Page 41 - SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS MAY 2022

Mercy Ships -

Transcending Borders Changing Lives

I was working in an administrative role on board,
working on plans for increasing access to our services
for more people in Madagascar where the ship was
docked, when a patient arrived unannounced at our
gangway. On his face was the largest tumor our sur-
geons had ever seen, and he was near death. After hear-
ing about Mercy Ships and the hospital ship on the
radio, desperate for help, Sambany sold a rice field to
pay for transportation and travelled for two days to
reach the port. With the help of friends who carried him
from his village to the main road, he was able to reach
the ship in time.
BY ALLY JONES Sambany was swept up immediately by our hospital
team who assessed him, realizing that they needed to
act quickly. After multiple scans, diagnostic tests, and a
lot of questions, it was decided that the choice to perform the risky surgery should Sambany before Sambany after
be made by Sambany himself. When he was presented the facts and risks of surgery,
including the risk of death, Sambany responded, “I’m already a dead man.”
During the 14-hour long surgery, Sambany lost a lot of blood. Thankfully for
him, the ship has a walking, talking blood bank! Our laboratory team was quickly
mobilized to find any crew who had the same blood type who was registered to be
a donor. I received a message on my pager asking me to go to the hospital imme-
diately. I sat down, was prepped, and before I knew it my blood was flowing into a
bag. That bag was taken straight to the operating room, as warm as when it came
out.
In all, Sambany received 17 units of blood from 17 different crew members.
Those crew members worked all over the ship in different positions and different
roles. Sambany’s surgery was successful, thanks not only to the medical team who
treated him and performed his surgery, but it couldn’t have been done without the
wider community of the ship. I felt honored to be included in saving his life and
sending him back to his village in good health. Months later, after his recovery, he
managed to walk all the way back to his village unaided ready to live a new life,
tumor free.
Ally Jones will be at FIME 2022, where Mercy Ships (www.mercyships.org) will
have a presence in the FIME Charity Zone. Attendance is free for The Florida
International Medical Expo held at the Miami Beach Convention Center –July 27-
29th 2022. Register for free at https://fimeshow.info/3vx6Rat Contact
Carol.Prokap@Informa.com for more information about Mercy and the exhibitors,
speakers, conferences and events scheduled for FIME 2022. Blood donors

Conviva Care Centers Opens New Location

at Dania Pointe Outdoor Shopping Destination

Conviva, a physician-led network ded-
icated to providing primary care to sen-
iors, is expanding with a new 8,000-
square-foot health and wellness center at
Dania Pointe, one of South Florida’s most
attractive lifestyle destinations.
“We are extremely excited to offer
high-quality care to seniors in Dania
Beach and the surrounding area,” said
Isabel Souffront, M.D., lead physician of
Conviva Dania Pointe. “Our obligation to
the community is to deliver the best-in-
class care our patients expect and
deserve, and we're accomplishing that
with our easily accessible healthcare serv-
ices and our strong doctor-patient rela-
tionships.”
Conviva Dania Pointe features on-site
cardiac ultrasound and echocardiogram
capabilities in addition to having
nephrology, cardiology, and pain manage- The new facility also includes one of the network’s largest on-site wellness centers. The
ment services in-house. Embracing comfort and style, the center has ergonomic exam Conviva Dania Pointe Wellness Center provides various workshops and classes – from
room tables for patients and ergonomic desks in all physician areas. The facility includes yoga, tai-chi and Zumba to arts-and-crafts projects and holiday celebrations. Conviva has
a large designated area for conducting personalized and confidential tele-psych services. also aligned with specialists for presentations on COPD, diabetes, Alzheimer’s,
For patients who are experiencing non-life-threatening, but urgent medical issues and Parkinson’s and other topics relevant to seniors. And free shuttle transportation to the
would like to address their concerns right away, Conviva’s new center offers dedicated center is available to patients in need.
on-call doctors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “On-demand” care options include, sched- “Part of our seniors’ mental and physical health comes from getting out and socializ-
uling same day telehealth appointments or in-person visits. ing,” Dr. Souffront said. “Our new Conviva Dania Pointe Wellness Center makes that
“The goal is to eliminate as much wait time as possible—and help avoid unnecessary possible.”
visits to the emergency room,” explained Dr. Souffront. “We are working to change that Dania Pointe is a premier South Florida family destination and the perfect location for
culture and mindset. We are calling patients who routinely go to ERs but may not have Conviva’s latest expansion. Situated on 102 acres, the site offers ample parking plus one
to, and ensuring they are able to receive the proper care they really need without having million square feet of retail shops, entertainment venues, quality restaurants, luxury
to call or visit an ER.” apartments, full-service hotels and more.

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