ST. LUCIE COUNTY — St. Lucie County Health Department’s second vaccination station is Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until vaccine supplies are exhausted) at the St. Lucie County Logistics Center, 3855 S. U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce.

A third vaccination station will be Nov. 21 at the same location and time. (more…)

A St. Lucie County man died Monday after being diagnosed with the H1N1 flu virus, St. Lucie County Health Department officials announced today.

The 53-year-old man is the fifth St. Lucie County resident to die after being diagnosed with swine flu, the unique flu strain first identified in April and now widespread throughout Florida and the United States. Most cases of H1N1, which health officials estimate are responsible now for the vast majority of flu-like illnesses, are mild, but people with underlying health conditions are more at risk for complications from the virus.

Health department officials did not release the man’s name, but said he had underlying medical conditions.

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FORT PIERCE — A man stabbed several times was taken to a local provisional trauma center early Tuesday, though his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, a St. Lucie County Fire District spokeswoman said. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — The St. Lucie County Health Department’s first vaccination station will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (or until vaccine supplies are exhausted) Saturday at the St. Lucie County Logistics Center, at 3855 S. U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce, about 1.2 miles north of Midway Road, officials announced.

A second vaccination station will be held Nov. 7 at the same location and time. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Police on Monday released photos of a man accused of robbing a Walgreens last week of methadone tablets and are asking for help to find him, according to a release and police records.

The man reportedly entered the store in the 200 block of Southwest Port St. Lucie Boulevard about 4:50 p.m. Thursday with a blue and white towel over his shoulder.

He walked to the pharmacy counter, though by that time the towel was wrapped around one hand. The man, who is white and thought to be in his mid 40s, wore a camouflage hat, white T-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes.
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FORT PIERCE — The U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory has been closed since Friday after an employee became ill and remains hospitalized in intensive care, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

About 130 employees at the facility in the 2000 block of South Rock Road were placed on administrative leave following the closure, said Sandy Miller Hays, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service agency.

Hays said the employee, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, reported having a headache last Thursday and left about 4 p.m.

On the way home, the employee got progressively ill, and the employee’s spouse took the employee to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute, Hays said. The employee remains in intensive care there and is gradually improving, Hays said.

The lab was closed on Friday, and an industrial hygienist was contacted to see if anything in the lab could have caused the illness. The ill employee works on research involving alternatives to methyl bromide, a fumigant that’s been used to protect crops for years but could harm the ozone layer, Hays said.

The USDA also hired a business out of Jacksonville, which on Sunday took a variety of air and other samples over a 12 hour period “looking at every conceivable component in the lab.”

A report is expected back Wednesday. If nothing is out of the ordinary then the lab likely could re-open Thursday.

“We need to rule out that the employee’s illness is connected to something in the lab,” Hays said.

Hays said the county health department was notified, and Larry Lee, health department administrator, said there apparently has been no diagnosis.

The research lab includes a Horticulture and Breeding Research Unit, a Subtropical Insects Research Unit and a Subtropical Plant Pathology Research Unit.

STUART — MecaFresh Café has opened for business at 4203 SE Federal Highway in Stuart, offering what the restaurant calls “a globally inspired” café menu.

MecaFresh will be hosting a ribbon cutting event with the Stuart Chamber of Commerce today at noon.

Customers may choose from handcrafted panini, salads, gourmet wraps, noodles and homemade soups, along with espresso creations, and beer and wine. MecaFresh offers eat-in, takeout and catering. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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For Martin County’s largest employer, the seventh time is the charm.
Martin Memorial Health Systems learned last week that after seven years of trying it has been given a prestigious national title: Employer of Choice.

“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Dr. George Rittersbach Jr., chairman of the board of directors for Martin Memorial Health Systems, which owns two hospitals and numerous clinics on the Treasure Coast.

Martin Memorial is one of four Florida health care organizations to earn the designation. The others are Orlando Health, Lee Memorial Health System in Cape Coral and Baptist Health Care in Pensacola.
Martin Memorial got the award last week during a ceremony with about 90 employees at the Robert and Carol Weissman Cancer Center in Stuart. (more…)

The medical business continues to boom on the Treasure Coast.

Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce announced last week that it plans to expand its intensive care unit.

The $16.8 million project will bring the hospital’s total bed count in intensive care to 54, making it the largest intensive care unit on the Treasure Coast. There are about 40 beds in intensive care now, said Jana Eschbach, a hospital spokeswoman.

The announcement comes just months after HCA Inc.-owned Lawnwood opened a
trauma center. The center, which has seen about 375 patients since opening in May, is the only one between West Palm Beach and Melbourne. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — Emergency call centers in Martin County have been readied for a high-tech future that will improve reliability, streamline operations and soon enable whole new ways to communicate, officials said.

A new call response computer platform is shared by the county’s three 911 dispatch centers, according to Joe Laviano, Emergency 911 dispatch manager for the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. It cost nearly $1 million, which came from state grants. (more…)