Blog
We had a Christmas baby at Jupiter Medical Center!

Contact: Corrie Edwards
(561) 263-2893
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUPITER MEDICAL CENTER’S PAVILION DELIVERS HOT MEALS TO HOMEBOUND
Jupiter, FL (November 16, 2012) – The dietary department at Jupiter Medical Center’s Pavilion doesn’t just prepare meals for residents. They prepare meals for those homebound in the local community, five days a week, every week of the year.
Working closely with The North County Churches Home Delivered Meals, Inc., The Pavilion is able to deliver meals in the Jupiter/Tequesta area each week, all year long. They’ve been delivering meals to the community for over 30 years.
“We send out about 15-20 meals per day to those in need with three delivery routes,” said Valerie Carson, Pavilion Dietary Supervisor. “I’ve been here 27 years, and The Pavilion’s been participating in the meal delivery program even longer than that.
“Valerie Carson and everyone at the Pavilion are absolutely wonderful to work with,” said Lori Vassalotti, Director at North County Churches Home Delivered Meals, Inc. “They care so much about the community and helping out those in need. They’re absolutely rock stars. If I call Valerie with a new need, she is supportive and does all she can to help. Jupiter Medical Center is very supportive of our meal delivery program.”
Volunteer drivers deliver the meals, and range from college aged to senior citizens. “One of my favorite parts about this meal delivery program is seeing the drivers come together,” said Carson. “The volunteers just get excited about delivering the meals. I get calls all the time about it.”
For Thanksgiving, the meal recipients will receive the same meal as the Pavilion’s residents, including turkey, gravy and all the trimmings. Meals are packaged up carefully and are often the exact same menu of the residents. Meal recipients typically are unable to do their own shopping or cooking and generally pay about $5.00 for each meal.
The Pavilion, a sub-acute rehabilitation and long term care, post-acute facility that also offers hospice beds with Hospice of Palm Beach County. The Pavilion offers the unique benefit of being located on the same campus as Jupiter Medical Center with convenient access to an abundance of healthcare resources. When a medical condition requires continued monitoring or extensive rehabilitation, or if independent or assisted living is no longer an option, consider the top quality, specialized care at The Pavilion. For more information or to schedule a tour, please call (561) 263-4444.
About North County Churches Home Delivered Meals, Inc.
North County Churches Home Delivered Meals, Inc. is a non-profit organization providing meals to the homebound. Its purpose is to provide an affordable, balanced meal to the homebound in northern Palm Beach County. Started in 1978 by representatives from various churches, the program seeks to serve the area roughly from Tequesta, south through Lake Park. The meals are prepared by The Pavilion at Jupiter Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and delivered by volunteers. For more information, please contact Lori Vassalotti at (561) 745-8000 or visit www.northcountymeals.org.
About Jupiter Medical Center
A not-for-profit 283-bed community medical center consisting of 163 private acute care hospital beds and 120 long-term care, sub-acute rehabilitation and Hospice beds, Jupiter Medical Center provides a broad range of services with specialty concentrations in orthopedics and spine, geriatrics, minimally-invasive surgical procedures including robotic surgery, emergency services, cardiac services, obstetrics, cancer care and advanced diagnostics. Founded in 1979, the medical center has approximately 1,500 team members, 520 physicians and 700 volunteers. Jupiter Medical Center is the recipient of the HealthGrades ‘America’s 50 Best’ Award™ for two years in a row (2011-2012) and the Distinguished Hospital Award - Clinical Excellence™ for eight years in a row (2005-2012). For more information on Jupiter Medical Center, please call (561) 263-2234 or visit www.jupitermed.com.
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The holidays can be a joyous time of year with family and friends, but they may also bring stress and anxiety as we struggle to keep up with often-unrealistic demands and expectations. Below are some helpful tips to help you stay healthy during the holidays.
Exercise:
During the season, try to have as many ‘normal’ days as possible – days when you eat healthy foods and exercise. While a workout can’t compensate for overeating, it does help stabilize weight and gives you a psychological boost too. Document your exercise time in your weekly planner and consider it as absolute.
How to Enjoy Parties without Overeating:
Holiday Cooking Tips:
Smart Seasonal Drinking:
Remember these tips and you can still ‘eat, drink and be merry’ – just in a healthier way – during the holidays.
For more information, please contact Julie Minister, RN, CNOR, LNC, JMC’s Institute for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery, at JMinister@jupitermed.com or (561) 263-5695.
November is American Diabetes Month, a time when all Americans should take a moment to evaluate the importance of preventing and controlling this pervasive disease. Diabetics also have to take added precautions to prevent a common affliction of the disease, diabetic foot ulcers.
At any given moment somewhere between 4% and 10% of diabetic patients will have a diabetic foot ulcer and over a lifetime of diabetes, a quarter of diabetic patients will experience a diabetic foot ulcer. The more risk factors are present, the more likely a diabetic foot ulcer will occur. In high risk groups it is not uncommon for nearly half of the patients to develop a new ulcer every year.
More troubling still is that approximately 3-5% of cases, the ulcer will become severe enough that an amputation will need to be performed in order to save a leg or even the patient’s life. Approximately 80,000 limb amputations are performed every year as a consequence of diabetic foot ulcers. When critical limb ischemia is present, 13% of patients will have an amputation.
Diabetic foot ulcers don't just pose significant health issues; the costs can also be staggering:
• The cost to heal a simple diabetic foot ulcer is about $5,000-$6,000, assuming prompt treatment
• Cost for patients with infected ulcers or with peripheral arterial disease is nearly $21,000 on average at today’s prices.
• Minor amputations (e.g. big toe) initially cost $23,000 on average while below the knee amputations cost $53,000
• Annual cost of diabetic foot ulcers in the USA is about $12.5 billion
Many diabetic foot ulcers can be prevented through routine foot care by both the patient and his or her physician or podiatrist. Proper fitting of shoes are also important. Other recommendations include wearing seamless socks or stockings, changing socks or stockings daily, avoiding garters or elastics that are tight around the legs and, of course, walking daily. Since early detection is always the best defense against any ailment, diabetics should check their feet regularly for signs that a problem may be developing.
With appropriate and aggressive care, most diabetic foot ulcers will heal. However, delays in treatment or inappropriate treatment can cause wounds to progress and may require foot or leg amputation even in low risk patients.
When should a diabetic patient consider visiting a specialized Wound Care Center®?
• When a wound has failed to show significant healing in 4 weeks of standard care (no meaningful decrease in wound size, for example)
• When a wound involves deep tissue structures, or is limb- or life-threatening.
The Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Services at Jupiter Medical Center encourages and welcomes the opportunity to evaluate, manage, and effectively treat anyone who may be experiencing chronic wounds, such as diabetic ulcers. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 561-263-5760.
10. Comprehensive Breast Care Program
Jupiter Medical Center’s Comprehensive Breast Care Program combines the diagnostic expertise found at the Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center, with advanced treatment options at the Kristin Hoke Breast Health Program. The program was the first in Palm Beach County to be accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Visit our new breast health website, jupiterbreastcare.com, to learn more about our services.
9. Revolutionary Breast Imaging Technology
The Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center offers tomosynthesis, revolutionary 3D breast imaging to find breast cancer at an earlier stage, providing an eight percent increase in breast cancer detection. This new technology is especially useful for women with dense breasts. We also offer Positron Emission Mammography (PEM), which detects breast lesions as small as a grain of rice; a state-of-the-art Hologic Discovery bone density DEXA system, which has the capability to perform single sweep total body composition to determine bone health; Phillips IU22 Breast Ultrasound units with elastography capability, which detect and measure hard, cancerous breast tissue; and breast MRI, with a wide bore design to reduce anxiety and claustrophobia.
8. Get a Mammogram
If you are a woman between the ages of 35 – 40 you should have a baseline mammogram. Mammograms are part of preventive health and are covered under the Affordable Health Care Act. To schedule a mammogram at the Niedland Breast Center, call (561) 263-4414. A result letter with the actual report will be sent after the visit. If additional imaging is required, you’ll receive a phone call from a team member at the Margaret W. Niedland Breast Center and they will assist you with setting up an appointment. You will need a prescription from your healthcare provider for any additional exams. For more information or questions, call (561) 575-2000.
7. Spa Nights & Extended Hours
Spa Nights are offered Wednesday evenings, from 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm, at the Niedland Breast Center, featuring chair massages, aromatherapy and light appetizers. The facility also offers extended hours on Thursdays and every other Saturday.
6. Know Your Risk
Do you know your family history? It’s important! Mutations to either breast cancer gene — BRCA1 or BRCA2 — significantly increase your risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer when compared with the cancer risk of a woman without a BRCA gene mutation. Men with inherited BRCA gene mutations also face an increased risk of breast cancer. BRCA mutations may increase the risk of other types of cancer in women and men as well. Conni Murphy, ARNP, coordinates the Risk Assessment & Cancer Genetics Program at the Niedland Breast Center. Call (561)-575-2000 or visit jupiterbreastcare.com/genetic-testing for more information.
5. Reduce Your Risk
Some of the steps you can take to reduce your risk are lifestyle changes including: maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, eating more fruits and vegetables, and quitting smoking. Be proactive about your health and start making small changes that can make a big difference! Visit jupitermed.com/health for healthy lifestyle information and calculators to help you reach your goals.
4. Real Men Wear Pink
Jupiter Medical Center’s second annual Real Men Wear Pink event will take place on Friday, October 12th at Downtown at the Gardens. We’re looking for a few good men who aren’t afraid to wear pink as Jupiter Medical Center goes pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Put on your best pink shirt or tie, take a picture and post it on our Facebook page. Then bring the family and join us for a free concert with The Party Dogs!
3. We’re Making Strides Against Breast Cancer
Jupiter Medical Center is the premiere sponsor of the 2012 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. Save the date for Saturday October 13th, at the Meyer Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. To join our team, register online at makingstrides.acsevents.org.
2. Tell A Friend
Take the time to tell a friend about the importance of breast health. Whether it’s your mother, sister, daughter or friend let them know that you care about them and want to make sure that they practice better breast health! Visit jupiterbreastcare.com for more information on better breast health.
And the #1 Thing You Should Know is…..
1. Early Detection Is The Best Protection
One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. More than 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. When breast cancer is detected early (localized stage), the five-year survival rate is ninety-eight percent. Be sure to get your annual mammogram and perform monthly breast self-exams.
Jupiter Medical Center Ranked Among Top 5% of Hospitals in Nation
Jupiter, FL (January 15, 2013) – Jupiter Medical Center (JMC) is ranked among the top five percent of hospitals of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. JMC just received the 2013 Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ from Healthgrades, a leading provider of comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals.
“Clinical excellence is something the entire team strives for every day,” said John D. Couris, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jupiter Medical Center. “This designation from Healthgrades is a testament to our commitment to quality. Our community can be confident that it will receive world-class care at Jupiter Medical Center.”
Only 262 hospitals in the nation were recognized for their overall clinical care across a broad spectrum of care. While many hospitals have specific areas of expertise and high-quality outcomes in certain areas, these hospitals exhibit comprehensive high quality care across multiple clinical specialties. From 2009 through 2011, Healthgrades Distinguished Hospitals for Clinical Excellence as a group had an overall 30.9 percent lower risk adjusted mortality rate as compared to other hospitals that did not achieve the Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence Award (across 18 common inpatient conditions and procedures).
“Today, consumers have unprecedented access to information on hospital performance as it relates to specific conditions and procedures so that they can make more informed decisions about who to see and where to go for care,” said Evan Marks, EVP Informatics and Strategy, Healthgrades. “The Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence enables hospitals to communicate their commitment to providing outstanding patient care and to show their continued efforts to improve clinical outcomes.”
Women and Lung Cancer
K. Adam Lee, MD, Medical Director, Thoracic Surgery & Lung Center, Jupiter Medical Center
1240 S. Old Dixie Hwy
Jupiter, FL 33458
(561) 263-5560
Lung cancer kills more women every year than breast, ovarian and cervical cancers combined. Because lung cancer was once mostly a male disease associated with smoking, women assume if they never smoked or if they stopped years ago, they don't need to be on the lookout for this deadly cancer. But they do.
Women who have never smoked appear to be at two to three times greater risk for developing lung cancer than men who have never smoked. Women tend to develop lung cancer at younger ages than men, and the disease is striking younger women who have never smoked.
Yet the stigma of smoking and the shame people feel for bringing on their illness has caused women to delay seeking medical attention, even in the early stages of lung cancer. As a result, lung cancer rates have continued to rise and this disease has overtaken breast cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in women.
Don’t be a statistic. Low-dose CT lung screening at Jupiter Medical Center gives you the ability to take that first step to safeguard your health. Based on the National Lung Screening Trial guidelines, screening recommendations are for those ages 55 to 74 years old, who have no personal history of cancer, are current or former heavy smokers or have quit smoking less than ten years ago. If you have any signs or symptoms of lung disease, you would require a diagnostic test, not a screening. You can self-refer for this test by contacting the Thoracic Surgery & Lung Center at (561) 263-5560.
The Thoracic Surgery & Lung Center at Jupiter Medical Center offers the areas only comprehensive program dedicated to the prevention, early detection and treatment of lung cancer. The program includes a Lung Nodule Clinic designed to follow patients who have positive findings on CT lung scans and a Multimodality Lung Clinic that offers the convenience of seeing multiple specialists in one day. Patients leave with a plan of treatment in hand. The clinic is designed for newly diagnosed patients, patients with a recurrence of their disease or patients seeking a second opinion.
The program is led by K. Adam Lee, MD, Board Certified, Thoracic Surgeon, who serves as the medical director. Minimally-invasive thoracic surgery, including robotic assisted thoracic surgery has changed the future of lung surgery. Dr. Lee was the first surgeon in the state of Florida to perfor m robotic assisted thoracic surgery and has a decade of experience in this field. Performed through less than 2-inch incision, this surgery is highly accurate, offering patients less blood loss, less pain, less chance for infection and a much faster recovery.
To learn more about The Thoracic Surgery & Lung Center at Jupiter Medical Center, call our Lung Cancer Patient Navigator at (561) 263-3604 or visit jupitermed.com/lung.

On October 10th, join Dirty Martini at Downtown at the Gardens and “Pink Your Drink” for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Enjoy one complimentary cocktail and appetizers in a semi-private VIP area with a $10 donation. Proceeds benefit the Kristin Hoke Breast Health Program at Jupiter Medical Center. For more information, call (561) 799-1115 or visit www.dirtymartinipalmbeach.com.
What’s large, round and can only be installed via crane? A 40.5 foot hyperbaric oxygen chamber! Jupiter Medical Center (JMC) received its third Sigma 40 monoplace hyperbaric system at the Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center on Saturday, September 9th.
Workers removed an entire window and part of the wall of the 1004 building at JMC to install the chamber on the second floor.
JMC has the largest monoplace hyperbaric chambers available in the state of Florida. This third addition offers a 40.5 internal diameter hyperbaric therapy system for maximum patient comfort, safety and reliability. The third chamber will be used primarily for clinical trials and research, in addition to treating patients with hyperbaric oxygen for more than twelve approved diagnoses.
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is an adjunctive therapy which increases the amount of oxygen concentration in your blood, allowing the oxygen to pass through the plasma and tissues to the wound site, and promotes the overall healing process.
The Wound Healing & Hyperbaric Center at Jupiter Medical Center is located at 1004 S. Old Dixie Highway, Jupiter, FL. For more information, please call (561) 263-5760 or visit the website at jupitermed.com/wound.
Firefighter Anthony Ramos was performing routine physical training with his squad at a Rockledge, Florida fire station, and took his turn practicing with the hoseline. Struggling with the hose, blasting water at approximately 150 pounds per square inch, he heard a loud ripping sound.
“It felt like you lost a wheel on your car and your transmission failed,” said Ramos. Wearing 60 pounds of gear, Ramos ripped his right pectoralis major muscle under the water pressure and completely detached it from the humerus bone.
Pectoralis major tears (pec tears), although rare, occur mostly in athletes performing sports-related activities. Weightlifters, wrestlers, tennis players and even football players can rip the pectoralis major from too much strain. Most common in weightlifting, pec tears can occur from the bottom of a heavy bench-press or initiation of a dumbbell chest fly. The injury is extremely painful and often rips loudly, similar to the sound of Velcro.
A pec tear is manageable and one can live with the injury, but will lose muscle function. Exercises like pushups and chest flyes become impossible, and activities involving the chest muscles become extremely difficult.
Associated pain in the shoulder and bicep pain is often common, and those injured often mistake a pec tear for a shoulder or bicep injury. The longer one goes without repairing the pectoralis major, the more the muscle belly retracts over the tear, limiting range of motion and activity.
“I couldn’t pick up my daughter and my two-month old son, let alone patients (while) on duty,” said Ramos. “It was very frustrating… all I wanted to do was play with my kids.”
Ramos was in fact, mistakenly diagnosed with a shoulder injury and even cleared to go back to work at the fire station after a few months. As he struggled to handle patients and perform his engineering duties at the fire station, Ramos took research matters into his own hands. Through internet forums and blogs, Ramos discovered Matthew Stiebel, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Jupiter Medical Center specializing in sports medicine, with a history of more than forty pectoralis major repairs.
Only a handful of surgeons in the United States perform a large volume of pectoralis repair procedures. With an extensive background in orthopedic surgery for athletes, Dr. Stiebel handles patients from as far as Germany, Mexico and even the Netherlands. Within the first few minutes of his physical examination, Dr. Stiebel was able to diagnose Ramos’ pec tear, confirmed later by a pectoral MRI.
“I wanted to hug Dr. Stiebel for finally confirming that something was still wrong with my chest (and not my shoulder). You know when your tire on your car is flat. I knew something wasn’t right. I was so fortunate to find Dr. Stiebel in South Florida. The next closest doctor I found was in Puerto Rico!” said Ramos.
Matthew Stiebel, MD, FRCSC, completed an orthopedic surgery residency at McGill University and a subspecialty fellowship in sports medicine at Boston University after undergraduate and medical school degrees at Yale University. His specialties include complex shoulder and knee injuries, and the repair of pectoralis major muscle tears and their subsequent outcomes. Dr. Stiebel learned this pec repair technique from Anthony Schepsis, MD, the surgeon credited with developing the technique.
“I have to mobilize and free up the whole muscle. I put heavy sutures through the muscle in a special kind of weave, designed by Dr. Skeptis,” explained Dr. Stiebel. “I make a trough or a cavity in the proximal humerus and drill holes in the lateral side of it. Then, I pull the muscle into the trough I’ve created, pull the sutures out of the holes I make in the bone and tie them over a bone bridge. The trick is to mobilize the muscle and free it away from all the adhesions to make sure the nerves around it are okay. To get a good repair the muscle has to go to the bone. You can’t repair the muscle back to the tendon.”
A pec tear patient is generally kept overnight in the hospital following surgery, and wears a sling from four to six months before beginning rehab. They can begin strengthening the pectoral major as early as three months and can go back to weightlifting or sports around six months. Patients regain an average of 90-95 percent strength back in the pectoral muscle after having the surgery.
Ramos was just cleared to go back to work as a fulltime firefighter a few months after his pec repair procedure. “I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Stiebel and my pec surgery. I had an amazing experience at Jupiter Medical Center. I was nervous about having such major surgery, but my injury was affecting my very livelihood. I just wanted to pick up my kids again.”
Jupiter Medical Center is proud to offer the pectoralis repair procedure to patients. Jupiter Medical Center remains on the leading edge of orthopedics, offering highly-skilled orthopedic surgeons, state-of-the-art facilities, and comprehensive rehabilitation services to help patients return to an active and healthy lifestyle. The Anderson Family Orthopedic and Spine Center has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for its total knee, total shoulder and total hip replacement program.
To learn more about Jupiter Medical Center’s Orthopedic Center of Excellence, call Judy Dellosa, RN, ONC, Orthopedic Clinical Coordinator, at (561) 263-3633 or visit www.jupitermed.com/ortho.