Sertoma Club commitment on display
The West Pasco Sertoma Club Inc., announced it is a recipient of the 2023-2024 Sertoma Club Grant, marking the club’s continued commitment to volunteer service, charitable support, and community leadership in the New Port Richey area. Funds from the grant will go to benefit the Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida Inc., in support of hearing needs of the adults of Florida, which include hearing screenings, hearing aids and other hearing-related needs. Harvey Rhinehart, secretary/treasurer, presents the $2,000 grant to Deborah Golinski, president/CEO of Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida. To learn more about the Sertoma club, email , or visit Facebook.com/darrell.huling/.
Tampa General receives donation
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) received a $65,000 donation from Aetna Better Health of Florida, part of Aetna and the CVS Health family, to support the new TampaWell Community Garden and Food Pharmacy, according to a news release.
The community hub, built on the concept that “food is medicine,” will enable patients at the TGH Family Care Center Healthpark greater access to nutritious foods and the opportunity to learn how to grow healthy produce in a sustainable way.
TampaWell, activated by TGH in partnership with the City of Tampa, is a “revolutionary health and wellness initiative focused on preventive health to reduce chronic disease and repeated hospitalizations, while supporting the city’s most at-risk residents by addressing underlying social factors that impact health,” the release says.
New PET/CT technology
During American Heart Month (February), Premier Heart and Vascular Center announced it is one of the first cardiology practices in the Tampa Bay area to offer PET/CT imaging, according to a news release.
The PET/CT Scanner combines state-of-the-art PET and CT technology, allowing cardiologists to detect conditions such as coronary heart disease and damaged heart muscle earlier, with higher accuracy and efficiency, and with reduced radiation.
PET imaging uses very small amounts of radioactive tracers to detect decreased blood flow through the heart. It also can be used to detect less-common diseases such as cardiac amyloid and cardiac sarcoidosis.
The CT imaging creates high resolution pictures of the heart and its blood vessels.
Combined, the PET/CT scan produces extremely detailed 3D images of the heart and surrounding structures, detecting specific conditions, their location, and causes, the release says. The test can be performed in one 45-minute exam.
“We are proud to bring this cutting-edge technology to improve the care of our patients. This technology allows us to accurately diagnose conditions early and initiate important treatment to improve and save lives,” said Dr. Chetan Khamare, interventional cardiologist and partner at Premier Heart and Vascular Center, in the release.
For more information, visit PremierHeartAndVascular.com.
Crisis Center wins award
The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay received the Community Catalyst Award at the State of Uptown event. The award is presented annually by Soaring City in partnership with the University Area CDC (UACDC) and has a focus on organizations emerging in community leadership, inclusion and growth, according to a news release.
The Crisis Center operates TransCare Medical Transportation, which provides 911 basic life support ambulance service, interfacility transports and emergency behavioral health transports. The award recognizes TransCare’s partnership with Ultimate Medical Academy in operating an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) apprenticeship program, the release says.
Through the apprenticeship program, students attend classes at Ultimate Medical Academy while receiving on-the-job training and experience working as a behavioral health attendant at TransCare.
Due to grant funding provided by CareerSource, qualifying students are able to have tuition costs covered.
For more information about the EMT apprenticeship program, visit CrisisCenter.com/transcare-uma/.
