- New Clinical Trial at Cleveland Clinic: Cleveland Clinic’s Weston hospital announced a new clinical trial specific to COVID-19-positive patients with signs of severe pneumonia and hyperinflammation. The in-patient study will explore the use of the drug Mavrilimumab to reduce the progression of acute respiratory failure and need for ventilation in patients. The trial is being conducted in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Participants must be 18 or older and meet certain criteria, including a positive test result, hospital admission due to COVID-19 and onset of symptoms beginning no longer than 14 days from beginning of treatment. Participants will be monitored for a 28-day period. This trial is currently underway at the Weston hospital. Since early April, Cleveland Clinic Florida has been researching treatment options for COVID-19, and is currently conducting trials for convalescent plasma, the use of Vitamin C and Zinc, and Canakinumab.
- New Branding at Holy Cross: Looking to better reflect its expanded footprint and holistic approach to community health, Holy Cross Hospital, Broward County’s only Catholic hospital, will rebrand as Holy Cross Health. Holy Cross, a mainstay in the community since 1955, is a 557-bed, nonprofit, teaching hospital located in Fort Lauderdale. It operates in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy and is a member of Trinity Health.
- New Pediatric Surgical Program at Joe D: A medical team at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood successfully performed its first pediatric surgery aimed at stopping seizures in children with epilepsy. The newly established pediatric epilepsy surgical program at the hospital’s Neuroscience Center is the first of its kind in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The medical team performed the four-hour surgery last month on a 10-year-old Broward child suffering from epileptic seizures for the last three years. The child had been on multiple daily medications and still continued to have seizures, doctors explained. Surgeons began by placing electrodes directly on the child’s brain. Neurologists and clinical technicians were inside the surgical suite and were able to monitor brain activities in real time. The surgeons safely removed the lesion without injuring the child’s brain, speech or motor functions.
