Frances Brassey Celebrates 107th Birthday

Frances Brassey. (Photos courtesy of Ashley Victoria Photography)

As far as birthday parties go, this one may take the cake.

The guest of honor was Frances Brassey, celebrating her 107th birthday on October 4, at a party hosted by the Legacy at Highwoods Preserve, a New Tampa assisted living facility where Frances is one of 52 residents.

Since Frances was born in 1912 in Harlowton, Montana, she has seen more than 10 decades of changes in the world around her. The staffers at The Legacy say she is the oldest of their 52 residents by more than 10 years, and they believe she is likely the oldest resident in Tampa.

Her days typically begin when her private caregiver helps her to get dressed and eat breakfast. She prefers to drink a Coca-Cola with her breakfast, lunch and dinner, and keeps Coke in a mini-fridge in her residence, too.

Lifestyle director Ashley Gunter says the staff often tries to steer her toward water or cranberry juice, which she will drink, but it’s not her preference. “She’ll give us a look that says, ‘That’s not what I asked for,’” Ashley says.

After breakfast, Ashley says Frances loves to participate in morning stretches with the other residents. She eats lunch with her caregiver and often enjoys entertainment during happy hour.

Frances’s son Wayne (pictured above with Frances) lives with his wife in Arbor Greene. They come by to see her two or three times a week.

“We take her to get frozen yogurt at the yogurt shop,” he says.

Wayne says that Frances doesn’t communicate much anymore, but she always has a smile on her face. At 107, she doesn’t hear well and doesn’t see well, “but our bodies just weren’t made to live this long,” Wayne says.

When asked what has kept his mother alive for nearly 11 decades, he laughs, “If I knew the answer to that question, I would be talking through my attorneys and publicist.”

In her younger days, Frances and her husband, Edward, moved from Wyoming, where Wayne was born, to Louisiana, then to Panama, where they lived for 25 years.

“She was a pretty good square dancer,” Wayne remembers, saying she and Edward enjoyed dancing together.

Edward worked for an oil company, while Frances “was head of a couple of women’s clubs,” says Wayne.

“She was always a strong lady,” he adds.

In the 1980s, experiencing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Edward retired to Clearwater, where he eventually passed away in 1985. Frances continued to live in Clearwater for three decades. She kept her mind sharp by playing bridge and enjoyed bridge tournaments.

Wayne would visit her, and eventually noticed she needed some extra help. He was retired, so he moved in and helped her for several years, until she needed additional care.

Her mind was still sharp, says Wayne, but she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and try to navigate the stairs. Fearing she might fall, he began to look for a safer environment for her.

In 2015, Wayne got married and moved to New Tampa, moving Frances into The Legacy as one of its very first residents.

For her birthday, though, Wayne was away due to a family emergency, so The Legacy staff took over, ensuring she was pampered and cared for on her special day. They touched up her hair and nails, which had been done in the on-site salon, affixing a birthday tiara and pins.

To kick off the celebration, local entertainer Ralph Espinosa crooned “Sixteen Candles,” then the gathered staff and residents sang “Happy Birthday.”

“We sang it twice because she really liked blowing out the candles,” says Ashley.

Wayne’s visited her a few times since her birthday.

“We try to do the best we can for her,” he says. “She’s not going to go to the movies every night or run track, so we make her as comfortable as we can.”

With a smile on her face, she enjoys those simple pleasures, including her Coca-Cola, frozen yogurt and time spent with her son.

KAP Medical Group’s Direct Primary Care Approach Is A Hit With Patients

Karina Azank Parilo, M.D., of KAP Medical Group is proud to be Wesley Chapel’s only Direct Primary Care family physician.

After eight years in a local medical group, Dr. Parilo says she was frustrated with the ever-increasing number of patients she was expected to see, which she says was necessary in a medical group setting to cover the overhead costs associated with having to bill insurance companies.

Although Dr. Parilo says she already had 2,700 active patients, the group expected her to take on even more new patients.

“There were patients I’d had for six years who couldn’t get in to see me and couldn’t do their hospital follow-ups with me,” she says, explaining that her schedule was too full to be able to work them in, “and I was becoming increasingly frustrated.”

So, in December of 2017, Dr. Parilo decided to leave the group she had been with and three months later, opened her own practice, using a newer model known as Direct Primary Care.

That means her practice — located in the Windfair Professional Park behind the retail plaza on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. that includes Dickey’s BBQ and The Hungry Greek restaurants — doesn’t bill insurance companies.

“Instead, there is a membership fee for the practice,” Dr. Parilo explains, “which is generally $50-$60 for an individual, or a family with two kids is $150 per month.”

The practice is open to all ages, and the monthly fee covers unlimited office visits and virtual visits via phone or video, in-office tests, well checks, sick visits, weight management and management of chronic medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis and more.

For minor office procedures, such as cyst removal or laceration repair, a small supply fee is charged. A list of most KAP Medical Group membership costs is available at KAPMedicalGroup.com.

Dr. Parilo compares direct primary care to a gym membership, where you pay the same whether you visit once a year or once a month, or even once a week, which Dr. Parilo says some of her patients do to drop in for their regular weight checks.

Medical assistant and office manager Michelle Diaz (left) and Dr. Karina Azank Parilo are the only two faces you’ll see when you visit KAP Medical Group off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

She says her practice is an alternative to what’s becoming more common with primary care physicians, where the overhead costs to have staff available to constantly submit and follow up on insurance claims becomes one of the unfortunate driving forces of the practice.

Direct primary care has proven very popular with Dr. Parilo’s new patients.

“In addition to growing as a movement across the country, it also is growing across our area,” she says. “We have patients coming from three counties, because it is more convenient and affordable. Some have traditional insurance, some have high deductible plans, some have no insurance and a few have Medicare.”

She adds that those who already have good insurance plans choose to be KAP members because of easier access to their doctor and less hassle dealing with insurance companies.

“Dealing with insurance is a pain,” she says, “and a lot of administrative cost goes into billing insurance.”

To cover the costs, those doctors simply have to see more patients.

“As a result,” she explains, “doctors just don’t have time.”

A Little History

Dr. Parilo is originally from Tampa. She earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Biology from Duke University in Durham, NC, then came home and earned her Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree from the University of South Florida in 2005. While she started training in anesthesiology, she changed her focus to primary care because she found she missed building ongoing relationships with her patients.

“I like taking care of kids, women, men and the older population,” she says, “so I went into family medicine to be able to take care of everybody.”

In 2008, she moved to Massachusetts and completed a residency in family medicine at the University of Massachusetts in Worcester in 2010.

At the time, she says she was a single mom, so she was excited to be able to bring her daughter back home to the Tampa area.

Now, she and her husband, Dane, live in Seven Oaks and have a blended family of three children and three granddaughters. They met through the Rotary Club of Wesley Chapel Noon in 2012 and both have remained active in the club.

“I enjoy the service aspect of Rotary and enjoy serving the community,” she says.

For example, in addition to being involved with the club’s local service projects, both Dr. Parilo and her husband have been part of the Rotary Club’s trips to Honduras to provide clean drinking water and latrines for families and schools in the mountainous and impoverished city of Troyes.

With the Direct Primary Care model, Dr. Parilo says the main advantage is the amount of time she can spend with each patient when needed, and that the time she spends with each patient is flexible to meet their needs, as well.

“I have time to talk with my patients’ specialists or spend an hour catching up with them if they’ve had a lengthy hospital stay,” she explains. “I can take care of my patients however they need to be taken care of.”

While that might be in person, at times, she notes that it also could mean via phone, via video conference or even via text. Dr. Parilo uses an app that maintains patient privacy and connects directly with the patient’s electronic medical record.

“Patients love it,” she says, adding that many times, her patients don’t want to leave work to come in for an appointment. “They can just send us a picture and we can respond.”

Dr. Parilo has just one person on her staff — Michelle Diaz, her medical assistant and office manager. The two have worked together since 2010.“My old patients have known her and loved her as long as they’ve known me,” Dr. Parilo says.

And Yes, It Works

Daelyn Fortney is a Seven Oaks resident who began seeing Dr. Parilo shortly after KAP Medical Group opened. Now, Daelyn’s husband, three children, son-in-law and granddaughter are all patients too.

“Dr. Parilo is a good doctor and a great person,” Daelyn says. “It’s almost like a partnership with her. Plus, you walk into the office and they actually know you. That (kind of service) has been lost in recent years.”

Daelyn adds that she had been frustrated trying to find the right primary care physician, and that the time she saves with KAP Medical Group is worth every penny.

“We run our own business,” Daelyn says, “so our time is actually money, anytime we have to take time away from our business.”

Dr. Parilo says that in some cases, Direct Primary Care may save her patients money.

“People don’t realize how much they’re spending before they get anything,” she explains. “You pay premiums whether you ever see a doctor or not.”

She says most people don’t have an old, traditional insurance plan where they can see any doctor they choose and pay a simple co-pay. Most patients have a high deductible they have to pay before the insurance company even begins to pick up the tab.

“At the end of the year,” she asks, “how much did you actually pay out of pocket?”

KAP Medical Group Direct Primary Care & Family Medicine is located at 2615 Windguard Cir., Suite 101, across Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from AdventHealth Wesley Chapel. The practice is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. For more information or to set an appointment, visit KAPMedicalGroup.com or call (813) 536-0050.

New Owners Promise To Continue The Fitting Little Feet Tradition

The husband-and-wife team of Ramon Rivera and Nicole Barber have owned Little Feet shoe store for a few months now, but they’ve been fans of the store much longer than that.

When Ramon Rivera and Nicole Barber bought Little Feet Shoes earlier this year, it represented more than just a new business venture for the couple.

They consider it their opportunity to help others the way the store helped them.

Located on S.R. 56 in front of Sam’s Club, Little Feet is a shoe store just for children, carrying brand name shoes and more with sizes that fit infants and toddlers up to boys and girls size 6, in regular, wide and extra-wide widths.

For Ramon and Nicole, who are married with three children, Little Feet is a place that helped their middle daughter, Sophia, as she learned to deal with a sensory processing disorder.

Back in 2012, Nicole says that Sophia never wanted to put her shoes on. Sometimes it took 30 minutes to get them on her feet to get out the door in the morning, sometimes even longer.

Ramon and Nicole were tired, stressed and frustrated when Sophia began therapy and they learned that socks and shoes are a common trigger for kids like Sophia. 

It was a therapist who suggested they take Sophia to Little Feet, which carried sensory-friendly brands, and have a fitting with then-owner Diana Ciccarelli, who was known to get on the floor with the kids and help them find the perfect shoes, showing patience as they tried on endless pairs, if necessary.

It was just what Sophia needed.

Diana passed away last year, leaving the future of the store uncertain. 

“Our daughter was devastated,” says Nicole. “She was so upset as she asked us, ‘Where am I going to get shoes?’”

As an orthopaedic nurse, Nicole also knows how hard it can be for kids with orthotic braces to find shoes that fit over the braces. Little Feet carries those hard-to-find shoes, and helps each kid find the perfect fit.

So, when the store became available for purchase, Nicole and Ramon say they jumped at the chance to buy it.

Shoes For All Children

While Little Feet can be life changing for children with special needs, Ramon and Nicole emphasize that the store carries great shoes for all children.

Top-quality brands, specialty shoes and current favorite trends are all available at Little Feet. Some of the store’s most popular brands include Tsukihoshi, Pediped, Stride Rite, Mini Melissa, Livie and Luca, New Balance, Sperry, Saucony, and Plae.

“We carry everything from trendy shoes to formal shoes, or something that’s fun for parties, to school shoes in specific colors and specialized shoes for kids who need them,” explains Ramon.

Nicole adds that the store sells washable shoes, too, which can be a great benefit for a toddler who is potty training.

Little Feet also offers Capezio dance shoes, leotards and tights, and carries socks and bows.

Many customers travel long distances to get to the store, which is local to Neighborhood News readers.

“We are the only kids’ shoe store in the Tampa Bay area,” explains Ramon. “We have customers who come from Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and South Tampa.”

He says similar stores have closed because people no longer appreciate how important it is to have kids’ feet sized for proper growth and long-term development.

“In other stores,” he says, “it’s up to the parents to figure out what size shoe to buy their children.”

Parents don’t always do a great job of it. In fact, even Ramon and Nicole were once parents who didn’t know what size shoes their children needed.

“The first time I came in to Little Feet, my kid was in shoes that were two sizes too small,” laughs Nicole. “I had no idea.”

Ramon explains that kids can’t often articulate the problem with their shoes. They just take them off. However, he says, it’s really important for a child’s foot development to get them in the right size right away.

“Their bones are very soft, so if they’re in the wrong shoe, you can actually have damage,” Ramon explains.

“We provide a lot of education,” adds Nicole. She says they also encourage kids to run around the store to try out the shoes thoroughly. Plus, the shoes they carry have more stability, promoting proper balance.

Erin Guilbeault is a mom to a six-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter. She says she’s been buying her kids shoes at Little Feet for the past couple of years.

“I love their selection and how patient they are when it takes a while,” she says. “Sometimes it’s a few minutes and sometimes it’s an hour. Everyone is always really helpful and lets them try on as many pairs as they need to find the perfect (shoes).”

The experienced staff (l.-r., Alexis Pratt, Robin Goniea, Nicole Barber and Esther Vidal) at Little Feet shoe store on S.R. 56 will measure your children’s feet to be sure they always get a perfect fit for proper foot development.

Experienced Staff

Nicole is the first to admit that she has a lot to learn about running a shoe store. She gives credit to Alexis and Robin (see photo on previous page), employees of the store who have been there for about three years now, for teaching and helping her.

“They kept the store going through the transition, before we bought it,” says Nicole. “If it wasn’t for them, Little Feet would have had to close its doors.”

In fact, Erin says if she hadn’t heard that the previous owner had passed away, she probably wouldn’t have even known the store had been sold, because she says the transition has been seamless and the customer service has remained consistently excellent.

So, Little Feet remains open and ready to be discovered by families who want high-quality, trendy and fun footwear, fit by an expert.

“From a business standpoint, we’re hoping this model works,” says Ramon. “Others have given up on it, but we want to bring it back and even expand it. We hope to be able to allow people to purchase online, too, but they can still come in and get fitted for the right size.”

Erin says she will continue to take advantage of all that Little Feet has to offer.

“I kind of wish I had found them sooner,” says Erin. “I go in there and there are all these adorable toddler shoes. I’m going to be sad when my kids outgrow them someday.”

Sales and promotions are often announced on Facebook and Instagram, along with photos of some of the store’s in-stock shoes. Search “Little Feet Shoes” on either social media platform. 

Little Feet is located at 27607 S.R. 56 (next to Wolf’s Den, in front of Sam’s Club). The store is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 10 a.m.–6 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call (813) 991-1785 or visit LittleFeetShoes.net.

Atonement Lutheran Church Cuts A Ribbon On New Fellowship Hall

A ribbon was cut on Sept. 7 for Atonement Lutheran Church’s new building, which has added more space for the church’s many ministries, including a food pantry that feeds up to 250 families each week.

The newly built structure in front of Atonement Lutheran Church may be somewhat nondescript, but the fact that it exists at all is something of a miracle, considering the church was once facing its last rites.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Sept. 7, to officially mark the opening of the church’s new Fellowship Hall.

At about 2,800 square feet, it is triple the size of the church’s former multi-purpose room, which only held about 70 people. The new room’s capacity is 200.

Pastor Scott Lindner says it’s an exciting sign of growth for the small church, which has been a part of the community for 30 years, but almost closed its doors for good in the early 2000s.

Lindner says instead of giving up, a former pastor sold five of the church’s original 13 acres to a developer to create the neighboring office park.

“When I got here in 2006, they had just burned the mortgage,” Lindner explains.

As Wesley Chapel has grown, the church has grown, too. Atonement Lutheran church regularly sees about 100 families in worship during the summer, and that number doubles in the winter when the “snowbirds” return to Florida.

The church also just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its food pantry program, which feeds up to 250 families each week with 15,000 pounds of food.

“Our ministries have grown so much in the past five years,” says Rebecca Parker, a church member who also is a volunteer and chair of its worship and music committee. “We needed more space, so this is very exciting for us.”

Pastor Lindner agrees: “We’ve known for years this time would come.”

The new building will be used for not only Atonement’s own full congregation, but also for some ministries and outside groups to use. In fact, the New River Branch Library plans to host some of its programs in the building when it closes for renovations this fall.

The Fellowship Hall also will be used for a weekly family service the congregants call “Child of God,” which is held every Sunday at 11 a.m. 

The entire family hears a message geared toward children from the pastor. Then, the kids break off to do a craft or activity, while the pastor goes over what he calls a “home blueprint” relating to the message.

“It’s like children’s church, but also a parent support group,” explains Lindner. “There’s a story, questions, prayer guides and suggested activities, so you can make your house an extension of the church.”

Five years ago, Atonement Lutheran held a capital campaign that raised $300,000 to fund the building.

“It took us years to figure out what would work and what we could get permitted and what we could afford,” Lindner says. Over those years, prices increased, and the church will take a loan to cover the rest of the costs, which are expected to come in at about $125,000, once all of the final expenses are tallied, including permitting, landscaping and other expenses.

“We’ve been able to be generous to nonprofits by allowing them to use our building at no cost, and we will continue to do that,” says Lindner. “We believe this is a special place; that’s what keeps us going.”

The Wesley Chapel Noon Rotary Club also has announced that it will again feed hundreds of people in need at Atonement Lutheran for the club’s annual “Turkey Gobble” meal on Thanksgiving morning.  

Atonement Lutheran Church is located at 29617 S.R. 54. To learn more about the church, visit DiscoverALC.com or call (813) 973-2211.

Pebble Creek Vet Helps Build Monuments At Bushnell National Cemetery

Pebble Creek resident Wayne Rich and his daughter at the 2019 Gasparilla parade as part of Ye Special Forces Krewe on Tampa Bay, representing the Special Forces Association.

A short drive north of Pebble Creek in New Tampa, where retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Wayne Rich lives, his father, mother and wife are all buried at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

Averaging 7,000 burials a year — about 30 each day — Florida National Cemetery is the second most active cemetery in the U.S.

When Wayne arrives after the 45-minute drive up I-75, he takes in the rows upon rows of gravestones, sprawling across 600 acres. It’s hardly possible to view the markers for all 130,000 people who are laid to rest there.

At certain times of the year, volunteers come out and mark the graves with flags. Last Memorial Day, they placed 105,000 flags. Near Christmas, they laid 30,000 wreaths.

Bushnell National Cemetery, however, is lacking something you might expect to see — a monument to the veterans and their spouses who have died and are buried there.

In 2018, Wayne became part of the committee that is working to design monuments for the cemetery, raise the money to fund them, and eventually carry out their installation, as well. 

Called the Florida National Cemetery Joint Veterans Support Committee, it is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Wayne also serves on a separate subcommittee, called the monuments committee, that is working to determine the plans and the rollout of the monuments.

After 21 years on active duty, and as a combat veteran from Vietnam, Granada, and Panama, Wayne is spending his retirement in a different kind of service. He was asked to join the Joint Veterans Support Committee as a representative of the Special Forces Association, of which he is a member. That group focuses on community service, as well.

“How could I not volunteer to help in the effort?,” Wayne asks.

Wayne works with committee chair Doug Gardner, also a Vietnam vet, who was inspired to join the effort when the cemetery’s executive director, Tony Thomas, shared his vision for a memorial that would welcome Vietnam veterans home.

“That caught me in one sentence,” says Doug, who understands that the memorial is not just about veterans from one conflict, so the committee came up with a design that would honor everyone buried at the cemetery.

The centerpiece of Freedom Memorial Plaza, which will be located at the main entrance to the cemetery, will be a tribute to a military honors funeral, with two bronze military figures folding a flag which will be powder-coated red, white and blue, over a bronze casket.

It will be surrounded by 14 additional monuments, with etchings displaying memorials for specific groups, such as Vietnam and World War II veterans, special forces, and more. It also will feature the Defenders of Freedom Wall, which will be 470 feet long, using the back of a columbarium (a public storage of cremated remains) that will delineate the border of the Memorial Plaza.

The wall will have granite panels that depict scenes from every U.S. conflict since the Revolutionary War. 

Doug is not only a veteran, he’s also a volunteer who helps visitors to the cemetery by answering questions, locating graves and even taking those who can’t walk out to the gravesites they want to visit on a golf cart.

He recently drove a World War II veteran who used a walker out to his wife’s grave. It had been a few months since she passed away, and there were lots of tears. It was emotional, but Doug says he felt something was missing. He looks forward to the time when he can take those veterans to a monument that will show them how much their service to their country is appreciated.

“We’ll get in that same golf cart, but on the way, we’ll go to the Defenders of Freedom Wall,” Doug says. “We’ll stop by the World War II section and it will bring back memories for him.” 

He hopes it will be meaningful for those it is intended to tribute, and educational for everyone who sees it.  “We have a half million visitors a year at the cemetery,” Doug says. “With the monuments, now it can become an educational experience for all.”

He emphasizes that all of the monuments will focus on sacrifice, not victory, and will give those who view it an understanding of the sacrifice that has happened throughout our nation’s history.

Wayne says it will honor not only his parents, but the values that they passed on to him.

“My parents instilled into me the principals of duty and honor and serving one’s country,” he says. 

Those values will one day be on display at the cemetery where they’re buried, thanks to the efforts of the entire committee and all those who support it, making Freedom Memorial Plaza a reality to both remember and honor all of the veterans buried at the Florida National Cemetery.

To find out how you can support the effort to bring the Freedom Memorial Plaza to life, go to the Joint Veterans Support Committee website at JVSC.us or search “jvscfl” on Facebook.