Three of Broward County's top health care leaders will discuss how to improve medical care for the poor and whether there's an end to increasing health care costs.

The chiefs of Broward's largest hospital systems will speak on the state of the county's medical care at 7:45 a.m. Jan. 8 at the Tower Club, 28th floor, One Financial Plaza, 100 SE 3rd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.

The panelists are:

Dr. Patrick Taylor, president and CEO of the Fort Lauderdale-based Holy Cross Hospital, a nonprofit Catholic 559-bed hospital. Holy Cross has expanded into Palm Beach County, opening an urgent care and imaging center in Boca Raton. The hospital plans to open three more urgent care and imaging centers in the next couple of years.

Frank V. Sacco, president and CEO of the South Broward Hospital District, also known as the Memorial Healthcare System. He runs a 2,020-bed operation that includes Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, four community hospitals, a nursing home, two surgery centers, a home health agency and an urgent care center. It's the third-largest public health care system in the nation.

Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, the new president and CEO of Broward Health. Like Sacco, he leads one of the largest U.S. public health care systems. Broward Health, also known as the North Broward Hospital District, encompasses more than 30 health care facilities. El Sanadi also is chairman of the Florida Board of Medicine and serves as emergency medical services medical director for several municipalities.

The panel's moderator will be Michael De Lucca, president and CEO of Broward Regional Health Planning Council, a nonprofit involved in health planning and system coordination.

Doors open at 7 a.m. Admission is free for members of the Tower Forum. It will be $35 for non-members, including breakfast

and parking. Checks can be sent to Tower Forum, P.O. Box 5041, Plantation 33318. For more information go to towerforum.org.

dgehrke@sunsentinel.com

More:

Medical leaders to discuss state of health care