Fast Track Urgent Care Center — Doctor-Owned, Patient-Driven Urgent Care

Fast Track Urgent Care Center opened 18 months ago in Wesley Chapel on S.R. 54, west of I-75, but has since expanded to include a location in Riverview.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center, located just off of S.R. 54 west of I-75, is part of a growing company that added one new location in the Tampa Bay area in the past year.

Paul Nanda, M.D., is the medical director for the company, whose newest location is in Riverview. In addition to its center in Wesley Chapel, which opened about 18 months ago, Fast Track also is in South Tampa, Westchase and Carrollwood, with a new location coming soon to Tampa Heights.

“We started in 2005 with one location and a couple of patients a day,” says Dr. Nanda. “Now, with five centers and more than 60,000 patient visits this year, we are really starting to impact the health and well being of the (Tampa Bay) community.”

Dr. Nanda says that matters to Fast Track, which is owned by Tampa native Daron G. Diecidue, M.D.

“Being locally owned and operated, we truly care about our patients, because they are our friends and neighbors,” says Dr. Nanda. “And, because doctors run the facility, not business people, we are focused on patients, not dollar signs.”

Dr. Nanda also explains that Fast Track Urgent Care Center operates in the space between a primary care doctor and the emergency room. So, if you’re sick or injured, you should know that a visit to an urgent care facility is much less expensive than a visit to the emergency room, and with expanded hours when compared with a typical primary care doctor’s office.

Top-Notch Medical Providers

The staff at Fast Track includes more than a dozen Board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. This team of experienced medical professionals rotates among the company’s five locations.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center is owned by Dr. Daron G. Diecidue, M.D.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center’s founder and owner, Dr. Diecidue, is Board-certified in Family Medicine. He holds Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in both Biology and Psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee, and a degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa. He received his M.D. degree from the USF School of Medicine and performed his residency in family medicine at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He is an active member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the Florida Medical Association and the Urgent Care Association of America.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nanda has served as medical director of Fast Track Urgent Care since 2013. He also is Board-certified in Family Medicine and earned a B.S. degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1996, and a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Immunology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1999. He received his M.D. degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten in 2003 and completed his residency at Ohio State University in Columbus in 2007.

Dr. Nanda was hired by Fast Track in 2013 and was quickly promoted to medical director. He says he is, “responsible for ensuring the practice consistently offers patient-oriented, evidence-based, cost-effective care” at Fast Track’s five locations, including the Wesley Chapel center.

“I was always taught that patients come first,” explains Dr. Nanda. “As providers, we are advocates who do what’s best for the patient. Sometimes that means we have to fight with insurance companies. Sometimes that means we don’t randomly prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes that means we help people navigate the healthcare system, which has become more and more confusing. We hire providers who agree with our patient-first philosophy, and we ask them to treat every patient like they would treat their own mom or child.”

For a complete list of the medical providers at the Wesley Chapel office, go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com.

Available Services

Fast Track Urgent Care Center calls itself a “boutique” urgent care facility, because it offers not only a personal touch, but also expanded services that can make it a little easier to deal with the inconvenience of a sudden illness or an unexpected injury.

Dr. Nanda

For example, the center offers what it calls “Fast Pass,” an online check-in system. Although appointments are not required at Fast Track, patients can fill out their paperwork in advance and skip the line when they arrive at the urgent care facility.

“Our goal is to get you in and out within 30-60 minutes,” says Dr. Nanda. “We know you didn’t wake up that morning with plans to go to urgent care, so we want to make you better and get you back to your life as soon as possible.”

Dr. Nanda emphasizes that you can go to Fast Track Urgent Care Center anytime you need treatment, including for injuries related to workers’ compensation and motor vehicle injuries.

“With the changing landscape of insurance and healthcare,” says Dr. Nanda, “we want to try to make it easier for patients to access good, consistent, quality healthcare.”

This time of year, the practitioners provide many school physicals, which cost just $25, and Dr. Nanda explains that the company gives back to local schools through a program that distributes coupons that provide $5 back to a student’s school when they get a physical.

On the center’s website, dozens of five-star reviews highlight what people love about Fast Track Urgent Care Center.

“The doctor had a wonderful bedside manner when addressing my eight-year-old son, whom she quickly diagnosed with swimmer’s ear,” wrote a reviewer. “We’re visiting from out of state, so it was really a welcome surprise to have such a great experience in an unfamiliar medical facility.”

Another patient wrote, “I went in and saw the nurse practitioner. She was very thorough and professional, and I would definitely go again. Far better than sitting in a doctor’s office with an appointment and still having to wait! I was in and out in far less time.”

Fast Track Urgent Care Center of Wesley Chapel is located at 5504 Gateway Blvd. and is open seven days a week, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. To make a reservation with Fast Pass or for more information (including the addresses of all five locations), go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com, call (813) 925-1903 or see the ad on page 24.

New Tampa Dance Theatre — Still Producing Great Students & Performances

Tap, ballet, modern dance and even hip-hop classes are offered at NTDT, where future dance professionals and more casual dancers all receive outstanding training.

It may be housed in a quiet building on a busy suburban street, but the New Tampa Dance Theatre (NTDT) offers dancers a world-class, professional experience that is unmatched in the Tampa Bay area, whether you like to dance for fun or you dream of a career on stage one day.

Located on Cross Creek Blvd. (across from Heritage Isles) in New Tampa, the 7,500-square-foot NTDT is the largest professional dance training facility in New Tampa. Owner and artistic director Dyane Elkins IronWing is in her 23rd season of creating dance memories and futures for her New Tampa- and Wesley Chapel-area students, many of whom have gone on to study dance in college and/or dance professionally.

This year, 2017 graduate Danielle Desruisseaux has joined the faculty of NTDT, while working towards a nursing degree. Fellow alum Bryanna Rivers will attend the University of Massachusetts in Amherst with a full scholarship as a member of their track team. Gabrielle Barnes will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at Florida State University in Tallahassee, while Carolina Rojas will also attend FSU, pursing a Biology degree on the PreMed track.

“I’m so proud of our graduates,” says Elkins IronWing. “Our dancers become excellent college students, with their impressive time-management skills, perseverance and creative thinking.”

Elkins IronWing herself says she started dancing at age 5 and later studied at the Ballet Metropolitan in New York City.

She moved to Tampa in 1995 to be near family and friends and almost immediately opened NTDT in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. In 2002, she purchased the property on Cross Creek Blvd., designed her spacious new studio herself, and moved the school to the new building in January 2006.

With the bigger location, Elkins IronWing was off and running, offering smaller class sizes and larger, more varied schedules.

She says she also has a larger pool of students today, with the explosive growth of Wesley Chapel.

“Our name might say New Tampa; however, our location is much closer to Wesley Chapel than one might assume,” says Elkins IronWing. “We are extremely convenient to all of the current growth (there). Many Wesley Chapel families are shocked to discover just how close we are to them and excited because of how quickly they can drive to our school.”

All Ages & Experience Levels

Elkins IronWing caters to both the casual dance lover as well as the devoted pre-professional, and every level in between.

NTDT’s leveled curriculum offers multiple art forms for students to explore. Through personal attention and professional expertise, the NTDT faculty provides a positive educational experience based on core principles of respect, responsibility and teamwork.

Teen/Adult classes include four eight-week sessions (from Sept.-May) of ballet, tap and Zumba.

Children ages 3-4 can participate in the Early Childhood Program, ages 5-8 can participate in the Children’s Program, and ages 9-18 can participate in NTDT’s Youth Program.

In addition to classical ballet, the studio offers full programs in creative movement, modern dance, jazz, tap and hip-hop.

Each program has its own directors and specific syllabuses guiding students in a structured manner through their studies.

Dyane’s husband, Troy IronWing, is director of tap, while she will teach creative movement, ballet and jazz this season. Both have continued to tour nationally, now for 13 years, with the Rhythm Extreme Performance Troupe.

In addition, NTDT ballet director Cristy Garcia Tanner started her dance training at age 3 in her native Puerto Rico, and at 13, was invited to join the Ballet Concierto Company in San Juan.

Modern dance director Carla Armstrong, who joined the NTDT faculty in 2005, graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City with a BFA degree in Dance.

Jazz director Kristine Morgan has been a professional dancer since age 19, and earned her BFA degree in Dance from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Hip-hop director Dreama Davidson, who also has been with the school since 2005, has 18 years of performances to her credit, including participating in the “Katonga” show at Busch Gardens.

The facilities at NTDT are as top notch as the instructors, and include maple flooring for the tap classes, 15-20-ft.-tall mirrored walls, student locker rooms and a large studio space that can accommodate up to 200 people. Sprung floors provide shock absorption to protect the dancers’ joints, and an on-site physical therapist ensures the health of the dancers. NTDT also features a café offering light meals, snacks and drinks.

The Training You Need

NTDT has developed a reputation for creating strong, professional dancers with alumni that have moved on to highly respected companies, Broadway productions and for the Walt Disney Company.

Because NTDT students learn to be proficient in multiple art forms, these students have an edge in the competitive world of dance and many NTDT students have been accepted into prestigious summer intensive programs, including the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theater in New York City, The Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and the Boston Ballet.

However, Elkins IronWing also is diligent about providing the same quality of instruction to the roughly 60 percent of the students who are enrolled in NTDT’s popular recreational programs.

“Even though a student doesn’t choose to pursue a career in dance after high school, they can reach a level of artistry to be accepted into college dance programs,” says Elkins IronWing. “Believing in yourself, respecting the process of working toward a goal, and having a well-rounded dance education give our students the tools and confidence to continue discovering new passions throughout their lifetimes.”

Great Productions, Too!

All students get to perform in the “Spring Production” and — through NTDT’s nonprofit-partner, the Dance Theatre of Tampa (DTT) — in the “Summer Concert Series,” which is held every June at USF.

DTT provides more than 300 free tickets to NTDT’s corporate sponsors, local community supporters, alumni members and students. A small costume rental fee for productions is the only cost over the tuition that parents have to pay at any time — there is never a requirement to buy advertising or pay performance fees.

New Tampa residents Paula and Ron Nelson say they enrolled their daughter Malia in Creative Movement classes at NTDT when she was only 3. Eight years later, she’s moved up to the youth program, where she’s enrolled in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hip-hop.

“As a result of the yearly recitals at the University of South Florida (USF), Malia loves performing on stage and has absolutely no stage fright,” Paula explains. “This has carried over to school, where she’s comfortable making presentations to her classmates and participating in yearly school plays.”

Every holiday season, Dyane says local residents look forward to the community’s largest and longest-running interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” now in its 18th season. This year, it will be held December 15-17 at USF Tampa’s College of the Arts Theater 1.

You can catch free sneak peeks of NTDT’s “The Nutcracker” at the Tampa Premium Outlets on November 25-26, and at the Shops at Wiregrass mall on December 1-2 and 8-10.

NTDT’s much-awaited Sugar Plum Fairy Tea fund raiser is now in its 13th season and will be held December 3 at USF’s Gibbons Alumni Center. This popular event features a light lunch, desserts (including a chocolate fountain), giveaways, a sneak preview of “The Nutcracker,” and an opportunity to dance with Clara (the lead role of the young girl who receives the beloved Nutcracker as a Christmas gift) and her “party friends.”

Each year, a portion of the proceeds from the Tea is donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities in South Tampa. Tickets for both the tea and “The Nutcracker” go on sale on Monday, October 9.

“It’s all about the children at NTDT, always has been and always will be,” Dyane says. “We are a company that enables children to succeed. The key is setting high expectations all while having fun and building self-confidence. With the amazing season ahead of us, we would like to thank all of our trusting and loyal families over the years and the organizations that continually support our vision. Without their recognition and time, NTDT wouldn’t be the magical place it has become!”

The New Tampa Dance Theatre offers year-round free trial classes for prospective dancers of all ages. To tour the facility or to rent it for a meeting, party or function, visit NTDT at 10701 Cross Creek Blvd. For more information and to check out the exciting lineup of fall classes, visit NewTampaDanceTheatre.com or call (813) 994-NTDT (6838).

Are You Still Looking For A Preschool? Check Out The Learning Experience!

Owner Jhana Pardue (left) and director Amy Rath take pride in the curriculum, energy and security offered at The Learning Experience of New Tampa on County Line Rd.

Jhana Pardue knew her son Noah wasn’t getting everything he could out of the daycare/learning center he was attending. He was unhappy, and so was she.

So, Jhana started looking around, visiting every childcare facility she could, and then walked into The Learning Experience Academy of Early Education near her home in Lakewood Ranch. “I remember it was a Friday,’’ she says. “I loved it.”

Jhana (the “J” is silent) was on her way to the airport for a trip to Texas, and she filled out the registration forms on the airplane ride. By the time Monday rolled around, she was dropping little Noah off for his first day.

“Fast forward two years, and here I am,’’ Jhana says, from her office at her own The Learning Experience (TLE) of New Tampa, located across County Line Rd. from the SuperTarget, behind L.A. Fitness.

That’s right – Jhana, who volunteered when she wasn’t working at her accounting job, and Noah, her precocious almost-2-year-old at the time, loved TLE so much, that the Pardues decided to buy their own franchise.

“I love children,” Jhana says. “I always wanted to do something and I knew accounting wasn’t fulfilling everything with me anymore. I was looking forward to volunteering more than going to work. So one day, I told my husband, ‘Why not do this?’”

New Kids On The Block

Jhana opened the New Tampa location on July 17. As a former Cory Lake Isles and Heritage Isles resident from 2011-13, she knew the area well, and was thrilled to have the opportunity to build her TLE there.

Opening day capped a whirlwind year. The Pardues signed their franchise papers in Feb. of 2016, and immediately afterwards, Jhana enrolled at State College of Florida in Bradenton to earn her Early Childhood Education Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree, to go with her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Accounting & Business Administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

The New Tampa location isn’t much different from the TLE that Jhana fell in love with. She says she was initially struck by the colors of the Lakewood Ranch facility, the brightness, the atmosphere, the soft children’s music and even the smell – which was always fresh and clean.

It was the curriculum, however, that nudged her to pursue her own franchise.

For Noah, and many other children, it is a perfect fit.

“He is discovery-based, he is really hands on, and The Learning Experience is designed that way to let our children explore the different learning styles,’’ Jhana says. “Noah adapted well, because he was able to be himself. The other school he went to wanted him to learn one way.”

The Learning Experience was founded by Michael and Linda  Weissman in 1980 with a single location in Boca Raton, and was built on teaching through cognitive, physical and social principles; or as Jhana says, “Learn, Play and Grow.”

When it comes to learning, TLE uses the proprietary Learning Experience Academic Program (L.E.A.P.) that Jhana says was written by educators with more than 25 years of experience. It guarantees that children will graduate with “exceptional core academic skills.”

Children who attend The Learning Experience of New Tampa get to enjoy this cool mini-village.

The curriculum was written around what TLE feels are the six stages of development – Infant (6 weeks to 1 year old), Toddler (1-2 years old), Tawdler (2-2-½ years old), Prepper (2-½ to 3 years old), Preschooler (3-5 years old), and Kindergartner (5 years old, but not offered at all locations, including Jhana’s).

L.E.A.P. includes sign language for infants and toddlers, a phonics program and even foreign language programs. Mandarin is taught for one year, as well as Spanish.

“It’s definitely one of the things that sets us apart,’’ Jhana says.

L.E.A.P. workbooks include a journal, an interactive book and Fun With Phonics, which is specifically designed to teach reading to 3- and 4-year-olds.

According to Jhana, nine out of 10 children who leave  TLE’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program head off to kindergarten able to read. “And, we’re trying to get to 100 percent,’’ she says.

Children take part in activities that promote a healthy and active lifestyle.  TLE offers eight enrichment programs for children, like Yippee 4 Yoga, Suddenly Science, Dancing Feet, Talent Sprouts and Super Soccer.

A 65-inch interactive, computerized SMART Board is currently being installed in one of the classrooms as well.

Jhana takes great pride in ensuring TLE’s curriculum is used and applied. She says that is not always the case at other learning centers, where the curriculum sometimes serves as more of a rough outline.

And, mascots like Flexi Flamingo (P.E.), Lionstein (Science) and Bubbles the Elephant — the leader of the mascots — help lead the children through their day.

“We learn through play,” Jhana says. “The children think they are playing, but they are actually learning. We do this through small group activities, more 1-on-1 interaction and more individualized teaching.”

Happy Employees, Happy Kids

All lead teachers are required to have their Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate, which is equivalent to an early childhood education A.A degree, Jhana says. Assistant teachers have to complete 45 hours of Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) Child Care Training.

In less than two months, TLE already has enrolled 90 children, and has a staff of 15. TLE’s 1-to-6 child-to-teacher ratio exceeds state requirements.

“Most classes are overstaffed,’’ Jhana says. “We exceed state ratios, but I’d rather have the extra help.”

Meadow Pointe resident Amy Rath was working for another childcare/learning center when she drove by TLE’s construction site for the first time. She looked online to see what TLE had to offer, and was impressed with the curriculum.

“I said in the back of my mind, I’m going to be director of that school one day,” Amy says. After a few interviews, she was hired.

“I hadn’t even posted the position when Miss Go-Getter over here started emailing,’’ Jhana says, laughing.

Peace Of Mind

Melissa De Oleo was another passerby on County Line Rd. who was eagerly awaiting the opening of TLE. She had been looking for a place for her 1-½ -yr.-old son London when construction began, “and I started stalking the place,’’ she jokes.

She drove to TLE locations in Palm Harbor and Brandon for a tour, and says that she was hooked.

“I love that they have a curriculum and are teaching instead of just taking care of them,’’ Melissa says.

Although she says that London cried the first few days he was away from his mother, he now gleefully run towards the mural of Bubbles that greets visitors, to say hi, and then to his teacher Rebecca.

“He loves it here,’’ she says.

And, Melissa says she also loves the secure nature of the facility. Parents cannot enter without their assigned key fob, and have to sign in at two different places to get their child. Getting back to the classrooms also requires a key fob, and the playground out back is protected by 8-foot-high privacy fences.

There are cameras in every room, and in the office used by Amy and Jhana, there is a 32-inch television to monitor 16 security cameras (above, left).

The first few days after dropping London off, Melissa would hang back and watch her son on the monitor. When he began interacting with other kids, she jokes that it was a “miracle.”

She also receives pictures and updates on everything from what London ate to the last time he went to the bathroom to what he learned during the day, all in real time via TLE’s smartphone app.

“Basically, I know everything that he is doing,’’ she says.

Which, at the moment, happened to be sleeping. Melissa was there to pick London up at 12:30 p.m., but instead of waking him up to bring him to his mother, she was allowed to wait until he woke up on his own.

“That’s really nice,’’ she says.

To learn more about The Learning Experience of New Tampa, located at 20780 Trout Creek Dr., visit TheLearningExperience.com/our-centers/fl/tampa/new-tampa or call (813) 534-6364.