The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Health

Health News 12/05/2018

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Marcis Brevard Wynn
(Courtesy of Pasco Kids First)

New executive director
Pasco Kids First welcomed Marcia Brevard Wynn, Ph.D., as its new executive director.

Wynn brings more than seven years of nonprofit experience to the organization in a position that will include leadership roles as both executive director and housing director.

She also has served several years in the areas of development, grant writing and fundraising.

Wynn earned a Bachelor of Arts in public affairs and a master’s degree in human behavior and conflict management, both from Columbia College in Columbia, South Carolina.

She also has a doctorate in human services from Capella University.

Pasco Kids First is a private, nonprofit organization committed to advocating for the best interests of children with assessment, therapy and prevention services through their work as a fully accredited Children’s Advocacy Center.

Medication disposal
X-Tra Discount Drugs, 6953 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills, has partnered with Sharps Compliance Inc., to combat the epidemic of prescription drug abuse by providing safe disposal of opioid painkillers and other unused medications.

A MedSafe drug collection and disposal receptacle is now located inside X-Tra Discount Drugs for the safe and anonymous disposal of unused or expired medications and controlled substances.

The receptacle is securely installed and can only be accessed and emptied by two pharmacy employees as required by Drug Enforcement Administration guidelines.

MedSafe receptacles are located in retail pharmacies, long-term care facilities, hospitals and clinics with onsite pharmacies, law enforcement, government agencies and narcotic treatment facilities.

Grant awarded to ‘get moving’
More than 700 adults in the University Area neighborhood will benefit from a $48,000 grant awarded to University Area Community Development Corporation’s “Get Moving!” program by the Simply Healthcare Foundation.

Get Moving! is a wellness program that focuses on various aspects of an individual’s health: physical, emotional, mental, nutritional and/or spiritual.

The funds will be used to expand programming into Harvest Hope Park, a 7-acre resident-friendly development in the heart of the University Area Community that encourages family play, healthy eating, environmental sustainability, education and community interaction.

The park is owned by University Area CDC and, once complete, will include a community garden, teaching kitchen, multipurpose sports field, playground, outdoor fitness stations, walking trails and a tilapia fish pond.

PHSC seminar aims to help reduce impaired driving

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Drunk driving forever changed Brian Rushing’s life.

He was just 18 years old when he wrecked his SUV and killed his 21-year-old brother, Nathan.

That fateful night on Nov. 18, 2007, Rushing’s blood alcohol content was 0.09, over the legal limit.

After a night of partying, the last thing he remembers is seeing his brother at the family’s Land O’ Lakes home.

Brian Rushing shared his personal tragedy of being involved in a drunk driving crash, during a DUI awareness seminar at Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus in Wesley Chapel. Pictured in the background is Rushing’s older brother, Nathan, who died in the 2007 Land O’ Lakes crash. (Kevin Weiss)

He doesn’t remember getting in his car or pulling out of his family’s driveway; nor does he remember swerving off the road on Parkway Boulevard in Land O’ Lakes.

“I was in a blackout,” Rushing recalled. “I shouldn’t have been drinking.”

Rushing was later charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of his brother.

He was sentenced to nine months in county jail and 10 years felony probation. His license was revoked for life. Said Rushing: “DUIs destroy lives.”

More costly to Rushing, however, is each day he must cope with the loss of his brother — a brother he adored and looked up to.

“I have to live with that decision for the rest of my life,” he said. “And the consequences.”

Rushing was a guest speaker at a DUI awareness seminar at the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, in Wesley Chapel.

The Nov. 13 event was part of the state college’s ongoing Community Awareness Series, open to the public, students, faculty and staff.

Rushing, now 29, has turned his life around.

He’s been sober for more than 10 years, graduating from college and now working as a registered nurse.

He often shares his personal story to warn others about the dangers of driving under the influence, in hopes of preventing other families from experiencing a tragedy like his did.

“I never thought it could happen to me,” he said, “until it did, and it rocked my world. I thought it was something you’d read about in the newspapers in other towns.”

Stories like Rushing’s are all too common, the seminar revealed.

More than 11,000 people died and more than 290,000 were injured last year in drunk driving crashes, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

More than 1,100 of those fatalities occurred between Thanksgiving Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The problem hits locally, too.

The Tampa Alcohol Coalition (TAC) reports that Hillsborough County ranked No. 1 in Florida for DUI arrests (4,077) last year.

The county was also tops in Florida in 2015, which is the latest available data from the state, in alcohol-related crashes (1,469), alcohol-related injuries (993) and alcohol-related fatalities (66), the coalition reports.

“To be No.1, even though we’re the fourth-most populated county, is very alarming,” said Ellen Snelling, who chairs the Tampa Alcohol Coalition, which is part of the larger Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance.

Snelling, who has worked with the organizations since 2000, provided a closer look at the sobering statistics throughout the seminar.

Some suggest the area’s limited public transportation system is largely to blame for the county’s impaired driving figures.

Snelling, however, believes there’s more at play.

“We can try to work more on public transportation,” she said, “but I think the real reason is the mindset of people thinking, kind of like Brian said, ‘It’s not going to happen to me.”

Too many people want to party, and then think they can drive home and be fine, she said. “And, that’s a huge problem.”

Snelling also pointed to the high number of concentrated bars and clubs throughout the Tampa area.

She refers to them as “drinking malls,” where groups of people will hit several spots in one night, taking advantage of drink specials at each establishment.

“And, what if you haven’t made a plan? You’re going to get in the car and drive,” she warned.

Snelling went on to explain that closing gaps in some of Florida’s alcohol laws is critical to preventing impaired driving incidents, in particular, first-time offenses.

Florida is one of two states that has no law against bars serving obviously intoxicated persons; the other being Nevada.

Florida also has a weak dram shop law, which refers to civil liability for bars and clubs that serve an intoxicated person who later causes serious injury or fatality. (Under the law, individuals or businesses who sell alcohol will generally not be held liable for damages or injuries caused by a drunk person who they sold alcohol to.)

Snelling put it this way: “Now we don’t want bartenders and servers to lose their jobs, but we do want to send a strong message, because if you prevent a person from getting super intoxicated, there’s less of a chance they’re going to get in a car and drive and cause a terrible crash.”

She also observed: “We need to look at the circumstances, and if a bar is making tons of money by overserving and having like all these drink specials, then they should be held accountable, too.”

Drinking and driving isn’t the only problem, Snelling said.

“It’s not just about alcohol — it’s about drugs. It’s about marijuana. It’s about pills. It’s about opioids. …We’ve got to work on ways to reduce the use of alcohol and drugs before driving,” she said.

The Tampa Bay region leads the state with the most confirmed crashes caused by drugged drivers, with 465 since 2014, Snelling said. Also, deadly crashes caused by drivers high on drugs have increased 47 percent in the past three years.

Other speakers at the seminar included Jeannine Laurence, Mothers Against Drunk Driving program specialist; and, Dr. Eddie Williams, PHSC assistant professor of human services.

Published November 28, 2018

Health News 11/28/2018

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Day of Caring
Florida Hospital team members in the West Florida Division volunteered to give back to the communities for the annual Day of Giving, on Nov. 16.

More than 1,000 volunteers from several Florida Hospital locations gave back to more than 20 nonprofits across the state.

Some of the local initiatives in the Tampa Bay area included:

  • Food Donations for Atonement Lutheran Church: Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel staff and leadership sorted and packed food at the church.
  • Feed Our Children: Florida Hospital Tampa employees collected food donations for the Feed Our Children Ministry to help hungry members of the community.
  • Food Drive for The Shepherd Center: Florida Hospital North Pinellas employees collected green beans for the center, and donated about 1,000 cans.
  • Thanksgiving Baskets: Florida Hospital North Pinellas employees put together baskets of Thanksgiving goods to be shared with their own colleagues in need.

Access Health Care raises money for Marines
Access Health Care Physicians hosted a fundraiser at the Silverthorn Country Club to benefit Marine Corps League Spring Hill Detachment No. 708.

The detachment provides U.S. Marine veterans and other U.S. veterans with comfort, support and dignity of life.

The event included a silent auction, raffles and dancing.

The guest speakers included Maj. Gen. James “Hammer” Hartsell and Dr. Jaime Torres, an Access Health Care physician and veteran.

A total of $34,444 was raised for the Marine Corps detachment.

Health News 11/21/2018

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(Courtesy of Patricia Serio)

Offering comfort and camaraderie
Members of the GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club prepared and served a brunch to residents of Hope Lodge, a facility that houses patients who are receiving long-term cancer treatments at Moffitt Cancer Center. The club aims to uplift the patients’ spirits with a home-cooked meal and fellowship. For information, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

 

Hospital to participate in Rose Bowl
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point received an invitation to participate in the 2019 Donate Life Rose Parade float hospital CEO rose dedications.

Only a select group of hospitals in the area have been asked to prepare a handwritten message honoring the patients and families who, with the support of hospital staff, have saved and healed lives through the gift of organ, eye and tissue donations.

The float has grown into a national tradition featuring dozens of participants, including those who have received transplants, those who are living donors, and deceased donors memorialized in “floragraph” portraits integrated into the float’s design.

One of the trademarks of the annual float design is the Dedication Garden, which provides an opportunity for the CEOs of hospitals; transplant centers; and organ, tissue, and eye recovery organizations to dedicate a Donate Life rose.

Sharon Hayes, Regional Medical Center’s chief executive officer, will prepare the 2019 note to be placed in the float.

Buccaneers team up for breast cancer
Florida Hospital (soon to be AdventHealth) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers teamed up for the sixth annual Treasure Chests 5K and Fun Run on Oct. 21, to celebrate breast cancer survivors, and to benefit breast cancer research and patient services in Tampa Bay.

The race started and ended at the Buccaneer’s indoor practice facility at the AdventHealth Training Center. All racers were invited to the Breast Cancer Awareness football game.

The Honorary Race Starter was Carol Henderson, a three-time survivor currently living with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Henderson also received pre-game VIP access and pirate ship passes, and was recognized on the field during the game.

Medication disposal
National Take-Back Day, on Oct. 27, garnered more than 587.3 pounds of medications gathered in Pasco County alone.

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention reminds the community that people do not have to wait for the next Take Back Day to dispose of unused or unwanted medications in a safe manner.

Pasco County has seven permanent drop boxes for safe medication disposal (both prescription and over-the-counter). Find the nearest location by visiting PascoASAP.com.

Medications also can be disposed of by using a Deterra Bag. These bags deactivate the ingredients of medications, making them safe to dispose of in the trash and unavailable for misuse. Bags are free, and can be picked up at the Florida Department of Health offices in Dade City, New Port Richey and on State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

New rehabilitation program for women
The Salvation Army Tampa Adult Rehabilitation Center, 13815 N. Salvation Army Lane in Tampa, will now be able to offer help and education to women for their drug and alcohol problems. The center has been providing a six-month to 12-month residential program for men.

A separate residence will be constructed and will contain 10 bedrooms (each bedroom will house three women), an intake office, library/two classrooms, offices/conference room, kitchen, dining room, great room, recreation room, fitness room, laundry/hair-cutting station, and two resident managers’ rooms.

The center also will have a chapel to seat 250 persons for both the men and women, their families and friends, and the public.

The new program is expected to start up in December.

For information, call S. Richard Hodder at (813) 972-0471, ext. 59079.

Two initiatives become law
The office of Congressman Gus Bilirakis has announced that H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act has been signed into law.

The SUPPORT act is part of the bipartisan legislative package and will help continued efforts to combat the opioid crisis by advancing treatment and recovery initiatives, improving prevention, protecting communities, and bolstering efforts to fight deadly illicit synthetic drugs like fentanyl.

The second initiative is the Sober Home Fraud Detection bill (H.R. 6092), which provides standards for Sober Living Homes.

These two Bilirakis-authored provisions mark the 25th initiative the veteran lawmaker has written that have become law since 2015.

Tampa hospital launches expansion
Florida Hospital Tampa, part of the West Florida Division of Adventist Health System (soon to be AdventHealth), broke ground on a six-story, 300,000-square-foot patient and surgical tower at the corner of Fletcher Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa.

The project will include 24 brand-new operating rooms, a new hospital entrance, and more than 100 all-private dedicated surgical care beds.

The $256 million tower will be named The Taneja Center for Innovative Surgery, recognizing the family of Jugal and Manju Taneja, who provided the largest donation ever to Florida Hospital West Florida Division.

The center is expected to open in 2021, and will also include several hundred additional parking spaces, and a redesigned landscape.

Florida Hospital Dade City set for upgrades

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A slew of upgrades are coming to Florida Hospital Dade City.

The hospital’s parent company, Adventist Health System, is investing $20 million into various infrastructure and technological improvements to the 120-bed facility located at 13100 Fort King Road.

Florida Hospital Dade City president and CEO Amanda Maggard made the announcement during a recent breakfast meeting hosted by The Greater Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce.

Florida Hospital Dade City is getting a $20 million makeover over the next 18 months. (Courtesy of Florida Hospital Dade City)

The upgrades will include a new lobby and cafeteria, as well as renovated units and spaces, which will see new flooring and automated medical equipment.

Maggard said several of the upgrades will go into effect over the next 18 months, as other capital improvement projects are also being determined.

“We have some really exciting things that are about to happen,” she said.

In addition to facility renovations, Maggard also mentioned the hospital’s first-ever electronic medical records system, Cerner, launches on Dec. 2

The $5 million system is expected to make it easier for network providers to access and share information with the hospital.

“It helps us not just provide a more connected patient experience, but it helps us understand the data,”  Maggard explained.

Those aren’t the only changes coming soon to Florida Hospital Dade City.

Beginning in January, all of Adventist Health System’s wholly owned hospitals and hundreds of care sites across its footprint will adopt the AdventHealth name and logo.

Florida Hospital Dade City president and CEO Amanda Maggard (File)

In east Pasco, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, Zephyrhills Health and Rehab Center, and Zephyr Haven Health and Rehab Center will also take on the AdventHealth title.

That announcement was made by the company in August.

The organization said the naming structure was made to better allow consumers to more easily distinguish AdventHealth’s care locations and services; it does not reflect a change in ownership or business structure.

Maggard said of the rebranding: “This is not anything other than we’re trying to be that one unified team providing that same care. We have the same vision, the same mission across all of our facilities.

“You wouldn’t’ know as a consumer that we’re all connected. We’re one large organization with one goal, one purpose: To provide this whole-person care — not just your physical needs, but your mental and your spiritual needs as well.”

Adventist Health System is one of the nation’s largest faith-based health care systems, with more than 80,000 employees across 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites throughout 10 states.

Published November 7, 2018

Local author hopes his story will help inspire others

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Remington Walls hasn’t let his disease define him — and he wants the same for those dealing with similar circumstances.

The 18-year-old Land O’ Lakes native has lived a life without regular food or drink since he was diagnosed at age 4 with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), a rare, incurable disease where all food deteriorates his esophagus.

Remington Walls (Courtesy of Stephanie Walls)

His only source of nutrition has come via a hypoallergenic amino acid-based liquid formula, called Neocate EO28 Splash.

The abnormal disorder has not stopped him from living a normal life, however.

Remington overcame the hardship to become a standout varsity baseball player at Land O’ Lakes High School — and good enough to be selected to play in the Pasco County Senior All-Star Baseball game last year.

He was also a solid student, earning multiple college scholarships.

Remington is now a freshman a Valdosta State University (Valdosta, Georgia) where he’s studying to become an athletic trainer. He is also a volunteer assistant with the Valdosta State baseball team.

Published author can also be added to Remington’s list of accomplishments.

‘Homeplate: A True Story of Resilience’ follows the journey of Land O’ Lakes native Remington Walls who has a rare esophageal disease that prevents him from consuming regular food or drink. Walls persevered to become a standout varsity baseball player at Land O’ Lakes High School and Pasco County Senior All-Star selection. He is now a freshman at Valdosta State University, where he is studying to become an athletic trainer. (Courtesy of NOW SC Press)

His autobiography, “Homeplate: A True Story of Resilience,” delves into his foodless life, with the hope of inspiring others.

The 118-page book is co-authored by his mother, Stephanie Walls, who shares her memories and insights on coping with the disease from a parent’s point-of-view.

The book will be released on Nov. 25.

“Remington wanted just to kind of motivate people and encourage people that regardless of your situation, find a way to overcome and persevere. There’s some pretty powerful things he has to say in his book,” Stephanie Walls said during a recent interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

The book, which was written this past summer, is particularly geared toward anybody dealing with a life-altering disease, said Stephanie, an eighth-grade language arts teacher at Cypress Creek Middle High School in Wesley Chapel.

“The book is really more of an inspiration from Remington’s perspective,” she said. “We can either choose to wallow over the cards we’ve been dealt in life, or we can just pick up those pieces and somehow make a way to where there is no obstacle that’s going to get in our way.”

Last year, Remington’s life was thrown another curveball when his family’s insurance no longer covered the liquid formula that’s required for sustenance.

Since then, Remington and Stephanie have both advocated for state and federal legislation for formula coverage for medical nutrition. They also continue to work closely with the American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders (APFED), a nonprofit advocacy organization for those living with eosinophilic related disorders.

To order the book, visit NowSCPress.com/product-page/homeplate.

Remington Walls book release

Book Signing
Where: Barnes & Noble, The Shops at Wiregrass, 28152 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel
When: Nov. 25, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Info: (813) 907-7739

Book Launch
Where: Barnes & Noble Carrollwood, 11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
When: Nov. 25, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Info: (813) 962-6446

Published November 7, 2018

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.