NEW POTS SUPPORT GROUP MEETING ON JULY 5th in SOUTH FLORIDA

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When you have a disease that is commonly misdiagnosed, difficult to treat, and requires the force of an entire medical team–cardiologists, internists, geneticists, gastroenterologists, etc.–the stress, the hard work, and dealing with the chronic chaos may bring you to one conclusion: You are alone.

But you’re not.

That’s why Santa Maria Medicine is bringing back their monthly support groups for Dysautonomia patients of all kinds. If you have POTS, Gastoparesis, Ehlers-Danlos, Mast Cell–or any other chronic illnesses relating to the dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system–we want to meet you!

Bring a friend, parent, partner, or anyone else in your life who is also affected by your condition so they can chat and get support from other caregivers.

We aim for these meetings to be informative, giving you the latest updates on research and studies. We also discuss different treatment options (medications, therapies) and take time for patients to be able to ask their questions to both the group and Dr. Santa Maria and to get feedback. Though Dr. Santa Maria is humbled and happy to accept new patients to his own practice, he knows that not all POTS patients can make it to his location on a regular basis. So this is a great opportunity to share information, get physician recommendations, collect resources on hospital and school protocols to bring back to your own physician.

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Patient-Support-Group

WHERE: Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Boca Raton, FL. The meeting will be held within the hospital’s Education Center. Direction to the education center can be found here: http://www.brrh.com/Directions.aspx?LinkId=69

WHEN:  The meeting will begin at 10:00AM on Saturday, July 5th, 2014.

WHO: The meeting will be hosted by Dr. Roderick Santa Maria and patient advocate, Ilana Jacqueline.

PLEASE: RSVP before the meeting.

Make sure to RSVP to [email protected] with the following:

Your Name:

Your Phone Number:

How Many People Are Attending:

Your Town/City: 

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The address is:

800 Meadows Road
Boca Raton, FL 33486

(The Education Center is located at the west side of the Hospital. The building is visible from Meadows Road.)

From I-95:
I-95 to Glades Road.
East to NW 13th Street. Turn right.
Turn left at first light, Meadows Road.
The Hospital is directly ahead on the left.
The Education Center is located at the west side of the Hospital.
Turn left into the ‘Emergency In’ driveway.
The Education Center is on the right.

From US-1 (Federal Highway):
US-1 (Federal Highway) to Glades Road.
West to NW 13th Street. Turn left.
Turn left at first light, Meadows Road.
The Hospital is directly ahead on the left.
The Education Center is located at the west side of the Hospital.
Turn left into the ‘Emergency In’ driveway.
The Education Center is on the right.

 

If you get lost, please call or text 561-542-1105 and ask for Ilana.

 

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CHRONIC ILLNESS SUPPORT GROUP AND WORKSHOP TO BE HOSTED BY DR. SANTA MARIA: January 25th, 2014

A new workshop and support group for patients with chronic illnesses will take place at Boca Raton Regional Hospital later this month.

IMG_20120916_183244Boca Raton, Florida., January 08, 2014 –The percentage of U.S. children and adolescents with a chronic health condition has increased from 1.8% in the 1960s to more than 7% in 2004.

When 133 million Americans—nearly 1 in 2 adults—live with at least one chronic illness—we’ve got a problem. That’s why local Boca Raton physician, Dr. Roderick Santa Maria will be hosting a Chronic Illness Support Group and Workshop on Saturday, January 25th 2014 at 11:00AM at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

Rare disease, heart conditions, autoimmune dysfunction, household names like diabetes and arthritis—these diseases affect everyone from young adults to senior citizens. Learning to advocate for yourself as a patient, educate yourself about new medications and treatments, and managing school work or career from home can seem impossible and the isolation that those with chronic illness often suffer takes them away from the healing nature of support and community.

This support group and workshop will cover topics like

  • What can you do to advocate for yourself as a patient?
  • How can you effectively organize and utilize your medical records to prevent misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments?
  • How can you get the most out of your doctor’s visit?
  • What are the economic cause and effects of chronic illness mismanagement in today’s health care system?
  • How active and well under control is my disease—and how often should I be seeing my doctor to manage it competently?

With support from patient advocate, Ilana Jacqueline, Dr. Santa Maria will provide tips, advice and resources for patients ages 55 and under.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to discuss how they handle making medical decisions and who they decide to lean on for support. Patients will also be able to share their own advice, tips and recommendations during the meeting.

The meeting is free and open to all including students, doctors, nurses, patients and their families and friends. It will be simulcast live online. Patients unable to make it in person can attend the meeting and ask questions by registering for the event online (here) or through Dr. Santa Maria’s website (www.santamariamedicine.com.)

About Dr. Santa Maria

Dr. Roderick Santa Maria is a concierge physician working in Boca Raton, FL. He works with all types of patients and specializes in chelation therapy, cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, nutrition, weight control, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome and chronic illness management. Learn more about his practice at www.santamariamedicine.com.

Dr. Santa Maria and staff are located at 801 Meadows Rd Suite 121 Boca Raton, FL 33486.

You can reach them during business hours at 561-338-0737.

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PRESS CONTACT: Ilana Jacqueline

Phone: 561-542-1105

Dysautonomia/POTS Support Group & Webinar, South Florida, Dec. 7th, 2013

Boca Raton Regional HospitalDr. Santa Maria will be hosting a Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)/ Dysautonomia support group for all patients and their caregivers. This event will have an in-person meeting at The Boca Raton Regional Hospital–as well as an online component that homebound or out-of-state patients can access.

It’s so important that patients with rare diseases like POTS/Dysautonomia have the chance to connect and share resources in a supportive setting. Come and meet other patients to discuss therapies, treatment, life and disease related issues.

CONTENT: This meeting will focus on advanced patient questions. Please refer to our previous webinar recording for basic POTS/Dysautonomia questions.

Our next meeting is Saturday, December 7th  from 10:00AM- Noon at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Education Center.

Directions to the center can be found here. 

Please RSVP by email to [email protected].

Please check back in the coming week for a link to register for the online component of the webinar. This will also be announced on Facebook through the Florida/Dysautonomia Support Group. 

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Past Events:

Dr. Santa Maria to Host Free Live Webinar on Dysautonomia, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

On October 3, 2013

POTS

Boca Raton based internist, Dr. Roderick Santa Maria will assist patients during a live webinar on October 30th, 2013. He’ll address questions and concerns about the often misunderstood autonomic nervous system disease, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (Dysautonomia.)

Patients worldwide are invited to attend the hour-long webinar to ask questions and learn more information about the disease. The session will focus on answering audience questions. The first half-hour will focus on pre-sent queries which patients can send to the email [email protected].  Viewers will also be able to ask questions live in a chatroom during the talk to be answered during the second half of the webinar.

To register for the webinar please visit: http://www.anymeeting.com/PIID=E959DB82884A3C

 

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September 14th, 2013. 10:00 AM, Boca Raton, FL.

Support_GroupDr. Santa Maria will be hosting a Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS)/ Dysautonomia support group for all patients and their caregivers.

It’s so important that patients with rare diseases like POTS/Dysautonomia have the chance to connect and share resources in a supportive setting. Come and meet other patients to discuss therapies, treatment, life and disease related issues.

Our next meeting is Saturday, September 14th  from 10:00AM- Noon at Boca Raton Regional Hospital’s Education Center.

Directions to the center can be found here. 

Please RSVP by email to [email protected].

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