While many people remember a cash-centered square with tables and tents offering mostly fruits, vegetables, and potted plants, innovations have transformed the farmers market into a laboratory for the entrepreneurially minded. There are many advantages to beginning a small business at the local market, such as low cost, reduced risk, and immediate customer feedback.

Historically, the farmers market provided a place for customers to bypass the supermarket and trade cash to farmers for fresh produce. Though items like lettuce, eggplant, and watermelons can still be found in stalls, there are also artisans, home cottages, and crafts, providing a range of goods, from baked goods and homemade sauces to woodworking and other unique art. 

Thanks to mobile payment vendors, such as Square, Shopify, and PayPal, etc., providing non-cash payment options, new business owners starting out can provide a means of using credit/debit to sell goods without the need for a retail space. For budding entrepreneurs looking to test the viability of their products, farmers markets and local festivals are the logical first step.

Bill Davenport, a retired U.S. Navy chief, has written three books providing tips and guidance for those wanting to be a vendor at a farmers market or even launch their own market. Davenport runs Anchored Market Ventures out of Panama City, where his company organizes four full-time farmers markets and seven specialty markets that pop up once a year in the area, including three at Aaron Bessant Park in Panama City Beach.

Each year, Davenport works with almost 700 vendors at the markets he organizes. That number has been pretty stable the past couple years after spiking up to around 1,100 vendors in 2020 and 2021.

“Right around COVID,” Davenport says, “we saw a significant increase. Folks were avoiding brick-and-mortar businesses. More people were remotely working from home, so they were looking for other ways to supplement their income.”

Davenport says the low barrier to entry is one of the biggest attractions to starting a business at a farmers market, which can usually be set up for approximately $100 the first week, then around $40 a week afterward, which is significantly lower than renting a retail space with a fixed cost and overhead with a combined total into the thousands, depending on location.

“It’s a great way to fine-tune your products and your business before taking that next step to go brick and mortar,” Davenport says. “It’s also a great way to get instant feedback because you are on a very personal level with your customer base, getting face-to-face interaction week in and week out.” That feedback allows owners to fine-tune their businesses in real time rather than waiting for customers to leave comments on social media, he adds.

The biggest mistake Davenport has seen vendors make in starting their business at a farmers market is coming to the table with a hobbyist mindset, explaining, “Some start out thinking this is a hobby, with a ‘I’m good at it’ and ‘I like doing it’ mentality but still treating it as a hobby.” When vendors take this approach, he feels they set themselves up for failure.

Davenport says ultimately, “It is a business. You have to track your financials, your expenditures, your income,” and that mentality is key. Successful owners are meticulous with product tracking.

A strong believer in the farmers market concept, Davenport wants his markets to offer an outlet for locals to expand their hobbies and get their small businesses off the ground. “If folks are making it and it’s local,” Davenport says, “then at the end of the day, we are putting money back into the local economy.”

One of the annual markets that Davenport organizes is the Panama City Beach Fall Festival & Market, now in its third year. In 2024, the farmers market section of the festival featured 60 vendors, 8 food trucks, and 27 business booths.

According to Kylie Coffey, special events coordinator for the Panama City Beach Parks & Recreation Department, attendance for the event has been growing each year, and they expect up to 1,200 people this fall, depending on the weather.

For Coffey, the big attraction centers around anything and everything fall-related “because we just don’t get enough fall in Florida,” adding that the pumpkins are a big draw for her and many of the customers attending the market.

The annual market takes place in September and is free to the public.

3rd PLANET BREWING

Ten years ago, Tim McCool put his head together with homebrewer and fellow Air Force veteran Jason Doster to bring to Niceville its first microbrewery with the goal of creating quality beer and a new community hub.

As a nod to Doster’s youthful aspiration of becoming an astronaut, the pair dubbed their brand 3rd Planet Brewing. Their original nine, out-of-this-world beer varieties—Dank Side of the Moon, the popular aromatic, hoppy and malty New England-style IPA, for instance—quickly took off, prompting them to expand from their original taproom, the Launch Pad, into its current location in Niceville, the Mothership.

“We wanted to take grain to glass to make a great product and see where it could go from there,” says cofounder Tim McCool. “I don’t think we expected the community, the city, and the craft-brewing community to be so overwhelmingly supportive from the beginning. But that is what we wanted, to be rooted in community while providing a family-friendly atmosphere.”

With an impressive outdoor venue equipped with a stage, a fleet of food trucks supplying local delicacies, and plenty of open green space, the Mothership frequently plays host to a variety of athletic clubs, trivia night, musical bingo, and charity-driven fundraisers.

From award-winning specialties to lighter-bodied ales and lagers to more complicated pilsners and IPAs teeming with flavor, 3rd Planet caters to both the connoisseur and casual imbiber.

“We’ve leaned into the cliché of calling ourselves Niceville’s backyard,” McCool laughs. “But, we’re really blessed to be able to host all varieties of people, hobbies, as well as support small businesses and charities that directly support our community.”

IVY & ALE

Born and raised in Fort Walton Beach, longtime landscaper and entrepreneur Clint Hill found a way to marry his passion for creating curated, atmospheric spaces and small businesses with Ivy & Ale, a sustainable restaurant that also functions as both a beer garden and plant nursery.

Situated in a former residence, which Hall renovated through his experience in design and installation work, the cozy space shines through its verdant botanicals, exposed brick walls, and warm lighting, offering a relaxed venue for dinner, weekend brunches, and happy hour.

With a sommelier on staff to accompany weekly Wednesday pasta nights, the eatery boasts an impressive wine collection, but Hall is passionate about featuring a rotating tap of regional and craft brews.

“We focus on featuring breweries throughout the Emerald Coast as well as the Southeast,” Clint Hill says. “We like to highlight their brand, spotlight what they’re doing, and rotate our selection quite a bit just to spotlight different companies.”

About a year ago, Hill decided to shift the space into a more food-focused business model, taking over as head chef to incorporate yet another one of his passions: healthy, holistic cooking.

“I wanted to lean into that farm-to-table, made-from-scratch approach because we really didn’t have anything like that in Fort Walton Beach,” Hill says.

The ever-popular chicken quarter comes from poultry sourced locally from Triple Strand Ranch in Baker. Hill said guests often opt for the maple and Dijon-glazed, wild-caught salmon, which is served over a bed of orzo with saffron beurre blanc, and enjoy crab cakes made from unpasteurized jumbo-lump crab.

“Sourcing can be difficult at times, but people who frequent the place know I’m not going to serve something out-of-season or inorganic,” Hill says. “I’m looking forward to keeping things fresh and evolving to meet the needs of our patrons.”

DESTIN BREWERY

When brewmaster Kelly Taylor’s doctor told him he was putting himself under too much distress working his job in the construction industry, he knew it was time for a change.

Taylor turned to his wife, who worked alongside him, and told her he could no longer play mediator in making everyone within the competitive and demanding world of their industry happy.

“I told her that, whenever we brew beer, everybody’s always happy,” Taylor recalls. “She agreed, ‘Let’s keep doing that.’”

From there was born the Destin Brewery, featuring The Deck and a taproom nestled in the heart of Destin that has been entertaining the town with creative craft beers, homemade fare, and good times for nearly 10 years.

Taylor started making his own beer at 19 and shares in this hobby with his wife, Chelsea, whom he applauds as an excellent cook.

“Making beer is a lot like cooking,” Taylor says. “You’ve got a recipe; certain ingredients react a certain way at certain temperatures and times; and out comes an entrée. But the great thing about being an American craft brewer is you may have a recipe, and it’s up to you to add your personality. You can stick to the parameters of a given style but then color outside the lines. You don’t have to stay true to a certain style, and that’s how we’ve become innovative over the years.

Taylor cites their East Pass IPA, which apparently rules the roost at Destin Brewery, as the perfect example. Going beyond a traditional, New England-style IPA, this concoction caters to beachgoers, boaters, golfers, and the outdoor community Destin is known for by offering a more approachable and lighter-bodied, less-bitter but still deliciously hoppy palate versus the heavier, chewier, traditional IPAs.

Popular, too, is their first-ever brew, Destin Ale, which is their version of a blonde ale. But they also get creative with creations such as the Lavender Hard Lemonade, and Don’t Hassle Me, I’m Local, a blood orange blonde.

The Deck is often packed with guests enjoying the brewery’s signature artisanal pizzas, participating in a calendar chock-full of events, live entertainment, and classes, and soaking in the open-air, relaxed atmosphere for which Destin is beloved.

“When you’re there, the charm of this city is not lost on you,” Taylor says.

Chef Chris Trovas beamed as he reflected on the private, Italian wine tasting dinner he had served the night before.

He values such occasions as opportunities to push himself and truly shine.

“We had big boards with picanha steak on them,” Trovas described the fare. “Brussels sprouts. Parsnip puree. We had pork osso bucco for the main course and paired it with a Barbaresco and a Barolo, side by side.”

Both wines are made from nebbiolo grapes, Trovas explained, but Barbaresco is a traditional, young, fermented wine, whereas a Barolo spends three years in the barrel and two years in the bottle before it is sold.

“The response was amazing when the diners discovered the difference between the two wines,” the chef said. “It was an eye-opening part of the dinner.”

Trovas thrives on delivering enjoyable, memorable and sometimes unexpected experiences to diners. He had thought about retiring before committing to his latest project, Wild Olives 30A, located in a new Ricky Ruckus development on South Walton’s renowned scenic highway.

“Building it was a big ordeal, but after being in the business for basically my whole life, I wanted to have my dream restaurant,” Trovas said. “Everything I ever wanted in a restaurant and never had, I tried to put in this one. Ninety-nine percent of it came out exactly like I wanted it.”

Trovas said he wanted his building to have a South Beach VIP vibe and feel. To achieve that goal, he retained designer Walt Chancey, who has been active lately in creating spectacular homes at Alys Beach.

An early fascination

Trovas has been intrigued by food preparation since he was a small boy growing up in Texas. His mother used to place a bar stool in front of the kitchen sink so that young Chris could help out by washing the dishes. He always wanted to be in the kitchen.

At the University of Houston, Trovas majored in hotel and restaurant management and played middle linebacker and long snapper on the football team. Before he had his first restaurant, he worked for Weston Hotels.

Yielding to wanderlust, Trovas departed Texas in the early 2000s, headed, he thought, for Key West. He never made it.

“I came through this area, fell in love with it and decided to stay,” Trovas said.

In 2005, he opened a restaurant in Rosemary Beach that he would operate for 15 years. It emphasized Mediterranean cuisine, just like Wild Olives 30A, but was less than a third of the size of his new place.

“Rosemary Beach was a classic little Norman Rockwell town,” Trovas said in recalling his early days in South Walton. “It’s been amazing to watch the evolution of 30A. I used to joke that if you had a blowout and wound up at the side of the road, you would be alligator food because no one would find you. Now if you have a blowout, you’ll immediately run into someone on a bicycle or a golf cart, and you’ll be right in front of a house.”

At 7,000 square feet, Wild Olives 30A seats 141 and offers something that the Rosemary Beach location did not: a full bar.

Nick Robison is the bar manager, and Trovas raves about him.

“He’s like a chef,” he said. “The staff sampled his cocktails before we opened. He’d make a margarita, and we all agreed it was a good drink, and then he’d add a drop of rose water or orange extract and it was over the top. Watching him prepare his cocktails is exciting for me because it’s very similar to what I do.”

Wine connoisseur

While the bar is a welcome new complement, Trovas is a chef with a passion for wine.

“We named it The Wine List,” Trovas said of the wine shop that adjoins Wild Olives 30A. “You can pick any bottle of wine you want, bring it back to the restaurant and we will give you full wine service. And there is no corkage fee.”

Slayde Martin, a Texas native like Trovas, is the front-of-house manager and is easily recognized with his shaved head and trophy beard.

“He does it all,” his boss said. “I just boil water.”

Martin’s wife, Alicia, is the personal assistant to Trovas and the management team. Jeff Simpson is Trovas’ right-hand man in the kitchen and worked with him in Rosemary Beach. Prospective employees complete a five-day tryout period after which the chef decides if they are keepers.

“I am very, very fortunate,” Trovas said. “I have the best staff on 30A. At the restaurant, we are all part of a family, and people can sense that.”

With the larger restaurant has come more expansive menus. Trovas has added several vegan options. He endeavors to source his produce locally and obtains never-frozen fish from seafood dealers in Destin, Panama City and Apalachicola.

On Trovas’ dinner menu, the seafood entrees are all listed as “catch” versus specific fish species.

“Every day is different,” Trovas said. “I don’t know what the boats are gonna catch. In the last few days, we’ve had golden tilefish and cobia. One day, they brought me yellowfin tuna.”

Trovas gets grass-fed, free-range beef from Joyce Farms in North Carolina.

“It’s a spectacular product, the best,” he said. “It makes me look like a really good chef.”

Trovas, 60, shares a home on Choctawhatchee Bay with his black lab, Bear. Privacy affords him uninterrupted periods in which to think about menus and dream up dishes with which to freshen his menus, something he does quarterly.

“Life outside of the restaurant doesn’t exist,” Trovas said. “I treat this place as if it were my own home. It’s long hours, but I get the enjoyment of watching people thoroughly enjoy fine food. When somebody turns to me and says, ‘Oh, you paired the prawns with this flavor profile with this vermentino that we were drinking, and it was perfect,’ I get tremendous satisfaction from that.”

Wild Olives 30A

Wild Olives 30A is located at 4771 E. County Highway 30A in South Walton County. To check out his latest menu, visit wildolives30A.com.

A summertime visit to Hunt’s Oyster Bar & Seafood restaurant will prove, at a glance, that there are lots of people who do not feel bound by the rule dictating that wild oysters only be eaten during months containing an “R.”

The popular dive attracts standing-room-only crowds that fill its patio and spill onto the sidewalk at any time of day, any time of year.

Today, Hunt’s is closely surrounded by construction that will enlarge and add a second floor to the restaurant. Still, the people come, most of them unaware that ownership of the business has changed. 

The Abrams family of Panama City — think Greg Abrams Seafood and the Tarpon Dock Seafood Market — acquired Hunt’s following the retirement of Randy Hunt, the business’s founder. Greg Abrams et al. know him from seafood. They supply fresh catches to restaurants from Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City Beach to the top fine-dining establishments in Philadelphia and New York City.   

“If you’re looking for fun, fresh and domestic seafood, Hunt’s Oyster Bar is it,” said Collins Abrams, who recognizes that Hunt’s, given its longevity, figures in a lot of family traditions. 

“Randy Hunt built a brand and did a great job here, and we stepped in and have been able to maintain it with some improvements,” Abrams said. “In large part, our staff is the same — people like to see known faces. We’ve never considered changing the name or anything; we knew what we had here.”

The restaurant is a modest, bright yellow-sided building that would appear to be no match for even a Category 2 hurricane, but that is about to change. A new steel framework sits atop Old Yeller and outlines the future of Hunt’s. The project in progress will include a second-story deck with open-air dining, a move designed to expand seating and reduce wait times.

“The whole key to doing this is to make sure we preserve what Hunt’s Oyster Bar is all about,” Abrams said. “When the construction is complete, you’ll come in the door and it will look like it did 10 years ago. We know what works, so we’re going to try to stay as close to that as possible and spice it up a bit.”

New owners Greg Abrams, who is the owner of the Tarpon Dock Seafood Market and the president of Greg Abrams Seafood, Collins Abrams and Austin Abrams, who is the operations manager at the seafood market, are committed to keeping the original decor at Hunt’s. Tables, walls, flooring and everything else on the first floor will be preserved to ensure that longtime patrons feel at home — but without the two-hour wait.

However, one unintentional change, brought about by the new owners, has already proven to be a crowd-pleaser.

The Miss Adley, a boat named after Austin Abrams’ daughter, took on water and hit bottom just six months after it was placed into service. The bow and hull were salvaged and now serve as an outside bar at Hunt’s.

Visitors often ask if the boat is real.

“We like to joke that it’s the most expensive bar in Bay County,” Collins Abrams said with a laugh.

The new owners anticipate that there will be longtime customers who will choose to wait for a particular table that they have favored for years, knowing that they will be waited on by their favorite server.

“There’re going to be groups who have been coming in here for 40 years, and they have their spot,” Collins Abrams said. “We had all of this in mind when we started the construction. That’s why we took the extra time — it’s a relationship business.”

Indeed, servers regard familiar customers as friends. A sense of community permeates the business.

“It’s just a down-to-earth family restaurant,” Austin Abrams said. “You can come with your family and they can be loud, and you don’t have to worry about bothering anyone — it’s not for everybody every time, but it’s a fun place to eat. — Austin Abrams, Co-owner

“We’re doing our best to listen to the community and to run a successful business.”

The expansion is expected to be complete by December 2023. The business remains open during construction.

A pastor/home brewer/budding entrepreneur walks into a poker tournament and starts handing out beers. 

This may sound like the run-up to a bad joke, but for the Rev. Sheldon Steen, it was a golden opportunity to spread the word about Amicus Brewing Ventures. Steen, who pastors Christ Presbyterian Church on Bannerman Road in Tallahassee, is also the brewmaster and one of eight partners in the city’s next brewery, slated to open in the Old City Waterworks building.

Steen, his wife Mary, and their friends Tim and Alison Denny, Laura and Tom Barrett, and Laura and Shaun York, hatched the idea for Amicus, fittingly, over beers. Long ago, the friends had discovered that camping and craft beers were mutual interests, but it wasn’t until 2021 that they began to wonder if they could make their beer passion profitable.

“We were at a really small brewery in St. Marys, Georgia,” Steen said. “It was an old house where the guy had torn down the walls and had a really basic setup. Everyone knew that I have been brewing for about 10 years, so they asked if I could do something like that. We started to talk about it. None of us were really sure how serious we were until a couple of weeks later. We talked more, and from there it just snowballed.”

All well established in unrelated careers, the amicae had no experience in the hospitality industry beyond waiting tables. But they discovered that they had complementary strengths adding up to the capacity to launch a business, even in the midst of an uncertain economy.

“As a contractor, I used to work for the Florida Parks Service, and I helped with historic restoration of places in the parks, so being able to restore a local building was super exciting for me,” Alison Denny said. “I’ve driven past this building a million times living in Tallahassee. Of our four families, two of us are Tallahassee natives and the rest of us have lived here for 15-plus years, so we love the idea of being able to build back a local historic building.”

Constructed more than 130 years ago by the Philadelphia-based American Pipe and Manufacturing Company, the Old City Waterworks building represented a significant leap toward modernization at the turn of the 19th century. The City of Tallahassee’s purchase of the building and water system in 1908 came as one of its first investments in a utility, made at a time when Tallahassee’s population was rapidly growing.

Since the 1950s, however, the Old City Waterworks building stood empty, its legacy kept alive only by its placement on registers of historic places. About 20 years ago, that began to change. The city undertook restoration work and began to market the building to businesses that might honor its history while further developing the Cascades/Downtown area.

The city granted Amicus Brewing a redevelopment grant that will cover about 20% of the project costs, including flooring, equipment purchases and additional construction.

Maintaining the integrity of the waterworks building is a priority for the Amicus team, especially for Denny, whose construction company is in charge of the redevelopment work.

“We saved the old shingles from the roof, so we are going to line the tap wall with the old shingles,” Denny said. “The front of the bar is going to be made from some of the wood flooring from upstairs. Our tables are all going to be made of the beams we are taking down, so we are trying to use historic elements in the space.”

Beyond construction efforts, the Amicus team has been refining their recipes, catering events and consulting with members of the Tallahassee brewery scene. Steen said the support of organizations such as the Tallahassee Beer Society and advice from brewery owners, including Marsha and Ryan LaPete of Deep Brewing Company, have been invaluable.

The city’s support, Steen said, will speed progress toward the arrival of a bonafide brewery district in Tallahassee.

“Proof is basically right across that walking bridge,” Steen said. “Fools Fire is over in the All Saints District, and Oyster City is right there on Gaines Street. Now with us being here, you are really starting to get a brewery district. A lot of cities have that, but Tallahassee doesn’t quite have it yet. We are almost there with those three, and I think adding us makes this whole area more connected.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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City Food Hall Destin is now officially open at Destin Commons. Showcasing emerging and established local chefs from more than 10 specialty restaurant concepts, City Food Hall at Destin Commons is a 14,000 square-foot gathering place offering international cuisine, craft beer and cocktails, state-of-the-art entertainment, and more.

Located next to Foot Locker near Uncle Buck’s, City Food Hall will become Destin’s top culinary and nightlife destination. Locals and visitors can enjoy an expansive 32 seat indoor bar, HDTVs, plenty of seating, and two state-of-the-art Topgolf Swing Suites with multi-sport games and Full Swing golf simulator technology.

The 10 restaurant concepts within Destin City Food Hall feature unique cuisine from around the world including:

» PB&J Bakery and Café – PB&J, a health forward Cafe with bold, unique dishes and nostalgic classics created by husband and wife duo, Phillip & Jess Bauer!

» Nanbu Too – Owned and operated by locally acclaimed chef, Executive Chef Nikhil Abuvala, Nanbu Too is a satellite location of one of Grayton’s Beach’s top restaurants. Born from Abuvala’s early love of Asian fare, Nanbu (translated to ‘Southern’ in Japanese) offers Japanese cuisine with Southern Flair.

» Tuk Tuk Thai – A concept by Chef Sonya Thaijaroen, Tuk Tuk Thai brings authentic Thai street food to the shores of Destin with ambitious dishes, bold flavors, mixed with hand-blended seasonings showcased by a military Veteran owned team!

» Birdie’s Nourished Kitchen by Chef Katie Dixon – A concept by Chef Katie Dixon offering a range of power foods from acai bowls and salads to healthy takes on traditional, southern fare. You may recognize Katie as a finalist on Masterchef and as a competitor on Food Network Star!

» Macho Taco – From the chef that brought Mexican Inspired Soul Food to 30A. Chef Stephen combines his southern roots, California farm-to-table experience, and passion for food to develop a unique, balanced, and delicious menu. He describes his menu as Mexican-inspired soul food: simple yet elegant, rustic yet refined, creative yet controlled.

» Poke Loa – The New Orleans-based restaurant was the first poke restaurant in Louisiana. The locally owned family business serves up the freshest cuts of fish around. Poke Loa’s fish is delivered fresh daily, and fish, toppings, and vegetables are chopped and prepared in-house.

» Pluma Chicken Co. – A concept by brothers Robert, Ruben and Giancarlo originally from Miami, makes 25 hour brined Fried Chicken that is perennially listed on ‘best of’ from top publications. Expanding their concept for the first time, they are poised to bring the best fried chicken sandwich to the Emerald Coast.

» Likkle Jamdung – Jamaican Patois for ‘Little Jamaica’, Chef Shaun Watson will be crafting Island Cuisine with a “down-home” feel – from traditional Jamaican Beef Patties to unique takes on Caribbean favorites such as Jerk Chicken and Braised Oxtail.

» Zaitoun – A concept by mother and daughter duo Lina and Haya that will bring traditional Middle Eastern dishes to the Destin community. Zaitoun prides itself on using signature recipes, spice blends, herbs, and homemade sauces to enhance only the freshest of ingredients!

City Food Hall also features two Topgolf Swing Suites, an immersive social experience offering guests a dedicated space to play and enjoy fantastic food and beverage service. With a massive screen and a selection of exciting virtual games, the Topgolf Swing Suite delivers a one-of-a-kind simulation that’s fun for golfers and non-golfers alike. Topgolf Swing Suite is powered by Full Swing golf simulator technology, the same simulator used by PGA Tour pros Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day for off-course practice.

“We began planning over a year ago, and the idea was to highlight the talented chefs in the Panhandle-both those with established careers as well as up-and-coming chefs-and give them a space to showcase their talent and develop their businesses,” said Kenzie Motai, the partnership’s chief operating officer. “Destin Commons seemed perfect for the concept because it’s an incredible shopping mall with a lot of traffic, and wanted to be an amenity to the many visitors that frequent it every year.”

City Food Hall is open daily from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The venue and Swing Suites are now available for special event bookings including birthdays, happy hours, holiday parties, bachelor/bachelorette events, corporate retreats and more. Event attendees will enjoy great food, drinks, and entertainment at Destin’s newest go-to gathering place.

For more information, visit www.cityfoodhall.com and follow City Food Hall Destin or Destin Commons on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

In the last half century, few fields have undergone the type of technological revolution that has overtaken health care. The industry has seen the advent of antidepressants, antibiotics, MRI, ultrasound, surgical robots — all within the last 50 years. Increasingly, hospitals and private offices are challenged to keep pace and avoid being swamped by a rising tide of advances.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare is proving itself a strong swimmer. The hospital is making use of fascinating, life-changing technologies in its efforts to bring about a healthier community.

In a world where most everyone can go to work, get their degree and get dinner, all without leaving their couch, many administrators in the health care field recognize the need for virtual medicine.

“People living in rural areas deserve the same access to world-class health care as anyone living in Tallahassee,” said Lauren Faison-Clark, an administrator and expert in telemedicine at TMH. “We, as care providers, need to meet these people where they are.”

The answer to this need, at least in Tallahassee, has been the advent of telehealth. This web-based service can be accessed from anywhere by anyone with an internet connection. In its current form, it works almost like a FaceTime or Skype call, allowing physicians to check in with and monitor their patients without leaving the office. In turn, patients are blessed with peace of mind — even though they may be in the comfort of their own home, their doctor or nurse is always within reach.

The technology goes further than video chatting. Faison-Clark said that TMH is preparing to launch an extension to their existing service that will allow patients and physicians to monitor vital signs with great accuracy. A doctor could monitor a patient’s heart rate from miles away and instantly be alerted when an abnormality appears. Faison-Clark calls this technology remote patient monitoring, and it is just one tool to help close the accessibility gap in health care.

Adoption of technological advances tends to move slowly, but the coronavirus pandemic turbocharged the use of telehealth options. The disease is both very dangerous and extremely infectious, making face-to-face visits with doctors and nurses inherently risky for all parties; furthermore, the lack of available space in hospitals during the early stages of the outbreak meant that some people could not remain physically close to health care providers. Telehealth was able to alleviate the pain caused by both issues.

Beyond the applications for physicians, telehealth services can also help a patient’s family feel better connected and informed. With the rollout of remote patient monitoring, for instance, relatives can remain informed about the status of loved ones from any distance. Additionally, Faison-Clark said that the video chatting capabilities of telehealth have fostered “life-changing moments, connectedness and love, even when family members are states apart.”

Brain therapy

While Faison-Clark and her team continue to make health care more accessible and revolutionize the doctor-patient relationship, Dr. Matthew Davis is using cutting-edge technology to help heal the brain.

Davis is a neurosurgeon at TMH who specializes in movement disorders. He moved to Tallahassee from Birmingham, Alabama, just over two years ago and brought with him a specialization in deep brain stimulation, or DBS, in which tiny electrical currents are sent to certain parts of the brain.

These currents stimulate neurons in the brain with the utmost precision. Davis is able to modulate the current’s direction, power and other variables in order to give the patient the exact treatment needed for his condition. DBS is considered very safe because of this customizability.

In order to make sure the electrodes are placed correctly in the brain, Davis makes use of advanced neuro-navigation technology. The surgeon is able to use scanners in the operating room to make a map of a patient’s brain on the fly.

Beyond this, Davis is also able to integrate telehealth services into his DBS treatment. If he needs to alter the electrical current being discharged, the patient doesn’t even need to go into the office. He can simply adjust the DBS system remotely.

Davis said this capability is game-changing. Since he often treats people who have limited mobility, asking them to drive great distances for treatment can be impractical. This way, neither he nor his patients have to make compromises.

From remote treatment to brain-stimulating electrodes, TMH is making use of groundbreaking technology. The advancements that people like Faison-Clark and Davis are employing will serve to transform the health care field, make care more accessible and ultimately, save more lives. ▪