The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Florida Department of Health

Health News 01/19/2022

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Dr. Yasemeen Hashimie (Courtesy of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North)

New doctor for BayCare
Dr. Yasmeen Hashimie has joined BayCare Medical Group and is affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, 4211 Van Dyke Road, in Lutz. Dr. Hashimie is board certified in internal medicine, and specializes in general hematology and oncology. She speaks Hindi, and her clinical practice emphasizes patient and family centered care. Dr. Hashimie is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Society of Hematology, the American Medical Women’s Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association and the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Medicare enrollment
The annual Medicare Advantage (MA) OEP runs Jan. 1 to March 31 each year, which allows individuals enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan as of Jan. 1 to make a one-time election to another MA plan or return to Original Medicare and a standalone Medicare Part D plan (PDP).

This enrollment period does not allow for Part D changes for individuals enrolled in Original Medicare.

To find out more about the Medicare Special Enrollment periods and how to change a plan, call SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) at 727-217-8111.

Visitation policy
AdventHealth’s West Florida Division hospitals are again restricting visitation to one visitor per day, in an effort to keep the community safe and limit the spread of COVID-19, according to a news release.

Visitation restrictions began on Jan. 17, for Tampa Bay hospital locations only.

These hospitals include: AdventHealth Carrollwood, AdventHealth Dade City; AdventHealth North Pinellas; AdventHealth Tampa; AdventHealth Wesley Chapel; and AdventHealth Zephyrhills.

Masks are required for anyone in the listed AdventHealth hospitals, regardless of vaccination status.

Visitors are encouraged to review each hospital’s website for more information.

Survey collaboration
The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties and local not-for-profit hospitals are joining efforts as the All4HealthFL Collaborative, to conduct a comprehensive surey to understand the needs of the communities so they can be addressed, according to a news release.

The 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) survey for the four-county region is now open online until Feb. 28, and anyone in the community can answer the survey (participation is anonymous).

The survey contains questions relating to access to health care, mental health, food insecurity, and overeall health and well-being.

Results from the survey will help inform efforts by all members of the All4HealthFL Collaborative to improve community health.
To take the survey, visit bit.ly/healthsurvey2022.

Fasano Center stops monoclonal antibody treatments

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The Fasano Center has stopped providing monoclonal antibody therapy, but there are number of other sites in the county that are providing the treatment.

The Fasano Center ceased the state-supported therapy on Nov. 27, according to a news release from the Department of Health-Pasco County.

Other sites that are delivering the treatment are:

  • AdventHealth Dade City, 13100 Fort King Road, Dade City
  • Medical Center Of Trinity, 9330 State Road 54, Suite 401, Trinity
  • AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, 2600 Bruce B Downs Blvd., Wesley Chapel
  • Morton Plant North Bay Hospital, 6600 Madison St., Port Richey
  • AdventHealth Zephyrhills, 7050 Gall Blvd., Zephyrhills

Monoclonal antibodies  help the immune system to recognize and to respond effectively to the COVID-19 virus, according to the health department.

Monoclonal antibody therapy treatment is for individuals who have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19. Monoclonal antibody therapy treatment can prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death in high-risk patients who have contracted COVID-19.

Specifically, it:

  • Reduces the risk of death/hospitalization by 70% to 85%
  • Reduces the risk of developing symptomatic disease by over 80%

The Florida Department of Health will continue to allocate doses of monoclonal antibodies to health care providers with high utilization rates and will ensure inventory levels meet county demand, according to a news release from the health department.

Monoclonal antibody therapy treatment locations can be found at FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov and by using the National Infusion Center Association’s treatment locator.

Published December 01, 2021

Florida changes COVID student quarantine protocols

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Florida parents now have the power to decide whether a healthy child should be taken out of school because of exposure to COVID-19.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran joined together on Sept. 22, to announce that the Florida Department of Health issued a new rule, empowering families to make that decision.

The new emergency rule, which became effective on Sept. 22, prevents the unnecessary exclusion of healthy students from in-person schooling; safeguards the rights of parents and legal guardians and their children; provides health protocols for symptomatic or COVID-19-positive students; and provides opportunities for parents and legal guardians to choose which protocols to implement when their student has had direct contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, according to a news release posted on the governor’s web page.

“Parents have the right to have their healthy kids in school,” DeSantis said, in the release.

“In-person education is important for students’ well-being, their educational advancement, and their social development. The idea that schools are somehow a big problem when it comes to the spread of the virus has been refuted yet again. Not only is the forced quarantining of healthy children disruptive to a student’s education, but many folks in Florida are not able to work from home. With this rule, we are following a symptom-based approach to quarantining students in Florida.”

The state’s new surgeon general added: “The governor and I share a similar vision of weighing the costs and benefits of public health policies – and our new rule today is an example of that,” Ladapo said, in the release.

“We must make sure that we are doing what is right for parents and for students. There’s not a single high-quality study that shows that any child has ever benefited from forced quarantining policies, but we have seen demonstrable and considerable harm to children. It’s important to respect the rights of parents.”

Corcoran also commented: “What we did over the past year was nothing less than amazing – we gave parents in our state the option to send their children to school for face-to-face instruction with more students, over a longer time than any state in the nation – but we did see massive quarantining,” said Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, father of six kids who missed over 100 days of school last year due to quarantines.

“If you take the number of kids that had to quarantine, and added up the days they missed in school, in the education arena, we would call that a chronic absenteeism pandemic. Now we have the data telling us that factually 98% of those children who quarantined never became symptomatic. That’s why the previous policy didn’t make any sense. This is a brilliant change, and I’m so thankful for this new common-sense rule.”

On another COVID-19-related issue, DeSantis announced that Florida has secured 3,000 doses of monoclonal antibody treatments directly from GlaxoSmithKline, after the Biden Administration cut the supply.

“We should be doing everything we can to get patients monoclonal antibody treatments, not cutting allocations of treatment like the Biden Administration has done,” DeSantis said, in a release on his web page.

Florida has been aggressive in making this treatment available.

Meanwhile, on the issue of Pfizer booster shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that these groups of people receive Pfizer booster shots, six months after their initial series of shots:

  • People 65 years and older, and residents in long-term care settings
  • People aged 50 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions
  • People aged 18 to 49 years with underlying medical conditions, based on individual benefits and risks
  • People aged 18 to 64 years who are at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting

According to the CDC, many people now eligible to receive a booster shot received their initial vaccine early in the vaccination program and will benefit from additional protection.

“With the Delta variant’s dominance as the circulating strain and cases of COVID-19 increasing significantly across the United States, a booster shot will help strengthen protection against severe disease in those populations who are at high risk for exposure to COVID-19 or the complications from severe disease,” according to information on the CDC’s website.

The CDC also will evaluate available data in the coming weeks to make additional recommendations for other populations or people who got the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines, the website says.

COVID Numbers

Pasco County Schools*
Student cases: 5,317
Employee cases: 900

Hillsborough County Schools*
Student cases: 9,145
Employee cases: 1,520

*Cumulative for school year, as of Sept. 24

Sources: Pasco County Schools and Hillsborough County Schools

Pasco County*
Cases: 1,851
Positivity rate: 13.8%

Hillsborough County*
Cases: 3,841
Positivity rate: 9.7%

*Week of Sept. 17 to Sept. 23

Source: Florida Department of Health

Published September 29, 2021

COVID-19 cases are straining hospitals, health care workers

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Hospital admissions of patients with COVID-19 continue to rise, adding to the strain already being experienced by local hospitals.

Admissions for patients with COVID-19 are at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon and Washington, according to statistics kept by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Things are so serious that Pasco County Fire Rescue Fire Chief Scott Cassin and EMS Division Chief Paula Coleman have issued a video, asking residents and guests to avoid using the 911 system unless they are experiencing a true emergency.

“Hospital emergency rooms are currently being inundated with patients, and the time it takes to be seen in an emergency room is skyrocketing across our community,” the fire chief says in the video.

“Many hospitals are at, or over, capacity and ambulances are currently holding patients at hospitals for hours at a time, due to a lack of available beds and hospital staff.

“This is causing an ambulance shortage across the county, and is causing long wait times for our 911 callers,” Cassin says.

Coleman adds: “Please help us provide lifesaving interventions for those who truly need them. If your 911 call is not an emergency that needs immediate medical attention — such as chest pain, shortness of breath, stroke symptoms, serious trauma or other life-threatening illnesses or injury — please consider contacting your primary care physician, or utilizing a walk-in clinic or urgent care center. This will get you the help you need in a timelier manner, while at the same time assist an overtaxed health care system,” she says.

“Let’s all do our part to save the ambulances and ER visits for those who urgently need those services,” Coleman says.

Michael Weiss, epidemiology program manager for Florida Health-Hillsborough County, gave a big-picture look at Hillsborough County’s COVID-19 situation during an Aug. 18 emergency meeting of the Hillsborough County School Board.

“Right around June into July, we started this steep increase,” Weiss said.

“We are trending upwards. We are at 1,622 cases per day in our county. Positivity is around 22%. During the pandemic, this is the highest for both of those values.”

“This recent increase has coincided with a few things. In July, we had relaxed community mitigation measures, and we also saw the introduction of the delta variant into our community.

“These two things combined really increased the case transmission and the case rate in our community,” Weiss said.

“Hospital visits and hospitalizations both related to COVID are both at the highest levels seen at any point during our pandemic — during the entire pandemic. Hospitals are recording twice the number of COVID patients they saw in 2020 winter peak,” the epidemiologist said.

“Pediatric hospitalizations are also increasing. They represent a small percentage of the overall COVID hospitalizations, but they are also increasing. We are seeing both admissions and emergency department visits for pediatric cases increasing.

“Hospitalizations generally lag behind the case increases, so we expect the hospitalizations to continue to increase in the near future,” he added.

“Across all of these age groups, the hospitalizations are overwhelmingly in the unvaccinated population. Hospitals are reporting anywhere from 80% to 90% of cases are in unvaccinated individuals,” Weiss said.

Hospitals are making adjustments as the COVID-19 caseloads increase.

AdventHealth has halted elective procedures at AdventHealth Carrollwood, AdventHealth Dade City and AdventHealth Zephyhrhills, and at its AdventHealth Sebring facility, according to a media advisory issued Aug. 20.

“This decision allows us to further plan for the increased need for hospital beds, resources, and advocate for patients and team members. Patients will be notified if their procedure will be canceled,” the hospital chain announced.

AdventHealth “continues to see a significant increase in COVID-19 cases at its facilities across West Florida and has far surpassed its highest peak at any point in the pandemic,” the advisory adds.

The hospital system’s 10 hospitals in its West Florida Division had 600 currently admitted COVID-19 positive patients, according to the Aug. 20 advisory.

BayCare, another health care system in The Laker/Lutz News coverage area, paused all of its elective surgeries and procedures at its hospitals in Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties, regardless of whether they require an overnight stay, effective Aug. 14, according to the hospital’s website.

“This will help reserve resources for the urgent and emergent needs of severely ill patients,” the posting says.

“COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased 10-fold since the beginning of July, and today we have more than 1,000 COVID positive patients in our 14 acute care hospitals across the Tampa Bay area,” Glenn Waters, chief operating officer for BayCare, said in a website post.

“We’re making these operational adjustments to be sure we can continue providing safe, high-quality care to the recent influx of COVID patients, in addition to hundreds of other people in our hospitals with unrelated, serious medical issues,” Waters said.

In a new development, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference last week to announce the opening of local sites to provide a new monoclonal antibody treatment for patients who are 12 years old or older. The treatment can prevent hospitalization or death in COVID-19 patients.

DeSantis presided at the opening of the site at the Fasano Hurricane Shelter, at 11611 Denton Ave., in Hudson.

Another site has opened in Hillsborough County at King Forest Park, at 8008 E. Chelsea St., in Tampa. The only access into the park is off Orient Road just north of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, according to a Hillsborough County news release.

Both sites will be open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For additional details, call the Florida Department of Health Monoclonal Antibody Treatment Support Line at 850-344-9637.

COVID-19 statistics: Aug. 13 to Aug. 19

Florida
New cases: 150,118
Positivity rate 19.8%

Hillsborough County
New cases: 11,161
Positivity rate: 22%

Pasco County
New cases: 4,223
Positivity rate: 26.4%

Source: Florida Department of Health

COVID-19 symptoms
Symptoms of COVID-19 may include:

  • Fever or chills
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fatigue
  • Muscle or body aches
  • Headache
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Sore throat
  • Congestion or runny nose
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Diarrhea

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Published August 25, 2021

Debate over masks continues, as a new school year begins

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Students streamed back to school campuses this week to start the 2021-2022 school year in Pasco and Hillsborough counties.

And, much like last year, the debate continues over mandatory face masks.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has taken a firm stand on the issue. He signed an executive order banning school districts from imposing mandatory mask requirements — instead letting parents make the call regarding whether their child wears a mask to school.

The Florida Board of Education also has adopted an emergency rule that allows a child to transfer to a private school or another school district, under a Hope Scholarship, “when a student is  subjected to harassment in response to a school district’s COVID-19 mitigation protocols.”

Masks are optional for students and staff in Pasco County’s public school district.

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning repeatedly has said the issue is closed, based on the governor’s actions.

In Hillsborough County, there’s a mandatory mask policy for students — but that policy allows parents to exercise an opt-out option for their children.

Masks are optional for the Hillsborough school district’s staff.

In media interviews, Hillsborough County Schools Superintendent Addison Davis has said he believes the district complies with the governor’s executive order because parents can choose to opt out their children from the requirement.

Meanwhile, at least two lawsuits have been filed challenging DeSantis’ executive order, according to media reports.

While those debates play out, the Hillsborough and Pasco school systems have been busy preparing protocols for the school year.

During the Pasco School Board’s last meeting, on July 27, Browning said he and his staff had spent considerable time going over the COVID protocols for the coming year, in terms of athletics, fine arts, social distancing, cleaning protocols and so on.

Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd also told the school board that the district plans to have procedures that are “going to be considerably looser, as opposed to tighter than they were last year” as they relate to facilities, events and athletics.

Gadd told the board: “It’s only looking back, we’ll know if that’s a mistake. But going forward, we’re going to loosen up a little bit, so folks can attend ball games and dances, and things like that.”

Regarding procedures for quarantining students and staff, Browning said those rules are set by the Florida Department of Health and will remain the same this year as they were last year.

“All symptomatic cases will be sent home for 10 days. If you’re not vaccinated and you have come in contact with a positive case and the health department has made the determination that you’ll quarantine, then you’ll quarantine.

“If you are vaccinated and come in contact with a positive case and you are asymptomatic — not showing any signs — then you can remain in school, either as a student or as a teacher,” Browning said.

The district was still working out the details regarding how to handle sick time for teachers, if they have to quarantine because of COVID.

In Hillsborough, the district has posted its protocols for visitors on school campuses or district offices. In short, it prefers visitors to have a scheduled appointment.

It also requires visitors to practice social distancing, and all in-person meetings must allow participants to be able to maintain a 6-foot social distance.

Visitors also must complete a self-check before entering a school building.

They should check themselves for these symptoms: Fever or chills, fatigue, sore throat, cough, muscle or body aches, congestion or runny nose, shortness of breath, headache, nausea or vomiting, difficulty in breathing, diarrhea or new loss of taste or smell.

Also, those who are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, or who have a known exposure to COVID-19, should not visit the district’s campuses or offices, according to the district’s website.

Published August 11, 2021

Schools reopen, amid COVID concerns

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The debate over whether masks will be required in Pasco County Schools is over, in Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning’s mind.

“That issue has been settled. The governor (Gov. Ron DeSantis) has taken that issue on, as his issue. The governor has made that decision. There is no local decision-making regarding masks. And, he has said there will not be a mask mandate. We understand that,” Browning said.

The issue of quarantining people who have been exposed to COVID-19, however, is another matter.

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning said the debate is over, regarding making masks mandatory in Pasco County Schools and offices. Masks will be optional. (File)

“I know there’s been a lot of questions about quarantining,” Browning said at the July 27 Pasco County School Board meeting.

He told board members that he and members of his staff met with Mike Napier, administrator for the Florida Department of Health-Pasco County, and members of Napier’s team.

They discussed issues relating to COVID and the coming school year.

“As far as quarantining goes, that was the main issue that staff wanted to talk about yesterday (during that meeting),” Browning said.

“We know that is probably one of the more problematic issues, the more challenging issues, pressing issues — as you see COVID numbers dramatically increasing,” Browning said.

The superintendent noted that the COVID situation is at “about the same place as we were in December, which is frightening, if you will, particularly as we approach the start of a school year.”

That being said, Browning added: “The quarantine rules will remain the same. The quarantining rules are not made by this superintendent, this board or the superintendent’s staff. The quarantining rules are set by the state. They’re the health experts.”

Browning said until he’s directed by the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee, the quarantining rules will remain the same.

“All symptomatic cases will be sent home for 10 days. If you’re not vaccinated and you have come in contact with a positive case and the health department has made the determination that you’ll quarantine, then you’ll quarantine.

“If you are vaccinated and come in contact with a positive case and you are asymptomatic — not showing any signs — then you can remain in school, either as a student or as a teacher.

“We take the direction from the state department of health. They’re the ones who set these rules. We do not set these rules,” Browning said.

The superintendent also told board members that a Florida Department of Health grant will provide funding for the school district to hire, on a contract basis, licensed practical nurses and registered nurses, to perform contact tracing.

The district will have little to no involvement in that effort, he said.

“I want to make sure that our school nurses are in fact back in schools, doing their jobs, as school nurses — providing health services to our kids,” Browning said.

Browning also told board members that he and his staff had spent considerable time going over the COVID protocols for the coming year, in terms of athletics, fine arts, social distancing, cleaning protocols and so on.

When the district was gearing up for a new school year, Browning said, “I did not think we would have the positivity rate that we have today, two weeks ago, but we do.”

Board members told Browning that parents and staff must be kept informed.

School board member Colleen Beaudoin said she thinks the health department should be taking the lead in providing information about how quarantines will be handled.

“I feel like we’re being put in a position of having to be a spokesman for the health department. Really, that’s not our job,” Beaudoin said.

School board member Alison Crumbley said, “I think it’s important that we get the picture to the parents as soon as possible about what the quarantine is going to look like for their kids.”

“Parents want to know how kids will be able to continue with their education, if they’re quarantined,” she said.

School board member Megan Harding wants the district to do what it can, to keep healthy kids in school.

“I’m worried about their academic success and their mental health,” Harding said.

Harding added: “I’m getting a lot of questions from teachers now, that if they have to quarantine, what that is going to look like for their classrooms.

Teachers are worried that if they’re forced to quarantine that it will take away from their sick time. She asked if the district is making provisions for that.

Kevin Shibley, assistant superintendent for administration, said discussions must be held with the union before any specific actions can be taken.

Harding said she’s also receiving inquiries about how the district will handle sports, the arts and other activities.

Browning said the district will be sending out procedures to schools soon, outlining how it will address various COVID issues.

Deputy Superintendent Ray Gadd put it like this: “The procedures you’re going to see are going to be considerably looser, as opposed to tighter than they were last year.

“So, as it relates to use of facilities, athletics, various events, they’re going to be looser.

“It’s only looking back, we’ll know if that’s a mistake. But going forward, we’re going to loosen up a little bit, so folks can attend ball games and dances, and things like that,” he said.

Published August 04, 2021

Protect yourself from red tide effects

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As efforts continue to remove dead fish from regional waterways, officials from Hillsborough County have compiled some pointers from the Florida Department of Health, to help reduce the risks posed by red tide.

(www.freepik.com)

Here are those pointers, shared in a news release from Hillsborough County:

  • When possible, stay away from water bodies and beaches where red tide or fish killed by the toxic algae is present.
  • Don’t touch or swim near dead fish.
  • Wear shoes to prevent injuries from stepping on fish carcasses.
  • Keep pets away from water, sea spray, and dead fish affected by red tide.
  • Don’t harvest or eat shellfish from an affected area.
  • People with chronic respiratory problems should avoid a red tide area.
  • If breathing difficulties do not subside after leaving a red tide area or going indoors, contact your health care provider.

For more information on the status of red tide in Hillsborough County and how to report fish kills, visit HCFLGov.net/RedTide.

Published July 28, 2021

Pasco health grant will help with return of students to school

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The health department in Pasco County recently received a $12 million grant from the Florida Department of Health, that is intended to help with the return of students to school, according to Ray Gadd, deputy superintendent of Pasco County Schools.

“This is a very broad grant,” Gadd said, during a school board meeting last month. “It’s allowing us to purchase canopies, picnic tables and various supplies that will help us kind of separate kids during lunches and cafeteria time, to help mitigate the impact of COVID in the new school year.

The grant will support more health professionals, nurses and other personnel — allowing district nurses to focus on their nursing duties, which involve screenings and of other activities with students, Gadd said.

“Also, as part of this grant that we have with the department of health, we’ll be continuing to offer testing services to kids and staff, although the department of health will be running those testing programs.

“They’ll be doing it with a mobile bus on the east and the west side of the county. We’ll still have this location here, in the center of the county, but the department of health will be running it, as opposed to the school system.

“In addition, we are offering vaccinations through Health Heroes, and this is strictly voluntary,” Gadd said. That program provides free vaccinations for youths age 12 and older.

Published July 21, 2021

Stay safe: Hurricane season can be deadly

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Tropical Storm Elsa was headed toward the Tampa Bay region this week, and it was too early to know what the impacts would be — as The Laker/Lutz News went to print.

Regardless of Elsa’s impact, experts are predicting an above-normal Hurricane Season 2021.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center has predicted a 60% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and a 10% chance of a below-normal season.

NOAA is forecasting a range of 13 to 19 named storms, with winds of 39 mph or higher. Of those, six to 10 could become hurricanes, with winds of 74 mph or higher, including three to six hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5), with winds of 111 mph or more, according to the predictions.

Laura Wilcoxen, interim director for emergency management in Pasco County urges people to prepare now, so they can take any actions that become necessary, if a big storm heads our way. (Courtesy of Pasco County)

An average hurricane season – which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30 — produces 14 named storms, of which seven become hurricanes, including three major hurricanes, according to NOAA’s updated statistics.

The last hurricane to hit Pasco County was Hurricane Irma, in 2017. County officials have estimated that more than 200 homes were damaged, with 56 homes suffering major damage and four homes destroyed, according to the 2021 Pasco County Disaster Preparedness Guide.

Of the 261,000 addresses in Pasco County, approximately 217,000 addresses reportedly were without power, the guide adds.

As this issue of The Laker/Lutz News was going to print, experts were keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Elsa that was brewing, but it was too early to tell whether the storm would affect the Tampa Bay region.

Of course, it’s impossible to predict when or where a hurricane or tropical storm will strike, so that’s why emergency management officials urge residents to be ready to take whatever actions are necessary.

Laura Wilcoxen, interim director for emergency management for Pasco County, said residents need to prepare now, so they can be ready if a threat arises.

Prepare now
It’s important to keep in mind there are just a couple of thousand first responders, Wilcoxen said, compared to more than 550,000 Pasco County residents.

“So, personal responsibility is extremely important for us all to be able to recover as quickly as we can,” she said.

First, know your hazards, she said. “Are you in an evacuation zone? Are you in a flood zone?

“You know best where you live. You know best the route that you routinely travel,” Wilcoxen said.

Perhaps you’re new to the area.

In that case, Wilcoxen suggests: “Talk to your neighbors. Ask them what their experience has been in past storms.”

Perhaps you haven’t geared up yet for this storm season.

Wilcoxen offers this advice: “Prepare a simple go-kit: Quick things that you can grab, in a backpack. Water, some food, your medications, batteries, a flashlight.”

Prepare a larger home kit, too.

That kit should include 1 gallon of water per person, per day, for up to 7 days; nonperishable food, a non-electric can opener, hygiene items, and so on.

Those preparing disaster kits also should keep in mind the need to pack personal protection equipment, such as masks and gloves, in case they are needed, she said.

As you make preparations, consider any special needs of elderly or disabled people, infants and pets, she said.

Also, if you will need a special shelter, be sure to know where they are and how to register.

This is the list of 2021 Atlantic Tropical Cyclone Names from the World Meteorological Organization and presented in a graphic by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. See page 1B for a lengthy list of practical tips intended to help you prepare before storms threaten; stay safe if severe weather hits; and, respond in the aftermath. (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Stay safe
“Each storm is different. Some of the worst damage that this county has experienced has been because of a tropical storm,” Wilcoxen said.

Residents need to know their evacuation zone.

“Heed the warnings. There can be a lot of complacency based on previous experience,” Wilcoxen said.

“If county officials are giving you a warning that it’s time to evacuate, it’s because there’s a high potential for threats to life and safety,” the emergency response expert said.

Areas of special concern include coastal areas that are subject to storm surge and buildings that would be susceptible to wind damage, such as mobile homes or homes that are not secured to their foundation, she said.

There are public shelters available, but they should be the option of last resort, Wilcoxen said.

It’s better for people to find friends or family, or stay in a hotel, Wilcoxen said.

“You are going to be much more comfortable than you would be at a shelter,” she added. “Shelters are really like the lifeboat —they’re the lifeboat, not the cruise ship.”

County shelters will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Florida Department of Health, Wilcoxen said.

There will be isolation areas, if needed, because of COVID-19, she added.

Protect your property, and yourself
“Know what your insurance covers,” Wilcoxen said.

If you need flood insurance, get it now.

New flood insurance policies cannot be obtained, if a storm is approaching.

It’s also a good idea to take action now, such as trimming your trees, to reduce potential property damage, she said.

When a storm is approaching, store items — such as patio furniture, grills and planters — in a garage or in another secure place. Those could become projectiles during high winds.

If you have emergency equipment, be sure you know how it works. That’s particularly true about generators, Wilcoxen said.

“Make sure they’re (generators) properly installed. You don’t want to put them inside your garage. Don’t put them next to your bedroom window. Make sure the way it is wired in, is correct,” Wilcoxen said. “You don’t want to have a disaster, within a disaster.”

Be sure you have a communication plan.

Whether you are evacuating or sheltering in place, be sure to share the specifics with someone who is outside of the danger zone.

Keep informed
Wilcoxen encourages residents to register for the AlertPasco app, which provides timely reports.

The county also has the social media NextDoor app, which can push out more information, easily, she said.

Wilcoxen also recommends that residents read the county’s disaster guide.

“It’s been updated and designed to make it user-friendly,” Wilcoxen said.

The county’s preparedness videos, on the emergency management page of the county’s website, are helpful, too, she said.

“If you have people who are interested in learning about how to properly fill a sandbag and stack them, we have a video about sandbags. If you want to learn more about what to take to a shelter, we have a video on our shelters. We also have one on how to build a kit.

“They’re just great, useful, educational tools,” Wilcoxen said.

“If you have any questions ever, make sure you’re reaching out and asking. Our team is here to help,” Wilcoxen said.

Preparing for a disaster
Would your organization or association like to know more about preparing for a disaster? Pasco County’s emergency management department has speakers available to provide presentations. To find out more, call 727-847-8137.

Written for July 07, 2021 publications

Revised July 05, 2021