Author: Anu Varma Panchal

Loyless Funeral Homes Has Been Serving Bay-Area Families Since 1987!

Loyless Funeral Homes founder John Loyless.

Ask to see the business card of one of the 30 employees who work for John Loyless at his eponymous funeral home, and you might notice something. No one has a title under their name — not even Loyless himself.

That underscores a key point about Loyless and the funeral home business he started with one employee back in 1987.

“Whether you’re directing traffic in the parking lot, or directing the funeral inside, it’s all important,” Loyless says.

Since 1994, Loyless Funeral Homes has offered Tampa Bay residents compassionate guidance during some of the most difficult times of their lives (before that, Loyless served clients only through his Florida Mortuary & Crematorium in Seminole Heights).

With a full-service funeral home and crematorium in Land O’Lakes and an Arrangement Center in the Pebble Creek Collection shopping center (behind Kobe Steak House) off Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in New Tampa, Loyless offers clients a place close to home where they can take the necessary steps: transporting and preparing their loved one, burying or cremating them, and gathering people to honor their life in a proper ceremony.

In an industry now dominated by large corporations, Loyless remains one of the few family-owned businesses that offers value and quality. When customers come to Loyless Funeral Homes, the employees who meet with them not only get to design a unique funeral, but also serve as guides and counselors, helping families sift through their memories amidst their grief and find the perfect way to memorialize the life of their departed loved one.

“It’s a critical moment in a lot of people’s lives,” says Loyless.

Loyless grew up in Brandon and first became interested in this field when, as a student at USF, he got a part time job at a friend’s father’s funeral home. Realizing that the profession dovetailed with his inclination to help people, he left USF and studied mortuary sciences at Miami Dade Community College, graduating with his Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Mortuary Science in 1985.

He then interned for a year with a local funeral home company before he established his business first as the Florida Mortuary & Crematorium brand in 1987 in Seminole Heights. He opened Loyless Funeral Homes in Land O’ Lakes in 1994, and the Arrangement Center in Pebble Creek followed three years ago.

“It’s convenient for families who live here in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel,” Loyless explains. Although you can do the same things at the Land O’ Lakes facility, the Arrangement Center provides a neighborhood place on BBD. where grieving families can sit down with staff members to discuss everything from flowers, readings and music to officiants and ways to memorialize loved ones. A large-screen television in a tastefully muted conference room serves as a virtual showroom for families to view catalogs and samples of caskets and urns, and examples of ways to memorialize loved ones hang on the walls.

So Many Options

Loyless employees can help direct bereaved families through a plethora of options. For the burial, families can choose from immediate, graveside services, visitations or memorial services, which can be organized at several venues from Loyless Funeral Homes itself to local churches to family homes. Those who choose cremation also can have graveside services at interment or choose to scatter ashes or keep them.

Many also opt to memorialize loved ones through a video tribute, online memory wall or keepsake stationery. For veterans, Loyless Funeral Homes can arrange everything from a riderless horse and military band to memorial plots.

The company also helps growing numbers of people preplan and prepay for their own funerals, something Loyless says comes as a relief to the family left behind, as they no longer have to guess at what music their loved one might have wanted played, for example, as well as other details.

One big change Loyless says he has seen in recent years is the increasing number of ways in which people choose to retain a small part of their loved ones. People are not only turning to cremation in greater numbers than before, they also are thinking beyond the traditional urn. Some opt for smaller repositories, so each sibling can share part of their parent, for example, while others want jewelry — called memory glass — that they can wear that can contain a portion of the ashes. Another popular item is a “thumbie,” jewelry that features an imprint of a departed loved one’s thumb.

Another change is the increase in number of non-religious funerals over the past 5-10 years, Loyless says. “We serve more people today that are unchurched, who say, ‘We want a celebration of life without a religious service.’” All the directors on Loyless’ staff are trained in officiating services for people who do not want clergy present. For those who do, Loyless also can make those arrangements.

Because the Tampa Bay area is one that so many people move into from so many other places, Loyless and his funeral directors also have served at enough funerals to learn about the nuances of the different cultures they serve. Families are often pleasantly surprised to learn that Loyless funeral directors have a working knowledge of faraway religious customs and traditions, as well as a willingness to listen and learn more.

“When you’re in a metro area with such diverse cultures, it’s important to be open and respectful,” says Loyless. “We listen.”

Loyless himself is a New Tampa local, having lived in Hunter’s Green since the early ’90s with his wife, Starr (who also is the company’s bookkeeper). Their daughters attended Hunter’s Green Elementary, Louis Benito Middle School and Paul R. Wharton High. Today, the older daughter, Brittni, 28, is studying mortuary science while her sister, Alexia, 25, attends medical school. The family’s deep roots in the community and their involvement serves as a calling card for area residents, and Loyless doesn’t take that responsibility lightly.

“When a family calls us, one of the most important things is that we want them to feel confident that they made the right choice,” says Loyless, who adds that one way he can ensure that is by hiring the right people to serve his clients’ needs.

“We have wonderful, long-term people who have been with us a long time,” says Loyless. “You can get two people with the same resume but you can see when you work with them if they are passionate about people and about those we serve. We can teach people how to do the job, but we can’t teach people to care. I’m always looking for that personality — that person who cares about other people first and foremost.”

Loyless Funeral Home is located at 5310 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., and the New Tampa Arrangement Center is at 19651 BBD Blvd., Suite E-2. For more information and pricing, visit LoylessFuneralHomes.com, call 996-6610 (Land O’Lakes) or the New Tampa Arrangement Center at 991-7500.

Loyless Funeral Home

New Tampa Dance Theatre Producing Great Students & Performances

It may be housed in a quiet building on a 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 dream of a career on stage one day.

Located minutes from most of Wesley Chapel 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 22nd season of creating dance memories and futures for her New Tampa-area students, many of whom have gone on to study and perform dance professionally.

This year, 2016 graduates Alexis Brake and Elizabeth Laches are both going to double major in Pre Med and Dance; Megan Peeples will major in Physical Therapy and minor in Dance; and Christina Pittarelli will major in Dance.

“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 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 2006, she purchased land on Cross Creek Blvd., and designed her spacious new studio herself.

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

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

“NTDT’s name might say New Tampa; however, our location to Wesley Chapel is much closer than one might assume,” says Elkins IronWing. “(We are) conveniently located only 7 miles (10 minutes) from S.R. 54 and Morris Bridge Rd., and 6 miles (12 minutes) from S.R. 56 and Bruce B. Downs. This is extremely convenient to all the exciting growth in Wesley Chapel.”

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.

A 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.

NTDT3WEB Teen/Adult classes include four 8-week sessions (from Sept.-May) of Cardio Funk, Adult Tap, Ballet and Modern.

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.

As well as 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.

Elkins IronWing’s husband, Troy IronWing, is director of tap and Dyane teaches jazz. Both also have toured nationally with the Rhythm Extreme Performance Troupe for 12 years.

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

Jazz director Kristine Morgan has been a professional dancer since age 19, and has a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Dance from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.

Modern dance director Carla Armstrong, who joined the NTDT faculty in 2005, graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School with a BFA degree in Dance. Hip hop director Dreama Davidson, who also has been with the school since 2005, has 18 years of performances to her credit, including Katonga at Busch Gardens.

The facilities 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 dancer’s joints, and an on-site physical therapist ensures the health of the dancers. There also is a café offering light meals, snacks and drinks.

The Training You Need

NTDT has developed a reputation for creating strong, professional dancers with alumni placing in highly respected companies, Broadway productions and for the Walt Disney Company.

New Tampa Dance Theatre owner Dyane Elkins IronWing.

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 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 and having a well-rounded dance education gives them the tools to continue their passions.”

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” 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 recitals 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.”

NTDT2WEB Every holiday season, local residents look forward to the studio’s interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet “The Nutcracker,” now in its 17th year. This year, it will be held December 16-18 at USF’s College of the Arts Theater 1.

You can catch free sneak peeks of NTDT’s “The Nutcracker” at the Shops at Wiregrass mall on Saturday, November 26, and Friday & Saturday, December 2-3 and 9-10, as well as on Sunday, December 11.

NTDT’s much-awaited Sugar Plum Fairy Tea fund raiser is now in its 12th season and will be held Dec. 4 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 Clara’s “party friends.”

Each year, a portion of the proceeds from the Tea are donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities in South Tampa. Tickets for both events (which will be held at USF) go on sale on Monday, October 17.

“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. We have an amazing season ahead of us. We want to thank all of our trusting and loyal families over the years and the organizations that continually support us. Without their recognition and time, this wouldn’t be possible.”

NTDT offers year-round free trial classes for prospective dancers of all ages. Classes began Aug. 15. To tour of the facility or to rent it for a meeting, party or function, visit NTDT at 10701 Cross Creek Blvd. For more info and to check out the exciting lineup of fall classes, visit NewTampaDanceTheatre.com, or call 994-NTDT (6838).

new tampa dance theatre

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care’s Dr. Rita Dubey Promises Excellent Care

For Dr. Rita Dubey (pronounced “Doo-bay”), the best part of being a pediatrician is not just that she gets to care for sick children or advise families about how to help keep their kids healthy — although she says she loves that part of her job. The best part, she says, is watching them metamorphose from newborn infants to toddlers to teens and beyond.

“The best part of pediatrics is the evolution that we see,” says Dr. Dubey, who is the owner and sole physician at New Tampa Pediatrics and Adolescent Care located the Seven Oaks Professional Park (west of Sam’s Club), off S.R. 56. “It’s so interesting to see the patients blossom and grow, their development and growth.”

Dr. Dubey has practiced medicine for more than three decades. She received her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, equivalent to the MD) degree from Mumbai University in Mumbai, India, in 1982.

She completed her residency in pediatrics at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN, in 1991, and practiced at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville until she moved to Tampa in January 1999.

After moving here, she worked for the Health Point Pediatric Group in Tampa and the Pediatric Health Care Alliance in Riverview before deciding to set up her own practice.

With two young children who were then ages 4 and 7 and attending local schools, Dr. Dubey and her husband Rajiv (who is the chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida) settled in Tampa Palms. Taking measure of the rapid growth north of where they lived, Dr. Dubey decided to open her own practice in Wesley Chapel in October 2006.

Over the past decade, she has seen patients from newborns upwards — “Once they leave home, they leave me!,” she says — and her services run the gamut of traditional pediatric care.

Dr. Dubey says she often “meets” a patient when they are still in utero and the parent comes by for a visit to see if this is the office they want for their family. Once the baby becomes a patient, Dr. Dubey carries out the gamut of periodic well care visits based on the timeline set by the American Association of Pediatrics. She checks growth and development, making sure the children meet their milestones, and offers counseling, behavior, safety and well-care visits.

Patients also can get sports physicals, as well as school and camp physicals.

Because Dr. Dubey is the only physician on staff, she sees all of the patients herself and knows all of their families and their concerns personally. She is almost always able to see patients the same day they call because the office keeps half the day open to see sick children and the other half for well care and physicals. Basic lab tests also are performed at the office.

For Wesley Chapel resident Liz Crew, New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care was worth the drive from Brooksville, where she lived at the time when her older daughter, now 10, was born.

That daughter was Dr. Dubey’s third Crew family patient. She says he two younger daughters (now ages 4 and 7) have been Dr. Dubey’s patients all along.

Crew also has referred other friends and family members to the practice.

“We really love the practice,” says Crew. “We love Dr. Dubey. The staff is always courteous and on top of things. There’s never been a time that I’ve made an after-hour call and not received a call back. Dr. Dubey is very personable and likes to know what’s going on in life, in school and with extra-curricular activities. She recognizes if kids are apprehensive and has a good bedside manner.”

Dr. Dubey says she believes medicine was a natural fit for her after she became interested in the sciences as a teen. Once she started medical school, she says she was drawn to pediatrics because of the positive impacts she could have on young lives.

She says she also loves the fact that the follow-through is so much better with children than with adults, noting that while grownups will frequently disregard doctors’ advice about health and habits, when it comes to their children, they are so careful and will go the extra mile for their health.

Keeping Up With Trends

Having been in practice so long, Dr. Dubey is ideally positioned to observe trends in children’s health. One is the issue of childhood obesity, the rise of which she has certainly noted.

“With every other child, we have to talk about weight management,” she says.

So many children suffer from being anywhere from mildly overweight to obese that a regular part of Dr. Dubey’s practice has become to find resources to get children back into good health with healthy food and proper exercise.

She says that moving away from a sedentary lifestyle and eating so many processed foods are the keys to curbing the increase in early onset diabetes and high cholesterol in so many children.

“Another disturbing trend is the practice of questioning immunizations,” says Dr. Dubey. Over the past decade, she has had an increase of parents coming to her concerned about information they have gathered from the internet about the dangers of immunization, Widely publicized — and yet, thoroughly discredited studies — linking vaccinations to autism are one reason for parents refusing vaccinations. Other reasons include a belief that vaccination schedules are the result of drug companies pushing for profits, or fear mongering from the medical community.

Dr. Dubey tells parents that the vaccinations prevent illnesses that have caused devastation in the past, and she is worried about pockets of illnesses now breaking out when people refuse to vaccinate their kids.

Anxiety amongst teens is another issue commonly in the news, and Dr. Dubey says it has always been there, but parents are acknowledging and addressing it more nowadays. She says parents also are more aware, informed and wary about overmedicating children. The overuse of antibiotics and resulting resistance is an issue with which many parents have become familiar. She adds that today’s parents are more amenable to suggestions to observe their children and give nature a chance. If problems persists, they are encouraged to bring the child back.

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., but Dr. Dubey also takes after-hours calls. The office accepts most private insurance plans, as well as Medicaid.

“We strive to provide competent and compassionate care,” says Dr. Dubey. “Our staff knows that our patients come first.”

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir. in Wesley Chapel. For more information, see the ad on page 42 of our current issue or, to make an appointment, call 973-2500.

Zhoy Vitality Center Strives To Bring Vitality Back To Your Life

ZhoyWEB — 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.

New Tampa Foot & Ankle — The Specialist For Your Feet!

Dr_Levin — Dr. Stephen Levin, D.P.M., can help alleviate many common foot problems at New Tampa Foot & Ankle, located off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel.

Often overlooked, usually mistreated and rarely pampered, your feet are the unsung workhorses of your body.

But, undetected problems with your feet can often lead to larger problems that can affect your back, your gait, your lifestyle, and your general health. In the Wesley Chapel offices of New Tampa Foot & Ankle, longtime New Tampa resident Stephen Levin, D.P.M., helps anyone from age 0 to 100 fix those issues before they get out of control. And, with the latest in laser technology and a new shock wave therapy (see below), he is able to treat some of the most common and painful conditions with noninvasive, highly effective in-office methods.

A native of Baltimore, MD, Dr. Levin got his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Urban Studies from the University of Maryland in College Park in 1992. He then obtained his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.) degree from the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia in 1996. He completed a two-year medical and surgical residency at Montgomery Hospital Medical Center in Norristown, PA, in 1998, and then moved to Tampa, working in private practice until he opened New Tampa Foot & Ankle in 2002.

Dr. Levin moved his New Tampa location to its current location off of S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel in 2007, then opened a South Tampa location in 2012.

Dr. Levin is Board-certified in foot surgery by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery and also is on staff at both Florida Hospital Tampa and Wesley Chapel, St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s North, Tampa General Hospital, the New Tampa Surgery Center and the Ambulatory Surgery Center on E. Fletcher Ave. He has operating room privileges at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, St. Joseph’s North and the New Tampa Surgery Center.

Until recently, Dr. Levin was the president of the Hillsborough County Podiatric Medical Association for 10 years, and in 2005, was selected as the Young Practitioner of the Year by the Florida Podiatric Medical Association.

At his Wesley Chapel office, Dr. Levin uses state-of-the-art technology to fix some of the most common foot problems, including heel pain and fungal infections.

A Wide Variety Of Services

Among the many services offered at New Tampa Foot & Ankle is Extracorporeal Pulse Activation Technology (EPAT), the method by which Dr. Levin treats heel pain. Developed in Europe and FDA-approved in the U.S., the technology consists of a console and a wand-like attachment that emits shockwaves on the area of pain.

Heel pain (such as plantar fasciitis) can be caused when certain ligaments are irritated, causing thickening, swelling and subsequently, pain. Traditional treatments have called for anti-inflammatory injections or home therapy, such as physical therapy, ice and wearing orthotic inserts. EPAT uses acoustic shock waves to stimulate or signal the body to increase circulation, says Dr. Levin, allowing the area to heal itself more quickly and effectively. While he says some patients feel sensitivity after their initial treatments, they usually acclimate to the feeling (which he describes as a rapid pulsing) as the treatments continue, generally weekly for three to five months.

“The technology has been around for one or two decades, but it has become more amenable to an office setting,” says Dr. Levin. “There’s no downtime, no medications and no infections.”

In addition to heel pain, toenail fungus is a major concern of Dr. Levin’s patients. “It’s unsightly; it’s embarrassing,” he says, adding that the fungus can be caused by trauma and even by pedicures in unsanitary conditions.

To treat toenail fungus without oral medications or topical creams, Dr. Levin uses a treatment called NovoNail, a laser that works painlessly by running over the infected nail. This creates enough heat to kill the fungus that causes the infection. Dr. Levin says three or four 20-minute treatments over the course of a year is enough to cure most cases.

In severe cases, Dr. Levin can use the laser to remove the toenail, make a tiny incision for the laser to clean and resurface the nail bed and file down any underlying bone spur, and then stitch up the incision. Within a year, he says the new toenail has usually grown in over a clean nailbed.

Heel pain and fungal infections affect a large number of patients. However, Dr. Levin handles many other issues affecting your feet and ankles, such as Achilles tendon problems, ankle instability, flat feet, arthritic foot and ankle care, bunions and corns, geriatric foot care, and warts. He also treats feet when crushed by injury and the feet of diabetics, who have poor circulation and nerve damage so they cannot feel blisters or sores and need special shoes with more room and protection. He also treats children for problems such as Severs Disease, a growth pain-related irritation of the heel, as well as ingrown toenails, warts and flat feet.

Some problems can be solved by wearing the right kind of shoes and to this end, Dr. Levin carries a plethora of foot-related products for patients to buy at reasonable prices. You can be sure they work well, because Dr. Levin says that either he, a staff member or a member of their families have tested or tried them out, such as Vionic flip-flops (Dr. Levin says those flat flip-flops Floridians tend to wear everywhere don’t do our feet any favors) and custom and semi-custom orthotic shoe inserts. Also available is a line of hypoallergenic creams and lotions, as well as tools such as pumice stones, plus compression hose and shoes for diabetic patients.

The office accepts many forms of insurance and also offers in-house financing options.

Clearly, Dr. Levin’s services are in high demand. Since he started his own practice, it has grown to include a staff of seven, and he says he will add a new doctor at the end of this summer. He also says he currently sees an average of 150-200 patients a week in his Wesley Chapel office, while his colleague, Dr. Martin Port, sees patients in the South Tampa location at 3704 Euclid Ave.

Dr. Levin knew that Wesley Chapel would be the ideal place for his practice, as he had been keeping an eye on the projected growth of this area since moving to Florida 18 years ago. He met his wife, Diane Pellegrino Levin, when he was at the (then) University Community Hospital (now Florida Hospital Tampa) and she was an Emergency Room nurse there. The couple and their three children, David, 18; Sam, 11; and Sarah, 9, are active in the community, gymnastics and soccer.

New Tampa Foot & Ankle is open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., and is located at 26827 Foggy Creek Rd., Suite 104, off S.R. 56. For more information, call 973-3535 or visit NewTampaFootandAnkle.com.