The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

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Health News 03/18/2020

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Pharmacy waives delivery fees
CVS Health has issued a statement that it is taking additional steps to address the coronavirus disease-19 outbreak and to protect patient access to medication.

Starting immediately, CVS Pharmacy will waive charges for home delivery of prescription medications.

Aetna, a CVS Health company, will now offer 90-day maintenance medication prescriptions for insured and Medicare members, and is working with state governments to make the same option available to Medicaid members where allowable. Self-funded plan sponsors also will be able to offer this option.

Aetna will waive early refill limits on 30-day prescription maintenance medications for all members with pharmacy benefits administered through CVS Caremark.

And, Caremark is working with all clients to waive early refill limits on 30-day prescription maintenance medications.

The fee waiver is in addition to Aetna’s ensurance that all diagnostic testing and telemedicine visits will be available with no co-pay.

Coronavirus info line launched
AdventHealth has launched a free phone service for Floridians who have questions about coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), including the opportunity to speak with a nurse, as appropriate.

According to a March 20 news release, the AdventHealth Coronavirus Information Line, (877)-VIRUSHQ, is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

It serves as a one-stop shop to connect Floridians with resources, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Florida Department of Health.

The phone line is not intended to replace a physician-patient relationship. Nurses can answer general medical questions and will refer the caller to the appropriate next steps.

AdventHealth is hoping this service also will offload nonclinical call volumes from health care offices.

AdventHealth also has launched CoronavirusSignsAndSymptoms.com, so consumers can get answers to top COVID-19 questions.

Therapy dog helps address mental illness

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The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office has added a therapy dog to expand its efforts to better serve the needs of people facing significant mental health and substance abuse issues.

The therapy dog is the newest member of a Behavioral Health Intervention Team (BHIT) the law enforcement agency established last year.

The team’s primary task is to keep tabs on individuals who have been held involuntarily in a mental health treatment facility for up to 72 hours, through a state law known as the Baker Act.

Pasco Sheriff’s Office Det. Pedro Leos with new animal assisted therapy dog K9 Charlie. Charlie will be used with the agency’s Behavioral Health Intervention Team to provide a calming presence to those that may be experiencing a mental health crisis. (Courtesy of Pasco Sheriff’s Office)

They focus on approximately 500 people who are Baker Act repeats — through a proactive approach that includes frequent visitations, welfare checks, expedited behavioral health resources and criminal justice diversion programs.

Now, K9 Charlie, a 1-year-old pitbull-mix, has joined the team, to aid and comfort those who are struggling.

Charlie came to the local law enforcement agency by way of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s Paws and Stripes program.

That program trains dogs from local animal shelters, preparing them to become PTSD dogs,  therapy dogs, and child victim advocate dogs.

Charlie was rescued from the streets in October.

The new animal assisted therapy dog program strives to better “build a connection” between law enforcement and the mental health community, said Cpt. Toni Roach, who oversees the 15-member BHIT, which includes a captain, two sergeants and 12 detectives.

Charlie helps “to comfort and ease some anxiety and build that stress relief,” when the sheriff’s office comes knocking on the door for visitations and welfare checks, Roach explained.

“Law enforcement and people with mental illness, there’s that stigma that we’re there to take them into custody or arrest them for a crime,” Roach said.

But, Charlie’s calming presence for someone facing a mental health crisis could break the ice, Roach said. And, that can help to open lines of communications, so responders can get to the root of problems and identify ways to resolve them.

The Pasco Sheriff’s Office Behavioral Health Intervention Team (BHIT) recently added animal assisted therapy dog Charlie to the team. Charlie is partnered with BHIT Det. Pedro Leos, and aims to provide a calming presence for those that may be experiencing a mental health crisis.

An individual struggling with addiction may be referred to outpatient substance abuse treatment, for instance. Or, someone undergoing financial struggles may be referred to Pasco County Human Services and the county’s homeless coalition.

Roach said the idea is to help bridge the gap for services and shorten the time it takes to receive them.

A therapy dog can help in that process, she said.

Charlie’s handler, Det. Pedro Leos, agrees.

Leos said the therapy dog was needed to “better help me make contact with those people in need, break down those barriers between law enforcement and the community, and open up conversation.”

Leos has been with the sheriff’s office in 2014. He said he joined the BHIT “because there’s a stigma with mental illness and I want to break that cycle.

“I want to be there to help people in need, and give them the resources they need to have a better quality of life in order to continue on with their daily activities,” the detective said.

When approached a few months ago to become a therapy dog handler, Leos, who loves pets, said he “was all for it.”

Leos noted there was an immediate connection between him and Charlie during the eight-week Paws and Stripes training program.

“When I met him, I absolutely loved him,” Leos said. “It was like we clicked. He listened to me. We started doing obedience training, and he was awesome. It was just one of those things where we both bonded very quickly.”

The detective said every time he puts on his uniform — a black polo and green spruce pants — Charlie knows it’s time to go to work “and help people in the community.”

Though still a young canine, Charlie has already settled into his role, Leos said.

The detective described Charlie’s demeanor this way: “He’s awesome with kids, awesome with people, awesome with the community. He loves hugs and he loves kisses. He loves to make people happy, and he knows that’s his main goal, to make people happy. He understands it, and he’s out there doing what he needs to do, to help fulfill this desire to help people in need.”

The sheriff’s office plans to add additional therapy dogs at some point, so that at least one can be available seven days a week, officials say.

Published March 11, 2020

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North expands

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St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has completed a $75 million expansion, and began welcoming patients to its more spacious facility this week.

The project doubled the hospital’s capacity — increasing it from 108 beds to 216 beds. The hospital also has upped its intensive care unit beds from 12 to 24. And, has more room to deliver services, accommodate visitors and enhance employee work areas.

Sara Dodds, the director of operations for St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, has worked at the Lutz hospital since its inception. She has been the point person on the $75 million expansion, which doubled the hospital’s capacity. The expansion is opening this week. (B.C. Manion)

Sara Dodds, the hospital’s director of operations, provided a walk-through tour of the addition to The Laker/Lutz News last week, before it opened for patients.

The expansion will allow the hospital to respond to the area’s fast-paced growth, Dodds said.

“There’s definitely a need. There’s so many new homes going up around us.

“We’ve been overcapacity for quite some time,” she said.

The hospital’s primary market is within 5 miles, and its secondary market is within 10 miles.

“The growth going on in our primary and secondary service areas is much faster than the rest of Florida and the rest of the country,” Dodds said.

In designing its expansion, the hospital sought feedback from its existing staff and incorporated their ideas into the design, she said.

For instance, Dodds said, “We got feedback from the staff that our waiting rooms weren’t very open, and inviting for guests.”

The new waiting rooms feature comfortable furniture, artwork and a flat-screen TV.

Patient rooms also provide accommodations for patients when they’re out of their beds, and offer a place where family member can rest through the night.

Also, at intervals in the hospital’s corridors, there are respite areas.

Dodds explained: “A lot of time we might ask a visitor to step out, while we’re doing something for the patient. Instead of them having to stand out in the hallway, or go walk to another location, we added benches.”

The recently wrapped-up project also includes technology to help patients.

There’s a “Get Well Network,” which allows patients to watch health videos, learn about their medications and so on. “That is all integrated with their medical record,” Dodds said.

The hospital also uses technology that automatically displays the name and title of hospital staff entering a patient’s room on the television screen.

That system is integrated with the hospital’s call light system, so “as long as a nurse or a tech or another member of that clinical care team is in the room, there’s a specific color light that’s illuminated outside the room,” Dodds said.

The hospital also uses a technology that allows care team members to secure-message physicians and anyone they might need to take care of a patient.

Some of the approximately 100 St. Joseph’s Hospital-North team members who have been with the hospital since it opened on Feb. 15, 2010. (Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)

“It’s definitely enhanced communications, on behalf of the patient,” she said.

The expansion also includes a dedicated hemodialysis suite, which can accommodate up to four patients at a time.

It has a larger space for physical therapy, too, to help patients prepare to return home after treatment.

The hospital’s clinical engineering department now has a larger workspace, where staff can ensure the hospital’s equipment is up-to-date and can do required preventative maintenance work.

The design keeps function, in mind.

In the progressive care area, for instance, a nurse can sit at a station, with windows on both sides. The nurse can slide open the blinds, to observe two patient rooms, without having to enter the rooms.

The hospital also is using technology to help manage its inventory.

“Historically, someone from materials management would have to come in each day, or more than once a day, and have to count everything that was in the bin (material container), so they knew what to reorder.

“Now, with this new technology, there’s a scale built into every one of those bins, they can see it on a computer system, so they know, remotely, what needs to be reordered,” Dodds said.

The technology improves efficiency.

“We did hire a lot of new staff for the expansion, but this is one area where we did not have to because of the innovation,” Dodds said.

The hospital also has more classrooms now, which are used to keep staff up to date on the latest information, to provide training on new equipment and to accommodate orientations. They’re also available for classes to help staff members meet continuing education requirements.

With a larger facility, more employees will be needed.

Dodds expects the hospital to need 200 additional employees, when the expansion is operating at full capacity.

She’s been working there since its inception and is excited about the facility’s future.

Apparently, she’s not the only one who enjoys working there.

“We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary,” she said. “We have close to 100 team members that were here when the hospital opened that are still here now.”

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North
The $75 million expansion:

  • Doubled number of hospital beds, from 108 to 216
  • Doubled intensive care unit beds, from 12 to 24
  • Added two new floors
  • Added a new infusion center, allowing treatment for up to 15 patients at one time
  • Doubled number of operating suites, from four to eight

Hospital statistics, 2019

  • 404 births
  • 4,467 outpatient surgeries
  • 42,869 emergency room visits
  • 463,414 lab tests

Hospital statistics, 2010-2019

  • 6, 944 cardiac procedures
  • 380,061 emergency room visits
  • 61,137 admissions
  • 31,300 surgeries
  • 3,923 babies delivered

Service providers

  • 188 physicians with hospital privileges in 2010; more than 350 in 2020
  • 476 team members in 2010; 820 in 2020

Published March 11, 2020

Protect yourself against coronavirus

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Experts advise: Stay informed, take precautions.

The headlines are relentless as news continues to evolve about the threats posed by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

A quarantine is in effect in Northern Italy. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch will be lit without spectators. Stock markets have been plunging. People are being warned not to travel on cruise ships.

And, with the lack of a vaccine and antiviral medications for COVID-19, uncertainty continues over how far the disease will spread and how many deaths it will cause.

In the midst of uncertainty and the ever-changing developments, experts are advising the public to take precautions to limit the potential for exposure, and to help reduce the spread of the virus.

In some places, the reactions to the spread of the virus have included closing schools, requiring workers to work at home, and urging elderly people and those with compromised immune systems to limit their activities to avoid exposure.

Those most at risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 include older adults and people who have serious chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and lung disease, according to experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Precautions are being taken at the local level.

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning is letting the public know how the district is responding to the threat, and offering suggestions to parents as they prepare for Spring Break, which is March 16 to March 20.

Browning shared that information in a video that’s been posted to YouTube.

The Diocese of St. Petersburg also has issued guidance, based on protocols from the CDC.

The Diocese advises individuals to stay home from Mass, church activities and school if they are sick, or their immune system is compromised.

“It is not a sin and it will not impact your  grades,” the Diocesan advisory says.

Practices that may be altered at Mass, because of COVID-19, include the sign of peace, which is typically a handshake. Some churches are opting not to do that.

Others are offering Communion in the form of bread in the hand only, and not on the tongue. Certain parishes also have suspended offering communion in the form of wine, to avoid sharing a common Communion cup.

In a number of televised interviews, experts have said it’s important to take precautions to limit possible exposure.

Washing hands and sanitizing frequently touched surfaces and avoiding touching your face is important, they said, because the virus enters the body through the mouth, hand or nose.

They also said that the number of deaths and disruptions will rise — as efforts continue to limit its spread, isolate those who are infected and develop a vaccine for COVID-19.

Stop the spread of germs
To prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, like COVID-19:

  • Avoid close contact with people who are sick
  • Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue immediately
  • Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Avoid touching your eyes, mouth or nose with unwashed hands; use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, if soap and water are not available
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
  • Stay home when you are sick, except to get medical care

Symptoms for COVID-19

  • Fever, cough, shortness of breath
  • Symptoms typically appear two to 14 days after exposure

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Keep informed

Published March 11, 2020

Awareness can reduce dating violence

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Melissa Dohme Hill’s personal story should serve as a warning to the dangerous heights dating violence can reach.

She was a 20-year-old college student when she agreed to meet her abusive high school ex-boyfriend for one last embrace and goodbye, on Jan. 24. 2012.

What followed was a brutal attack that left her almost dead in front of her Clearwater home. Hill was stabbed 32 times in the neck face, arms and hands. The blood loss from the attack caused her to flatline four times and have a stroke; she underwent many surgeries to reconstruct her face and body, along with years of physical and psychological therapy.

Dating violence survivor Melissa Dohme Hill, right, was the featured guest speaker at a Pasco-Hernando State College’s (PHSC) dating violence awareness seminar last month at the Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. Also seated is PHSC associate dean Natalie Epo. (Kevin Weiss)

Her then-boyfriend, Robert Lee Burton Jr., is serving life in prison for the crime.

Today, Hill serves as a full-time domestic violence prevention advocate for the local nonprofit organization Hands Across the Bay’s domestic violence division, working to inspire and educate others through her personal experience. She also recently started an alpaca therapy farm in San Antonio with her husband, serving local domestic violence survivors, first responders and children who’ve experienced trauma.

Hill was the featured guest speaker at Pasco-Hernando State College’s dating violence seminar last month at the Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch. The event was part of the college’s community awareness series open to the students, faculty, staff and the public.

Speaking to an audience of dozens in roundtable discussion, Hill outlined disturbing dating violence trends, red flags that signal how an abusive relationship could become deadly, and steps to safely break up from an abuser, among other related topics.

At the seminar, it was revealed the Centers for Disease Control reports nearly one in 11 females and one in 15 males have experienced physical teen dating violence in the last year.

Hill first turned her attention to break up violence, which she called “a horrifyingly rising trend, an epidemic.”

The period of time after leaving an abusive relationship, Hill said, is the most dangerous.

The speaker observed, “Think about this: In an abusive relationship, this person is your everything, and when someone loses their everything, they’re capable of anything.”

With that, Hill urged those who are leaving an abusive relationship to have a detailed plan.

Such plans include connecting immediately with a domestic violence center, such as Sunrise of Pasco County.

The plans also can include relocating, filing a restraining order, changing out phone numbers and door locks, and informing loved ones of the situation, among other measures.

Hill also urged those listening to avoid contact with someone who has been abusive in any way — whether physical, verbal or emotional.

It’s something Hill said she wished she could tell her younger self.

The speaker put it like this: “You don’t owe them an apology, you don’t owe them a hug, you don’t owe them closure, you do not owe them anything. You block their number, you do not contact them. You need to focus on your healing and your time, and give yourself some space to heal.”

In Hill’s self-described “toxic” relationship, the abuse was gradual. It started with jealousy, then morphed into verbal abuse, emotional abuse and, finally, physical abuse, she said.

“Domestic violence of dating violence doesn’t happen on the first date,” said Hill, noting her ex-boyfriend was at first “very loving and charming and amazing,” but, as time went on, he began nitpicking and criticizing, then belittling and name-calling.

When Hill tried to break up, her abuser threatened suicide.

That’s something that teenagers are dealing with “at epidemic rates,” she said.

Hill stuck by her abuser, who hurt her physically four times before the near-fatal attack.

Hill said it’s important to pay attention to “red flags” that a troubled relationship could turn dangerous.

Initially, something that seems harmless, like jokingly name-calling or drunkenly pushing or shoving a partner at a party, shouldn’t be taken lightly.

“You should not be in the habit of collecting red flags,” Hill said. “You don’t brush these under the rug, because they’re going to keep piling up to where there’s an explosion or it’s going to turn to physical violence.

“If you ignore the cycle of abuse —  the red flags —  it will turn to physical violence, almost guaranteed. …It doesn’t get better when these things are popping up.”

Hill mentioned the top five risk factors associated with homicide from an abusive relationship:  use or threat of use of weapons, threats to kill, strangling, constant jealousy, and forced sex.

Other high-risk factors include: recent job loss, violent criminal history, animal abuse, and a recent separation.

In the eight years since the attack, Hill has gone on to discover her life’s purpose, helping other domestic violence survivors, and spreading awareness and prevention tactics on dating violence.

“There’s so much power in sharing your story,” Hill said. “Sharing my story and speaking out has healed my heart, little by little, through these years.”

If you are in an abusive relationship, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 (800) 799-3224, or text “loveis” to the National Dating Abuse Helping at 22522.

Published March 11, 2020

Helping others to end abusive relationships

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Melissa Dohme Hill — who nearly lost her life at the hands of an abusive ex-boyfriend — offered suggestions on how to help people leave abusive relationships.

Friends and families can help when a loved one is dating or married to an abuser, Hill said.

There are warning signs to watch out for, Hill said.

For instance, pay attention to whether your loved one:

  • Is drifting away from others — spending all of their time with their partner.
  • Is wearing long sleeves or other clothing to hide bruises.
  • ls constantly making excuses for their partner’s behavior.

“Often as outsiders, you will see the relationship as unhealthy before the victim will,” Hill said.

If a victim breaks their silence about the abuse, it’s important to believe them, she said.

Then, help that person to connect with a domestic violence victim advocate, she added.

In some cases, your loved one may not acknowledge the abuse, Hill said.

In those cases, friends and family members need to continue to keep an open line of communications and continue to offer support.

Your stance needs to be: You do not agree with the unhealthy characteristics and abuse, but you will be there for them, Hill said.

“Give them all the knowledge and support, and let them know that you’ll be there, you’ll be there for that 2 a.m. call,” Hill said.

Domestic violence safety plan
Before planning to escape and it is safe to do so, consider packing an “escape bag” and keep it in a place where the abuser is unlikely to find it.

Important items to include:

  • Birth certificates, social security cards, credit cards, cash, checkbook
  • Medications, important records, and insurance policies
  • Extra set of car keys, baby items (if applicable), change of clothes

(If you think the abuser might find the bag and attack, put their clothes in, too, and call it a “hurricane bag”).

After you leave the abusive relationship:

  • Get to a safe place. See if there is a friend or family member you can stay with. If not, seek a domestic violence shelter (For example, Sunrise of Pasco.)
  • Relocate. There are possible funds available through certified domestic violence centers.
  • Consider filing for a restraining order; do not drop the restraining order for any reason.
  • Change your phone number and service provider.
  • Change the locks on your doors, add locks to windows if needed, install security system with alarms, possible motion sensor lights outside.
  • Inform work, school, friends, family and neighbors of the situation (tell them to call 911 if they see the abuser, suspect suspicious activity, or hear screaming).
  • If you have children: Be sure to change pick-up authorization and inform your child.
  • Think of a code word to use to let family and friends know if you are in danger and unable to safely call 911.
  • Never agree to meet with abuser.
  • Report any attempted contact by your abuser to authorities.
  • Seek counseling through support groups.
  • Change services that are traceable (bank, credit cards, phones, doctors, daycares, etc.)
  • Take different routes when traveling (Vary your daily patterns or activities).
  • Consider entering Florida’s Address Confidentiality Program.
  • Protect yourself.
  • Be aware at all times of your surroundings (Carry mace, have keys between fingers, phone out and available to call 911, check around and under car).

Source: Hands Across the Bay’s Domestic Violence Division

Published March 11, 2020

Precautions planned at polling places

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As Pasco County voters head to the polls on March 17 for Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary, precautions are being taken to guard against the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019.

“We have been monitoring this situation and have been communicating with the Florida Department of State, as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on election day polling place preparation,” Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said, via email.

“We have ordered hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for each polling place (our poll workers are also encouraged to bring their own as well).

“In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommended precautions, those in the polling place will be asked to practice good hygiene (hand washing/covering coughs and sneezes) and if not feeling well, remain home,” Corley adds.

“Also, disinfectant wipes can be used to wipe down surfaces (Electronic Poll Books, privacy booths, secrecy sleeves, doorknobs, etc.),” the supervisor of elections said.

He also noted that his office promoted vote by mail as an option.

Early voting is ongoing in Pasco and Hillsborough counties, and will end on March 14 in Pasco County and March 15 in Hillsborough County.

Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by your county Supervisor of Elections Office by the time polls close on March 17.

Florida is a closed primary state, which means the only candidates on a voter’s ballot will be those of the same party as the voter’s registration. In other words, only registered Republicans and Democrats will be able to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary.

After the Presidential Preference Primary, designated political party delegates from Florida formally nominate the preferred presidential candidate at the respective party’s national convention, according to the Florida Secretary of State’s website.

For additional information in Pasco County, visit PascoVotes.gov, or call (800) 851-8754.

For additional information in Hillsborough County, visit VoteHillsborough.org, or call (813) 744-5900.

Published March 11, 2020

Health News 03/11/2020

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(Courtesy of Gulfside Healthcare Services)

Casting a line for Gulfside
The Bay Area Bassmasters, a local fishing group, made its annual donation to Gulfside Hospice in the amount of $8,714.25. The funds were raised during the group’s 2019 fishing season through the Ina Mahoney Hospice Challenge. Each angler donated $1 per pound for each fish that is caught, which was then pooled with the club’s annual fundraiser/prize drawings. The group has donated more than $42,000 since 2010. From left: Tom Mahoney, Pamela Hardy, Carla Armstrong and Tom Craigshead.

Reading program for NICU babies
The NICU team at the Medical Center of Trinity has launched its Itty Bitty Book Club, championing a bedside activity that will provide developmental benefits to its youngest and most fragile patients, while promoting parental involvement in care.

The hospital’s staff partnered with parents and volunteers to initiate a NICU reading program designed to promote bonding, and foster a healthy habit and love of reading.

Reading to neonates helps advance brain development, and enhance vocabulary, listening, language and memory skills.

The new book club began on Dr. Seuss’ birthday, March 2.

The program’s goal is that each NICU graduate and their family receive the gift of reading. The hospital’s first supply of books has been graciously donated by the Medical Center of Trinity Volunteers.

Volunteer at Gulfside
Gulfside Hospice is looking for individuals who are passionate about helping people to join its team of volunteers and help with a variety of tasks.

Volunteer opportunities include patient care tasks, as well as positions that do not require working directly with patients.

Volunteers can offer companionship to patients at the Gulfside Centers for Hospice Care or at the patient’s home, offer respite care to give caregivers a break, staff the thrift shops, help at community and fundraising events, and more.

Those interested can complete an application online at Gulfside.org.

All new volunteers must complete an interview, background check, and various training based on the applicant’s choice of tasks.

For information, contact Laura Wright at (727) 845-5707 or .

Learn to quit smoking
The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida program offers Phone Quit, Group Quit and Web Quit services, in addition to individual tools like text support, a Quit Guide and helpful emails.

Free nicotine replacement therapy, such as nicotine patches, gum or lozenges, also are available to tobacco users who are age 18 or older, if medically appropriate.

For information, visit TobaccoFreeFlorida.com/quityourway.

Florida responds to threat of coronavirus

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The Florida Department of Health declared a public health emergency in Florida on March 1, after two cases tested “presumptive positive” for coronavirus disease 19, referred to as COVID-19.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees outlined the state’s response to the threat of the virus during a news conference held on March 2, at the Florida Department of Health’s Tampa Branch Laboratory.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference on March 2 to announce actions the state is taking to protect the public from the spread of coronavirus disease 2019, also referred to as COVID-19. (Courtesy of the Executive Office of the Governor)

They shared some details of the two cases that have since been confirmed as positive.

One case involves a man in his 60s in Manatee County who was hospitalized for evaluation and treatment for pneumonia. He is stable and remains hospitalized.

“At the present time, it is not known how the individual was exposed to COVID-19,” Rivkees said.

“The second patient is a woman in her 20s from Hillsborough County who recently returned from Northern Italy,” Rivkees said, during the news conference, which was streamed live by ABC Action News.

The second individual is in stable condition and remains in isolation and medical care at home, he said.

“In total,” the governor said, “23 people have been tested in the state of Florida. The state is currently monitoring 184, and a total of 795 have been monitored.”

Despite that, DeSantis said, “the overall immediate threat to the public remains low.”

However, he added, “with that said, we do anticipate that more will test positive.”

The governor said he directed the state Department of Health to declare a public health emergency “to better equip our state with the resources needed to handle this threat.”

The governor added: “The public health emergency ensures that health care providers, hospitals and labs immediately report all suspected cases to the department of health.

“It also advises individuals of the proper protective measures that need to be taken regarding the possible exposure to COVID-19,” he said.

DeSantis said that nursing homes and assisted living facilities need to take adequate precautions.

The virus, he said, “tends to have a most deleterious effect on people who either have underlying health conditions, or that are elderly.”

The state surgeon general said “COVID-19 is a respiratory virus, transmitted like the flu.

“Symptoms may occur as soon as two days after exposure, or as long as 14 days.

“Most individuals with COVID-19 will have a mild case. Eighty percent of individuals are able to treat it at home. Up to 15% may have a more severe case, requiring hospitalization.

This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. (Courtesy of the CDC)

“Up to 5% may be especially severe,” Rivkees said.

“There is no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. At the present time, we do not have any medications to treat COVID-19. Thus, care is supportive,” he said.

Those planning overseas trips are asked to consult the CDC website for areas of concern. Currently, those areas of travel concern are China, northern Italy, South Korea and Iran.

“If you are returning from those areas, we are asking you to self-isolate for 14 days after returning,” Rivkees said.

“If you are self-isolating and become ill, please contact the county health department or your health care provider before seeking medical attention,” Rivkees said.

“As the governor mentioned, the risk to the general population is currently low,” Rivkees said, noting that people can go about their daily business.

But, the state surgeon general advised individuals to take precautions to help protect themselves from becoming ill.

For more information and to stay current on the latest information regarding COVID-19, check the state department of health’s website and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. Those websites are: FloridaHealth.gov/covid-19 and CDC.gov.

Protect yourself from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

  • Avoid close contact with individuals who are sick
  • Stay home if you are ill
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and face with unwashed hands
  • Cover your cough or sneezes with tissue, then discard the tissue
  • Wash your hands frequently, with soap and water

Source: Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees

Published March 4, 2020

Spreading smiles, through mini horse therapy

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Senior living residents and staff at Beach House at Wiregrass recently welcomed some special guests — a pair of miniature horses and their handlers.

The 3-foot-tall ponies, Honey and Belle, stopped by the facility’s memory care center on Feb. 18, to provide therapeutic interaction with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients, in the form of comfort, love and smiles.

Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care resident Sarah Sherman smiles, as she is greeted by mini horse Belle and her handler, Lisa Slaughter. Belle is a mini therapy horse with the organization Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures. (Christine Holtzman)

It’s a visit the horses make monthly.

Patients spent time bonding with the animals through eye contact, touching, petting and even a few kisses on the horses’ foreheads.

Memory care resident Rachella Rey voiced her appreciation for the visit.

“It’s nice of you to bring them in and let all of us see them,” she told the handlers during the hourlong visit.

She immediately bonded with 8-year-old Belle.

“This is amazing, you’re amazing,” Rey said, while continuously petting the friendly Belle.

The Beach House is one of the first places that handler Mary Rose Gullet visited about two years ago when she began the journey of launching her 501c3 nonprofit organization, Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures.

“It’s one of our favorite places to go,” said Gullet, adding it’s “where we really started seeing the impact that they make.

“This is where I first realized, ‘We need to keep doing this,’” Gullet said.

Added fellow handler Lisa Slaughter, of Land O’ Lakes: “It’s like they (horses) know what they’re going through. They’re just very spiritual animals; they just have a sense about them.”

Gullet began taking her Honey, a 7-year-old mare, on friendly visits throughout Central Florida in 2018.

The horse is named Honey because “she’s sweet like Honey,” Gullet said.

Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care resident Mary Davenport, pets mini horse Belle, while Honey, the founding horse for Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures, looks on. Also seen is Belle’s handler, Lisa Slaughter. Honey’s handler, Mary Rose Gullet, is slightly off camera.

For Gullet, it was a way to “have a good impact in the community and make a difference in someone’s day.”

Gullet, now 30, has owned and bred horses since she was a teenager growing up in Wesley Chapel.

After she graduated from Pasco-Hernando State College, Gullet had the option to become a full-time, stay-at-home mom to her children.

But, she felt compelled to bring joy to individuals of all ages and limitations, whether it be physical, cognitive, emotional or behavioral disabilities, through mini horse therapy.

In a short time, Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures has grown significantly.

The nonprofit has two sister facilities in Lutz and Wesley Chapel, in addition to Gullet’s 12-acre horse farm in Webster.

In total, the organization has six mini horses and a board of directors/volunteers serving throughout Central Florida.

Last year, the group went on more than 275 visits — spending time at schools, hospitals, senior living facilities and behavioral health centers, and other locations.

Gullet swears by horse therapy, noting it has helped her in her personal life.

It has helped her to cope with a traumatic childhood, which included sexual abuse and subsequent battles with mental health issues.

“Horses are probably the only reason why I’m still here today,” Gullet said passionately. “It’s continually healing me; it’s ongoing therapy.”

Because of her personal trauma, Gullet felt it her duty to share the joy of horses with others, to help alleviate suffering and to provide comfort.

She put it like this: “Looking back, it’s the silver lining, the good that came out of the bad for me because I’m able to help people, and it did give me the drive and passion to share horses with people.”

Gullet went on to describe that horses are empathic creatures.

Mini therapy horse Belle and her handler, Lisa Slaughter, greet Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care resident Bruce Patron, during a visit on Feb. 18. Belle is with the organization, Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures.

“They have feelings. They love being connected with people, and I think they have a different way of connecting to people. When you have a relationship with a horse that you trust, there’s like a calming piece to it,” she said.

And, with the mini horses, “I get to hand a piece of that to people in these facilities,” she said.

Slaughter said some of the most powerful moments come when they take the minis into mental/behavioral health facilities — meeting with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or those who’ve been placed there for emergency mental health, through the state’s Baker Act.

Slaughter said the minis bring “little package of smiles” to those who “don’t have much to smile about.”

“It’s a lot of joy that we bring around,” Slaughter said.

“The first time I went to a visit, it was a little anxiety going on, and within seconds you just see there’s just calmness because you’re with this animal that’s just calming you.

“It’s emotional. It’s pretty rewarding to be able to do it. You wake up every day and you look forward to it,” Slaughter added.

The organization plans to use the horses to help celebrate birthdays for foster children.

It also hopes to serve more as a crisis response team in the future — something handlers did recently at a Pasco County school following a student who died by suicide, to aid students, teachers and faculty.

Said Gullet, “I want to be able to call up one of our handlers and say, ‘Hey, we have a crisis, we need a horse there, let’s throw the horses in a trailer and get there.”

For more information about Honey’s Mini Therapy Adventures, visit MiniTherapy.org.

Published March 4, 2020