Connie Bladon picked to lead new hospital’s foundation
By Kyle LoJacono
Connie Bladon was taught the importance of giving back to the community while growing up in Massachusetts, and now her giving won’t be limited to time away from work.
Bladon, who has lived in New Tampa for 23 years, was recently named as the first executive director of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel Foundation. The hospital is slated to open in the fall of 2012.
“It’s a very exciting opportunity,” Bladon said. “This community has needed another healthcare facility for years. To be able to be a part of this and a part of Florida Hospital is very exciting for me.”
The foundation will support the hospital’s efforts to provide healthcare by working with the surrounding communities. For example, the foundation at Florida Hospital Zephyrhills, which is owned by Adventist Health System that will run the Wesley Chapel facility, is currently raising money for its hospital’s new Breast Health Center.
Carolyn Sentelik, Florida Hospital Zephyrhills Foundation executive director, said the decision to support the new breast center was reached after a lot of communication with the public.
Sentelik, who has been with the Zephyrhills foundation for about a year, said the organization also does community outreach and support projects throughout the year. For example, the group organized a fishing tournament in May that raised $11,000 for the future breast center. It also puts together the annual Sister Stroll each October, where those affected by breast cancer can learn about the disease and walk the hospital’s fitness trail as a mini Relay For Life-style event.
“The foundation is small, but mighty,” Sentelik said. “We have two employees and a lot of volunteers.”
Bladon said there are no specifics about the direction the Wesley Chapel foundation will take, but predicts it will do the same general work as its sister organization in Zephyrhills.
“We are putting together our board of directors right now,” Bladon said. She then added, “After the hospital is built and up and running, what’s going to happen is our focus will shift to finding what the community needs. Giving the community the best healthcare possible. That might be technology; that might be new services. It will be whatever the community needs in healthcare.”
While the hospital is still more than a year from opening, Blandon said the foundation is already “up and running now.”
Bladon comes to the foundation after spending most of her career in the financial services. She was most recently a vice president of the business banking division with Synovus Bank for just less than four years, where she served both Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
“Connie brings a strong breadth of business experience and leadership to our new organization,” said Brian Adams, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel CEO. “Her involvement in the community and ability to draw people to a common cause will help to establish our new hospital as the healthcare facility of choice throughout the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa communities.”
While Bladon is new to healthcare, she is not a stranger to the volunteering and community support role she will have with the foundation. She said her parents, Connie and Vern, taught her and her brother John to always help others.
Some of the volunteer and civic positions she has served in include president of the Rotary Club of New Tampa and its foundation, on the board of the New Tampa Chamber of Commerce and was a part of the Friends of the Library at the New Tampa Branch Library. She has also been on the executive committee for Relay For Life of New Tampa and on the board of Outreach Assisting Students in Schools (OASIS).
“I grew up with a family that believed in giving back to the community,” Bladon said. She then added, “My father was always in public service. He was a state representative for five terms and then was in an appointed position. We did a lot of not-for-profit work because of that. My mother was a (Springfield College) professor and did a lot of the same things.”
Bladon said she is currently looking for anyone who wants to volunteer with the foundation. Those interested should either email her at , or visit www.fhwesleychapel.org and click the foundation tab.
