AHMC Recipient of the Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence 2006

Debra Eddington, Community Outreach Manager at Aventura Hospital to present award-winning Community Outreach Initiative Program on Cancer Disparities at the annual Gallup Healthcare Forum in Omaha, Nebraska

Aventura, FL - July 21, 2006 – Aventura Hospital and Medical Center proudly announces that Debra Eddington, Community Outreach Manager, will receive the 2006 Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence at the annual Gallup Healthcare Forum on October 10th through the 12th, in Omaha, Nebraska. Ms. Eddington is one of nine winners from a pool of 50 applicants chosen based on the difficulty of the hospital’s challenge, innovation and creativity used in addressing the challenge, improvement through measurable results, and demonstrated sustainability.

As an award recipient, Ms. Eddington will present Aventura Hospital’s Community Outreach Initiative Program on Cancer Disparities to other award recipients and healthcare peers at the Gallup Healthcare Group’s annual Healthcare Forum. Additionally, Ms. Eddington’s program will be featured in Gallup’s annual Journal for Healthcare Excellence.  She will also receive an award to share with the hospital, and will be celebrated with fellow award winners at a dinner hosted by the Gallup Healthcare Group during the forum.

“The challenges facing today’s healthcare industry are profound and widespread. Our award-winning clients have displayed true ingenuity and I am delighted to present the Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence to Debra Eddington from Aventura Hospital and Medical Center in South Florida,” said Deborah A. Toto, Global Healthcare Practice Leader with the Gallup Healthcare Group.

“We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our community outreach program, which we are fortunate to have being led by an extraordinary visionary as is Debra. Education is key when it comes to healthcare, and the patient him/herself is our best ally – that is the focus of our community outreach initiative that Debra has so successfully implemented,” said Heather J. Rohan, Chief Executive Officer of Aventura Hospital and Medical Center.  “We look forward to continuing and expanding our educational efforts on behalf of the minorities’ communities so affected by this alarming cancer disparities.”

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center is a 407-bed acute care medical/surgical facility, providing award-winning inpatient and outpatient diagnostic, medical, surgical, cardiovascular and cancer services to the communities of northeast Miami-Dade and southeast Broward counties since 1965. Staffed by more than 700 physicians representing over 50 specialties and 1,300 employees, the hospital meets the healthcare needs of its neighboring communities through continuous program enhancement and service excellence.

Gallup Healthcare Group works with clients in all segments of the healthcare industry – providers (hospitals and physicians), payors (insurance companies and HMOs), manufacturers (pharmaceutical and biotech companies), and distributors (medical equipment and supplies sellers) – and with for-profit, nonprofit, government, and academic organizations. Gallup Healthcare Group consultants work with healthcare organizations to implement solutions to achieve increased and sustainable business outcomes through increasing patient and physician loyalty, enhancing employee engagement and retention, and achieving increased business results