Cord blood bill signed into law

Governor Rick Scott signed a new bill into law last month that encourages prenatal care providers to educate expectant parents about their cord blood banking options.
Florida Senate Bill 720 also calls for the Department of Health and Human Services' to include information about cord blood on its website http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/mch/Umbilical/Umbilical.html.
 More than 230,00 babies are born Florida each year, and most of their parents do not preserve their newborn's cord blood
"We want to make sure families are informed about storage options for this valuable source of potentially life-saving stem cells," said Senator Anitere Flores (R-Miami), who sponsored the bill. Parents may either donate or store cord blood. The hope is that less will be discarded. Now 23 states – representing 75% of U.S. births– have passed laws to improve education on cord blood stem cells and the options for preserving them.

Today more patients are receiving blood to cure more than 70 diseases. Clinical trials involving the use of cord blood to treat cerebral palsy and type 1diabetes area also underway.

Specialists join Arnold Palmer

Two physicians have joined the Pediatric Specialty Practices Office atArnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Alejandro Jordan-Villegas, M.D., is the newest member of the Infectious Disease Practice at the hospital. He completed medical school and immunology training from Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia and performed pediatric training at Miami Children's Hospital. Dr. Jordan-Villegas also completed a pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Texas  Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Karoly Horvath, M.D., joined the hospital's Pediatric Gastroenterology Specialty Practice. Before coming to Orlando, he was the director of Nemours Celiac Center and the Gastroenterology Laboratory at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware.

Board certified in pediatric gastroenterology, Dr. Horvath has published numerous articles and book chapters on gastroenterology topics, and has taught at the Universit of Meryland and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia.

Both doctors will be based at the Arnold Palmer Hospital Pediatric Specialty Practice, at 83 W. Columbia Street, in Orlando.

Seminole hospital nabs honor

Mental health patients often come to treatment from abusive pasts. Addressing that trauma is a skill Seminole Behavioral Healthcare does better than most, according to the National Council for Behavioral Healthcare.

The council picked Seminole Behavioral, of Fern Park, to be among 21 other organizations in the country to receive training then teach other facilities how to deliver "trauma-informed care," an approach that understands the special needs of individuals seeking care in these settings.

Seminole Behavioral is the only Florida-based mental-health organization participating in the program.

Seminole Behavioral will receive training in the latest treatment practices during the six-month program. Then the facility will train organizations across Central Florida and the state.

A grant from the Substnce Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration supports the program.

In 2010, the council selected Seminole Behavioral as one of 10 mental-health centers nationwide to participate in a program to advance care for those diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Source : http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/os-cfb-health-0815-20110814,0,7832976.story