Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation and Memorial Foundation enjoyed another record-setting year, with can’t-miss special events bringing the community together and supporting high-quality, compassionate care of children and families at Memorial.

• The Diamond Angels’ 13th Annual Fairy Tale Ball, featuring a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme, welcomed 650 people and raised $317,000 for patients, families, programs, services and facilities at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital
• Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital presented the 2017 Joe DiMaggio American ICON award to Emilio and Gloria Estefan, in recognition of their body of work in the music business and their representation of the values for which Joe DiMaggio stood during his lifetime. Nearly 1,000 attendees enjoyed a fourth glittering evening that has previously honored former President Bill Clinton, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Miami Heat President Pat Riley
• The 8th Annual ANF Tour de Broward once again passed the half-million-dollar mark, raising $510,000 in February, with more than 7,500 enthusiastic cyclists, runners, walkers and volunteers making this year’s event the biggest in Tour de Broward history
• When the 13th Annual KISS Country Radiothon for Kids broadcast live from the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital lobby, KISS listeners and fans stepped up, called in and raised more than $260,000 – supported by the generosity of Allegiance Crane & Equipment and Sedano’s Supermarkets
• The 23rd Annual Conine All-Star Golf Classic raised $260,000 for Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s Conine Clubhouse, selling out for its seventh consecutive year.

8th Annual ANF Tour de Broward

2017 Joe DiMaggio American ICON Award

23rd Annual Conine All-Star Golf Classic

What do the funds raised by the Foundations accomplish? A lot. Throughout the year, donors’ generosity provided emergency help to needy families, underwrote gym memberships for cancer patients, and kept Memorial’s pet therapy dogs at patients’ bedsides. Plus:

Thanks to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation Donors…

• Pediatric rehabilitation patients began using the AlterG Bionic Leg™ – a wearable robotic device that increases patients’ control of their legs to make standing, walking and even climbing stairs easier
• NicView cameras in the 84-bed Wasie Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital allowed family members and friends to see a baby in the NICU live from anywhere in the world – more than 5,000 times each month

Thanks to Memorial Foundation Donors…

• Memorial Fitness Centers expanded their exercise programs to include free kickboxing classes for patients with Parkinson’s disease
• Adult patients suffering from diseases like cerebral palsy or Alzheimer’s were able to use musical rhythm to help them regain motor function in Memorial’s Neurologic Music Therapy program
• Memorial Rehabilitation Institute launched Safe to Drive, to help rehab patients coping with the effects of a stroke, head injury or amputation feel comfortable behind the wheel again

Last but not least, Memorial and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundations rounded out the fiscal year with a celebration: The Circle of Friends presented the Spirit of Healing award to Ron Book, Bruce Braffman, MD, the Children’s Services Council of Broward County, Chrystal Felsen and Frank Scholl, MD – and honored Dr. Mitchell Eisenberg and Dr. Gail Eisenberg with the Wasie Philanthropic Leadership Award – for their dedication to the health and well-being of their South Florida community.

South Broward Community Health Services

One of Memorial Healthcare System’s highest priorities is to help improve and maintain the health of our community. South Broward Community Health Services works daily to provide un- and underinsured patients with a place they can receive continuous, comprehensive and expertly managed primary care – a medical home.

“We help people learn how to use the appropriate level of care and to access regular preventive care,” said Melida Akiti, Vice President, South Broward Community Health Services. “Our ability to link people to a patient-centered medical home means that we can connect them to holistic, wraparound medical services, bring down emergency room visits and hospital readmissions, and help ensure a healthier community.”

Establishing someone in a medical home – whether via appointments at health centers, visits from mobile health vans, or both – makes a measurable difference in preventing illness and managing chronic conditions. Community Health Services had a successful fiscal year on both fronts.

Growth

New Locations – South Broward Community Health Services opened the first Memorial Primary Care Center in Silver Lakes in April 2017. As a partnership with Memorial’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program, this new practice will help Memorial train the physicians of tomorrow starting in July 2018.

A New Patient Navigator Program – Supported by a generous grant from Humana, South Broward Community Health Services launched its patient navigator program to help patients and families find their way through the healthcare system and manage their conditions.

Over the course of the fiscal year, navigators at Memorial Regional Hospital and Memorial Hospital West emergency rooms recorded 1,740 encounters with ER patients and successfully introduced 554 to a medical home, with 32 percent scheduling follow-up visits with primary care providers. Only 11 percent of patients returned to the emergency room for treatment within 30 days, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $1.1 million.

A New Partnership – South Broward Community Health Systems teamed with Miami-based Banyan Health Systems to bring telehealth to the Banyan Community Health Center’s menu of services. This initiative was supported by funds from a Broward County grant, helping Banyan benefit from Memorial’s valued expertise and how telemedicine can make an important contribution to community health.

A New Mobile Health Van – Since 2004, South Broward Community Health Services has brought healthcare to the community via its mobile health vans. The fleet expanded by one this year thanks to a $500,000 legislative appropriation. This year, 2,253 patients were served via mobile van encounters.

Renewed Credentials – Thanks to its continued strong scores, South Broward Community Health Services was re-credentialed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Level III Patient-Centered Medical Home early in 2017.

Cost Efficiency

With new programs, new services and many more patients linking successfully to a medical home, South Broward Community Health Services:

• Maintained its within-30-days hospital readmission rate at a low 9.1% – versus Medicaid/Medicare’s readmission rate of 13% – and saved nearly half a million dollars
• Sustained an impressive 16.4 percent rate of within-30-days emergency-room readmissions – comparing favorably with the national emergency-room benchmark of 23 percent and saving an estimated $160,000

Year in and year out, Memorial Healthcare System goes beyond its mission of providing world-class healthcare by reinforcing its commitment to community involvement. And this year was no exception.

The top events organized by Memorial in 2016-2017 included the 8th Annual Tour de Broward, during which thousands of participants exercised in support of services that help Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital patients and families. The Adaptive Sports and Recreation Expo, a Memorial Rehabilitation Institute event, features a wide variety of sports and exercises to benefit those with physical disabilities. This year’s event was held at a park for the first time, providing participants with the opportunity to enjoy adaptive water skiing, scuba diving, sailing, fishing and basketball.

8th Annual ANF Tour de Broward

The Adaptive Sports and Recreation Expo

The Adaptive Sports and Recreation Expo

A number of health fairs and events are held annually in conjunction with Memorial Cancer Institute, Memorial Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Memorial Neuroscience Institute, Memorial Rehabilitation Institute and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Wellness programs provide health education, detection and prevention initiatives in the community and corporate venues.

But Memorial’s community involvement extends far beyond healthcare. In an effort to help improve the community’s overall quality of life, the system partners with social service agencies that have important missions in our society including ARC Broward, Women in Distress, 2-1-1 Broward, ChildNet and Children’s Services Council, among many others.

“We’re a community pillar and we’re truly committed to our mission of healing the mind, body and spirit of those we touch,” says Milin Espino, Administrative Director of Community Relations. “We create partnerships that help take care of the community in more ways than healthcare.”

Memorial also collaborates with a variety of initiatives to keep children safe from avoidable accidents and injuries, including drowning prevention and car seat safety. The healthcare system acts as the lead agency of Safe Kids Broward, a coalition of organizations working together to keep children safe and healthy.

In the last fiscal year, Memorial participated in a total of 481 events attended by more than 211,000 guests.

The community also benefits from a long-term asset: the Memorial Fitness Zones, located in seven local parks featuring fitness equipment donated by Memorial Healthcare System to offer spaces where people can exercise outdoors.

Memorial is also an active participant and supports disease-specific awareness activity with events such as the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy Walk, American Heart Association’s Heart Walk, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light the Night Walk, and the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

American Heart Association’s Heart Walk

Walk to End Alzheimer’s

American Cancer Society's Relay for Life

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer