Category: Business

HomeTeam Lawn Care Provides Affordable Care For Your Lawn & Landscaping

HomeTeamWEB — 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.”

Negron 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

Olympus2 There 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!

ChildrensDentistry The 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.

Patients 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!

Infinite2 — 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

Neuro Center takes on and helps conquer long list of complicated problems

For a year now, New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents have been able to find relief for their neurological problems without having to drive very far at all. The Neuro Center, where Drs. Mohamad Saleh and Hassan Bitar have a combined 35 years of experience, provides compassionate, state-of-the-art care on Cross Creek Blvd. at Morris Bridge Rd., in the same building that also is home to Zaytoun Mediterranean Grill and The Clinicians Primary Care.

In the 3,500-sq.-ft. office, patients are treated for a variety of conditions, including headaches, migraines, neuropathic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, back and neck pain, seizures, nerve disease, muscle disease and cognitive disorders (including Alzheimer’s, dementia and other memory problems).

Patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease, vertigo, movement disorders, sleep disorders, learning and attention problems and neuromuscular disorders also can be treated at the Neuro Center.

“The practice is growing for all age groups,” says Dr. Saleh. “From the elderly with neurological disorders to young kids with migraines, seizures and ADHD —and everybody in between.”

Dr. Saleh was born in Damascus, Syria, and Dr. Bitar in Jordan, but both consider themselves “Tampa boys,” having lived in the area for decades. Both doctors not only attended the nearby University of South Florida in Tampa, they both have two children currently attending USF (in addition to two of Dr. Saleh’s children, who previously graduated from USF).

“This is our home,” says Dr. Saleh.

Dr. Saleh obtained his Medical Doctor degree from Damascus University in 1982 before moving to the U.S. in 1984. He obtained a Ph.D. in neuropharmacology from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City in 1988, and began his residency in St Louis before transferring to the University of South Florida, from where he completed his residency in neurology in 1992.

Dr. Saleh says his areas of interest include spine care, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, migraines and Alzheimer’s disease.

He is married with four sons — all USF grads — and enjoys chess and writing. He’s also on the stroke team at Southbay Hospital in Sun City Center.

Dr. Bitar received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree from the University of Jordan in Amman in 1989. He moved to the U.S. in 1992 to study internal medicine at Boston University and, in 1995, completed his residency and received his Board certification in internal medicine.

He worked for a year at Waltham Hospital in Massachusetts before moving to Clearwater, where he practiced internal medicine and primary care medicine until 2003, when he began to study neurology at USF.

In 2006, he completed his specialty in neurology and in 2010 and became Board-certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He joined Dr. Saleh at the Brandon Neuro Center in 2006.

His areas of special interest include stroke, dementia, multiple sclerosis and neuro imaging. He also is on the stroke team at Southbay Hospital in Sun City Center, as well as at Brandon Regional Hospital. Dr. Bitar is married with two sons and two daughters, and he says he is an avid reader.

Both doctors also lecture about neuroscience at area high schools and enrichment centers.

Dr. Saleh started the Neuro Center in Hernando County in 1992, seeing patients from Brooksville and Spring Hill. In 2006, he opened a practice in Brandon. And, in 2015, he opened the additional New Tampa office.

Today, he sees patients from all over the Tampa Bay area, including Brooksville, Sun City, Riverview, Carrollwood, Wesley Chapel and Lutz.

A State-Of-The-Art Facility

Patients at the Neuro Center have access to onsite testing such as electro encephalography (EEG) for seizures and anticoagulant function; EMG/NCV (electromyography/Nerve Conduction Velocity) for muscle and nerve testing to evaluate muscle and nerve diseases such as carpal tunnel syndrome, neuropathy, and myopathy; and Neurocognitive Testing, a computerized assessment to check memory, mental speed and other cognitive functions.

The practice also offers trigger point injections for pain; Botox injections for migraines, spasms affiliated with both stroke and Parkinson’s disease; and nerve blocks for sciatica and lower back pain.

In addition to the physicians, Neuro Center patients are served by a stable and experienced staff of four technicians, four nurses (one of whom, Maria Lambert, has been with Dr. Saleh for 25 years) and four office staffers who help obtain authorizations and handle billing.

The office accepts all insurance plans, and Lambert also speaks Spanish.

“We go out of our way to really help people, especially with this complicated health care system,” says Dr. Saleh. “We have a great relationship with all the (local) hospitals and primary care doctors. Appointments are very quick. Nobody waits on us.”

A patient named Laila says she moved to Wesley Chapel from Pennsylvania in December 2014 and immediately started looking for a neurologist to help with her osteoarthritis.

“They are very friendly, professional and on time,” Laila says. “Dr. Saleh really takes the time to listen. He’s the kind of person who would remember what you’d spoken about before. Some doctors just seem to read from the paper.”

Some patients have been with Neuro Care for 20 years or more, and that’s partly because the doctors treat patients, not symptoms, but also because of the changing nature of the specialty.

“Neurology has become like neuro primary care,” says Dr. Saleh. “As the community grows older, the need for neurological services is growing with it.”

They may enjoy the intellectual puzzle-solving aspects of neuroscience, but the doctors agree that the true gratification comes from caring for people.

“It is a privilege and a blessing to be a physician,” says Dr. Saleh. “People trust you, open their hearts to you and expect you to do the same and give them your full attention and expertise. We are here to ease their worry, hold their hand and take care of them. Regardless of what health care does to us [as physicians], at the end of the day, it is a passion and a joy of life to take care of people.”

The New Tampa Neuro Center is located at 10970 Cross Creek Blvd. For more information, call 813-345-4135 or visit visit CommunityNeuroCenter.com.