Winter Haven Hospital continues to pursue open heart surgery and has applied to the State for Certificate of Need approval. With over 600 people from eastern Polk County and 500 people from Highlands County annually being referred out of our area for open heart surgery or angioplasty, the need is evident. The decision for us to receive approval to proceed will be made in March 2003. In addition, proposed legislative changes are being perused to support this initiative under the leadership of Senator-elect J.D. Alexander.

We have been having regular meetings with our affiliate colleagues at Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida College of Medicine. In addition to working together on our Open Heart Surgery efforts we are jointly preparing recommendations for a Cancer Program Affiliation. We look forward to sharing these plans once they have been completed.

The Mid Florida Medical Services Foundation Board of Trustees, under the Chairmanship of Larry Tucker, is focusing on raising funds to assist people with limited economic resources to get the education necessary to become healthcare professionals. We are very grateful that Polk Community College, Ridge and Traviss Technical Center leaders/instructors are working very closely with us, even to the point of having LPN programs being offered at Winter Haven Hospital (all classes and practicums).

An exciting new program for anyone interested in a new perspective about aging has been introduced to our community. The program is called Sage-ing and was developed by the Spiritual Eldering Institute in Boulder, Colorado. There are currently 3 Sage-ing Centers in the country, one in Indiana and two in Florida. The program offered free to our community at Winter Haven Hospital is facilitated by Chuck Warren, MSW, who is a Certified Sage-ing leader intern with the Spiritual Eldering Institute.

We also continue to offer a variety of health screenings, educational and lifestyle programs for you as we seek to fulfill our Mission: To improve the health of the communities we serve by providing high quality, cost-effective care and services.