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Health

Health News 12/13/2017

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From left: Kurt S. Browning, Pasco County superintendent of schools; Bruce Inverso, senior vice president Health Strategies, American Heart Association; Dr. Rao Musunuru, award recipient; Kathy Fenelon, regional vice president Quality & Systems Improvement, American Heart Association; and, Cynthia Armstrong, chairman Pasco County School Board. (Courtesy of Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point)

Cardiologist recognized for promoting CPR education
The Pasco County School Board recognized Dr. Rao Musunuru, a practicing cardiologist and chairman of the board at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, and longtime American Heart Association volunteer, for his role in furthering CPR education in local high schools.

Musunuru made a donation to the American Heart Association to ensure every high school in Pasco County has the appropriate CPR training materials to continue CPR education through at least the year 2020.

The donation provided mannequins, replacement parts, AED simulators, teacher guides and other tools needed for proper hands-only CPR implementation.

 

Bayfront and Gulfside honor veterans
Thirty-two veterans received an American flag pin and a thank-you at the Veterans Day Celebration Breakfast and Pinning Ceremony hosted by Bayfront Health Dade City and Gulfside Hospice.

Each veteran in attendance was called by name and recognized for years of service in the various United States military branches.

The guest speakers included Dade City Mayor Camille Hernandez and Pasco County Commissioner Ron Oakley.

A fallen soldier table served as a reminder of those veterans who gave their lives to serve our country. Veterans observed a moment of silence before the pinning to pay respect to those represented by the table.

Military veterans and guests were encouraged to reach out to servicemen and servicewomen suffering from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), or with other needs, by calling the Veterans Crisis Line at (800) 273-8255.

This is the fourth year the two organizations have partnered for the event.

Hospital receives ‘A’ for patient safety
The Medical Center of Trinity, 9330 State Road 54, was one of 832 hospitals nationwide awarded an “A” for its commitment to keeping patients safe and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States from The Leapfrog Group.

Developed under the guidance of a Blue Ribbon National Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 27 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign A, B, C, D and F grades to more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals twice a year.

To see Medical Center of Trinity’s full grade, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit HospitalSafetyGrade.org.

Holidays can be sorrowful for some

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Seasonal carols, tinsel-draped trees and jolly Old St. Nick convey a time of merriment and joy, but the holidays can be difficult for those grieving a significant loss.

To help people to cope with their sadness, Gulfside Hospice is offering free holiday grief support workshops on Dec. 7 in Zephyrhills and Dec. 12 in New Port Richey.

Kelly Cavagnetto, a bereavement counselor, will be conducting the sessions, which will last about 90 minutes and will be the same in both places. They aim to provide some strategies to help people trying to navigate what can become an especially challenging emotional time.

“The first holidays after somebody passes, there can be a lot of anxiety about the upcoming holiday,” Cavagnetto said. “There’s a lot of feeling unsure: ‘I don’t want to decorate, but do I have to decorate? Should I decorate?’”

Those who are grieving often worry whether familiar traditions or foods will trigger a greater sense of sadness for them, the counselor said. Someone might say: “I don’t know if I can cook the same meal they enjoyed eating.”

The grief session aims to give those grieving some tools, she said.

“Our main goal is to sort of brace them for that, and help give them some of the coping skills to kind of get through the day,” she said.

It’s a good idea to begin preparing, Cavagnetto said, because “Christmas, Hanukkah — those winter holidays are coming whether we want them to, or not. We can’t really avoid them.”

In her session, she talks about the importance of “self-care.”

Find ways to help reduce stress, she suggested, which can include listening to music, meditating, drawing or other techniques.

It’s a good idea to have a family meeting to talk about expectations and needs, she said.

The meeting can start something like this, she said: “We’ve had some big changes this year. This is how I’m feeling about it. What do you guys expect from me? What do you expect from the season? How can we pull this off? Can we pull this off?

“We really encourage our families to talk it out amongst themselves, because everyone has different expectations and different needs,” the counselor said.

“Maybe if there’s a young child in the home, they expect a tree to go up. But, maybe that’s not something we’re going to do. So, if they can come up to some type of a compromise where they have a small tree in their room, where somehow everyone’s needs are fulfilled, she said.

Consider creating new traditions, Cavagnetto said.

“Sometime we can’t do the same old thing, there’s too much emotion attached to it. So, if your family always cooked at home, and your spouse was a big part of cooking that meal, or your parent was a big part of cooking that meal, it’s OK to think about going out this year,” she said.

Another strategy involves finding a way to memorialize your loved one.

“Maybe there was a special decoration that mom always had to have out on the tree, or displayed somewhere special,” she said.

Or, maybe you want to make a new ornament, or set a place at the table for your loved one, or find another way to honor the loved one’s memory, she said.

Some people light a candle in the loved one’s favorite scent.

“You can even do that year-round, when you’re having a rough day, thinking of them,” she said.

It’s also important to realize that emotional triggers often occur unexpectedly, the counselor added.

For instance, lately she’s been hearing a lot about people being upset about memories popping up on Facebook.

“Those pictures are coming back up for people, and they might not expect them to be there,” she said.

People who are grieving often don’t know if they can handle attending a holiday gathering, Cavagnetto said.

“I tell my clients: ‘Always have an escape plan.’

“If you typically carpooled to a holiday party, maybe this year you want to drive by yourself.

“You always want to able to exit, when you’re ready to exit,” she said.

She also tells them to be aware of their emotional levels.

“It’s OK if you’re only there for 15 minutes, and you get your hellos and your happy holidays in, and make a break for it,” she said.

It’s also important for those who are grieving to identify where they can turn for support, whether it’s a counselor, or family member or friend.

For those wanting to show support to someone who is suffering a loss, it’s a good idea to check with them to be sure they’re OK.

“See if they have any holiday plans. If they say they don’t want to do anything this year, just let them know what you’re doing, and let them know that they’re invited. They might change their mind, day of. Or, they might get to that point where they’re really lonely, and they might need somebody to reach out, so it’s important to know who’s there,” Cavagnetto said.

“People can feel really alone. If it has been a few months, they feel that other people have settled back into their routine and don’t even talk about their loved one anymore, their spouse or their parent, or their child, whoever it was,” she said.

Sometimes, they’ll want to talk about their loved one, other times they won’t, she said. The important thing is to be willing to listen, to talk and to share memories, if they’d like to.

When it comes to grieving a loved one, Cavagnetto said, “there is no cookie-cutter answer.”

Holiday Grief Support Workshops
Where: Gulfside Center for Hospice Care, 5760 Dean Dairy Road, Zephyrhills
When: Dec. 7 at 4 p.m.
Or: Gulfside Bereavement and Community Outreach Center, 6230 Lafayette St., Dec. 12 at 4 p.m.
Both of these sessions will be free, and those attending will talk about techniques to help them cope with their grief during the holidays. Both sessions are expected to last about 90 minutes and will cover the same content.

Information: Call Kelly Cavagnetto at (727) 845-5707.

Published December 6, 2017

Bringing smiles to others

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(Courtesy of Oak Hill Hospital)

Oak Hill Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Room received a visit from Notre Dame Catholic School students, who presented the hospital with five boxes of books to be distributed to the sick children. Teacher Elise Buckner and the children planned the project to bring smiles to others and encourage a love of reading. Notre Dame students stand in front of the donated books with Director of Emergency Services Kim Loucks.

Joint celebration

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(Courtesy of Crisis Center of Tampa Bay)

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay and Hillsborough County hosted a joint celebration with a ribbon cutting for the Crisis Center’s renovated facility, and to recognize the 25th anniversary of the county’s health care plan. A 10-foot tall heart, a work of art donated by Dominque Martinez and Rustic Steel Creations, also was unveiled. From left: Mary Ellen Gillette, anniversary committee chair; Hillsborough County Commissioner Sandy Murman; Dr. John Curran, Hillsborough County Health Advisory Board; Clara Reynolds, president and CEO, Crisis Center; Dominique Martinez; Gene Earley, director Health Care Services Department; and, Jamie Klingman, Crisis Center board chair.

Caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients don’t have to go it alone

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When someone learns that a loved one is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, it can seem overwhelming.

Phyllis Bross, a retired attorney from Land O’ Lakes, understands the feeling. Her mother and aunt were both Alzheimer’s patients, and she now runs the Alzheimer’s Association/Caregiver Support Group that meets monthly at the Land O’ Lakes Branch Library, 2818 Collier Parkway.

Based on her own experiences, Bross said, generally, when a caregiver learns about the diagnosis, he or she feels lost.

Phyllis Bross, a retired attorney, runs a monthly Alzheimer’s Association support group at the Land O’ Lakes Branch Library. It’s a monumental challenge for caregivers, she said. In short, she recommends: ‘Try to get as much information as you can. Try to get as much support as you can. Try to get things rolling.’ (B.C. Manion)

“You’re worried about your future finances, and providing medication, and other kinds of support and help for your loved one.

“You know you don’t have a medical background, so you’re wondering: Should someone else be taking care of him or her? Or, should I do it because of the familiarity and the love for the person?” Bross said.

Because they don’t know what to do, most people begin sorting things out by turning to a support group for help.

“I think that’s a great place to start,” said Bross, who, in addition to her legal experience, has an undergraduate degree in social work. There are all kinds of support groups available, offered by the Alzheimer’s Association and other groups, she added.

There are definite steps that caregivers can take to help themselves, Bross added.

While the loved one is competent, it’s important to ask: “Do you believe you can trust me … to take care of you, to take care of your money/the family money, to take care of your health, to make end-of-life decisions for you?” Bross said.

If the answer is yes, the next question would be: “Can we go to an attorney, an elder law attorney and discuss you’re possibly providing me with a durable power of attorney?” Bross said.

Taking that action will simplify later decisions that will need to be made, she said.

She also suggests organizing a family meeting, so you can find out their level of support and if they can help you make decisions.

It’s also important to start asking questions early, Bross said.

For instance, when visiting an elder law attorney, ask about the possibility of your loved one qualifying for Medicaid, in case the family ends up not being able to afford all of this care that’s going to be needed.

It’s also important to become aware of long-term care facilities that may become necessary at some point.

“Look at facilities. Even if you’ve promised your loved one you won’t put them in a facility, you don’t really know how sick they’re going to get,” Bross said.

Sometimes, no matter how much a caregiver wants to keep his or her loved one at home, it becomes impossible.

In short, Bross recommends: “Try to get as much information as you can. Try to get as much support as you can. Try to get things rolling.”

Beyond needing help with feeding, bathing and other physical needs, Alzheimer’s patients sometimes become difficult to handle.

“Their temperament changes very often. They might become abusive,” Bross said.

She advises to prepare for “the worst-case scenario.”

Bross also recommends a book called, “The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss,” by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins.

“People in my Alzheimer’s care group call it their Bible,” she said.

It is important to provide support to caregivers, Bross said. In addition to the physical, medical and financial challenges they encounter, there’s an emotional toll, as well, Bross said. “It’s a terrible disease.”

It’s important to provide support to help caregivers through “their sadness and depression,” Bross said.

“It’s such a hard job,” she said.

Alzheimer’s disease
Memory loss and confusion are the main symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but those also can be symptoms of other health conditions. A medical diagnosis is necessary to pursue appropriate treatment and to rule out other possible, sometimes reversible, conditions.

People with Alzheimer’s may experience these types of symptoms:

Cognitive: mental decline, difficulty thinking and understanding, confusion in the evening hours, delusion, disorientation, forgetfulness, making things up, mental confusion, difficulty concentrating, inability to create new memories, inability to do simple math, or inability to recognize common things

Behavioral: aggression, agitation, difficulty with self-care, irritability, meaningless repetition of own words, personality changes, restlessness, lack of restraint, or wandering and getting lost

Mood: anger, apathy, general discontent, loneliness, or mood swings

Psychological: depression, hallucination, or paranoia

Other common symptoms: inability to combine muscle movements, jumbled speech, or loss of appetite

Source: Google fact sheet

Practical tips for caregivers:

  • Join a support group.
  • Attend summits and seminars to learn about financial resources and research studies.
  • Create a binder to keep track of medical information, financial information, legal information and questions.
  • Be aware there are all sorts of potential sources for funding and research, including federal, state, county, local, universities and nonprofits.
  • Ask family members how they would like to help and divvy up the tasks, accordingly. Someone may be willing to handle providing transportation, while another provides financial support. Someone else may be able to do practical chores, such as cooking, cleaning, yard work and so on.
  • Observe the patient’s status and record it in a journal — to help keep track of the patient’s changing condition.

Practical ways to help caregivers:
If you’d like to help a caregiver of someone afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease, here are some ways you can help:

  • Offer to give them a break by volunteering to watch over the patient, while the caregiver does shopping, goes to a hair appointment or does errands. (This may not be possible based on the patient’s condition or willingness to accept your care. If that won’t work, another option would be to provide a gift of paid-for respite care.)
  • Bring over dinner or provide gift certificates for meals.
  • Watch a movie at the caregiver’s house.
  • Take some nice photographs of the caregiver and their loved one, so the caregiver will have them later.
  • Provide emotional support, through a poem or a loving letter.
  • Step in to help in practical ways, such as yard work, house work or other chores.

Source: Phyllis Bross, facilitator of the monthly Alzheimer’s support group that meets at Land O’ Lakes Branch Library

 

Other sources of help include:

  • The Alzheimer’s Association: 24-hour hotline: (800) 272-3900; or visit ALZ.org
  • The Florida Department of Elder Affairs: (800) 963-5337; or visit ElderAffairs.state.fl.us

Published November 29, 2017

Seeking volunteers to help hospice patients’ pets

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Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care provides compassionate care for patients on the end-of-life journey. Increasingly, that care means giving people peace of mind when it comes to decisions about their pets.

Since 2014, the nonprofit’s Pet Peace of Mind program has taken stress away from patients worried about who will care for their furry companions.

Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care helped hospice patient Alberta Beyer, and her furry companion, Rocky, through its Pet Peace of Mind program. (Courtesy of Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care)

In many cases, volunteers have helped patients stay in their homes, with their cat or dog.

“Especially as people get older, we find people have a closer relationship with their pets,” said Kirsty Churchill, Gulfside Hospice’s community relations manager. “Their pet is their child. When you’re faced with going into a nursing home or hospice care center, it’s tough. A lot of times they wouldn’t want to leave them.”

Gulfside Hospice currently is seeking volunteers to help with Pet Peace of Mind.

The program can provide free veterinary care, pet food, flea and tick treatment, boarding and pet sitting services.

The program also helps to find a new home or foster family for pets, if family members are unable to adopt them.

Volunteers mostly help with picking up pets and taking them to veterinary appointments or to a groomer. They also stop by to take a dog for a walk and generally do the services a pet sitter would provide.

“It means the world to them,” said Rabbi Aaron Lever, a chaplain at Gulfside Hospice and the patient care volunteer manager. “They are too sick to take the dog to the veterinarian or groomer. They can’t drive. We’re trying to give peace of mind to patients, so they can continue to stay with their pets.”

Volunteers also donate and sell handcrafted gift items at community events, and arts and crafts fairs.

Gulfside Hospice was founded in 1988 by a registered nurse, an oncologist and a physician assistant who wanted to serve patients with chronic or life-limiting illnesses.

Pet Peace of Mind at Gulfside Hospice began in May 2014, with seed money from the Banfield Charitable Trust. Since then, donations, fund raisers and volunteers have sustained the program.

Former employee Shelley Schneider got the program started.

“She had a strong love of animals,” Lever said. “She thought this would be a wonderful program to help our patients in this way.”

There are Pet Peace of Mind programs nationwide. The national program is based in Oregon.

At Gulfside, Lever said Pet Peace of Mind has helped about 115 patients and 150 pets.

Most were cats and dogs, but Lever said, “We did have a 55-year-old parrot once.”

While many volunteers take on pet-sitting chores, Lever said they also help with donations and fundraising events.

They sometimes knit pet sweaters or sell beanie babies at arts and crafts events in the area.

Volunteers also provide quilts, handmade jewelry, paintings or other hand-crafted gift items.

“All the money from sales goes to Pet Peace of Mind,” Lever said.  “There is always need for funds.”

For information about volunteering or to make a donation, call Gulfside Hospice at (800) 561-4883, visit GHPPC.org.

The website for Pet Peace of Mind is PetPeaceOfMind.org.

Published November 29, 2017

Health News 11/29/2017

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Florida Cancer fundraiser a success
Dr. Christopher George and Dr. Julio Lautersctain, of The Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, co-hosted “50 Shades of Pink” at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay.

This year’s theme was “The Great Gatsby” and featured flappers, a covert speakeasy, casino games, and live jazz and swing music.

The fundraiser grossed $200,000, with all proceeds going to patient grants. The FCS Foundation provides financial assistance for non-medical living expenses to qualified cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment in Florida.

For information, contact Terri Gagliardi at or (941) 677-7192.

Hospital receives baby award
The Florida Department of Health in Pasco County presented Florida Hospital Zephyrhills with the Baby Steps to Baby Friendly award for enhancing its maternity care practices in support of breast-feeding.

The Baby Steps to Baby Friendly project is a Healthiest Weight Florida Initiative that encourages and recognizes hospitals that offer optimal promotion and support for breast-feeding, including supportive hospital policies and practices, staff education and post-discharge community referrals.

The hospital follows guidelines set in place by the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a global program launched by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the Florida Breastfeeding Coalition’s Quest for Quality Maternity Care Award.

Arrhythmia Center opens
The Heart Institute at Oak Hill Hospital announced the opening of its Arrhythmia Center on its campus at 11375 Cortez Blvd., in Brooksville.

The center will offer patients who are struggling with cardiac arrhythmias an opportunity to receive specialized care, from diagnosis to treatment to education, to help them overcome irregular heartbeats.

Symptoms of arrhythmias can include fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, dizziness, heart palpitations, weakness, and sensation of a missed or extra heartbeat.

Volunteer awards
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point announced the recipients of its third quarter volunteer Star Awards.

Eugene Hausladen, Five Star Award, has accumulated more than 5,000 actual hours and 6,000 merit hours since becoming a volunteer in December 2014. Hausladen volunteers five days a week, for eight hours each day. He has worked in the ER as a concierge, in the lab making up kits or filing pathology slides, and as a courier.

Debbie Hennessy, Five Star, began volunteering in February 2015 at Welcome Center A. She has accumulated more than 2,000 actual life hours and more than 2,700 merit hours. Hennessy also has been the recording secretary of the Volunteer Association, chairperson of the by-laws committee and scheduling chairperson of the courtesy cart drivers.

Rose Santise, Five Star, has been volunteering at Welcome Center A since 2010. She has accumulated more than 2,300 life hours and 3,700 merit hours.

Amanda Stewart, One Star, is a courier with more than five years of service. She has accumulated 935 actual hours and 978 merit hours by running errands in the hospital, and discharging and admitting patients.

Lions Club sight program
The Zephyrhills Lions Club Sight Program will accept applications at 5827 Dean Dairy Road from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

The program is open to all Pasco County residents in need of basic eye care. Applicants must bring required documents found online at E-clubhouse.org/sites/zephyrhills/.

For information, call (813) 788-1444.

Health News 11/15/2017

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(Courtesy of BayCare Health System)

Hospital team receives award
The St. Joseph’s Hospital-North team was named the Environmental Services Department of the Year by the American Hospital Association’s Association for the Healthcare Environment. The award was presented to just two hospital facilities nationwide.

St. Joseph’s department was recognized for its professionalism, expertise, patient satisfaction, and efficiency, surpassing other entries in the “Up to 249 Beds” category.

Seventeen of its 26 team members have completed the training necessary to become a certified healthcare environmental services technician through the AHE. The certification program sets national standards in infection prevention, effective communication, evidence-based cleaning protocols and more.

National Hospice Month
The Board of Commissioners for Pasco County has proclaimed the month of November as National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and commended the staff from Gulfside Hospice & Pasco Palliative Care for its service to the residents of Pasco County.

County Commissioner Mike Wells, District 4, visited Gulfside’s West Clinical Office in New Port Richey to present the proclamation to Gulfside’s team.

In the last year, Gulfside’s staff of interdisciplinary professionals has cared for 2,445 patients facing a life-limiting illness in Pasco County.

In celebration of National Hospice Month, Gulfside Hospice is offering complimentary copies of Five Wishes, an easy-to-use tool with advance directives and planning information prior to becoming seriously ill.

To receive a free copy, contact the Community Relations Department at (800) 561-4883 or , or stop by Gulfside’s Corporate Resource Center at 2061 Collier Parkway in Land O’ Lakes.

Learning the ins and outs of medical marijuana

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Medical marijuana is a fact in Florida.

Voters approved it in a 2016 referendum.

Lawmakers passed a law regulating it, effective January 2017.

Cities and counties generally are writing local ordinances in line with state law to permit dispensaries, but limit their locations.

Local governments, however, do have the option to ban them.

Pasco County commissioners are expected to vote on an ordinance in November that will treat medical marijuana dispensaries as pharmacies — and prohibit them from operating within 500 feet of public and private schools.

A display at a medical marijuana forum shows the many ways medical marijuana is delivered to patients. There are topical creams, vaporizers, oral syringes, tinctures and nasal sprays. (Kathy Steele)

The full impact of legalized medical marijuana, also known as medical cannabis, is a work-in-progress, with potential for legislators to tinker with the law in 2018.

A Community Awareness Series, hosted by the Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus, took on the issue at its “Medical Marijuana Legalization and Regulation Symposium” on Oct. 26.

About 100 people attended the seminar, which was open to students, faculty and the public.

The college wants “to bring dialogue and conversation to the issues that can affect our lives,” said Kevin O’ Farrell, provost at the Porter Campus.

Speakers included Keith Stolte, an ophthalmologist, who owns Stolte Eye Center in Spring Hill; and, Victoria Walker, media relations for Trulieve, one of 17 state approved dispensaries.

Stolte began treating patients with medical marijuana as soon as the state law took effect on Jan. 3.

He previously had researched medical marijuana and believed in its benefits for a host of ailments, in addition to glaucoma.

“We’re changing lives,” Stolte said. “If anybody told me we’d be getting the results we’re getting, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

His first patient was a teenage girl who was home-schooled due to a social anxiety disorder. “She couldn’t leave the house,” Stolte said.

Within a month of starting treatment, she enrolled in a local high school, and soon after, joined the cheerleading squad.

“That’s something else,” he said.

Laurie Oliver, practice manager at Stolte Eye Center, was a medical marijuana skeptic when she first learned of plans to see medical marijuana patients.

“I’m an old-fashioned Southern woman,” she said. “You were taught marijuana was awful.”

But, the patients changed her mind, including an elderly woman with tremors who shook so badly she couldn’t feed herself. The woman came by the office soon after starting medical marijuana to proudly display a blue shirt, without a food crumb or stain on it.

“She just wanted to feed herself before she dies,” said Oliver.

Patients’ success stories are starting to change everyone’s attitudes, Stolte said.

“We are starting to drift from demonization of marijuana, and this could be really good,” he said.

The stigma that attaches to marijuana use also leads to misconceptions about dispensaries, said Walker.

They aren’t “head” shops with hippies in sandals behind the counter selling weed and bongs. In fact, state law bans the sale of the whole marijuana plant, Walker said.

“There is no smoking,” Walker said, adding anyone who walks into a dispensary will find a professional, medical office environment.

Security measures are mandated by law.

Trulieve stores typically have about 40 cameras. The same tight security is maintained at its facility in Tallahassee, where the cannabis plants are grown and medical marijuana products are manufactured.

Engineers and scientists work in Trulieve’s laboratory to develop and test different strains of cannabis.

Plants are pesticide-free and are grown indoors.

Products are offered in a variety of forms, including vaporizers, nasal spray, tinctures, topical creams, oral syringes and capsules. They may contain two of the main ingredients found in marijuana plants – tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD).

The more common ingredient is THC, which can produce the “high” associated with marijuana. But CBD, which can’t produce a high, is becoming more popular with doctors because it can produce fewer side effects, Stolte said.

Edibles are legal, but Walker said dispensaries are waiting on rules regarding packaging and size before introducing them.

When they come, she said, “It will be very anti-attractive to minor children.”

The state is closely monitoring this fledging medical marijuana industry.

Dispensaries are capped statewide at 17. Each one is allowed to own and operate 25 retail stores.

Trulieve has 10 locations, with stores opening soon in North Fort Myers and Orlando.

Stores are open seven days a week. “We treat them just like a pharmacy,” Walker said.

Because state law gives cities and counties the option to ban dispensaries, Walker said, “It’s really up to local communities and towns to let us in.”

Doctors and patients also have regulations.

Doctors aren’t permitted to dispense medical marijuana. Doctors are not allowed to write a prescription, either, because marijuana is considered a controlled substance under federal law.

Physicians also must take a state mandated two-hour course and register with the state before they are qualified to “recommend” medical marijuana.

With a recommendation letter in hand, patients visit a dispensary to receive their medication. Patients must register on a confidential state database, and they have to wait about 30 days to receive a card.

Medical marijuana is dispensed in 70-day increments. Once the 70 days expires, a patient can renew the recommendation for another 70 days. This can be done sometimes by phone but, about every six months, there must be a face-to-face visit with a doctor.

By law, 10 diseases are listed as eligible for medical marijuana including epilepsy, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn’s and Parkinson’s.

But, the law also includes “medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable” to those specifically listed.

That gives doctors some discretion in approving patients who don’t neatly fit any of the approved categories, Stolte said.

He also noted that medical marijuana could play a role in addressing the opioid epidemic.

“You can kill yourself with opioids. You can’t kill yourself with marijuana,” Stolte said. “It (marijuana) is not a gateway drug. It’s an exit drug.”

Research is beginning to show that medical marijuana reduces opioid prescriptions and overdose deaths, he added.

“We’re treating people who have failed on everything else out there,” Stolte said.

The next event in the Community Awareness Series will be “DUI (Driving Under the Influence) Awareness Seminar” on Nov. 15 from 11 a.m. to noon. It will be at Pasco-Hernando State College, 2727 Mansfield Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, in the Conference Center, Building B, Room 303.

For information, visit PHSC.edu.

Published November 8, 2017

Land O’ Lakes gets beefed up emergency services

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Pasco County Fire Rescue No. 37 has added ambulance service.

The station is at the entrance to Ballantrae in Land O’ Lakes. The new service became effective on Sept. 1.

Pasco County Fire Rescue No. 37 is located in a high-growth area off County Road 54, near the Ballantrae and Bexley subdivisions. It recently added an ambulance service and six emergency responders. (Courtesy of Pasco County Fire Rescue)

Six paramedics and emergency medical technicians have been added, to provide 24-hour coverage for the rescue unit.

The station, which is at 18105 State Road 54, is currently using one of the department’s spare vehicles until the new squad arrives, which is expected within a month.

Division Chief Shawn Whited said the service area for the new ambulance is essentially Stonegate to the east and Odessa to the west.

Before the new ambulance service was added, the area was being served by an ambulance coming from the fire station in Trinity, or from the other Land O’ Lakes station, which is at U.S. 41 and State Road 54, Whited said.

“If the ambulance for Land O’ Lakes was out, because that was the only ambulance for Land O’ Lakes, we’d get one from either Wesley Chapel or Trinity,” Whited said.

“We had a big gap there,” he said.

The county has been able to send emergency responders because all of the county’s fire trucks have advanced life support, but they had to wait for a rescue unit to transport patients to the hospital, Whited said.

Getting the additional coverage is important because population continues to increase in the area near Station 37, he said, noting that Bexley, Longlake Ranch and Concord Station are growing communities.

“That Land O’ Lakes area between the Suncoast Parkway and (U.S.) 41 is one of the largest growing areas in Pasco County,” Whited said. “With all of those homes, we want to make sure they have proper fire and EMS coverage in there.

“Now, if you’re having a true medical emergency, like a heart attack or a stroke, we can get you to the hospital faster — without having to wait for that unit to come from Land O’ Lakes or Trinity or Wesley Chapel,” he said.

Published November 8, 2017