The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Mary Rathman

Health News 11/28/2018

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Day of Caring
Florida Hospital team members in the West Florida Division volunteered to give back to the communities for the annual Day of Giving, on Nov. 16.

More than 1,000 volunteers from several Florida Hospital locations gave back to more than 20 nonprofits across the state.

Some of the local initiatives in the Tampa Bay area included:

  • Food Donations for Atonement Lutheran Church: Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel staff and leadership sorted and packed food at the church.
  • Feed Our Children: Florida Hospital Tampa employees collected food donations for the Feed Our Children Ministry to help hungry members of the community.
  • Food Drive for The Shepherd Center: Florida Hospital North Pinellas employees collected green beans for the center, and donated about 1,000 cans.
  • Thanksgiving Baskets: Florida Hospital North Pinellas employees put together baskets of Thanksgiving goods to be shared with their own colleagues in need.

Access Health Care raises money for Marines
Access Health Care Physicians hosted a fundraiser at the Silverthorn Country Club to benefit Marine Corps League Spring Hill Detachment No. 708.

The detachment provides U.S. Marine veterans and other U.S. veterans with comfort, support and dignity of life.

The event included a silent auction, raffles and dancing.

The guest speakers included Maj. Gen. James “Hammer” Hartsell and Dr. Jaime Torres, an Access Health Care physician and veteran.

A total of $34,444 was raised for the Marine Corps detachment.

Hitching a ride

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Sharon Thompson, of Wesley Chapel, found this little frog on her car in the early morning hours, while it was still dark outside.

 

 

 

 

Thompson also took this photo of a grey tree frog at Wawa, sitting on the store’s window ledge greeting customers.

 

Health News 11/21/2018

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(Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

Offering comfort and camaraderie
Members of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club prepared and served a brunch to residents of Hope Lodge, a facility that houses patients who are receiving long-term cancer treatments at Moffitt Cancer Center. The club aims to uplift the patients’ spirits with a home-cooked meal and fellowship. For information, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

 

Hospital to participate in Rose Bowl
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point received an invitation to participate in the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade float hospital CEO rose dedications.

Only a select group of hospitals in the area have been asked to prepare a handwritten message honoring the patients and families who, with the support of hospital staff, have saved and healed lives through the gift of organ, eye and tissue donations.

The float has grown into a national tradition featuring dozens of participants, including those who have received transplants, those who are living donors, and deceased donors memorialized in “floragraph” portraits integrated into the float’s design.

One of the trademarks of the annual float design is the Dedication Garden, which provides an opportunity for the CEOs of hospitals; transplant centers; and organ, tissue, and eye recovery organizations to dedicate a Donate Life rose.

Sharon Hayes, Regional Medical Center’s chief executive officer, will prepare the 2019 note to be placed in the float.

Buccaneers team up for breast cancer
Florida Hospital (soon to be AdventHealth) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers teamed up for the sixth annual Treasure Chests 5K and Fun Run on Oct. 21, to celebrate breast cancer survivors, and to benefit breast cancer research and patient services in Tampa Bay.

The race started and ended at the Buccaneer’s indoor practice facility at the AdventHealth Training Center. All racers were invited to the Breast Cancer Awareness football game.

The Honorary Race Starter was Carol Henderson, a three-time survivor currently living with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Henderson also received pre-game VIP access and pirate ship passes, and was recognized on the field during the game.

Medication disposal
National Take-Back Day, on Oct. 27, garnered more than 587.3 pounds of medications gathered in Pasco County alone.

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention reminds the community that people do not have to wait for the next Take Back Day to dispose of unused or unwanted medications in a safe manner.

Pasco County has seven permanent drop boxes for safe medication disposal (both prescription and over-the-counter). Find the nearest location by visiting PascoASAP.com.

Medications also can be disposed of by using a Deterra Bag. These bags deactivate the ingredients of medications, making them safe to dispose of in the trash and unavailable for misuse. Bags are free, and can be picked up at the Florida Department of Health offices in Dade City, New Port Richey and on State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

New rehabilitation program for women
The Salvation Army Tampa Adult Rehabilitation Center, 13815 N. Salvation Army Lane in Tampa, will now be able to offer help and education to women for their drug and alcohol problems. The center has been providing a six-month to 12-month residential program for men.

A separate residence will be constructed and will contain 10 bedrooms (each bedroom will house three women), an intake office, library/two classrooms, offices/conference room, kitchen, dining room, great room, recreation room, fitness room, laundry/hair-cutting station, and two resident managers’ rooms.

The center also will have a chapel to seat 250 persons for both the men and women, their families and friends, and the public.

The new program is expected to start up in December.

For information, call S. Richard Hodder at (813) 972-0471, ext. 59079.

Two initiatives become law
The office of Congressman Gus Bilirakis has announced that H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act has been signed into law.

The SUPPORT act is part of the bipartisan legislative package and will help continued efforts to combat the opioid crisis by advancing treatment and recovery initiatives, improving prevention, protecting communities, and bolstering efforts to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl.

The second initiative is the Sober Home Fraud Detection bill (H.R. 6092), which provides standards for Sober Living Homes.

These two Bilirakis-authored provisions mark the 25th initiative the veteran lawmaker has written that have become law since 2015.

Tampa hospital launches expansion
Florida Hospital Tampa, part of the West Florida Division of Adventist Health System (soon to be AdventHealth), broke ground on a six-story, 300,000-square-foot patient and surgical tower at the corner of Fletcher Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa.

The project will include 24 brand-new operating rooms, a new hospital entrance, and more than 100 all-private dedicated surgical care beds.

The $256 million tower will be named The Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery, recognizing the family of Jugal and Manju Taneja, who provided the largest donation ever to Florida Hospital West Florida Division.

The center is expected to open in 2021, and will also include several hundred additional parking spaces, and a redesigned landscape.

Chalk Talk 11/21/2018

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2018 Homecoming King and Queen Montre Hall and Nadia Crawford (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Saint Leo alumni celebrate homecoming
Hundreds of Saint Leo University alumni and their families gathered for the school’s 2018 homecoming weekend.

Alumni came from more than 20 states, Canada, and even as far as Nigeria, representing nearly 50 different graduating classes, dating as far back as 1947.

The three-day weekend was packed with activities, including the Hall of Fame dinner, award recognitions, a tailgate party with live music and fireworks, and a men’s basketball game.

Montre Hall, Class of 20189, and Nadia Crawford, Class of 2020, were crowned the 2018 Homecoming King and Queen.

Members of Saint Leo University’s Class of 1968 celebrate their 50th reunion. The class ‘passed the baton’ to members of the Class of 1969, who will mark their anniversary next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National School Psychology week
Schools throughout the country recognized National School Psychology Awareness Week (Nov. 12 to Nov. 16) to highlight the work school psychologists and other educators do to help students thrive.

This year’s theme was “Unlock Potential. Find Your Password!”

A password is a personal key for unlocking any number of areas of potential in our lives. The goal is to connect with how modern youth and adults unlock things (such as gaming levels, phones, devices, codes) and to highlight how thinking about specific skills, assets or characteristics as “passwords” can lead to positive growth.

School psychologists are skilled at helping students and staff in unlocking resources, proactive and preventive skills, and positive connections that are necessary to opening up one’s potential.

The psychologists are trained to provide academic, mental health, and behavioral supports to children and adolescents, and can provide both direct and indirect services to students and schools.

Bulldogs Expo
Zephyrhills High School, 6335 12th St., will host a Bulldog Expo for incoming ninth-graders on Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m., in the Commons Area.

Participants can see what the school has to offer in career technical education courses, such as business, agriculture, criminal justice, health academy, building and construction, JROTC, and aviation; as well as clubs, including FFA, and, FBLA, National Honor Society, Special Olympics, Student Council and more.

For information, call (813) 794-6100.

Pasco Pathways Expo
The Pasco Pathways Expo will give participants a chance to learn about the new school choice application process and innovative programs available for students in Pasco County.

There are two dates and locations to choose from:

Curriculum Night
Quail Hollow Elementary, 7050 Quail Hollow Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Curriculum Night on Nov. 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Parents can learn about the content that is being taught to students, through curriculum presentations from the teachers.

For information, call (813) 794-1100.

Conference center dedicated
Pasco-Hernando State College honored District Board of Trustees member Dr. Rao Musunuru with the naming of the Rao Musunuru, M.D. Conference Center at an open house and dedication ceremony at its Spring Hill campus.

Community members, faculty, staff and students helped to recognize Dr. Musunuru’s service as a PHSC trustee since 1999, including four terms of service as board chair, as well as his contributions to the PHSC Foundation.

Tours of the Spring Hill campus, at 450 Beverly Court, were made available after the dedication ceremony.

Student studying abroad
Emily M. Gerber, of Odessa, is participating in a St. Lawrence University (Canton, New York) off-campus study abroad program at the University of Otago, New Zealand, during the fall semester.

Gerber is a member of the Class of 2020 and is majoring in conservation biology. She attended Cocalico High School.

School choice programs
Pasco County Schools has adopted a new approach for its school choice programs.

The district offers a variety of programs aimed at providing a variety of choices based on student interests and needs.

Such choices include magnet schools, and programs like STEM, STEAM, Cambridge, and International Baccalaureate.

It also offers educational options and programs such as AVID, AP Capstone, arts, career pathways, technical education, eSchool and more, according to a school district news release.

Those interested in applying for school choice now have new timelines for submitting all applications.

The application window for middle school and high school choice programs opens Dec. 3 and closes Dec. 14. Acceptances will be announced between Feb. 5 and Feb. 15.

Applications for elementary choice programs will be available from Jan. 8 through Jan. 19, with notifications between Feb. 20 and March 1.

Once the application windows open, parents and students will use a district software program called myStudent to complete the school choice applications.

To access or set up a myStudent account, parents must use tinyurl.com/ybe2cygj.

College and university rankings
The personal finance website, WalletHub, has released its 2019 Best College & University Rankings.

To help college-bound seniors make the most informed school choices, WalletHub compared nearly 1,000 higher-education institutions in the United States, based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing, and Career Outcomes.

The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

The Top 10 colleges and universities in Florida ranked as follows:

  1. University of Florida
  2. Florida State University
  3. University of South Florida
  4. University of Miami
  5. University of Central Florida
  6. Ave Maria University
  7. Florida International University
  8. Florida Southern College
  9. University of North Florida
  10. Florida Institute of Technology

KitKat is a little trooper

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KitKat may be the Pet of the Week, but to KitKat’s owner, Yano Breez of Zephyrhills, she is the Pet of the Century. This past October, KitKat was on a walk to downtown Zephyrhills with her owner when she became anxious about an approaching car and darted out in the road. KitKat was struck by the vehicle and ran off, and Breez had a hard time finding her afterward. In the end, KitKat knew her way home on her own, and gave her owner an ‘I’m OK, I’m OK…everything’s gonna be alright ‘meow.’’ KitKat’s now has a second name: Little Soldier.

Pretty little ‘lady’

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Nicole Tuzzolino, of Land O’ Lakes, noticed this ladybug on her crepe myrtle tree. Ladybugs are also called lady beetles or ladybird beetles, and are the natural enemies of many insects, especially aphids and other sap feeders.

Chalk Talk 11/14/2018

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First-place winner from Wesley Chapel Elementary: Laila Paragon-Singh, fourth grade (Courtesy of WaterContest.org)

Poster contest winners
The 2018 Water Awareness Poster Contest winners have been announced.

Kindergarten: Alivia O’ Connor, Trinity Oaks Elementary, first place; Jakob Attard, Trinity Oaks, second place; and Mayson Way, Schrader Elementary, third place

First Grade: Nila Rodriguez, Cypress Elementary, first place; Collin Stafford, Cypress Elementary, second place; and John DeLuca, Cypress Elementary, third place

Second Grade: Hailey Benavides, Richey Elementary, first place; Marcella Wyman, Richey Elementary, second place; and Drew Delaney, Trinity Oaks Elementary, third place

Third Grade: Ariana Marquez, Trinity Oaks Elementary, first place; Sasheika Sequi-Vasquez, Deer Park Elementary, second place; and Sarah Avila, Deer Park Elementary, third place

Fourth Grade: Laila Paragon-Singh, Wesley Chapel Elementary, first place; Mathias Vidal, Wesley Chapel Elementary, second place; and Valerie Noriega, Wesley Chapel Elementary, third place

Third-place winner from Lake Myrtle Elementary: Arol Abel, fifth grade

Fifth Grade: Terry Pixler, Longleaf Elementary, first place; Sienna Fletcher, Trinity Oaks Elementary, second place; and Arol Abel, Lake Myrtle Elementary, third place

Honorable Mention: Joseph Glennon, Trinity Oaks Elementary, Winter’s Choice; Olivia Rueb, Cypress Elementary, Tango’s Choice; and Riley Payne, Trinity Oaks Elementary, Andy’s Choice

To view all winning posters and educational materials, visit WaterContest.org.

Bailey loves to play

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Bailey is a 3-year-old Rottweiler that loves food, playing in the hose, swimming and her toddler best friend, Reuben. Bailey also loves playing with her sister Sadie, a King Charles dachshund mix. She loves cuddling and getting belly rubs from her owners, but most of all playing tug-of-war with Reuben. Bailey lives with the Hicks family, of Land O’ Lakes.