Life is filled with crossroads. But for those of us who grew up in New York, there comes a time when we are faced with the most important crossroad of all – the time when we must move to Florida.
For me, that decision came in 1989, when after years of subway commutes from my home in Flatbush Brooklyn to my job at ABC Television on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I woke up one cold, dark winter morning and decided the time had come.
It wasn’t really an epiphany. I’d struggled with the decision for years. But as an only child first-generation Cuban woman, I found it hard to leave my parents and move hundreds of miles away.
Despite their support and blessings, I felt that leaving them would be the equivalent of abandonment.
I’ll spare you the shaggy dog details. Suffice it to say that in January of 1989, I boarded an Amtrak train to Miami and, 17 years later, I have yet to use the return ticket.
It’s a decision I’ve never regretted and one that’s taught me countless lessons about life, love, family and who I am.
With the lessons came even more questions … important, life-altering questions to which there seem to be no answers. Questions like …
Why doesn’t Florida have an ‘upstate?’
If you’re from New York and you tell someone you’re from upstate, they immediately know you’re from someplace up near the Canadian border … and they give you that smile that says, “You poor dear. You’re not from the real New York.” You know, the City.
Yet tell a native Floridian (the two that are left) that you’re going upstate and they look at you like you have Cheerios coming out of your ears.
When was the last time you heard someone from the Florida Panhandle refer to themselves as from 'upstate'?
Another question that has gnawed at me through the years is …
Why don’t people in Florida believe in California?
The first time I visited friends in Los Angeles after moving to South Florida, I told several neighbors that I was going to the west coast.
“Oh, really?” was the reply. “Do your friends live in Tampa or Naples?”
Think about it. When Floridians tell you they’re going to the west coast, you can bet they’re planning a trip across Alligator Alley. It’s as if they think the big earthquake hit California and took out everything west of Pensacola with it.
The third and perhaps most baffling question of all is …
Does blood really thin?
Every winter, transplanted New Yorkers love to use the blood-thinning phenomenon to justify turning on their heaters the minute the temperatures dip below 70 degrees.
Those were the same people who years before they moved to Florida could be seen walking around South Beach in shorts and tank tops on that rare winter day when temperatures don’t make it into the 70s, while locals shivered beneath layers of clothing.
But now that they live here, the ex-northerners will tell you their blood has thinned. That’s why, 70-degree temperatures now require them to turn up their heaters and dress in layers.
You can spot the locals a mile away in Florida. They’re the ones walking around in fur, gloves and a hat while the tourists swim in the ocean.
So, I leave you with those questions to ponder and welcome any answers or additional questions you might have about transplanted northerners.
I, however, have to go turn up the heater. It’s 69 degrees outside and I have to pack my corduroys and parka for a trip to the west coast to visit friends in Tampa.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
World Class Care In A Resort-Like Environment
Several days ago I had the pleasure of visiting Miramar’s newest resort. Sitting tall and magnificent on 172nd Ave. just north of Miramar Parkway, the building is a stone’s throw from I-75.
There you can find world class services and cutting edge technology that would be the envy of the world’s finest 5-star hotels.
You didn’t know Miramar had a resort?
Well, neither did I until a friend recently asked me to take her there in the middle of the night.
Before you go rushing off to make a reservation, you should know that this place is a bit exclusive. And, even though you can check in anytime of day, unfortunately, in order to be admitted you have to be feeling a bit under the weather.
You see, the ‘resort’ I’m talking about is Memorial Hospital Miramar, whose Web site boasts is “Simply the Best! This full-service, acute-care hospital combines advanced technology with individualized care … and a state-of-the-art Adult Emergency Department.”
Believe me when I tell you, that’s quite an understatement!
Now, I’m not one who usually gushes about health care. In fact, I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to a doctor for my yearly checkup. So, when I tell you that a hospital made me think of a resort, you can tell it made quite an impression on me.
From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, I felt like I’d clicked my heels and been transported to a health care facility of the future. “Toto, we’re not in Miramar anymore,” I heard myself saying out loud.
The security officers who greeted us at the door were professional, efficient and polite.
Once past security, the check-in process was, excuse the pun, painless (at least for me).
My friend’s vital signs were checked and her blood was drawn by two young men who were so pleasant while doing their job, they should be teaching a course on bedside manner.
“Let me see if we can put you in a private room so you can be more comfortable,” one of them said.
“You’re kidding,” my friend replied.
No, he wasn’t. We were taken into a private room with a private bathroom and television.
Granted, the fact that it was the middle of the night and they were ‘slow’ may have had something to do with it. But even if they’d put my friend on one of those beds behind a curtain and made me sit in a cold, metal folding chair, it would not have put a damper on the care and personalized service we were offered.
Within moments of being taken to the room, a nurse came by to ask a series of preliminary questions. In less than 20 minutes, my friend was examined by a doctor, an EKG was performed and she was given an IV. That’s one commercial break better than the doctors do on television’s E.R.!
And to make sure we were sufficiently awed, they saved the best for last!
It was only after the doctor’s examination that the question of health insurance even came up. This is a far cry from most doctors’ offices where you’re greeted by a bouncer at the door who demands your insurance card and co-payment before he even lets you in!
One hour and one bag of IV solution later, the lab results came back normal and thankfully, my friend was sent home with a clean bill of health.
Health care professionals should take their cue from the staff at Memorial Hospital Miramar. These folks clearly recognize that health care is a lot more than filling out a prescription pad.
Let’s face it … no one likes to get sick. But should we ever be in need of quality health care, it’s comforting to know that hospitals like Memorial Miramar are in our own back yard.
There you can find world class services and cutting edge technology that would be the envy of the world’s finest 5-star hotels.
You didn’t know Miramar had a resort?
Well, neither did I until a friend recently asked me to take her there in the middle of the night.
Before you go rushing off to make a reservation, you should know that this place is a bit exclusive. And, even though you can check in anytime of day, unfortunately, in order to be admitted you have to be feeling a bit under the weather.
You see, the ‘resort’ I’m talking about is Memorial Hospital Miramar, whose Web site boasts is “Simply the Best! This full-service, acute-care hospital combines advanced technology with individualized care … and a state-of-the-art Adult Emergency Department.”
Believe me when I tell you, that’s quite an understatement!
Now, I’m not one who usually gushes about health care. In fact, I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to a doctor for my yearly checkup. So, when I tell you that a hospital made me think of a resort, you can tell it made quite an impression on me.
From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, I felt like I’d clicked my heels and been transported to a health care facility of the future. “Toto, we’re not in Miramar anymore,” I heard myself saying out loud.
The security officers who greeted us at the door were professional, efficient and polite.
Once past security, the check-in process was, excuse the pun, painless (at least for me).
My friend’s vital signs were checked and her blood was drawn by two young men who were so pleasant while doing their job, they should be teaching a course on bedside manner.
“Let me see if we can put you in a private room so you can be more comfortable,” one of them said.
“You’re kidding,” my friend replied.
No, he wasn’t. We were taken into a private room with a private bathroom and television.
Granted, the fact that it was the middle of the night and they were ‘slow’ may have had something to do with it. But even if they’d put my friend on one of those beds behind a curtain and made me sit in a cold, metal folding chair, it would not have put a damper on the care and personalized service we were offered.
Within moments of being taken to the room, a nurse came by to ask a series of preliminary questions. In less than 20 minutes, my friend was examined by a doctor, an EKG was performed and she was given an IV. That’s one commercial break better than the doctors do on television’s E.R.!
And to make sure we were sufficiently awed, they saved the best for last!
It was only after the doctor’s examination that the question of health insurance even came up. This is a far cry from most doctors’ offices where you’re greeted by a bouncer at the door who demands your insurance card and co-payment before he even lets you in!
One hour and one bag of IV solution later, the lab results came back normal and thankfully, my friend was sent home with a clean bill of health.
Health care professionals should take their cue from the staff at Memorial Hospital Miramar. These folks clearly recognize that health care is a lot more than filling out a prescription pad.
Let’s face it … no one likes to get sick. But should we ever be in need of quality health care, it’s comforting to know that hospitals like Memorial Miramar are in our own back yard.
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