Community Connect: we've all heard the term and understand it to mean different things. At NSCFF, Community Connect simply means connecting with others in the community to leverage ideas, skills, equipment, and personnel for mutual enhancement and achievement of common-good goals, i.e. a win-win situation with a noble purpose. By engaging and partnering with other like-minded groups in furtherance of common goals, we help our patients, ourselves, and our partners, as well as our community to GROW and IMPROVE. 


Most recently, NSCFF has joined forces with notable community organizations to help complete two critical projects. Read more below about these healthcare projects and the invaluable tools and resources that these connections have brought to our organization. 
Community Connect with EPIC:  NSCFF and Memorial Regional Hospital
A very useful, important, and beneficial community connection has been fostered with Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) emerging from NSCFF's interest in acquiring the platinum Electronic Health Record (EHR) software system known as EPIC. 

Another very significant aspect of this EHR system is the connections to many healthcare organizations in South Florida which speaks to coordination of care. A market estimate has approximated that 53% of patient records in the US are housed on an EPIC system, allowing healthcare providers to review the full spectrum of a patient's care upon each visit. 

 

MHS, being the third-largest public healthcare system in the nation highly regarded for its exception patient and family-centered care, has already customized EPIC for use in providing neurological care, making it a perfect fit for NSCFF's patient population.

 

"EPIC will greatly contribute to our newest project which seeks to improve access to specialty neurology care to Medicaid beneficiaries," says Dr. Jeffrey Horstmyer, NSCFF Chairman. "In an era of complex HIT needs, NSCFF is confident that EPIC can help us achieve our ultimate goal of providing the highest quality

 of care to MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Stroke patients."
Memorial Healthcare System
Community Connect for Stroke: Miami Dade Consortium, EMS, Hospitals, FIU
Community connections have also been an integral part of NSCFF's Stroke Project, called the Miami Dade Stroke Consortium (MDSC). Reporting under its Bylaws to the Fire Officer's Association of Miami-Dade County, a municipal organization comprised of the six EMS departments in Miami-Dade and charged with ensuring best practices, MDSC has seen great success in improving stroke care at the County level. 

One of MDSC's first successes was the procedural requirement that all hospitals perform CAT scans on incoming stroke cases to determine stroke severity, location, and treatment. Prior to this initiative, not all facilities had this protocol in place upon patient admission into the ER. Following this initiative, pre-hospital stroke triage was standardized across Miami-Dade to transport severe strokes to the most comprehensive stroke facility. It used to be that EMS relied on the in-field medic to make decisions on stroke severity and appropriate hospital trnasport but now, this new method has helped to quickly recognize severe strokes and save time on patient transport decisions. 

Last year, MDSC began a Stroke Surveillance System (SSS) in collaboration with local stroke hospitals, EMS, FIU, and various industry partners. The SSS was designed to capture a comprehensive dataset of pre-hospital and in-hospital data for stroke research and, to date, MDSC has been successful in securing industry funding for two important and timely research studies along with publications and delivery of community wide stroke interventions. 

Currently, MDSC is collaborating with FIU through the Department of Medical and Health Sciences Research, the School of Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Public Health on launching a stroke quality improvement project for hospitals and EMS in Miami-Dade. Together, these groups will build an advanced reporting system and web portal for access to pre-determined quarterly reports that will include a local comparison on level of performance in stroke hospitals and EMS departments across Miami Dade for use by all in improving their stroke system of care. 
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Wednesdays in March
NSCFF Adaptive Yoga
Funded by the MSF-Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. For Registered Students only.  2:15-3:15 PM 
St. Matthew the Apostle Episcopal Church
7410 Sunset Drive | Miami, FL, 33143

Fridays in March
NSCFF Dance/Music Therapy
Funded by the MSF-Multiple Sclerosis Foundation. For Registered Students only.  2:30-3:30 PM 
St. Matthew the Apostle Episcopal Church
7410 Sunset Drive | Miami, FL, 33143


Wednesday, March 25
NSCFF Circle
For those living with MS and their families, we are now hosting two separate support groups on the last Wednesday of every month: one group for those living with MS and one group for the caregiver/loved ones and family. Please join us for an open dialogue, great support, and some laughs. 

The NSCFF Circle is a unique opportunity to partake in monthly meetings for sharing, venting, and supporting one another! Meetings are led by our MS Social Work Department.

6:30 PM 
2150 Coral Way | Miami, FL, 33145
RSVP: Call Tamara at 305.856.8940
Neuroscience Centers of Florida Foundation, Inc.
2150 Coral Way, 8th Floor
Miami, FL, 33145
Office: 305.856.8940 | Fax: 305.456.3797
info@nscff.org