The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Health

Bilirakis honored as Public Servant of the Year

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The American College of Cardiologists has recognized the efforts of Congressman Gus Bilirakis to improve health care outcomes for patients by honoring him with the 2018 President’s Award for Distinguished Public Service. Among the public health initiatives spearheaded by Bilirakis is the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act. This legislation addresses the need to invest in continued research to assist millions of Americans living with congenital heart disease, and is waiting for final approval in the Senate.

Expansion of substance abuse treatment

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Premier Community Health Center in Pasco County will receive $285,000 to expand its scope of services and offer integrated substance use disorder and mental health services treatment.

Of these funds, $110,000 will be used to hire personnel, and $175,000 will be allocated for renovation of facilities at its Zephyrhills substance abuse/mental health treatment center.

Patients from throughout Pasco County will be able to access substance use and mental health services at this location.

The grant was funded through the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus spending bill.

Medical Center of Trinity seeks new ways to improve care

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Anyone who has driven along the State Road 54/State Road 56 corridor during the past few years can easily see that the landscape is rapidly changing in Pasco County.

Subdivisions and businesses are popping up everywhere, and the need for medical services continues to grow.

Responding to that explosive growth and to evolving patient needs is only part of the equation, though. Keeping up with medical advances, staying abreast of new treatment approaches, equipping hospital staff with leading edge technology and adjusting to changes in government regulation, are other elements in Medical Center of Trinity’s quest to set itself apart for its quality of care, said Leigh Massengill, the hospital’s chief executive officer, during a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber luncheon.

Leigh Massengill, the chief executive officer of Medical Center of Trinity, was the featured speaker at a recent North Tampa Bay Chamber luncheon. She shared news that the hospital will be expanding services and will be adding a medical residency program next year. (B.C. Manion)

“We try to strategize very carefully to meet the needs of the growing community, to identify the things that people are going to need — recognizing that health care is changing at a fast pace while we’re trying to make those decisions,” Massengill said.

For instance, “more and more things are being done on an outpatient basis.

“Whoever thought that you could get your total knee replaced in an ambulatory surgical setting and go home the same day? What next?”

While the main hospital campus is now on State Road 54, the hospital had its start in New Port Richey.

“We celebrated our 40th anniversary of providing health care as Community Hospital of New Port Richey, just shortly before we moved in February of 2012 to this new location,” Massengill said.

The hospital had to retool itself and rethink its approaches, as it shifted from taking care of a group of patients with an average age of 82, to one that serves patients ranging from neonatal care to the senior population.

It was quite a culture shock for the organization, the CEO said, and continues to be an adventure as the hospital contemplates how it will grow with the community.

The hospital executive brings a wealth of experience to the challenge. Her background includes working in hospitals ranging from 150 beds to 1,500 beds in both public and faith-based settings. She began her career as a registered nurse and has held a number of leadership roles in nursing and hospital operations.

The hospital sits on a 55-acre campus and is currently occupying about 24 acres.

Additional services to meet area needs
“Since we moved in, we opened a neonatal intensive care unit, which was the first in Pasco County and is the only still, in Pasco County. That has enabled us to keep mommas, that have high-risk pregnancies, within their hometown.

“Before that, we were consistently referring people down to Pinellas and Hillsborough counties for that higher level of care. We’re now able to retain them closer to home, closer to family, especially, if you have a child that’s going to be in an intensive care unit for three weeks after their birth, invariably, you have two other kids at home and who’s taking care of that while you’re traveling 50 miles down to All Children’s Hospital?

“Two years after opening, the hospital began doing open heart surgery, now completing about 150 open heart surgeries annually.

“We keep getting more minimally invasive, as you know, and just about any type of invasive procedure is getting more and more catheter-based, more and more teeny incisions, or more and more robotic,” Massengill said.

The hospital is part of HCA West Florida, which is part of the HCA Healthcare family, and it has  distinguished itself in the HCA system, which includes 180 acute hospitals, Massengill said. The hospital’s surgery/ortho/spine unit was ranked No. 1 within HCA.

She praised the hospital’s staff for the accomplishment, noting the distinction is based on document excellence in a wide range of measures and required substantial work to achieve.

On another front, the hospital has added 14 observation beds, next to the emergency department. That change came in response to new government regulations.

“The government has changed reimbursement. The expectation is, if you show up at a hospital, we have the obligation to determine, as you’re rolling through the door, whether you’re going to require two hospital nights, in order to be considered admitted and an inpatient.

If we’re not certain, we have to keep you in an observation status, do as many diagnostic tests that are necessary to determine whether you’re going to need an inpatient stay, or to stabilize you and have that care continue on an outpatient basis. They give you 24 hours to accomplish that diagnostic testing,” she said.

Current expansion plans on the main campus call for completion of the east side of the fifth floor, and to do the east side of sixth floor for further growth and expansion.

“We continue identifying ways to differentiate ourselves relative to quality,” Massengill said.

The hospital has extended its footprint, to extend its care by adding three freestanding emergency departments, with one in Lutz, Citrus Park and Palm Harbor.

“In those facilities, 95 percent of the patients are treated and released,” she said.

The hospital also plans to add a behavioral health unit for the elderly at the New Port Richey campus.

“We’ve had many physicians come to us, asking us to create this kind of a program,” Massengill said. “We’re looking forward to opening that, once the state gives us the seal of approval.”

The hospital also recently received approval to begin a medical residency program, which will begin in 2019, the hospital leader said.

As it continues to operate in an environment of almost constant change, the hospital remains focused on achieving excellence in staff performance and patient outcomes, Massengill said.

“We know that the consumer of health care is getting more and more savvy, and they shop for excellence before they make the decision,” she said.

Medical Center of Trinity

  • Opened Feb. 7, 2012
  • 288 all-private rooms on its main campus

2017 figures

  • Total annual admissions: 16,222
  • Total annual emergency visits: 77,096
  • Total patients treated: 119,298
  • Active physicians: 380
  • Total employees: 1,482
  • Taxes paid: $8.1 million
  • Charity and uncompensated care: $22 million
  • Salaries, wages and benefits: $113 million

Source: Presentation by Leigh Massengill, Medical Center of Trinity, to members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber

Published October 24, 2018

Health News 10/28/2018

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(Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)

First phase of hospital’s expansion complete
St. Joseph’s Hospital-North completed the first phase of its $75 million expansion project with the unveiling of four new operating suites on Oct. 1. Construction on the rest of the project continues, expected to be finished in 2020. At completion, the hospital will have two additional patient care floors and will double the current number of patient rooms to 216 total. From left, front row: Kathy Myers, LuAnn Peters, Arlene McGannon, Nancy Medina, Lerma Eastty, Brian Morrison, Jessica Degele, Ieshia Jones, Joanne Murphy, Nicole Brunner and Charlette Nankovitch. From left, back row: Jeff Felice, Renata Barbora and Jim Wilson.

New VA outpatient clinic location
Congressman Gus Bilirakis announced the new location of the consolidated West Pasco VA Outpatient Clinic, which will be housed at 7932 Little Road in New Port Richey, north of the Pasco County Government Center and south of Ridge Road, on the east side of Little Road.

Bilirakis secured $11 million for the facility in 2014.

The newly constructed facility will be 114,000 square feet – more than double the current clinic’s size.

The site will offer more parking and provide expanded services so that veterans will have to travel less frequently from West Pasco to the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa.

The new outpatient clinic will consolidate health care services now administered at five locations.

The facility will offer services for mental health, primary care, vision, dental, home-based primary care, MRI and CT, ultrasound, X-ray, audiology, pharmacy, prosthetics, physical therapy, lab, eligibility and enrollment, release of information, library, police and canteen.

Pasco County to hold first Alzheimer’s walk

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When Jennifer Graff realized her mother was losing her independence, little did she know that she would become a full-time caregiver.

Graff’s mother, Rose, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011, after a horrific car crash.

Since then, she has resided in several living facilities while gradually losing her memory.

On Oct. 20, attendees of Pasco County’s first Walk to End Alzheimer’s will be able to take part in the 3-mile journey and learn more about supporting the cause. (Courtesy of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Florida Gulf Coast Chapter Facebook page)

Graff will walk on behalf of her mother on Oct. 20 during Pasco County’s first Walk to End Alzheimer’s program.

The event will be held at Starkey Ranch District Park in Odessa, open to both the public and their pets.

“We want it to be as accessible as possible for everybody,” said Kaylie Male of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Florida Gulf Coast Chapter. “Whether or not you can afford to make a donation, you can still come out.”

Participants can register either individually or as a team, beginning at 8 a.m. Donations are welcome, but not required.

Everyone who is registered will receive a Promise Garden flower. The flowers will come in four colors – purple, blue, yellow and orange – each representing the participant’s relation to Alzheimer’s disease.

The Promise Garden Ceremony will be at 9 a.m., where everyone will get to display their flowers.

“It’s a really wonderful opportunity for people to bond,” Male said, noting the ceremony serves to unite strangers.

After that, there’s a 3-mile walk, which is expected to attract more than 300 walkers.

This will be Graff’s fourth walk. She said she generally heads to the front of the line so she can turn around to marvel at the number of those present.

“I’m so proud of the people standing around me and everyone trying to help find a cure,” she said.

Graff visits her mother on weekdays at a Tampa assisted living facility, helping to make sure her needs are adequately met.

“My mom is almost a completely different person from who she was,” Graff said reflecting on her mother’s transition.

Although she has witnessed the slow regression, she said she takes solace in knowing her mother is content and at peace with the world.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. More than 14,000 of those are Pasco residents.

“We really knew there was a need in the area,” said Male, on why the county was chosen for this year’s walk.

The event will provide education on the disease, advocacy opportunities, clinical studies enrollment and support programs.

The Edward Jones corporation is the 2018 National Presenting Sponsor for the Alzheimer’s Association. It has already pledged to raise $4 million for this year.

The company’s New Port Richey branch will accept ‘early bird’ donations on Oct. 18, as well as Wesley Chapel Nissan on Oct. 16.

Donations also can be made through the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter’s Facebook page or by using the Walk to End Alzheimer’s phone app.

To preregister before the event, visit Act.alz.org/pasco.

For additional information, contact Kaylie Male at (727) 578-2558 or .

Walk to End Alzheimer’s
Where: Starkey Ranch District Park, 11880 Lake Blanche Drive, Odessa
When: Oct. 20; registration at 8 a.m., and walk at 9 a.m.
Cost: Free
Details: The public is welcome to join Pasco County’s first Alzheimer’s walk to raise funds and awareness.
Info: Contact Kaylie Male at (727) 578-2558 or . Preregistration and donations can be made online at Act.alz.org/pasco.

Published October 17, 2018

A movement of color for battered women

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(Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club hosted a fundraiser and luncheon to benefit the Sunrise Domestic Violence Shelter of Pasco County. The venue was awash in a sea of purple as members wore the color to bring attention to the topics of domestic and sexual violence. The luncheon raised more than $1,100, which was presented to the shelter, along with a truckload of donated items to assist the shelter’s residents. For information about the club, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Health News 10/10/2018

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Support breast cancer research
During the month of October, all Pasco County Tax Collector offices will be accepting donations for the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.

Individuals who have automobile registration renewals coming due in October may choose to trade in their regular license plate for the End Breast Cancer specialty tag. Customers may also purchase the tag for newly registered vehicles.

Proceeds from the tag promotion will go directly to the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation to help Floridians battling with this disease.

Additionally, customers can use the voluntary check-off box on their registration form and donate directly to the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation.

Cash donations also will be accepted.

For information on this promotion, call Assistant Tax Collector Greg Giordano at (727) 847-8179, or visit PascoTaxes.com.

For more about the foundation, visit FloridaBreastCancer.org.

Information regarding risk factors, breast cancer screening, and signs and symptoms of the disease will be available at all five tax collector offices.

Walk-in clinic expands
Doctor’s Urgent Care Walk-In Clinic will open its third location in the Trinity/Odessa area.

The clinic is scheduled to open in early December and will be at 13256 State Road 54 in Odessa, just west of Gunn Highway.

The clinic’s new location is in response to the large influx of new residents and extensive construction in the region.

Enjoy beer and wine samples, and help a good cause

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The Fall Brewfest for Hospice on Oct. 6 gives people a chance to sample beer and wine, while benefiting Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care.

The venue for the event is Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., and it’s scheduled for Oct. 6, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

During the Spring Brewfest in March, festival-goers enjoyed live music and sampled beer and wine offered by local breweries. (Courtesy of Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care)

Admission is $25 for one ticket, $45 for two and $120 for six.

The entrance fee covers beer and wine samples from various local breweries and wineries.

Food trucks will offer an array of choices, and picnic benches will be available.

Strictly Business, a band made up of local business owners, will provide live entertainment.

There also will be health care organizations offering information, and vendors selling arts, crafts, jewelry, candles and other goods.

Festival-goers will be able to play cornhole and other games, too.

“It’s a fun event, but we’re doing it for a good cause,” said Kirsty Churchill, community relations manager for Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care, the only nonprofit hospice care that serves Pasco County exclusively.

The hospice organization accepts patients regardless of whether they can pay the expenses.

The fundraiser is important, Churchill said.

“Events like this really help cover the gap of what’s not paid for by Medicare, Medicaid and insurance,” she explained.

The event is open only to those age 21 or older.

Tickets are available online at BrewfestForHospice.org and by calling (727) 845-5707.

For additional information, contact Leesa Fryer at or (727) 845-5707.

Fall Brewfest for Hospice
Where: Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd.
When: Oct. 6, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: $25 for one ticket, $45 for two and $120 for six
Details: Brewfest offers event-goers a chance to sample beer and wine, play games and purchase meals from food trucks.
Info: Contact Leesa Fryer at or (727) 845-5707. Tickets are available online at BrewfestForHospice.org and at (727) 845-5707.

Published October 3, 2018

 

Seminar spotlights Pasco’s opioid epidemic, solutions

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When it comes to tackling the opioid crisis in Pasco County, the community needs all hands on deck.

That’s according to Monica Rousseau, coordinator for the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP).

Rousseau was one of ASAP’s group of speakers for an opioid crisis seminar at the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel. The Sept. 18 event was part of the state college’s ongoing Community Awareness Series, open to the public, students, faculty and staff.

Monica Rousseau is coordinator for the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). She discussed the scope of the opioid crisis in Pasco County and some solutions for tackling the issue. (Kevin Weiss)

Rousseau, who’s worked for ASAP since 2014, underscored the scope of substance abuse locally.

Among Florida’s 67 counties, Pasco currently ranks fifth in the rate of substance abuse related overdose deaths, averaging 25 deaths per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control Wonder Data and County Health Rankings provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In 2017, the county ranked fourth in the state, but averaged fewer deaths, about 22 per 100,000.

Manatee County ranks first in the state in 2018, with 38 deaths per 100,000.

The figures, Rousseau explained, indicate other counties are getting worse in the fight against opioids, while Pasco remains about the same.

“We’re not getting better. We’re just kind of starting to press pause in Pasco County, whereas other counties are seeing a lot more deaths,” Rousseau said.

Multiple solutions needed
Rousseau attributes Pasco’s high ranking, in part, to its ‘pill mill’ epidemic from the early part of the decade.

“We’ve cut down on all the pill mills, but people with addiction are still dealing with it,” Rousseau said. “They cycle through treatment. It takes a few times for it to stick, but we just have a population that still is healing from that.”

In reducing substance abuse, Rousseau suggested the county needs to take a more comprehensive approach, focusing on the supply, demand and treatment sides of the issue, and “looking at this from a community perspective.”

Getting to the root cause of substance abuse is another task — understanding that addiction oftentimes is “an evolving disease of despair” driven by emotional suffering, as well as physical suffering, Rousseau said.

Helping those people get counseling may be one solution to fight the crisis, she said.

“We talk about the pain aspect until we’re blue in the face,” she said. What’s needed are conversations about how that person has post-traumatic stress disorder, or severe childhood trauma, or lost his job or his wife just left, Rousseau said.

Another speaker, New Port Richey’s Rachel Starostin, shared her personal story about battling opioid addiction.

She said she became a drug addict after she was in a car accident on U.S. 19 caused by a drunk driver.

A trauma nurse for Bayfront, Starostin was forced to give up her career because of ongoing physical problems related to the crash.

Aside from physical injuries, Starostin, too, had pent up emotional scars.

Her mother died when she was 16. Her father, a drug addict, was absent throughout her life.

Years later, Starostin came home to find her husband, who had died by suicide.

“I felt really bad on the inside. Everybody in my life that I really loved was gone,” she said.

Starsotin previously used work as a coping mechanism, but once her livelihood was taken away, she began using pain medication to fill the void.

Dependency affects all kinds of people
It began innocently. She took opiates before physical therapy sessions to manage legitimate feelings of pain and discomfort.

Over time, though, she progressively took more and more.

The medications removed her inhibitions.

“The reaction I had from it was not normal. All those bad feelings of, ‘I’m worthless. My life is over,’ they all went away,” she said.

Starostin said she was “completely controlled by opiates”— for more than 10 years.

While in jail, facing 25 years for drug trafficking, Starostin entered a 12-step recovery program.

She’s been clean for almost three years.

“I was just determined that I didn’t want to die,” she said, noting she came close to death several times.

“It was time to do something different. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and that hit me and I was like, ‘Ok, I need to change.’”

Today, Starostin is a member of ASAP’s recovery committee, which provides support for people affected by substance use disorders.

She uses her story to motivate others and to help them find their purpose in life.

Her advice to addicts: “No matter how many times you fall, you keep getting back up. It took me 20 times. I went through detox and stuff like that. No matter how far down the scale you’ve gone, you really can do it. You just have to keep it at.”

Starostin and Rousseau agreed there needs to be continual awareness regarding the negative stigma and negative perceptions associated with substance abuse and addiction.

“One of the No.1 reasons people don’t seek treatment is because of the stigma,” Rousseau said. “People don’t feel comfortable talking about their opioid issues or their drug issues, so they don’t know where to go.”

ASAP speakers also said more opportunities are needed to assist people in recovery to reintegrate back into society. There needs to be greater access to jobs, housing, health care and so on, they said.

They also pointed out that it can be especially difficult for those that have a criminal record for drug-related offenses, even after they’ve become clean.

ASAP recovery committee co-chair Kellie Walker, who also spoke during the seminar, put it this way: “There’s lot of things people in recovery need other than just getting sober and taking the substance away.

“What happens when somebody gets sober and they can’t find a job? They’re going to likely go back to some of those behaviors,” Walker said.

Published September 26, 2018

Local business gives hope to ‘special needs’ employee

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When April Dean was only 6 months old, her mother Amy noticed she wasn’t sitting upright.

Two months later, doctors told Amy and her husband, Rick, that April had cerebral palsy, with little chance of ever walking.

It was also discovered that she had a developmental disability that would affect her speech and learning.

April Dean (left) at home with her brother, Eric, and mother, Amy. (Brian Fernandes)

“He told us she would never drive a car or go to college,” said Amy, recalling the doctor’s diagnosis. “That was the real devastating news.”

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder which affects the movement, muscle tone and posture of over 500,000 people in the U.S.

Muscles are either too floppy or stiff, resulting in delayed motor skills, and can be accompanied by occasional seizures.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is the most common motor disability among children, and there is no known cure.

Amy and Rick would need to take cautious measures to ensure their daughter’s needs would be met.

Growing and adjusting
While receiving government assistance to accommodate her needs, April attended unique classes in school to learn and socialize with other children.

By fourth grade, she was being home-schooled, and received both speech and occupational therapy.

In these formative years, she would thrive in playing sports, such as basketball and baseball, as well as contending in a chess club — accomplishments exceeding the grim outlook doctors had initially predicted.

“It’s not about what the child can’t do,” said Amy, who tried to raise her daughter with a sense of independence. “More importantly is what are they able to do.”

April attended Gaither High School where she continued to receive therapy.

While there, she joined ‘Best Buddies,’ a nonprofit organization, which paired her with other students to find common interests and develop friendships.

The organization has a chant, which April still recites to this day — followed with hand claps and a cheer at the end.

A new transition
As April was finishing her senior year of high school, she became involved in the Community-Based Training (CBT) program. This organization helped her find employment and to build good work ethic.

For the next three years, April worked at a nursing home dining room, a Publix bakery and the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa.

However, the CBT program had a cutoff point and was only able to support April until she turned 22.

Amy knew that employment was a valuable asset to her daughter and wanted her to continue working in some capacity.

By chance, Amy frequented the local Taco Bell in her Lutz neighborhood that had an employee with a disability.

Without Amy making a request, the manager reached out and offered a position for April.

It came as a surprise to Amy who admitted she never considered the idea.

“When I heard that they were willing to try to accommodate, that made me feel good about that place [Taco Bell],” she said.

Gainfully employed
Now at 25, April is about to celebrate her third year at Taco Bell.

“The second I started Taco Bell, I loved it,” she said. “It makes me happy.”

She works two days a week wiping tables and trays, as well as keeping the drink area in top-notch shape.

Her hard work has earned her an Employee of the Month award, which she proudly displays at home.

“You could just see the pride in being able to work,” Amy said, referring to the job’s impact on her daughter. “It was really evident.”

April is an approachable employee, socializing with the customers and greeting her co-workers with hugs.

While Amy has seen the social growth that the job has given April, she believes it can be beneficial for others, as well.

Amy said it’s important for those without special needs to engage with those who do, as it builds patience and understanding.

Amy and Rick have to work their respective jobs and cannot always be home. However, Taco Bell management has been generous in working April’s schedule around theirs.

When not at work, April involves herself in various activities.

“I like to rock out in my room with the music loud,” she said. “I have lots of music CDs.”

Aside from playing video games and sports, she spends time with her best friend, Anne Marie, and older brother, Eric.

She also serves as an usher at her church, where she has formed many relationships with members.

“Her giftedness is being a butterfly,” said Amy of her daughter’s effect on others. “She goes from flower to flower, pollinating love and joy.”

When April was younger, Amy joined a support group where she could express her thoughts among those who resonated with her situation. She encourages other parents with disabled children to do the same and to not give up hope.

“Just know that there’s value in their life,” Amy said. “They still have gifts to offer.”

Published September 26, 2018