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Best Buddies receives grant from Golisano Foundation
Best Buddies International, a nonprofit founded in 1989 by Anthony K. Shriver to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities , recently announced it has received a generous grant from the Golisano Foundation of $50,000 to expand its work in Southwest Florida to serve more individuals with IDD.
With the Golisano Foundation's support, Best Buddies was launched in Southwest Florida in October 2017. Initial funding supported organizing the local office, providing for space and operations.
The Southwest Florida office, located at 5237 Summerlin Commons Blvd., in Fort Myers, is staffed with two full-time employees, Area Director Melanie Musick and Program Manager Molly Morrina, who is the school liaison. Currently, Southwest Florida has Best Buddies chapters at 26 schools throughout the local community. Each chapter is supported by a Faculty Advisor/Special Education Advisor plus a Chapter President, in addition to the Program Manager.
School administrators, teachers and/or parents wanting Best Buddies offered at a specific school location in Lee, Collier, Charlotte or Sarasota counties are welcome to contact Melanie Musick at melaniemusick@bestbuddies.org or 239-275-2510.
For more information, please visit www.bestbuddies.org, facebook.com/bestbuddies or twitter.com/bestbuddies.
Johnson Eyecare joins US Eye
Johnson Eyecare in Fort Myers is integrating its practice with the US Eye model to enrich patient care and expand service offerings.
The new partnership provides Johnson Eyecare patients with direct access to world-renowned surgeons, cutting-edge technology and additional service lines, including dermatology, facial cosmetic surgery, skin care and audiology.
US Eye is a physician-led, patient-centric network of practices committed to providing exceptional patient service through premium technology and unrivaled provider expertise. The Sarasota-based eye care management organization has 28 clinics and three surgery centers across the southeast, positioning the company as one of the largest comprehensive eye care delivery systems in the nation.
Established in 2018 by Dr. Sarah Johnson, Johnson Eyecare's mission is to deliver the highest quality vision care to its patients through compassionate, honest and excellent service.
In addition to comprehensive eye health exams, Johnson Eyecare provides contact lens exams and fittings, dry eye management, glaucoma evaluations and management, cataract surgery co-management, diabetic eyecare, macular degeneration management, amblyopia (lazy eye) management, ocular disease prevention, nutritional support and treatment of eye infections, injuries and emergencies.
Johnson Eyecare will integrate practice operations and administrative functions with US Eye. The addition of Johnson Eyecare expands US Eye's footprint in Southwest Florida to 18 locations, most of which are known by the local brand name, Center For Sight. All existing patient appointments will proceed as scheduled.
Johnson Eyecare is located at 15661 San Carlos Blvd., Suite 4, in Fort Myers. For more information, please call 239-887-3187 or visit Johnson-Eyecare.com.
Quigley Eye Specialists expands Into Sarasota
Quigley Eye Specialists, a Southwest Florida leader in the diagnosis and treatment of vision disorders, is growing and expanding into Sarasota.
The practice announced that Eye Specialists of Sarasota and Dr. Michael Lamensdorf have merged with Quigley Eye Specialists. Lamensdorf is a board certified ophthalmologist and Fellow of the American College of Surgeons who is a renowned cataract and lens replacement surgeon.
Quigley Eye Specialists has acquired nine offices during the past year, bringing the total number of offices under the Quigley Eye Specialists umbrella to 21.
In addition, Quigley Eye Specialists launched a cosmetic division last year under the direction of facial plastic surgeon Dr. Stephen Prendiville, who is medical director of The Q iLASIK & Med Spa in Naples and Assuage Luxury Spa in Naples and Fort Myers..
Lamensdorf will continue to see patients at the Eye Specialists office at 1428 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. As a result of the merger, patients also will have access to multiple specialists at three locations in Sarasota, including Dr. Joseph Spadafora, who has more than 30 years of experience in ophthalmology and is the medical director of St. Lucy's Eye Surgery Center, which merged with Quigley Eye Specialists earlier this year.
Quigley Eye Specialists, founded in 1988, consists of more than 100 medical professionals, including surgeons, optometrists, retina specialists and technicians. Offices are conveniently located throughout Southwest Florida in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, Miami, Naples, North Port, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Sarasota and Venice.
For more information, visit www.QuigleyEye.com.
Lee Health announces inaugural 'High Reliability Award' winner
Lee Health has established a new recognition, the High Reliability Award, that will be awarded twice a year to health system employees or teams that demonstrate a passion for delivering safe and high-quality care to our patients. The High Reliability Award is Lee Health's most prestigious safety and quality recognition and its winners are handpicked by the health system's chief officer leadership steam for their excellence in leadership, continuous process improvement and cultivating a culture of safety.
The first High Reliability Award has been awarded to Lee Health's Heart Central team. The Heart Central team monitors the vital signs of all hospitalized patients from centralized sites within each hospital campus 24/7 and provide urgent notification to bedside nurses or emergency response teams.
Heart Central maintains a stellar track record of safety and has experienced zero telemetry-associated serious safety events since the introduction of its process improvement journey over four years ago. System Nursing Director of Heart Central, Kristy Desfosses, and members of her teams at Lee Memorial Hospital, Gulf Coast Medical Center, Cape Coral Hospital and HealthPark Medical Center accepted the award on behalf of their colleagues.
Open since 1916, Lee Memorial Health System is the fourth largest public health system in the United States and the largest community-owned health system in Southwest Florida. With more than 11,000 employees, the system is made up of four acute care hospitals and two specialty hospitals, as well as outpatient centers, walk-in medical centers and primary care and specialty physician offices. An award-winning health care system, it provides regional programs, such as our Trauma Center and Golisano Children's Hospital, which serve our community members from Tampa to Miami. Visit www.leememorial.org for more information.