JACKSONVILLE -- Jacksonville-based MedMal Direct Insurance Company ("MedMal Direct") has officially launched operations as a medical malpractice insurance company in Florida. The company, the first in Florida to provide medical malpractice insurance directly to the physician community without the use of insurance agents or brokers, received its certificate of authority from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in June.

 

MedMal Direct will enable physicians to realize significant savings on one of their largest expenses — medical professional liability insurance premiums.

 

By using the direct-write distribution model, we are able to pass on the savings to the physician, said Butler Ball, CEO of MedMal Direct. He also said that because of the commoditized nature of the product, it is simply more efficient for the physician to purchase directly from the company.

 

Company officials call the business model and customer service platform "user-friendly and responsive." MedMal Direct expects to save Florida physicians an average of 20 percent on their premiums.

 

A physician or practice manager may go to the website, fill out a brief application and submit it to MedMal Direct, said Tim Bone, company president. The company will then underwrite the physician and, in most cases, return a quote within 48 hours of the completed application.

 

Vascular Vein Centers is pleased to announce the addition of the new ThermaLite™ 1470 Laser System at all 5 Central Florida locations.  This new revolutionary laser system offers significant patient benefits including reduced swelling, bruising and no post operative pain that has traditionally been associated with varicose vein surgery.

 

Varicose veins affect up to 40 percent of women and 20 percent of men.  Some symptoms include swelling, leg heaviness, fatigue, skin discoloration and pain.  Untreated varicose veins can lead to many complications such as ulcers on the surface of the skin.  This non-invasive laser procedure is performed at our clinic using local anesthesia  and is complete in less than one hour.  Following the procedure, patients are encouraged to walk and are able to resume normal activities on the same day.

The Florida Hospital Nursing Excellence Awards Luncheon was held to honor 28 outstanding nurses and nursing teams. These winners were chosen out of the more than 5,000 nurses that work at Florida Hospital. These award recipients are nominated and selected based on the compassion and innovation that they show in patient care, leadership, education, nursing and research.

 

Lars Houmann, president and CEO of Florida Hospital said that nurses deserve to be recognized for their excellence, and these awards are a great way to acknowledge all the hard work they do.

 

Many of the nominees are recognized for being not only a caregiver to the patient, but also to the patient's family. For example, one nurse stayed after her shift just to comfort a grieving family whose loved one passed away. Another nurse volunteered time out of her day to simply watch a family's children when one parent was being treated in the intensive care unit.  

 

Evan Ballantyne, RN, NM

Janet Celli, BSN, RN, PCCN, ANM

Sherry Joyce, BSN, RN, CNOR, ANM

Jane Mcgrory, BSN, RN, CN3

Betty Epley, RN, CN2

Sharon Crumley, BSN, RN, CN2

Kathy Montoya, BSN, RN, CN2

Vicki Picco, RN, RNC-NIC, CN2

Bella Carbonell, BSN, RN, CN3

Marie Hays, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN, CN3

Laura Wilkins, ALPN

Janet Rodriguez, BSN, RN, CN3

Alba Gonzalez Cruz, BSN, RN, CCRN, CN3

Huldah Turner, RN, RNC, C-EFM, CN3

Ihla Wolfe, BSN, RN, CNOR, CN4

Kimberlee Morrell, RN, CN2

Jessica Marcello, RN

Melyndi Stokes, RN, ANM

Vicki Stevens, BSN, RN, CEN

Hallie Peyton, RN, CPN, CN2

Amy Donaldson, BSN, RN, CN2

Elizabeth Andrus, BSN, RN, CNOR

Maria Lugo, PharmD

Katherine Pamplin, RN, CN2

Girija Sankar, BSN, RN, OCN

Jennifer Charles, CSR, ICU, RN

Marnette Valcin, CICU, RN

Gardine Jacques, PCU, RN