Health

BayCare’s plans for new Pasco hospital are uncertain

May 29, 2019 By B.C. Manion

The Florida Legislature’s decision to drop the requirement for a Certificate of Need review for new hospitals is causing BayCare Health System to reconsider its plans for a hospital in Pasco County.

The hospital chain had received a preliminary OK on its Certificate of Need request for a 60-bed hospital on a 111-acre site at the northeast quadrant of Interstate 75 and Overpass Road.

It was pushing ahead with planning for the new facility, despite a challenge filed by AdventHealth’s hospitals in Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City.

A hearing on the appeal had been set for August.

But, the repeal of the requirement for a Certificate of Need has created a wide open market for the establishment of hospitals.

The repeal is causing BayCare to take another look at its plans, said BayCare spokeswoman Lisa Razler.

It’s still too early to say how the change will affect the health care system’s plans, Razler said.

“We have a whole new lens to look through,” Razler said. “We’re going to have to take a step back and re-evaluate because with that new legislation, anyone can put a hospital anywhere.”

The health care system was disappointed by the Legislature’s action, Razler said.

“We believed in the planning process,” she said.

Proponents for axing the Certificate of Need requirement said the repeal would promote more competition.

Razler said the issue is more complicated.

“It’s not straight up supply and demand, when it comes to health care, because of all of nuances involved,” Razler said.

BayCare will need to review its plans “to determine what’s the best option, given the new landscape,” the hospital spokeswoman said.

BayCare had been pursuing the hospital in Pasco because of the dramatic population growth and increasing demand for health services.

The construction of the hospital was expected to create 300 jobs, and once it became fully operational, it would need about 300 team members, hospital officials told The Laker/Lutz News in previous interviews.

BayCare had planned to provide these services at the new hospital:

Emergency services for adults and children
Intensive care services
Obstetrical care services
Diagnostic lab imaging
Physical rehabilitation
Behavioral support services

Hospital officials previously said it typically takes about three years from the time a hospital is approved until the physical structure is operating.

At this point, it remains unclear, whether those plans will be pursued.

Published May 29, 2019

Moffitt Cancer to open Wesley Chapel treatment center

May 29, 2019 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Moffitt Cancer Center and AdventHealth have announced they are working together to open an outpatient cancer center on the campus of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, located next to the hospital on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The outpatient center is expected to open in the fall of 2020.

Rendering of Moffitt Cancer’s planned treatment facility in Wesley Chapel. (Courtesy of AdventHealth West Florida Division)

“We strive to provide world-class cancer care close to where people live and work,” said Alan F. List, MD, president and chief executive officer of Moffitt Cancer Center. “Expanding Moffitt’s brand of oncology care, treatment and research in Pasco County helps us accomplish this goal. Moffitt also is responding to the growing incidence of cancer in Florida, as the state’s population continues to grow and age.”

The new Moffitt outpatient center at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel will provide medical and radiation oncology service. It is being designed to accommodate 20 exam rooms, 22 infusion stations and two linear accelerators. Cancer screenings and survivorship programs geared toward patients who are post-treatment and in remission will also be available.

“This is just the beginning of our partnership with Moffitt Cancer Center and our joint commitment to finding new ways to bring innovative cancer care to the Pasco community,” said Mike Schultz, president and chief executive officer of AdventHealth West Florida Division.

“Our partnership allows us to strengthen our network of care by expanding the type of health care services we can provide to our communities, and gives cancer patients greater access to the country’s leading-edge research, clinical trials and cancer treatments at Moffitt,” he said.

Moffitt Cancer Center is a Tampa-based facility and is one of only 50 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt’s scientific excellence, multidisciplinary research, and robust training and education.

AdventHealth is a faith-based, nonprofit health care system that uses leading edge technology and innovation to deliver its brand of whole-person care. Pasco facilities include AdventHealth Connerton, AdventHealth Dade City, AdventHealth Wesley Chapel and AdventHealth Central Pasco ER.

Published May 29, 2019

Hundreds walk for a meaningful cause

May 29, 2019 By Christine Holtzman

Hundreds gathered at The Shops at Wiregrass, 28211 Paseo Drive in Wesley Chapel, for the March of Dimes’ biggest annual fundraiser event on May 11. The Suncoast March for Babies, a 3-mile walk through The Shops at Wiregrass, raised more than $40,000 for the March of Dimes. This year’s ambassador was Chloe Rose Gray, a 4-year-old Tampa Bay girl who was born prematurely at 28 weeks, and spent 96 days in the neonatal intensive care unit. Funds raised from the walk help the March of Dimes on their mission to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Walkers make their way down Paseo Drive at The Shops at Wiregrass, during the March of Dimes’ biggest annual fundraiser event, the March for Babies. (Christine Holtzman)

Wearing a superhero cape, 1-year-old Isaac Coutant, of Lutz, walks with his mother Brittany Tremblay, left, and father Steven Coutant, during the March for Babies event. The walk is special to the family because when Brittany was 32-weeks pregnant, she gave birth to Isaac following a traffic accident. The youngster spent the first 35 days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit.

A butterfly memorial garden table offered a packet of seeds to anyone who had lost a baby, to ceremoniously plant a ‘butterfly flower’ in their memory.

Health News 05/29/2019

May 29, 2019 By Mary Rathman

Frist humanitarians
The Medical Center of Trinity has awarded the Frist Employee Humanitarian Award to Kaitlin Dilluvio, RN.

Dilluvio has been with the hospital for three years. In addition to the care of her patients, she volunteers at the Good Samaritan Clinic, which helps provide free care to residents of Pasco County. She also volunteers as a grief support counselor through weekend retreats.

Dilluvio helped facilitate the hospital’s donation drive for the Panhandle Post-Hurricane Michael Relief Fund and helps the hospital with its back-to-school program.

Dr. Alene Wright was recognized with the Frist Physician Humanitarian Award.

Wright has been a member of the hospital’s medical staff for more than seven years. She is board certified in generally surgery and specializes in breast surgery.

Wright also is an active participant in the Cancer Conference, which brings cases for review and discussions among committee members.

She also serves as a faculty member in HCA’s Graduate Medical Education Program, and partners with the Pasco County Health Department’s Breast and Cervical Cancer program.

Wright is a board member of the Good Samaritan Health Clinic.

In addition, The Frist Volunteer Humanitarian Award was given to Judi Geller, who has been a volunteer at the hospital for more than seven years and has provided more than 4,660 hours of service to the patients and staff.

Geller was elected by her peers to the Board of the Medical Center of Trinity Volunteers Inc. She has been the organization’s fundraiser for the last three years, helping to raise more than $10,000 in scholarships, and assists with the Special Olympics program.

Volunteers of the year
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point has selected Diane Ricca as the 2018 Female Volunteer of the Year and Jose Pasqual as the 2018 Male Volunteer of the Year.

Ricca has been volunteering at the hospital for more than 12 years and has accumulated 42,500 hours of service. She has served as chairperson for the volunteer gift shop, sits on a variety of committees for the Volunteer Association, and has served as the secretary of the Suncoast Health & Education Foundation. Ricca also received the Frist Volunteer Humanitarian Award in 2014.

Pasqual has been a courier at Bayonet Point for more than eight years with over 4,000 hours of service. Beyond his courier assignment, he serves on the volunteer awards committee and was the recipient of a Star Award in 2014.

New technology engages patients
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, in collaboration with Bioscape Digital, has launched an interactive, bedside, tablet solution to further engage patients during a hospital stay.

On the tablets, patients will have the ability to:

Educate themselves on relevant health educational content
Provide real-time feedback about their visit
Schedule an outpatient physician appointment
Access the patient portal
Stay entertained by playing games and listening to music
Sign up for various hospital services.

Bioscape collaborates with health systems to empower patients, staff, and doctors at the point of care.

Going green for mental health

May 22, 2019 By Mary Rathman

The Medical Center of Trinity celebrated May as Mental Health Awareness Month by turning its Behavioral Health Center the color green for the month.

The hospital is using the month of May to call awareness to the many symptoms of deteriorating mental health, which include:

Changes in energy level and sleep patterns
Changes in appetite, eating habits or weight
Frequent thoughts of death or suicide
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
Noticeable restlessness or irritability
Feeling sad, empty, hopeless, worthless or guilty
Difficulties with concentration or decision-making

The Medical Center of Trinity also has opened its new Senior Behavioral Health Program dedicated to helping older adults with mental health concerns receive the skills they need for a strong foundation of recovery.

The new program allows seniors to work in partnership with caregivers, hospital staff and clinicians to receive high-quality care tailored to the senior’s needs.

Expert: Vaccination prevents measles

May 15, 2019 By B.C. Manion

Measles is back in the news again — in a big way.

From Jan. 1 to May 3, there were 764 individual cases reported in 23 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

And, as of May 9, Florida had two reported cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.

It’s important to stay aware, said Suzanne Chandler, system director of Infection Prevention and Control for Baycare Health System.

Suzanne Chandler is system director of Infection Prevention and Control for Baycare Health System.

Media coverage of new outbreaks has ramped up concerns, she said.

“With the hype of the media, we’re getting a lot of calls, even from providers. So, it’s not only just the public. It’s even the health care worker,” she said.

And, because Florida is such a big tourist state — attracting people from so many places, an outbreak could occur potentially anytime, she said.

“So, we do need to be on the alert. But, there’s no need to panic,” she said.

The best protection against the measles is vaccination, she added.

Health care providers and county health departments offer the MMR vaccine, which prevents measles, mumps and rubella.

“If you had the (vaccination) series as a child, typically, you should be protected,” Chandler said. For those who are unsure of that protection, there is a blood test that can be done to determine the level of protection. In some cases, a new vaccination may be needed.

It’s a highly contagious disease and it spreads via the air. People who have not been vaccinated are highly likely to get it.

The important thing to remember is that someone with measles is highly contagious for four days before the rash develops and four days after it, she said.

Symptoms of measles typically begin as an upper respiratory type of infection, including a runny nose.

Often, there will be conjunctivitis-type symptoms, where the eyes are running.

A cough and fever are common, and occasionally there will be little white spots inside of the mouth — but not everyone gets those.

“The rash will come later. The rash usually starts at the top and works its way down, the head and face and neck,” Chandler said. “It covers the body.”

People sometimes mistake another respiratory virus for the measles, she said.

“Honestly, there’s a lot of respiratory viruses out there and a lot of them do cause rashes,” she said.

As a result, “a lot of these people have flocked into their pediatricians or their doctor’s offices. It turns out not to be measles, but people are still concerned because they’ve had similar symptoms,” she said.

If a parent with more than one child discovers that one of the children has a case of the measles, the other children should be vaccinated and kept away from where the ill child is staying, she said.

Keep the healthy children out of the house, she advised.

Measles is so contagious that it can travel through air vents, she explained.

If a patient suspected of having measles arrives at the hospital, the patient is placed in a negative pressure room —an isolation technique used in hospitals to avoid cross-contamination.

Those caring for the patient would wear special masks, she added.

If a parent suspects their child has measles, they should get in touch with medical staff before taking them into a doctor’s office or emergency room — and to be sure the child has a mask on before entering the facility.

Without the mask, “everybody gets exposed because it’s so highly contagious. Everybody that’s in that emergency room waiting could potentially be exposed,” Chandler said.

Complications from measles can include ear infections, and in rare instances, deafness, she said.

“Younger children can get pneumonia and croup, which also are viral in nature,” she said.

Extreme complications would be encephalitis or blindness, she added.

“The fact that we have a fair number of unvaccinated people in the U.S. right now is why we are seeing the measles outbreak,” Chandler said. “We went for 25 years; it was gone. We just didn’t see it at all. Now, it’s back again. In that time period, a lot of folks chose not to vaccinate their children for various reasons.”

Symptoms of measles
These symptoms appear typically 7 days to 14 days after infection:

High fever
Cough
Red, watery eyes
Within three days to five days a rash often develops on the face and neck, and can spread to the rest of the body.

What to do if you think you or a loved one has measles?
First, call your health care provider or facility, or county health department and report your concerns. Do not go directly to a health care provider’s office or facility, or the county health department.

A health care provider or a county health department official will give you instructions on getting seen in a timely manner, and how you can avoid exposing other people to measles.

Source: Florida Department of Health

Published May 15, 2019

A new home health division at Gulfside

May 15, 2019 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Talk about having a good week.

Last Wednesday, after months of organizational work, Gulfside Home Health accepted its first patient. And on Thursday, it celebrated the grand opening of its new Land O’ Lakes office with a chamber of commerce ribbon cutting.

A ribbon cutting was held last week for Gulfside Home Health, a new division of Gulfside Health Services that provides skilled home nursing and therapies ordered by a physician. Celebrating with the ribbon held high is Gulfside President Linda Ward; holding the scissors is Cheryl-Ann Benn, administrator for Gulfside Home Health.

“It’s exciting to be growing and offering new services to our community,” said Linda Ward, president and chief executive officer of the agency. “Providing skilled home care to patients is a perfect complement to our hospice and palliative care services that we have been providing for a long time.”

With the launch of its home health division, the nonprofit has changed its name to Gulfside Healthcare Services, with three distinct divisions — Gulfside Home Health, Gulfside Hospice and Gulfside Palliative Care.

“Gulfside has served Pasco residents since 1988, and we are well-known for our quality care and community focus for hospice and palliative care. We are bringing this same dedication to home health, and look forward to providing this much-needed service to our community,” said Ward.

Gulfside Home Health is offering skilled home health services that are ordered by a patient’s doctors, including nursing, therapy and patient education.

Gulfside’s nursing staff provides wound care, injections, IV infusions, pain management and medication oversight. And, its licensed therapists offer physical, occupational and speech therapies. All services and treatments are done in a patient’s home.

“There are many advantages of taking care of someone in their home instead of in a hospital or rehab center,” said Cheryl-Ann Benn, who heads up Gulfside Home Health as its administrator.

“Patients are more comfortable at home, family is there for support, and no transportation is needed because our health care providers come to them.”

Benn adds that home care especially helps with patients who easily get confused in unfamiliar places, which is common toward the end of day when people with memory problems suffer from sun-downing effects.

“We plan our visits around a client’s schedule, right down to avoiding a favorite television show,” said Benn. “Families can choose the time that is best for them.”

Most appointments are scheduled between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., and only skilled care ordered by a physician is provided. Patients are not charged directly for the care they receive — Gulfside bills Medicare or private insurance, not its patients.

Benn clarifies that Gulfside’s service line features skilled nursing care and various therapies, unlike many other companies that simply offer companion care, bathing or assistance with meals and shopping.

“Our team specializes in the advanced care that must be done by a nurse or professional,” said Benn. “There are many private companies that offer non-medical services that do not qualify for payment under Medicare of private insurance.”

Benn joined Gulfside Home Health in February to prepare for Joint Commission Accreditation, to hire staff and get the office ready next to Gulfside’s thrift shop on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

Gulfside Home Health received its license on April 5 for Pasco and Pinellas counties, and since then has hired RN and LPN nurses, home health aides, a social worker and physical therapist, as well as contracting for occupational and speech therapists.

“We have an outstanding staff with many years of experience — I couldn’t be happier with the team we’ve put together,” said Benn.

Patient referrals come from hospitals, rehab facilities and doctors’ offices, and patients can choose which home health service best meets their needs.

Benn and Ward believe many families will chose Gulfside Home Health because of the stellar reputation of Gulfside’s hospice and palliative care services, and because it is a nonprofit.

“Being a nonprofit allows us to create programs for clients and their families they are not reimbursed for through Medicare or private insurance,” explained Ward. “We can host community events to raise funds for additional services, and are looking at developing programs on COPD, diabetic meals and foot care, caregiver support, and many others,” said Benn.

Ward added that offering home health services is taking Gulfside to a higher service level and is a logical next step. In the first few months, Gulfside Home Health expects to serve 30 to 50 patients, and then grow to over 120.

“We want to offer a continuum of service, while remaining community-based,” said Ward.

Published May 15, 2019

Health News 05/15/2019

May 15, 2019 By Mary Rathman

Hospital recognizes 30 years of service
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point recently honored Shirley Stibal for her 30 years of volunteer service, recognizing her at the hospital’s annual volunteer award banquet. ‘For 30 years Shirley Stibal has served Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point as a courier. In addition to her friendly and polite manner to patients, family, staff and other volunteers, she is always reliably on time and present for her scheduled shift,’ said Donna Owen, director of Volunteer & Pastoral Care, in a release. Her hard work and dedication over the years typifies the character and devotion to serving and exemplifies our mission statement, Owen added.

Pinwheel garden planted
The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club works to bring awareness to and prevention of domestic violence and child abuse through its support and many projects.

Members recently planted signage and a “garden” of blue pinwheels at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park to direct attention to the prevention of child abuse and in support of happy healthy childhoods for all our children.

For information on this community service organization, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Charity of the month
The charitable organization for the month of May for Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s offices is CARES (Community Aging & Retirement Services).

The promotion shines a spotlight on three of the top programs offered by CARES, specifically those that ensure area seniors have food to eat, access to health care and support for their caregivers.

Donations will be used to help continue these programs, and can be made at any of the five tax collector locations in Pasco County.

For information about CARES, call Jemith Rosa at (727) 863-6868, or visit CARESFL.org.

Apple A Day receives $42,000
Tampa Bay Moe’s Southwest Grill locations announced that the Apple A Day Foundation has received a $42,000 donation, resulting from a fundraising effort that took place throughout the month of April.

Every Wednesday, from April 3 to April 24, the Tampa Bay franchise cooperative, which includes 24 locations of the fast-casual southwestern restaurant, donated 25 percent of net in-store sales to the Apple A Day foundation.

The gift is the largest amount that Apple A Day’s Tampa chapter has received from a single donor since opening its doors in 2010.

A locally founded nonprofit organization, Apple A Day provides devices, such as tablets and smartphones, to children undergoing cancer treatment, at no cost to them or their families.

Since its inception, Apple A Day has presented more than 500 iPads/devices to children fighting cancer.

The $42,000 donation will help facilitate a new initiative being launched in partnership with other pediatric cancer organizations by providing 105 local children with a new iPad.

For more information, visit AppleADay.org.

Alzheimer’s fundraiser
The Alzheimer’s Association hosted “An Evening in White,” a white-attire themed charity benefit at The Vault in Tampa. Guests were able to network and enjoy cocktails and food, and the sounds of jazz trio La Lucha.

The white party theme was inspired by a quote from Stephen King that reads, “Black is the absence of light, but white is the absence of memory, the color of can’t remember.”

Chaired by Ashley Barnett and emceed by former NBC news anchor Gayle Sierens, the event featured a research update by Dr. Susan Steen of Tampa Neurology Associates and the presentation of the Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant award to Dr. Feng Cheng of the University of South Florida.

The first-time gala raised $170,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association, funds that are critical to advancing research, and providing support and education to families living with Alzheimer’s.

More than 5.8 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. Florida has the second highest incidence of Alzheimer’s in America with an estimated 560,000 Floridians living with the disease.

Nursing excellence
Oak Hill Hospital recently recognized two nurses for excellence in nursing, during the hospital’s Awards of Distinction celebration.

The awards were established by its parent company, HCA, to honor outstanding nurses who demonstrate excellence in professional mentoring and in compassionate care. The awards honor exceptional individuals whose work and lives reflect the patient-centered and humanitarian values upon which HCA is founded.

The nominees for the award included:

Giovanna Cavalucci, Intensive Care Unit
Cindy Hall, Progressive Care Unit
Ray Millap, Surgical Services
Lauren Pardue, Labor and Delivery
Amber Register, Progressive Care Unit
Julie Schneider, Surgical Services
Jessica Smith, Cardiac Observations
The Excellence in Nursing Award for Compassionate Carewas presented to Amber Register, RN.
And, Julie Schneider, RN, received the Excellence in Nursing Professional Mentor Award.

Pasco Sheriff’s Office hone crisis intervention skills

May 8, 2019 By Kevin Weiss

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputies recently spent a week learning how to use the power of words to de-escalate situations that have the potential to turn dangerous.

In one role-play scenario, Pasco Sheriff’s Office deputies Breanna Chandler and Lindsay Steward intermediated between a mother and her teenage daughter with oppositional defiant disorder.

In another scene, deputies Ricardo Ortiz and Jose Vazquez-Trujillo sought to calm a schizophrenic man who had paranoia and homicidal ideations about a next-door neighbor.

In one mock scenario, Pasco Sheriff’s Office deputies Ricardo Ortiz, left, and Jose Vazquez-Trujillo are tasked with calming a schizophrenic man who had paranoia and homicidal ideations about a next-door neighbor. The practice exercise was part of the agency’s crisis intervention training to better equip law enforcement officers with verbal de-escalation techniques in dealing with citizens in various mental states. Crisis intervention instructor Tom Kelley plays the role of the man with schizophrenia disorder. (Kevin Weiss)

Other mock scenarios had deputies and corrections officers encounter inmates or juveniles with suicidal thoughts, or, deal with someone with severe substance abuse. There was even a situation that exposed deputies to someone with low-functioning autism.

There weren’t any takedowns, hands-on combat nor use of nonlethal force.

Rather, this type of police training simply required conversations to resolve problems.

For each participating law enforcement officer, the objective was to have a better understanding of mental health in crisis and to learn how to better respond to de-escalate a situation during a call for service.

It was all part of the agency’s recent Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program at Pasco Safety Town in Shady Hills.

The weeklong, 40-hour CIT program is a collaborative effort between the sheriff’s office and many local behavioral and mental health community partners. It is held four times per year within the agency.

Throughout the week, deputies received instruction on various subjects, such as signs and symptoms of mental illness, co-occurring disorders, addiction, dementia, trauma informed care, and juvenile and veteran response.

De-escalation techniques centered on maintaining positive body language and tone of voice, along with active listening skills to appropriately reflect upon a subject’s feelings.

Deputies then put those techniques to the test with role-play scenes, which were written out by a licensed mental health counselor in collaboration with a law enforcement officer. Volunteer actors played the various roles of persons in crisis.

The mock exercises required deputies to determine whether or not to detain a subject for an involuntary mental health evaluation, otherwise known as the Baker Act; provide a referral to various behavioral health services and resources; or, simply offer someone a shoulder to lean on and to listen to a subject’s personal problems.

One of the instructors and role play actors was Tom Kelley, a former law enforcement and military officer, who operates a consulting firm specializing in crisis intervention and crime prevention.

In traditional law enforcement academies, trainees are taught to enter situations with authority in voice and action.

In the crisis intervention program, however, Kelley instructed deputies to find a softer, more inviting tone when dealing with people undergoing a mental crisis.

Kelley put it this way to a classroom full of deputies: “Let them know that you’re there and you care. At that moment, they need to feel like you’re the most caring person in the world, because they are at their worst.”

In this role-play exercise, Pasco Sheriff’s Office deputies Breanna Chandler, left, and Lindsay Steward try to calm a with teenage daughter with oppositional defiant disorder. It was part of the law enforcement agency’s recent weeklong Crisis Intervention Team training program. Volunteer Brittany Graniero, a licensed mental health counselor, plays the role of the defiant teen.

Pasco Sheriff’s Lt. Toni Roach has been the agency’s CIT coordinator since 2016.

She said the objective of crisis intervention is twofold.

First, it’s to reduce potential injury to citizens and responding deputies.

Second, it’s utilized to help divert people with “potentially criminal behavior or disruptive behavior” away from the jail system and into a mental health system where they can get proper diagnosis and treatment.

Roach explained: “The idea is to use your words and de-escalate rather than quickly resorting to force when the people you’re interacting with become nervous or scared, and are apprehensive to do what the deputy asks them to do.”

The training is vital for law enforcement personnel, the lieutenant said.

Roach put it this way: “We want to make sure that we can serve our public and provide them with good resources, and then hopefully we interact with them in a positive manner, so that, especially people with mental illness who have a fear of law enforcement, we can reduce that level of fear and have a good relationship with our community.”

Twenty-nine sheriff’s office personnel graduated from the recent spring class.

Upon graduation, each deputy received a pin for their uniform indicating they’ve had advanced training in crisis intervention.

Roach said about 50 percent of patrol deputies are CIT certified, also noting the public is able to request a CIT trained officer in a call for service. The agency is striving to have all of its deputies CIT certified in the future, she said.

In addition to the sheriff’s office, organizations that assisted in facilitating the CIT program were the National Alliance on Mental Illness, HCA Florida Hospitals, Rogers Behavioral Health, North Tampa Behavioral Health, BayCare Health System, Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services, and Veteran’s Affairs clinics.

Published May 08, 2019

Local YMCA hosts Healthy Kids Day

May 8, 2019 By Christine Holtzman

Justin Draft, of Dade City, guides his 19-month old son, Bennett, down the slide at the Y’s playground. The youngster was there with his dad and his mom, Lindsey. (Christine Holtzman)

There were loads of activities offered at the East Pasco Family YMCA Healthy Kids Day on April 27.

The YMCA facility, at 37301 Chapel Hill Loop in Zephyrhills, was among YMCAs across the country participating in the national initiative.

The event focused on improving the health and well-being of kids and their families.

Activities geared toward keeping young minds and bodies active included poolside fun, summer camp games, live music, basketball games, and demonstrations from the Zephyrhills Police Department and the Zephyrhills Fire Department.

There was a booth, too, where the Y staff registered anyone who was interested in their summer camp programs or swim lessons.

Published May 08, 2019