TREASURE COAST — The number of Treasure Coast medical equipment suppliers for Blue Cross/Blue Shield patients will dwindle to three starting Nov. 1.

The cutbacks follow a competitive bidding process by regional suppliers who provide products from diabetes testing strips to oxygen machines statewide to remain in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida network.

Liberty Medical Supply and Physician’s Choice Respiratory Services, Inc., both in Port St. Lucie, and Rotech Oxygen & Medical Equipment in Stuart remain as the lone Treasure Coast suppliers after the bidding, according to a Blue Cross/Blue Shield list sent to Oxygen Plus in Vero Beach.
(more…)

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — County Sheriff Ken Mascara opted to defray health-care costs by signing with a local health-care provider as opposed to joining with the proposed county-owned health clinic.

Mascara said a new two-year contract with a two-year option with Physicians Immediate Care builds a foundation with a local company while eliminating the expense of purchasing new equipment and costs for upgrading a building.

“I just didn’t want to re-invent the wheel,” Mascara said. (more…)

VERO BEACH — More than 1,000 Medicare patients were impacted by a decision by a health maintenance organization this month to end its affiliation with a local clinic, which has offices in Indian River and St. Lucie counties.

Quality Health Plans, of Tampa, which is contracted to offer a Medicare Advantage Plan through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has terminated its contract with University Medical Clinics as of June 30.

The company “felt that this was necessary due to multitude of reasons; abrupt closures of UMC clinics thus affecting patient care and accessibility, UMC threatening patient abandonment, inability of UMC to maintain financial solvency,” according to an e-mail sent Monday from Quality Health Care.
(more…)

When Andre Frechette’s physician advised him to exercise, he contracted Vero Beach-based Coral Pools Inc. to build a $21,000 pool at his Port St. Lucie home.

Tuesday morning, Frechette said he got a call from Coral Pools owner Shawn Riley telling him work on the pool, that was mostly paid for, would not be completed.

“He told me that they were filing for bankruptcy on Thursday,” said Frechette, 83. “My pool is only 85 percent complete.”
(more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — State health officials suspect a Port St. Lucie child’s death this month was from the flu virus.

However, the cause of death can not be confirmed until St. Lucie County Health Department officials receive an autopsy report from the Medical Examiner’s Office, said Arlease Hall, St. Lucie County Health Department spokeswoman.

On Wednesday, Florida Today reported the flu virus arrived late in state and had claimed the life of a Port St. Lucie child, bringing the nation’s total pediatric deaths to five for this flu season.

Although the flu is not a reportable disease, the state monitors its activity through sentinel physicians and the reports of emergency room physicians, according to Florida Today. (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…)