The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Health

Health News 11/03/2021

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(Courtesy of Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office)

Boot drive garners over $2,800 for MDA
The five Pasco County Tax Collector’s offices in September accepted donations on behalf of the Firefighters Charities of Pasco’s Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Boot Drive. Breaking with the tradition of firefighters standing on street corners, the tax collector offices instead served as donation sites for those wanting to support the cause. This year, staff and customers raised $2,808.13 to help the MDA fund its 150 research projects around the world. Boot drive coordinator Sean Messer and fellow firefighters joined Pasco Tax Collector Mike Fasano and members of the tax collector’s staff to deliver the donation.

Breast cancer donation
The Watson Clinic Foundation (WCF) presented a check in the amount of $100,000 to the Breast Cancer Foundation of Central Florida (BCFCF), an organization the provides financial resources and support to individuals and families impacted by breast cancer.

The WCF in 2019 committed to donating three $100,000 checks to the BCFCF over the course of three years, for a grand total of $300,000. This is the third installment of its donation.

“By easing the psychological and emotional burdens faced by patients and family members following a cancer diagnosis, the BCFCF creates an environment for the patient that’s free from unnecessary stress and more conducive to healing,” said WCF chairman of the board Dr. Steven G. Achinger, in a news release.

“Their goals fall right in line with the foundation’s mission to improve the health of our community through education, research and service, and that’s why we’re proud to support their efforts,” said Dr. Achinger.

For more information or to make a contribution, call 863-904-2656, or visit WatsonClinic.com/WCF.

Rotary Club donates $7,500 to Gulfside Hospice

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The Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes has donated $7,500 to Gulfside Hospice representing proceeds from the Oct. 2 Bands ‘N Brews festival held at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park.

Terri Dusek, who chaired the festival committee for the Rotary group, deemed the festival a “huge success,” especially since this was its inaugural year.

Terri Dusek, left, of The Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes, announces a $7,500 donation to Gulfside Hospice. Accepting the gift is Leesa Fryer alongside Carla Armstrong from Gulfside Healthcare Services. (Diane Kortus)

Leesa Fryer, fundraising and event planning specialist, and Carla Armstrong, director of philanthropy, for Gulfside Hospice, accepted the donation at the Rotary Club’s Oct. 22 weekly meeting.

“Bands ‘N Brews was an awesome event, and we are so honored and grateful to receive this very generous donation,” said Armstrong.

“Gulfside Hospice provides services for 650 patients every day. Ten years ago, we reached just 150 people a day, and thanks to generous donations like this, we’ve been able to continue to grow, to support the needs of our community,” she said.

Armstrong noted the $7,500 donation from The Rotary Club of Land O’ Lakes will help offset costs for patients not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance.

“About 15% of our patients do not have insurance or other means to pay for care, and we’re proud that we never turn away anyone needing hospice services,” Armstrong said.

Gulfside Hospice is part of Gulfside Healthcare Services, which also provides palliative care and home health services to Pasco and north Pinellas residents. The organization is based in Land O’ Lakes and has 350 employees.

Published October 27, 2021

Volunteer wins national award

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Vanessa M. Dazio, OTD, OTR/L, certified occupational therapist (Courtesy of CARES)

The CARES nonprofit organization announced that Vanessa M. Dazio, OTD, OTR/L, won the 2021 NBCOT Impact Award for her volunteer work at the CARES Claude Pepper Senior Health Clinic in New Port Richey, according to a news release.

The award recognizes certified occupational therapy (OT) practitioners who demonstrate exceptional professional commitment through their dedication, hard work, and outstanding OT skills to improve their clients’ overall life satisfaction.

According to the NBCOT (National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy), treatment strategies include wellness promotion, rehabilitation, and habilitation.

The occupational therapy professional assists the client in regaining function or adapting to changes by assessing and addressing all aspects of recovery, not just the physical.

Dazio was nominated by clinic manager Gisela Dalnoky, RN, for her outstanding work of providing OT treatment to underserved, uninsured older adults in the Pasco County community.

“It’s been an honor to work with so many fine people at the CARES Senior Health Clinic. I would encourage retired or working medical professionals to volunteer some time with us. We are truly saving lives and improving health outcomes for people who need the help. It’s been incredibly satisfying,” said Dazio, in the release.

The CARES Claude Pepper clinic is at 6640 Van Buren St., in New Port Richey, and can be reached at 727-844-3077.

Health News 10/20/2021

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GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club team members take a break from working on the garden border at Camp Idlewild in Land O’ Lakes. (Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

Garden aims to create peaceful setting
The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club has undertaken a large, special project in creating a sensory garden, from scratch, at Camp Idlewild in Land O’ Lakes.

The camp serves as a setting for autistic children, and the club chose the garden project to provide a colorful, fun space with a calm atmosphere for the campers.

Club members have provided benches, borders, a gravel pathway, an interesting sculpture, and two garden arches and a wooden Ms. Catie Pillar ‘train’ (made by David Bellingar).

Plants soon will be placed to attract butterflies, too.

The garden is still a work in progress, coming along in stages.

For information about the woman’s club and membership opportunities, visit their Facebook page, or GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Skin cancer treatment
Skin cancer is the country’s most prevalent kind of cancer and often involves surgery, which can cause deformity, significant pain, long recovery periods, scarring, and discontinuation of    medications.

ForCare Medical Center, 15416 N. Florida Ave., in Tampa, now offers electron-beam therapy for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma skin cancers, according to a news release.

The therapy requires no cutting or downtime, and may be less painful than surgery itself.

Electron-beam therapy allows precise depth control and tight borders, especially around sensitive areas such as eyelids, lips and ears.

And, patients do not need to stop taking medication, as they may have to if undergoing surgery, according to Dr. Seth Forman, in the release.

For information, visit ForCareMed.com, or call 813-960-2400.

Board chair named
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay’s nonprofit Board of Directors has named Meredith Freeman as its chair for the 2022 financial year, according to a news release.

Freeman has voluntered as a member of the board since 2017. In previous years, she served on the executive committee as the board secretary and chair-elect.

“The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay provides critical services to our community, from recent efforts to help residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, to helping those in crisis through the 211 crisis hotline. I am humbled and honored to be selected by my fellow board members to serve as chair of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay,” said Freeman, in the release

Moffitt and Pasco Schools have big plans

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Pasco County Schools and Moffitt Cancer Center envision great possibilities of working together when the school district builds its planned 6-12 magnet STEAM school on land near Moffitt’s planned campus in Land O’ Lakes.

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools, recently updated the school board about a meeting between school district and Moffitt staff members.

“We had our first real, live, meeting with the administrative staff of Moffitt Cancer Center. And, it went really very, very well,” Gadd told the school board on Oct. 5.

“On the Angeline property, as the crow flies, is kind of back behind Land O’ Lakes High School, Moffitt is putting in a hospital and a big research center, and we have a school right across the street,” Gadd said.

“That school, we’ll start construction on that, I think, about mid-October. We’ll probably be the first building up out there. And, we are currently working with Moffitt and Pasco-Hernando State College to develop a very unique school setting.”

The campus will serve students in grades six through 12.

“More than likely, the upper classmen will have an opportunity to interact in the Moffitt hospital, with Moffitt researchers; (and) participate in apprentice programs and internships.

“It would be something that is very unique to the Pasco school system,” Gadd said, noting that Dr. Kim Moore, assistant superintendent who oversees the district’s career and technical programs, was at the meeting, as well as Dr. Monica Ilse, assistant superintendent for high schools, and Steve Hegarty, public information officer.

“We had a very, very positive reception from the Moffitt folks,” Gadd said.

In remarks to her school board colleagues, Cynthia Armstrong said it’s exciting “that we’re going to have a magnet school right next to their campus, which is going to be huge. So, we’re very excited about that.”

That meeting was a follow-up to a previous session between Gadd and Dr. Patrick Hwu, president and CEO of Moffitt.

Gadd previously briefed school board members about his meeting with Hwu.

During that briefing, Gadd told board members that he’d “heard through the grapevine that he (Hwu) was a big supporter of education, public education.”

But Gadd added: “My meeting with him was beyond expectations. I went there with a few ideas and he had hundreds of ideas about how our new STEM magnet in the Angeline area could be a partner with Moffitt.”

Gadd noted: “We’d have to work through all kinds of legal issues, as he and I discussed, but having students actually sit in, participate in procedures, surgeries, internships. Having graduate students and doctors actually come to the school building and teach courses and work with us, district-wide on virtual programs for kids, who are in nursing programs, health programs, biomedical engineering and those kinds of things.

“He was exuberant, and we made arrangements to connect my staff with his staff. I am really looking forward to the potential we have to work with Moffitt,” Gadd said.

Funding for the construction of the district’s planned 6-12 school in Land O’ Lakes was approved on Oct. 5, when the school board adjourned, then reconvened as the Pasco County School Board Leasing Corporation to approve $85 million in financing that will pay for the lease‐purchase financing of that school, and projects Hudson and Gulf high schools.

The new Angeline mixed-use community — which is being billed as a wellness-themed community — will be developed on thousands of acres of land, east of the Suncoast Parkway and south of State Road 52.

Moffitt plans to create a massive research and corporate innovation district.

Site entitlements for Moffitt’s project, which encompass 24 million square feet, include plans for a hospital, research and development space, office, manufacturing, laboratories, pharmacies, educational facility/university, hotel, and commercial space. The multiyear, multiphase project is expected to create 14,500 jobs.

The school district’s new school in Angeline will be designed for 1,694 student stations, which at 90% capacity translates to about 1,530 students, according to a previous report in The Laker/Lutz News.

The school board hired Ajax Building Company at its Sept. 15, 2020 meeting to do pre-construction work at the 6-12 STEAM school site.

The school is planned on an 18.8-acre site within Angeline, south of State Road 52, north of the future Ridge Road extension and west of Sunlake Boulevard, according to Ajax’s website.

“Campus plans include a one-story administration area, a one-story dining and multipurpose area with a full kitchen, two-story media, band and art areas, and a four-story classroom wing, with all areas connected by a one-story and two-story atrium/central corridor, the website post says.

The site development also includes “walkway canopies, aluminum shade system, fencing, walking trail, sidewalks, chiller/generator plan, site lighting, underground utilities, landscaping and irrigation,” according to information posted by Ajax.

Harvard Jolly is the architect on the school district project.

Published October 13, 2021

Ray Gadd named to state task force

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Ray Gadd

Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent for Pasco County Schools, has been named to a state task force seeking solutions to address mental health and substance abuse issues.

Gadd told members of the Pasco County School Board, at their Oct. 5 meeting, that he had been appointed by Senate President Wilton Simpson to serve on the Senate Commission on Substance Abuse and Mental Health.

“It’s made up of people that represent education and community mental health from all across the state. We meet about once a month for the next two years,” Gadd said.

The task force has high hopes for improving the coordination of efforts by school systems and community mental health organizations in taking on these problems, rather than using a silo approach, he said.

“I’m hopeful that some really good things will come out of that task force,” Gadd said.

He also invited board members and district staff to bring issues to his attention that he can present in task force discussions.

Published October 13, 2021

Woman’s club donates special gift

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(Courtesy of Shantel Meyers)

The GFWC Wesley Chapel Woman’s Club recently hosted guest speakers from Idlewild Autism Camp, who shared information about its programs for children and young adults — activities that include a weeklong summer camp, as well as a weekend camp in the fall and spring. The women’s club donated $300 to sponsor a weekend camper, as a special gift to help a family struggling to get a child into Camp Idlewild. From left: Linda Jenkins, GFWC; Idewild staff Nathan Stowers, Sherri Sherman and Irene Roach; Cindi Nalon, GFWC; Shantel Meyers (holding check), GFWC; and Idewild staff Wendy Neal and Mariah Pasko.

New surgical center

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AdventHealth leaders and members of the Taneja family cut the ribbon on the new facility. (Courtesy of AdventHealth West Florida Division)

AdventHealth leaders cut the ribbon on the new $300 million Taneja Center for Surgery at AdventHealth Tampa, the largest surgical expansion in Tampa Bay history, according to a news release.

The 314,000-square-foot surgical tower is a state-of-the-art facility built to expand for Florida’s growing population, and for larger robotics needed for intricate surgical cases requiring multiple surgeons.

New additions include:

  • 18 new, 750-square-foot operating rooms
  • A negative-pressure ante room outside of the operating room to keep surgeons and patients safe during infectious cases
  • Indigo clean lighting to allow for disinfection even during surgeries
  • Livestreaming pathology in the operating room
  • 96 new, private patient rooms

The Taneja Center will begin surgical cases on Oct. 12.

Teen panel addresses problems facing youths

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A trio of Pasco County high schoolers gathered over the summer to share their perspective on youth drug use, mental health and other issues facing their peers — both on school campuses and in the community at large.

The teen activists — Land O’ Lakes High School’s Jocelyn Meriwether, Fivay High School’s Avery Merta and Gulf High School’s Maddie Horn — are part of a group called Safe Teens Against Drugs, or STAND, in Pasco County.

They have a straightforward mission: To end youth substance abuse in the area by educating teachers, law enforcement, business owners and other community members.

They do this by sharing their observations and by suggesting solutions.

The youth group is facilitated by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (Pasco ASAP), which arranged a virtual panel discussion.

Members of Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND) shared insights during a panel conducted during the summer on youth drug use, mental health and other issues facing their peers in Pasco County. Their testimony came during a virtual panel discussion organized by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (Pasco ASAP). (Courtesy of Pasco Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention)

“The mission of STAND is to really empower youth to be agents of change, by strengthening their voices,” Pasco ASAP’s coalition coordinator Kellie Rodriguez said, during the session.

Incorporating adolescent voices in the discussion is critical, she said.

Drug use in schools
The teens’ testimonies of what’s happening within their respective public schools were revealing for health service providers and other stakeholders. That was particularly true regarding the pervasiveness and accessibility of drugs.

Merta asserted students at Fivay High have access to all types of illicit substances — including cocaine, Percocet and LSD.

“A lot of kids get their hands on things they shouldn’t have,” the 17-year-old junior said. “There’s people getting hands on literally everything at my school.”

Horn said marijuana vapes and edibles are an issue at Gulf High School, and beyond.

The 15-year-old sophomore shared a story about a classmate openly selling marijuana-laced brownies to other students in one of her art classes last year.

“It was just wild to see,” Horn said. The sale was out in the open, but because it was a brownie, the teacher wasn’t suspicious.

The prevalence of marijuana vaping is concerning, too, she said.

Horn said these so-called weed pens have been found to have higher concentrations of THC — tetrahydrocannabinol — the main active ingredient of cannabis.

The troubling trend hits close to home for Horn, whose cousin became addicted to the weed pens and experienced withdrawal symptoms.

It was hard to watch, Horn said.

Smoking marijuana remains “one of the biggest drug-related issues” in schools, according to Meriwether, a high school junior and STAND Pasco president.

She said some Land O’ Lakes High students have strategically teamed up to visit different school restrooms simultaneously so if one gets caught, not all of the drugs are confiscated.

Offending students, however, rarely ever were discovered and punished, Meriwether observed.

“Getting caught was not common,” she said.

More school accountability needed
The students also pointed to the need for adults in the Pasco County school district to play a more active role in curbing illicit drug use.

More teachers need to routinely check school restrooms between passing periods “to make sure no one’s doing (anything),” Merta suggested.

Meriweather and Horn said teachers need to listen to what students are saying and pay attention to what they are doing.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve been in class and students are like talking very loudly about what they’re about to go do in the bathrooms…and our teachers just kind of overlook it, or kind of don’t react or don’t say anything,” Meriweather said.

She said teachers and other adults should step in and say: “Hey, I hear what you’re talking about. Let’s not do that, you know.’”

More empathy for teens needed
Another major complaint the panelists expressed centered on the general lack of empathy from teachers, guidance counselors and other school-support staff when students experience a panic attack or other mental health episode.

Marijuana usage remains an issue throughout Pasco County high schools, according to a group of students from Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND). (File)

“A lot of times, I’ll be having a panic attack and our teachers will be like, ‘Oh, you need to get back to work, you need to stop doing that,’” Horn said. “It’s really discouraging because I’m going through something and I have these really big emotions and big thoughts, and sometimes I can’t handle (them) on my own.”

Merta agreed: “Most of the teachers actually cause more anxiety by pressuring you into doing something.”

Merta explained — a student can be experiencing some type of anxiety, and instead of helping, the reaction might be: “Do your work. Do this. Do that.’”

Although the counselor at his school is supportive, Merta said, the counselor simply can’t devote enough time to students.

“You can only talk for like 10 to 15 minutes, so it’s not really something that’s worth it,” Merta explained.

Meriwether said it can take more than two weeks to get in to see a guidance counselor at Land O’ Lakes High School.

That’s not helpful during the middle of a panic attack, she said.

Pasco County Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick chimed in, too.

She agreed with the panel that students need to have easy access to counselors.

“Yeah, they might be working on a specific topic right then, but they should be able to stop what they’re doing and help address a student, because a student is priority,” Fitzpatrick said.

She recommends that teachers be given mental health and anxiety de-escalation training.

Some positive steps forward
Students said they have seen progress, both at school and in the community.

Fivay has installed smoke detectors that can locate vapes, Merta said.

The school district also is instituting human trafficking educational programming at the end of each school year, Merta said.

Meriwether commended the positive presence of the Pasco Sheriff’s Office’s in schools and in the community. Deputies routinely ask how they can help better serve the area, the teen said.

Horn appreciates the welcoming attitude that Pasco County Schools has toward groups such as STAND.

The group has been invited to elementary and middle schools where information is shared on an array of topics, she said.

The plan to use COVID-19 relief funds to bring on 27 mental health counselors is a good step, Horn said.

To find out more about these issues or STAND, visit EmpoweredCommunities.org, or email .

Published September 22, 2021

Heart monitoring goes wireless

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AdventHealth Tampa has performed its first wireless monitoring sensor implant to help physicians manage heart failure patients remotely, according to a news release.

The FDA-approved procedure is designed to reduce hospital admissions by 58% and improve quality of life for patients.

The CardioMEMS HF System sensor is about the size of a paper clip. (Courtesy of AdventHealth West Florida Division)

“This innovative technology is opening up a new chapter in how we treat patients with heart failure,” said Dr. Oliver Abela, cardiologist at AdventHealth Tampa, in the release.

“We are committed to elevating cardiovascular care in our community and adding (the) CardioMEMS HF System allows us to treat heart failure patients from a distance and, proactively, personalize their medical needs,” said Dr. Abela.

The minimally invasive procedure allows physicians to insert a small sensor (the size of a paper clip) into the patient’s pulmonary artery.

Once implanted, the patient goes home with a queen-sized pillow device that connects wirelessly to the sensor, allowing physicians to monitor the patient’s heart failure status from anywhere.

Patients usually can be discharged from the hospital four hours after the procedure, and can make a full recovery in a week.

The sensor is designed to last the lifetime of the patient and does not require batteries.