Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Melinda Winner hopes cookbook will inspire those with physical challenges

By Ashley Dunn

News Editor

ZEPHYRHILLS — Melinda Winner can cook an entire meal without using her hands.

It’s not a party trick or a quirky conversation starter. For Winner, it’s a way of life.

Winner was born with a birth defect that left her right arm with very limited use. Over her 48 years, she has also developed five forms of arthritis — including rheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory form of arthritis that causes joint pain and damage. According to the Mayo Clinic, rheumatoid arthritis symptoms make even the simplest activities — such as opening a jar or taking a walk — difficult to manage.

“I can’t remember what it feels like not to have pain,” she said.

Despite her physical struggles, Winner has always loved to cook. She was 10 years old when she made her first dish, peanut butter and jelly sandwich pinwheels with powdered sugar sprinkled on top.

To cope with the pain she feels on a daily basis, she’s developed techniques for zesting, slicing, chopping, peeling, rolling, sifting, shredding and lifting things in the kitchen.

Now, Winner said she’s hoping to help others with physical challenges get cooking. Her new book, “A Complete Illustrated Guide to Cooking with Arthritis,” not only provides dozens of recipes, but also inspires readers to regain their independence in the kitchen.

//Growing up disabled

Winner moved to Zephyrhills over the summer. Her family has been a part of the East Pasco city for more than 100 years; her mother was born and raised on Coats Road.

Winner was born and raised in Pennsylvania, the youngest of 10 children. She knew she was different, but at home, no one ever made a big deal about her arm.

“I really didn’t look at myself as handicapped,” she said.

When she started kindergarten however, it became clear that her birth defect was a major concern to other people. Her classmates would taunt her and make her cry. The school district wanted to send her to a school for the mentally challenged.

Winner said she learned quickly that she had to be a survivor.

“My mother used to tell me ‘You live till you die,’” Winner said. “I’ve adapted her theory to fit my situation. Yes you live till you die, but what you do in between is your choice.”

At 10 years old, Winner’s legs would hurt so much, she would cry every night. Her mother told her it was growing pains. At 25, Winner had her first “paralyzed with pain” experience. She couldn’t move. If anyone touched her, she would scream. The pain was so intense and unbearable. It lasted for 13 days. A rheumatologist diagnosed her with severe, aggressive rheumatoid arthritis, which leads to deformity and disability. She said she thinks she’s probably had the ailment since she was a child.

“It’s some of the most horrendous pain you’ll ever experience in your entire life,” Winner said.

She has since been diagnosed with four additional forms of arthritis.

Despite her hardships, Winner approaches life head on.

“If you get up and tell yourself you’re a sufferer, that’s what you’re going to be,” she said. “But if you get up everyday and tell yourself you’re a survivor, you’ll strive to do better.”

She went to culinary school in Pennsylvania and studied to be a chef. She worked at the Sheraton Inn in Greensburg, Pa. She worked for a vending company catering parties for radio and television stations. Then she started her own catering business. She moved to North Carolina and worked in the motion picture business, and then as a celebrity interviewer. She went to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina to help with relief efforts.

All the while, she cooked. Last year, Winner was featured on the Food Network’s “Ultimate Recipe Showdown.” To see a clip, visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/melinda-winner/30009.html.

Her ultimate goal is to own a teaching restaurant and hire people who have physical challenges.

“I want to teach them that there’s a million ways that you can cook,” Winner said on the showdown. “You just have to reinvent your life. You have to reinvent techniques.”

Winner has developed those techniques herself, and she’s included them in “A Complete Illustrated Guide to Cooking with Arthritis,” her second cookbook.

The first part of the book is dedicated to recipes that Winner has created by experimenting with different ingredients. She developed Southern Slaw Red Cabbage Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, for example, when she had made too much red cabbage and didn’t want to throw it away.

“And it works,” she said. “It tastes great.”

The second part of the book is devoted to showcase the methods that Winner has created for those with physical challenges. She explains how to core an apple, for instance, using a corer and your forearms instead of your hands. You can also use a fork instead of your hand to hold a piece of fruit in place while you slice or chop it. There are pictures to illustrate each technique.

At the end of each recipe, Winner points out which methods to use.

In the back of the book, there are also helpful tips on how those with arthritis can arrange a kitchen to avoid pain as much as possible.

But, Winner said, anyone with severe forms of arthritis knows pain isn’t completely avoidable. Still, it doesn’t mean that those with physical challenges shouldn’t try.

“You’re going to hurt no matter what you do, so get up and do something,” Winner said. “You only get one life — live it.”

The Book

Title: “A Complete Illustrated Guide to Cooking with Arthritis”
Author: Melinda Winner
Publisher: Tate Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-60799-738-2
Cost: $22.99

Availability: The book is available at any bookstore nationwide. It can also be ordered through the publisher at www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore or by visiting www.barnesandnoble.com, www.amazon.com or www.target.com. This is also an eLIVE title, meaning each copy contains a code redeemable for a free audio version from www.TatePublishing.com.

About the author

In addition to being an author, Melinda Winner is also a speaker and offers free seminars on living and cooking with arthritis to churches, schools and health offices. She also has several events coming up, including a book signing at Walden Books, 2262 University Mall in Tampa on Nov. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information about Winner, visit www.cookingwitharthritis.com.

More fields to open in April

By Sheila Tramontana

Lutz News Correspondent

LUTZ — Bulldozers plucked pines planted long ago on a 32-acre tract along Lutz-Lake Fern Road and Crooked Lane, the heavy equipment paving the way to expand the Oscar Cooler Sports Complex.

The open fields will soon be busy with a flurry of Lutz boys and girls, who will be able to play soccer there in the spring.

Hillsborough County parks and recreation spokesman John Brill said the $3.7 million expansion is targeted for an April 2010 opening. It will include several game and practice fields for soccer and football.

A playground, concessions, restrooms and storage areas also are part of the expansion. Large groups of trees will remain on the south side of the complex to create a buffer from lights and activity for residents along Lutz-Lake Fern Road.

“We want to be good neighbors,” Brill said.

According to Brill, large areas of conservation and wetlands will remain intact to comply with building regulations. Gopher Tortoises that were making their homes on the property as construction began were safely relocated. The park will also be pet friendly.

A ceremony will take place sometime after the completion of the project. County officials will work with the various leagues to schedule a suitable date for that event.

Once the expansion project is complete, a $300,000 renovation of the existing sports complex will begin. The existing football field for the Lutz Chiefs, of the Pasco Police Athletic League, will be transformed into baseball fields.

Football and soccer will be played at the expanded site while baseball and softball remain at the original location.

Additional parking will be added with entrances on the east end of Lutz-Lake Fern Road as well as Crooked Land, which divides the old and new sports complex. Overall, 130 parking spots will be added to accommodate baseball and softball families.

Brill said there are no expansion plans in the works for Nye Park off Sunset Lane in Lutz or the Lake Park complex, which is located off Dale Mabry Highway and owned by the City of St. Petersburg.

As the Oscar Cooler project nears completion, a new Lutz soccer league will form. In the past, local boys and girls have had to play in neighboring soccer leagues in Land O’ Lakes and northern Hillsborough.

“This will be a first for Lutz, and we are very excited about this possibility,” said Auralee Buckingham, a longtime Lutz resident, member of the Lutz-Land O Lakes Women’s Club and Lutz Civic Association.

A park for youth sports sprang up out of a former orange grove off Lutz-Lake Fern Road in 1974. The Lutz Little League, Lutz Leaguerettes softball progam and PPAL Chiefs have called the park home.

The facility is named after Oscar Cooler, an 80-year-old community leader and former businessman who worked with county officials and local volunteers to get the initial project completed.

—  Sports Editor Steve Lee contributed to this story.

By Diane Kortus Mathes

Staff Writer

LAND O’ LAKES — It’s been an incredible journey for Florida Medical Clinic.
In just 16 years, the physician-owned medical practice has grown from nine doctors to 100. Its original five physician offices in Zephyrhills and Dade City are now 16 offices in Wesley Chapel, New Tampa, Carrollwood and a brand new location in Land O’ Lakes.

There’s no question that the practice’s Land O’ Lakes facility is its showpiece. The $8.5 million, 32,000-square-foot, two-story, Spanish-style building is topped with a striking red tile roof. Inside, floors are marble tile, ceilings are high and medical specialties open out to central courtyard-like areas. Big windows let in bright, natural light and look out over a landscape of re-located palms and acres of mostly undeveloped land.
The clinic is the largest and most visible building on the busy SR 54 corridor between I-75 and US 41, and is the first structure completed on the 205-acre Terra Bella property.
When announced in 2006, the planned community of Terra Bella called for 311 apartments, 250 homes and a 32,000-square-foot mini-mall on 206 acres between Livingston Avenue and 20 Mile Level Road. The project was to be a new eastern gateway to Land O’ Lakes.
While the recession has stalled those projects, Florida Medical Clinic never faltered on its timetable. The clinic opened in September with 20 physicians in 11 specialties, including the core specialties of family medicine, cardiology interventional pain medicine and dermatology. It also houses a diagnostic laboratory and X-ray services.
Guiding the complex to its successful opening was Joe Delatorre, chief executive officer of Florida Medical Clinic.
“We never slowed down our plans for Land O’ Lakes when the economy slowed,” he said. “There were very few options for healthcare in this marketplace and we were needed here.”
The 48-year-old Wesley Chapel resident has led Florida Medical Clinic since the practice was established in 1993. Its five founding physicians recruited Delatorre to run all business aspects of their new practice to allow them to focus on taking care of patients. The concept of physicians using a business manager was a relatively new idea 20 years ago, Delatorre said.

“Florida Medical is all about doctors who just want to be doctors,” said Delatorre. “I was hired to do everything else.”
Delatorre was uniquely qualified for the job. The son of a physician who taught at the University of Florida, Delatorre was a 1988 University of Florida graduate, earning masters in business administration and health sciences.
One of his first jobs out of college was at Dade City Hospital (now Pasco Regional Medical Center), where he was chief executive officer at age 29. It was 1991 and the hospital was owned by Humana Hospitals. After a year in Dade City, the corporation promoted Delatorre to CEO of the much larger Humana Women’s Hospital in Tampa.
Two years later, Humana sold the hospital to St. Joseph’s and offered Delatorre another top position in Texas. At the same time, St. Joseph’s wanted him to stay on to lead its new management team.
Instead, Delatorre went with the vision of five doctors he knew from his year in Dade City to manage their new partnership in East Pasco.
Why did he take the risk of a new venture instead of the security of a large corporation?
“I was young and entrepreneurial,” Delatorre said. “I knew I could always go back to the corporate world because I had a successful tract record. But I thought the environment was right to help doctors run their business, and these were five people I knew and trusted.”
Under Delatorre’s leadership, the young practice grew quickly. In October of 1993, Florida Medical Clinic bought 12 acres and a vacant strip center on US 301 in Zephyrhills for $800,000 and began a $2.4 million renovation. A little more than a year later, in January1995, Delatorre moved his doctors into the new facility.
Next up on Delatorre’s mission to capture market share in East Pasco was Wesley Chapel. In 2000, Florida Medical Clinic purchased an old Shoney’s restaurant on SR 54 and I-75 and expanded it from 5,600 to 10,000 square feet.
In 2002, it recruited two premier gastroenterology offices in North Tampa, which were the catalyst for moving into New Tampa and building an ambulatory surgery center on Bruce B. Downs not far from University Community Hospital. Then it was Carrollwood, with an office at Bearss Avenue and Dale Mabry Highway.
In 2005, Florida Medical Clinic bought its 10 acres in Land O’ Lakes for $3.5 million and began to plan its mother ship. Now that its Land O’ Lakes facility is completed, Delatorre said they are looking at adding a 10,000 square-foot administrative building behind it.
Today, just about every medical specialty is found at Florida Medical Clinic, with the exception of obstetrics and pediatrics. Delatorre said those specialties will likely become part of the group when the right opportunities present themselves.
Florida Medical Clinic is the third largest physician group in the Tampa area, after the University of South Florida and Watson Clinic in Lakeland. It employs 130 medical providers and 700 support staff.
The Clinic remains physician owned and operated, with 68 doctors as shareholders.
“Every doctor is eligible to become a partner after three years,” explained Delatorre, a model which he says attracts some of the best doctors in the country.
Delatorre has lived in Saddlebrook since 1995 and before then in the Lake Padgett community in Land O’ Lakes. Married to Kelley for 26 years, their daughters attended elementary and middle school at Academy at the Lakes. Stephanie, 22, is a 2009 graduate of the University of Virginia and Shannon, 18, graduated high school last spring from Academy of Holy Names in Tampa.
Not many people know that Joe Delatorre’s parents escaped from Cuba in 1961 when his mother was eight months pregnant with him.
“My father likes to say that I was manufactured in Cuba and born in the United States,” he said.
After fleeing the Castro regime, his dad relocated the family to Virginia were he completed his medical residency in psychiatry at the University of Virginia and later settled permanently in Gainesville.
Since his stint at Dade City Hospital in the early 1990s, Pasco County has been Delatorre’s home.
“This is a community I love that has given me and my family so many opportunities,” he said. “It’s great to give something back.”