The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Health

Siblings bring joy and hope to patients

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(Courtesy of Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point)

Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point has awarded 100-volunteer-hour service pins to two pet therapy dogs, Buffy and Knox. The dogs are brother and sister therapy dogs and are handled by Ray Jozwik, who adopted them from the Florida Collie Rescue. Buffy and Knox are certified by Therapy Dog Inc. Selection of therapy dogs is based upon the calm and gentle demeanor of the animals even in the midst of chaos. Donna Owens, Volunteer Services manager, shows off Buffy and Knox.

Health News 05/24/2017

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(Courtesy of Kirsty Churchill)

Gulfside celebrates its volunteers
In honor of National Volunteer Week, Gulfside Hospice honored its 193 patient-care volunteers, along with 200 thrift shop volunteers, throughout the county. In the past year, volunteers have donated nearly 49,000 hours of service to Gulfside. Each individual was recognized by years of service. Three volunteers receiving recognition were, from left, Goldie Klebowski, 7 years; Jeanette Tatro, 12 years; and, Barrie Fernald, 1 year.

 

Pregnancy center donations
The Oasis Pregnancy Care Centers accepts donations of new or slightly used baby or maternity items. The centers cannot accept car seats and breast pumps, as they must be new. Cribs must have the fixed rail.

Here is a short list of items that can give ideas on ways to help:

  • $35 buys a case of diapers and baby wipes
  • $65 buys a car seat or “pack n play”
  • $85 buys an electric breast pump
  • $150 buys a crib and mattress
  • $500 helps the pregnancy centers expand services to Trinity/Odessa

Oasis has two locations: 3632 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Suite 108, in Land O’ Lakes, and 5854 Argerian Drive, Suite 103, in Wesley Chapel.

To reach the Land O’ Lakes office, call (813) 406-4965. For Wesley Chapel, call (813) 618-5037.

NAMI support groups
The Pasco County Chapter of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers two types of support group meetings each month.

The NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group is a structured closed group, open only to those with a mental illness diagnosis. This group is for individuals age 18 and older, interested in the recovery process, sharing coping skills, and being with others who understand the daily challenges of living with a mental illness.

Local meetings are the second and fourth Friday of the 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 is for family members and caregivers of someone with a mental illness diagnosis.

The family group also meets at Atonement Lutheran Church the first and third Tuesday of the month from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

For information, call (727) 992-9653, or visit NAMIPasco.org.

Premier awarded $1.2 million
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Premier Community HealthCare Group Inc., $1.2 million to expand services into Hernando County.

The sites will be in Brooksville and Spring Hill at medical space previously operated by the Department of Health, and will serve an estimated 84,000 patients annually.

Limited hours of operation are now available. Both sites will be fully operational on or before July 24 at these locations:

  • Spring Hill Family Health Center, 7551 Forest Oaks Blvd.
  • Brooksville Family Health Center, 300 S. Main St.

To learn more about Premier Community HealthCare, visit PremierHC.org.

Crisis Center named a top workplace
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has been named one of Tampa Bay’s Top Workplaces 2017 by the Tampa Bay Times.

The Top Workplaces in Tampa Bay program was created by the Tampa Bay Times and Workplace Dynamics, and the companies are selected based on survey results from employees, answering questions on numerous topics, including practices and policies.

For a complete list of the 2017 Top Workplaces in Tampa Bay, visit TampaBay.com/topworkplaces.

Public health nurses recognized
The Florida Department of Health-Pasco County recognized its public health nurses with a Nurses Day Tea May 12 and an educational session, as the ANA (American Nurses Association) designated 2017 as the “Year of the Healthy Nurse.”

Florida has more than 600,000 nursing professionals who work every day to provide high-quality care in a variety of settings from hospitals to doctors’ office to county health departments and schools.

Public health nurses work with individuals, families and communities as a whole to prevent disease and promote the overall health of the area. The nurses work in clinics to provide immunizations, conduct testing for diseases and infections, help people manage chronic conditions, and help people achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Volunteer receives ‘President’s call’

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(Courtesy of Regional Medical Center Bayonet)

Susan Mesi, a volunteer at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, has received the President’s Call to Service Award Certificate, from the office of the President of the United States. Recipients must have volunteered for a minimum of 15 years and logged in more than 7,500 hours of service. Mesi started volunteering more than 15 years ago, has more than 26,000 hours of service, and received the hospital’s Five Star Award in 2010. She greets patients in the outpatient services department, is chairperson of volunteers in the outpatient lab, and covers the shifts of those who are absent to make sure the greeting station is always staffed. Mesi, left, is shown with Elliot Lorenzi, volunteer president.

Health News 05/10/2017

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(Courtesy of Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point)

Volunteers elect board members
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point’s Volunteer Association has elected its new board of directors. From left: Diane Ricca, president; Colleen D’Amario, vice president; Debbie Hennessy, secretary; Shirley Dunn, treasurer; Vikki Neftleberg, assistant treasurer; and, Elliot Lorenzi, Otto Ottaviano, Dixie Cagle, Joe D’Amario and Tom Runnions as directors at large.

American Stroke Month
During May, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association encourages people of all ages to recognize the signs and symptoms of a stroke, and to take healthy steps to reduce stroke risk.

Stroke claims an average of nearly 900 lives every year in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, and is a leading cause nationally of serious, long-term disability. Stroke is largely preventable and treatable.

Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg. Nearly one in six American adults with high blood pressure does not know it.

AHA/ASA teaches the acronym F.A.S.T., to help people recognize the most common stroke warnings signs and what to do if one occurs:

  • F – Face drooping: Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile.
  • A – Arm weakness: Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
  • S – Speech difficulty: Is speech slurred, is the person unable to speak, or is the person hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence like, “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?
  • T – Time to call 911: If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 911 and get them to the hospital immediately.

For information, visit StrokeAssociation.org/strokemonth.

Health care gala
Guiding Star Tampa hosted its annual Light of Hope Benefits Gala benefit attended by more than 300 community partners, contributors, friends and residents.

Guiding Star is a comprehensive women’s health care practice that offers medical services, education and ongoing support to women and their children, from puberty through menopause, in the Tampa Bay area. The center offers natural, holistic and whole-life medical health care.

Located in north Hillsborough County, the facility has medical examination rooms, classroom/meeting rooms for English and Spanish Mommy Support Groups, and consulting rooms for one-on-one educational sessions.

Guests can schedule a facility tour by calling (813) 948-7734.

For information, visit GuidingStarTampa.org.

 

Raising awareness about child abuse

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Learning to recognize the signs of child abuse is a critical first step in knowing when to report suspected abuse.

Pasco-Hernando State College and Pasco Kids First Inc., hosted a child abuse awareness seminar on April 20 for about 30 people. The seminar was free and open to the community, students, faculty and staff.

Pasco-Hernando State College and Pasco Kids First., hosted a child abuse awareness seminar at the college. Among those attending were students, faculty and seminar presenters.
(Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

The “Stop the Abuse” seminar was part of the Summer 2017 Community Awareness Series. The next seminar will be on skin cancer awareness on May 24 from 11 a.m. to noon at PHSC’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch, at 2727 Mansfield Blvd, in Building B, Room 203.

Staff members from Pasco Kids First child protection team and trauma therapy team discussed tools and resources to help victims of child abuse and how to recognize when child abuse is happening.

There’s no doubt that child abuse is an issue in Florida. A hotline to report suspected child abuse gets thousands of calls every year in the state.

Many of those attending the seminar are nursing students at the college.

“You’ll be faced with a lot of different scenarios,” said Natalie Epo, associate dean for academic affairs and retention services at the Porter Campus.

Data shows that children from birth to age 5 are at the highest risk of death from child abuse. Across the country, five children die every day from child abuse.

Telltale signs of abuse can be as obvious as a pattern of cigarette burns, or less so, such as bruising that is less noticeable and harder to categorize as abuse.

“If you see bruises on a child under age 5, those are the most concerning,” said Jon Wisenbaker, program manager for Pasco Kids First child protection team.

Pasco Kids First’s child protection and trauma teams work with the protection investigators at the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office. They do assessments on physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and high-risk cases. Referrals are made by child protective investigators or law enforcement, but can’t be made directly by the general public.

Not every reported injury is due to child abuse, however.

“Kids do get accidental injuries all the time,” Wisenbaker said.  “That’s where we come into the picture to make that decision.”

The location and pattern of bruises can be telling, said Julie Nadkarni, pediatric nurse practitioner with Pasco Kids First’s child protection team.

Bruising, especially pattern bruising, on the inner thigh, upper arms, buttocks and sides of the face, ears and neck can be signs of abuse, Nadkarni said.

Bruises behind a child’s ear generally aren’t seen.

“When they fall, their ears don’t typically hit the ground,” she added.

Nadkarni showed slides of children with clear signs of abuse, including ligature marks, cigarette burns and scalded feet.

Bite marks, particularly by adults, are often associated with sexual abuse, she said.

Pasco Kids First also sees children suffering from neglect and malnutrition.

The mission of Pasco Kids First, however, is to keep families together, if possible.

“The goal is always to strengthen the family because overall that is where a child is going to do the best,” Nadkarni said.

Studies support that view, said Wisenbaker.

When children are removed, they are more likely to live with a relative or family friend than in a foster home, he said.

Helping victims and their families deal with abuse, and recover from trauma, is part of the mission at Pasco Kids.

Miranda Hager, trauma therapist with Pasco Kids First, counseled more than 280 clients last year. About 80 percent were victims of sexual abuse; 10 percent physical abuse; and 10 percent other types of trauma.

Children who have been abused can react to abuse by becoming aggressive or withdrawn. They make have difficulty sleeping, problems at school, increasing stomachaches and headaches and lack motivation.

Lexy, a survivor of child sex abuse, is one of Hager’s clients. She spoke at the seminar about her yearlong experience of abuse at age 15 by an older male friend of the family.

What happened over many months was a pattern of grooming, typical of sex offenders, Hager said.

Children are targeted over many months as the sexual predator tries to create a special friendship, giving them gifts and being available to them. “It’s a slow process of pulling the child away from friends and family,” Hager said.

For information, visit PascoKidsFirst.org.

To report suspected child abuse, neglect or abandonment, call the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-(800)-962-2873, or fax to (800) 914-0004.

Revised May 5, 2017

Health News 05/03/2017

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Buster’s job is pet therapy
Buster works for Canines for Christ as a therapy dog, and even has his own business card. He ministers to patients at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, as well as other places. When Buster is not helping to ‘heal,’ his favorite pastimes are chasing squirrels and playing with squeaky toys. Buster’s proud owner is Pat Metcalf of Lutz.

 

Hospital promotions
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point has announced these promotions:

  • Jessica DeMauro, director of wound care. DeMauro was promoted from her position as director of patient experience. She has a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Purdue University.
  • Dina D. Credo, director of critical care unit. Credo has been serving as interim director of the critical care unit since last September, and has been serving in nurse management since her employment at the hospital in April 2009.
  • Sherry Pressner, vice president of human resources. Pressner comes from Citrus Memorial Hospital where she had the same position, and has been in various human resource positions within the HCA system since 2009.

Cup of Compassion
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay hosted the 14th annual Cup of Compassion fundraising breakfast at the Tampa Convention Center.

More than 500 guests gathered to support the center’s mission: To ensure that no one in our community has to face crisis alone.

The event raised $360,000 through donations, pledges and sponsorships.

For information about the Crisis Center, visit CrisisCenter.com.

Symposium spotlights mental health, well-being

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College life can be exciting, but also can be challenging.

Besides searching for independence, there comes a new level of responsibilities — academically and socially.

That’s why administrators and student leaders at Pasco-Hernando State College organized a Community Resource Fair and Symposium on mental health and well-being, at the college’s East Campus in Dade City.

Research conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness on mental health on college campuses shows:

  • 25 percent of students have a diagnosable illness
  • 40 percent do not seek help
  • 80 percent feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities
  • 50 percent have been so anxious they struggled in school

About a dozen organizations were present during the April 19 event — part of the college’s ongoing community awareness series.
Several local mental health and wellness agencies were on hand, including BayCare Behavioral Health, and Sunrise of Pasco County Domestic and Sexual Violence Center.

Pasco-Hernando State College organized a Community Resource Fair and Symposium on April 19 at its East Campus in Dade City.
(Courtesy of PHSC)

Representatives from those groups, along with a college staff member, led a panel discussion on mental fitness among college students.

One of the panelists was Jacqui Turner, a liaison for BayCare Health System’s Student Assistance Program (SAP), which provides support to students in dealing with personal, academic, or relationship problems via referral services through managed care benefits and other community resources.

According to Turner, most college students utilize the SAP service because they struggle balancing school, work and general life obligations.

Those stresses, Turner said, can translate to poor classroom performance.

“When your mind is focused elsewhere,” she said, “you’re not performing to your fullest potential…and your grades go down pretty fast.”

Aside from stress, feelings of anxiety and depression can also be prevalent among college students, Turner noted.

Another panelist, Chuck Wilson— the college’s executive director of the President’s Institute for College Preparation, Completion, Certification, Leadership Development — suggested financial decisions—good and bad—can impact mental well-being.

He said most debt is created right out of college.

“As you’re preparing for life, don’t mess up your money,” he said.

That includes incorporating preventative measures, such as saving and smart spending habits. 
“If you don’t do that,” Wilson said, “now you’re dealing with depression, and fear and anxiety.”

Later on, Wilson advised those with financial struggles to seek help from elder family members and dabble with financial literacy programs.

“Often there’s value in age and experience,” he said.

He also advocated performing a self-assessment “when something is weighing you.”

“Have courageous conversation with yourself. When you tell yourself the truth, I think that’s the baseline for rising above whatever the situation is.”

With April being National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a portion of the symposium centered on ways to support victims and survivors of sexual assault, dating and violence domestic and stalking.
The topic was led by Aubrey Hall, Green Dot coordinator for Sunrise of Pasco. The Green Dot Bystander aims to end or reduce the amount of violence found on university campuses.

According to Hall, one in four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and one in six men will be stalked.

“These numbers rise when college is in session,” Hall explained. “When you’re in college, you’re four times more likely to be assaulted than when you’re not in college.”

She pointed out survivors of violence “sometimes feel guilty or shameful, because they feel like they should have acted.”

Empowering those victims, Hall said, starts with utilizing proper interaction techniques.

One such technique, called trauma-informed care, is an approach that aims to engage people with histories of trauma, recognize the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledge the role that trauma has played in their lives.

“When you go and you interact with somebody, you don’t really know what they’ve been through. And, it’s really not right to ask somebody about it,” Hall said.

“I never go into a room assuming no one’s experienced violence.”

She, too, never asks ‘why,’ when dealing with trauma victims, due to its presumptive tone.

“If you’re asking somebody why something happened to them, you’re putting the blame on them. You’re putting the onus on them,” Hall said.

She added: “Language is extremely important. Not only how you’re asking the questions, but then following up.”

Published April 26, 2017

Health News 04/26/2017

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(Courtesy of Keth Luke)

Music festival lends a hand to Gulfside
The Paulie Palooza Music Festival, at the new Zephyrhills Community Event Venue, raised more than $10,000 to support Gulfside Hospice. The event featured local bands, vendors and a car show. All proceeds from the event go to supporting hospice patient care in Pasco County. A second festival is slated for May. The Jase Randall Band was one of seven bands to perform at the March event.

 

JC Audiology expands
Dr. Judith L. Reese, audiologist with JC Audiology in Lutz, has expanded her practice of nearly 12 years.

The larger facility at the North Fork Professional Center, 1519 Dale Mabry Highway, Suite 105, has a larger waiting room and a suite she created called the Tampa Bay Hearing Aid Hospital, where she and technicians will focus on repairing and servicing hearing aids, along with the everyday business of dispensing new hearing aids.

The new office will be capable of demonstrating real world sound environments to help hearing aid users with hearing adjustments.

During the month of May, JC Audiology will offer free hearing screenings, along with free demos of hearing aids.

To make an appointment, call (813) 949-1331.

Neuropathy clinic
CARE Tampa Bay provides education and support for coping with neuropathy, dealing with physical limitations, home safety, and symptom management.

The free volunteer-run clinic is taking appointments for May and June. Space is limited

For information, contact Cindy Tofthagen at (813) 396-9441 or .

Morton Plant Mease needs volunteers
Morton Plant Mease is looking for volunteers at its Morton Plant North Bay Hospital in New Port Richey.

Current opportunities include van drivers, aides and schedulers for the free van transportation service; dispatchers; patient companions (inpatient bedside support); information desk assistants; patient and visitor escorts; and gift shop and resale shop assistance.

Positions are available seven days a week for ages 14 and older. Hours are flexible and can be scheduled during the day, evenings or weekends. Volunteers should be able to work one four-hour shift a week.

Information sessions take place at the hospital on a regular basis.

To find out more, call (727) 734-6262.

Donate to NAMI
The Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office has designated NAMI of Pasco (National Alliance on Mental Illness) as its featured charitable organization for the month of April.

Funds raised will stay in the community and be used to offer free classes, including materials and support groups, as well as maintaining a website, brochures and manuals, a small administrative office, and on-going training for new volunteer teachers and facilitators to conduct programs.

For information, call Greg Giordano at (727) 847-8179.

Health News 04/19/2017

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(Courtesy of Griswold Home Care)

Foundation gives back to Volunteer Way
The Jean Griswold Foundation, a private charity established in 2010, was created by Griswold Home Care to raise awareness that care for the elderly and disabled should be available to all. The foundation presented $1,000 to The Volunteer Way for its efforts in assisting more than 23,000 families each month in Pasco, Hernando and surrounding counties. From left: Arthur Moseley, certified senior advisor and co-owner of Griswold; Martha O’ Brien, assistant CEO, The Volunteer Way; and Frieda Moseley, co-owner of Griswold.

Volunteers needed
Florida Hospital at Connerton Long Term Acute Care is looking for enthusiastic, committed individuals to join its volunteer team. The hospital’s mission is to extend the healing ministry of Christ.

As a volunteer, there are opportunities to apply your skills and talents to create a positive experience for patients, visitors and staff.

For information, contact Anthony Cappellini at (813) 615-7286 or .

Hospital announces new chief operating officer
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point’s CEO Shayne George announced the appointment of Joe Rudisill as its new chief operating officer.

Rudisill comes from Henrico Doctors’ Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, where he served in HCA’s Chief Operating Officer Development Program.

Prior to joining HCA, Rudisill was the director of operations at Virginia Urology.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Rudisill is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Emergency medical help coming to Central Pasco

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Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is again expanding its services, this time setting up a freestanding emergency department in Land O’ Lakes.

This is what Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel’s new emergency facility, being built off State Road 54 in Land O’ Lakes, will look like.
(Courtesy of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel)

The facility, which is expected to be completed by January of 2018, will bring emergency medical assistance closer to residents of Central Pasco County. The new 18,000-square-foot center will be near the entrance to Bexley, a new community being built off of State Road 54, just east of the Suncoast Parkway in Pasco County.

The facility will offer full-service emergency care, 24 hours a day, and will be staffed by board-certified emergency medicine physicians and nurses that are highly trained in emergency care.

The 24-bed facility also will have state-of-the-art on-site imaging services such as X-ray, ultrasound, CT scans and laboratory services.

Dignitaries gathered at the site for an April 6 formal groundbreaking ceremony.

Speakers included Denyse Bales-Chubb, president and CEO of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore and Pasco County Fire Chief Timothy Reardon.

From left, Timothy Reardon, Mike Moore and Mike Schultz, were among the speakers at the formal groundbreaking ceremony for a new freestanding emergency room being built in Land O’ Lakes.

“Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is committed to our mission of extending the healing ministry of Christ,” Bales-Chubb said. “With that mission, we need to make sure that we have emergency services that are convenient to where our community lives and works.

“This facility will provide the same quality care that our patients receive at our main campus,” she said.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Mike Moore enthusiastically welcomed the addition of the new facility to Central Pasco.

“It seems like yesterday that we were just breaking ground at the expansion of the Wesley Chapel Florida Hospital facility,” Moore said. “Here we grow again.”

He called Florida Hospital an extraordinary community partner for residents of Pasco County, a true leader in health and wellness, and a great job creator for the county.

Dignitaries prepare to throw a shovel of dirt to signify the beginning of construction for a new freestanding emergency room for Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, expected to open in Land O’ Lakes in January 2018.

“We’re happy that you decided on Central Pasco at this location,” Moore said. “These off-site emergency rooms, they’re the future. We’re seeing them pop up around the nation.”

The location of the facility allows quality medical care to be within better reach of residents, Moore added.

“I’m excited about the freestanding ERs. It’s something that’s been working throughout the country,” Reardon said.

The new facility gives first responders another avenue of help for patients requiring emergency care.

He also noted the county’s growing needs, as its population increases in general, and there are more Baby Boomers, in particular.

The freestanding emergency room is being constructed by Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, which is off of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, north of State Road 56.

That hospital, which opened in October 2012, recently completed a massive expansion which involved 111, 993 square feet of new construction and 10,834 square feet of renovation.

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel is part of the Adventist Health System, a not-for-profit health network comprised of 26 hospitals throughout the state.

To find out more about the hospital, visit FHWesleyChapel.org.

Published April 12, 2017