Calendar fundraiser
Gulfside Healthcare Services’ 15-month 2020 calendar, featuring photos taken exclusively in Pasco County, is now available at all Gulfside Hospice thrift stores. Nineteen winning photos were chosen out of more than 300 photos submitted, depicting Pasco County events, places, landmarks and wildlife. The calendar is $5, and all proceeds will help support Gulfside patient care. This photo by Richard Shapiro is featured for the month of August in the new calendar. For shop locations, visit Gulfside.org.
New chief medical officer
The Medical Center of Trinity has announced the appointment of Dr. William Killinger as its new chief medical officer.
Killinger is a third-generation Florida physician.
He graduated from Emory University and the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
After completing general surgery at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, he trained in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.
Killinger was in private practice for 27 years in Raleigh, North Carolina.
He served as both the vice chairman and chairman of the Department of Surgery at WakeMed Health and Hospitals; served as medical director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care unit; and, in 2016 was appointed medical director of the Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular surgery programs at WakeMed.
He is currently completing work on his Healthcare Executive MBA with Brandeis University, Massachusetts.
As chief medical officer, his interests are in patient safety, quality of care, physician relations and operations efficiency.
Killinger also is a champion of Just Culture, which refers to a values-supportive model of shared accountability. It’s a culture that holds organizations accountable for the systems they design and for how they respond to staff behaviors fairly and justly, according to HealthLeadersMedia.com.
Tai Chi comes to New Tampa
The Taoist Tai Chi Society is bringing Tai Chi to New Tampa at the New Tampa Dance Theater, 10701 Cross Creek Blvd., for a free demonstration on Dec. 17 at 10:30 a.m.
Guests can learn about the health benefits of practicing Tai Chi, and learn a few moves.
There also will be a beginner’s class every Tuesday from Jan. 7 through April 28, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Participants can learn the 108-move Taoist Tai Chi set.
For information, call (813) 685-1211, or visit TaoistTaiChi.org/brandon.
Regional Medical news
Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point (RMCBP) hosted a grand re-opening of its Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine Center.
The $500,000 renovation includes everything from podiatry chairs to updated furniture throughout, as well as the addition of hyperbaric chambers.
The Wound Care Center now has been expanded to two suites, for a total of 3,865 square feet.
The hospital also made the list of Healthgrades’ 100 Best Hospitals for Specialty Care, for superior clinical outcomes in back and neck surgeries and spinal fusion.
The Bayonet Point hospital ranks 35th in the nation.
Healthgrades assesses the performance of almost 4,500 U.S. hospitals and clinical outcomes across 32 procedures and conditions. It is one of the leading online resources for information about physicians and hospitals.
In addition, RMCBP earned Platinum Level recognition for its efforts to increase organ, eye and tissue donor registrations across the state, through the Workplace Partnership for Life Hospital Organ Donation Campaign. The campaign is a national initiative that unites the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, and the organ donation community with workplaces across the nation in spreading the word about the importance of donation.
Regional Medical was one of more than 1,480 organizations to participate in the 2019 campaign, and one of 638 organizations to earn platinum recognition.
BayCare welcomes new doctor
Dr. Anet Pargas, board certified in pediatrics, has joined BayCare Medical Group at 4683 Van Dyke Road in Lutz.
Pargas completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical sciences from the University of South Florida; earned a Doctor of Medicine from Morsani College of Medicine, USF; and completed a pediatric residency at USF.
Pargas also is certified in basic life support and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
She is fluent in Spanish.
To learn more, visit DrAnetPargas.org.
Foundation raises more than $400,000
A sold-out event, Southern State of Kind, raised more than $400,000 to benefit cancer patients in need through the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation.
The fundraiser featured a silent auction, chance drawings, dinner entertainment, music by JT Curtis and the Scoundrels, line dancing, and southern fare.
During the event, the Florida Cancer Specialists gave recognition to Justin Doyle, founder of the Hope, Health & Sunshine Foundation, a nonprofit organization that assists cancer patients in the Tampa Bay area with groceries, gas cards, healthy snacks and patient gift bags. For the past three years, Doyle has provided Thanksgiving dinners for patients, too.
The net proceeds from the event will directly benefit the Florida Cancer Specialists Foundation, which provides financial assistance for non-medical living expenses to qualified cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment in Florida.
The event was co-chaired by Florida Cancer Specialists, and Dr. R. Waide Weaver and Dr. David D. Wright.
