FORT PIERCE — A trauma surgeon and nurse on their way to work at Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute on Saturday became first responders at an accident scene.

Dr. Alex Funicello, who was returning from a Hutchinson Island condo to finish rounds at Lawnwood, found the base of South Bridge blocked with police cars and accident tape.

Raymond Chew, 47, lay in the intersection of Seaway and Indian River drives, his motorcycle nearby and his helmet loose but still on. No emergency medical crews had arrived when Funicello arrived.

So, the trauma surgeon went to work, assessing the patient.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — An investigation stemming from an earlier racketeering case landed a pair from Palm Beach County, including a scrubs-wearing health department nurse and a Loxahatchee man, behind bars last week, according to police and recently released arrest affidavits.

The Friday apprehension of Robert Allen Cline, 46, and Nicole M. Ruby, identified as a licensed practical nurse, stemmed from a probe that brought the arrests last month on racketeering charges of Kayla “Lady K” Resseque, 21; Thomas “Red” Cravatt, 44; and 53-year-old Donald J. Mack, also known as “Macaroni,” “Mack,” “Peewee” and “Roni.” (more…)

Since March, Leroy Stennett has spent more than 10 hours talking to seven people in five departments at Bank of America about getting his mortgage modified.

In 2006, Stennett and his wife purchased a house in Port St. Lucie for $285,000, putting $95,000 down and adding another $5,000 in closing costs from the sale of their previous home.

“My house is worth $120,000 now, so, I’ve basically paid it off, but they don’t want to cut me a break,” Stennett said about his lender, Bank of America. “Every time I call, I talk to a different person, so I can’t get any real answers.”

Like thousands on the Treasure Coast, Stennett hoped President Barack Obama’s Making Home Affordable plan would help adjust his house payments after applying for a mortgage modification. But frustrated homeowners, who remain current on mortgage payments despite economic setbacks, say they are confused about the modification process and aren’t getting support or cooperation from their lenders. (more…)

Before incoming seventh-graders step into their first classes this fall, they must brave the sting of a newly required vaccine against whooping cough and two other diseases.

Local health departments are offering the Tdap vaccination against tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis (whooping cough) this summer at health clinics or at residents’ request so students can be prepared for the start of school.

The new state requirement for students to take the vaccine before entering the seventh grade stems from concerns that adolescents and adults immunized against whooping cough in infancy are contracting the disease when they’re older. Before this year, the vaccine for adolescents, licensed in 2005, was suggested but not required. Counties have offered the vaccine every year.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — One year ago, a 6-year-old autistic boy was brought to the front of his classroom. He left moments later feeling like an outcast.

For many, he became a symbol of how children with autism are mistreated and misunderstood.

Some experts say the case of Alex Barton, who was voted out of his kindergarten classroom 14-to-2, brought about change and awareness of how autistic children are educated. Others say there still is a long way to go. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — Not much will change Friday when Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute begins serving as a provisional state trauma center.

Much of the $15 million Lawnwood invested in five trauma surgeons, staff training, new equipment and emergency department renovations was earmarked two years ago when hospital officials proposed St. Lucie County taxpayers chip in $7 million a year to pay for the regional, Level II trauma center.

Trauma tax opponents said then Lawnwood’s parent company, Tennessee-based HCA Inc., would find the cash if it really wanted to care for trauma patients. Nearly 75 percent of voters rejected the trauma tax.
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ST. LUCIE WEST — Martin Memorial Health Systems plans to open a freestanding emergency department this fall to provide medical care to western Port St. Lucie until it can build a full-service, 80-bed hospital in Tradition.
Martin Memorial and Port St. Lucie officials gathered Tuesday to celebrate the start of construction on the emergency center, which will be part of the health systems’ facility on St. Lucie West Boulevard. Expected to open by Sept. 1, the 12-bed center will be a full-service emergency department.
“It will provide critical services close to home rather than having people fight traffic when time matters most,” Martin Memorial Chief Executive Officer Mark Robitaille said.
Port St. Lucie’s growing population and sometimes gridlocked traffic were Martin Memorial’s main arguments for building a hospital in the city, which already is home to St. Lucie Medical Center, a for-profit hospital owned by Tennessee-based HCA Inc. (more…)

WEST PALM BEACH — Rob Murphy loves talking about his spearfishing adventures. Since earning his scuba diving certification last year, he estimates he has made almost 400 dives.

But Murphy will never forget his last dive on Jan. 9 when while surfacing in waters northeast of the St. Lucie Inlet, Murphy was struck by a passing boat. The boat operated by Roger Nicosia, an emergency room physician at Martin Memorial Medical Center North, severed Murphy’s legs.

Murphy lost nearly half his blood. He was lucky to escape with his life, and doctors couldn’t save his legs. (more…)

VERO BEACH — About 98 percent of registered nurses at Indian River Medical Center rejected a new contract and notice will be sent to hospital officials that nurses will picket or go on strike at 7 a.m. Jan. 24, nurses union spokesman Steve Myers said Wednesday.

The nurses’ contract, which was rejected on Wednesday evening by Teamsters Local 769, the union that represents the hospital’s 467 registered nurses, would have added about $500,000 to IRMC’s budget. (more…)

HOBE SOUND — Peggy Greco spends her day sometimes riding her bicycle 30 miles through Martin County as she advertises herself, hoping to find a job now that she’s out of work.

As the 13-year registered nurse rides her bike wearing a black T-shirt that reads, “Private Nurse for Hire.com,” with her phone number in white big letters, she gets a lot of thumbs up and nods from the motorists she passes.

“I figure that it takes creative, out-of-the-box type thinking to get a job in uncertain times like these,” Greco said. (more…)