The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Health

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

Funds will help combat addiction

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Congressman Gus Bilirakis has announced that recent efforts to increase funding for the Drug Free Communities program, and advocacy on behalf of a local Drug Prevention Coalition’s application for continued federal funding, has helped secure $125,000 for Pasco County.

These dollars, allocated to the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), will be used to support coordinated efforts to address addiction in the community, with a targeted emphasis on prevention among youth.

As one strategy in a comprehensive response to the public health crisis created by addiction, Bilirakis supported an increase to the Drug Free Communities program in this year’s budget.

In total, $90.9 million was allocated to drug prevention coalitions across the nation.

The funds will help provide local community coalitions with resources to prevent youth substance abuse, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco and alcohol.

Health News 09/19/2018

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Cardiologist joins Premier Heart center
Premier Heart and Vascular Center has announced that Dr. Huy Khuu has joined its growing practice. Khuu will be the center’s ninth interventional cardiologist and 19th practitioner.

Dr. Huy Khuu

Khuu comes to Premier Heart with more than 18 years of interventional cardiology experience. He most recently served as cardiac catheterization lab director at Florida Hospital Dade City and as a board member of the medical executive committee.

Khuu was instrumental in the creation of the STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) program at Florida Hospital Dade City.

He previously served as assistant professor of medicine, cardiology division, at the University of South Florida, Tampa General Hospital.

His areas of expertise include coronary artery disease; stenting, pacemakers and defibrillators; and peripheral arterial disease.

Khuu is board certified in interventional cardiology and general cardiology.

Rx Express announces new packaging
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, medication is not taken as prescribed 50 percent of the time, and the non-adherence causes more than 30 percent of chronic disease failures, according to a new release from Rx Express Pharmacy and Compounding Center, in Lutz.

To address the issue, the pharmacy has announced its new Dispill Medication Packaging Program, a personalized program designed to help patients take the right medications at the right time.

For information, call (813) 948-4321.

Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month
According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, each year, brain aneurysms cause nearly 500,000 deaths worldwide.

During the month of September, The Trinity Love Hoblit Foundation is hoping to increase public awareness of this devastating and often-fatal condition.

The Hoblit Foundation also provides support and funding for neuroscience research for brain aneurysms with the goal of advancing treatment options, and reducing the time between treatment and signs/symptoms to ensure better outcomes.

Aneurysm risk factors include: smoking, high blood pressure, family history, age 40 and older, female, person of color, and drug use (particularly cocaine).

Sudden symptoms include: loss of consciousness, confusion, seizure, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, sensitivity to light, numbness or weakness, and pain behind the eye.

For information about the organization, or to donate, visit TrinityHoblit.org.

Cheaper EpiPen efforts

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Congressman Gus Bilirakis has been working to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for several years. He has authored multiple provisions within H.R. 2430, which was signed into law last August.

One of the provisions created an expedited approval process for generic drugs when no competitor exists on the market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that it approved the first generic drug through this new process.

The second Bilirakis provision reformed the FDA Office of Combination Products, as a result of an exchange with FDA officials. This office manages the approval of Complex drug-device combination products, such as auto-injectors and metered-dose inhalers.

The EpiPen is an example of a combination product.

The company that manufactures the EpiPen – Mylan Pharmaceuticals – raised the cost of the EpiPen by 400 percent, making it unaffordable for many families.

Traditionally, there has not been a generic version of the EpiPen available on the market.

However, with the reforms, the FDA has announced that it has approved the first generic version of the EpiPen, used to treat allergic reactions.

Health News 08/29/2018

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(Courtesy of the Pasco County Tax Collector)

Stepping up for seniors
CARES (Community Aging & Retirement Services) was the recipient of monies raised by the Pasco County Tax Collector’s five offices through its monthly charitable giving program. CARES is a Pasco County-based organization that provides services to seniors to keep them in their homes and be independent. The community stepped up in a big way to assist in the CARES Senior Health Clinic’s daily operations. The clinic is staffed by volunteer medical professionals devoted to helping low-income people ages 55 and older who need health care services. Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano (far right) and staff members present a check for $6,749.88 to Jemith Rosa, CARES president and CEO (holding sign, right).

Mental health education
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Pasco County offers free education classes to those diagnosed with a mental illness, and families and friends.

The Peer-to-Peer Class is a 10-session educational program for adults with mental illness who are looking to better understand their condition and journey toward recovery.

The Family-to-Family program is 12 sessions for family, significant other and friends of people living with mental illness. It is an evidence-based program.

Research shows that it can significantly improve the coping and problem-solving abilities of the people closest to an individual living with a mental health condition.

Classes are taught by a trained team of people who have been there, and includes presentations, discussions and interactive exercises. Everything is confidential. NAMI does not recommend a specific medical therapy or treatment approach.

Programs are offered in East and West Pasco.

Visit NAMIPasco.org to check the calendar for locations and times.

For information, call the NAMI Pasco information line at (727) 992-9653.

Robotic guidance system
Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is the first hospital in the Tampa Bay area, and only the second in Florida, to offer the Globus ExcelsiusGPS surgical robotic guidance system through its neurospine program.

The system is the first and only robotic platform for spine surgery that combines surgical navigation and robotic guidance, and improve accuracy and patient care for precise minimally invasive spine surgeries by using robotics and navigation.

The system provides real time imaging to physicians for increased safety and accuracy; more precise positioning of screws during surgery, less exposure to radiation; and potentially shorter surgery and recovery time for patients.

The hospital’s neurospine program launched in October 2017 in response for a growing need from the community and a desire for patients to have a long-term solution for spinal pain.

Florida Hospital gets name change
Florida Hospital and its parent company, Adventist Health System, will be renamed AdventHealth effective Jan. 2, according to a news release from the hospital’s parent company, Adventist Health System.

There will be no change in ownership.

The rebrand will make it easier for customers to distinguish AdventHealth’s care locations and service, the news release stated.

Nearly 50 hospital campuses, with more than 80,000 employees, will be unified under the single name.

“Becoming AdventHealth allows us to be a fully integrated and distinguishable health system across all aspects of the care continuum, while also speaking to our Christian healing ministry, message of wholeness and our rich Seventh-day Adventist roots,” Terry Shaw, president and chief executive officer of Advent Health System, the hospital’s parent company, said in the news release.

A transition campaign with television and print advertisements will be featured in September, in various media markets nationwide.

Signs and other visual elements at hospitals and other care facilities will be changed in January.

Hillsborough County files ‘opioid’ lawsuit

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Hillsborough County has filed a lawsuit in the 13th judicial circuit court in Hillsborough County against 14 manufacturers and distributors alleging they have played a role in the opioid epidemic in the county.

The county has hired a national team of lawyers to represent them in the lawsuit, with attorney Mike Moore as the lead litigant. Moore, a former Mississippi attorney general, is now handling a number of similar suits on behalf of local and state governments nationwide.

Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Murman

The list of defendants in the county’s lawsuit includes Purdue Pharma, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, McKesson Corporation, CVS Health Corporation, Walgreens and nine others.

At a news conference announcing the lawsuit, Hillsborough County Commission Chairwoman Sandra Murman said, “Today is an important day, but today is just like every day in Hillsborough County. There’s a baby being born that’s substance exposed because the mother was on drugs. We have many children every single day being removed from their homes, put in foster care because their parents are substance exposed and addicts.

“We have young people every day that are dying of opioid overdose,” Murman said.

The county’s lawsuit “alleges that manufacturers of these drugs misrepresented the risk of opioids and marketed the drugs for chronic pain, when in fact, there’s not one single valid scientific study that supports the use of opioids for treatment of long-term chronic pain, Murman said.

The county intends to prove that drug distributors shipped excessive amounts of pain pills into the community, flooding county streets with pain pills, the commission chairwoman added.

The opioid epidemic is widespread, crossing socioeconomic boundaries, she said.

“It affects our seniors. It affects adolescents. Children. Families,” she said.

There have been 1,072 opioid overdose deaths in Hillsborough County since 2012, Murman said. The county also has seen a 24 percent increase in opioids over a period of five years.

“That’s a direct result of the fraudulent marketing of the drugs and the excessive amounts of drugs shipped into our county by these defendants,” Murman said.

“Hillsborough County is leading the state in the number of babies born addicted to opioids,” Murman said. “That is totally unacceptable.”

There were 579 cases of babies addicted to opioids reported in Hillsborough County in 2015, she said.

“For me, it’s personal.,” Murman said. “My sister, who was addicted to painkillers, committed suicide.”

At the news conference, Moore said he was involved in helping to resolve the BP oil spill.

“What we have here is a pill spill,” Moore said. “Close to 40,000 people in your county are opioid addicts.”

Moore characterized the problem as a “ticking, ticking time bomb.”

“We want these companies to pay to clean the pill spill,’ Moore said.

Moore challenged a perception that some may have about the types of people who die from opioid abuse. It’s not just a problem faced by people who live on the streets, he said.

“It’s somebody’s 19-year-old college student.

“It’s a 35-year-old lawyer.

“It’s a housewife,” Moore said.

State attorney Andrew Warren, who also spoke at the news conference, agreed: “It’s a public health crisis. It does not discriminate.”

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, weighed in, as well. He put it like this: “We must dry up the supply. This is not an epidemic we’re going to arrest our way out of.”

Hillsborough’s lawsuit follows a national trend for local governments to fight against the distributors and manufacturers of opioid medications.

The Pasco County Commission voted in January to become one of several plaintiffs in litigation that seeks to replicate the kind of payouts attorneys won in the late 1990s against the tobacco industry.

Pensacola-based Levin Papantonio is representing Pasco County. The law firm is part of a consortium that is pursuing lawsuits in several states including West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

In 2016, Pasco County had 165 drug overdose deaths, and 120 were related to opioids.

Published August 22, 2018

Health News 08/22/2018

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(Courtesy of Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida)

Sertoma launches new mobile audiology services
The Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida had a ribbon-cutting at Country Way Village Child Care in Tampa, with a presentation of its new mobile audiology services van.

The van will provide pediatric hearing screenings and evaluations, along with fitting and dispensing hearing aids. The foundation’s focus is rural and under-served communities.

From left: Kathy Spurling, assistant outreach coordinator at Sertoma; Jesse Brown, district governor of Central Florida Sertoma District; Taylor, a Country Way Village Child Care employee; and Emylee Baumann, outreach coordinator at Sertoma. For information, call (727) 312-3881.

Hospital ranks in top 100
Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel was named one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals by IBM Watson Health.

The study, conducted by IBM Watson spotlights the top-performing hospitals in the United States based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

The hospital also was named one of the 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by the Women’s Choice Award.

Since opening nearly six years ago Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel has established itself as a national leader, earning recognition from a variety of industry leaders for patient care, safety and satisfaction.

The hospital continues to grow and expand its services, most recently opening an offsite Emergency Room in Land O’ Lakes

It also opened Inspiration Place – a comprehensive women’s health center that offers concierge care with female physicians, women’s imaging services and women’s physical therapy services, located together with a boutique spa.

A wound-healing institute also is under construction

Florida KidCare
Florida KidCare and its partners are reminding parents to take advantage of their child’s health care benefits or to sign them up for health and dental coverage.

Through Florida KidCare, sports physicals, vision and hearing tests, routine dental cleanings and pediatric checkups are all covered.

To offer families more local opportunities to learn about and apply for Florida KidCare, the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation has awarded nine back-to-school grants to community organizations across the state.

For those interested in applying for Florida KidCare, the corporation has debuted a free online eligibility calculator. The calculator can be accessed at tinyurl.com/ybgleael.

Enrollment is open year-round, and the application is free.

To learn more or to apply, visit FloridaKidCare.org.

St. Joseph’s garners two awards
For the second year in a row, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has received two awards for quality acute care from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association: Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center.

The Gold Achievement Award and the Get With the Guidelines Stroke Gold Plus Elite Quality Achievement Award both recognize the hospital’s efforts in implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of severe heart attacks and stroke.

The Mission: Lifeline program is a coordinated proactive system of care that turns first responders, hospitals and other health care providers into a team that uses proven guidelines and best practices to treat patients suffering from STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction).

It allows all of the components of care – from the onset of the emergency all the way through hospital discharge and the start of secondary prevention – to work quickly and seamlessly.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North is at 4211 Van Dyke Road in Lutz.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel plans to add more services

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Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel plans to expand the services it offers, as well as building additional parking and a new three-story medical office building.

The hospital, at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., also plans to add a wound care center that’s expected to open soon.

Those initiatives are in addition to an offsite Emergency Room the hospital has opened in Land O’ Lakes and the addition of Inspiration Place it opened last year. Inspiration Place is a 12,000-square-foot concierge health facility geared specifically for women, complete with female physicians, women’s imaging services and other services tailored to women’s needs.

Denyse Bales-Chubb is president and CEO of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. (Courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)

In addition to these new activities, the hospital also has garnered national recognition for its performance.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel recently appeared in Modern Healthcare Magazine as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. It is the only hospital in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area to receive this distinction.

The selection was based on a study conducted by IBM Watson Health, which spotlights the top-performing hospitals based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel also was named as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience by the Women’s Choice Award. That award evaluates specific survey results, along with primary research about women’s health care preferences.

Denyse Bales-Chubb, the hospital’s president and CEO, said she “almost jumped for joy” when she learned about the Watson award.

She considers the Watson award one of the top honors a hospital can receive. “They’re looking nationwide, and they’re selecting the top 100 hospitals,” she said.

“To be listed in the Modern Healthcare Watson Top 100 Hospitals is quite an accomplishment. It’s one of those things you always have as your goal. You’re not sure if you’re ever going to get there,” she said.

The award, Bales-Chubb noted, “actually looks at your financial outcomes, how fiscally responsible you are and how viable.”

Inspiration Place, opened last year at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is a 12,000-square-foot concierge health facility geared specifically for women, complete with female physicians, women’s imaging services and other services tailored to women’s needs.

The Women’s Choice Award considers patient satisfaction, patient outcomes and other criteria.

Much of the hospital’s success stems from the hiring procedures it uses, Bales-Chubb said.

When hiring, it looks at whether the candidate possesses the proper skills and will be a good fit, and also evaluates the candidate’s potential to grow into other roles in the future.

“It’s so important for employees to feel that ‘This is an organization that I want to stay with’ —because loyalty is really big in making sure they are engaged in wanting the success of the organization,” Bales-Chubb said.

The hospital also has an incentive program to promote employee referrals, and has tuition reimbursement to encourage staff to continue building their skills, she said.

When the hospital opened, it was bringing services to residents who had been accustomed to driving for miles to receive medical care.

Since opening, it has expanded in both its number of beds and its array of services.

Inspiration Place, added last year, gave women a single place where they go for the major health care screenings and care, Bales-Chubb said.

The wound care center, which will open soon, will give Wesley Chapel residents a local place to get wound care services. Residents have had to drive 12 miles to get those services, in either Zephyrhills or Tampa, the hospital executive said.

Other planned changes include additional parking and a new three-story medical office building. The new medical office building will mirror the hospital’s Wellness Plaza, and will be built on the land now occupied by a parking lot used for the hospital’s emergency department. The medical building will house specialists, rather than primary care physicians.

“It’s going to be brand new services that have not been provided in the Wesley Chapel area,” Bales-Chubb said, saving patients the need to drive out of the community for services.

As the hospital continues to expand to meet growing needs, the community of Wesley Chapel has been supportive, Bales-Chubb said.

“This community is just so full of people who are so engaging and welcoming, and so innovative. Everybody is looking for how they can make this community better.

“It’s a great place to be,” Bales-Chubb said.

Published August 15, 2018