The spot notes that seven in 10 Floridians enrolled in the Medicaid program are pregnant women and children, therefore cuts would affect these two groups the most. The Coalition, a statewide bipartisan organization, is working at the grassroots level to stop unprecedented cuts to Florida’s Medicaid program.

“It’s bad enough that Medicaid cuts would harm those Floridians who are least able to find other ways to obtain health care. But the harm that cuts will cause to children is inexcusable and cannot be ignored,” said Bruce Rueben, president of the Florida Hospital Association.

The commercial will debut on February 17.   It is part of a broader Coalition effort against Medicaid cuts that includes a website, social media engagement platforms and an earlier TV commercial. The Coalition’s overall message to legislators is No More Cuts.

The video, “The Children’s Wing,” can be viewed at www.healflhealthcare.com.

Heal Florida Health Care – “The Children’s Wing”

When a child is hurting, your heart drops.

Which is why around here, we put it all on the line.

But if the Legislature cuts Medicaid again, too many kids will face longer odds.

One day … that kid could be yours.

It’s bad enough Medicaid cuts will affect health care

… for seniors …

… the disabled

… and moms-to-be.

But our children?

Call your legislator.

Paid for by the Coalition to Heal Healthcare in Florida, Inc.

Medicaid provides a safety net for 3 million of Florida’s low-income families, children, the elderly and disabled. To date, more than 50 organizations have joined the Coalition to Heal Healthcare in Florida, Inc. to oppose further reductions to this all-important program. Additional information about the Coalition is available at: www.healflhealthcare.com.

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Passion Rules!

Here are five of the most commonly mentioned words and 3-word phrases:

1. Spin
2. Unique
3. Guru
4. Synergy
5. Innovate

1. Off the record
2. Return on investment
3. Let’s circle back
4. Low hanging fruit
5. Competitor was mentioned

I ABSOLUTELY agree with Mark’s list, but wonder how many MEDIA IMPRESSIONS his column received.

IRREGARDLESS of the results, don’t you think its time we all GOT BACK TO BASICS and stayed FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE!

Oh, WHATEVER. LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

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PMP Florida will revolutionize health care by creating partnerships among Florida-based centers of excellence in medical research and clinical care. Together, the organizations will develop and utilize new molecular and genomic technologies to discover, translate and personalize interventions for preventing and treating debilitating diseases more efficiently to improve health care outcomes while reducing costs.

PMP Florida will leverage Moffitt’s Total Cancer Care™ to develop similar research and clinical protocols in other disease areas including metabolic diseases. The partnership will hasten the discovery and development of new treatments by bringing together the complementary strengths of Florida Hospital’s large patient population and clinical research expertise; Sanford-Burnham’s fundamental research expertise and technology platforms; and Moffitt’s biospecimen bank, data warehouse and personalized medicine capabilities.

“As a statewide resource for cancer research and treatment, Moffitt seeks to foster relationships such as these to maximize the state’s investment in the overall health and well-being of patients,” said William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., CEO and center director of Moffitt. “We feel this partnership will enhance Florida’s national and international reputation in the discovery, translation, delivery and dissemination of personalized care.”

Total Cancer Care is a treatment path that begins by mapping the more than 30,000 genes that make up a tumor to find its own unique genetic fingerprint. Through personalized medicine, Moffitt is working to create individualized therapies that are specific to each patient’s type of cancer, and the way each person responds to the disease and treatment therapies. The approach includes medical, nutritional, psychological, social and physical considerations.

Collaborations between research and clinical organizations are increasing as a means to access complementary resources, attract more sizable grant revenues and enhance the translation of laboratory research to clinical application.

“PMP Florida is a multi-institutional model for combining research and clinical care expertise to advance personalized medical care. Sanford-Burnham will deploy our most advanced technologies to discover molecular signatures of disease that can provide insight for determining appropriate therapeutic interventions,” said John C. Reed, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. “The technology platforms, collections of patient samples, and medical information sharing create a powerful combination for improving clinical outcomes and reducing health care costs.”

Through PMP Florida, researchers at the partnering institutions will access a robust research and clinical care infrastructure. Biosamples representing a variety of diseases will be derived from Florida Hospital’s expansive patient population. Pilot projects will utilize Moffitt’s genome mapping, information systems and clinical research protocols developed through Total Cancer Care. The research will be empowered by Sanford-Burnham’s scientific expertise in genomics and metabolomics technology platforms.

“PMP Florida is a unique partnership including three organizations with very complementary areas of expertise and experience,” said Dr. David Moorhead, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Florida Hospital. “Moffitt has demonstrated world-class experience and competency in acquiring, categorizing and storing biologic specimens. Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute is renowned for its internationally recognized scientific faculty, multiple sophisticated diagnostic platforms and a commitment to transforming basic science research into clinically available treatments. Florida Hospital is the largest hospital in Florida with broad, innovative and superior clinical expertise. Together, our organizations will have the potential to quickly and successfully advance the scientific development and availability of personalized medicine and to benefit the economic development of our communities.”

One of the objectives of the partnership is to attract industry clients, including pharmaceutical and biotech companies, who will want to utilize this unique resource for discovery and development of new advances in health care. This partnership will exemplify how personalized medicine discoveries made in research labs will improve health care for patients in hospitals, clinics and medical offices in Florida and nationally.

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Passion Rules!

Unless you’ve been sleeping under water with your nostrils just above the surface, you know the Gators won the BCS Championship last week down in Miami.  And unless you’ve been sleeping under water you know that the famous quarterback from UF,  Tim Tebow, was the game’s MVP.

And unless you’ve been sleeping under water you know that Tim Tebow is an amazing young man who loves his family, cares about the people around him, cares even more about people who have not been as fortunate as him in their lives, and is a devout Christian.

The famous quarterback, Tim Tebow, has created quite a stir with the eye black that he wears under his eyes when he’s playing the game.  While eye black is the stuff athletes put under their eyes to reduce the reflections from the sun or other bright lights, Tebow has used eye black to proclaim his faith.

Throughout the season the famous quarterback, Tim Tebow,  has worn Phil 4:13 on his eye black.  If you didn’t already know, Phil 4:13 is a bible verse that states; I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

A new verse, John 3:16,  adorned the eye black during the BCS National Championship game in Miami last week and that has created a little controversy.  The passage states:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Head football coach, Urban Meyer, commented on Tebow’s eye black following the BCS game, though not specifically about the use of John 3:16:

“When my daughter texts me in the morning and quotes the Bible verse that he has underneath his eyes, that’s good for college football,” said Meyer. “That’s good for young people.”

Since the famous quarterback will be returning for another season in Gainesville, the Grouch is sure eye black and the Bible will come up a time or two again.  But as UF President Bernie Machen has stated in the past, “If you can’t have free and open discourse on a college campus, where else can you?”

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Passion Rules!

While Tebow was not directly involved in the campaign itself, his success — on the field and off — helped draw attention to the university and helped propel the campaign into the stratosphere.  I may be a little prejudice here, but I believe that campaign is still the finest higher education branding campaign in the nation.  No tricks, no gimmicks, pure Gator.

Anyway, we produced a little video back in 2009 that featured “A day in the life of” theme.  Naturally, everyone thought it was a day in the life of Tim Tebow.  That video still exists and is just another example of how one person, even one as big as Tim Tebow, can be part of something even bigger and have fun while doing so.  Do you think Tebow is having fun today!

Take a look.  I think you’ll enjoy.  And Go Broncos!

A day in the life of . . . Tim Tebow. A day in the life of Tim Tebow

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Passion Rules!

In the 40 years since the National Cancer Act was signed into law, impressive progress has been made. More than 12 million Americans are cancer survivors today because of the nation’s investment. Yet, as important as funding is to the research that will find the cures to diseases that affect Florida’s residents, Florida falls behind other states in attracting NIH federal dollars.

A recent article in the St. Petersburg Times quotes Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, discussing a survey showing the disparity in Florida’s population versus funding received from the National Institutes of Health.  The survey demonstrated that Floridians support education in the sciences and believe science careers to be important for the state economy. Without funding, however, Floridians will never realize these benefits.

At Moffitt Cancer Center, the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida, we are determined to advance the cancer research that will save lives.  In spite of flat funding of the NCI and NIH by Congress, Moffitt Cancer Center has continued to grow.  In 1996, when Moffitt began investing in research, we received less than $10 million in grant funding.  Today, we have over $80 million in grant funding.  Moffitt has increased its NCI grant funding by more than 81 percent during the past five years, raising the cancer center to 22nd in the nation in NCI-funded institutions.

Although other Florida universities and academic centers have broader health interests and may have more overall funding from the National Institutes of Health, Moffitt’s mission is solely focused on beating cancer.  Consequently, most of our funding comes from the NCI, which funds only cancer-related grants.  We have more NCI funding than the rest of the state combined. But even with all funding in Florida combined, there is not enough support for cancer research statewide.

Floridians should be proud that the NCI ranks Moffitt among the top cancer centers based on a competitive peer review of our Cancer Center Support Grant, the grant which designates Moffitt as a comprehensive cancer center. There are only 40 institutions like ours in the country. The NCI touted our advanced research and our role as an important regional and national resource for cancer research and care.  They also mentioned the highly visionary Total Cancer Care™ initiative, which is Moffitt’s approach in personalized medicine to match the right patient to the right treatment.

In 2008, Moffitt was awarded a $10.5 million lung SPORE (Specialized Programs of Research Excellence) grant, the only one of its kind in Florida, to use the Total Cancer Care™ database to translate discoveries in the laboratory to improve treatment and outcomes of the leading cause of cancer death in this country.

Moffitt’s work in Total Cancer Care™ has been recognized nationally and internationally. But our success in bringing new treatments to disease, as well as that of other institutions dedicated to biomedical research, will be increasingly impossible to achieve without ongoing investments at the state and national level.

At Moffitt, our researchers have made several discoveries using NCI funding, the cancer center conducts more clinical trials and enrolls more patients than any other institution in the state, and the research being conducted has resulted in better outcomes for our patients.

As federal and state lawmakers write the budgets for 2012 and beyond, I call on them to preserve funding for cancer and biomedical research. I realize that these are immensely challenging fiscal times, but such government-supported work is a vital investment that will pay off in lives saved, improvements in public health, continued innovation and economic growth.

I believe success breeds success, and we should continue to invest wisely in what we do best. I stand by my decision to relocate to Florida and work for Moffitt back in 1997 as the associate center director for clinical investigations and to return again as CEO and center director in 2002. The cancer center has an entrepreneurial board that supports innovation and private/public partnerships. This is a reflection of the “spirit of the community” to be the best in the field. For the sake of the millions of Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer and those struggling now with this devastating disease, continued investment in cancer and biomedical research will provide them with hope for a much brighter future.

William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., is president/CEO and center director (AKA Passionate Leader) of Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.

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We sensed immediately that the new tablet was revolutionary and would change the way we think about personal computing . . .  forever.

Something Steve’s company has been doing since the beginning.

The ability to combine art and technology truly rocked the world and he seemed to embody disruptive innovation at every turn.

I never knew Steve Jobs, but I know Steve Jobs through the company and products he created.  That friendship will continue well into the future.  So long good buddy and thank you for everything you’ve done for me and those I love.

http://www.hiceschool.com/1-of-many/3149/

http://www.hiceschool.com/just-interesting/test-driving-the-ipad/

http://www.hiceschool.com/1-of-many/creativity-is-just-connecting-things/

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Passion Rules!

So sticky that I can’t keep track of all the Nation’s that are popping up here and there.  There’s the NASCAR Nation, the FOX Sports Nation, ESPN Nation, Buckeye Nation, Tiger Nation, Nike Nation, Wolfpack Nation (ouch) and … well, I could go on for ever.

Now along comes Dunkin’ Doughnuts with the Dunkin’ Nation.  But if you’re gonna steal somebody’s nation, steal the whole thing.

Dunkin' Nation

I’d have called it the Doughnut Nation.  The goal, afer all, is to own the entire category.  The Dunkin’ Nation is kind of like owning the doughnut hole.  Does Krispy Kreme own the rest of the doughnut?

So Dunkin’ Doughnuts, , if you’re gonna own the category, own the entire category; The Doughnut Nation.

If you’re going to claim something, claim all of it.

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Passion Rules!