By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Dr. Patrick Taylor, Holy Cross President and CEO, Audrey Millsaps, and Holy Cross Senior Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer Nora Triola pose with Millsaps' donation.
�Thanks to Audrey and Fred's generosity, Holy Cross Hospital will continue to make nursing excellence its goal and vision,� said Dr. Patrick Taylor, Holy Cross President and CEO. �Nurses now have access to expansive resources, which, in turn, continually betters the quality of patient care beyond our highest standards.�
The institute provides nurses with opportunities for professional role enhancement and development, scholarships, and additional education. The $1 million donation will allow the institute to expand its professional development activities to include leadership development for nurses who express an interest in moving into management roles. It also furthers the institute's commitment to scholarships and academic support, and supports simulation labs to ensure Holy Cross nurses are best prepared to provide care and address patient safety through essential learning experiences.
�My husband and I always believed in furthering the profession of nursing through the pursuit of excellence,� Millsaps said. �I'm pleased to be able, through Fred's gift, to support Holy Cross in offering resources for nurses to learn new skills and further their knowledge and professional development.�
Millsaps serves as a community volunteer on the institute�s advisory committee, which advocates for nursing education and programs while also providing feedback on its programs, results and future strategies.
Three expert cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons join Holy Cross
In addition to receiving a donation for its Institute for Nursing Excellence, Dr. Taylor announced on June 11 the addition to the Holy Cross Medical Group of three renowned cardiovascular and thoracic surgeons.
�I am pleased to welcome Dr. Alexander Justicz to Holy Cross Hospital and Medical Group as well as announce that Holy Cross surgeons Dr. Harold Roberts, Jr. and Dr. Imad Tabry have formally joined our medical group,� said Dr. Taylor. �With their respective expertise in cardiac bypass surgery, minimally-invasive robotic surgery and beating heart bypass surgery, Holy Cross demonstrates its commitment to providing the region with the most comprehensive cardiac services available.�
Dr. Justicz comes to Holy Cross Hospital from Atlanta where he was in private practice and had previously served as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Piedmont Hospital and North East Georgia Medical Center. Specializing in open heart surgery and valve repair, he is a sought-after speaker in the field who has presented before the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, the Annual Scientific Assembly of American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
After earning his undergraduate degree from Harvard, he graduated from the Emory School of Medicine where he served as chief resident of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Emory University Affiliated Hospital.
A resident of Plantation, Dr. Roberts is skilled in the da Vinci� S� Surgical System which utilizes a sophisticated robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon�s capabilities so that coronary artery bypass surgery can be achieved through minimally invasive small incisions made between the ribs.
He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas College of Medicine and completed his residency in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine prior to taking a fellowship in adult cardiac surgery at Beth Israel Hospital at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Tabry, who begins his practice with the Medical Group on July 1, is a past Chief of the Department of Surgery at Holy Cross. He is a leader in off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery which allows the heart to remain beating during the surgery and, as a result, significantly reduces or eliminates many of the complications associated with traditional bypass surgery.
A past president of both the Fort Lauderdale Surgical Society and the Caducean Society of Greater Fort Lauderdale, Dr. Tabry has performed more than 100 open heart surgeries in the Middle East in the past five years as part of humanitarian surgical missions.
A resident of Fort Lauderdale who was born in Haifa, Dr. Tabry received his medical degree from the French School of Medicine in Beirut before serving a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Yale University Hospital and holding a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
�One of the guiding visions of the Jim Moran Heart and Vascular Research Institute is to attract leading physicians to Holy Cross to move high-level, cutting-edge science from the laboratory bench to the bedside,� Dr. Taylor added. �The addition of these three accomplished specialists to our cardiovascular team illustrates our dedication to that mission and offers promise for new research accomplishments to come.�
