Chief medical officer adds Wesley Chapel hospital to role
LUTZ – Dr. Anand Nayee, chief medical officer at Lutz’s St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, was named the new CMO at BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel effective Jan. 8.
Nayee is also a new BayCare vice president with the expansion of his role as CMO at both hospitals. He will assist the medical staff and hospital presidents at both places in providing safe, effective medical care.
His responsibilities include training new physicians on the hospitals’ policies and keeping staff current on health regulations. He also will provide clinical oversight to physicians, ensure regulatory compliance, evaluate quality of services and represent the hospitals at BayCare and community meetings.
Nayee has been St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s CMO since July 2023. He is replacing Dr. Mark Vaaler as BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel CMO. Vaaler has retired.
“Dr. Nayee’s expertise and dedication to our clinical team and patients have been witnessed during his tenure at BayCare for more than a decade,” said Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan, chief physician executive at BayCare. “We are confident he will add tremendous value and innovation in his new executive leadership role.”
Nayee said he hopes to bring the same energy and vision he brought to St. Joseph’s-North to help Wesley Chapel
“When I first moved to Tampa, I bought my first house in Wesley Chapel,” Nayee said. “Later I moved to the Lutz-Carrollwood area near St. Joseph’s-North. Coming back to Wesley Chapel in this dual role is a full circle for me.”
Hospital celebrating construction milestone
WESLEY CHAPEL – AdventHealth Wesley Chapel was scheduled to celebrate the topping out for the hospital’s expansion project on Feb. 5.
Such ceremonies mark the final beam placed on a structure. Construction began in July 2024, with the new additions expected to be ready by late this year.
The expansion will support a growing Pasco County. It will feature a new three-story North Wing and a two-story South Courtyard Infill, adding 80,373 square feet of new space and renovating 8,837 square feet of existing space. The expansion will increase the hospital’s licensed beds from 169 to 193, with room for two more 24-bed units in the future.
The new addition allows for 72 inpatient beds, two operating rooms, two endoscopy suites, one hybrid operating room, 20 pre-op and post-op beds, advanced imaging capabilities with MRI, and radiology
On the web: AHWesleyChapel.com
Health department lifts alert
PASCO COUNTY – The Florida Department of Health in Pasco County has lifted the health alert issued on Jan. 28 for harmful blue-green algae toxins in Blanton Lake.
Follow-up water samples taken by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection did not detect algae toxins, indicating the public may resume water-related activities.
It is important that the public exercise caution as blue-green algae bloom status can change when conditions are favorable. Residents and visitors are advised to avoid contact with the water if they see algae blooms.
Hospital earns cardiac cath lab accreditation
DAVENPORT – The American College of Cardiology has recognized AdventHealth Heart of Florida in Davenport for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients who come to a cardiac cath lab for care.
AdventHealth Heart of Florida was awarded Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation in January based on onsite evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who come to the cardiac cath lab.
Inside the cardiac cath lab, patients undergo a cardiac catheterization with the assistance of an x-ray, to allow them to run tests to determine how well the heart is functioning. The tests help determine heart and vascular conditions.
Cardiac catheterization can also be used to help treat certain conditions, if needed.
BayCare names new chief academic officer
CLEARWATER – BayCare has named Shelby Kutty as its vice president and chief academic officer.
Kutty will oversee the academic integrity and quality of educational programs.
BayCare has deepened its commitment to training West Central Florida’s next generation of physicians and to leading medical research, and BayCare leadership has announced plans to expand academic offerings to enhance medical and surgical specialties across the health care system spanning 16 hospitals.
Kutty, a leading authority in multimodal cardiovascular imaging, including echocardiography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance, comes to BayCare from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
