Category: News

The Fourth Annual Lake Nona Impact Forum is set to begin tonight as more than 250 thought leaders converge on Lake Nona to discuss the future of health and wellness. The in-depth talks and discussions during the three-day symposium target key issues and actionable solutions in wellness, sustainable living and health technology.

Wednesday evening’s program features a conversation on health technology and outcomes between CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Sandi Peterson, Group Worldwide Chairman of Johnson & Johnson. The two will discuss “The Missing Link: A New Human-Centered Approach to Transforming Health and Wellbeing.”

Other health and wellness experts speaking Wednesday include Eric Topol of Scripps Health and Dan Buettner, author of “The Blue Zones Solution: Eating and Living Like the World’s Healthiest People.”

These discussions serve to frame the week’s topics that seek to explore and shape the health and wellness landscape. Central themes to be discussed include developing healthy communities, preventative care, mental health, advances in digital health technology, and the challenges and promises of advancing health care.

The 2016 Lake Nona Impact Forum is presented by Johnson & Johnson, along with Founding Sponsors: Cisco, Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, GuideWell, Sharecare, Tavistock Foundation; Medical City Partners: Nemours Children’s Health System, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, University of Central Florida College of Medicine, UF Health; and Contributing Sponsors: Dr. Phillips Charities, Insurance Office of America, Integrated Wellness Partners, Orlando Health, PepsiCo, Roche, Technogym, and the United States Tennis Association.

For more information about this year’s Lake Nona Impact Forum, visit www.LakeNonaImpactForum.org

Guest post from Patrick Bartosch at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute 

Health and tech leaders from across the country gathered in Orlando’s Medical City last week for the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum. Organized by the Lake Nona Institute, the Impact Forum strives to unlock innovation to create sustainable health communities and advance quality of life by exploring the intersections of wellness, sustainable living, and education. Speakers this year included the CEO of Johnson & Johnson, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the CEO of BlackBerry, as well as Sanford-Burnham CEO Perry Nisen, among many others.

The discussions covered a diverse array of topics such as the future of technology in medicine, the increasing costs of developing new treatments, building healthy communities, and leadership in veterans care. Here are a few highlights:

• Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show, spoke about the things that hold us back in life, particularly when it comes to improving our health. According to Oz, these are: 1) time, 2) money, 3) knowledge, and 4) fear of change. While we in the health industry can’t necessarily do anything in regards to 1) and 2), we can increase knowledge and we can encourage change. Technology is one of the ways we can directly impact how people monitor and improve their health. Just think about all the apps that are out there now to track your eating habits and exercise.
• CNN’s Sanjay Gupta led a panel discussion about personalized medicine, explaining how cancer genes can predispose certain people to develop malignant tumors at one point in their lives. The panelists also discussed encouraging results from very early immunotherapy trials in Europe. The idea behind immunotherapy is to strengthen the human immune system, so that it can successfully fight diseases such as cancer on its own. In contrast to treatments such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy focuses solely on the targeted, e.g. cancerous, cells and leave other, healthy cells alone.
• Former Sanford-Burnham CEO John Reed, who now leads Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development at Roche, chaired a discussion about treatment costs and the huge investments necessary to bring new medicines to the patient. The panel offered a broader view of the cost of medicines across the world. Here in the U.S., patients pay much more for novel and promising drugs than in the rest of the world. One reason for this is that most pharma R&D is financed by the income pharmaceutical companies generate with these new, expensive drugs in the U.S.

The closing keynote address of this year’s Impact Forum was delivered by the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Robert McDonald, who spoke about the efforts under way to make the department more efficient and improve veterans care. The Secretary’s presentation ranged from political difficulties his department faces when trying to increase efficiencies, to the challenges in recruitment, to the new Orlando VA Medical Center that opened in February 2015 in Lake Nona Medical City. Secretary McDonald reminded us with compelling and emotional videos of veterans that the work he and his department does is crucial to those who served our country. Kudos to the team at the Lake Nona Institute and to all speakers for creating an engaging, stimulating, and informative event. We already look forward to the 2016 Impact Forum!

After 3 days, 29 speeches and panels and hundreds of discussions, the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum drew to a close Friday afternoon.

And from the spirited conversations that continued while many of the 250 nationally-recognized presenters, panelists, thought-leaders and attendees headed homeward, the Forum clearly achieved its goal of exploring ways to unlock innovation to create sustainable healthy communities and advance quality of life for all.

This was done by examining the intersections of wellness, sustainable living, education and other disciplines that – separately or together – are seeking to further advance life science and healthier living. While the topics and the participants were diverse, they all wrestled with the same challenge:

How do we move the needle on health care?

Some of the dialogue focused on new ways technology and medicine can blend to improve healthcare delivery, while others addressed the impact of more-engaged patients on the quality and delivery of care. Others brought to life still-nascent topics – like how to accelerate “personalized medicine” and the potential of traditional and social media to enhance patient engagement – that are sure to advance further in the comings months and years.

As cardiac surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” Mehmet Oz, said during remarks on Friday, “the one piece of advice I have for consumers is to celebrate life.” And with the commitment to innovation in healthcare displayed throughout the three-day Forum, individuals should have even more reasons for celebrating in the future.

Many thanks to presenting sponsor Johnson & Johnson for spearheading the Forum, along with our other sponsors: Cisco, the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, GuideWell, Sharecare, Tavistock Foundation, Nemours, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, UCF College of Medicine, UF Health, Orlando VA Medical Center, Dr. Phillips Charities, Florida Hospital, Garmin, Insurance Office of America, MediFit, Mirati Therapeutics, Orlando Health, PepsiCo, PwC, Technogym, and the United States Tennis Association.

Will the cutting-edge technologies, burgeoning ideas and lively debates from the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum lead to the next generation of innovation in health care?

Stay tuned …

 

The final day of the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum was filled with announcements. The day kicked off with news of the launch of IQ Orlando, a business venture among Tavistock Group, University of Central Florida, AHG Group, and Florida Hospital aimed at recruiting and launching life science companies in the Orlando area. Also announced was a partnership between Lake Nona and wellness builder Delos, which will bring health-focused construction, design practices and other innovations to Lake Nona’s residential and commercial projects. Finally, the Florida Institute of Technology was presented as the latest organization to join the Lake Nona community.

Among the morning’s other highlights, Gloria Caulfield, the Forum’s executive director, discussed the growth rates of chronic disease and the vision of Lake Nona to not only innovate in building a healthier community, but to share that knowledge and design that can improve health across communities nationwide.

Joshua Sharfstein, former secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Hygiene, extended the healthy communities conversation by explaining how technology can help improve population health. But he also addressed a more sobering and common theme throughout the Forum: the cost of health care. He presented data showing that the cost of health care in this country grows independent of the population’s health. With that realization as a backdrop, he noted the innovative strategies employed across Maryland hospitals, such as capping health care expenditures and pegging them to outcomes.

Next, a panel addressed the notion that reshaping health requires reshaping the environment in which people live. Led by Jason McLennan, CEO, International Living Future Institute, the insightful discussion addressed the impact of today’s mostly sedentary, stress-filled, indoor lifestyles negatively impact health. The panelists – including Lou Lenzi, design director, GE Appliances and Michael Roizen, chief wellness officer, Cleveland Clinic – talked about how re-designing our work and life environments can help improve our health.

Arlin Wasserman, partner at Menus of Change, examined how sustainability and improving health are inexplicably linked. Conversely, he noted the opposite, too – by sharing data explaining that the proteins that produce the most greenhouse gases are also the most detrimental to our health over time. He then lead an interesting discussion on how companies like Jamba Juice, PepsiCo and Canyon Ranch have been able to reduce the calorie counts in the food products they offer.

From food, the discourse moved to activity. Tom Farrey, executive director from the Aspen Institute, introduced a session on the importance of instilling a love of activity in children under the age of 12. The panel – featuring a scientist, former professional tennis player and professional soccer coach – provided examples of how activity at a young age, coaching techniques, and other tactics can be applied to motivating activity in children.

The three-day event’s final speaker, the Honorable Robert McDonald, U.S. secretary of Veterans Affairs, gave a comprehensive overview of the benefits and services provided to veterans by the agency. He emphasized the innovative programs and techniques instituted by VA doctors, including implantable cardiac pacemakers, shingles vaccines, nicotine patches, and artificial limbs that operate from signals in the brain. He then looked ahead and spoke of building partnerships like the ones discussed throughout the Forum, all to improve the care and quality of life for veterans.

As the conference drew to a conclusion – wrapping up three days of presentations on new business ventures, new technologies and new strategies in treating cancer and chronic diseases – the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum clearly succeeded in its goal of breaking down barriers and creating ideas that will shape the future of healthcare in our nation.

 

 

Today, Lake Nona announced a new collaboration with Delos, the pioneer of Wellness Real Estate, to bring wellness building and design initiatives to the 7,000-acre Lake Nona community to further enhance healthy living. The first-of-its-kind agreement will bring multiple innovative programs and health-focused construction and design practices onsite across both residential and commercial projects. Lake Nona is one of the first communities to feature Delos’ wellness-infused designs across more than one real estate typology.

“We believe there is a strong appetite for creating healthy environments at Lake Nona,” said Jim Zboril, president of Lake Nona and Tavistock Development Company. “From the physical design of the community to the neighborhood programs, and now with wellness design practices and groundbreaking programs, Lake Nona encourages all aspects of healthy living. Working with Delos, Lake Nona is building unique environments unlike anything else in this marketplace.”

The announcement was made during the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum, where more than 250 of the nation’s foremost CEOs, academics and health care leaders have gathered in Lake Nona Medical City to generate and exchange ideas that inspire new ways to address health care, wellness and sustainability practices in our community.

Delos Founder and CEO Paul Scialla noted, “Lake Nona is at the forefront of healthy living and through our new collaboration, Delos has a unique opportunity to introduce our latest wellness-infused designs and programs across multiple real estate categories and offer members of the community a more complete healthy living experience.”

The first project of the collaboration will be with Lake Nona’s Intelligent Home, which will include healthy living features and amenities, such as advanced air and water purification systems and circadian lighting strategies. Breaking ground later this year with a scheduled opening in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Intelligent Home will serve as a model within the Lake Nona community for emerging technologies, design and health and wellness initiatives.

Delos’ WELL Signature program will also be incorporated into a selection of the residences at Landon House, a 280-unit luxury, urban style apartment building currently under construction in Lake Nona Medical City. The WELL Signature residences at Landon House will include several of Delos’ innovative wellness designs and amenities to improve residents’ quality of air, water, light, nutrition and sleep.

Delos will also implement its innovative hospitality designs in the new dual-branded Marriott hotel through the debut of 34 Stay Well rooms. The first Delos-designed wellness hotel rooms to open in Florida, the Stay Well rooms feature more than 20 evidence-based health and wellness amenities that allow guests to maintain healthy lifestyle practices while on the road. The Stay Well experience features energizing light therapy, advanced water and air purification systems, the Stay Well dawn simulator and LightActive – a self-cleaning, photocatalytic coating applied to high-touch areas throughout the hotel room. Currently under construction in the Lake Nona Town Center, the new Marriott and its 34 Stay Well rooms will open in

In addition to these projects, Lake Nona has committed to pursuing WELL certification for several commercial office buildings.

Lake Nona is setting a new standard for the way in which business and residential communities are being built, focusing on high quality, high technology and innovative development.

Recently acknowledged by FORTUNE Magazine as a model for the next great American city, Lake Nona is one of the fastest growing communities in America attracting more than $2.8 billion in construction across 7.1 million square feet with the development of two new hospitals, three college campuses, a nationally recognized medical research institute, the USTA’s ‘New Home of American Tennis’ and thousands of new homes. Adjacent to the Orlando International Airport, Lake Nona will feature more than five million square feet of commercial space, 2,200 hotel rooms, 30,000 residents and more than 100 shops and restaurants. Focused on sustainable design and healthy living, Lake Nona is recognized by Cisco as the only designated “Iconic Smart + Connected Community” in the U.S. for its integrated gigabit network – one of only nine such communities in the world.

For more information on Lake Nona, please visit lakenona.com.

Central Florida has long been recognized as a top destination for entertainment and hospitality, but the region offers much more. It’s also a burgeoning global center for health care and life sciences. Four pillars of the Central Florida business community are pleased to announce the launch of IQ Orlando, an innovation-focused business partnership concentrated on recruiting and launching life science companies. The University of Central Florida, Tavistock Group, AHG Group, and Florida Hospital will harness their collective strength to provide an ecosystem to grow early and mid-stage companies.

“This is the realization that all four community stakeholders are committed to advancing life science in our community,” said Lars Houmann, President and CEO of Florida Hospital. “United, our efforts will accelerate the process and capitalize on opportunities that could not be achieved alone.”

Goals for IQ Orlando include improving the health of the population, increasing access to care for individuals, and lowering the cost of health care. As part of its mission, IQ Orlando is excited about the potential to partner with companies like SMRxt, a smart sensor and software technology that records, monitors and quantifies the time and dose of patient medication adherence behavior.

“We are evaluating sites across the nation, including Central Florida, in search of strong medical communities and tech hubs for the relocation of our corporate operations and manufacturing headquarters,” said Michael Huffer, CEO of SMRxt. “This region provides rich resources including Lake Nona Medical City, Florida Hospital Health Village, the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center, and the UCF College of Medicine. These assets, accompanied by the collective strength of the IQ Orlando partners, would be excellent sources of support and collaboration for our pioneering medical adherence product.”

IQ Orlando is focused on recruiting and launching both national and international health-focused companies.

“These companies we are investing in are looking for a U.S. base to launch their products and services,” said Alan Ginsberg, CEO, The AHG Group. “They will utilize the IQ Orlando ecosystem to do everything from complete the FDA certification process to develop and advance their marketing capabilities.”

As another resource for companies, IQ Orlando is introducing a Digital Health Lab to provide start-ups with a platform to develop and test new enterprise and consumer applications in smart sensors, health care IT, and the Internet of Things. The Digital Health Lab will offer an integral asset to life science start-ups as technology advances. Life sciences have digitized the human genome, medical diagnostics, the medical record, and is now poised to do even more.

“I believe that what will distinguish IQ Orlando is the benefit of having a living lab so innovators can develop their solutions in concert with consumers,” said Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group, developer of Lake Nona, the 7,000 acre, award-winning, health-inspired community anchored by Lake Nona Medical City, one of the nation’s fastest growing life sciences innovation clusters.

IQ Orlando will harness the collective strengths of its founding partners in order to create an environment rich in real-life, functional health resources for companies.

“The power of partnerships drives virtually all of our successful economic development activities in Central Florida, including Medical City, the Florida High Tech Corridor, and the Florida Advanced Manufacturing Research Center in Osceola County, which will develop the next generation of smart sensors,” UCF President John C. Hitt said. “Through our newest partnership venture, IQ Orlando, we look forward to helping our local and state leaders attract high-tech, well-paying jobs that strengthen our innovation economy.”

This announcement took place during the 2015 Lake Nona Impact Forum, which attracted more than 250 of the nation’s top CEOs, health care innovators and thought leaders to Lake Nona Medical City for three days of collaborative conversation to inspire impactful health innovation.