Shondelle Solomon-Miles, health and fitness expert, has recently signed a publishing deal with CelebrityPress, a leading business marketing and health book publishing company, along with leading health and fitness experts from around the world to release the book, “3 Steps To YOUR BEST BODY In Record Time.”

Shondelle Solomon-Miles, CEO of Synergize! home of CrossFit 954, recently joined a select group of the world’s leading health and fitness entrepreneurs including noted fitness industry experts Sean Greeley and Eric Ruth to co-write the forthcoming book titled, “3 Steps To YOUR BEST BODY In Record Time: America’s Leading Fitness Experts Reveal The Proven 3-Step System To The Body You Always Wanted…In Minimum Time.”  Nick Nanton, Esq. along with business partner, JW Dicks, Esq., recently signed a publishing deal with each of these authors to contribute their expertise to the book, which will be released under their CelebrityPress™ imprint.

Synergize! home of CrossFit 954 has since been voted ‘Hollywood’s best place to workout’ for five consecutive years by readers of the Hollywood Gazette. Solomon-Miles has also been recognized by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce as a Small Business Person of the Year Nominee and was voted 'Best 40 Under 40' by Success South Florida Magazine in 2008. Shondelle also recently received the honor of ‘Fitness Expert of the Year’ by the American Business Women’s Association.

Throughout her 15-year career, Shondelle has helped more than 3,000 men and women achieve better health and improved physiques by applying her no-nonsense yet fun training methodology.

The forthcoming book will feature top advice from health, fitness and wellness experts from across the globe covering the subjects of total body health, fitness and nutrition. The book is designed to help people find a breakthrough fitness strategy that works for them. The book will offer proven strategies to help people achieve the level of fitness they have always desired.

Learn more about Shondelle Solomon-Miles at http://www.CrossFit954.com/ or http://www.SynergizeWeightLoss.com/.

With an expert cardiac transplant team standing by and one patient waiting for a heart, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital achieved an extraordinary milestone last month. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, the leading Children’s Hospital in Broward and Palm Beach, received federal approval from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) to launch a pediatric heart transplant program, clearing the path for pediatric cardiac surgeons to perform the first heart transplant in the history of the hospital on Dec. 15.

“This is a momentous occasion for our team, but it’s also great news for our surrounding communities and the patients and families we have the pleasure to serve,” said Frank Scholl, M.D., chief of pediatric cardiac surgery at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. “The establishment of this program is truly an advancement in medical care in this community, and one that will impact the lives of many children and families in years to come.”

Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Heart Transplant Program is one of only two programs in South Florida, an area that serves close to 1.5 million children. There are now a total of four pediatric heart transplant centers in Florida: Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville. With this new program in Broward County, many families will benefit by having a specialized team closer to home. Prior to federal approval, statistics showed that a large number of children did not have sufficient access to heart transplant services, and many had to seek services outside South Florida and even out of state.

The approval of the program is the culmination of years of strategic planning, including the formation of a pediatric cardiac transplant team with the right mix of expertise and compassion.

Dr. Scholl, together with Maryanne Chrisant, M.D., who was hired in 2010 as the medical director of the pediatric heart transplant team, and Chris Mashburn, RN, who serves as the director of clinical programs and lead transplant coordinator, form the core of the transplant team.

“This is a comprehensive team effort,” Chrisant said. “This child is doing well because of the amazing efforts and expertise of nurses, intensivists, perfusionists and laboratory medicine – all levels of patient care.”

The Broward County Health Department offers a federally funded nutrition program for women, infants and children called WIC that provides healthy foods, nutrition education and counseling, breast-feeding support and referrals for health care at no cost to clients.

WIC’s purpose is to improve clients’ health by providing nutritional support during critical periods of growth and development. Each WIC client’s nutrition needs and interests are identified through a nutrition assessment, and then foods are prescribed to help meet the individual client’s nutrient needs. Approximately 41,000 Broward County residents participate in the program, and women who are pregnant, have recently been pregnant, are breast-feeding, have infants and children younger than five years of age, who have a low or moderate income, are at nutrition risk and live in Broward County are eligible for the program.

For more information, call WIC at 954-767-5110, 954-767-5111 or visit http://browardchd.org.

This month’s column is personal. I have a family member who I hope will consider bariatric surgery. I also work with a woman who had bariatric surgery three years ago. She is my nurse. She looks incredible, lost 90 pounds and considers it the best money she ever spent. She also is my patient and all of her medical conditions were “cured” by her procedure, and when she brings in “before” pictures, I have trouble recognizing her.

There are an estimated 61.3 million (30.5 percent) obese adults in the United States, and 9.6 million morbidly obese adults. Obesity, a leading cause of death worldwide, is a condition where excess body fat accumulates to the extent that it adversely affects health. In a doctor’s office, a number called the body mass index (BMI) is calculated to determine obesity levels. Healthy values range from 18.5 to 24.9. Anything above 30 is obese, while anything above 40 is morbidly obese.

Many common diseases are strongly associated with obesity. Life expectancy decreases by 20 years for a morbidly obese man and five years for a morbidly obese woman.

The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise, and anti-obesity drugs may be tried. When these treatments fail, the last resort is surgical intervention or bariatric surgery.
To qualify for bariatric surgery an individual must meet specific criteria.

How does bariatric surgery work? Simple. The bariatric surgeon alters your digestive tract – the stomach and small intestine – making it impossible to eat much food in one sitting. There are two main types of surgery:

1. Restrictive Surgery (Lap band, stomach stapling or vertical banded gastroplasty). These procedures alter the size of the stomach to restrict calories. The size is reduced to the size of an egg using special staples or a silicone band. These are reversible and don’t fundamentally alter the anatomy of the digestive system

2. Malabsorptive Surgery (Roux-en Y). This is a two-part procedure. First, the surgeon reduces the size of the stomach, and second, the surgeon bypasses the first portion of the small intestine. This causes food to pass more rapidly through the digestive tract. So, even if the patient over-eats, fewer calories will be absorbed

The Success rate for bariatric surgery is very high. Also, high blood pressure is cured in 50 percent of patients, Type 2 Diabetes is cured in 80 percent, sleep apnea is cured in 75 percent, and shortness of breath is relieved in 80 percent.

The cost of the procedure can be substantial, and not all health insurance plans cover it.
There are risks to both procedures, but with experienced surgeons in an appropriate hospital, the risks are minimized. Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood has been designated as a “Center for Excellence” for bariatric surgery. There are free informational seminars offered on a regular basis for those considering the surgery. One group of surgeons I highly recommend has a very informative Web site at www.hollywoodbariatrics.com.

Obesity is an extremely common problem and a very serious health concern. It goes far beyond cosmetics. It is an excellent reason to visit your doctor and begin a discussion.

Richard J. Wilbur, M.D. is Board Certified in Internal Medicine. Dr. Wilbur practices at
Safecare Medical Center’s Hollywood office, located at 4050 D Sheridan St., Hollywood, FL 33021.  For an appointment with Dr. Wilbur, contact his office at 954-989-7441 or online at www.safecare.com.