University of Central Florida administrators scrapped a multi-million dollar plan to build a dental school near its college of medicine in Lake Nona.

The university’s plan to build the dental school was announced in May. A key committee was set to review its plans Wednesday and the Florida Board of Governors would have voted on the matter Thursday.

But UCF withdrew its plan.

In a written statement, a UCF spokesman said the project would not require state money, but the university decided not to go continue with it anyway.

Read more: http://www.wesh.com/news/29720900/detail.html#ixzz1gK8GsBua

Written by: Lloyd N. Werk, MD, MPH
Parents often struggle when guiding their child to eat healthy nutritious meals and establishing healthy eating habits for children at an early age with balanced meals is important. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) replaced their “food pyramid” model with MyPlate to make it easier to figure out how to feed kids nutritious, balanced meals at home and on-the-go. MyPlate helps to simplify meal planning by illustrating ideal servings of the fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy food groups on a colorful divided plate.

MyPlate helps parents train their children to devote half their plate to fruits and vegetables. Grains and lean protein each take up a quarter of the plate. A side helping of dairy shows kids will also need a serving of low-fat milk or another dairy product to complete their meal.

MyPlate offers simple messages that are easy to incorporate in your family’s daily diet:

• Fill half your child’s plate with vegetables and fruits
• Make at least half the grains you serve whole grains, like oatmeal and brown rice
• Serve fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk and water rather than sugary drinks
• When buying pre-packaged foods, choose ones low in sodium
• Avoid serving oversized portions. Consider smaller plates for younger aged children.

One of the most important features of MyPlate is its emphasis on fruits and vegetables. Vegetables are one of the largest portions on the plate because they provide many of the vitamins and minerals kids need for good health, plus vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories and contain fiber. For parents with picky eaters, adding more vegetables to their child’s plate may seem difficult at first; however, a few simple preparation tips can help your family enjoy fruits and vegetables this summer.

Ten Tips to Liven Up Meals with Fruits and Vegetables

1. Be Ahead of the Game – Cut up peppers, carrots, or broccoli in advance and refrigerate. Also, keep some packaged vegetables in the freezer as they are just as nutritious as fresh vegetables.
2. Seeing is Enjoying – Keep a bowl of whole fruit out as a visible reminder.
3. Brighten Up Your Salad – Add black beans, sliced peppers, chopped red cabbage and other colorful vegetables for color and taste.
4. Fruit at Breakfast – Top cereal or oatmeal with sliced bananas, peaches, grapes, or strawberries. Also, try mixing fruit in fat-free or low-fat yogurt.
5. Fire Up the Grill –Grilling brings out great flavor in vegetables. Try grilling mushrooms, carrots, peppers or potatoes on a kabob skewer – kids will enjoy a fun, new way to eat their vegetables. Grilling fruit can be a tasty new experience too!
6. Expand the Flavor of Casseroles – Peas, pinto beans, squash, tomatoes and sautéed onions add color to this convenient, weekday meal.
7. Pair with Pasta – Planning something Italian? Slip some peppers, spinach, red beans, onions or cherry tomatoes into your traditional tomato sauce. Vegetables provide texture and satisfying low-calorie bulk.
8. Get Creative with Sandwiches – Vegetables make a great addition to your favorite sandwiches and wraps. Substitute mayonnaise with creamy avocado or try sliced tomatoes and romaine lettuce for extra flavor.
9. Savor Stir-Fry – Try a new cooking method! Stir-frying vegetables like broccoli, carrots, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, or green beans are a quick and tasty addition to any meal.
10. When Eating Out – ask for an extra side of vegetables, side salad, or whole fruit.

It may take several attempts to acquire a taste for some vegetables. Encourage your child to try just two or three bites of a vegetable and then offer it again at another meal. Try including fruits and vegetables in each meal and for a snack.

While MyPlate is a guide for healthy eating, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Portion size will vary by age, and depending on a child’s needs, some food groups will be increased and others decreased. Talk to your health care provider to find out what’s best for your kids.

For more information about developing healthy eating habits for your children, please visit www.KidsHealth.org.

Lloyd N. Werk, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. is the Division Chief of Consultative Pediatrics at Nemours Children’s Clinic and provides services to diagnose and treat children of all ages with obesity issues in the Nemours Healthy Choices Clinic.

For years this editorial board has encouraged and applauded the development of Orlando’s Medical City at Lake Nona. We believe its success is critical to building a broader, stronger economy in Central Florida — an economy that goes beyond tourism and construction.

So we can’t help but be drawn to a proposal to locate a new University of Central Florida College of Dental Medicine at the Medical City. The proposal, to be considered this week by UCF’s Board of Trustees, calls for a dental school that would open in 2014 and graduate about 100 dentists a year.

A dental school would be a natural fit with the medical facilities already operating or under construction at Lake Nona. They include the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, UCF’s College of Medicine, the Orlando Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Nemours Children’s Hospital. A dental school would be another Medical City magnet for highly trained professionals and research grants. You know…jobs.

UCF projects the dental school would pump $73 million into the region’s economy during its construction, and at least $69 million a year during its operation.

Continue Reading: UCF dental school at the Medical City would boost the region’s health care and economy

The Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute scored $300 million in 2006 when it agreed to set up shop in Central Florida, making it one of the largest beneficiaries of public incentive money in state history.

Just five years later, the institute that is central to Orlando’s “medical city” development – along with UCF’s medical school and two hospitals – appealed to lawmakers for even more money.

It succeeded last week in the final days of the Legislative session, winning $2 million in economic development funds.

It’s official: Sanford-Burnham is too big to fail. We have to keep pumping money into it or risk putting a strain on one of the key anchors of Florida’s hopes for a thriving biomedical industry.

Continue Reading: Sanford-Burnham gets $2 million more

University of Central Florida plans to open a dental school near its College of Medicine in the heart of Lake Nona’s Medical City.

UCF officials announced Thursday that they’re looking to open a College of Dental Medicine in 2014 that would graduate about 100 dentists a year.

But some state officials and administrators at other universities already have begun questioning the need for more dental schools in Florida.

There are only three accredited dental schools statewide: in Gainesville, Bradenton and Fort Lauderdale. UCF is one of at least three public universities discussing plans either to build a new dental school or expand an existing program.

The University of Florida in Gainesville, educating dentists since the 1970s and home to one of the nation’s top programs, has been trying to expand for years. It has met resistance from the State University System, though — mostly because of a lack of funding, said Teresa Dolan, the college’s dean.

Dolan said Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in Tallahassee is researching the possibility of opening a dental school and could be bringing a proposal forward soon. FAMU refers to its plans on its website.

UCF officials said they don’t plan to seek state money and that the project would be self-sustaining through tuition and other resources. The university plans to borrow about $40 million to pay startup costs. A private donor also has committed $10 million to the project.

Not only is a dental school needed in Central Florida, but there also is a demand for one, according to the university.

Continue Reading: UCF plans to open dental school in 2014

If you look good in a white lab coat or consider a stethoscope a must-have accessory, Orlando is becoming a prime job market.

It’s not often that this city is touted as a leader in new high-wage jobs, but the region is poised to grow its image as a medical cluster over the next 18 months.

As many as 1,700 new jobs are up for grabs now or coming soon as two new hospitals prepare to open in Lake Nona’s “medical city.”

Nemours Children’s Hospital and the Orlando VA Medical Center have started hiring for the new facilities, which are both scheduled to open in the fall of 2012.

Continue Reading: Now hiring: Doctors wanted

Orlando’s VA hospital, with 134 in-patient beds, will shorten the trip for 90,000 veterans in Central Florida who now go to VA hospitals in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Gainesville.

Veterans and elected officials marked the halfway point Sunday in the construction of the $665 million Orlando VA Medical Center with a “topping out” ceremony.

A 20-foot, 1,100-pound I-beam was lowered into place 140 feet above the ground, completing the steel framework.

The hospital, with 134 in-patient beds, will shorten the trip for 90,000 veterans in Central Florida who now go to VA hospitals in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Gainesville.

“We’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” said Vietnam veteran Eustace L. Horne, 66, of Longwood.

Completion of the facility, first planned 30 years ago, is scheduled for October 2012.

It’s the latest piece in the “medical city” at Lake Nona in southeast Orange County. The complex also includes the UCF Medical School, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and Nemours Children’s Hospital.

Continue Reading: ‘Topping out’ ceremony marks halfway point in VA hospital construction

Scientists at Orlando’s Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have come up with an unusual new model for studying the way muscles work and how that relates to obesity: a couch-potato mouse.

In a new study being released today in the journal Cell Metabolism, Dr. Daniel Kelly and a team of colleagues at Sanford-Burnham’s Lake Nona campus created laboratory mice with very low levels of a protein called PGC-1 in their muscles.

Kelly and his team were surprised to find that the mice they engineered with the low protein levels were not obese or overweight. Instead, they looked normal and walked around without problems.

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Today’s economy is both a stressful and terrifying time for graduates. With Florida’s high unemployment rate, some graduates remain in school longer than necessary rather than face the harsh reality that is today’s job market.

However, life after graduation isn’t as scary of a thought for all graduates. UCF’s Medical Laboratory Science program, offered through the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, provides its graduates with countless job placement opportunities upon graduation.

“So few people know about the profession, and there are so few programs across the country,” said Dorilyn Hitchcock, director of the Medical Laboratory Science program. “The UCF program is one of only two university-based MLS programs in Florida. With the majority of individuals working in hospital labs being ‘baby boomers’ and so few students graduating, the rate of retirement is higher than the new grads to fill positions.”

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