AHMC Community Programs Receive South Floirda Buisness Journal Excellence In Health Care Awards.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006 – Aventura Hospital and Medical Center’s CEO Heather J. Rohan announced today that two excellent community programs within the hospital are finalists in the   South Florida Business Journal 2006 Excellence in Healthcare Awards. The two programs, H2U (Health Happiness You), and the Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Center Community Outreach Initiative to Reduce Cancer Mortality Among African-Americans study will be awarded on an upcoming event taking place November 2nd  (where is the event going to be held).

H2U is a finalist for the South Florida Business Journal Excellence in a Non-Profit Healthcare Program.  To be recognized, non-profit programs had to have been implemented to meet a specific need, be a community outreach program, have family involvement and participation in the program, and demonstrate unique fundraising efforts to promote the program.

 H2U, Health Happiness You, at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, led by program director Aleida Andrew, is a non-profit community outreach program that caters to the unique health needs of adults and provides them with valuable health information, resources and social activities. The integrated approach is designed to attract the adult population and to encourage them to support hospitals by tying together multiple service lines and national health resources. The enriched program seeks to empower individuals to manage their health and enjoy a healthy lifestyle. H2U at Aventura Hospital has become the number one chapter in the Eastern HCA Division.

The program helps members in assessing their current health needs by recommending specific tests and/or screenings and by promoting self-care and providing support to assist members in taking control of their own health.  H2U offers a wide range of health and wellness programs, as well as a very active social calendar that includes yoga, zumba classes, aerobic exercises, dinner and theater field trips, and much more.  For a $15.00 annual membership fee, H2U members are subscribed to the monthly national H2U newsletter packed with useful health information and tips, as well as the monthly local H2U chapter publication listing the social calendar and health events for the month.

To be considered for the South Florida Business Journal’s Excellence in a Community-Based Program, Aventura Hospital provided a narrative description of the Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Community Outreach Initiative to Reduce Cancer Mortality Among African-Americans.

This past February, Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Center – a department of Aventura Hospital and Medical Center – hosted an African-American Summit on Cancer Disparities.  The luncheon attracted religious and political leaders from the City of Miami Gardens, Opa Locka, City of North Miami and City of Hallandale and Pembroke Pines – cities with a high number of African-American populations. 

After revising data from the American Cancer Society and patient data at the cancer center, Cancer Center Director Gilbert Baerga and Community Outreach Manager Debra Eddington noticed major disparities among the stage in which an African-American cancer patient presented to the center for treatment when compared to other races.  An alarming number of these patients presented at stage 4 and even 5, when there is very little, if anything, that can be done for the cancer patient.

Currently, the African American population in the United States bears a disproportionate burden of Cancer; African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all Cancers combined and for most major Cancers. Death rates for all major cause of death are higher for African Americans than for whites, contributing to a lower life expectancy of both African American men and women. (American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures for African Americans 2005-2006; pg. 1)
 

Upon reviewing these findings, Aventura Hospital and Medical Center reached out to religious and political leaders in the cities from which these African-American patients were presenting in an effort to form a partnership and develop an aggressive community outreach initiative to provide education, increase prevention and early detection efforts, and enhance treatment options.  The Aventura Hospital Community Outreach Advisory Board was formed as a 15-member board that meets bi-monthly and develops outreach programs for the calendar.  Outreach programs have included free lectures and free health screenings at these various at-risk communities.

“These two programs are the very essence of what our goal is every day here at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, which is to provide our patients with the information and the tools  necessary to live healthier, longer lives,” said Heather J. Rohan, C.E.O.

To find out more about H2U, please call the H2U program at Aventura Hospital at 305.682.7390.  The Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Center may be reached at 305.682.7151