Andrews forges alliance with Florida Hospital

The Orlando-based Florida Hospital and Andrews Memorial Hos-pital (AMH) in St Andrew - both Adventist-owned institutions - will sign a memorandum of under-standing (MOU) which will seethe medical facilities benefiting in the areas of education andtraining, research technology, and equipment.

The signing will take place at AMH on Thursday afternoon.

Lars Houmann, president and chief executive officer of Florida Hospital and the Florida Division of Adventist Health System, will sign the MOU, along with Dr Patric Rutherford, CEO of AMH.

"We at AMH are very pleased to be forging this significant partnership with the Florida Hospital," said Rutherford. "It is necessary for us so that we can substantially improve the services we offer to our patients. Florida Hospital is one of the top hospitals in the United States of America and they have assisted us in many ways over the years. We welcome the opportunity to formalise this partnership and look forward to a mutually beneficial relationship."

Itinerary

On Friday, AMH will officially open its intensive care unit, the first of its kind by a private hospital. Houmann will be the keynote speaker.

While in Jamaica, Houmann will pay a courtesy call on Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, Health Minister Rudyard Spencer and Delroy Chuck, speaker of the House of Representatives. He will also tour the facilities of the AMH and the University Hospital of the West Indies.

On Sunday, Houmann will receive the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Northern Caribbean University (NCU). The conferral will take place during the university's 87th graduation exercises to be held on its main campus in Mandeville, Man-chester. He will seek to inspire the minds of some of the approxi-mately 1,000 graduates as he speaks at the second commence-ment ceremony in the afternoon.

"Mr Houmann is a veteran health adminis-trator and professional who helped in the building of many hospitals around the world," said Dr Herbert Thompson, president of NCU. "Our gratitude to him relates to his helping to build the facilities at Andrews Memorial Hospital, and for that he is a worthy person to be honoured by our academic community."

In his post at Florida Hospital and the Florida Division of Adventist Health System, Houmann has direct oversight for 17 hospitals in Florida. With more than 2,200 beds, the eight-hospital system serves the Orlando metro-politan area. Florida Hospital admits more patients annually than any other hospital in the US and is the largest provider of Medicare services. He has been with Florida Hospital since 1993 and has served in various executive capacities during that time.