Health

Health News 12/14/2016

December 14, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Nine million registered donors
As of the beginning of October, more than nine million Floridians have registered as organ, eye and tissue donors on Florida’s Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Donor Registry. The landmark achievement continues Florida’s accomplishment of maintaining the second largest donor registry in the country, second only to California.

The achievement was reached due in part to the recent launch of Apple’s iOS 10, which allows users in Florida to register as an organ, eye and tissue donor through the Medical ID tab of the Health app. All registrations submitted from the iPhone are sent directly to the National Donate Life America registry and merged with the Donate Life Florida registry.

Donate Life Florida is a nonprofit organization helping to empower the public to save and enhance lives through organs, eye and tissue donations. For information, visit DonateLifeFlorida.org.

NAMI support groups
The Pasco County Chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers two types of support group meetings each month: one for those living with mental illness, and another for family and friends of those with mental illness. This covers all brain disorders, including OCTD, depression, bi-polar, schizophrenia, multiple personalities and more.

The NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group, for those with a mental illness diagnosis age 18 and older, meets the second and fourth Friday of each month, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Atonement Lutheran Church, 29617 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

The NAMI Family Support Group, for family members and caregivers of someone with a mental illness diagnosis, meets the first and third Tuesday of each month, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., at Atonement Lutheran Church, 29617 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

For more information, and locations in New Port Richey and Hudson, call (727) 992-9653, or visit NAMIPasco.org.

Volunteer award winners
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point has recognized the recipients of its third quarter volunteer Star Awards.

Michelina Orta received a Five Star Award. Orta began volunteering in June, 2010 and has accumulated more than 1,100 hours of service as a courier.

Carol O’ Brien also received a Five Star Award. O’ Brien has been volunteering for almost five years, and has nearly 7,000 hours of service as an assistant treasurer, courier, courier team leader and courier dispatcher.

Bruce Carlson received a One Star Award. Carlson has been a volunteer since September 2014 and has accumulated 400 hours working as a courtesy cart driver.

Access Health Care adds services
Access Health Care has added medical oncology, hematology and radiation oncology services for patients.

Dr. Richard Caradonna and Dr. Fadi Nakhl will offer oncology and hematology services at 11373 Cortez Blvd., Suite 200, in Brooksville. For information, call (352) 597-4998.

Dr. V. Rao Emandi will offer radiation oncology services at 14535 Cortez Blvd., in Brooksville. For information, call (352) 596-3622.

Stitching together a life’s big moments

December 7, 2016 By Tom Jackson

Perhaps it was how she was brought up, or maybe it’s just in her genes, but Sherry Lee Steiert never was interested in being a poster child for polio.

Never mind that she’d have made a good one. Struck when she was just 7 years old and paralyzed for a time from the waist down, Steiert survived to create a life that was exceptionally normal — a marriage, four lively children, a career or three — despite having to get along on uncooperative Mutt & Jeff legs that she herself calls “the shriveled one,” with the brace and the boot, and “the heavy one.”

And dance? Oh, yes, she danced. “I did my share,” she says, triumphantly. More on that in a moment.

Betty Burke, left, and her friend, Sherry Lee Steiert, show off the quilt that Steiert made that will help raise money to battle polio. (Tom Jackson/Photo) — Betty Burke, left, and her friend, Sherry Lee Steiert, show off the quilt that Steiert made that will help raise money to battle polio.
(Tom Jackson/Photo)

Life turns on moments. A handful of fateful seconds here. A chance encounter there. Early on, Steiert’s life pivoted on at least a couple.

There was that Saturday morning in 1949. She was 7, hurrying down one of the side streets by Rodney B. Cox Elementary on her way to a dance recital in which her friend, Suzanne Williams (of the downtown Dade City department store family), was performing, when she was sideswiped by a boy on a bicycle.

He struck her, and she went down. Within a day or so, she ached powerfully in her lower joints, and a fever came on. Then, “My leg just gave way,” she says. Soon she was at Tampa General Hospital being treated for polio.

The collision and the onset of the disease are most likely pure coincidence, she concedes; polio was not transmitted by random acts of two-wheeler mayhem. But, it stands as one of those incalculable before-and-after episodes.

Steiert also remembers a brother enduring a bout of fever and aches only a week or so earlier, then bouncing back like nothing happened. Suppose the boy on the bike missed her. Did the crash somehow weaken her at a crucial passage?

That’s how it was with polio in the fear-soaked days before Jonas Salk’s miraculous vaccine stopped it cold in 1955. Some got fevers and aches, and were back playing in a week. Others got fevers and aches, and wound up in massive iron lungs.

“That’s what I remember from being in the hospital,” Steiert says. “The boy in the iron lung. That made an impression on me. No matter how bad it was for me, I was lucky. There were others worse off.”

Doctors recommended exercise, which is how the family moved from its San Antonio acreage to Sarasota, so Sherry could attend a school with a pool.

“I became a duck,” she says. “Third and fourth grade, swimming is what I did.”

Eventually, they returned to the family’s ranch land east of town, where Lake Jovita — the golf course and gated community — sprawls now. Then, it was 1,800 acres of citrus and wildlife, and more than enough to keep the second family of a locally legendary frontiersman busy. Alas, William E. Lee died when they were young, leaving not much money and absolutely no time for feeling sorry for themselves.

Which is how 14-year-old Sherry Lee found herself zipped into a gown of her mother’s design and stitching, on the elbow of her younger brother, practically shoved through the door of the Dade City Garden Club hall for a soirée remembered as the “sub-deb ball of 1956.”

She didn’t want to be there; she especially didn’t want her brother for a date. But, never leaving the house means missing the moments on which life changes, and if she’d stayed home, she’d have missed this one:

Phil Williams, Suzanne’s brother, future proprietor of Williams Lunch on Limoges, striding across the floor and asking her to dance.

“He was so good looking!” Steiert says.

“I remember it well,” Williams says. “Suzanne was Sherry’s champion. I’m sure she encouraged me. But, I probably would have done it anyway. It was the right thing to do.”

Today, the episode decorates Steiert’s memory like a flower pressed in a book: delicate and precious, a reminder of a moment that was full of life and beauty.

On a recent morning on the porch of Betty Burke’s antiques shop, these two events stood out from a lifetime when sometimes just getting out of bed was a major accomplishment.

Add a marriage — to a lumber mill worker and house builder, long since deceased — the rearing of four children, careers with Saint Leo University and the University of Florida/Pasco County Extension Office (where, self-taught, she designed the web page), and you have plenty of life for someone with two good legs.

There’s more. Not a closing chapter, by any means, but, deep into her story, a plot twist. Sherry Lee Steiert has become a quilter. She does it to fill up her days, she says, and they go to family and friends. As gifts. You simply can’t buy one.

But, you could win one. As Steiert says, she never has been one much for the cause of eradicating polio. “I contracted it so early, it’s part of who I am,” she says. Maybe she simply doesn’t want to be reminded that her timing was bad.

Still, her friend Betty is a Rotarian, and persistent, and Rotary International is bent on stamping out polio where it still lurks in the world. Bad stuff travels in this modern world, she notes, and if an infected someone from a Third World country comes in contact with one of the thousands of American children unvaccinated on their parents’ say-so, what then?

Like Rotarians everywhere, then, the San Antonio chapter is raising money for the cause. And next week, at the club’s Dec. 13 meeting, two of Sherry Lee Steiert’s quilts will be raffled off. See them at RotarySanAntonioFL.org, ask a club member, or call (352) 588-4444 to obtain tickets.

Maybe this, too, will be a moment: a simple act of selflessness that changes everything. Buying a ticket wouldn’t just affirm this late-coming poster child’s decision to join the fray. In the words of Phil Williams, it would be the right thing to do.

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Published December 7, 2016

New rules ahead for dispensing medical marijuana

December 7, 2016 By Kathy Steele

Voters statewide overwhelmingly said they want more people with debilitating illnesses to receive the benefits of medical marijuana.

But, approval of the constitutional amendment in the Nov. 8 general election is only a first step in expanding an existing, but limited, medical marijuana program.

State lawmakers and health department officials will have a say in what comes next.

Title In the interim, Pasco County commissioners are considering local zoning rules to restrict dispensaries to industrially zoned areas of the county. They also are considering a one-year extension on a moratorium that bans the cultivation, processing and dispensing of cannabis, which is used to produce medical marijuana.

The current moratorium expires on Dec. 31.

“This moratorium is to keep things from popping up outside of what you’re already proposing, until the legislature acts next year,” said Kristi Sims, an assistant county attorney.

According to the newly approved constitutional amendment, the Florida Department of Health has six months to issue guidelines for expanding the state’s current program.

However, lawmakers during the 2017 legislative session could put their imprint on the process as well.

Currently, a low level form of medical marijuana, known as Charlotte’s web, is legal in Florida for patients with certain seizure disorders. Terminally ill patients can qualify for stronger potencies of medical marijuana.

Based on state law, to date, only six dispensaries are licensed to distribute medical marijuana.

New state rules would allow more illnesses to be treated with medical marijuana, and more potent forms of medical marijuana as well. The number of dispensaries also is expected to grow.

On Nov. 29, Pasco County commissioners reviewed a proposed ordinance establishing rules of operation for dispensaries. In addition to locations within industrial zones, dispensaries would be at least 1,000 feet from establishments such as schools, day care centers, churches, pharmacies and drug treatment facilities. They could be no closer than 500 feet from a residence. And, a one-mile distance would be required between each dispensary.

Public hearings, and votes by county commissioners, on the moratorium and zoning regulations will be on Dec. 13 at 1:30 p.m., at the historic Pasco County Courthouse, at 37918 Meridian Ave., in Dade City.

Published December 7, 2016

Tax Collector’s offices raise $12,144 for breast cancer

December 7, 2016 By Mary Rathman

During the month of October, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano’s five offices partnered with the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation to help raise funds and awareness of breast cancer, its symptoms and treatments.

The office branches promoted the sale of the “End Breast Cancer” specialty license plates, as well as the voluntary check-off donations on automobile registrations. Sixty-eight plates were sold.

Combined with cash donations, a total of $12,144.07 was raised to help fight the disease.

Dental program helps veterans smile again

November 30, 2016 By Mary Rathman

(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

The Pasco-Hernando State College dental program participated in the ‘Stars, Stripes and Smiles 2016 Dental Care for Veterans’ event at its West Campus dental clinic in New Port Richey. Eight PHSC dental assisting students and 24 dental hygiene students, along with program faculty and staff, provided more than $65,000 of free dentistry to more than 70 local veterans. From left: veteran and Rep. Fred Costello; Ashley Moore, PHSC dental assisting student; and, veteran Sandy Lydick, dental assistant.

Health News 11/23/2016

November 23, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Remembering those lost to addiction
The Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Next Level Church hosted a NOPE Candlelight Vigil, to remember those who were lost to or suffer from substance abuse. The event included exhibits of local resources, a wall of pictures to memorialize those lost, a performance of the National Anthem and guest speakers. More than 200 people attended to grieve and show support for one another, and community members of all ages lit candles to remember those lost to drug overdose. ASAP is a community coalition dedicated to reducing rates of substance used disorders by creating and implementing community-wide strategies. For information, visit PascoASAP.com.

Gus Bilirakis is Legislator of the Year
The National Alliance on Mental Illness Pasco County honored U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis for his work in Congress to help reform the nation’s mental health system and improve access to care for those suffering from mental illness.

Bilirakis was presented with the group’s “Legislator of the Year” award.

For more information, visit Bilirakis.house.gov, and click on the Media link.

Support cancer research
The Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office will feature the Moffitt Cancer Center as its nonprofit charity for the month of November.

Customers with registration renewals may choose to trade their regular license plate for the Moffitt Cancer Center specialty tag, or customer may purchase the tag for newly registered vehicles or buy tag vouchers to give as gifts.

The proceeds from the tag promotion will go to Moffitt to support research and clinical trials.

The tax offices also will accept cash donations.

For office locations, visit PascoTaxes.com.

Health insurance assistance
Bayfront Health Dade City is once again offering free assistance during open enrollment, through Jan. 31, to help compare plans and fill out applications on the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Appointments can be made with the hospital’s certified assistants by calling (352) 521-1552, or booked online at GetCoveredAmerica.org/connector.

Premier Clinic gets grant
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced more than $87 million in funding for 1,2310 health centers in every United States state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin.

Premier Community Healthcare Group, a community health center in Pasco County, will receive $78,014 in funding, part of more than $4 million the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded to 46 health centers in Florida.

The funding will help the health center improve interaction electronically with patients, specifically to upgrade its IT technology, which will enhance the ability to improve workflow.

Health News 11/16/2016

November 16, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Going above and beyond
The NAMI Pasco County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness hosted the 10th annual MIAW (Mental Illness Awareness Week) banquet and presented awards to those in the community that have gone above and beyond to help those with mental illness. From left: Kayla Kuni, NAMI Pasco; Congressman Gus Bilirakis, legislator of the year; Terry Thompson, provider of the year; Vickey Polanis, advocate of the year; Elizabeth Rhodes, Humanitarian HOPE Award; Grace Mascelli, president NAMI Pasco; and Lt. Toni Roach, CIT officer of the year.

Nursing director to serve on board
Daryle Wane, nursing program director for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Pasco-Hernando State College, is now a peer reviewer for the American Journal of Nursing.

The nursing profession’s premier journal promotes excellence in nursing and health care through the dissemination of evidence-based, peer-reviewed clinical information and original research.

Wane is a board-certified family nurse practitioner who developed the college’s BSN program, launched in 2014, and spearheaded the recent accreditation effort that resulted in a five-year full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Wane also was appointed to the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice.

Brendan Barrett joins New Tampa Foot & Ankle
New Tampa Foot & Ankle, 26827 Foggy Creek Road, Suite 104, in Wesley Chapel, has announced the addition of Dr. Brendan Barrett to its practice.

Barrett graduated from Youngstown State University in 2008 with a bachelor of science in biology, followed by podiatry school in 2009 at Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine, both in Ohio.

Barrett has experience in both forefoot and rear foot complexities and surgeries, and is accepting new patients. For information, call (813) 973-3535.

Employee of the month
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point has recognized Nicole Konof as its most recent Employee of the Month. Konof is a critical care nurse in the surgical intensive care unit.

As Employee of the Month, Konof received a pin, a selected blanket gift, a reception with refreshments and colleagues, a front-row parking spot of her choosing for a month, a gift card, and a “You Make a Difference” starfish key chain personifying a well-known story of the young man and the starfish.

Appointments can be made with the hospital’s certified assistants by calling (352) 521-1552, or booked online at GetCoveredAmerica.org/connector.

Health News 11/02/2016

November 9, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Quilt raffle to help end polio
The Rotary Club of San Antonio has launched a local fundraiser to help end polio, in conjunction with Rotary International’s fourth annual World Polio Day event.

Two handmade quilts, sewn and donated by a local polio survivor, will be raffled off.

The drawings for the quilts will be on Dec. 13. Two entrants will be selected to win either a Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo quilt or a kaleidoscope quilt.

The tickets are $5 each, or $20 for five tickets.

All proceeds will go to PolioPlus at the Rotary Foundation.

To participate, call (352) 588-4444, or ask a club member.

CARES honors Don Andriuzzo
Don Andriuzzo, a volunteer at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, was recently honored at a CARES Celebrating Seniors ceremony.

Andriuzzo has volunteered at the hospital for ore than 22 years, accumulating 34,000 service hours and receiving the Five Star Award for exemplary service, as well as the 2008 Volunteer of the Year Award.

In 2010, Andriuzzo was the recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to volunteerism.

He has been the chairperson of the mailroom couriers for many years, and has volunteered for many special projects.

Since January 2012, Andriuzzo also has volunteered at HPH Hospice, accumulating more than 1,300 hours.

Health News 11/02/2016

November 2, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Health insurance assistance
Bayfront Health Dade City is once again offering free assistance during open enrollment, Nov. 1 through Jan. 31, to help compare plans and fill out applications on the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Appointments can be made with the hospital’s certified assistants by calling (352) 521-1552, or booked online at GetCoveredAmerica.org/connector.

Woman’s club collects for abuse shelter
The GFWC Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club hosted its annual October fundraiser/luncheon/Bunco party, which raised funds and collected donations of personal and hygiene items to benefit two area domestic violence shelter residences for women and children.

The service club works year-round to raise awareness and assist victims of domestic violence through contributions to these shelters.

For information, visit GFWCLutzLandOLakesWomansClub.org.

Health News 10/12/2016

October 12, 2016 By Mary Rathman

Nursing programs earn accreditation
Rasmussen College’s Practical Nursing Diploma program at the Land O’ Lakes/East Pasco campus, and the Professional Nursing Associate’s degree program at the New Port Richey/West Pasco campus, have earned programmatic accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing.

The accreditation signifies the nursing programs have met or exceeded standards and criteria for educational quality in nursing curriculum and preparation for nursing students to work successfully in the profession.

The college’s practical nursing program in Land O’ Lakes is now one of only four practical nursing programs in the state to earn ACEN programmatic accreditation.

Medicare benefits
The annual enrollment period for Medicare runs from Oct. 15 through Dec. 7.

The SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) Program has specially trained volunteers to help Medicare beneficiaries, their families and caregivers understand the health care options.

To receive help from SHINE, individuals may schedule appointments at counseling sites, attend enrollment events in the local communities, or speak to a trained SHINE counselor at (800) 963-5337.

For a listing of SHINE counseling sites and events, visit FloridaShine.org.

Extended mammography hours
The Radiology Department at Bayfront Health Dade City, 13100 Fort King Road, will offer extended mammography hours for the month of October ($99 special).

Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

To schedule an appointment, call (352) 521-1592.