FHWC’s $78-Million Expansion Moving Forward & Ahead Of Schedule

FHWC_0426On any given afternoon, the emergency department at Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) can get pretty busy. With all of the people living in and near Wesley Chapel and choosing FHWC for their care, sometimes every emergency room (ER) bed is full and the staff has to get creative to accommodate all of the patients who need to be seen.

So, it’s a good thing that the hospital’s expansion is already well underway. In December, FHWC’s emergency department will expand from 18 rooms to 35, which is, perhaps, the most vital part of a $78-million expansion that is adding three floors and 111,993 square feet of new space to the hospital, which already is 200,000 square feet.

“This expansion is important, so that we can continue to provide excellent care for folks in our community,” says FHWC director of marketing Tracy Clouser. “We are blessed that the community continues to choose us and we are adding space to better serve those patients.”

FHWC originally opened in 2012 with a plan to expand in five years or more, but due to the need in the community, the expansion began much sooner than initially anticipated. Because the hospital was designed to be expanded, construction of the new space – which started last August – has moved quickly.

The hospital includes three wings, referred to as the North, Center, and South wings. The current expansion adds three stories to the Center Wing and adds a three-story “connector wing,” called the “Southeast Connector,” between the Center and South wings.

In the Center Wing, patient rooms are being constructed on the fifth and sixth floors, while the fourth floor will remain a “shell” for future expansion. Clouser explains that the plan was to open two floors and keep one for future expansion, so the decision was made to leave the fourth floor shelled to minimize the disturbance to hospital patients on Floors 1-3 during construction.

In addition to new emergency and patient rooms, the expansion allows FHWC to add more doctors, especially in orthopaedics, providing more physician choices and more procedures available to people in the community. Also, when the expansion is complete, the hospital will have a new gym for in-patient rehab, so patients will no longer have to do rehab in their rooms or in the hospital’s hallways. Additional observation rooms will be opened for both pre- and post-op patients. Other changes include the operating room for women who have to undergo a C-section being moved up one floor, so that patients no longer need to be transferred by elevator to the mother/ baby unit.

The hospital’s central energy plant also is being expanded to accommodate FHWC’s new footprint. Clouser explains that if there is a power outage, all medical essentials plugged into the hospital’s red plugs will come back online immediately. Non-essentials, such as computers, will come back on within seven minutes.

A Work In Progress

Every day, about 200 people are working on FHWC’s expansion. On the day the Neighborhood News toured the construction areas, crews were putting in HVAC ductwork and starting drywall in the three-story addition to the Center Wing. Pre-cast concrete panels were being raised by a crane – weighing anywhere from 12,000-30,000 pounds (or 6-15 tons!; right photo on previous pg.) – and were put in place to form the new outside walls of the building.

The expansion construction will be completed in October or November of this year. The building will open in December, once inspections by Pasco County and hospital authorities have been completed.

Renovations, Too

As part of the construction, more than 10,000 square feet of the hospital’s existing space is being renovated. One renovation that’s already complete is the new heart catheterization lab (photo, right), which includes accommodations requested by cardiologists who specialize in electrophysiology, which is the study of the heart’s electrical system.

Some of the innovations in the heart “cath” lab include a “tilt and cradle table,” allowing doctors to move the patient for scans or procedures without having to prop them up with towels, as they would on a table that doesn’t tilt. Everything in the lab is on booms, so that all of the equipment can be moved easily, in whatever configuration the doctors need it. And, a 55-inch flat screen TV allows doctors to see any of six views, including a patient’s CT scans.

A Healing Place

“The original hospital design was very intentionally created to be a healing environment,” says Clouser. “We have lots of natural light and open space, with inviting colors, artwork that depicts scenes of nature, and lots of plants and trees visible from both patient rooms and waiting rooms.”

Some of the plants and trees are growing in FHWC’s two healing gardens, located in the hospital’s courtyards, although one is currently used for construction and will re-open when the renovations have been completed.

Clouser explains that FHWC’s healing environment will be continued throughout the new construction, too. Just like in the current hospital, many details that may not be apparent to visitors have been intentionally done to protect patients.

“For example, the building’s sprinkler heads are built into the ceiling so they don’t collect dust,” says Clouser. “In our intensive care unit and emergency department, the blinds are inside the glass so they don’t collect dust.”

She also says that the hospital has two elevator systems so that visitors don’t share elevators with patients. “This is both for patient privacy and to protect patients from germs.”

FHWC is located at 2600 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. in Wesley Chapel. To learn more about the hospital, visit FloridaHospital.com/Wesley-Chapel or call 929-5000.

 

HomeTeam Lawn Care Provides Affordable Care For Your Lawn & Landscaping

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HomeTeam Lawn Care owner AJ Negron

Personalized care is something you always expect from a physician, hairdresser or insurance agent. But, when it comes to lawn and landscape maintenance, personalized care is something that is much more rare. Monolithic lawn and landscape companies send out legions of trimmers and mowers who may or may not care about a customer’s needs. At HomeTeam Lawn Care, however, personalized care is the hallmark of the company’s success.

“We guarantee that there will always be an owner or manager on your crew,” HomeTeam Lawn Care owner AJ Negron says. “We don’t have big crews running around when you’re not sure about what was done on the property.”

Negron, along with family friend and manager Chris French, aren’t just the owners/operators of HomeTeam Lawn Care, they also are the crew. Negron and French have some shared history that not only brought them together, but also brought them into business together.

Negron and wife his Judy moved to Florida from Long Island, NY in the summer of 2008. They liked it so much, they decided to stay.

“We left everything and came down here,” Negron said. “We really fell in love with the area.”

Negron was considering a job with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office or in his field of study, psychology. Yet, when neither avenue showed potential, he dwelled on some of the words of wisdom his paternal grandfather gave him before he passed away.

“He would say, ‘Look at all these people making a living,’ indicating the landscaping trucks in their suburban neighborhood,” Negron says. “I thought that I had enough experience in it, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

HomeTeamLawnNegron was used to mowing and caring for lawns in upstate New York and on Long Island. So, he began with a department store push mower. He upgraded to a self-propelled mower and then in November of 2013, fate would enter into the equation.

“It was a God thing,” Negron says. “It was just one of those things where the timing was absolutely perfect.”

Negron’s maternal grandmother wanted to give him some money to start a business. It happened to be just the amount one of Negron’s friends wanted as a down payment for his lawn company. Negron picked up a trailer, two mowers, some other equipment and all of the business accounts.

Soon, conversations Negron had with French, while working at Benedetto’s Restaurant in Land O’ Lakes, began to get serious. Negron was working and adding accounts, while French was still managing the bar at Benedetto’s, and was considering switching fields to work with Negron. Then, it happened.

“In May of 2015, (Chris and I) did 33 yards in one day,” Negron recalls. “It was a feat, and then I knew we could fly with the business together.”

It was French’s first day working as a team with Negron. At the time, AJ was handling a combination of 75 weekly and bi-monthly residential accounts requiring “creative summer scheduling.” But, he knew if he wanted to expand further, he’d need help — full-time help.

French came on board full time and now HomeTeam Lawn Care has more than 130 residential accounts, mostly in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. HomeTeam Lawn Care tends properties in Heritage Isles, Pebble Creek, Estancia, Seven Oaks, Lexington Oaks, Northwood, Live Oak Preserve, Brookside and even as far south as Tampa Palms.

And, when they needed new equipment, family friend Danielle Mattingly helped them purchase it.

“We couldn’t have done it without her,’’ Negron said.

Quick Quotes AND Quality Care!

Negron brings some New York hustle to his business that he says will always specialize in personalized care.

“We take pride in our extreme attention to detail,” Negron said. “We’re not your average landscaper, we do above-average work and try not to ask for much more than average prices.”

Communication is a driving aspect of HomeTeam Lawn Care. When a customer calls, they get Negron’s cell phone, not a secretary. AJ says he takes pride in not just returning and answering calls but in the time it takes to visit a potential customer and draw up a quote.

“We hammer out quotes fast,” Negron says. “When someone (else) responds to your query and says they’ll be there next week, we say that, in 48 hours at the most, we’ll be out there with feet on the ground at the house, ready to give you a quote.”

HomeTeam Lawn Care offers a “full service” that runs from $90 monthly and up. The full-service package includes: hedges and low trees, sidewalks and driveways, as well as mulch bed maintenance. Full service is where Negron says HomeTeam separates itself from its competitors.

“(When a house has full-service care with us), that house has our name on it,” Negron says. “I would rather pull my truck up to a house with full service from us than just take care of the grass at a property that also has landscaping that needs attention.”

Take it from one of HomeTeam Lawn Care’s customers.

“Outstanding work! Resodded our yard, redid our landscaping and trimmed two trees. Will be doing our mowing work for us. I highly recommend AJ,” customer Mike Harshman said. “He responded right away to our call and had all of the jobs done in less than two weeks!”

Negron and French have an affinity for the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area and hope to bring even more of their attention to detail to lawns and landscapes in the area.

“It’s nice to work with the homeowners in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel because they see the quality of the work that we do,’’ French says. “They don’t need to worry about things getting taken care of. They realize it’s a set-it-and-forget-it type of operation we’re running.”

HomeTeam Lawn Care LLC does not operate out of an office, but can be found on the web at HomeTeamLawnCare.com, by phone at 817-9554.

 

Olympus Pools Wants To Help You Build The Pool Of Your Dreams

Olympus2There are so many things to consider when installing a new swimming pool.

From the size to the shape and from the color to the texture, it’s important to have someone who will both listen to and embrace your ideas about the pool of your dreams, as well as have the knowledge and experience to deliver it.

Owners James and Alexis Staten have installed pools in neighborhoods all around the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area, including Estancia, Grand Hampton, K-Bar Ranch, Live Oak Preserve, Meadow Pointe and Seven Oaks to name just a few. And, while the company takes on projects all over the Tampa Bay area, the Statens says that more than half of their business is done right here in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area.

James and Alexis, as well as Olympus Pools’ construction manager, scheduler, general manager and field representatives have more than 200 combined years of experience.

“All of our heads together mean a lot of experience and knowledge on your side when you build a pool with us,” James says. That experience makes for first-rate customer service and an attention to detail that sets Olympus Pools apart from its competitors.

“I called at least a half dozen companies to bid on our pool project and James was the first to respond and the first to personally meet with me,” customer Dave Hoversten says. “Not only did he know every aspect of pool building, he also was extremely professional and very open to my ideas and also was very helpful in making crucial recommendations that ultimately added to the success of the project.”

Transferring the customer’s vision into a living, breathing swimming pool can be like a dream come true, James says. Every pool owner wants to have that, “Ahhh” feeling when they step out onto their patio and Olympus Pools specializes in delivering just that. The company’s designs are both practical and visionary.

The process begins with an introductory appointment where typically James will come to the customer’s house to discuss their options. It gives James the opportunity to see the available space and how best to fill it within the customer’s budget.
Olympus“We have a very small and unique space in our backyard to say the least,” customer Eric Wingard says. “We had several pool builders draw a design and price a pool for us, but nothing seemed to fit. But, Olympus was able to take our space constraints and create a fantastic pool design that is now the envy of my neighborhood.”

The next step is for the customer to begin selecting from the plethora of design options. James notes that many Olympus customers will end up coming into the company’s design center showroom off MLK Jr. Blvd., a few blocks west of Raymond James Stadium, where customers get to look at their pool design on a 60-inch LED screen. From there, all of the little details are filled in. Following the original design proposal, customers select all of the finishing touches for their pool.

“The customer gets to see and touch every product before they buy it,” James says.

Whether it’s something as broad as the color of the tile around the pool or as intricate as what type of faucet to use in the outdoor kitchen, Olympus Pools brings each customer’s vision into reality before construction begins.

“They had put our ideas together in a 3D presentation that visually showed us how the pool, spa and deck would look in our backyard,” customer Antonio Chavez says. “We appreciated how James collaborated with us as a true professional to finalize the details, materials and total cost of the project.”

There’s an aspect of pride when a company takes a customized approach to pool installation in a community where they are deeply invested. The Statens, who live in New Tampa and send their children to Turner Elementary and the Bartels K-8 School in Live Oak Preserve, enjoy the variety of projects they get to undertake.

“With Olympus Pools, there’s no menu of pools to choose from,” James says. “We’ve done over a thousand pools and you won’t find two of them that are the same. It’s exciting for us that every project is at least a little bit different.”

He adds, “If it’s not something we’d accept at our house, it’s not something we’d accept putting in at a customer’s house.”

Staying On Time…And On Budget

Timely completion of the project is a vital and sometimes overlooked aspect of pool construction. Olympus Pools won’t sacrifice quality for speed, but everyone at the company works hard to make sure each project stays on schedule.

Olympus3“We do our best to make sure projects get done quicker,” Staten said. “We’ll notice a pool down the street that’s half way finished (when we’re just starting) and we’ll often finish before that one gets done.”

Olympus accomplishes this with aggressive scheduling and by owning a lot of its own equipment, equipment many pool companies have to subcontract out, which will drive up the cost for the customer. “We’re able to offset some of our costs because we own our own dump truck, our own Bobcat,” James says. “We’re able to do a lot of those things in-house.”

Another way Olympus Pools keeps costs down for its customers is that the company mainly relies on the most tried, tested and inexpensive form of marketing — word of mouth. Indeed, James says that referrals are usually the most effective and cost-efficient way to get the word out.

“If we didn’t have referrals, we wouldn’t do a third of the work we do,” Staten said. “Our bread and butter still lies in referrals.”

Olympus Pools, located at 4422 N. Lauber Way in Tampa, is running a promotion through March 1, where anyone building a new pool with Olympus can receive a pool heater for half-price. For more information, visit OlympusPoolsFl.com or call 983-7854.

Children’s Dentistry & Dr. Greg Stepanski Keep New Tampa Kids Smiling!

ChildrensDentistryThe image is still seared in the minds of many who grew up a generation ago:

The dentist, seemingly 10-feet tall in a white lab coat, white mask over his mouth, ominously standing over you, his hand clutching some archaic metal tool with sharp tips, spinning drills and rotating saws, cackling as he moves in to take care of your teeth.

This scene, most noticeably from the “Little Shop of Horrors” but perpetuated as a stereotype over the years, is laughable nowadays.

Walk into Children’s Dentistry in the Cory Lake Professional Center on Cross Creek Blvd., and you are greeted by comfort, warmth and smiling faces. Children are given choices, like a daily game at the front desk that usually involves guessing, say, the weight of a pumpkin, and there are video games and toys and The Disney Channel awaiting every child. The affable Dr. Greg Stepanski, who earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry in Columbus, and also has a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, punctuates every visit with professional and expert care wrapped around a boisterous laugh and calming nature.

“It’s fun here,’’ says Nicole Trailer, one of Children’s Dentistry’s ambassadors, and she should know. Long before she joined Stepanski’s practice as marketing director in 2014, she was his patient for more than a decade.

In fact, Nicole says, it’s usually the parents who are nervous, when they recall their own visits to the family dentist decades ago.

“This wasn’t always the experience,’’ Nicole says. “Nervous parents remember back in the day when it was this terrifying experience. But today’s kids, they don’t know anything about that.”

Familiarity, in this case, breeds excellent customer service. While dental care is about keeping teeth healthy and strong, those first few moments a child – and in some cases, a parent – steps foot in the office may be most important of all.

TommyToothbrush2Patients and children are greeted by over 100 years of combined experience. Melanie Phillips, the office manager, has been with Children’s Dentistry going back 28 years, when Dr. Stepanski purchased an existing pediatric dentist office on E. Fowler Ave., “he got me as part of the deal,” she jokes.

Twenty five years later, including the last 13 at the Cross Creek Blvd. location, Melanie runs an office of dental veterans. Shannon Carithers has been with Children’s Dentistry 25 years, one more than Brenda Cromwell, and Erica Resendez has worked with Dr. Stepanski for 17 years. Meanwhile, other Children’s Dentistry staffers, like Maria, and Becky, are relatively new but another generation of happy smiling faces you’ll meet at the office of “Dr. Greg.”

“It’s like family here,’’ Melanie says. “Some of our patients have been coming to us since they were 2 and through the age of 21, and now we are actually seeing their kids. They really like the comfortable and happy environment we work to create.”

Lenore Mumaw has been taking her three children to Dr. Stepanski since he was on Fowler Ave. She jokes that Dr. Stepanski and his staff know her middle son, Corey “quite well.”

During his first basketball game in seventh grade, Corey’s front tooth was knocked out. Dr. Stepanski met the Mumaws in his office that night after the game, around 9 p.m., and managed to save the tooth.

“He still checks on that tooth,” Lenore says. “It has gone through a lot.’’

Dr. Stepanski is easy going and funny, and during a tour of his office he quips about the signed Elliot Johnson Tampa Bay Rays baseball jersey on his wall (“I think he got traded the week after I got that.”), points out a signed Prince tennis racquet (whose strings have been wrecked by his kids hitting a football with it) signed by former women’s professional tour player (and Wesley Chapel resident) Jennifer Capriati and jokes that he and his staff may need to seek treatment at Disney Channel Anonymous.

The office has a pristine salt water tank, always a hit with the kids, with water so clear it looks clean enough to drink (the secret, he says, is trading out the artificial corals on a regular basis). And if that’s not enough to entertain, there’s always the woolly mammoth baby tooth he keeps on display.

Dr. Greg, as many of his young patients call him, explains every step of the process to the parents. He uses digital x-rays, which he switched to in 2002, because it offers lower doses of radiation. Children’s Dentistry has an in-house laboratory, “so when you order a custom appliance, you know it fits because we make it here,” he says.

And, he treats children as children, not small adults, a touch many parents appreciate.

“I guess we just try to treat people and families how we would want to be treated,’’ Dr. Stepanski says.

It‘s difficult to imagine Dr. Stepanski not treating children. It’s a calling he discovered when he started seeing children at the Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital during one his residencies at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, and having grown up with a brother with Downs syndrome, Stepanski had a built-in touch with treating people with special needs or requirements. “It just clicked,’’ he said.

While studying in Ohio, he met drama student Bob Miller, and the two became fast friends. Miller runs a business that specializes in characters for events and business. For Children’s Dentistry, Miller flies down from Ohio every February during Dental Health Month, and he visits local schools as Tommy the Toothbrush, a character who stresses good dental hygiene.

Dr. Stepanski, an avid fisherman, runner and biker, remembers one time when he joined Tommy at a school in Ohio, and young kids got a little out of control and rushed the big blue toothbrush. “He looked at me and yelled ‘Run!’”, Stepanski says, his laugh filling the office.

Tommy the Toothbrush is part of Stepanski’s outreach into the community. Recently, Tommy spoke to the kindergarten classes at Dr. Richard F. Pride Elementary, deftly keeping the children engaged while singing songs about brushing and flossing. Every student received a gift bag from Children’s Dentistry.

Dr. Stepanski is a charter member and past president of the New Tampa Noon Rotary Club, and is an active church member at St. Mark’s The Evangelist Catholic Church and a fundraiser for Corpus Christi Catholic School in Temple Terrace, where his wife Sue has taught kindergarten for 15 years.

The couple’s three children – Maura, Mike and Brian – all graduated from Tampa Catholic High. Maura spent time in Afghanistan and is a Bronze Star recipient with the U.S. Army, and the helping the military is one of Stepanski’s favorite causes.

Even the most scarred parent would have an almost-impossible time imagining Dr. Greg as that towering, ominous dentist from their childhood, standing over their child with metal tools and spinning drills. “I couldn’t have handpicked a friendlier, more kid-friendly pediatric dentist office,” Lenore says. “No matter when we go in there everyone is in a great mood.”

For appointments and more information about Children’s Dentistry (10317-B Cross Creek Blvd.), call 973-3100 or visit DrGreg-ChildrensDentistry.com. Most major dental insurance plans are accepted.

Infinite Edge Learning Center Is The Home Of The Perfect SAT Score!

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At Infinite Edge Learning Center in Tampa Palms, Ozra Jabbari (above) helps connect local students with top-notch tutors as they prepare for the SAT, ACT and other tests.

At Infinite Edge Learning Center, located in the Tampa Palms Professional Center off Commerce Park Blvd., helping New Tampa students reach their highest potential is a family affair.

Sobi Jabbari owns the tutoring center, where his wife, Ozra, is the office manager, and son, Korosh, is one of the 15 staff members who work one-on-one with students. Sobi and Ozra also have a daughter, Farush, who is a freshman at nearby Freedom High, less than a mile from the office. The family has lived in Tampa Palms for more than 20 years.

Every member of the staff at Infinite Edge Learning Center works individually with students who are looking to get ahead — or need help catching up — in all subjects for grades kindergarten through 12, and even for college.

They also help students prepare for a variety of standardized tests, everything from the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Testing) to get into college, to the GRE (Graduate Record Examination)/GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test), tests students need to get into good post-graduate schools and programs.

“We don’t prescribe to a one-size-fits-all curriculum,” says Sobi. “Here, we design a program that fits each individual student’s needs. We continually assess each child and help them improve in order to reach a higher level.”

Before he opened Infinite Edge Learning Center in 2007, Sobi says he had 30 years of teaching experience at the high school and university levels. He earned a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) degree in Mathematics & Engineering Physics from the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1986 and an M.S. (Master of Science) degree in Experimental Physics, which he earned from the University of South Florida in 1987.

Students can get assistance in a variety of subjects at Infinite Edge Learning Center, including mathematics, language development and enrichment, general science, chemistry, reading, foreign languages, AP Calculus (AB and BC), AP Chemistry and AP Physics, along with International Baccalaureate (IB) and other college-level courses. The center also offers help with language improvement for students whose first language is something other than English. The staff also can help students who are serious athletes or musicians and can’t be in school full time, because of their busy travel schedules.

“Every student has the capability to do well, but you have to find the way to help each one reach their potential,” says Sobi. “It’s very individual. We don’t have the same formula for everyone. We learn the weaknesses of each student and then work to eradicate them.”

He adds that the staff at Infinite Edge teaches students at all levels, from remedial to the highest achievers.

A Truly Expert Staff

Korosh Jabbari is the only tutor at the center who does not hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Although he is just now a freshman at USF himself, his education in math is well beyond that level.

As a high school freshman, Korosh took AP calculus BC, considered an advanced class even for high school seniors, and has continued taking subsequently more challenging classes. He is currently in the USF Honors College seven-year B.S./M.D. medical program, where he will earn both a Bachelor’s and M.D. degree in seven years, all at USF.

All of the other tutors at Infinite Edge are teachers in local schools and professors at the college level.

“Since our tutors are working with kids,” says Ozra, “we make sure they are correctly certified for a teaching job.”

She feels it’s important that the center’s tutors are currently working in the education system, so they are very much in tune with what students are learning in the classroom.

“Many parents are professionals and have a lot of knowledge, but they don’t know how to teach,” Ozra explains, saying that’s why they bring their children to the center. “You have to be a teacher to know what’s going on in the education system today.”

New SAT Starts in March

Beginning this March, the SAT has a new format. While the old SAT offered a total of 2,400 points (800 each in math, reading and writing), the new SAT is only 1,600 points (as it was before the writing portion was given its own 800 points), still with 800 points available in the math portion but only 800 points available for reading and writing combined.

“The new test is more difficult,” says Korosh. “It relies less on test-taking strategies, such as elimination. Students need to deeply understand concepts from classrooms and how they apply these concepts to real-life situations.”

But, students who attend Infinite Edge Learning Center continue to be well prepared. Using a curriculum developed by Sobi, Infinite Edge students have already been practicing the new SAT format for months.

Ozra says that Infinite Edge lives up to its billing as the self-proclaimed “Home of the Perfect SAT Score.”

“Every time we have students take the SAT, we have at least one perfect score,” says Ozra. “We give students the material to prepare, and they work hard.”

She adds that the biggest problem she sees is that many parents wait too long to think about the SAT or ACT.

“Your children should begin preparing for the SAT by ninth grade, at least.”

If students haven’t begun preparing for the SAT before their junior year — which is when they need to take the test to apply for college — they’re often too busy with academics and extracurricular activities to spend a lot of time preparing, and they simply run out of time.

“We recommend one-on-one, customized test preparation,” says Ozra, “but we also offer group preparation courses.”

Infinite Edge Learning Center has also offered free, four-hour SAT prep classes on a Saturday morning at Freedom, which is available to any student at the school.

No Contracts/Great Results

One thing that sets Infinite Edge Learning Center apart from its competition is that there are no contracts.

“You come as long as you need us,” explains Ozra, “and you always get personal attention.”

That’s one reason why Adam Chronister, a West Meadows resident who attends Tampa Catholic, first came to Infinite Edge for his SAT and ACT preparation.

“We shopped around before choosing Infinite Edge,” says Adam’s mom, Trish. “They are very affordable. While their rates are in line with others, some other centers required a long-term contract, and I didn’t want to get into that.”

She says her son wanted to do well on both his ACT and SAT, so he started working with Infinite Edge the summer before his junior year. Although he did well on the first SAT test he took, he was driven to improve.

“He would take an SAT or ACT, see his scores, and want to do better, so he’d go back to Infinite Edge,” Trish says, adding that Adam was able to raise his SAT score 180 points over a total of three tests.

“They really helped him,” she says. “We’ve been incredibly pleased and highly recommend them.”

Trish says the support her son received at Infinite Edge helped him achieve the test scores he needed to get into the college of his choice. So far, he’s been accepted and received academic scholarships to Florida State University in Tallahassee, the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Stetson University in DeLand, and – most important to him – his first choice, the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Infinite Edge Learning Center (17419 Bridge Hill Ct.) is open Mon.-Fri., 2 p.m.–8 p.m., and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sat. Weekday morning hours are available by appointment only for students who homeschool or do online courses. For more info, visit InfiniteEdgeLearningCenter.com, call 971-6500 or