–growing population segments is
people 85 and older. That market is expected to grow
by 74 percent now through 2030, according to AARP.
As the baby–boomers turn age 85 between 2030 and
2050, the age 85–plus population will skyrocket by
another 118 percent, the report said.
A Florida–based company has been positioning
itself in two southern states to tap the projected
growth in assisted living and independent living,
increasingly popular options for seniors.
“The primary focus of our company is to offer
quality residential care within a home–like atmo-
sphere. And that’s what we created at Grand Villa of
Melbourne,” said Steven Piazza, president and chief
executive officer of Clearwater–headquartered Senior
Management Advisors Inc., an operator of full–service
independent living, assisted living, and Alzheimer’s
care residential communities.
The company specializes in “rejuvenating and
stabilizing” senior–living communities for owners,
financial institutions, private investors, and govern-
ment agencies. Its services include management and
development of senior–living residential communities.
Grand Villa of Melbourne, a 125–unit luxury
assisted living and independent living facility, which
recently opened for business at 964 S. Harbor City
Blvd., is one of Senior Management Advisors’
showcase projects.
The property used to house a hotel. “We’ve bought
and converted hotel properties in the past with great
success, but this is our most ambitious hotel conver-
sion to date,” Piazza said. “We’re extremely pleased
with the results and are pleased to offer such a special
housing option to seniors in the Melbourne area.”
The roughly $7 million venture is a partnership
between Senior Management Advisors and ValStone
Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm.
ValStone Partners has worked with Senior
Management Advisors on other properties as well.
“We are now partnering with SMA on four Grand
Villa communities in Central Florida and look to
them as a great partner,” said Eric Abel, managing
director for ValStone.
Investment funds managed by ValStone hold
interests in more than 20 senior–living communities
nationwide.
Piazza, whose third–generation business operates
12 such facilities in Florida and Georgia, said his
company had its eye on the Brevard market for
expansion.
His business acquires existing properties for
senior–living renovation projects, though the company
has built new facilities as well for its portfolio in the
two states.
When the 129–room, six–story hotel property on
South Harbor City Boulevard became available, “we
moved quickly on the opportunity. We were familiar
with Melbourne and Brevard County,” he said.
Piazza added, “Our company wanted to be in the
Brevard market and we thought this was a great
property to renovate. We believe it is much more
economical to transform an existing property, and it’s
a quicker turnaround.”
The Melbourne property was fully remade. For
instance, all the tubs in the hotel rooms were taken
out and showers were installed with a host of safety
devices for seniors.
The facility renovation was completed in about
eight months, he said.
“When we looked at this project, we had two
visions: First, to create a quality community for
seniors, and secondly to put people back to work. I am
pleased to say we have accomplished both of those
visions,” said Piazza, whose company has been in
business for more than 50 years, with its office in
Clearwater for the last three decades.
Piazza said many local subcontractors were
involved in the Grand Villa of Melbourne project,
including, for instance, U.S. Lawns and Eau Gallie
Electric.
“Both of those companies did phenomenal jobs for
us in their respective areas of expertise. Eau Gallie
Electric did the electrical systems and U.S. Lawns did
the landscaping.”
About 55 people work for Grand Villa of
Melbourne. Piazza said his company is projecting the
community will reach full resident occupancy in about
six months. “We had 30 reservations even before we
opened the doors to Grand Villa of Melbourne. We’re
very pleased with the community’s response.”
Grand Villa’s one–bedroom and studio apartments
feature large rooms, kitchenettes with built–in
refrigerator and microwave, spacious closets, and
large private baths with safety features such as
handrails.
“Seniors in the Melbourne area enjoy an active
lifestyle and love being close to the water,” said Betty
Martin, Grand Villa executive director. “With our
spacious rooms, elegant furnishings, beautiful pool,
activities, and many other amenities, we can offer
them the advantages of a great lifestyle without any
of the day–to–day chores.”
Emergency–alert call systems are provided in all bedrooms and
bathrooms, she said. Amenities include an Internet café, library,
billiard parlors, beauty salon, country store, wellness clinic, barber-
shop, and a large private dining room. The common areas have
large, comfortable lounges and activity rooms.
Still being developed is a specially designed senior–fitness
walking trail, said Piazza.
“The trail will feature an area where residents can do low–impact
exercises. They can stop at a couple of different places along the trail
to do these exercises, which will help strengthen their gait. This, in
turn, will reduce their risk of falling. Our goal is to keep the resi-
dents as healthy as possible.”
Grand Villa provides chauffeured transportation for seniors to go
shopping and attend events in the community.
Steve Piazza is CEO of Senior Management Advisors Inc. of Clearwater. Hislongtime family business teamed with ValStone Partners for the roughly$7 million Grand Villa of Melbourne project on South Harbor City Boule-vard. The 125–unit luxury senior–living community recently opened in atotally refurnished six–story former hotel. Piazza’s company specializes inpurchasing existing properties for senior–living conversions.
BBN photo — Adrienne B. Roth
Visit BrevardBusinessNews.com for Advertising InformationMAY 23, 2011
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 11
By Ken Datzman
Kindred Hospital in Melbourne, which opened last
year and is part of a national health–care company
based in Louisville, Ky., has expanded with the
addition of a surgical program at the 60–bed acute–
care facility on West Nasa Boulevard.
Patients in Kindred Hospitals across the country
generally require an array of services provided
through an interdisciplinary care team of physicians,
nurses, rehabilitation and respiratory therapists, and
other support staff.
“Kindred is a unique setting for health care, in that
most of the patients who come to us have multi–
system diseases,” said Clyde Blaylock, the surgical
manager for Kindred Hospital in Melbourne, a three–
story 68,659–square–foot freestanding facility.
Heading the list of patient complications at
Kindred Hospitals are infectious diseases, pulmonary
problems, and complex wounds.
“A lot of medical facilities in the region refer their
wound–care patients to us. These are patients who
typically have developed bed sores or stage–four
pressure ulcers (full thickness tissue loss with exposed
bone, tendon, or muscle). Kindred has a highly
specialized wound–management department. We’re
proud of our success rate of healing wounds,” he said.
Blaylock, who has worked for both Holmes
Regional Medical Center and Wuesthoff Health
System, said the wound department provides a range
of services following national standards of care and
research protocols.
Now, wound–management and other patients at
Kindred Hospital who need specific surgery proce-
dures performed will not have to be transported to
another facility for their operation. Kindred Hospital
has developed that capability.
Housed on the third floor of the hospital is a full
surgical suite, complete with a four–bed post–
anesthesia unit. There are two operating rooms. The
hospital has a laboratory, too. It’s managed by Tony
Nolen.
Both Blaylock and Nolen, veteran health–care
professionals in the community, were recruited in
December to set up their respective areas of the
hospital in support of the new surgery program.
“We had to purchase chemistry analyzers,
hematology analyzers, and other instrumentation for
the laboratory,” said Nolen, who has a bachelor’s
degree in clinical laboratory science from the Univer-
sity of Cincinnati and is a member of the American
Society for Clinical Pathology.
“For the patients at Kindred Hospital, we are able
to turn around their tests quickly. Everything is
interfaced with electronic charting; it’s leading the
Kindred Hospital in Melbourne expands, adds surgical program— dedicated suite on third floor of the facility; Blaylock is namedsurgical manager, Nolen recruited as the laboratory manager
way for us. Physicians have this information at their
fingertips. The whole process provides for a much
better quality of care for the patient,” he said.
The laboratory opened April 26, said Nolen, who
plans to study for his M.B.A. degree in health–care
administration at Florida Institute of Technology in
Melbourne.
Before joining Kindred Hospital, Nolen was the
laboratory supervisor at Health First’s Cape
Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach.
Dr. Lee Theophelis, a plastic surgeon with Health
First Physicians, is on the local Kindred Hospital staff
as is Dr. Mark Talbert, a general surgeon with MIMA.
“The surgeons do a lot of wound debridement and
skin grafts,” said Blaylock, a registered nurse and
graduate of Brevard Community College and the
University of Central Florida.
“When patients lie in bed for long periods of time,
they can sometimes develop pressure sores and
pressure ulcers. The skin breaks down and it has to be
repaired. Basically, what the surgeons do is a
debridement and then perform a skin graft over the
top so that it regenerates the issue,” added Blaylock,
who is enrolled in a master’s degree program at the
University of Colorado.
In difficult–to–heal and chronic wounds, such as
diabetic, venous, and pressure ulcers, there is a
continuous accumulation of fibrotic and necrotic tissue
that must be removed to maintain the readiness of
the wound for healing. The process of removing these
barriers is called debridement, said Blaylock, whose
career positions include having worked for plastic
surgeons, surgery centers, and as a critical–care
nurse.
Other surgical procedures the physicians at
Kindred Hospital in Melbourne perform include
tracheotomy and the insertion of PEG tubes.
Tracheotomy is a procedure that consists of
making an incision on the anterior of the neck and
opening a direct airway through the trachea. The
insertion of PEG or percutaneous endoscopic
gastrostomy tubes are generally for patients who are
unable to eat or cannot eat an adequate diet for
periods longer than five days.
Blaylock said Kindred Hospital’s new venture is a
convenience for the patients and their families.
“I think it’s going to help the community tremen-
dously, because previously when Kindred admitted
long–term patients of this type they usually had to
travel to Tampa, Miami or even out of the state to
receive this kind of care. Now, we have a central
location in Brevard. It’s much easier on the patients
and their families,” said Blaylock, who once worked in
the critical–care unit at Wuesthoff Hospital.
Kindred Healthcare Inc. is a public company and
annually issues a quality report which outlines the
organization’s “continued commitment” to improving “person–
centered” care coordination, the core of its “Continue–the–Care”
strategy, and its progress in improving quality indicators, clinical
outcomes, and customer satisfaction in each of its service lines.
The 2010 “Quality and Social Responsibility Report” was released
by Kindred in the first quarter of this year. The company’s long–
term acute–care hospitals and nursing and rehabilitation centers
“continued to outperform national benchmarks” in key quality
indictors, while caring for sicker patients and investing in additional
clinical resources to meet their needs.
Angelica Cotshott is CEO of Kindred Hospital in Melbourne. The
Melbourne facility is one of 10 freestanding Kindred Hospitals in
Florida. It’s part of a district that includes hospitals in Palm Beach,
Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Coral Gables, overseen by an
executive director.
Kindred Hospital in Melbourne recruited veteran health–care professionalsClyde Blaylock, right, and Tony Nolen to lead their respective areas insupport of a new surgical program at the 60–bed acute–care facility.Blaylock, a BCC and UCF graduate, is surgical manager. Nolen, a Universityof Cincinnati graduate, is laboratory manager.
BBN photo — Adrienne B. Roth
MAY 23, 2011Call Adrienne Roth at 321-951-7777 for Advertising Information
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BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 12
Florida Tech to offer new biomedicalengineering degree beginning this fall
The Florida Institute of Technology’s College of
Engineering will offer a new undergraduate degree in
biomedical engineering starting in this fall.
Biomedical engineering applies engineering and
science methodologies to the analysis of biological and
physiological problems and to the delivery of health care.
Biomedical engineers develop devices and procedures
that solve medical and health–related problems by
combining their knowledge of biology and medicine with
engineering principles and practices.
“I worked in this field for several years as a re-
searcher and found it abounds with multitudes of
challenging and exciting problems to be solved,” said
Fred Ham, interim dean, College of Engineering and
Harris Professor.
“This field closes the gap between engineering and
medicine, and is an excellent fit with our existing
curriculum. Our students graduating with a degree in
biomedical engineering will be well positioned to work in
a variety of areas where they can improve the quality of
human health and life,” he added.
In pursuing the biomedical engineering degree at
Florida Tech, students can take biomedical engineering
courses as freshmen, participate in clinical research
projects conducted by medical doctors and dentists, and
are offered many co–op, internship and job opportunities.
The program at Florida Tech is a pathway for
students to get admitted to medical and dental schools. It
will prepare graduates to pursue technical careers
addressing challenges in the field and to effectively
function and provide leadership to multidisciplinary
teams.
“We believe there will be great student interest in this
degree program, which combines the design and
problem–solving skills of the engineer with the medical
and biological sciences. Its practitioners will improve
health–care diagnosis, monitoring and therapy,” said
Hamid Rassoul, dean of the College of Science.
To learn more about the biomedical engineering
program, visit www.fit.edu/programs.
‘Hurricane Preparedness’ program setThe Sunflower House will host a “Hurricane Pre-
paredness Week” program May 23 through May 28.
Throughout the week there will be a display of essential
hurricane items along with information about disaster–
relief agencies, supply checklists, plans for pet owners,
and Brevard County special–needs shelter applications.
On Monday, May 23, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Lynda
Wilson will present “Survival in a Suitcase.” On Tuesday,
May 24, from 11 a.m. to noon, Beth Shephard, who is
with the University of Florida/Brevard County Extension
Office, will discuss food safety during and after a
hurricane. On Thursday, May 26, from 1 to 2 p.m., Lacie
Davis from Brevard County Emergency Management
will discuss general hurricane preparation. On Saturday,
May 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Humane Society will
be available to discuss hurricane preparations and
necessary supplies for pet owners. The Sunflower House
is in Merritt Square Mall. To reserve a seat for any of
these presentations, call 452–4341.
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BBN DIGESTHeart procedures at Cape CanaveralHospital reduce dangers for residents
COCOA BEACH — New heart procedures are being
performed at Cape Canaveral Hospital that will signifi-
cantly cut the amount of time until life–saving treatment
is available for barrier island and Merritt Island residents,
as well as the nearly 3 million cruise ship passengers at
Port Canaveral each year.
Cape Canaveral Hospital is now among only 25 percent
of U.S. hospitals able to perform life–saving percutaneous–
coronary intervention (PCI) procedures for patients
suffering heart attacks.
According to the American Heart Association, PCI is
the preferred method for treating STEMI heart attacks,
considered among the most dangerous, therefore requiring
more immediate treatment.
“Any barrier–island community presents its own set of
challenges when quickly transporting a patient to the
hospital,” said Orlando Dominguez, chief of EMS opera-
tions for Brevard County Fire Rescue.
“When it comes to cardiac–related EMS calls, time is
muscle. The further we have to drive, the greater the risk
to the patient. Now having Cape Canaveral Hospital as an
option can cut that drive time down by as much as 20 to 30
minutes depending on traffic. Having Cape Canaveral
Hospital as the closest destination also allows us to keep
our EMS crews closer to the communities they serve, and
available for the next call,” he added.
Until now, STEMI patients would either need to be
flown from Cape Canaveral Hospital to Holmes Regional
Medical Center in Melbourne, or would be transported by
ground to other area hospitals as far as 30 minutes away
from the original call (depending on traffic conditions).
In addition to performing PCI, Cape Canaveral
Hospital is also now able to perform stent procedures by
accessing a patient’s arteries through the wrist, a newer
technique that, according to industry experts, increases the
odds of surviving a major heart attack.
“Most people don’t think about it, but being on a barrier
island limits your options in an emergency,” said Vicki
Crosswell, director of imaging services at Cape Canaveral
Hospital. “We have always been the closest destination for
emergency treatment to the millions of Port visitors and
barrier island residents. Now we are the closest destina-
tion for emergency treatment when it comes to life–
threatening heart attacks.”
When minutes count the most, having PCI and stent
procedures available at Cape Canaveral Hospital now
means patients from Cocoa Beach or Cape Canaveral and
other barrier island communities are only minutes away
from life–saving procedures that until now might have
been too far, or too late.
Chambers to present ‘Mega Marketplace’The Cocoa Beach, Titusville, Melbourne and Palm Bay
chambers of commerce will present “Mega Marketplace”
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 20 at the Brevard Zoo Lodge,
8225 N. Wickham Road, in Melbourne. The program is
titled “It’s a Jungle Out There!” This is speed–networking
event. Registration begins at 11 a.m. The cocktail mixer
and raffle is from 4 to 5 p.m. Contact Cindy Albright at
267–3036 or send an e–mail message to her at
[email protected] for more information.
WHO: Writers of all ages, from beginners to published, age 16 and up
INSTRUCTORS: All are published writers or university professors, including:
Keynote speaker Susan Hubbard, author of The Season of Risks and othersJohn Dufresne, author of Lousiana Power and Light Leonard Nash, author of You Can’t Get
There and Other Stories
COSTS: $120 to $230Choose 6-8 hour classes, 3 or 4 days a week$40 per Lecture
($50 off second class; then $20 off per class)
Includes all speakers, panels and events!
On-campus housing availableClass size is limited!
PLEASE VISIT http://411.fit.edu/cwi or call (321) 674-7248SPONSORS: Brevard Business News, Brevard Community College,
Philip H. Talbert, Flamingo Printing, Seaside Readers, Best Buy
Creative Writing InstituteMay 22–26, 2011 | Florida Tech Campus
The Novel
Poetry
The Short Story
Writing for Children
Writing Science Fiction
Journalism
Mystery Writing
Writing for Comics and Film
Writing Fantasy/Horror
Creating Haunting Characters
Beginning Playwriting
Screenwriting
Writing Adventure Thrillers
Memoir Writing
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MAY 23, 2011Call Adrienne Roth at 321-951-7777 for Advertising InformationBREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 14
BBN DIGESTBrevard County Sheriff’s Awards Ceremonyto be shown on WBCC–TV, SCG Television
The annual Brevard County Sheriff’s Award Ceremony will be carried on cable
television.
The 2011 90–minute ceremonial video features formal recognition of sworn and civilian
employees of the Sheriff’s Office, to include the recognition of community volunteers.
The “members of the Sheriff’s Office want to extend a special appreciation to the
professional video and editing staffs at Brevard County’s Space Coast Government TV
and Brevard Community College’s WBCC–TV for their support in filming and editing our
special Awards Ceremony,” Brevard County Sheriff Jack Parker said.
The Awards Ceremony will air on WBCC–TV and Space Coast Government TV on
these days and times:
l Brevard Community College (WBCC–TV Channel 68), Saturday, May 21, 8 p.m.;
Sunday, May 22, 3 p.m.; Monday, May 23, 8 p.m.; Thursday, May 26, 1 a.m.; and Satur-
day, May 28, at 2 p.m.
l Space Coast Government TV (Bright House — Channel 199) (Comcast — Channel
51 in Mims and Channel 26 in Micco), Tuesday, May 31, 4 p.m.; Saturday, June 4, 4:30
p.m.; Tuesday, June 7, 6 p.m.; Thursday, June 9, 8 a.m.; Tuesday, June 14, 1 p.m.;
Thursday., June 16, 6 p.m.; Saturday, June 18, 2:30 p.m.
Summer sewing camps for kids and teens setKids and teens can learn to sew and practice their skills in a variety of summer–sewing
camps scheduled for Hancock Fabrics on Merritt Island. Classes will be taught by fiber–
artist Linda Geiger. Students entering grades 3 through 6 will meet on Monday, Wednes-
days and Fridays from 2 to 4 p.m., learning hand and machine–sewing basics, creating
projects and using patterns. Cost is $60 per week plus supplies. Students entering grades
7 through 12 will meet on Tuesdays from 1 to 4 p.m., with projects ranging from beginning
sewing through runway–style couture. Cost is $120 per month plus supplies. Geiger has
been a lifelong participant in visual and performing arts, including graphic arts, fiber arts,
puppetry, doll–making, and costume design and production. She has taught with Brevard
Cultural Alliance’s Resident Artist program, at local libraries, galleries and other venues.
Hancock Fabrics is at 95 E. Merritt Ave. For more information, call 452–2571 or
784–9347, or send an e–mail message to [email protected].
Parks and Recreation offers summer aquatics programsThe Brevard County Parks and Recreation is registering participants for summer
aquatics programs at the Central Area Parks Operations office at 840 Forrest Ave., Cocoa,
and at Kiwanis Island Park, 951 Kiwanis Island Park Road, Merritt Island. Registration
is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Swim lessons will be offered in four
sessions from May 31 through July 21 at McLarty Park and Merritt Island High School
pools for ages 6 months to adults. The Aqua Colts Swim Team will also be held at Merritt
Island High School pool. Diving Lessons, Water Aerobics and the Electric Eels Swim
Team will be held at Rockledge High School pool. For more information including prices,
download the brochure at www.brevardparks.com.
Memorial Day weekend open house at museumThe Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum will host an open house on Memorial
Day Weekend, May 28, 29 and 30. There will be free admission to the museum for all
military, active or retired veterans. Also, Brevard County residents will be admitted free
of charge. ID is required. The open house is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., each day. Food and
refreshments will be available. The museum is at 6600 Tico Road at the Space Coast
Regional Airport. Call 268–1941 for more details about the event.
‘Celebration of Life’ at Space Coast Cancer CenterSpace Coast Cancer Center will host a “Celebration of Life” event for cancer survivors
on Saturday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Titusville office, 490 N. Washington
Ave. The community program is free of charge. There will be complimentary services and
displays, including manicures, hairstyling, make–up demonstrations, massages, art and
music therapy, and food. This event will give cancer survivors an opportunity to celebrate
life and build fellowship with other survivors. For more information or to make a reserva-
tion to attend, call Shannon at 268–4200, extension 3500. Serving the residents of
Brevard County since 1983, Space Coast Cancer Center, an affiliate of Tampa–based
Moffitt Cancer Center, is a hematology/oncology practice with locations in Titusville,
Merritt Island, Cocoa Beach and Viera. Visit www.spacecoastcancer.com.
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Coastal Health Systems is a truly unique partnership. Operating under the governance of a Board of Directors with members from all three Brevard hospital systems and the oversight of the Board of County Commissioners, Coastal is able to respond to the needs and vision of the county’s healthcare and emergency services professionals alike.
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BBN DIGESTBrevard Zoo’s ‘Summer Saturday Nights’starts June 11, event moves up a month
Brevard Zoo will kick off its annual “Summer Saturday Nights” June 11, with the
program running every Saturday night through July 30.
To beat the summertime heat, Brevard Zoo will extend hours of operation to 9 p.m. all
eight Saturdays in June and July.
Thanks to local businesses that sponsored the nights, admission is $5 each Saturday
starting at 5 p.m. Last admission is 8 p.m. Zoo members will be admitted free of charge.
Sponsors this year include Bright House Networks, Health First Health Plans,
Healthy Start Coalition of Brevard County Inc., Lions Club Viera, Ron Jon Cape Caribe
Resort, The Avenue Viera, and Viera State Farm agent Dan Adovasio.
As part of Summer Saturday Nights, Brevard Zoo provides musical entertainment
from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and a special animal encounter from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Other available
activities for patrons include a chance to go kayaking, ride the train, and feed giraffe.
The entertainment schedule includes these performances: June 11, Country Classics
Band; June 18, Sax Appeal Entertainment; June 25, Brevard Symphony Orchestra; July
2, Entasys; July 9, Dixie Hiway Bluegrass Band; July 16, Brevard Symphony Orchestra;
July 23, Brevard Symphony Orchestra; and July 30, Drift Session.
‘Art in the Garden’ camp begins May 30 in TitusvilleMaxine Trainer’s annual art camp for children ages 5 to 12 gets under way May 30 in
Titusville. The classes run from 9:30 a.m. until 12 p.m., Monday through Friday, for eight
weeks. The “Art in the Garden” camp address is 414 Rock Pit Road. The fee is $145 per
week. The availability of camp scholarships will depend on donations from those in the
community who believe that access to art is important for every child, she said. Trainer
said she “took the important step” last year of incorporating her art camp as a nonprofit,
so that scholarship donations from the community are tax–deductible. “So many children
blossom when they are given the experience of creating in a non–judgmental atmosphere,”
said Trainer, “and I have been overwhelmed with requests from families who are strug-
gling economically and can’t afford to send their kids to camp.” To register children for the
camp, or to request scholarship information, contact Trainer at 652–6363 or at
Brevard County offers range of 4–H summer campsThe University of Florida/IFAS — Brevard County Extension Service will offer a
variety of camp experiences to youth this summer, including: Outdoor Adventures Camp:
May 31–June 3, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (youth entering grades six to eight, Palm Bay, $70); Marine
Science: June 6–10, 8 a.m.–noon (youth entering second and third grades, Cocoa, $40);
Budding Gardener Nutritional Camp: June 13–17, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (youth entering grades
four through six, Palm Bay, $65); Moola Venture: June 6–10 in Palm Bay; or July 11–15
in Cocoa; 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (youth entering grades 10 through 12, $75); Sewing Camp: July
25–29 in Palm Bay, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (youth entering three through six, $30); and Camp
Ocala: Aug. 1–5 (ages 8 to18, in Ocala). Visit http://brevard.ifas.ufl.edu for more informa-
tion, or to register call Diana at 633–1702, extension 224.
BCC to offer welding certification seminarBrevard Community College will be offering a Summer Welding Certification Seminar
May 31 to June 18 at the Cocoa campus. The course will take place on Tuesday, Wednes-
day and Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The
tuition (including laboratory fees) is $850. For more information, call 433–7500.
Program to celebrate 20 years with presentationsBrevard County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program will celebrate 20 years
of land conservation, public access, and environmental education with a series of public
presentations across the county. Presentations will be given on Wednesday, June 1, at
6:30 p.m. at the Cocoa Beach Library; on Sunday, June 5, at 3 p.m. at the Titusville
Library; on Thursday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Brevard Reference Library in
Cocoa; on Wednesday, June 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the Melbourne Library on Fee Avenue; on
Saturday, June 18, at 11 a.m. at the Melbourne Beach Library; on Thursday, June 23, at 2
p.m. at the South Mainland Library in Micco; on Thursday, June 30, at 6:30 p.m. at the
DeGroodt Library in Palm Bay; on Thursday, July 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Merritt Island
Library; and on Saturday, July 16, at 3 p.m. at the Suntree–Viera Library. There is no
cost to attend. For more information about the presentations, call 255–4466 or send an
e–mail message to [email protected].
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8225 N. Wickham Rd., Melbourne, FL 32940
Brevard Zoo’s annua l fundra iser was a huge success t h is year t hanks to broad communit y suppor t . Your Zoo inv i t e s you to jo in us next
year for t h is fe st ive af fa i r.
We’d l ike to say Thank You to t he fo l lowing sponsors and suppor t ers of t h is year ’s event :
Accesso; Mary Baldwin, CFP; Mike and Mary Louise Coleman;
Construction Engineering Group; Craig Technologies; Florida
Bank of Commerce; FLORIDA TODAY; Walter and Dottie Gatti;
McClelland, Jones, Lyons, Lacey & Williams, LLC; Regions
Bank; Roub Family Foundation; Jim and Jonnie Swann; The
Viera Company; Wealth Care, LLC; and Whittaker Cooper
Financial Group
Dr. Nanialei Golden
Tom and Kim Vice Al Neuharth and Dr. Rachel Fornes
MAY 23, 2011Call Adrienne Roth at 321-951-7777 for Advertising Information
BBN DIGEST
BREVARD BUSINESS NEWS / 16
Jess Parrish Underwriting Committeetargets $150,000 for annual benefit ball
TITUSVILLE — Jess Parrish Medical Foundation will host its annual benefit ball
from 8 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Oct. 28, at La Cita Country Club in Titusville.
This year’s theme is “Hollywood Nights & Bollywood Dreams…A Night of Fantasy!”
Guests will “walk down the Hall of Fame reminiscent of old Hollywood and then cross
over into the magic of Bollywood with high–energy music, brilliant colors and alluring
entertainment.”
Richard Boggs of Boggs Gases in Titusville is the underwriting committee chairman.
He said fund–raising efforts for the event are under way. Boggs, who also chairs the
JPMF board, said the underwriting goal is $150,000.
Proceeds will benefit the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes and other
chronic conditions, he said.
Event co–chairs are Dr. Biju and Lisa Mathews, and Jim and Katherine Musick. Other
benefit ball committee members are Kelley Broome, Mary Coleman, Cheryl D’Cruz,
Rachel Hobgood, Dot Hudson, Lisa McAlpine, Tricia Parrish, Laurie Smirl, Ann
Snodgrass, Tara Sutherland, N. Christine Sylvester, Barbara Terhune and Holly Woolsey.
Tickets to the event are $100 per person and sponsorship opportunities begin at $350.
Sponsors will receive special recognition according to their level of contribution.
For sponsorship or event information, call JPMF at 269–4066 or send an e–mail
message to [email protected].
Cardiac ArrestContinued from page 1save one life.” It is estimated that 10 million to 12 million American teens and young
adults take part in competitive sports.
There is also considerable disagreement about the actual toll from sudden cardiac
death. The conventional estimate has been that about 1 in 300,000 young athletes is at
risk. The Parent Heart Watch group says the rate may be much higher because many
deaths are not widely reported and there is no national registry.
Another study, published April 4 in “Circulation,” a journal of the American Heart
Association, looked at all NCAA athletes and found that the rate of sudden cardiac arrest
among them is 1 in 44,000 a year, about seven times greater than the commonly esti-
mated rate. Researchers led by Dr. Kimberly Harmon of the University of Washington
examined 273 deaths from all causes among collegiate athletes.
They found that of 80 deaths from medical causes, 56 percent, or 45 deaths, were
heart–related. Of 36 deaths that took place during or right after exertion, 75 percent were
related to cardiac causes.
The risk for male athletes was more than three times greater than among females, and
basketball had the highest risk among sports, followed by swimming. The risk of sudden
cardiac death among the elite ranks of Division I male basketball players was one in
3,000.
Harmon, a team physician at Washington University, said the findings put the
screening debate in a new light. “The question is, where do you set the risk cutoff — one in
10,000, or 40,000 or 100,000?”
Officially, a heart association task force on sports screening has not endorsed blanket
testing, but instead urged a thorough physical, including a detailed personal and family
medical history that may suggest a need for further tests.
Dr. Mark Russell, a pediatric cardiologist at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott
Children’s Hospital, said no one screening test is able to detect the “several different heart
conditions that can cause sudden death in a young athlete.” EKGs may catch some
defects, the echo others, while other problems may only be revealed in an exercise stress
test.
Dr. Russell said some conditions, such as dilated cardiomyopathy — an enlarged and
weakened heart and the cause of death of Fennville, Mich., junior Wes Leonard, who
collapsed after sinking a game–winning basket in early March — may actually develop
over time and might not be detected by a single screening done months or even years
earlier.
Dr. Russell and other experts uniformly agree that, screening aside, the best ways to
increase the odds of surviving cardiac arrest are to store automated external defibrillators
around sports venues and to have athletic trainers on hand, along with coaches and other
school personnel trained in using the devices and performing CPR.
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*Note: If you’re currently under the care of a physician for prostate cancer, or have had surgery to remove the prostate, you should not have the PSA blood test and digital rectal exam. Instead, we encourage you to bring a friend who has never had prostate screening.
FREE PROSTATE CANCER SCREENING AVAILABLECentral Brevard County Branch NAACP
10th Annual Men’s Health SummitSaturday, June 11, 2011, 9 am to noon
Brevard Community College – Cocoa CampusHealth Science Campus, Building 20, First Floor
1519 Clearlake Road in Cocoa
ATTENTION BREVARD COUNTY MENATTENTION BREVARD COUNTY MEN
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BBN SPECIAL FOCUSHealth FirstContinued from page 1across the Health First organization, from the concept
launch all the way to the day–to–day operation of the
contests.”
Employee health management, once a low priority on
the corporate agenda, is becoming a core business strategy
for a growing number of organizations. Company leaders
increasingly value its long–term return–on–investment,
much like research and development.
Studies show that healthy employees reduce a
company’s sick–leave absenteeism, lower its health–care
costs, and reduce workers’ compensation claims.
Employees are more productive on the job, too, because
they are healthier. And a high–performance work force
typically provides a company a marketplace edge.
In the local market, Rockledge–based Health First Inc.,
one of the largest employers in the region, is leading the
way in the wellness arena getting their employees involved
in fitness and nutrition.
Health First recently held two structured contests, one
modeled after a popular TV reality show, to engage its
work force to shed excess pounds and shape up, with cash
prizes and incentives a part of the program.
The “Great Weight–off” competition and the more
extreme “Slim–to–Win Challenge” ran for 12 weeks. Both
programs had strict rules and regulations, and provided
participants with plenty of tools and support.
The programs were big successes, with many weight–
loss milestones recorded, Bond said. There was a docu-
mented 850 percent increase in physical endurance in the
contest participants at the end of the competitions.
Their heart rates were healthier as well, and they had
improved kidney function. Some of the participants now
compete in triathlons and other such events. And, they no
longer crave unhealthy food.
Participants competed as individuals or as part of a
team. The Great Weight–off was open to all Health First
employees, while the Slim–to–Win Challenge was for a
select number of associates, based on their Body Mass
Index.
“The goal of both competitions was to improve the
health and well–being of Health First associates, and
motivate them to continue their involvement in diet,
exercise, and behavior modification. Amazingly, the results
were much better than we had anticipated,” said Bond,
nutrition program coordinator for Pro–Health & Fitness
Center, with locations in Palm Bay, Melbourne, Viera, and
Merritt Island.
The Great Weight–off drew 408 Health First employees
at the initial weigh–in, with 134 of them, or almost 33
percent, finishing the program. Fifty–six people lost 7
percent of their body weight. The competitions were based
on total percentage of body weight lost.
Over the 12 weeks, the Great Weight–off “Pound–O–
Meter” registered some big numbers.
“Health First associates dropped 2,288 pounds in the
Great Weight–off alone,” said Bond. “That’s more than one
ton of weight loss. We made some ‘educated guesses’ at the
start of the program about what we expected in terms of
participation, retention, and weight loss. Actual results far
exceeded our expectations.”
Cruz, who is a surgical anesthesia technician with
Health First, won the Great Weight–off competition, losing
22.49 percent of his body weight and dropping 56 pounds
in the process. He weighed in at 249 pounds on opening
day of the contest.
“I followed a low–carb, low–calorie, no–fat diet to lose
the weight, along with treadmill work,” Cruz said. “I
moved my treadmill out of the garage and into my
bedroom. Five miles was always my goal on the treadmill.
I would get there some days and other days I would miss
the goal. But I stuck to it and never gave up.”
“To lose that kind of weight takes a serious commit-
ment and dedication,” added Bond, a University of Florida
bachelor’s graduate in health–science nutrition.
Cruz said he no longer takes blood–pressure medica-
tion, having brought his reading down to “112,” a remark-
able turnaround. High blood pressure can lead to coronary
disease, stroke, and kidney problems, physicians say.
When he first started the Great Weight–off program,
Cruz said he often weighed himself to check his progress.
“For the first two weeks, I would get on the scale every day,
sometimes two and three times a day, which made no
sense. So I got rid of the scale.”
The only mandatory weigh–ins were at the beginning
and the end of the Great Weight–off contest, said Bond.
“However, we offered some incentives for people to
weigh–in on a weekly basis. We put their name in a
drawing to win a $50 gift card. If they actually lost weight
that week, their name was entered twice in the drawing.
So we gave them an incentive to weigh–in and keep them
engaged in the program.”
Attending weekly educational sessions and logging onto
website forums presented Health First colleagues with the
opportunity to stay connected, Bond said.
“During the 12–week competition, the participants were
pretty much on their own, but they had resources available
to them that we put on a website, including two–minute
video clips recorded by Pro–Health & Fitness personal
trainers.”
The website, www.GreatWeightOff.org, received more
than 10,000 page views as Health First employees and
others closely followed the weight–loss standings of the
competitors that were posted and updated weekly. The
website attracted traffic from 21 countries.
The second competition, the Slim–to–Win Challenge,
was won by the 5–foot–4 Berry, who works in the hospital’s
mother/baby unit.
Bond said Health First associates were invited to apply
for the Slim–to–Win contest. The panel, comprised of
Health First executives, selected 16 people for the reality–
style challenge. Bond said in order to be considered for the
program, the individual’s Body Mass Index “had to be 35 or
above.”
BMI is a statistical measure that compares a person’s
weight and height. Though it does not actually measure
the percentage of body fat, it is used to estimate a healthy
body weight based on a person’s height. Because of its ease
of measurement and calculation, BMI is the most widely
used diagnostic tool to identify weight problems, Bond
said.
A BMI of 30 to 35 is considered obese by the National
Institutes of Health. Obesity is a serious, growing epidemic
cutting across all categories of race, ethnicity, family
income, and locale, according to the organization “A
Healthier America.”
The Slim–to–Win contest website provided a BMI
calculator, which gave individuals who entered their
height and weight an immediate BMI report.
Berry’s starting weight before the contest was 231.5
pounds. She lost 43.5 pounds, or 18.7 percent of her total
body weight.
“I really had to clean up my diet and I did a lot of
exercising on top of the training I did with a Pro–Health &
Fitness personal trainer. As I began to lose weight, I really
became more enthusiastic and worked harder and harder,”
Berry said.
Jill Wattenbarger, a Pro–Health & Fitness Center
personal trainer, was paired with Berry during the Slim–
to–Win Challenge.
“The contestants were required to workout five days a
week for at least one hour per session,” Wattenbarger said.
“With Brandy, we were doing cardio–vascular training,
circuit training, and other forms of exercising. The main
goal was to ‘shock the body.’ Throughout the program,
Brandy really went above and beyond. She would come to
my spinning classes, in addition to her regular workouts,
which typically involved two hours of exercising.”
Contestants had to attend health–education classes one
hour a week during the program at Pro Health & Fitness.
“They also had to submit themselves to be photographed at
the weekly weigh–ins, and they had to agree to have their
weight posted on the contest website for the whole world to
see,” Bond said. “They were under intense scrutiny
throughout the entire Slim–to–Win Challenge.”
Berry had to come from behind to win the Challenge
title. Carri Smith “shot out of the gate with a 15–pound
weight loss in the first week of competition and just blew
everybody away,” Bond said. “Carri led all the way through
week 11. On the final week of the competition, Brandy
pulled ahead for the win. It was very interesting to watch
as the data was updated on the website. Their scores were
very close.”
Berry’s 18.7 percent body–weight loss just topped
Smith’s 18.2 percent. Berry dropped 43.5 pounds versus
Smith’s 63 pounds.
Of the 16 Slim–to–Win competitors, 14 finished the
contest, Bond said. Together they lost 420 pounds, or 11.8
percent total body weight. One number really stands out:
“350 pounds total fat lost.”
Bond says Pro–Health & Fitness Centers in the region
use a three–part program to help individuals lose weight
— exercise, nutrition, and behavior modification.
“A lot of weight–management programs focus on diet or
exercise, or maybe both. Most of them do not address
behavior. We emphasize each leg of the ‘three–legged
stool,’ so to speak. The key is balance and that is what we
teach throughout the program at Pro–Health & Fitness.”
Both Berry and Cruz say they are committed to
maintaining their weight. “You have to develop a lifelong
healthy lifestyle. It just can’t be a 12–week program. This
program gave me the foundation to build on. Now, it’s up
to me to follow through on what have I learned from the
experience,” Berry said.
Good News WE HAVE THE BLUES!
We now accept BlueChoice (PPO), BlueCare (HMO), BlueOptions (NetworkBlue) and traditional
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at Port St. John. That’s good news.
For more information about Parrish Medical Center, please visit www.parrishmed.com.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is accepted at Parrish Medical Center and our affiliates.
H E A L I N G E X P E R I E N C E S F O R E V E R Y O N E A L L T H E T I M E®