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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Citrus County

East Pasco to receive new, upgraded veterans clinic

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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in the midst of building a new outpatient clinic in Zephyrhills.

As a branch of Tampa’s James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, the facility will be an upgraded replacement to the current Zephyrhills Community Based Outpatient Clinic. It will serve former members of the military.

“I’d say accessibility is probably our biggest reason for building a new clinic,” said Shayna Rodriguez, public affairs specialist at James A. Haley. “It will be easier for veterans to use, and we’ll have more capability and accessibility for them.”

This rendering offers an idea of what the appearance will be of the exterior for the new Zephyrhills VA outpatient clinic. The facility, set to open in mid-2021, will replace the existing facility and will have more rooms.
(Courtesy of Shayna Rodriguez/James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital)

Danny Burgess is the executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The Zephyrhills native said he’s anticipating the added amenities this new facility will offer service men and women.

Burgess stated that, “The new VA clinic in Zephyrhills will be a game changer for veterans in East Pasco. The expansion will provide increased access to quality healthcare. We are so excited for this commitment to our community by USDVA (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs); and FDVA (Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs) looks forward to growing our strong relationship with our federal partners.”

The 14,000-square-foot facility will offer more space, housing both primary care and mental health services within the same building.

Ten rooms will be devoted to primary care, while six rooms will be used for treating mental health.

The expansion of rooms indicates the VA’s efforts to provide more access to psychiatric care, Rodriguez noted.

The clinic will be designed to accommodate the handicapped, and will offer new services such as podiatry and physical therapy.

It also will include anticoagulation pharmacy services and a lab. Telehealth – services provided remotely over the phone — also will be available.

Each patient will have an assigned “patient-aligned care team,” Rodriguez said. The team will consist of a physician, nurse, social worker and a mental health provider.

Patients will be referred to and treated at the James A. Haley hospital for surgeries and extensive therapy.

Those without their own transportation will be able to take advantage of a pick-up service to receive free rides to their doctor’s appointments.

“When we do these studies,” said Rodriguez, “we take a very close look at where is going to be most convenient for them, where the bulk of veterans live.”

Based on travel time, veterans may be eligible for reimbursement when commuting to the clinic in their own vehicle.

Veteran women’s health has been ongoing, but additional services will be provided  at the new clinic – especially for those with infants.

“We’ll also be adding a lactation room because women veterans are one of our fastest-growing demographics,” Rodriguez said.

The increase in the number of veterans living in Tampa Bay has led to a need for more clinics.

The James A. Haley hospital is not exclusive to just its VA clinics in Zephyrhills and New Port Richey, but branches out cross-county.

These counties include Hillsborough, Hernando and Polk, with Citrus County expected to join the list.

In September of last year, alone, there were over 6,000 visits to the current Zephyrhills clinic, Rodriguez said.

She also noted there’s typically an increase of veterans needing services, as snowbirds flock to Florida near the end of the year.

The U.S. Congress approved more than $12 million to fund the new complex, back in April. Construction on the Eiland Boulevard facility started in June.

Construction is expected to be completed by late 2020 and to open by mid-2021. Once operational, the current Zephyrhills clinic will be closed down.

Published October 2, 2019

Pasco County under freeze watch Tuesday night

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Temperatures are expected to hit freezing levels overnight for parts of Pasco County, prompting the National Weather Service to warn residents to take the appropriate precautions.

It is the first freeze of 2014, and will affect not only inland Pasco, but significant portions of Levy and Citrus counties, according to an alert by the weather service. Those places could see a hard freeze with temperatures expected to drop into the mid-20s.

The watch is in effect from late Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. Temperatures are expected between 28 and 32 degrees, lasting three to four hours. Such conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation.

The weather service suggests people protect not only crops, but other planets, pets and pipes from prolonged exposure to sub-freezing temperatures.

 

HPH Hospice forming affiliation agreement with Chapters Health

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HPH Hospice has taken a big step forward to create an affiliation with Chapters Health System, a not-for-profit post-acute health care system headquartered in Temple Terrace.

Chapters already affiliates with LifePath Hospice in Hillsborough County and Good Shepherd Hospice in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties.

The affiliation between HPH and Chapters is expected to be finalized by the end of December, according to a release. When it’s completed, the two will work together to provide services to address the needs of patients coping with advancing age, complex medical conditions, and end-of-life issues throughout the six central Florida counties they currently serve.

“With continuously changing state and federal regulations and reimbursement practices in today’s environment, it takes a tremendous amount of education and financial strength to maintain quality (and) compassionate care,” said Tom Barb, HPH’s president and chief executive, in a release. “This partnership will enhance our common not-for-profit missions, and guarantee that more patients coping with serious illnesses have access to exceptional care at a challenging time in their lives.”

Even with the affiliation, HPH will continue to use its current branding, and will continue to raise funds through the HPH Foundation to support programs specific to patients and families in Hernando, Pasco and Citrus counties.

HPH was founded in 1984 as Hernando-Pasco Hospice, and shortened it to its current name in 2006 when the organization expanded into Citrus County. The company employed 526 people in 2013, providing care to nearly 4,600 patients.

Chapters Health is the parent of LifePath Hospice, first licensed in 1983 as Hospice of Hillsborough. In 2004, Chapters acquired Good Shepherd Hospice, which had been delivering hospice care in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties since 1979.

Last year, Chapters employed more than 1,300 people, and delivered services to nearly 13,000 patients.

TBARTA picks Don Skelton as interim executive director

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Don Skelton is the new interim executive director of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority board of directors.

He replaces Bob Clifford, TBARTA’s first executive director, who resigned to join the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, according to a release.

Skelton has a lengthy career in transportation planning and programs, including serving as secretary of the District 7 office for the Florida Department of Transportation for seven years, ending in 2012. During that time, he was on the board of directors as an “ex officio” member, and was instrumental in providing support for the development of TBARTA’s master transportation plan.

Right now, however, he is vice president at H.W. Lochner, where he provides transportation engineering services for the Tampa Bay region and Central Florida.

“Don was there when we started, and played a major role in our early success,” said Ronnie Duncan, TBARTA’s chair, in a release. “There could not be (a) better person to serve in this capacity as we work through the process of selecting a permanent executive director.”

TBARTA was created in 2007 by the Legislature to plan and develop a multimodal transportation system that will connect the second counties of the Tampa Bay region — Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando, Citrus, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota.

Region under severe thunderstorm watch

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The National Weather Service says a line of strong thunderstorms have formed in the Gulf of Mexico, and are threatening the entire Tampa Bay region — including Pasco and Hillsborough counties — until 8 p.m.

Meteorologists with the weather service detected the storms just after 2 p.m. Friday along a line extending from Honeymoon Island near Palm Harbor to Longboat Key. The system was moving northeast at 30 mph, and has gusty winds of 45 to 55 mph that can cause unsecured object to blow around, snap tree limbs and cause power outages.

Torrential rains will reduce visibility to near zero, and will cause water ponding on roadways, the weather service said.

The watch also is for Citrus, DeSoto, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Lake, Manatee, Polk, Pinellas, Sarasota and Sumter counties.

UPDATE: The watch has been lifted.

Union helps Pasco County employees ratify first contract

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The Teamsters Local 79 union in Tampa is celebrating its first Teamster contract with Pasco County public employees the group says will represent 1,100 public sector jobs across the county.

A one-year contract was ratified by those employees late last week, according to the Teamsters, and covers workers ranging from road and bridge maintenance, to librarians.

“We fought to win a strong first contract for these hardworking public employees, and we won,” said Ken Wood, president of Teamsters Local 79, in a release. “The battle took almost four years, but our negotiators knew that they must bring the employees a contract that honored their job seniority, had just-cause provisions, and included wage increases. And that is just what they delivered.”

Pasco’s public employees are the newest ones represented by the local Teamsters group, who already work with similar employees in Hernando, Citrus and Collier counties.

Teamsters Local 79 is affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 1.4 million workers throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Missing plane search expands into Brooksville area

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As the search for a Zephyrhills pilot and his plane concluded its fourth day, members of Civil Air Patrol’s Florida Wing and local officials have pushed their search further south into the Brooksville area.

Theodore Weiss was last seen taking off from a social pilot gathering in Dunellon Saturday in his two-seat, single-engine Sonex homebuilt plane, but never made it to the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport.

Radar, however, showed Weiss’ plane heading not to Zephyrhills, but toward the Hernando County Airport in Brooksville instead. That created questions among some observers on why he would stray off-course.

But officials with Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force, said such a flight path would be common for cautious pilots like Weiss flying in experimental planes.

“Mr. Weiss and the members of the Florida Sonex Association are cautious pilots,” said Maj. Willard Garman, CAP incident commander for the search, said in a release. “They routinely flew this particular route not only so that a nearby airport was always within each reach, but so that they nearby Suncoast Parkway was both a landmark and a potential emergency landing site.”

CAP officials said they were expanding their search area along the Brooksville route to see if Weiss may have flown further than his radar track indicated. That now expands the search area from Citrus to Hernando counties.

Weiss was first reported missing Monday when relatives and friends realized he never returned, and found his car still parked at the Zephyrhills airport with both Weiss and his plane missing.

Weiss’ plane is white with green and black stripes. Anyone with information is asked to contact their local sheriff’s office. The non-emergency number for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is (727) 844-7711. They also can email the Florida Wing at .

Torch arrives in Wesley Chapel for Special Olympics

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The Winter Games in Sochi have ended, but a different set of Olympic athletes are gearing up for opening ceremonies in Wesley Chapel this week.

There are many activities those who participate in Special Olympics can take part in every year, like bowling. Sam Whitacre, left, Stephanie Varnes and Andy Faulk from Wesley Chapel High School are among those students who compete at the lanes. (Photo courtesy of Bridget White)
There are many activities those who participate in Special Olympics can take part in every year, like bowling. Sam Whitacre, left, Stephanie Varnes and Andy Faulk from Wesley Chapel High School are among those students who compete at the lanes. (Photo courtesy of Bridget White)

Special Olympics competitors in a variety of sports are expected to participate in the Pasco County Summer Games on Friday at Wesley Chapel High School. The games are affiliated with Special Olympics Florida, the state’s chapter of Special Olympics Inc., which organizes athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Florida’s counties and regions host local games, with winners advancing to state, national or even international competitions.

Wesley Chapel will host athletes from Central and East Pasco County. West Pasco athletes will participate in games at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey.

Wesley Chapel High is ready for the games to begin, said Bridget White, a special education teacher and one of the school’s coordinators for the Special Olympics.

“We feel very honored to host this type of event, and we just love that it keeps getting bigger and bigger every year,” she said. The school has hosted the Summer Games for at least the past four years, and it expects around 475 athletes to participate this year.

That’s a big jump from when the Special Olympics first started in Pasco County decades ago, according to county co-director Valerie Lundin. In 1975, the local Special Olympics had just 175 athletes.

Between the two locations for the Summer Games this year, more than 1,100 athletes are expected to participate, and total attendance at Wesley Chapel High alone could top 1,000 when factoring in family, volunteers and other spectators. The high school was chosen to host the games due to its ability to accommodate the crowds and the buses, which bring students in from different schools.

After the opening ceremonies, athletes will start competing in the different sports represented in the Summer Games: track and field, bocce, soccer skills, cycling and tennis. There also will be an Olympic Village, with games and activities for the athletes and their friends to enjoy while they wait to compete.

While event winners will earn ribbons, it’s not necessarily the end of the competition for any of the athletes, regardless of their finish. Each competitor in the county games is allowed to participate in the area games, which includes athletes from Pasco, Pinellas, Citrus, Sumter and Hernando counties. From there, only qualifiers will move on to state competition.

The Special Olympics always has a great turnout of volunteers and supporters to help the event succeed and cheer on the participants, White said. And for the athletes, it’s a chance for them to enjoy the spotlight and showcase their skills.

“It’s an opportunity for our kids with disabilities to have something that’s all about them and that’s catered to them,” she said. “So instead of going to their brothers and sisters’ events all the time, they get to come to their events and they get to be the superstar.”

While the Special Olympics is able to consistently promote awareness and celebrate the skills of their student-athletes, Lundin would like to see the organization attract more adult participants as well. Athletes of any age are welcome.

“I know there are a lot of adults in Pasco County who qualify but are not participating at this time, and we’d love to really focus on that population and getting them more involved,” she said.

The opening ceremonies begin at 11:30 a.m., Friday at the school, located at 30651 Wells Road. The event is free and open to the public, with concessions available. Proceeds benefit Special Olympics.

For more information regarding the Summer Games or to inquire about participation, visit SpecialOlympicsFlorida.org, or call (352) 243-9536.

Published Feb. 26, 2014.