| UMCare Miami Beach facility serves a wide variety of patients |
| UM selected for disaster program |
| Wellness Journal: Holiday spending does not have to dim the afterglow |
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UMCare Miami Beach facility serves a wide variety of patients During a typical workweek, Syria Saumell interacts with patients of all ages, ethnic cultures, and generations. From a two-year-old Hispanic child with an ear infection to an 80-year-old African-American male with a chronic cough, her patients represent the diverse melting pot that is Miami-Dade County. Saumell, who is the site director
of the UMCare Miami Beach Clinic, wouldn’t have it any other way.
"I enjoy the practice of family medicine because I like treating
an entire family and getting to know each family member on a personal
basis," she says. "I enjoy discussing their medical and psychological
concerns and helping them feel better." "Our goal is to provide outreach to the Miami Beach community for those patients who want to be part of the University of Miami medical system," says Robert Schwartz, medical director of the primary care network and also chairman of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the School of Medicine. Since his arrival in 1998, it has been Schwartz’ mission to develop a coordinated, primary care community outreach program involving UMCare clinics. He says the UMCare Miami Beach site provides a point of access for patients who prefer being treated at a university medical center that offers subspecialty care. As an example, he cited a recent patient at the Miami Beach clinic to whom he referred to different specialists for melanoma and cataract problems. "It made it better for the patient in the sense that it was a team approach," says Schwartz, who works out of the clinic once a week. "It’s family-centered care with the support to be able to refer to subspecialty medicine." The belief that teaching hospitals such as the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center provide better health care is quite common among the public, says Schwartz. "I think most people look at academic medical centers as places where the physicians who are there treating patients are also involved in teaching medical students," says Schwartz. "They feel that doctors who are teaching other doctors must be keeping up on medical breakthroughs. And to a major extent that’s really quite true. Many of our physicians also teach, are involved in research protocols, and are up-to-date on newer medications and medical procedures." Saumell, for example, in addition to being site director for the UMCare Miami Beach clinic, is an assistant clinical professor of family medicine in the School of Medicine. She says working out of the UMCare Miami Beach clinic has been a rewarding experience. "I treat patients from all of Greater Miami’s diverse ethnic and cultural groups," says Saumell. "I get a tremendous variety of patients, not only those from the surrounding community but University employees as well," says Saumell. "One of the benefits of this site is that if someone is not feeling well, they don’t have to wait a week or two–and in some cases even more–to see a physician," says Saumell. "We have made a point of accommodating some walk-in patients." UMCare Miami Beach is just one of the clinics in the UMCare network. Others include the Daystar Health Center on the Coral Gables campus, a multi-specialty practice in Kendall, and the Jefferson Reeves Health Center in Overtown. |
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UM selected for disaster program The University has been selected as one of five universities to participate in the pilot phase of a unique project by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help the nation’s colleges and universities limit potential property damage caused by natural disasters. The $190,000 grant will be matched by the University as part of FEMA’s Disaster Resistant Universities initiative. The project aims to assess campuses’ vulnerabilities to natural hazards and implement strategies to limit damage before natural disasters occur. "The University of Miami is a vital part of South Florida’s economy," says Alan Fish, associate vice president for Business Services. "With our annual economic impact of over $2 billion and over 8,000 employees in Miami-Dade County, the better the University can withstand a hurricane or other natural disaster, the better off the local community will be." FEMA’s Disaster Resistant Universities bases its work on three principles: Risks must be identified and preventive actions decided; private-public partnerships are essential; and long-term efforts and investments in prevention measures are necessary. In addition to the University of Miami, the other universities chosen to participate in the pilot program are Tulane University, University of Alaska/Fairbanks, University of North Carolina/Willmington, and the University of Washington at Seattle. FEMA is best known as the agency that provides financial assistance in the event of a disaster. But its range of activities extends to building code management, emergency preparedness, and administration of flood and crime insurance programs. |
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Holiday spending does not have to dim the afterglow That time of year is approaching. I feel my anxiety strike with just a small stab now. I suspect that it will grow as the days get shorter and the festivities come closer. The longer I live, the harder I seem to work to keep pressures from marring the joy of the season. The pressures are at least threefold: scheduling, spending, and socializing. Sometimes spending seems to be the hardest to control. Yes, I get anxious. I know I will be going round and round trying to think of the right present for everyone. I will come up with wonderful ideas that I really cannot afford. I will fight with myself to select modest gifts. After all, "it’s the thought that counts," right?
It would be so easy, it would be such a savings of my present energy, if I just went ahead and let myself spend and buy and indulge in all the lavish delight I get out of creating fun for family and friends. I could use my credit cards. I could dip into my savings. I could cash in the bonds my grandmother gave me. I could arrange a home equity loan. I could borrow from a friend. Much as I get tempted, I do not go over my budget. I think paying credit card interest is the greatest waste of my earnings that I can ever make. Rather, I usually claim my Flexible Spending Account money during December. That’s my Holiday Savings Account. All year long I’ve been putting $10, $12, $15 or more in to it at irregular intervals. Each time I see a doctor, go to my dentist, get my eyes examined, or fill a prescription, I put money into my Holiday Savings. It is hard work, I think, to limit what I would like to do as far as gift giving so that I will not be in the red come January. I continually remind myself that next year will stretch out before me after the end of this year’s celebrations. Do I really want to spend months worrying about debts, cutting corners, foregoing nice vacations, or skimping on dining out or other entertainment? What would I do, I wonder, if I had an unexpected expense–car breakdown, broken leg, damaged roof, or distant parent needing my presence? I would like to be able to say that there is a neat formula for managing my holiday spending. If there is, I have not discovered it. Perhaps it’s that golden "everything in moderation" platitude. Perhaps it is something like the formula that seems to work in most endeavors: plan carefully, take into account your resources, accept and respect your limitations, forgive yourself for not being someone else, and enjoy the moment.
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I
will plan wonderful meals and then realize that the ingredients will
stretch my grocery budget almost to breaking. I will imagine parties
and all the fun it will be to decorate. Then I will remember that all
that pretty stuff costs money. I will think about sending my retired
parent the fare to come spend the holidays with me. Or maybe I will
start to plan a visit with my friends on the other side of the country.
And there are holiday cards; I really would like to send out a batch
with my annual update inside. Even if I limit the number I send, it
is still an investment in postage and stationery.
—Sally
Philips