F1-PGA Village Magazine-Vol.560

Esteban Mendez Service Manager

PGA VILLAGE

Please Vote By: February 14th

ere are 3 out of 5 seats up for election on PGA Village’s 2023 Master Board of Directors, i.e. the Board of Directors for the PGA Village Property Owners Association.

Four of the candidates in the race — Matthew Boyd, Susan Asquino, Monica Daly, and Sharon Andre — are active leaders in PGA Village who are interested in becoming even more involved in not only maintaining the community’s already-impressive reputation, but also enhancing it even further.

MATTHEW BOYD

A resident of PGA Village since 2013, Matthew Boyd genuinely loves the diverse, familyfriendly community, referring to it as being “like a utopia.” Naturally, then, a er he learned of numerous negative comments being made about PGA Village on the Nextdoor app, Matthew decided he had to “try to bring people together” and o er “neutrality” by running for a position on the Master Board.

With over 32 years of experience in law enforcement, Matthew de nitely knows what it takes to bring strength and compromise to the discussion table. He served the MiamiDade Police Department for 24 years, rose to the rank of Police Major, and was then asked to become the rst Police Chief for the city of Miami Gardens. In that position from 20062014, Matthew built the city’s police department from the ground up, working with a sta of 230+ individuals and an operating budget of $32 million. Later, he volunteered on PGA Village’s Safety Committee. He is rm, fair, and consistent— the ideal mediator.

Currently, Matthew is the part owner of GT Fitness Gym in Stuart, and serves on the Compliance Committee for PGA Village. For more information, contact Matthew Boyd at mbhb3431@yahoo.com.

SUSAN ASQUINO

e current Co-Chair of PGA Village’s Finance Committee, Susan Asquino has assisted with the community’s budget preparation over the past year. Indeed, her 38 years of experience in corporate nance have equipped her with invaluable budgeting, forecasting, cost reducing, revenue generating, and nancial reporting skills.

Since becoming a PGA Village resident in 2019, Susan has seen the extensive amount of development occurring in the area, and feels that the biggest challenges for the community are “some of our infrastructure issues and some of the costs that we’re going to be faced with in the future.” With her nancial expertise, however, Susan believes that she can help by ensuring “all of our reporting is accurate on an ongoing basis.” Additionally, if elected, she hopes to “look at all of the contracts we have, and the relationships with vendors, to see if there are any opportunities to save.” She concludes, “I want what’s best for the community at large, and I think we need to have a forward looking vision to make sure that the community stays attractive to potential buyers in the future.” For more information, contact Susan Asquino at smasquino@yahoo.com.

CANDIDATES MASTER BOARD

Please Vote By: February 14th

e PGA Village POA has sent out the Master Board election ballots, along with the candidates’ resumés and contact information, via mail and e-mail. e deadline to vote is Tuesday, February 14th!

You can send your votes in to be counted either by submitting them electronically or by dropping o your print ballot at the Island Club or the POA O ce.

A mother of 5 children, not to mention a grandmother of 11 grandchildren, Monica Daly has decades of experience in con ict management. Of course, Monica’s 23 years of working as Program Manager in the O ce of e Surgeon General for the U.S. Army, plus 10 years of experience as a teacher for various education levels, also taught her a thing or two about leadership.

A full-time PGA Village resident since 2014, Monica was selected in March to ll the director position on the 2022 Master Board a er the previous person resigned. At rst, she was told she wasn’t quali ed. But, Monica isn’t one to back down, so she pushed forward, knowing she could help her neighbors, until her merits were recognized.

Monica has served on the Lakes/Reserve Committee for 8 consecutive years and is a member of the Noise Abatememt and Garden Clubs. She also started the monthly Champion’s Way Soiree for residents to socialize with one another. “I will bring my knowledge of the community,” Monica states, “and my camaraderie.” If elected, she hopes to create more opportunities for residents to connect with one another in the community. For more information, contact Monica Daly at monica.daly@yahoo.com.

MONICA DALY SHARON ANDRE

e de nition of a “team player,” Sharon Andre has a reputation for stepping in to save the day. A er 43 years of working as a Registered Nurse, she retired in 2020 only to return to the profession less than a year later to help with COVID relief e orts. In addition, Sharon has been volunteering for PGA Village since 2020, when she was rst appointed to the Finance Committee and then, later, named the Director of Collections. In this role, she developed a collections report for the Master Board that continues to be utilized to this day.

Sharon currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee, and she was appointed to the Strategic Planning Committee. She is running for PGA Village’s Master Board because she wants to continue to “serve and contribute in a meaningful way to this community.” Her vision, if elected, is to focus on the competitive advantage of PGA Village’s natural beauty, and “secure this competitive advantage through strategic planning, scal responsibility, and proper resource allocation.” She also hopes to “continue to nurture and grow relationships with agencies and o cials.” For more information, contact Sharon Andre at spandre@aol.com.

www.HealthySmilesPSL.com

Meet the doctor Jacques Benchimol DDS. A er receiving his undergraduate degree from Boston University, he earned his dental degree from Tu s University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, where he graduated magna cum laude. University School of Dental Medicine in Boston.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW

By Gabby Gregory

Every 5,000 miles, like clockwork, you take your car to get its oil changed and tires rotated. It’s basic, routine maintenance, but that consistent attention and upkeep is vital for your vehicle to run e ciently, especially over a number of years. Your body, much like your vehicle, requires regular care and treatment to keep it healthy. And, again like your automobile, your body needs support from someone other than yourself, a professional who can guide it to achieving its utmost abilities and to retaining its peak performance.

Getting older, playing sports, or having a condition like sciatica or arthritis shouldn’t hold you back from living your life! You can feel like your younger self again, the one who didn’t feel any aches or pains when walking, running, jumping, or even sitting… all you have to do is visit Stretch Zone.

Drew Brees, former quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, is the newest partner at Stretch Zone who advocates for people to regularly get stretched. A er personally going to Stretch Zone for an assisted stretching session, Drew was impressed with the uniquely e ective and nationally accredited Stretch Zone Method®, which is administered by a highly-trained and Stretch Zone-certi ed stretch practitioner.

Here’s How It Works:

1.) Your rst session begins with lling out an intake form and having a consultation with your experienced and knowledgeable stretch practitioner. Based on your medical background and your personal goals, the stretch practitioner will personalize the ensuing 30-minute assisted stretching session to meet your individual needs. On subsequent visits, you’ll simply do a check-in with the practitioner to update your medical pro le with any recent changes and/or any new pain or discomfort that you might be experiencing.

2.) e

stretch practitioner initiates the rst steps of the approved Stretch Zone Method®, utilizing Stretch Zone’s special patented

straps to encourage your body to relax and ease into the stretches. You won’t nd these straps anywhere else! Comparable to a thunder jacket for your pets, they are meant to calm your mind so that your entire body is perfectly loose, thus allowing the stretch practitioner to stretch your body to its full potential and, as a result, provide you with both preventative maintenance and pain relief.

3.) Assisted stretching (a/k/a passive stretching) is di erent from physical therapy in that your body is being stretched by someone else, you’re not actually doing any work. roughout your 30-minute session, the stretch practitioner will be steadily interacting one-on-one with you, ensuring that you are completely comfortable and not experiencing any pain. Ultimately, you are in control of the stretch, even as your practitioner guides your body through each and every step, because you tell the practitioner when you feel your best stretching position. e more you communicate, the better results you’re going to get!

Take advantage of Stretch Zone’s incredible New Year Special: get one FREE 30-minute stretching session! Anybody and everybody can and should be stretched. In fact, one Stretch Practitioner I spoke with at Stretch Zone says, “98% of the people I see in front of me really need to be stretched. is is something you should not live without.” Remember, it’s just like getting your oil changed! Plus, celebrities and professional athletes have been getting stretched for years, so it’s time for the general population to be clued into the secret!

Get Stretch Zone’s New Year Special for yourself or get them for a friend or loved one… what better way to say you care than to give the gi of making life easier, of feeling healthier, lighter, and younger, and of feeling like yourself again?

What’s on your resolutions list? Do you want to:

✓ 3 HAVE MORE ENERGY TO DO ALL OF THE THINGS YOU LOVE?

✓ IMPROVE YOUR GOLF GAME, TENNIS SKILLS OR OTHER SPORTS PERFORMANCE?

✓ MANAGE TENSION AND STRESS MORE EFFECTIVELY?

✓ EASE FRUSTRATING MUSCLE ACHES AND PAINS?

✓ INCREASE YOUR OVERALL HEALTH AND WELLNESS?

For What It’s Worth by Dr. Melfi, Ph.D.

I’ve received quite a few responses to last weeks column about the di culty of getting an appointment to see a physician now that the local hospital has its hands in scheduling at a central station. In my opinion it is cold, unfriendly, and seems to lack empathy of those who eld the calls, but perhaps there’s nothing they can do about it, and perhaps those receptionists are sick and tired of hearing how a sick patient needs to be seen sooner. ere can be blame all around, or perhaps nowhere, maybe it’s just the sign of the times. I do not know of any physicians who are uncaring, although some may be, but I do know that I have heard talk of some of them dissatis ed with the way things are working, so frustration everywhere.

If I ran the medical facilities, I’d have a few ideas to toss around. For one, I think it’s silly to give a prescription to patients who are leaving the emergency room. If these people were healthy enough to get around, they wouldn’t be spending hours waiting to be seen in an ER. In hospitals I have worked in, in other states, and in other decades, there

was an all night pharmacy in the facility that could ll the prescriptions right then and there. I mean, I know there are pharmacies associated with our hospitals…that is how inpatients get there medications. Why not help out a few patients who have no one to go to the drug store for them? at would ease their minds, and allow them to focus on getting well.

e next thing I would be thinking about is the need for more convenient urgent care centers in neighborhoods.

ere is one in Jensen, one in Palm City and one in Stuart, o the highway, but there are an enormous number of senior citizens who either can’t drive on the highways, shouldn’t be driving on the highways, or are too sick to get themselves help. If not, then how about a hospital owned transport company, not ambulances, who can take sick people to facilities that will treat them on the spot, instead of having them stand in a virtual line for months waiting to be seen. By then, they’ve either gotten better, or unfortunately, much worse. In case the higher-ups haven’t factored in the need to assist people, especially the elderly,

widowed and alone, who o en can’t or won’t call an Uber. e elderly are worried about their safety, getting into a car with a complete stranger, and I don’t blame them.

I don’t know how these issues can be addressed, how much money it would take, who could pay for these bene ts, and if anyone even cares to try to rectify our medical situation, but if anyone much more intelligent than I am could tackle these problems, please let us all know.

For What it’s Worth, no one feels more alone than someone who is sick, and no one has a worse doctor than themselves when they attempt to selfmedicate for lack of bona de, quali ed, timely, medical attention.

Nader Anthony - Lic# P002749

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The FDA approved Aduhelm in 2021 under accelerated approval. First approved June 7, 2021. A subsequent, poorly-explained controversy eventually resulted in MEDICARE to withdraw coverage for the drug. The company decided to support patients, and as of today, has active participation to help individual patients to obtain the treatment via a company support program.

As a result of Medicare not paying for the treatment, many providers stopped administering the drug in their office. Our office had difficulty finding a provider who would administer the drug intravenously.

After some thinking and brainstorming with my staff, I decided to start this I.V. service in our office at 100 US Hwy. 1, Suite 120, Vero Beach.

We are a cash-based practice and do not accept insurance. This is because of the prohibitive overhead billing from the insurance companies. So, we make it the patient’s responsibility to obtain the Aduhelm. We assist in this process, and Biogen has a PATH Enrollment (Patient Assistance Program) for financial assistance. The intravenous medications arrive in our office ready to go. We do charge for our expenses and for the services we render. We think our pricing is more than reasonable. My goal as a physician is to help patients who so desire to get access to the first rational therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.

Please read the FDA approval... Link: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fdas-decision-approve-new-treatment-alzheimers-disease

By Gabby Gregory

medical MARIJUANA Is

just more…FAKENEWS?

Bynow, you’ve likely heard the almost miracle-like anecdotes from “patients” on the news about medical marijuana as it becomes more mainstream. When I hear these stories, I have to wonder: are they legitimate? I had to know the TRUTH, so I arranged to sit down with Dr. Anne Lynn Morgan, the Chief Medical Of cer at MMJ Health, Florida’s top-rated medical marijuana doctor’s of ce.

Many people don’t know that medical marijuana is legal in Florida, let alone readily available at over 250 in-state dispensaries (imagine a pharmacy speci cally for medical marijuana). For years, pop culture has depicted marijuana primarily as a recreational drug, but there’s more to the plant than what’s shown on the silver screen. Since its legalization, medical marijuana’s profound effects have changed the lives of countless Floridians. Dr. Morgan, as Florida’s top rated Medical Marijuana Specialist, is responsible for much of this positive impact. Indeed, she and the staff at MMJ Health were honored to be named by The Palm Beach Post as the “Best Medical Marijuana Card Provider” for their level of service and ef cacy in 2020!

Additionally, Dr. Morgan is an expert in the eld of medical marijuana, and is among one of the most respected clinicians in the industry. She sits on the board of directors for the American Academy of Cannabis Medicine, is a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, and is considered to be one of the industry’s highest-rated cannabis clinicians (no pun intended). Dr. Morgan has been in practice for 33 years and was the former Medical Director for United Health, Metropolitan Health, and Humana.

Dr. Morgan has been practicing marijuana medicine speci cally for the last 9 years, with licenses in Florida, Washington, and Pennsylvania. After years of education, research, and hands-on experience, Dr. Morgan attests to the relief medical marijuana brings to people, saying, “We have found that we have over a 90% success rate with medical cannabis.”

Dr. Morgan explains that medical marijuana patients at MMJ Health, rather than experiencing psychoactive effects or feeling high, nd relief from various medical conditions, including anxiety, depression, insomnia, arthritis, cancer, IBS, epilepsy, PTSD, autoimmune disorders, migraines, Parkinson’s, ADHD, Fibromyalgia, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and more. Medical marijuana is not for getting high, it’s for feeling better! How does it work? It’s simple –THC and CBD.

THC and CBD are two chemical compounds that come from the marijuana plant and affect the endocannabinoid system, the human body’s natural system for processing cannabis. “The endocannabinoid system’s reason for existing is to keep our bodies in homeostasis, i.e. healthy and balanced. Cannabis can positively affect so many systems in the body that are not being managed properly by pharmaceuticals,” says Dr. Morgan. Many of MMJ’s patients, since using medical cannabis, have been able to drastically reduce their prescription medication regimen, or have stopped taking prescriptions altogether!

Marijuana is still classi ed as a Schedule 1 substance federally, but Dr. Morgan explains, “It’s not what you think… Medical marijuana is not a narcotic. In fact, after using medical marijuana, many of our patients have reduced taking narcotics and/or opiates without even being asked!”

Medical marijuana is not like anything sold on the street... it’s completely safe! When you get your marijuana from a dispensary, you don’t have to worry about whether it was adulterated. Dr. Morgan clari es, “Florida has very stringent rules about how medical marijuana is grown and prepared, so you know it’s clean, pesticide-free, and has no bacteria or viruses.”

Medical marijuana has become a go-to for doctors across the nation to give their patients relief from a myriad of conditions without having to worry about the severe side effects associated with many pharmaceuticals. For the patients at MMJ Health, medical marijuana is 100% making a difference in their everyday lives. The stories are real. Dr. Morgan says that it is not uncommon for patients to cry, hug, and thank her because they are feeling better than ever since using medical cannabis. Dr. Morgan has seen the results, and she urges anyone and everyone to consider trying medical marijuana.

MMJ Health is at the forefront of technology, so nding out if you qualify for a medical marijuana card is super simple! The MMJ Patient Quali cation System, accessible at www.mmjhealth.com, allows you to nd out in minutes whether you qualify. If you do, then the MMJ Health of ce will contact you. MMJ Health has all of the resources necessary to get your health back on track!

So the real question now is: why wait? MMJ Health is the only all-inclusive medical marijuana of ce in Florida, so you can get quali ed for your medical marijuana card in one visit. The friendly and knowledgeable staff will ll out the tricky government application for you, take your ID photo in their of ce, and submit all of your paperwork to the Florida Health Department. The only thing you have to do once you leave their of ce is wait for your card!

“You shouldn’t have to suffer… medical cannabis can help you! We are real doctors who provide real results,” says Dr. Morgan. The expert staff at MMJ Health encourages you to “Please come and see the MMJ Health difference. We care, we make a difference as a team, and we know our cannabis medicine. Isn’t it time to live your life the way you want, symptom and side-effect free?”

MMJ Health is located at 600 Sandtree Drive in Suite 108 in Palm Beach Gardens. MMJ Health also has locations in West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Melbourne, Wellington, Boynton Beach, and Boca Raton. Their of ces are open Mondays-Fridays from 9AM-7PM and Saturdays-Sundays from 10AM-7PM. For more information, please call 561-631-7994 or 772-212-4032, or visit www.mmjhealth.com.