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Community briefs 12/28/17

Clay Today
Posted 12/27/17

Doctors receive new degrees JACKSONVILLE – Two Clay County physicians recently achieved a prestigious degree from the Florida Academy of Family Physicians. Doctors Amber Lynn Isley of Fleming …

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Community briefs 12/28/17


Posted

Doctors receive new degrees
JACKSONVILLE – Two Clay County physicians recently achieved a prestigious degree from the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.
Doctors Amber Lynn Isley of Fleming Island and Joseph Michael Parra of Orange Park achieved the Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the national medical association representing nearly 129,000 family physicians, residents and medical students.
Established in 1971, the AAFP Degree of Fellow recognizes family physicians for distinguished service to family medicine and ongoing professional development. This year’s fellowship class brings the total number of AAFP Fellows to more than 17,000 nationwide. AAFP Fellowship entitles the physician to use the honorary designation, “Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians,” or “F.A.A.F.P.”
Criteria for receiving the AAFP Degree of Fellow consist of a minimum of six years of membership in the organization, extensive continuing medical education, participation in public service programs outside medical practice, conducting original research and serving as a teacher in family medicine.
The AAFP was the first national medical specialty organization to require its members to complete a minimum of 150 hours of accredited continuing medical education every three years. It is the only medical specialty society devoted solely to primary care.

Mrgich joins Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Florida Network Realty
FLEMING ISLAND – Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty is pleased to welcome Edmee Mrgich to the Fleming Island-Orange Park office.
Mrgich has worked at Shand’s Hospital as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse for over twenty-five years. Now, Mrgich is excited to begin her new career in real estate, stating, “All of my adult life I have served people as a nurse, and I got great pleasure taking care of peoples’ needs. The skills and qualities that I have learned as a nurse will serve me well as a Realtor.”
In nursing, Mrgich worked hard to establish confidence with her patients’ family members, helping them to decipher complex medical information necessary for families’ understanding and decision-making. Working with diverse clients during stressful times of their lives, Mrgich’s respect and compassion for others helped to ensure she related to the many cultural backgrounds of her patients; she is also bilingual – fluent in Spanish in addition to English.
“I am excited to welcome Mrgich to the Fleming Island office! As a Realtor, Mrgich will work hard to ensure that each of her clients’ will be taken care of with the dedication and compassion that she gained while working at Shand’s Hospital, to help them make the correct decision in choosing a home in the fast-paced real estate market of Northeast Florida. A self-described ‘people person,’ Mrgich’s naturally outgoing personality will serve her well to ensure that her clients receive the best representation possible in their real estate transactions,” said Linda Benson, Broker/Manager of the Fleming Island/Orange Park office.

Jacksonville Symphony Chorus auditions
JACKSONVILLE – Auditions for the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus will be held Jan. 6 in the Chorus Room on the second floor of the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts.
Auditions are by appointment, but walk-in auditions will be available beginning at 10:15 a.m. Auditions will consist of a 90-second sight-reading activity, establishment of range and singing an excerpt of “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” from Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. For additional information or to secure an audition time, email Chorus Manager Jill Weisblatt at jweisblatt@jaxsymphony.org. New Member Forms can be found at https://www.jaxsymphony.org/symphony-chorus/ or by emailing Weisblatt.
The Jacksonville Symphony Chorus has general rehearsals each Tuesday evening from 7:30-10 p.m. at Jacksonville University’s Marks Chapel. All performance-week rehearsals occur at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts. Performance week rehearsals will consist of a piano rehearsal and one or two orchestra dress rehearsals. Chorus members are asked to commit to an entire season of rehearsals and performances.
New members will join the chorus for the remainder of the 2017-2018 season for the following shows: Feb. 18 with the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus Concert performing the Haydn Mass and Dvořák Te Deum, May 3-5 for a Pops concert featuring the works of Rogers and Hammerstein and May 30-June 2 performing “Chorus of the Vassals” from Götterdämmerung (men only).
If accepted into the choir, choral scores will be available at the first rehearsal to borrow or purchase. The average cost to purchase a score is approximately $25. Members provide their own concert attire.
The all-volunteer Jacksonville Symphony Chorus is under the direction of Donald McCullough and has been accompanying performances by the Jacksonville Symphony for more than three decades. The Chorus includes many professional musicians, skilled amateur performers and college students. Some of the most recent performances by the Chorus have included distinguished works such as The Dream of Gerontius and Handel’s Messiah.

Transportation organization elects 2018 officers
JACKSONVILLE – The North Florida Transportation Planning Organization Board recently elected its executive team that will serve through December 2018. The team will assume its duties at the February meeting.
Clay County Commissioner Diane Hutchings, who had been vice chairman, will replace Jacksonville City Council Member Doyle Carter as chairman. Nassau County Commissioner Danny Leeper is vice chairman replacing Commissioner Hutchings and St. Johns County Commissioner James K. Johns was elected treasurer replacing Commissioner Leeper.
In addition, two TPO committees have elected their leadership for 2018. The Technical Coordinating Committee elected Ed Lehman, head of the Clay County Planning Dept., to serve as chairman after serving as vice chairman. Lehman succeeds Phong Nguyen, with the St. Johns County Planning Dept.
Bill Killingsworth, Jacksonville Planning Dept., was elected vice chairman. The Citizens Advisory Committee re-elected Jim Hill, representing the Duval Southeast CPAC, as chairman and Richard Darby, long time CAC member, former CAC chairman and Clay County citizen, as vice chairman.
The TCC is comprised primarily of planners and engineers representing various local governments within the TPO boundary who evaluate the technical sufficiency, accuracy and viability of proposed plans. The CAC is a volunteer body of residents and business people who review transportation plans from a community perspective.

Bronze Age expert to discuss world’s first Dark Ages
JACKSONVILLE – The Archaeological Institute of America – Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Jan. 20 in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Eric H. Cline. The title of the lecture is “1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed.” During the Late Bronze Age, from about 1500 BC to 1200 BC, the Mediterranean region played host to a complex international world in which Egyptians, Mycenaeans, Minoans, Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Cypriots and Canaanites all interacted, creating a cosmopolitan and globalized world-system which eventually contributed to the apocalyptic disaster that ended the Bronze Age.
Large empires and small kingdoms, that had taken centuries to evolve, collapsed rapidly, forming the world’s first recorded Dark Ages. Blame for the end of the Late Bronze Age is usually laid squarely at the feet of the so-called Sea Peoples, but it was not the result of a single invasion, but of multiple causes including earthquake storms, droughts, rebellions, and systems collapse.
This illustrated lecture is based upon a book by the same title published by Princeton University Press in March 2014. The lecture is free and open to the public and will be followed by complimentary refreshments in the Archaeology Lab. On Saturday, parking is free, and the staff/faculty/vendor spaces are open to everyone. For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or aiajaxsoc@gmail.com.

Hospice expands to 11 new counties
JACKSONVILLE – On Jan. 1, Community Hospice & Palliative Care will open for business and begin accepting patients in Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Putnam, Suwannee, and Union counties. These counties are part of the area defined as 3A, north-central Florida.
Earlier this year, the Florida Agency of Health Care Administration selected the nonprofit hospice to provide service to these 11 additional counties, while still providing services to the five original Northeast Florida counties – Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns – it has served since its founding in 1979. The five founding counties of 4A include are supported by more than 900 employees and 1,000 volunteers, assisting 1,600 patients each day to live better with advanced illness – at home, in long-term care and assisted living facilities, in hospitals and at its eight inpatient care centers.
“I’m thrilled to be leading our expansion into 3A because my neighbors now have a choice when it comes to advanced illness and end-of-life care,” said Belena “Billie” Adkins, 3A regional director and native of Baker County. Adkins began her career at Community Hospice & Palliative Care in 2004 and is a board-certified hospice and palliative care nurse, caring for patients wherever they call home.
“Our compassionate and innovative care will be provided to the community-at-large by fellow residents. Our new launch into 3A is neighbor helping neighbor and we’ll be there 24/7 when they need us.”
“We look forward to bringing these and many more programs and services to the residents of 3A,” said Susan Ponder-Stansel, president and chief executive officer. “We are here to get to know them, to listen to them and ensure we provide our neighboring patients and families with the best care possible. We want to be the choice for compassionate care at the time in life when they need us the most.”
Community Hospice & Palliative Care of Putnam County office at 5111 Crill Road in Palatka will hold a ribbon cutting on Jan. 12 from 4-6 p.m. Hospice will open an office in Columbia County office a few months later.

Kozlov joins Coastal Spine and Pain Center
MIDDLEBURG – Coastal Spine and Pain Center announces the new addition of physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Gregory Kozlov, D.O. to serve its Middleburg location. As an interventional pain management physician and anesthesiologist, Kozlov supports patients living with pain using a multidisciplinary approach.
Prior to joining Coastal Spine and Pain Center, Kozlov worked in pain management in Iowa, Illinois, Ft. Lauderdale and most recently as an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist for Tuba City Regional Healthcare Corporation, Level 3 Trauma Center, High Risk OB Center for the Navajo Nation, in Tuba City, Ariz.
Kozlov received his doctor of osteopathic medicine from Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale and is board certified in anesthesiology with a pain medicine subspecialty from the American Board of Anesthesiology. Koslov had a fellowship in interventional pain management from the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Level 1 Trauma Center in Chicago. He completed a residency in anesthesiology from Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans and a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology from Midwestern University, Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, Chicago. Koslov also completed an osteopathic internship at Nova Southeastern University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale.
“Dr. Koslov’s deep understanding and experience with our treatments and procedures will benefit our pain patients at our growing Middleburg practice,” said Michael Greene, D.O., fellow Coastal Spine and Pain physician.
Koslov holds affiliations with the: Arizona Society of Anesthesiologists; International Spinal Intervention Society; North American Neuromodulation Society; American Society of Anesthesiologists; American Society of Regional Anesthesia; American Academy of Pain Medicine; Ukrainian Medical Association of North America and the American Osteopathic Association.
Kozlov will be seeing Coastal Spine and Pain Center patients at the Middleburg location, 1821 Blanding Blvd., Suite 1.