VisitFlorida and the effort to increase "hospital" tourism in Palm Beach County

VisitFlorida is the most popular source for information tourists and visitors use when planning a stay in Florida. Lake Worth, in case you're unaware, has its own VisitFlorida page you can see here. Two Lake Worth B&B's have ads on VisitFlorida as well as some restaurants.

Now VisitFlorida has come out big supporting a new type of tourism in Palm Beach County called, "medical tourism".

Jennifer Sorentrue has an article in today's Palm Beach Post, front page/above the fold, titled "Surf, sand and surgery: Tourism's new frontier".

     Palm Beach County is known for its sand and surf, but its state-of-the-art surgical centers could soon be drawing international tourists looking for medical treatment and a sun-filled vacation on the side.
     Jupiter Medical Center last month received a $500,000 state grant to market its medical programs to tourists in South America and the Caribbean. The hospital plans to use the money to help launch an international marketing campaign that promotes its work in spinal care, orthopedics, intra-operative radiation therapy, and alternative treatments for tumors.
    Hospital officials say a growing number of patients from outside of the state are traveling to Jupiter for medical services. Many are looking for a hospital that offers the latest medical treatments and warm weather for their recovery.

At the end of the article is a list of the top 5 recipients from VisitFlorida to increase medical tourism:

     Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing arm, awarded $3.1 million in grants to 25 organizations to help promote Florida as a medical tourism destination. Jupiter Medical Center was one of three organizations to be awarded $500,000 — the largest amount given to any of the groups. Here are the top five grant recipients:

• Jupiter Medical Center, $500,000 for destination promotion
• Mount Sinai Medical Center, $500,000 for medical meetings and training
• Tampa General Hospital Transplant Marketing, $500,000 for medical meetings and training
• USF Health Professions Conferencing, $217,000 for destination promotion
• Miami Neuroscience Center, LLC, $210,000 for destination promotion