Zhoy Vitality Center Strives To Bring Vitality Back To Your Life

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Dr. Areej Salem tackles difficult issues in her daily work at Zhoy Vitality Center, helping people with hormonal balances and issues related to their sexuality.

At Zhoy Vitality Center, you can expect a different sort of doctor-patient relationship and experience. Board-certifieD Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB-GYN) Areej Salem, M.D., believes in a whole-body approach to rejuvenation and revitalization to help everyone look and feel their best. From incontinence and medical weight loss solutions to sexual dysfunctions and even vaginal rejuvenation, Dr. Salem provides not only a safe place to talk but an office that is on the forefront of technology and technique.

“Lots of patients are looking for alternative ways to treat the whole person,” says Dr. Salem. “Just because you don’t have a label put on you doesn’t mean you are healthy. I look at treating the whole person from the inside out.”

Located just off the Ancient Oaks Blvd. roundabout in the Seven Oaks Professional Park off S.R. 56, Zhoy Vitality Center (which draws its name from the first initials of Dr. Salem’s four children) has been in existence since 2012. From a young age, Dr. Salem says she has always been drawn to altruistic, healing paths.

“I always wanted to give back,” she says. “I love to listen to people and talk with and help them.”

Dr. Salem received her Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 2002.

She also completed a residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the Christiana Care Health System in Newark, NJ, in 2007, and went on to complete fellowships in Anti-Aging, Regenerative and Functional Medicine as well as Aesthetics with the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. She is Board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the American Board of Integrative & Holistic Medicine.

At Zhoy Vitality Center, Dr. Salem offers patients a plethora of anti-aging and restorative options. Although the largest number of her patients are women between 40 and 60, she says she also sees men and both younger and older patients. Three major areas for which patients consult her are for antiaging hormone therapy, aesthetics and vaginal rejuvenation.

“It’s a unique practice,” says Dr. Salem. “There’s no one in the area who does what I do. I combine treatments and modalities to give maximal results, whether it’s for aesthetics or sexual health or satisfaction.”

Hormonal Therapies

Dr. Salem says that hormone replacement therapy for men and women is one of her most popular treatments. She explains that hormone production decreases as we age, resulting in a variety of possible problems: women get night sweats, mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, thinning hair and vaginal dryness. Hormonal reduction in men causes erectile dysfunction, loss of muscle bulk and loss of libido.

To combat these problems, one of Dr. Salem’s offerings is “pellet therapy,” where bio-identical hormones are inserted, often under the skin just above the buttocks, in order to dissolve over time and replicate the effects of the original hormones that the body used to make in large quantities before.

Dr. Salem acknowledges that “traditional doctors” sometimes have a bias against hormonal therapy, but as long as these treatments are conducted safely under her care, she says she is confident she can and will create the proper balance in her patients.

For most, a slim and fit body is harder to maintain as we age, but it’s also an area in which Dr. Salem can assist, with medical weight loss and nutrition plans that include specialized testing, pharmaceutical-grade supplements, nutrition counseling and nutritional detoxification. One specific plan she offers is called Metabolic Balance, which is a specialized meal plan based on lab work and a person’s history.

All of the patient’s lab results and medical history info are compiled and sent to the Metabolic Balance headquarters in Germany, from where a specific plan for nutrition is sent back for each patient to follow under Dr. Salem’s guidance. The aimed-for result is improved health; but Dr. Salem says, “the weight loss tends to be a happy side effect.”

Feeling good often starts from the outside, which is why Dr. Salem offers an array of aesthetic options. Stem cell “facelifts” involve harvesting your own stem cells and processing them onsite, and then injecting them back in the same day to return natural volume.

Other services include fillers such as Botox and Dysport; sclerotherapy to reduce or eliminate spider and varicose veins; AccelaFuze oxygen hydra-infused facials; DermaFrac microchanneling that inserts peptides between layers of skin for a “lift” without the downtime; Exilis skin tightening and body contouring, which involves heating and cooling body fat without burning your skin; laser peels and resurfacing; and BBL (broad band light) therapy for treating several problems including acne and hair reduction.

Other treatments include laser hair reduction, microlaser peels, ProFractional laser therapy to treat scars and visible signs of ageing, ThermiTight and ThermiSmooth treatments that use radiofrequencies to tighten and smooth your skin, and even ThermiDry treatments to reduce sweating.

Dr. Salem describes the Forever Young light treatment as the, “Ferrari of light treatments” in the way it can recapture youth in skin by boosting your body’s own collagen production. If you want a more all-encompassing treatment than choosing from a menu of individual options, Dr. Salem can design a Zhoy Ultimate Radiance package for you that is customized based on your needs and amount of downtime you’re willing to go through.

Looking your best is no superficial aim, Dr. Salem maintains. Rather, it is a way to have the person on the outside reflect how they feel inside, despite the ravages of age.

“We help you get the best effects of who you are on the inside,” she says. “When you feel like you look your best, your confidence shows in the way you walk, the way you interact with people. It affects your overall well-being and your self-esteem.”

Vaginal Rejuvenation

One aspect of women’s health that is often swept under the table is sexuality. Not only does Dr. Salem have the kind of personality and easygoing bedside manner that allow people to talk about their most intimate concerns without embarrassment, she also can offer her expertise in many different surgical and non-surgical ways to treat these issues. Sexual dysfunction is not often dealt with honestly in traditional practices, Dr. Salem says. Patients are either embarrassed to talk about issues with their doctors, or feel like their problems are “in their heads” and that they, “just need to get over it.”

“It’s a huge thing to have that void or deficiency in your intimate relationships,” says Dr. Salem. “So many women feel like they’re alone.”

She offers a treatment called ThermiVa that uses gentle radioactive frequency to tighten vaginal tissue non-surgically. ThermiVa can be done by itself or as part of a package called Intimate Radiance, which includes an O-shot, which delivers platelet-rich plasma from the patient’s own blood into the vaginal tissue to rejuvenate the area. If necessary, Dr. Salem also can perform surgical procedures to tighten muscles.

The office accepts some forms of medical insurance, but in-house financing also is available.

For more information about Dr. Salem and the Zhoy Vitality Center, or to see a comprehensive list of the procedures offered, visit ZhoyVitalityCenter.com. Zhoy Vitality Center is located at 2306 Ashley Oaks Cir., Suite 101. To make an appointment, call 994-0266.

TBX passes, but still facing scrutiny

TBX
The crowd of local residents and business owners who attended the TBX hearing on June 22 spilled out into the hallways and required extra seating outside of the Hillsborough County Center chambers until early the next morning.

Despite eight hours of mostly negative public comments that dragged on until past 2 a.m. the next morning, the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) voted on June 23 to keep the controversial Tampa Bay Express (TBX) project moving forward.

After listening to dozens of people both for and against the project at the Hillsborough County Center building in downtown Tampa, the MPO voted 12-4 in favor of keeping the $6 billion TBX plan in its Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).

The TBX plan entails widening I-275, I-75 and I-4 with 91 miles of express (or toll) lanes, as well as potentially creating a rapid bus lane in the center median of those roadways and laying the groundwork for future rail projects. The road improvements, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and supporters said, would better connect the Tampa Bay area and help ease traffic congestion.

Opponents cited the high cost of the toll lanes, which will have variable costs, meaning the more traffic, the greater the cost of traveling in the express lanes. Some estimates say a rush hour trip from the Pinellas County side of the Howard Frankland Bridge to downtown Tampa could cost as much as $30. As a result, opponents have dubbed them “Lexus Lanes.”

But, most of the passion against the TBX plan came from residents of the historic Tampa neighborhoods of Seminole Heights, Tampa Heights and Ybor City, who say they will be displaced by the project. The plan affects mostly poor minority neighborhoods, as well as up to 100 local businesses that opponents believe will be destroyed by FDOT construction.

Lisa Montelione, the outgoing Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member whose area of representation includes New Tampa and USF, voted against TBX. MPO chairman Les Miller, Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco and Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner were the others who also voted against the project.

After the vote, Montelione addressed those remaining in the crowd, which once numbered more than 500 people, telling them to not be discouraged and applauding their efforts.

Opponents, many of whom voiced their distrust of FDOT and expressed concern over parts of the plan that had been kept secret, did get some measure of satisfaction, as the MPO unanimously passed amendments requiring more oversight and requesting reports of the human impact of the project.

A Wesley Chapel Perspective

Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) CEO Hope Allen was pleased to see the TBX plan survive. She watched with hundreds of others in the lobby of the downtown Tampa City Center, and noted the intensity of the night.

Twice, Allen — who wore a sticker proclaiming her support of TBX — was badgered by anti-TBX folks, forcing her to change seats. “You must be one of those people from the suburbs,’’ one said to her.

Another woman walked by, pursed her lips and shook her head at Allen in disappointment.

“It’s tough in here,’’ Allen sighed.

The WCCC, along with the Pasco County Economic Development Council and the Pasco Board of County Commissioners (BCC), all have supported TBX, although the roads currently being discussed only go as far north as Bearss Ave., just south of New Tampa.

Construction could begin next year in Pinellas County, and could be completed by 2026. “We believe in connectivity with the communities around us,’’ Allen said. “Plus, these roads will have a direct impact on our residents because so many of them head that way into work. They will use (the highways), and the less time they spend in traffic, the more time they can spend at home.”

Pasco’s District 2 commissioner Mike Moore, who represents Wesley Chapel on the BCC, said his support of TBX was a quality of life issue for him.

“There’s no denying we have well over 50 percent of our residents traveling those roads to go work in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties,’’ Moore said. “If this will cut off two hours a day on the road in traffic, that’s more time with family and friends, and that’s important. And remember, people do come from other areas to Pasco County to work as well.”

Part of the TBX plan includes express bus lines, and Moore said Wesley Chapel (as well as New Tampa) would eventually be home to a station.

The TBX plan was supported by most of the area’s business leaders, as well as by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Had the plan not passed on this vote, the county would have had to return the $6 billion in funding to the state.

Most local commuters into Tampa and St. Petersburg often complain about the long, congested rides into work, which can take hours.

“My wife and I moved out to New Tampa several years ago, because that’s where her job was,’’ Joe Farrell told the MPO. “She doesn’t work there anymore, but we stayed because that’s where the affordable housing was.”

Now that he works in Clearwater and has an 18-month-old son, Farrell said it is hard to find time for his family.

“My son wakes up at 7 a.m. and goes to bed at 7 p.m.,” Farrell said, “and most days I have to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. and I am driving like hell through I-275 to get home by 6:30 p.m., so I can spend some time with him. It’s frustrating.”

Pioneers Honored By County

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The Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recognized Bill Smith and his sister, Ruth Smith Adams, two members of a Wesley Chapel pioneer family, for their contribution in preserving the area’s history, at the historic Dade City Courthouse.

Pasco clerk and comptroller Dr. Paula O’Neil read the extensive resolution on June 7 presented by District 2 county commissioner Mike Moore. The resolution spoke of the contributions of the Smith family to east Pasco with the settlement of Wesley Chapel by their great-grandfather, William R. Smith, in 1867.

Bill and Ruth were instrumental in preserving the history of Wesley Chapel. Their family donated the 1894 cracker home of Daniel Smith to the hands-on Cracker Country museum at the Florida State Fairgrounds in 1979. Bill and Ruth’s father was instrumental in the delivery of electricity to Wesley Chapel from the Rural Electric Administration.

The Smiths had been previously honored in 1998 in a re-dedication of the historic Pasco County Courthouse as one of the “Pioneer Founding Families of Pasco County.”

The Smiths, along with many others, played important roles in helping local author Madonna Wise put together her book, Images of America: Wesley Chapel. Wise has spoken glowingly of Bill and Ruth’s contributions to Wesley Chapel’s history at the Pasco-Hernando State College History Fair and at other book signings. The Smiths also lent a number of photos to Wise that appeared in her book.

New Tampa Engineer Putting The Freeze On Florida’s Heat With Polar Pods!

Tampa Palms resident John Fisher brings his 50º Polar Pods trailers to outdoor events to help bring anyone’s core body temperature down fast.
Tampa Palms resident John Fisher brings his 50º Polar Pods trailers to outdoor events to help bring anyone’s core body temperature down fast.

Tampa Palms resident John Fisher wasn’t working on anything in particular when a good friend from St. Augustine called him for help.

Steve Parry, a lifeguard, had developed a concept borne from personal experience, after spending a night partying and then figuring out the next day at work that he had overdone it.

He started suffering from heat exhaustion, and as the day dragged on, he felt worse and worse. So, he wandered into a nearby restaurant, asked to sit in the cooler, and after a few minutes of being camped out on a pickle bucket, started to feel better.

“My head came out of my hands, and I was like ‘My God, what just happened, man?,’’’ Parry told Fisher.

What had happened was that Parry’s body core temperature had been rapidly brought down, and the life had returned to his body.

“I’d pay money for this,’’ Parry thought to himself.

That sparked an idea to create essentially a mobile cooler to help people suffering from heat exhaustion.

polarpod6But, Parry couldn’t do it alone. Enter Fisher, who earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Central Florida in Orlando in 1982, and Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) degree from the University of South Florida in 1987, and had a little free time on his hands.

“I thought it sounded like a great idea, and I liked the challenge of it,’’ said Fisher.

Fisher has now helped create three Polar Pod mobile cooling/heat illness-prevention stations, with more on the horizon.

“It was a lot of trial and error,’’ says Fisher. “The technical part of building this is not easy. It’s a tricky little recipe.”

The Polar Pod is a 20-foot-long by 8-foot-wide ice cube on wheels. Patrons enter through thermally insulated and tempered glass doors, with seating on padded benches for up to 18. The inside temperature is 50 degrees, and for those cooling down, there is a 5-gallon water jug and a 46-inch HDTV to watch.

Each Polar Pod runs on a 208VAC/10kW generator, and costs about $20 worth of diesel fuel per day to keep the temperature optimal.

“This whole thing is engineered to do one thing – bring the body’s core temperature down as quickly as possible,’’ Fisher says.

Heat exhaustion occurs after you have been exposed to high temperatures, often enhanced by dehydration. It can lead to dizziness, headaches, vomiting and fainting.

The best treatment is drinking fluids and cooling down, and it only takes a few minutes in the Polar Pod to get your body temperature back into a safe range.

Of the three Polar Pods already built, one already has been sold to a fire department. Fisher can’t say which one, except that it’s in a major city, because the fire department hasn’t officially rolled it out yet. The fire department will use the Polar Pod as a fire rehabilitation vehicle.

Perfect For Outdoor Events

Fisher also extolls the Polar Pod’s effectiveness at festivals and concerts. While showing off the pod at its storage unit on Nebraska Ave., he stops and runs to his pick-up truck to grab a copy of a newspaper.

Polarpod2In it, he has circled an article about two deaths and almost 60 hospitalizations at the recent Sunset Music Festival held at Raymond James Stadium, where roughly 30,000 music fans were crammed together on a scalding hot May day.

While Fisher — who has tried to get his Polar Pods into the event for two years — notes that while the deaths could be the result of drug use, he says festivals where large crowds gather in Florida’s stifling climate often lead to heat exhaustion and tents and misting fans alone lose their effectiveness.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was part of the reason,’’ he says.

Some promoters have rented the Polar Pod for their events, paying $650-$750 for a full day. Fisher said he has set up Polar Pods at events like the Big Guava Music Festival at the Florida State Fairgrounds last year, as well as at the 97X (WSUN-FM) Backyard BBQ at Vinoy Park last month.

Fisher says the Polar Pod can also can be a lot of fun. He encourages revelers, most of whom are just trying to catch a little cold air, to keep the party going once they enter. “We’ll even put some Jimmy Buffet on the TV,’’ Fisher chuckles.

Most recently, the Polar Pods were used at the Country 500 Music Fest in Daytona Beach, where promoters charged $10 for a wristband for unlimited use of the Polar Pod. Fisher says the lines stayed long all day.

“That was a huuuuge event,’’ Fisher said. “We had both of the Polar Pods there and the lines were nonstop.”

Fisher, who has taught electrical engineering classes at USF, says he has met with the USF College of Public Health and the USF College of Medicine for advice on how to effectively treat heat exhaustion through quickly lowering the core body temperature. He also set up a pod at USF football practices last spring, squeezing the team’s entire offensive line inside to test its effectiveness.

“Generally, on really hot days, people are grateful that we are there,’’ Fisher says.

Fisher, who also earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from USF in 2000, adds that he and Parry are still developing a business plan for their Polar Pods. They would like to see more fire departments get interested, and they continue to see a market for events like marathons, triathlons, festivals and concerts.

“We see people dragging when they walk inside, and just come alive in the Polar Pod,’’ Fisher says. “You just don’t get it until you step inside. And, when people do, they’ll tell us, ‘Oh my God, you guys are geniuses.’”

For more information about Polar Pods, visit ThePolarPod.com, or call 995-1350 or (904) 962-1793. Or, email info@thepolarpod.com.

The Rotary Club Of New Tampa Caps Off Its Fiscal 2015-16 Year

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Members of the Rotary Club of New Tampa and the USF Rotaract Club did an international service project in Costa Rica for the third time in four years.

At about the same time this publication arrived in mailboxes on June 17, the Rotary Club of New Tampa was holding its weekly breakfast meeting at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. This particular meeting had special guests, representing the 19 charities that each left the breakfast with a check in hand, as they were this year’s selected nonprofits receiving donations from the club as it closed it 2015-16 fiscal year.

The process of vetting 501(c)(3) organizations to determine which ones are most deserving and in need of the New Tampa Rotary’s support culminates each year at the annual event, where the checks are presented to the charities.

“We invite the organizations we support to have breakfast with us so we can present them with the contributions we are giving them for the year,” says Karen Frashier, who will be installed as the 2016-17 president-elect of the club later this month. She says it’s an exciting time for the original New Tampa Rotary, as they provide money to these nonprofits, “so they can continue doing their good work in the community.”

The installation banquet for the club’s incoming officers was held Friday, June 24, 6 p.m., also at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. Current club president Lesley Zajac passed her gavel on to incoming president Brice Wolford, and New Tampa Rotary member Joyce Gunter was be installed as the new Governor of District 6890, West Central Florida USA.

District Conference In Orlando

Twelve members of the New Tampa Rotary also recently attended the Rotary District 6890 Conference, held in Orlando on May 20-21.

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The twelve New Tampa Rotary members who attended made up one of the larger contingents at this year’s Rotary District 6890 annual conference in Orlando.

At the conference, the club was recognized by the current Rotary District 6890 Governor Tom Wagner for its leadership in building an accessible playground at Rotary’s Camp Florida, along with Kaboom!, the MetLife Foundation (headquartered in New Tampa) and other clubs in the district. The New Tampa Rotary was awarded the “Governor’s Choice Award-Local Project” and the “Club Communications Award” for large clubs (it currently has 65 members), along with the 2015-16 Rotary International Presidential Citation Gold Level “for helping Rotary make a difference in the lives of people all over the world.”

“I love working side-by-side with all of these wonderful friends!” says Zajac. “We all have fun together, and we are working hard to make Tampa a better place to live for everyone.”

Service Project In Costa Rica

A group of 15 people from the New Tampa Rotary Club and the University of South Florida Rotaract Club it sponsors visited Alajuela, Costa Rica, for six days in May. For the third time in four years, the New Tampa club visited this area to support the efforts of the Rotary Club of Alajuela.

While there, the group painted a local public school and visited its previous projects in the area, including a playground and a butterfly garden. They also visited an active volcano, ziplined the rainforest canopy, and toured local sights.

International Convention In South Korea

Four New Tampa Rotary Club members also joined tens of thousands of other Rotarians at the Rotary International Convention in Seoul, South Korea, May 28-June 1. The members who attended include Joyce and Gary Gunter, and Steele Olmstead and Pamela Jo Hatley, who went to visit their son, Joe Olmstead. Joe, a Rotary Youth Exchange student, is completing one year of cultural study in South Korea, where he lived with a family, went to school and learned the language.

For more information about the Rotary Club of New Tampa, and to register for upcoming events, visit NewTampaRotary.org.