HEALTH BRIEFS
Sacred Heart welcomes new leadership for NICU

Pena

Dr. Antonio Esteban Pena, a board certified neonatologist with Pediatrix Medical Group, has been named the medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital. Dr. Pena will replace Dr. Paul Berger, who will continue to practice neonatology at Sacred Heart.

Dr. Pena previously worked as a neonatologist with Pediatrix Medical Group at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach for the past nine years.

Dr. Pena completed his fellowship in neonatology in the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.

A native of Cuba, Dr. Pena received his medical degree from the Universidad Central del Este in the Dominican Republic and completed his residency in pediatrics at Nassau County Medical Center Health Sciences Center at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where he was named chief resident.

Sacred Heart Hospital provides one of only 11 Regional Perinatal Intensive Care Centers in the State of Florida. The program, which includes the services of the hospital's NICU, specializes in the care of women with high-risk pregnancies and babies who are born sick or with low birth weight.

Kummer

For more information, please call (850) 416-7000 or visit www.sacred-heart.org

TRICARE enhanced to assist special needs patients

TRICARE implemented coverage for anesthesia services and associated costs for dental treatment for beneficiaries with developmental, mental or physical disabilities, and children age 5 or under beginning July 1.

Additionally, TRICARE encourages beneficiaries who received these services between Oct. 17, 2006 and July 1 to contact their TRICARE regional contractor for help with reimbursement.

"TRICARE will do all that is possible to ensure that beneficiaries receive the appropriate payment for these services received since October 17, 2006," said Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger, TRICARE's Deputy Director.

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2007 legislated the change, and TRICARE revised the regional contracts to expand coverage for the services. The services require preauthorization through the regional TRICARE contractors.

The change in statute does not provide coverage for the actual dental care services. Coverage for dental care services is available through the TRICARE Dental Program and the TRICARE Retiree Dental Program.

TRICARE reminds beneficiaries that to avoid costly and extensive dental procedures requiring anesthesia, children should start seeing a dentist by the time their first tooth appears or by their first birthday; this helps to prevent tooth decay and other oral diseases.

"Decay is the single most common chronic childhood dental disease - and it's completely preventable," Granger said.

TRICARE Management Activity, the Defense Department agency that administers the health care plan for the uniformed services, retirees and their families, serves more than 9.1 million eligible beneficiaries worldwide.

Nemours names Dr. Kummer new chief

Mark Kummer, MD, was recently announced as the new Chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology for Nemours Children's Clinic of Pensacola. Dr. Kummer practices with Drs. Helen Hsiang and Michele Zerah to treat the children in Northwest Florida and surrounding areas who have diabetes and other endocrine disorders.

Dr. Kummer received his medical degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. and his masters degree in theological studies from the University of Dallas in Dallas, Texas. He completed his residency training at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, New Hampshire as well as a combined fellowship in pediatric endocrinology and nutrition at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa. He is board certified in pediatric endocrinology and nutrition.

Before joining Nemours, Dr. Kummer served as a volunteer physician in Peten Guatemala with Mission Doctors Association and Catholic Medical Mission Board.

Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.

Weight loss seminar July 19

Dr. Jeffrey L. Lord, a specialist in laparoscopic weight loss surgery, will present "Weight Loss Surgery: Is It Right for You?" on Thursday, July 19, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Hospital Conference Center in Pensacola.

The only board-certified bariatric surgeon in Northwest Florida with advanced fellowship training in weight loss surgery, Dr. Lord serves as director of the Sacred Heart Institute for Surgical Weight Loss. He has special expertise in minimally invasive surgical weight loss procedures. Dr. Lord and the Institute for Surgical Weight Loss can perform two types of weight loss surgery that use small incisions. The first is laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, which involves a permanent rerouting of the digestive system that leaves patients with a small stomach pouch. The surgery creates a bypass that reroutes food around a portion of the small intestine.

The second, newer approach performed at Sacred Heart is adjustable gastric banding. Using a laparoscope, the surgeon places an inflatable band around the stomach, creating a small upper pouch at the top, with restricted passage to the rest of the stomach. This pouch fills quickly and creates a feeling of fullness.

Dr. Lord and his staff provide comprehensive evaluation of clinically obese patients to determine their candidacy for these life-changing procedures as well as extensive patient/family education to create a foundation for a healthy lifestyle.

Reservations are required for this free seminar. To make a reservation or to obtain more information, please call (850) 416-1628 or visit www.sacredheart. org.

Mole Patrol invades Blue Angel show

Baptist Health Care, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute and AAA Auto Club South are teaming up once again Blue Angel Weekend for Mole Patrol(tm), a skin cancer screening program aimed at detecting early signs of skin cancer.

On July 20 and 21 the Mole Patrol(tm) will be set up for screenings next to the Baptist Health Care first-aid tent at Casino Beach. Sun seekers are encouraged to stop by the Mole Patrol(tm) tent from 8 a.m. to noon to take advantage of free skin cancer screenings. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss sunexposed areas of concern with dermatologist Dr. Amy Watson, surgical oncologist Dr. Jonathan Zager, and surgical oncology fellow Dr. James Lewis. The team will be looking for the two major types of skin cancer: nonmelanoma and melanoma - both related to sun exposure.

Screening slots are limited and will be provided on a firstcome, first-served basis. Participants will be provided with local resources on how to proceed if additional follow-up is needed. This is the second year for the Mole Patrol(tm) during the Blue Angel Weekend. Last year's team conducted 235 screenings resulting in 32 findings requiring follow-up care.

For more information, call Baptist HealthSource at (850) 434-4080.

Sacred Heart offers grant writing class

Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola will host a Grantsmanship Training Program Aug. 27-31 for nonprofit and government grantseekers to learn proven grant-writing techniques. The hands-on workshop will take participants step by step through all stages of planning programs, researching funding sources and writing proposals.

To register for the Grantsmanship Training Program, to get more information, or to apply for a partial scholarship, contact The Grantsmanship Center at (800) 421-9512 or www.tgci.com.