In the United States, there are approximately 3.7 full-time teachers, K-12. (National Center for Education Statistics)

Teachers spend nine to ten months of the year with the nation’s children.

Today’s universities prepare teachers by advocating that they will become in loco parentis—Latin for “in the place of a parent.” Originally, the adoption of this concept began in Manchester, England 1855 at the Cheadle Hulme School begun for the welfare of orphans.

A teacher then is “to parent children with both love and discipline.”

Charlie Santos is such a teacher. Employed by Martin County Schools for ten years, he teaches history at Jensen Beach High School.

Each day Charlie Santos does not just teach a history lesson: he prepares, expresses passion for his field of expertise and remains aware of student needs.

He has identified students in the midst of difficulties—divorce, death, depression, anxiety and has shown them that it is important to talk about what’s going on, even receive help. Students trust teachers who care.

Charlie Santos is the son of Portuguese immigrants. The family arrived in the 1960s escaping a political dictatorship and an economic ceiling. Santos followed his mother (a 30 year Spanish teacher) into the field of education. Fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, Santos also speaks some French and Italian; he adds that language fluency aids in the study of history. Santos states that teaching is his calling.

Hailing from Port Jefferson, New York, Charlie Santos and his wife, Laura, moved to Florida to begin a family and live out the American dream. Today they are the parents of two boys, Daniel, age 8 and Michael, age 4. Laura is a stay-at-home mom. The family has resided in St. Lucie County since 2004.

Each year Charlie Santos has been a part of the fabric of a school which has risen in ranking not just in Florida but also within the United States. JBHS was ranked one of the top 500 high schools in the nation 2011 by Newsweek’s study “America’s Best High Schools,” and was placed in the top 15 in 2011 by the International Center for Leadership in Education.

Good schools are the result of great teachers and parents who are interested in seeing their children succeed.

Success upon student graduation is not just academic, nor is it just athletic. Success upon high school graduation means being prepared for the next step in life, whether it is the work force, the military, parenthood, or entrance to a university.

Charlie Santos desires to evoke the greatest change in education. This August he is running for a seat on the School Board of St. Lucie County. Santos states that not one board member is a teacher. “What’s lacking is someone who is and has been in the classroom implementing educational policy, and knowing what works, and what doesn’t.”

As a parent and a caring teacher, he is concerned about the children in his neighborhood.

He would like to see St. Lucie County schools become the envy of others and people move to Florida because of the high level of education available in the State.

He knows from experience that mentorship will be what will make the difference in children’s lives. Charlie Santos is a Hometown Hero –an educator who cares enough to walk alongside students and parents, in good times and bad.

HAVE A HERO TIP? Hometown Heroes are in every town and city. They are regular people who have made a positive difference in their community, impacting others for the better. Send your Hometown Hero tip to Kelly Jadon kfjadon@gmail.com or find her online at kellyjadon.com.

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Urgent Care Centers are expected to increase and fill the patient needs gap as primary care doctor shortage grows during the next 10 years, according to Kenneth Palestrant, former Member of Board of Directors, Urgent Care Association of America.

The slumping economy has effected hospitals, many of which are closing, leaving existing overcrowded emergency rooms. Except for the very ill (a heart attack) or a car accident victim, the ER is inefficient and costly for acute care needs.

This has given rise to a boom of urgent care clinics across the country.

Dr. Kenneth Palestrant, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Urgent Care Association of America, states that about 11 years ago there were 3,000 to 4,000 urgent care centers nationally. Today there are 9,000. That number is expected to increase.

Drivers behind the industry's expansion are access to care which will increase under the Affordable Care Act. There appear to be large investment groups pouring money in to urgent care centers, consolidating them into networks. Also, many hospitals are also buying existing centers and funding their own urgent care centers.

During the next five to ten years it is expected that more of the regular care of patients will flow into urgent care centers, now primarily functioning as acute care clinics.

Urgent care centers or clinics provide patients with easy access, rather than waiting in hours' long lines at the emergency room. They also provide affordable pricing and a welcoming comfortable environment. Unlike primary care offices, an urgent care clinic provides on location evaluations, blood draws for lab testing, EKGs, stitches, and X-rays.

Dr. Palestrant has spent more than 30 years in the field of emergency medicine and directs five urgent care clinics where he employs 80 people on the Treasure Coast of South Florida. He says that his clinics can handle most general and urgent medical problems--abdominal pain, chest pain, etc.. They also contract with specific companies for occupational medicine and workman's comp needs. Complicated medical cases are referred out to specialists in the area.

The number of primary care doctors is declining. This shortage has been ongoing, but will worsen over the next few years. Almost half the nation’s 830,000 physicians are over age 50, and they are retiring early.

Also, approximately 30 million new enrollees will become part of the new health system under the Affordable Care Act.

Patient waiting time to see a physician will increase. Dr. Palestrant states that already his offices, Physicians Immediate Care, see approximately 20% of patients for primary care. As the Affordable Care Act comes in, he sees more urgent care centers hiring nurse-practitioners and physician-assistants to pick up the gap in primary care.

BackLook: Dr. Palestrant began his medical career at age 19 as an orderly in the emergency room. Later he became a paramedic, and an emergency room nurse. It felt natural to him to continue in the emergency room as a physician.

During his time as the head of St. Lucie Medical Center’s emergency department, a young girl was brought in. She was only two years old and had been pulled out of a swimming pool. Dr. Palestrant was on duty and remembers that day well. The child was his own daughter. He himself was called to take care of her.

Since that time, his daughter has grown into a lovely young woman and is now a certified scuba diver.

Dr. Palestrant is indeed a Hometown Hero—a caring physician, he has saved lives, helped those in his own community and provided local employment.

Physicians Immediate Care clinics are located in Jensen Beach, Port St. Lucie, St. Lucie West, and Fort Pierce.

St. Lucie West clinic-Physicians Immediate Care.jpg

Dr. Kenneth Palestrant is a former Member of the Board of Directors for the Urgent Care Association of America, the Founder and Medical Director of Physicians Immediate Care. He is also the former Medical Director of Air Ambulance Company and the Former Director of the St. Lucie Medical Center Emergency Department.

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