Executive Health care: a broad sample of South Florida's Medical Centers

South Florida CEO, August, 2004

In April of this year, McDonald's CEO Jim Cantalupo unexpectedly died of a heart attack. Two weeks after the company's board of directors appointed Charlie Bell to succeed him, Bell was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. And, just weeks ago Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his pancreas.

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These recent events highlight the need for executives to stay proactive when it comes to issues of their health. As one of the most important assets a company has, top executives owe it to their shareholders to take care of themselves.

Although many recent advances in medical science have led to the increased ability to detect and prevent many illnesses, busy executives may still find it difficult to make the time to attend to their health. Seeing a need, South Florida's hospitals and medical centers have rushed in with a plethora of health care options targeted at busy executives. Armed with an understanding of the time constraints involved with setting appointments for tests and exams, these programs offer streamlined approaches to care. These top-of-the-line health care options include executive physicals offering VIP treatment for total-body health assessments. The technology is often cutting-edge: clinics and hospitals throughout the area continue to update both their equipment and facilities. The following is a round-up of the array of options available for the busy South Florida executive. Stay well.

Aventura Hospital and Medical Center has just completed the first phase of its $130 million North Patient Tower expansion project, part of the hospital's plan for enlarging and renovating its entire facility. The hospital moved this June into the first four floors of an 11-story building, which includes a new 28-bed, 17,000-square foot, emergency department with all private rooms and two new intensive care units with 42 beds. The second phase, which will open in the fall of this year, will provide an additional 35 beds and a new surgical center with 10 operating rooms (two dedicated to open heart surgery), new registration and waiting areas with enhanced security. There will also be VIP rooms on each floor and two VIP suites with family living rooms. Aventura www.aventurahospital.com (305) 682-7000

Baptist Outpatient Center's Executive Health and Wellness Program offers full examinations in a private, elegant setting. Amenities include a business center with Internet access, continental breakfast, plush terry robes or warm-up suits and 24-hour international patient assistance. Most examinations are completed during a half-day visit to the Baptist Medical Arts Building. The program's multidisciplinary team provides a comprehensive medical evaluation, with results available on the same day. The physician also sends a follow-up letter to the patient, outlining areas that may need attention and recommendations for follow-up examinations. Miami www.baptisthealth.net 786-596-2869

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Bascom Palmer Eye Institute landed the top spot in US News & World Report as the best eye institute in the US this year. When asking ophthalmologists across the nation where they would send a family member if price and distance were no object, 78.5 percent chose Bascom Palmer. It is the institute's third time in 10 years to be ranked No. 1 in the magazine's annual medical institution rankings. What put Bascom Palmer Eye Institute on top? "The excellence and the care that we provide to each and every patient every day. And it's the same care for all CEOs and all aspiring CEOs," says Marla Bercuson, director of marketing. Bascom Palmer is also the University of Miami's department of ophthalmology. Miami www.bpei.med.miami.edu (305) 243-2020

Bethesda Memorial Hospital has a Benefactors Pavilion that offers a VIP suite that is more like a hotel room than a hospital room. A minimum donation of $50,000 qualifies a donor for a lifetime membership in the Benefactors Pavilion Society, required for access to the suite. Boynton Beach www.bethesdaweb.com (561) 737-7733

Broward General Medical Center's new seven-story parking garage is just the first phase in the hospital's 400,000-square-foot expansion. Scheduled for completion in 2005, the expansion will feature state-of-the-art surgical suites, new critical care units, outpatient facilities, a 38,000-square-foot emergency department and a trauma center, as well as a new Heart Center of Excellence--the hospital's specialized heart care center. Fort Lauderdale www.browardhealth.org (954) 355-4400

Cedars Medical Center has an executive physical program. It is targeted to international business people, and is offered in conjunction with Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital. An individual can come to any of the hospitals and have a complete physical starting at $795. It is a two-day process, which includes approximately 15 different tests. Miami www.cedarsmed.com (305) 325-5511

The Center for Preventative Medicine and Wellness at Memorial Regional Hospital was designed for busy executives and their families, and focuses on prevention. Lily Gusman, with the center's Executive Physical Program, says the center believes that "healthy professionals create healthy organizations because they have a healthy approach to commanding the company. If they don't take care of [themselves], the bottom line of the company suffers." Special coordinators make all appointments for the patients, and on the day of their exam, a host escorts the patient to and from all appointments. Each patient is counseled by a physician on lifestyle and early detection of health problems. The center claims the cost is the same as a regular physical. The program started a year ago and is especially popular with international executives, Gusman says. Hollywood www.mhs.net (954) 986-6367