Dominican Republic: Church Inaugurates Its First Adventist Hospital ... Dozens of medical doctors, health professionals, administrators and leaders from the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other religious organizations witnessed the inauguration of the first Adventist Hospital in the Dominican Republic, Dec. 28, 2006. Located in the country’s capital city of Santo Domingo, the Centro Medico Vista del Jardin will offer quality healthcare to a city of more than 3.5 million people. Pastor Cesario Acevedo, president of the Adventist Church in the Dominican Republic, expressed his joy for having a hospital offering healthcare with an Adventist touch to all people. He also thanked all who believed and were involved in completing the four-year long project. The hospital will include a staff of more than 150 professionals, including 60 medical doctors, 30 nurses and more than 50 administrative personnel. The hospital consists of 21 medical offices, 23 beds, three operating rooms, a delivery room, intensive care unit, a physical therapy unit, endoscopy unit, and an emergency room. In addition, there are three fully equipped ambulances which were donated to the hospital. [Silvestre Gonzalez/IAD Staff/ANN Staff]

United States: Florida Hospital, University of Central Florida, Debut Lifestyle Medicine Journal ... This month, Florida Hospital and the University of Central Florida are jointly debuting the American Journal of Lifestyle Magazine (AJLM), a peer-reviewed journal with commentaries and research reviews to help caregivers guide patients toward healthier lives. “Lifestyle medicine, the branch of medicine [that] explores how daily habits and actions impact both short- and long-term health and quality of life, represents an important new era of medicine,” said Dr. James M. Rippe, chairman of the Florida Hospital Institute for Lifestyle Medicine and AJLM editor-in-chief. “This national journal will be a pacesetter in the medical community and will shed light on the importance of lifestyle medicine in health.” Published by SAGE Publications and issued six times per year, the AJLM will reach some 20,000 physicians and other healthcare workers. For more information, or to subscribe, see http://ajml.sagepub.com. [Florida Hospital/ANN Staff]

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