Growing in Place

Florida boasts 663 miles of beaches, and every Floridian is within 60 miles of the seacoast.

Innovation is no longer a choice; it’s a requirement. If your business is to survive in today’s uncertain economic environment, you must embrace innovation. Why not do so in a place you can truly enjoy?

There’s a reason why Florida is one of the world’s favorite vacation destinations; it’s the same reason why so many visitors subsequently choose to settle down here. Simply put, Florida is a great place to live. Here’s why:

» Climate: Average annual temperatures in Florida are between 81 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and since no matter where you are in Florida you’re never more than 60 miles from a seacoast, you can enjoy the beach year-round.

» Education: Thanks to rigorous standards for small class sizes and regular testing to improve performance, Florida’s K-12 public school system is ranked 10th in the nation. In addition, Florida has a multitude of distinguished colleges and universities, community colleges and technical training centers. Every Floridian lives within 50 miles of a post-secondary educational institution.

» Hometown Values Beginning in March 2009, Florida took an innovative step to help shore up local economies and encourage consumer spending close to home. The new “Florida Backyard Card” entitles Florida shoppers to discounts on some of the items they need most at more than 500 retail outlets throughout the state, including grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and home-improvement centers. Available online or wherever Florida lottery tickets are sold, the “Florida Backyard Card” is aimed at boosting retail sales and tax revenues while pumping new energy into local businesses. The "Florida Backyard Card" was created to boost retail sales throughout the state.

» Cost of living: Prices for just about everything are up these days, and Florida is no exception. Still, when you compare basics — food, shelter, clothing and transportation — you’ll find that Florida offers significant value. At a median price of $187,800 in 2008, houses cost less in Florida than in many comparable states; what’s more, programs are in place at the state and local levels to ensure that Florida’s housing market remains competitive and affordable for all workers.

» Recreation: Life shouldn’t be all work; it should be some play too, and Florida has plenty of it. More than 1,300 golf courses, a multitude of white sandy beaches, thriving cultural amenities, some of the world’s biggest and best theme parks, unique shopping opportunities and world-class sporting events add up to a well-rounded and rewarding lifestyle for all.

» Healthcare: With more than 300 general medical and surgical hospitals, plus numerous outpatient care centers, diagnostic laboratories and psychiatric and substance abuse treatment facilities, Florida has one of the nation’s most sophisticated healthcare systems. World-renowned facilities include: Physicians Regional Medical Center- Pine Ridge (Naples), H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute (Tampa), Florida Hospital (Orlando), Mayo Clinic (Jacksonville), Mount Sinai Medical Center (Miami Beach), Shands at the University of Florida (Gainesville) and University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The essence of innovation

Innovation comes in many forms and not always from a laboratory. For instance, to ensure that information on swine flu reached as many people as possible, Orlando-based Florida Hospital used Twitter to deliver fast and accurate news to the community.

And consider, for example, how a company in Florida is using the technologies that have transformed general business practices over the last 10 years to reinvent the state’s fastest growing industry — healthcare.

Pete Martinez, senior vice president and chief technology & innovations officer for The Quantum Group, says that although healthcare has made huge advances, mostly in instrumentation, prosthetics and drug discovery, “In terms of innovation, we’re still practicing medicine like 50 years ago.”

Quantum hopes to change that with an information technology platform called PWeRTM (Personal Wellness electronic Record). By leveraging the research, technologies and business models that been successful in other industries such as finance, retail and electronics, Martinez believes that PWeRTM will make a complex system of recordkeeping downright simple.

And while the software platform may not draw the attention that a new vaccine or a “smart” artificial limb might bring, it will represent a medical breakthrough.

“It’s a way to enrich the science of healthcare through the ability to capture, mine and analyze data in a way never before possible, and that’s the definition of innovation,” says Martinez, who also serves as chairman of the Florida Research Consortium (FRC), a partnership between academia and business aimed at bringing attention to the research programs under way at Florida’s public and private universities.

“Our quality of life in Florida depends on the generation of new wealth, and research plays a vital role in that process,” says Jack Sullivan, FRC president and CEO. “The economic challenges of tomorrow can only be met with a strong commitment to research funding today.”