Health

Florida Medical Clinic opens new Carrollwood location

September 4, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Florida Medical Clinic has found a lot of success in pulling all kinds of providers into a single location, making it a one-stop haven for patients.

Locations on SR 56 in Land O’ Lakes and US 301 in Zephyrhills have done just that for years, and now North Tampa is getting the same thing with its North Dale Mabry Highway location.

Construction continues on Florida Medical Clinic’s new dialysis center that it’s building on Eiland Boulevard with DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. DaVita will be the primary user of the 12,000-square-foot structure, with 2,500 square feet of that dedicated to medical offices. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Florida Medical Clinic is finally bringing all of its Carrollwood providers together under one roof, recycling a former Borders location at 12500 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

“The project in Carrollwood is a natural extension of our practices,” said Joe Delatorre, chief executive officer of Florida Medical Clinic. “We are only growing contiguously, and we want to keep that multi-specialty group concept where people can access as many systems as possible. And that just made sense for us on Dale Mabry.”

The doors have already opened for the Carrollwood office, and by the end of September, patients should have access to 27 providers from 12 different specialties. It will range from internal medicine, orthopedics and gastroenterology, to facial plastics, pulmonology and cardiology.

“People want to get in, get what they need done, and get out of there as quickly as they can,” Delatorre said. “We understand that, so we’ve made it efficient without sacrificing any of our quality.”

Expansion efforts for Florida Medical are not just stopping there. The company has partnered with DaVita Healthcare Partners Inc. in building a 12,000-square-foot facility on Eiland Boulevard in Zephyrhills that will serve as both a dialysis center and additional doctor offices.

“Patients will absolutely love this location,” Delatorre said. “We took it off the main road a bit, but it’s easy to get to, will have nice parking, and it’ll have a lot of room.”

When the facility opens in November, it will replace a much smaller dialysis center at Florida Medical’s primary Zephyrhills campus on US 301 just north of CR 54. This new location is just a few miles away, and dialysis patients will now have a chance to avoid some of the wintertime congestion that plagues US 301.

Florida Medical bought the vacant 1.5 acres of land in May for $35,000. It’s the first time the clinic has purchased land in Zephyrhills that is not part of its main campus, which is quickly running out of space. Space is at a premium at the former home of Kmart and Publix in Zephyrhills, especially once Florida Medical completes a $5 million expansion of its urgent care facility.

“It’s already on an outparcel in front of the property, and it’s perfectly located for easy access for our patients,” Delatorre said.

Urgent care is a fast-growing industry, especially as people look for medical resources that are both cost-effective and convenient. The expanded facility — which will double in size to 7,000 square feet — will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

What separates Florida Medical Clinic’s urgent care facility from others is the fact that doctors will have full access to each patient’s electronic medical records, Delatorre said. These records detail everything a patient has had done with any Florida Medical Clinic provider, eliminating the need to duplicate tests, and give an urgent care doctor the full medical picture he or she needs.

“You can’t always get to your existing primary care physician, so we’re providing a quality alternative that still has all the services available, and the overall experience you’re accustomed to with us,” Delatorre said.

The growth of Florida Medical Clinic has been brisk in recent years, first opening a location in Dade City, and then turning its sights south toward Tampa.

The company opened up in Wesley Chapel in 2001, and by 2003, Florida Medical had made significant strides into north Tampa.

Although the Florida Medical Clinic customer service model hasn’t changed, the medical industry has. If a practice isn’t attuned to what’s happening with federal healthcare reform, for example, they may be left struggling to keep up.

“You have to adapt to what’s going on in the marketplace,” Delatorre said. “The reality of it is the Affordable Care Act provides a solution to make sure everyone has basic health insurance. Patients will now have that funding mechanism, and that is a good thing for us. It means more people will want to access our services, and because of that, we can stay in the business of taking care of people.”

Wesley Chapel hospital exceeding expectations in first year

August 28, 2013 By B.C. Manion

When Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel was preparing to open its doors last October, it expected to have 400 employees.

Less than a year later, it has 600.

“For the 600 jobs that we have, we had over 25,000 applicants,” hospital chief executive Brian Adams said last week. “Not all of those applicants, of course, were qualified for roles in health care. But even in nursing, for every one job, we had more than 10 applicants.”

A look at the interior of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. (File photo)

Adams was sharing the news with the economic development committee of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. Having so many applicants means the hospital can really be selective, and focus purely on talent. The Wesley Chapel hospital, for example, has an average of 10 years experience.

And the hospital has outpaced projections in other areas as well. Its 26,000 emergency room visits and 380 baby deliveries are roughly double original expectations, Adams said. Other first-year figures include 3,800 admissions and 1,800 surgeries.

Business owners may wonder if people will travel into Wesley Chapel to get health care, and the answer to that is that they do, Adams said.

“The economic development piece of having a business that not only employs 600 people in the community, but also attracts people into Wesley Chapel, is a real benefit,” he said. “Many of the individuals who now come to Wesley Chapel for care were traveling out of the county for care, so they were going down into Hillsborough County, which means they see physicians in Hillsborough County, which means they stop for lunch on their way to see those physicians in Hillsborough.”

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel sits on 52 acres on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, west of SR 56. It has 83 beds, with the capability expanding to 299.

The hospital itself is three stories now, but can rise to six when the hospital needs more room to handle increasing health care needs, Adams said. And it might be sooner rather than later. Figures by the hospital show population growth in the area between 2.9 percent and 4 percent by 2017.

There are other factors to consider as well beyond just population growth, and that’s something the Wesley Chapel hospital stays cognizant of, Adams said. One is how much health care people are using.

“In this community, it’s going down, mainly because of the shift of cost from employer-based health plans to individual-based health plans,” Adams said.

The age of the population also figures in. In a community like Wesley Chapel, where the population is growing younger, the amount of healthcare used is lower than in a community like Zephyrhills, where the population is older.

The hospital is working to be a good neighbor, and may even reach out to Pasco-Hernando Community College after it opens its Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in January. The college is taking shape on a site near the intersection of SR 56 and Mansfield Boulevard, not far from the hospital.

“Having PHCC in the community will only benefit all of us,” Adams said. “I’ve had a number of conversations with the leadership at PHCC, and we believe part of our role is to create opportunities for students to learn and grow in a real-life setting.”

That’s common in the medical field, especially in the nursing field, he said. Having PHCC offer a transition to bachelor’s-level nursing can only help surrounding hospitals like Wesley Chapel’s.

Finally, with the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act on the horizon, Adams was optimistic that many pieces of the federal plan will benefit the community.

“People having access to the health care, at the primary care level, is probably the best way to best reduce our overall healthcare spend,” he said. “The most expensive time to care for a patient is when they have reached a point in their health where the intervention takes heavy resources.”

It also means taking steps now to prevent more serious health problems in the future.

“If you can help someone who didn’t have insurance to go to a physician and get their diabetes under control before that diabetes wreaked havoc on their heart, it’s a totally different approach,” Adams said.

But there will also be changes in the way employers handle insurance, by some employers no longer covering spouses that can get insurance elsewhere, and the proliferation of high-deductible health plans as companies try to offer affordable insurance to low-wage employees.

Ultimately, Adams thinks that consumers will drive the need for quality care, especially if they are paying the first $10,000 of their health care costs out-of-pocket due to high deductibles in their insurance plans.

Local invention vying for spot on Walmart store shelves

August 28, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Time is running out for two local medical professionals to get their invention on the shelves of Walmart stores across the country. And they need your help.

BariBowl is an innovative portion control food container developed by Land O’ Lakes-based physician assistant Dezi Zevin and bariatric surgeon Dr. Tiffany Jessee. It’s designed to help anyone managing their nutritional intake for a healthy life, and it’s quickly advancing through Walmart’s “Get it on the Shelf” contest.

Dezi Zevin, a physician assistant based in Land O’ Lakes, shows off the BariBowl, a product she co-created with bariatric surgeon Dr. Tiffany Jessee. The two are in the final stages of getting their invention on the shelves of Walmart through the “Get it on the Shelf” competition. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

BariBowl uses two 4-ounce dishes that can be subdivided right down to 1-ounce portions. It seems simple enough, and Zevin said she was surprised no one else had thought of it before.

“Dr. Jessee does weight-loss surgery, and I was her PA, and we talked about whether there was anything out there that would help patients keep track of their eating after surgery,” Zevin said. “I went home and researched it, and I found nothing. So she said we should come up with something.”

That was 2010, and later that year, both had created a company — BariWare LLC —and had a working prototype going. By 2011, they were manufacturing the BariBowl from a facility in Clearwater. The bowls come in pink, blue and green, and are both microwave and dishwasher safe.

So far, marketing and sales efforts for the BariBowl — which retails at about $20 — have been focused on doctor’s offices, especially those specializing in bariatric surgery. However, the product has a wide range of uses that go beyond that, whether it’s someone managing diabetes, trying to lose weight, and even body builders and athletes.

“I use this for my kids instead of going through the drive-thru at McDonald’s,” Zevin said. “I prepare their meals in the morning, and can use it throughout the day.”

Zevin says she can pack lunch for her kids, and then have a second one ready at the end of the day when she picks them up and takes them to soccer.

Since the product launched, sales have doubled year-over-year. Yet, getting into Walmart could push those numbers right through the roof. For that to happen, it’s going to take votes, however.

Walmart’s “Get on the Shelf” contest features a number of products evaluated by the store’s management staff, and then put up for a public vote to see what consumers might be interested in. The BariBowl was part of the contest last year, but did not advance. And with voting running through Sept. 2, Zevin and Jessee are hoping for a much different result this time.

And even if they do succeed and turn the BariBowl into a booming business, neither plans to give up their day job.

“It would be like a dream come true, and it would be a game changer for both our lives,” said Jessee, who was Florida’s first female bariatric surgeon. “We don’t have the financial ability to do much advertising, so to walk into a store and see your product on a shelf for a national chain, that is just unbelievable.”

Extra profits would be reinvested back into the company, Zevin said, to help them expand the BariBowl line to other complementary products. That could include a larger bowl for those who have to eat more but still want to portion food.

To vote for the BariBowl in the Walmart “Get on the Shelf” competition, visit tinyurl.com/nxsygt7.

Traditional party-turned-fundraiser hauls in $3,600 for cancer

August 21, 2013 By Steve Mistretta

By Marcia Stone

After six years of having a summer party, long-time Land O’ Lakes resident Gary “Cuz” Mincin learned he had prostate cancer and decided to try to raise funds for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center.

The first fundraiser brought in $460. The next year, the Krewe of Blackbeard’s Revenge joined in and matched Mincin’s $900, for a total of $1,800.

Cuz, Krewe members Jean ‘Eliza Dagger’ White, charity director, and Captain Darrell Haun raffle prizes onstage at Cuz Fest 9. (Photo by Marcia Stone)

Mincin and the Krewe worked tirelessly to put together this year’s event, and $3,600 was raised.

Guests brought a favorite dish to add to the endless and fabulous feast. Entertainment by local groups included Allen-Griffin, Dead Man’s Rodeo and Smoke N Run. Local establishments including Wolf’s Den, Village Inn, Westshore Pizza, Tire Kingdom, Uptown Pizza, Pizza Villa, Benedetto’s, Texas Roadhouse and several others donated raffle prizes.

The grand prizes included four guitars, including several autographed by Kid Rock, Tom Petty, Jimmy Page and the band Seven Dust. Land O’ Lakes resident Steve Wallace won the Kid Rock guitar.

A heated swimming pool and a fireworks show added to the event.

Krewe members Jean “Eliza Dagger” White and Cheryl Stewart worked the audience raising the donations even higher.

Mincin said he is overwhelmed at how large his private event has become, and added that many cancer survivors attend. Numerous people give their time and labor, and Mincin said he wishes to thank all of them.

Next year’s goal is $5,000, and Mincin is now contemplating a fall event to help support All Children’s Hospital.

Watch out Band-Aid: Wesley Chapel woman develops liquid bandage

August 14, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Kerriann Greenhalgh was studying at the University of South Florida when an idea struck her for a product that could plug a gap in the market.

That idea has since gone from concept to creation with the launch of Greenhalgh’s own company, KeriCure Inc.

The company uses a water-based polymer technology that was developed by University of South Florida scientists in 2003.

Kerriann Greenhalgh shows how easy it is to carry around her liquid bandage, which might give Band-Aids a run for their money.

Greenhalgh’s product provides a sting-free, preservative-free, waterproof liquid bandage that blocks bacteria and fungi from invading minor cuts, scrapes and burns.

The woman-owned company has developed KeriCure Skin Protectant, KeriCure Natural Seal Skin Protectant and is in the process of developing KeriCure Advanced – Rx for Medical Use.

The skin protectant is a spray designed for people who are on the go. It is being sold at more than 200 Kroger grocery stores and is scheduled in September to hit the shelves at 616 Publix stores in Florida, and 239 more in Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama.

“Seeing it in Publix is going to be so fun,” said Greenhalgh, who grew up in New Tampa and graduated from Wharton High School before obtaining her bachelor’s degree and doctorate from USF.

Long before her wound care spray hit the shelves, Greenhalgh, who is chair and chief executive officer of her company, was busy raising funds, networking and learning what she needed to manufacture her product and get it to market.

It took research to find six companies that could manufacture the packaging and the product.

“I personally financed the whole operation for a year and a half,” said Greenhalgh, who taught chemistry at USF.

She came up with the idea for her product when she was a student.

“I was working with this technology and I noticed that the polymer that we were working with formed a film,” Greenhalgh said. “It’s really elastic and it stretched and moved and would go back to the normal shape. I looked at this, and I said, ‘You know, this would make a really cool second skin, like a liquid bandage.’”

Greenhalgh began using the product herself all the way through graduate school. “I always had it at my house for my pets, for myself, for my husband. I just always kept using it,” she said.

Greenhalgh didn’t pursue her idea right away, but she knew there was a need for it and she knew it worked, she said.

“I didn’t realize how well it worked until people started using it,” she said. Since it has been available, people have told her that they’ve used it as an after-care product for tattoos. Some have used it for psoriasis and others for acne, she said.

And since it’s waterproof, it’s good for those who want to be in the water, or who might be working up a sweat, Greenhalgh said.

She’s interested in seeking out other markets in the United States, including Winn-Dixie, CVS and Walgreens, as well as branching out to Central and South America.

Although initial marketing efforts are going well and the company now has four full-time and one part-time employee, Greenhalgh isn’t trying to build a huge company.

“We don’t want to be a powerhouse,” said the scientist, who lives with her husband, Daniel Opp and nine-month-old son, Nolan Opp, near Quail Hollow. “I don’t want to be running a nationwide company and selling product. It’s hard, dealing with the retail side of things. There are nuances to it. There are loopholes and pitfalls.”

Instead, she would like to get a lab facility and do what she does best: research and development.

“We have a lot of medical product ideas that are in the pipeline,” Greenhalgh said.

Being successful with this product is the first step, though, she said.

“We’ve got this up and running. We’ve got to get it going,” she said. “That way we can find people that are interested in licensing the products from us.

Showering others with kindness

August 14, 2013 By B.C. Manion

Every year, like clockwork, members of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club throw a luncheon and shower to benefit women and children living in two area domestic violence shelters.

Club members come to the event bearing clothing and other gifts to give to the shelter residents. They tend to be practical items, such as diapers, children’s toys, children’s clothing and personal hygiene supplies.

The woman’s group also has a boutique and a flea market, where club members and the general public can shop to raise money for the shelters.

Rosie Heim, president of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club, works with member Jeannie to sort donations. (Photo courtesy of the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club)

The event also features a $6-a-plate lunch of lasagna, salad, bread, a drink and dessert, which is open to the public.

“Last year, we fed 75 people,” said Joan Collins, chairwoman of the luncheon for the woman’s club.

The items provided through the woman’s club luncheon lifts the spirits of the women and children who live at Sunrise of Pasco Inc.’s domestic violence shelter, said Trish Kley, the center’s development director.

They appreciate that people who don’t even know them are willing to help them, and they marvel at the items that are donated, she said.

Shelter residents get excited as “they are unloading and unloading and unloading” the vehicles that deliver the items that were donated at the shower, Kley said.

“What they do is fantastic. So many of these things, we’d never be able to supply,” Kley added.

The shelter is grateful for any donations and particularly need practical items, such as toilet paper, toiletries and bigger-ticket items such as highchairs, car seats and strollers.

Sunrise is seeing a growing demand, and is addressing that by adding 15 new beds, Kley said.

The woman’s club event offers a chance to do a bit of shopping and to mingle at lunch, Collins said. Before lunch, there’s a boutique and mini-flea market, where club members and the general public can purchase goods.

The money raised is donated to Sunrise and to the Pasco County Salvation Army Domestic Violence Shelter in Pasco County.

Collins said once the boutique is over, the club will also donate those gently used items — if the shelters want them.

The woman’s club gets satisfaction from the annual event because they know that the shelters need the help, Collins said.

“They’re very appreciative of everything we give them,” Collins said.

Abuse shelter benefit luncheon and boutique

Aug. 22: 10 a.m. shopping at the boutique, followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m.
Lunch is $6 a plate for lasagna, salad, bread, dessert and a drink
Where: Lutz Community Center, 98 First Ave. N.W.
Questions? Call Joan Collins at (813) 855-7254.

Performance-enhancing drugs hit high school level

August 14, 2013 By Jeff Odom

In light of the recent Biogenesis scandal that put a black eye on Major League Baseball, the Florida High School Athletic Association is conducting a major review of its policies against the use of performance-enhancing drugs for student-athletes.

In a release by the organization, which regulates interscholastic athletic programs for high school students at member public and private schools, FHSAA executive director Roger Dearing asked the Sports Medicine Advisory committee to perform a “top-to-bottom review” of existing policies to determine what can be done to eliminate PED use.

“The FHSAA’s overriding priority is the safety, well-being and constructive development of young student-athletes, whose bodies and character are still forming,” Dearing said. “Performance-enhancing drugs undermine every aspect of this goal, and so it is imperative that our student-athletes adhere to a zero tolerance policy toward these inherently unfair and dangerous substances.”

Existing FHSAA policies and bylaws state that student-athletes can be suspended from competing if they have used PEDs, but Dearing said it isn’t enough. Especially after a report by the Miami Herald alleged that two current high school baseball players were clients of the Biogenesis Anti-Aging Clinic in South Florida where many professional baseball players, including New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun and Texas Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz, were found to have allegedly obtained banned substances.

In total, MLB officials suspended 13 players for their involvement.

Dearing said the issue starts and ends with coaches.

“Here is the bottom line for me: As executive director of FHSAA, I believe we must draw a line in the sand against performance-enhancing drugs,” Dearing said. “School districts simply cannot tolerate coaches who encourage or look the other way when athletes use PEDs. Therefore, these coaches cannot be allowed to keep their jobs or have anything to do with young athletes.

“This is more than safeguarding fair play. It’s about saving lives.”

According to the release, Dearing has asked the 15-member committee, which includes 11 physicians, as well as athletic trainers, former coaches and educators, to review a full range of issues related to PED use, including but now limited to:

–Whether existing policies and procedures provide sufficient authority for schools to test and discipline student-athletes who may be using banned substances.

–The legal, policy and fiscal implications of heightened policies against performance-enhancing drugs; and

–Whether the FHSAA prohibition of PEDs would be more effective if set out as a stand-alone policy rather than existing as a part of a broader policy on sportsmanship.

Dearing was joined in his pledge for a review by State Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, who is a former school principal and superintendant and now serves as chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

“Performance-enhancing drugs pose a very real, very dangerous threat to high school student-athletes, both physically and psychologically,” Montford said in the release. “I commend the FHSAA for being proactive in addressing the challenge presented by coaches, parents and young athletes who want to get ahead by any means possible, whatever the personal cost.”

Jennifer Roth Manyard, an assistant professor of family and sports medicine with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville and member of the FHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, said the organization is making positive strides to eliminate PEDs.

“Teenagers are still developing … and PEDs have no place in their lives,” Maynard said in the release. “Whatever the FHSAA can do to stop PEDs from being used by high school student-athletes is a step in the right direction.”

Nothing expected to change at Pasco Regional after takeover

August 7, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City is now under new ownership after a $7.6 billion buyout of its parent company.

Health Management Associates Inc., the Largo-based company that owns Pasco Regional and 22 other hospitals in Florida, was sold to Community Health Systems Inc., in a deal announced July 30.

For the first time in 13 years, Pasco Regional Medical Center — soon to become Bayfront Health Dade City — has a new owner. But the deal is not expected to finalize until the end of the year. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

Once completed, Community Health Systems will own 25 hospitals in Florida, and 206 nationwide. Before the takeover, Nashville, Tenn.-based Community Health had just two hospitals in Florida, with the closest in Lake Wales.

“We are pleased that this combination will create an even stronger organization for the benefit of our patients, physicians, associates and the communities we serve,” said William J. Schoen, chairman of the board for Health Management, in a release.

The purchase will likely not affect the upcoming name change for the local hospital, which will become Bayfront Health Dade City, according to a Community Health Systems spokeswoman. Tomi Galin referred questions to Health Management spokesman Eric Waller, but added that the acquisition won’t be completed for “several months.”

Waller released a statement about the acquisition that didn’t address any previously announced name changes for the hospital. Instead, he made it clear that no immediate changes were planned for the Dade City hospital in light of the purchase.

“The combination of Health Management and CHS is not expected to impact local hospital operations,” he said. “Our deep commitment to providing the highest quality patient care will not change.”

Pasco Regional announced the name change early last month, before the deal to purchase the hospital chain was finalized.

The Dade City hospital has been through several name changes over the years. It was originally founded in 1973 as Community General Hospital, but was renamed Humana Hospital-Pasco in 1982, according to the facility’s website. In 1993, after the Columbia network of hospitals purchased it, the name was changed to Dade City Hospital.

Five years later, the name was changed again to Pasco Community Hospital, and then was renamed Pasco Regional Medical Center not long after Health Management purchased the hospital in 2000 for $17 million.

The 120-bed acute care hospital is at 13100 Fort King Road in Dade City.

Wesley Chapel’s newest surgeon is a robot named da Vinci

August 7, 2013 By Michael Hinman

Adventist Health System has always stayed on the cutting edge of medicine, dating back to the 19th century when doctors employed by the company championed the dangers of smoking and the health benefits of a little fresh air.

Now the company’s newest facility, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, is staying ahead of the curve once again with an advanced robotic surgery system that is expected to reduce recovery times with the most precise surgeries available.

The da Vinci Surgical System SI takes over the work on the operating table at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel with a surgeon nearby controlling every aspect of it. (Photo by Michael Hinman)

It’s called the da Vinci Surgical System SI, and the hospital at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. was expected to use it for the first time Monday. When it’s fully activated, it almost looks like a menacing mechanical spider in the operating room. But the da Vinci has the agility and dexterity beyond any human surgeon that will reduce blood loss, pain, scars and complications from all kinds of surgery ranging from prostate operations to intestinal resections.

“Basically, it does a much more exact surgery,” said Gill Green, director of surgical services at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel. “And with it, you avoid the complications.”

Surgery teams at the 83-bed hospital spent weeks training on the system ahead of their first operation on Monday. They learned not only how to prep a patient for the da Vinci, but also how to use its 3-D remote control that gives the surgeon a view he would struggle to see in a traditional operation. It takes laparoscopic surgery to a whole new level, said Mary Brady, Wesley Chapel’s chief nursing officer.

“Being a robot, the arm pieces are much smaller, and have much more room to work,” she said. “When the surgeon looks into the controller, his screen magnifies everything 10 times. And even if his hands are trembling a bit when he’s working the system, the robot arms are always working in a smooth motion.”

Some patients fear robotic surgery because they think a robot is doing the work.

Like many robotic systems, a surgeon directs the da Vinci controls, using its tools to make surgery less invasive.

“It works for many different types of surgery, but we don’t have to use it if someone doesn’t want it,” Brady said. “There are other alternatives as well, and that’s something that is discussed between the physician and the patient on how they want to proceed.”

Few hospitals are using the da Vinci system in the Tampa Bay area, but they do include Pasco Regional Medical Center in Dade City and St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in northern Hillsborough County.

But it is a steep investment. Florida Hospital wouldn’t say what they paid for the device, but prices can run as high as $1.75 million, according to the undergraduate science journal, the Journal of Young Investigators.

Yet, it’s an investment worth making if it can reduce the complications involved in various types of surgery.

“It’s a continuation of our vision from the very beginning that we would have state-of-the-art technology in this hospital,” said Tracy Clouser, director of marketing for the Wesley Chapel hospital. “We make sure we have only the best in all areas where it provides patient benefits, and better patient care.”

Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel opened last October, becoming Adventist’s 22nd hospital in the state.