GL Homes hosted Youth Haven resident Johane Saintil on a shopping spree at Walmart in Naples to prepare her for college life. She recently graduated from Lorenzo Walker Technical High School and will soon be a freshman at Florida International University in Miami.
In less than two hours several shopping carts were filled with college dorm essentials including sheets, towels, laundry basket, room fan and dorm fridge.
Arriving as a homeless teen, Saintil became a resident Rob’s Cottage, Youth Haven’s Transitional Living Cottage that offers a safe and caring environment, a place to sleep, and access to intensive case management, educational support, nutritious meals, and medical and mental health services. Youth Haven’s Homeless Teen Transitional Living program focuses on high school graduation, job readiness, preparing for higher education and strengthening community connections.
GL Homes Good Night’s Sleep initiative provides all furnishing to make a house a home. It’s essential for people transitioning from homelessness to a place of their own to have the necessary creature comforts.
Youth Haven provides home, hope and healing to abused, neglected and homeless children and teens, ages 6 – 20, in Southwest Florida. Its 18.5-acre therapeutic campus in Naples, offers the only emergency shelter in Collier County for youth removed from their homes.
Lee Health appoints Reema Narang as chief strategy and innovation officer
Lee Health has selected Reema Narang to serve as the new chief strategy and innovation officer. With more than two decades in healthcare leadership, Narang’s experience spans across large health systems.
Narang will lead strategic planning initiatives aimed at identifying and analyzing industry trends and business models to enhance patient health and healthcare delivery. She will focus on developing strategies to elevate patient experiences while reducing the total cost of care. Additionally, Narang will work to define transformative payer strategies, aligning human, financial, and technological resources to drive innovation investments and ensure business agility.
Narang joins Lee Health from Advocate Health in Chicago, Illinois, where she was the senior vice president for strategic growth and transformation. Narang also served as the administrative officer for value based care at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.
“We are thrilled to welcome Reema Narang to our leadership team,” said Larry Antonucci, M.D., president and chief exgarecutive officer of Lee Health. “Her remarkable track record and commitment to innovation will undoubtedly strengthen Lee Health’s position as a healthcare leader in the Southwest Florida region and beyond. With her proven ability to drive strategic initiatives and foster a culture of excellence, I am confident that Reema will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery at Lee Health, ultimately benefiting our patients and the communities we serve.”
Narang earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from New Delhi, India and her Masters of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut. She also holds an executive certificate in Health Care Value from the Harvard Business School.
Protect beach-nesting birds from fireworks this Fourth
Celebratory fireworks can literally frighten birds to death.
Although beachside fireworks shows are entertaining to people, the bursts of color and noise wreak havoc on coastal birds—especially for nesting species.
Debris left from the fireworks litter our beaches and near-shore waters and can be easily mistaken for food by sea turtles and other marine animals. Hungry chicks nibble on plastic refuse, even ingesting some of the smallest pieces.
Audubon Florida urges Floridians and visitors to let the birds nest in peace by not deploying personal fireworks on the beach.
To make our beaches safer for birds:
- Give nesting birds at least 100 feet of distance or as much as possible. Signs or people will alert you to these areas, but some birds haven’t settled down to start nesting yet and may just look like they are resting in the sand. Please avoid walking through flocks of birds on the upper beach.
- If pets are permitted on beaches, keep them leashed and well away from birds.
- Remove trash and food scraps, which attract predators that will also eat birds’ eggs and/or chicks.
- Do not drive on beach dunes or other nesting areas.
- Attend a municipal fireworks show instead of deploying personal fireworks.
- Be alert: if a bird dive-bombs you, you have gotten too close.
Learn more at fl.audubon.org.
More: Now You Know: Wonder Gardens, the next phase
And: Now You Know: Estero’s response to FEMA, Sunshine Ace block party; Bonita’s Fourth plans