Allergy Specialists Drs. Lockey, Fox, Ledford, Glaum & Cho Now Open In Wesley Chapel

(L.-r.): Drs. Cho, Ledford, Lockey, Fox and Glaum are Board-certified allergists and immunologists who recently opened a new office whose services include a unique commitment to academic research and teaching the next generation of doctors, too.

At a busy office on the top floor of a medical building near the corner of Fletcher Ave. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., a team of Board-certified allergists and immunologists both see patients and conduct research at the University of South Florida Division of Allergy & Immunology Clinical Research Unit next door. The practice recently opened an office in Wesley Chapel and now has five locations, including the main office on BBD Blvd. in Tampa, plus locations in South Tampa, Citrus Park and Brooksville.

Drs. Lockey, Fox, Ledford, Glaum and Cho make up the group that can be found online at AllergyTampa.com.

Richard Lockey, M.D., founded the practice in 1984 as Academic Associates in Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. He earned his medical degree from the Temple University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Lockey served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, then subsequently joined the faculty of the University of South Florida College of Medicine (now Morsani College of Medicine) as a Professor of Medicine.

He currently is the director of USF’s Division of Allergy & Immunology. He also volunteers at the James A. Haley Veterans (VA) Hospital, where he was previously Chief of Allergy & Immunology.

Dr. Lockey also has served as a president of the World Allergy Organization and is a past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), of which all of the practice’s specialists are members.

Roger Fox, M.D., earned his medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. He has written and lectured extensively on the topics of environmental, chemical, food and drug allergies, urticaria (hives) and skin disorders, such as angiodema.

Dennis Ledford, M.D., received his M.D. degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. Like Dr. Lockey, he also served as a past president of AAAAI. Dr. Ledford is the director of the Section of Allergy & Immunology at the James A. Haley VA Hospital. His published writings focus on immunology and autoimmune disorders and he has won many leadership awards. Dr. Ledford says he loves teaching medical students and educating patients. He was installed to the Gold Humanism Honor Society at USF.

Mark Glaum, M.D., PhD, earned his medical degree at Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He completed a fellowship in allergy and clinical immunology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, also in Philadelphia. His areas of interest include how the body responds to substances that cause allergic reactions and advancing diagnostic techniques, such as rhinoscopies (examining nasal passages with specialized instruments).

Seong Cho, M.D., received his medical degree as an otolaryngologist — an ear, nose and throat doctor — from Kyung Hee University School of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. His allergy and immunology training was completed at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago, IL. He recently received a grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, studying pathogens and chronic rhinitis.

The physicians manage a variety of disorders related to allergy, asthma, and immunology, including rhinitis (inflammation and swelling of the mucous membrane of the nose, often referred to as hay fever), cough, laryngitis, headaches and immune disorders. The specialists also treat allergic reactions and immune responses resulting in rashes and dermatitis.

Research Benefits Patients

What sets Drs. Lockey, Fox, Ledford, Glaum and Cho apart from other groups is the relationship the doctors have with USF. With all five doctors also teaching students at USF’s Morsani College of Medicine, the patients they care for in private practice reap the benefits.

“There are advantages of being with physicians who have contact with the future in teaching residents,” says Dr. Ledford. “The process of educating makes you better.”

Dr. Ledford explains that all five doctors conduct research at USF’s Division of Allergy & Immunology Clinical Research, too. As a researcher, he says, “you’re aware of developments and where science is progressing.” He adds that his practice’s patients can gain access to studies when there are new therapeutic trials being conducted.

If a study is being conducted that could help a specific patient, the doctors can send that patient right down the hall to USF’s Clinical Research Unit to participate in the study. Dr. Ledford says that not only can that benefit the patient with medicine or techniques that may not be readily available in mainstream medicine, but also, “by participating in the study, our patients are helping to advance the field.”

Dr. Ledford explains that one such study is peanut immunotherapy, where extremely precise and tiny doses of peanuts are introduced to patients in a methodical way, to teach the body to tolerate them.

For someone who has a life-threatening allergy to peanuts, to be able to tolerate small amounts can relieve the constant fear of accidental contact with peanuts.

“It’s quite liberating,” Dr. Ledford says of the results of this technique, which is not yet mainstream but is available through his practice’s research partnership with USF.

He adds that this partnership allows his office to provide the convenience of neighborhood medicine, combined with the experience of the academic setting.

“It’s unusual,” Dr. Ledford says, “but Dr. Lockey has created a hybrid of a university clinic and a private practice. They complement each other.”

Sue Moore is a patient who says she has benefited from this approach. After conventional treatments for her asthma left her still “gasping for breath,” she says Dr. Ledford found a brand new treatment for her — one that has helped her breathe easy so that she no longer struggles with asthma symptoms.

“Dr. Ledford went beyond the norm to find a treatment that works,” Sue says. “He stays on top of his profession, continually doing research, and always has his patients at the top of his agenda.”

Sensitive To Pollen?

This is the time of year when seasonal allergies are at their worst.

“March is the peak of allergy season in Florida,” says Dr. Ledford. “In our area, people react to tree allergens — primarily oak and cypress — from about Christmas to Easter.”

Dr. Ledford says that for people who have moved to Florida from up north, spring happens much earlier, as trees start pollinating between January and April. So, allergy sufferers will notice that happening much earlier here than in colder climes.

To help the doctors assess the environment and know what allergens to test their patients for, “we sample the environment to see what’s there,” explains Dr. Ledford. He says air samples are gathered from the patient’s roof, then Dr. Glaum counts the pollen and other allergens under a microscope. He then provides those counts to the community on the practice’s website, AllergyTampa.com.

Now Open In Wesley Chapel

The Wesley Chapel office is open in the Seven Oaks Professional Park on Thursday mornings, beginning at 7:30 a.m., where patients can see Dr. Cho.

While the doctors and staff at the practice have considerable clinical and research experience, as well as access to the latest in treatments and technology, Dr. Lockey expresses a basic principle that guides his team in its work.

“We practice the most cost-effective and honest medicine,” he says. “We treat patients like they’re our family members. That’s what all medicine should be about.”

To learn more about Drs. Lockey, Fox, Ledford, Glaum and Cho, visit AllergyTampa.com or call (813) 971-9743. The New Tampa office is located at 13801 BBD Blvd., Ste. 502, and the Wesley Chapel office is located at 2106 Ashley Oak Cir., #102. 

 

Pasco County Looking To Put Some Real Teeth Into New Dumping Ordinance

In 2016, District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore championed a drive to regulate the county’s donation bins, many of which were becoming unsightly junkyards. The idea was to keep a closer eye on the dumping.

If that crusade was the eyes, then the county’s latest project is the teeth. Moore has helped push through a plan to rid the county of all illegal dumping, as part of a new #PascoProud campaign.

“It’s time to fight back on this,” Moore says, adding that since October, there have been 144 code complaints filed by county residents over illegal dumping. But, the county’s trash ordinance, “didn’t have a lot of teeth to it,” Moore says, so the county took a look at adopting the state’s more stringent rules, which carry stiffer penalties.

Those penalties include heftier fines, and even arrest, for those illegally dumping on county property. Moore says that those who get arrested can be charged with a misdemeanor or, depending on the violation, a third-degree felony.

Anyone caught dumping illegally in Pasco County can be fined a maximum of $500 per day, per item, as well as possible cleanup costs.

Commercial companies that get caught dumping automatically get charged a third-degree felony, even if it’s something like discarding empty paint buckets on the side of the road.

“Dumping costs taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars a year to clean up the mess,” Moore says. “And, it’s not good for the environment.”

The county’s secret weapon in this latest crusade is the local community.

The county’s popular MyPasco app now has a link to report illegal dumping. Users of the app can take a picture of the dump sites, or someone dumping materials, or even a license plate, and send the picture right to the county via the app.

The county also has created a website — bit.ly/2Bj6CUz — so residents can report illegal dumping, as well as an email address (RIDPasco@pascocountyfl.net) and phone number (727-847-2411) that can be used to make reports.

Moore said the app and website received 87 tips the first week of the program.

“We triage all that info, and if it looks legit, it goes right to the (Pasco County) Sheriff’s Office,” Moore says. “We want this to be a team effort between the community and the county.”

Moore says that illegal dumping takes place in Wesley Chapel, as public land and dead-end roads are targeted. He said the problem is widespread, however.

“There’s a road in the Lutz area, an access road that so much dumping has taken place on that you literally have to weave in and out of trash to drive the road,” he says.

Moore wouldn’t mention specific trouble spots, including one in Wesley Chapel because some are under video camera surveillance. But, he thinks the county’s current approach will yield positive results. The MyPasco app already has received a number of tips since the initiative has gone into effect.

“It is happening in Wesley Chapel,” Moore says. “You typically don’t see it when driving on normal roads and main thoroughfares, but you do see it on some dead-end roads and some public lands. If people see it, we encourage them to report it. Don’t engage the person doing it. Use the tools we are providing.”

North Tampa Christian Academy To Open With Grades K-12 On County Line Rd.

The New Tampa Christian Academy is set to open on County Line Rd. in New Tampa on Aug. 20. This is a rendering of the private K-12 Christian-based school.

While the backbone of any good school has always been its curriculum, today’s modern students and parents also desire innovation outside of the classroom.

With that in mind, Sandra Doran, Ed.D., has been overseeing the construction of North Tampa Christian Academy (NTCA), located just west of the Grand Hampton community on County Line Rd., just south of Wesley Chapel.

Doran, the founding headmaster of the area’s first Christian K-12 school, promises a top-notch curriculum, to be taught on a state-of-the-art campus.

“Innovative buildings, innovative furniture, innovative teaching practices,” Doran told an audience of local business leaders gathered Feb. 22 for a North Tampa Chamber of Commerce Economic Development briefing at Hunter’s Green Country Club.

The new school is set to open on Aug. 20, with a full complement of grades, including an early childhood center that will take students as young as 2 years old. It is such a lofty goal that even Doran had to take a deep breath and smile when revealing the plans.

“Everything opens,” she said. “Early childhood, lower school, middle school. We’re not doing it gradually. Everything opens.”

The NTCA, with annual tuition prices ranging from $12,000-$16,000, is the culmination of plans that were hatched in 2012, when the Florida Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (in concert with Adventist Health System and Florida Hospital West Florida Region) began to work with Tampa Bay-area churches and schools to establish a new campus in our area.

On August 17, 2015, the Florida Conference purchased the 43-acre parcel in New Tampa, right on the Hillsborough/Pasco County line, just south and west of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC).

While school officials felt confident the emphasis on project-based learning, academic excellence via innovative teaching and Christian ideals offered by the school would prove attractive for prospective families, they also wanted to be sure it was offered in an attractive, forward-thinking package.

The question was, according to Doran, “What kind of school architecture would promote good learning practices?”

The answer was Prakash Nair, of Fielding Nair International, whose company has designed innovative schools all over the world, including Academy of Holy Names in Tampa and Shorecrest Prep in St. Petersburg.

Project manager Michael Gilkey reached out to Nair via email, assuming he was in India and getting a timely reply would be difficult.

“Lo and behold, Prakash Nair had not only moved to the United States, and had not only moved to Florida but moved to Tampa and was at Michael Gilkey’s door the next day,” Doran says. Then, with a chuckle, added, “As people of faith, we found that very interesting.”

Nair discarded the original plans, which he dubbed the “Walmart Model” – a big building with a parking lot in front.

Instead, Nair devised a collection of four smaller buildings, each one housing about 150 students, or “separate learning communities,” as Doran referred to them. The separated structures will house an early childhood center, plus buildings for grades K-2, 3-6 and 7-12.

A hoped-for second phase will include an additional building to break up the older grades into 6-8 and 9-12.

The design places less emphasis on walls, doors and standard classrooms, and instead focuses on open spaces that free flow from room to room, with buildings connected by a sun-shielding shade.

Doran, who was associate superintendent at the Florida Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists (the second-largest parochial school system in the world, she says), agreed to take on the task of leading the NTCA. At that time, however, she had no idea, before visiting for the first time last July, that she was inheriting a dusty field with a discarded mattress laying on it.

As for the curriculum, Doran said that she is excited about what she describes as a project-based learning environment.

“The bottom line is this: we want our students, when doing their projects, to have an outcome that matters,” she says. “Are you creating beauty or solving a problem? If it’s none of the above, it’s pointless. Think about the science fair, when those are over, what do you do? You throw them (the projects) away, right? And yet, we wonder why our children don’t like doing them.”

There will be a focus on reading skills (her area of expertise, and a personal connection as well, as her son has struggled with dyslexia), Bible study, challenging math courses and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), designed to improve science education. The NGSS have been adopted by 19 states, although Florida is not one of them.

The school also will have a gymnasium and a soccer field and has already hired a volleyball coach, although Doran says NTCA isn’t looking to develop a high-level athletic program like the ones that define so many private and religion-based schools throughout Florida.

With 43 acres, NTCA will have plenty of room left over for students and staff to explore the woods and trails behind the classrooms. Doran says the school has available capacity for 750 students and is projecting 240 enrollees for the 2018-19 school year, plus another 100 children in the early childhood programs.

“It’s a scary and exhilarating adventure,” she says. “Am I a risk taker? Yes.”

The North Tampa Christian Academy is now accepting applications for the 2018-19 school year. For more information, visit SeeThisSchool.com or NorthTampaChristian.org, or call (813) 591-0309.

SPOTLIGHT ON…KidsPark Tampa On S.R. 56!

Do you need childcare for spring break or summer? KidsPark Tampa (located just off of S.R. 56, east of I-75, in Wesley Chapel) offers camps with a variety of fun activities.

What makes KidsPark different from other childcare options is that it offers no-reservation, drop-in care for kids ages 2 through 12. You pay only for the hours and days you need.

Spring Break camp will be held March 19-23, with a different theme every day, including a Disney day with a visit from Mickey and Minnie, a science day, art day, carnival and field day.

Summer camps are held every week throughout the two-month break, with crafts, games, outdoor water activities, bounce houses and more. There’s no need to register in advance or commit to an entire day or week — just drop in whenever you need care or your kids want to play!

KidsPark is a national franchise, with just three locations in Florida (two are in Jacksonville). There will soon be four, however, as KidsPark Tampa owner Amanda Justus says she will open a new KidsPark center near Westfield Brandon Mall in July.

Families who register at any KidsPark location can use all KidsPark facilities, so kids can use the new center (or any Kids Park across the country when they travel) by just paying a low hourly rate, with no additional registration fee.

“We try to make it so everyone can afford child care,” Amanda says. The hourly rate is just $8 for one child, or $12.25 for two siblings. Additional siblings are $3.25 per hour. A “preferred customer rate” is available for anyone who pre-pays $100 or more, and a “day rate” is offered for kids who stay more than seven hours.

Amanda also offers discounts to hospital employees and to anyone in the military.

KidsPark offers both Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) for four year olds and preschool for ages two and three. Birthday and other private parties are available on Sundays, before and after KidsPark is open to the public.

KidsPark Tampa is located at 26240 Golden Maple Loop, just south of S.R. 56 (and just east of I-75). The center is open Monday–Thursday, 7 a.m.–10 p.m., 7 a.m.–midnight on Friday, 10 a.m.–midnight on Saturday, and 1 p.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (813) 803-4972, visit KidsPark.com, and mention this story for half off of the one-time registration fee, which usually costs $25.

U.S. Hockey Women Stop By FHCI To Bid A Golden Farewell To Wesley Chapel

Wesley Chapel’s version of the Golden Girls — the gold-medal-winning U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey team, returned to the place they have called home since September for an impromptu visit on Feb. 28, greeting a small crowd of well wishers at Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI) and thanking them for months of support, before heading to Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa, where they were honored before the Tampa Bay Lightning game against the Buffalo Sabres.

The fans at FHCI thanked the U.S. team for memories that will last a lifetime. A few dozen hockey loyalists, many who watched Team USA practices and exhibitions at the rink over the past six months, applauded the U.S. women as they walked through the doors, roughly a week after beating Canada in a memorable shootout in PyeongChang, South Korea, to capture the team’s first Olympic gold since 1998.

“This was a major priority for us,” said team captain and forward Meghan Duggan, a Massachusetts native and former University of Wisconsin All-American. “We talked a lot about wanting to give back to everyone that has supported us along the way, from family to fans, and Wesley Chapel played a huge role in our development, in getting us ready. We’ve been back in the U.S. for 36 hours, and were already here, so this was certainly was a priority for us.”

Team USA hockey forward Kendall Coyne celebrated the Olympic gold medal at FHCI on Feb. 28. (Photos: John C. Cotey)

The team’s performance in South Korea has been universally hailed as one of the greatest in U.S. Olympic hockey history, as Monique Lamoureux-Morando tied the game at 2-2 with less than seven minutes remaining to force a scoreless overtime period that led to a nail-biting shootout. Still tied after five shots each in the shootout, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique’s twin, used three dekes before memorably slipping the puck past the Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados.

Szabados’ American counterpart, Maddie Rooney, saved Canada’s next shot attempt (by Meghan Acosta, who had scored during the first five shootout rounds, but was stopped by Rooney in Round 6) to clinch the gold for the U.S..

“It was amazing,’’ said Wesley Chapel’s Kristin Folch. “It was so cool that they were in Wesley Chapel, where we got to see them, and then on TV. It felt like we were connected in some way.”

Folch took her two young children, Annabella — who is already playing hockey at age 5 — and Anthony to get a picture with the team.

Annabella is one of many young girls to be inspired by the U.S. Olympians, according to FHCI general manager Gordie Zimmerman. While the Olympic gold medal winners have put FHCI on the map — a plethora of stories begin with the mention of their journey starting in Wesley Chapel at the rink — he says the impact stretches far wider. The girls hockey program at FHCI already has more than 60 players, with Under-14 and Under-16 travel teams, and a rec program that caters to younger players. Many of the young skaters were able to interact with the gold medalists at camps and practices since September, and Zimmerman says a girls youth league is not too far down the road.

“They always seemed to make themselves available,” Zimmerman said. “They inspired a lot of girls in the area and across the nation to play hockey, and they are wonderful people and great ambassadors for the game. It’s good to see we still have that in America.”

While the team will now scatter back north to their frostier hometowns in places like Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Massachusetts, Duggan says the won’t forget the hospitality and great weather —and even enduring Hurricane Irma — of Wesley Chapel.

“I think what we’ll miss about it is the community,” Duggan said. “We’ve been welcomed with open arms since we’ve been here, from the people at the rink, Gordie, his whole staff, Saddlebrook Resort (where the team stayed while training at FHCI) was awesome, everyone was really great. That’ll be the biggest thing we’ll miss. Hopefully, we’ll be able to come back down here at some point and say hey to everyone. They were a huge reason why we were able to be successful.”