Good Samaritan Medical Center News Release - By: Marsha Powers, CEO, Eastern Region, Tenet Health -- I am pleased to announce that Tara McCoy has been appointed as chief executive officer at Good Samaritan Medical Center effective October 4th.

Tara is a healthcare executive with proven skills in strategic development and physician recruitment who excels in the integration of strategy and vision in complex environments. She will be responsible for overseeing all strategic, operational and clinical activities at Good Sam.

Prior to this appointment, Tara spent the last five years as a service line administrator for Tenet’s Florida Region, now part of the Coastal Division. During her time as a service line administrator, Tara developed the Heart and Vascular Network and achieved interdisciplinary cooperation between the region’s hospitals. Her strategic analysis and ability to foster collaboration between hospital leadership and physicians allowed her to elevate Tenet’s hospitals as the cardiovascular service line leader in the area.

In addition, she successfully orchestrated all new program development, covering the identification and implementation of advanced procedures, business case development, marketing strategy and ongoing oversight to ensure goals were being met. Tara also implemented essential programs, including Structural Heart (TAVR, MitraClip, and Watchman), Advanced Heart Failure (LVAD), Robotic Vascular, and Comprehensive A-Fib. In addition to enhancing the division’s cardiovascular service line, she also oversaw the development of the pediatric surgery service line.

Tara first joined Tenet from Cleveland Clinic in Weston. There she served as the administrator of physician practices and outpatient services. She also worked for HCA as the company’s East Florida Division’s director of operations improvement.

Tara received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Tulane University and her Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of South Florida. In service to her community, she has also volunteered on the Executive Leadership Committee for the American Heart Association for Go Red for Women.

Please join me in welcoming Tara McCoy to Good Sam. I want to also take this opportunity to thank Mark Nosacka for his nearly 10-year tenure as CEO of Good Sam. Mark leaves behind a tremendous legacy, and I look forward to the hospital’s continued success under Tara.

Mark Nosacka

UPDATE: Piedmont Medical Center Hires New CEO
Piedmont Medical center has announced that Mark Nosacka has been announced as their new CEO. Nosacka currently serves as the CEO of Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Read More (WRHI Radio)

By: R. Michael Brown, Civic Association Communication Director -- It's the peak of the hurricane season. We have many active right now. Maria is Florida's biggest concern.

Hurricane forecasters and the Civic Association are keeping a close eye on Maria as it moves through the North Atlantic. If the clouds located at X in the map below develop into a tropical storm, it'll be called Nate.

Maria

Jose

Lee

And this just in from Colorado State University:
Colorado State University Forecast Predicts Above Normal Storm Activity for Next 2 Weeks
We believe that the next two weeks will be characterized by activity at abovenormal levels (> 25 ACE). The above-normal forecast is due to several factors. Tropical Storm Jose is forecast to re-intensify into a hurricane and has the potential to generate 10- 15 ACE units before becoming post-tropical as it moves slowly northward. Tropical Depression 14 may intensify into a tropical storm and generate minimal ACE before being hit by very strong vertical wind shear from an upper-level trough. Invest 96L is forecast to develop into a tropical cyclone in the next few days, and while models disagree on its intensity, it has the potential to generate moderate levels of ACE as it transits the central and western Atlantic. Global models disagree about other potential areas of development further into the future, but they are in general agreement that the active Atlantic hurricane season is likely to continue.
Read More (COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY FORECAST OF ATLANTIC HURRICANE
ACTIVITY FROM SEPTEMBER 15 – SEPTEMBER 28, 2017)
 

Town of Palm Beach Alert -- At the end of the day on September 21, approximately 500 truckloads of vegetation have been hauled off the Island. Town staff is near complete with its “first pass” of the entire town and will begin its “second pass” early next week.

Residents returning to Town since last week may notice large amounts of debris on their streets, but please understand that private landscapers placed the vast majority there after the first pass was complete. We will be back and anticipate needing to make three passes through the entire town to remove all storm related vegetative debris, totaling over 1,500 truckloads.

The Town and the Florida Department of Transportation contractors are still in the process of removing sand from the public roadways, sidewalks, and beach access points. While a large amount of progress has been made, there is still a good amount of sand remaining. The Town urges drivers to continue to use extra caution on streets that are near the beaches. It is anticipated that beachfront roads will be completely cleared and swept free of sand next week.

Sand also continues to be removed from beachfront properties. Private residences removing sand from their properties should not deposit the sand into the public roadways or sidewalks. Sand also should not be placed in vegetation piles. This activity will cause a delay in picking up vegetation, as sand must be separated from the vegetative debris prior to hauling. One of the streets in the north end of Town had large amounts of sand placed in the vegetation so our staff could not remove the debris during the first pass.

Sand free of vegetation and debris should be placed back on the beach by hand. The State prefers that the sand be placed on the flat part of the beach in a uniform manner. Sand should not cover existing vegetation on the beach and sand should not be left in piles on the beach. Because we are still in sea turtle nesting season, heavy equipment cannot be used without prior approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Town.

If you have specific questions related to the use of heavy equipment on the beaches, please contact Robert Weber, Coastal Program Manager, at 561-838-5440.

Read More and Follow Town Alerts (Town of Palm Beach)

Get the news that is important to you in This Week in Palm Beach. September 22, 2017 edition.

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The Palm Beach Civic Association is grateful to our community leaders and dedicated town workers who protected us from the ravages of hurricane Irma.

We are proud of our special town where residents and business owners pulled together to help one another through the crisis.

We appreciate the strong leadership of Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio and the Town Council members who stepped up to make the storm recovery smooth and productive.

We applaud the extraordinary contributions of our Town Manager Tom Bradford, Deputy Town Manager Jay Boodheshwar, Public Works Director Paul Brazil and the department heads who worked day and night to make sure we were safe.

We are especially grateful to Public Safety Director Kirk Blouin, Deputy Fire Rescue Chief Darrel Donatto and our exceptional police and fire rescue officers for going above and beyond the call of duty on our behalf.

Civic Association Director Stuart Haft says, “I think we must have the most polite police officers in the nation.” At the Civic Association, we echo that assertion not only for our police, but for every town official and employee who pitched in and worked so tirelessly.

Mayor Coniglio has issued a proclamation thanking Palm Beach employees for guiding our town through the recent storm. At the Palm Beach Civic Association, we heartily endorse the mayor’s words of appreciation. We urge our members and friends to join the mayor in expressing their deep appreciation for an amazing recovery effort.

Bob Wright
Chairman and CEO
Palm Beach Civic Association

After Irma: Palm Beach Mayor Issues Proclamation Thanking Employees
Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio proclaimed this week Thank An Employee Week in the wake of Hurricane Irma. She opened the Town Council meeting on Tuesday reading her proclamation.
Read More (Palm Beach Daily News)

FDOT News Release --  The following lane closures will occur during the weeks of September 18 and September 25:

Flagler Drive between Fourth Street and Seventh Street and Quadrille Boulevard between Dixie Highway and Flagler Drive will have intermittent daily lane closures from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, through Friday, Sept. 22. Traffic will be maintained in remaining open lanes as milling and resurfacing is performed on the roadways.

Flagler Memorial Bridge will have intermittent nightly full closures of eastbound and westbound lanes from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Friday, Sept. 22, through Monday, Sept. 25, for milling and resurfacing operations on the east side of the bridge. Eastbound and westbound portions of Royal Poinciana Way also may be closed between Cocoanut Row/Bradley Place and South County Road.

Flagler Drive between Fifth Street and Sixth Street and Quadrille Boulevard between Olive Avenue and Flagler Drive will have intermittent nightly lane closures from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 25, through Tuesday, Sept. 26. Flaggers will maintain traffic in remaining open lanes as crews stamp pedestrian crosswalks at the Flagler Drive intersection.

The Flagler Memorial Bridge Replacement Project replaced the 75-year-old bascule (draw) bridge with a new bascule bridge connecting the Town of Palm Beach and the City of West Palm Beach over the Lake Worth Lagoon and the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW). The Flagler Drive overpass was replaced with an “at-grade” intersection. New lighting, traffic signals, drainage, and landscaping are also included. Active construction began on Sept. 10, 2012, and will last until fall 2017. The estimated construction cost is $106 million.

Contact Information:
Sid Mailhes, PE 
FDOT Project Manager 
(561) 655-0655 
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

FDOT News Release -- Tolls on a vast majority of Florida’s Turnpike system, all Florida Department of Transportation roads and bridges, and all regional toll facilities throughout the State will be reinstated this Thursday, September 21st at 12:01 a.m.

Tolls were suspended on Tuesday, September 5th to help facilitate Hurricane Irma evacuation and relief activities.

Tolls will remain suspended on the Homestead Extension of Florida’s Turnpike south of the interchange with S.R. 874 (Mile Post 0-17) to assist Monroe County residents with recovery efforts.

Contact:
Chad Huff, (954) 934-1289

Dragana Connaughton was here before and after Hurricane Irma. These are her photos. Stay tuned!  More to come...

All photos in this Hurricane Irma Before and After Gallery © 2017 Dragana Connaughton.

Hurricane Irma Before & After

Dragana Connaughton is a photographer that lives in Palm Beach. All photos in this Hurricane Irma Before and After Gallery © 2017 Dragana Connaughton