Top Story

PASCO COUNTY – For more than 30 years, Pasco Economic Development Council has been recognizing companies for achieving outstanding growth. That tradition will continue with the upcoming 37th Annual Awards.

The event is regarded as one of Pasco County’s premier business events, attracting over 400 business and community leaders in Pasco County and the Tampa Bay region. 

The awards committee has interviewed all finalists who have demonstrated innovation, economic growth and significant community impact from January 2024 to March 2025.

This year’s finalists include:

• Abreu Environmental LLC
• Amerikey Locksmith LLC
• Athenaeum Brews LLC
• Dre’s Island Food Services LLC
• Escape Brewing Company
• Florida Design Consultants Inc.
• General Cabinets
• Merrell Bros. Inc.
• Mettler Toledo Product Inspection Division
• Pasco News Media Group LLC
• Southlake Signs Tampa Inc.
• Thirsty Buffalo Brew Factory
• Ultimate 3D Printing Store Services
• Xgenex Labs LLC

In addition to the business awards, the Pasco EDC Policy Council chooses an person who has made an exceptional impact in economic development and the Pasco community to honor with the Leadership Award. 

This year, the policy council has chosen to honor Dewey Mitchell with Berkshire Hathaway Properties. Mitchell is an entrepreneur, real estate mogul, Olympian, servant community leader and family man.

“We are looking forward to honoring these Pasco County companies and Dewey Mitchell for their achievements at our upcoming event,” said Bill Cronin, Pasco EDC president/CEO. “Their contribution to the overall economic growth of the community deserves to be recognized.”

The Pasco EDC 37th Annual Awards will take place Sept. 4 at Saddlebrook Resort. The event includes dinner and a trade show, which was revived after a five-year pause. 

AdventHealth is the presenting sponsor. Greater Tampa Realtors is the finalist reception sponsor.

LUTZ – St. Joseph’s Hospital-North in Lutz will open a $2 million, 5,431-square-foot, eight-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on July 15 with “couplet care” rooms. 

The NICU will have two private couplet care rooms, each measuring 525 square feet, where mothers and babies are cared for together. Normally, mothers and babies are separated when babies need to go to the NICU. 

Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital recently started couplet care in its NICU.

“Morton Plant Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital-North are the first in the Tampa Bay area to have NICU couplet rooms, and to the best of my knowledge, the first in the state of Florida,”  said Charles Ennis, a BayCare patient services director overseeing several of the health system’s NICUs.  

Ennis noted staffing and physical facility logistics are reasons why NICU couplet rooms are not common.

“Speaking as both a mom and a doctor, it’s a stressful situation for your new baby to require intensive care, but even harder to deal with while you yourself are trying to recover from giving birth,” said Dr. Alisa Pierce-Kee, a BayCare Medical Group pediatrician in Lutz. “It’s emotionally challenging to have your baby out of your sight when you know they are sick. Couplet rooms are so important, to allow the parents respite, and to allow the mother to heal, while seeing with her own eyes that her newborn is getting the best care possible. I’m really proud that our hospital is such a pioneer in this kind of forward-thinking care.”

The NICU will provide specialized 24/7 care for babies born prematurely, underweight or with special health needs and requirements such as IVs, respiratory therapy or other therapies. The Level II NICU will be staffed by neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners and experienced neonatal nurses. The NICU will supplement St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s existing labor and delivery and Mom & Baby maternity services. St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s NICU location is adjacent to the hospital’s Mom & Baby unit and is converted from a space that formerly housed adult medical and surgical patient rooms.

The other NICU rooms that are not couplet care are private for one baby. The private NICU rooms, measuring 280 square feet each, include sleeping accommodations, a bathroom and shower for a parent or another loved one to stay overnight with the baby.

“We’ve seen nationally that birth rates are going down but the needs for NICU beds are increasing,” said Sara Dodds, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North president. “We know that some of that is due to women having babies later in life and women also dealing with more medical issues. We are giving local moms an option to deliver close to home with the availability of a NICU.”

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North’s Level II NICU can stabilize a baby’s condition and arrange for transport to Tampa’s St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital Level IV NICU if a higher level of care is needed. A Level IV NICU provides the highest level of care.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North will have BayCare’s sixth NICU.  In addition to St. Joseph’s Hospital-North and previously mentioned St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, BayCare has NICUs at Safety Harbor’s Mease Countryside Hospital (Level III), Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital (Level II), Riverview’s St. Joseph’s Hospital-South (Level II) and Winter Haven Women’s Hospital (Level II).  Plant City’s South Florida Baptist Hospital is also adding a Level II NICU later this year.

The addition of the NICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North is part of the BayCare Kids continuum of care from infancy to adolescence.

DADE CITY, – Tooth decay remains the most common chronic childhood disease in America, yet it’s nearly 100% preventable. That’s the message behind Tiny Teeth Matter, a new community initiative led by Premier Community HealthCare in partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties.

“We were starting to see tooth decay in younger children,” said Cheryl Pollock, chief advancement and community engagement officer with Premier Community HealthCare. “It really led us to look at how we educate families and those that care for children about the importance of early dental care. The vast majority of parents really didn’t know when to start.”

With nearly one in five children ages 5 to 11 experiencing untreated cavities, the initiative focuses on reaching kids early, before dental problems begin, through education, outreach and access to preventive care.

“Our goal is to instill lifelong oral hygiene habits starting from the toddler years,” said Dr. Tara Milligan, chief dental officer at Premier Community HealthCare. “Tiny teeth really do matter. By teaching families how to care for them, we’re setting children up for a healthier future.” 

Milligan said parents can reinforce good dental habits even before the first tooth arrives by wiping a wet rag across the gums after a child eats.

Through its collaboration with the Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties, Tiny Teeth Matter is engaging early childhood educators and families with fun, age-appropriate tools to make dental care a part of daily routines.

Experts say early and regular dental checkups play a crucial role in maintaining lifelong oral health. 

That’s why Premier Community HealthCare is making Tiny Teeth Matter visits to contracted childcare centers in Pasco and Hernando counties. 

“This partnership helps make oral health education more accessible not only to our young learners, but also to their families,” said Sherri Sabadishin, organizational and public engagement supervisor with Early Learning Coalition of Pasco and Hernando Counties. “We truly appreciate the opportunity to connect children and parents with this important health resource and look forward to the positive impact it will have on our communities.”

The initiative Includes:

• Dental health education in early learning classrooms, preschool centers, and youth-serving programs.
• Free Tiny Teeth Matter kits, including dental educational materials for families.
• In-school dental screenings and fluoride treatments in partnership with local preschool, voluntary prekindergarten providers and youth-serving programs.
• Parent workshops on nutrition and at-home care.

Funded in part by Gulfcoast North AHEC, the program also addresses disparities in access to dental care, with a special focus on early childhood centers and youth-serving programs throughout Pasco and Hernando counties.

Dental health is linked to speech development, academic success and overall well-being. By reaching children early, Tiny Teeth Matter aims to prevent the pain, missed school days and costly treatments that result from untreated dental issues.

“We’re proud to work alongside community partners to ensure every child has the knowledge, tools and support they need to grow up with a healthy smile,” said Nicole Kelly, CEO at Gulfcoast North AHEC.