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Cover Story: Broward Health Physicians Look Back

at the Parkland School Shooting One Year Later

Continued from page 1 Dr. Nichiporenko says that people at the skills so if there is an event like this that er magnitude such as the Las Vegas
“There are multiple moving parts that hospital and around Parkland, FL, were takes place, a facility is prepared to take shooting can happen,” he says. “When it
take place,” says Dr. Boyar. “We have had still in shock. Everyone was affected by care of their community. I think that’s does, many hospitals will have to partic-
Code Green drills in the past which helps the tragedy. important because there is a belief that ipate and help to take care of the walking
us prepare for a situation like that one.” “No one expects something like that trauma centers can open up anywhere. wounded. This a community effort and
The initial question on everyone’s would happen in a nice area like But it takes a lot of dedication from a you may be called upon one day. So be
mind that afternoon was: is this a drill or Parkland,” he says. “We have doctors, medical staff and a health system to be sure to have a process in place to handle
no drill? Once they determined that this nurses and friends who lived there. able to provide these services for our a large volume of patients who may need
was real, the next question was who’s Eventually, we began to slowly move on community.” medical care quickly.”
coming? When it’s disclosed what types from this because we work with sick peo- Nearly a year later, Dr. Puente still feels Parkland shooting survivor Maddy
of patients could be arriving, Dr. Boyar ple every day and had to continue to do sad and angry. Wilford, who was once in critical condi-
describes it as a switch that flips from the our work.” “I’m concerned that it will not be the tion, was one of those who made a full
normal daily operation of an emergency Broward Health North received eight end unfortunately,” he says. “I have two recovery at Broward Health North.
department to a Code Green for mass patients that day, including the shooter. teenagers myself and I worry about their Wilford was so inspired by the doctors
casualty incidents. Two patients from Broward Health North safety. I hug them harder before and after and nurses who saved her that she spent
“By then, we were all aware that the were called upon arrival. Broward Health school.” the past summer interning with Dr.
patient population coming in were Medical Center received seven patients. Six degrees of separation is the idea Nichiporenko, who saved her life.
teenagers,” he says. “That raises your If there was any good that came from that everyone in the world is six or fewer “She wants to be a doctor someday and
antenna and makes everyone laser- this tragedy, it was the number of steps away from each other. Similarly, Dr. help other people when they get hurt
focused. It turned into a very focused patients’ lives who were saved that day, Puente says that in Parkland, the degree because of what she had to go through,”
atmosphere and anticipation of worry according to Dr. Ivan Puente, medical of separation doesn’t go beyond two peo- says Dr. Nichiporenko.
about what is going on at the school and director of trauma services of Broward ple. In fact, another shooting survivor from
the children and the parents. That’s Health Medical Center. "Most people either knew someone the high school will follow in Wilford’s
what’s going through your mind, but we “We can take comfort that we were who was shot or knew someone who footsteps and intern this summer with
have a job to do.” ready. We were tested and it worked,” he knew one of the victims,” he says. “A Dr. Nichiporenko as well.
Dr. Igor Nichiporenko, medical direc- says. “Every patient who came in alive tragedy like this hits too close to home. “To me, it’s a great sense of satisfaction
tor of trauma services at Broward Health left alive and that is a remarkable We’re a community of close to two mil- of what we did that day,” says Dr.
North, was also working that afternoon. achievement. I’m happy to live in a com- lion people but we are closely knit.” Nichiporenko. “We not only saved these
“As a trauma center, we see patients munity that has the people in place to Dr. Puente advises other hospitals and kids’ lives but we actually influenced
with devastating injuries very often,” he provide the best care possible under healthcare facilities to continue with them to make a decision about their
says. “Something that you do every day these types of circumstances.” Code Green drills and be prepared to be future.”
pays off when something catastrophic, Dr. Boyar agrees. called into action.
such as a mass casualty shooting with “The patients who presented to our “Even though there are three hospitals For more information,
multiple victims, happens. That experi- facility with the potential to be saved in Broward County that are trauma cen- visit www.browardhealth.org.
ence helped us work quickly and effi- were saved, so I think the hospital and ters, the truth is an event of an even larg-
ciently.” community could value that those chil-
Dr. Nichiporenko says preparation is dren were given the opportunity to walk
key. out of the hospital,” he says. “That is a
“Today, we could have another shoot- positive thing that we could look at.”
ing. It makes us be more prepared and He adds that it is not easy to maintain
more aware that a mass casualty event and sustain trauma centers such as What the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
like Parkland can happen anytime, any- Broward Health North and Broward
where,” he says. “You have to be ready Health Medical Center. Has Changed About Alimony
and that’s something you think of when “There are multiple specialties that
you go to work on your shift. You won- practice trauma on a daily basis and drill The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into
der if it could happen again.” often for catastrophic events,” he says. law in December 2017. Some portions of the
The first two weeks after the shooting, “They are able to maintain their clinical
Act took effect commencing January 1,
2018. Others, such as changes to how the
federal government allows alimony to be
Subscribe to... treated, took effect on January 1, 2019.
Prior to December 31, 2018, alimony pay-
SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS & ors traditionally deducted the alimony paid
HEALTHCARE REPORT today! from their personal income reported to the
Subscribe online at IRS and alimony recipients included the
www.southfloridahospitalnews.com alimony received in their personal income
reported to the IRS, effectively shifting the
or call 561-368-6950 tax burden of the alimony award to the
recipient spouse and their smaller tax BY ANGELA R. NEAVE,
bracket. Shifting the tax burden effectively ESQ.
allowed families to benefit from monies that
would otherwise remain in the hands of the federal government.
Commencing January 1, 2019, alimony payors are no longer able to
shift the tax burden to the recipient spouse. The recipient spouse is no
longer able to include the alimony as income for purposes of determining
income tax liability and the payor spouse is no longer able to deduct that
sum from his or her income.
If you are an alimony payor and may need to modify your alimony obli-
gation in the future, you still have the option of paying taxable, deductible
alimony, since your obligation to pay arose prior to January 1, 2019. In
any modification you have, you can elect to treat your new alimony
amount as taxable and deductible. If you divorce your spouse after
January 1, 2019, and have never paid taxable, deductible alimony to your
current spouse, you do not have the option to shift the tax burden to your
spouse for the alimony you pay.

If you have questions about alimony, and want to discuss those questions
with an attorney, call Angela Neave, Esquire,
at (954) 981-2200 for a free consultation.

8 February 2019 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News