West Orlando Welcomes New CAC Medical Center

Building on its success with the adoption of a comprehensive approach to medical care, CAC-Florida Medical Centers officially opened a new multi-million facility – Pine Hills Medical Center – in West Orlando on Wednesday.

With much fanfare, political, business and community leaders cut the ribbon on the 7,000-sq.ft. full-service, multi-speciality medical center, that will initially serve some 1,500 – 1,800 Medicare members, but has the potential to serve 4,000 patients with expanded capacity.

CAC-Florida chief executive officer, Mark Kent explained that, the CAC model is a holistic one which provides outpatient medical care, including primary and speciality care.

“The CAC model started in Cuba and was implemented in Miami-Dade in 1964,” Kent said. “It is a holistic model. Everything is under one roof and all services and all care are provided in one stop.”

Kent said that currently, the delivery of health care is extremely fragmented, based on a fee for service model. In contrast, the CAC model provides a range of speciality services including cardiology, gynecology and podiatry, along with an array of comprehensive services to include treatment for diabetes, optical and medication dispensing, among others.

As with all CAC medical centers, the Pine Hills Medical Center is complete with an adjacent wellness area that provides a social and educational hub, offering group activities and seminars that focus on wellness, healthy aging and lifestyle enrichment, as well as games that stimulate the body and mind.

Anchoring the festive occasion, which included tours of the new Pine Hills Medical Center, as well as live steel band music and refreshments, was a presentation by Bert Valdes, CAC-Florida chief operating officer.

“We believe that health is not just physical, it’s mental, it’s spiritual,” he said, underscoring the wellness and activities dimension. “Folks in their late years prefer not to be alone…. and this is a place for them to spend the day with people just like them.”

Valdes said the medical center has buses that would transport patients to and from the medical center. “We are a lot more than health care – we are a place to come, spend the day, join the activities at the wellness center and stay physically active and fit,” he said.

The new Pine Hills Medical Center, located at 5235 W. Colonial Drive, in Orlando,  is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but this could be expanded depending on the needs of the community.

Currently, the center employs 12 associates, but with anticipated growth in enrollment this would rise to more than 40 persons.

Valdes explained that CAC is in for the long haul and physicians are available 24 hours a day.

“It’s our turn to get involved with the community and understand what the community’s needs are,” he said. “I will promise you this – every patient is important and no matter where you come from and what age you are, when you walk through those doors you are going to feel at home.”

David Soto, one of the first patients of the center praised the holistic and personal approach that the CAC model exemplifies.

Recently relocated from Tampa, Soto said he walked into the Pine Hills CAC-Florida Medical Center and within three days had seen various specialists, including receiving optical services. He said his medication was brought to his home, something which had never happened before.

“This (center) is good for the community and it’s an excellent facility,” he said.

Among the 150 people present at today’s grand opening included, Susan Fernandez, Regional Director for U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL); City of Maitland Councilman Ivan Valdes; Julius Melendez, vice chair of the Osceola School Board and candidate for the Florida Senate; Kissimmee Vice Mayor Art Otero and assistants Carol Clark and Emmanuel Torres, representing Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

The Pine Hills CAC-Florida Medical Center is the second full-service, multi-specialty medical center to open in the Orlando area within the past month.  The other center is located at 3183 W. Vine Street in Kissimmee.