If you, like the Neighborhood News staff, enjoy singing, dancing, enjoying delicious food and sipping some great wine or even whiskey, why not join us at our VIP “Speakeasy’ event before our two-year anniversary party at our office on Thursday, January 14, 2016.
It’s easy to sign up. The first thing you should do is go HERE!!!!!! and be one of the first 50 readers to register.
When your registration is accepted, you’ll receive an email telling you the time the VIP event starts and the evening’s password to get in.
The food and fun continue when we open the doors to everyone at 7 p.m. that evening, but to sample gourmet treats from The Private Chef of Tampa, Peter Gambacorta himself (PrivateChefTampa.com), plus wine tastings of the same bottles of wine (there’s six different kinds) we gave as custom-printed gifts from our friends at Time for Wine(TimeforWine.net) this holiday season, as well as free whiskey and vodka tastings, karaoke by my buddy Gary Carmichael (HeartandSoulKaraoke.com), plus free drawings for great dining and other prizes.
With 25 years of experience treating patients throughout the Tampa Bay area, the doctors and staff at Florida Orthopaedic Institute are excited about their newest office, located in the Shoppes of Wesley Chapel on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., directly across from Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC). The newest office has begun accepting patients, which is helping Florida Orthopaedic Institute meet the increasing demand for specialized orthopaedic care that can help residents of Pasco County stay active.
The Board-certified doctors and surgeons at Florida Orthopaedic Institute have been recognized globally for their expertise. Headquartered in North Tampa, there are nine other locations for patients who live in or near Bloomingdale, Brandon, Citrus Park, Northdale, Oak Hill/Brooksville, Palm Harbor, South Tampa, Sun City Center and Temple Terrace.
Wesley Chapel is the 10th Florida Orthopaedic Institute office, and will offer physician services, physical therapy and X-rays. Additionally, three Board-certified physicians staff the new office:
Christopher Baker, M.D., a fellowship trained specialist in sports medicine and shoulder reconstruction; Brian Palumbo, M.D., who specializes in hip and knee replacement surgery, with a focus on diagnosing and treating hip and knee arthritis, and Timothy Epting, D.O., who focuses on injuries and disorders of the foot and ankle, as well as general orthopaedic conditions.
In order to maintain the highest level of orthopaedic skill, Florida Orthopaedic Institute only employs doctors who have fellowship training.
“This additional training is just part of what sets us apart,” says Dr. Baker, “especially when the sophisticated work of joints is involved. In order to keep our patients active, the precision of the treatment is paramount to success.”
Dr. Chris Baker
Dr. Baker has been with Florida Orthopaedic Institute for two years and has practiced in the area for five. He graduated cum laude with his M.D. degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville and completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His fellowship at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas (in Spartanburg, SC) gave him an extra year of study in sports medicine and shoulder reconstruction, making him the only fellowship-trained shoulder specialist in eastern Pasco County.
Dr. Baker has been very influential in Pasco County’s high school athletics since he assisted in opening the sports medicine programs at Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills high schools. He also treats professional athletes and has served as the orthopaedic & sports medicine physician for the Tampa Bay Storm Arena Football League team.
Dr. Baker does more than just care for athletes. He also treats patients who have shoulder pain stemming from aging or injury. Many patients avoid shoulder treatment because they are afraid they will need surgery or because of the misconception that pain is a normal part of aging, but Dr. Baker always informs his patients about available alternatives.
“There are a lot of options other than surgery, like physical therapy or cortisone injections,’’ he says. “Our mission is to do what is best for the individual patient.”
Even when surgery is necessary, Dr. Baker says he does not go straight to invasive surgical techniques. He uses the latest technologies and says that many repairs are done with an arthroscope to minimize incisions. Other doctors at Florida Orthopaedic Institute, like Dr. Palumbo, also believe that minimizing surgical trauma and muscle damage should be a high priority for any surgeon.
Dr. Brian Palumbo
Before studying medicine, Dr. Palumbo served in the Special Operations Command for the U.S. Air Force. He later earned his M.D. degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he also served as a resident in the Department of Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. He also attended a one-year surgical fellowship at the combined residency program at Harvard Medical School’s Harvard Orthopaedics in Cambridge, MA, and at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital Department of Adult Reconstruction in Boston.
Dr. Palumbo specializes in hip and knee arthritis management, joint replacement surgery and the treatment of problematic or painful hip and knee joint replacements. He is Board-certified by the American Association of Hip & Knee Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
One method Dr. Palumbo uses to minimize surgical trauma is the direct anterior approach (DAA) for hip replacement surgery. He explains that, “Rather than cutting through or damaging muscles, (with the DAA approach) you’re simply spreading certain muscles to the side, using their natural tissue planes. It’s like opening a window versus breaking through it.”
For knee replacement candidates, Dr. Palumbo offers partial (rather than total) knee replacements whenever possible. He feels that sparing hip and knee joint muscles and preserving bone (when possible) can lead to improved and faster recovery and exceptional long-term outcomes.
Dr. Palumbo firmly believes in the importance of fellowship-trained, specialized surgeons. “The added training and expertise this provides allows us to care for complex failed and painful joint replacement issues,” he says. “ Approximately 30 percent of joint replacements I perform are re-do replacements for old or failed joint replacements.”
Educating patients is a core philosophy at the Florida Orthopaedic Institute, whose surgeons encourage patients to seek out options to ensure that they are getting a doctor who is experienced in treating their particular type of injury.
Dr. Epting is new to Florida Orthopaedic Institute, bringing expertise in injuries and disorders of the foot and ankle. He also is Board-certified in orthopaedic surgery, with fellowship training from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Prior to joining the Florida Orthopaedic Institute team, Dr. Epting served three years as an attending orthopaedic surgeon at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, FL. He also served as an orthopaedic surgeon in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2010. “My military experience and fellowship training allow me to explore all options for my patients so they can receive the best possible care,” he says.
You can visit Florida Orthopaedic Institute’s new Wesley Chapel office at 2653 BBD, or visit FloridaOrtho.com for more information. Florida Orthopaedic Institute is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Call (800) FL-ORTHO to make an appointment or to talk to a staff member. — Submitted to & edited by Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News.
After three years of study, Pasco County has unveiled a new logo with a new tagline — “Open Spaces. Vibrant Places.” – that Melanie Kendrick, the county’s acting program administrator for economic growth, says ties the county’s story together, presents the area with a sense of place and provides a cohesive sales pitch to tourists.
“I think we needed to tell the Pasco story in a holistic way,’’ said Kendrick, a member of the county’s Branding Team, comprised of leaders from multiple departments.
“We don’t have that one thing to sell in Pasco. If you ask 20 people about what makes Pasco, you’ll get 20 different answers. We thought this was a way to unify the county.”
Pasco County Commissioners approved the new branding effort last month by a 4-1 vote, with only District 5 Commissioner Jack Mariano dissenting.
In today’s fast-moving world and an ever-growing social media universe, branding is everything, especially when it comes to attracting tourism, says Ed Caum, manager of the Pasco County Office of Tourism Development, who also was the featured speaker at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce’s October Business Breakfast.
The logo, with carefully chosen orange, yellow and gray colors, a rising sun (as the letter “O” in Pasco) and a sandhill crane flying in front of it, was designed by Jennifer Lachtara, the marketing coordinator for Pasco’s Economic Development Council (EDC). A variation of the logo was in the “MyPasco” app that the county released in the Google Play and ITunes stores in June.
Caum and Lachtara, along with Pasco County public information officer Doug Tobin, were key members of the Branding Team, though Caum stressed it was a county-wide effort involving many.
Caum also says there was talk of outsourcing the re-branding effort, but by doing it in-house, the re-branding committee saved taxpayers roughly $80-120,000. He explains that Hernando County rebranded itself as the “Adventure Coast” in September and that effort cost roughly $85,000.
It was time for the re-branding, Kendrick says. She recalls doing an interview with some USF students about 3-½ years ago, and she asked them what they thought about Pasco County. Some didn’t know where Pasco was, even though they acknowledged hanging out at The Shops at Wiregrass mall.
The county has basically used its seal as a primary logo, with various unofficial logos and catchphrases popping up here and there. “Open Spaces. Vibrant Places.” replaces “Room To Grow” and others like “It’s Only Natural.”
“A seal really isn’t a logo and a seal is not a brand,’’ said Caum, adding that the seal will still be used on official documents. But new county cars will bear the new logo, as will buses, stationary, business cards and shirts of county employees when it is rolled out, which Caum says should be by 2017.
More important, Caum says, is that the plan is to recognize those vibrant places in Pasco County with the new logo, which is already on the county’s website. It will effectively serve as a stamp of approval.
Caum says there will be criteria for those applying to be deemed a vibrant place or an open space. When those criteria are determined, they will be listed on an application for interested parties.
Signs will be positioned throughout the county in areas that are accepted as part of the program, like parks, cities, downtowns or green spaces. Shopping districts and neighborhood associations also can apply to be part of the new “story” the county hopes to tell to visitors, tourists and residents.
“We just need to make sure we maintain a brand standard,’’ Caum says.
An imaginative 10-year-old fifth grader at Saddlebrook Preparatory Academy (located off S.R. 54 here in Wesley Chapel), Francisco Cobo is now a published author, with his children’s book available for purchase on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com.
Francisco didn’t speak a word of English when he arrived at Saddlebrook Prep from Mexico in August 2014. The school is home to about 100 students in grades 3 through 12 from all over the world who are participating in intense training in either golf or tennis, along with equally challenging academic studies. This school is located on the premises of Saddlebrook Resort Tampa.
Francisco spends two hours a day practicing golf, but says he loves writing just as much as the sport.
Deffs Adventures tells the tale of Deffs, a real-life hamster who is the class pet in Elaine Strausser’s classroom at the school. Deffs was named by Francisco and his classmates – the hamster’s name is an acronym that combines the four students’ first initials with an “S” for their teacher’s last name.
Francisco worked with Strausser over several weeks to write, re-write, edit and add details to his book. He illustrated every page of the story himself, too.
It began as an independent project in the classroom, but when it was complete, Chris Wester, the Prep School’s director of curriculum, suggested it was good enough to be shared in print form, so Strausser found a publishing company that Francisco and his family could work with to self-publish the book.
“It was fun to imagine,” says Francisco. “I wrote that Deffs hid in the candy bucket to go trick or treating with us and that he stayed at one of the kids’ houses over Christmas break.”
For Francisco’s Christmas break, he won’t return home to Mexico. Instead, his parents will come to visit him and his 12-year-old sister, Fernanda, who is a tennis player and seventh grader at Saddlebrook Prep.
“He’s very creative,” says Francisco’s guidance counselor, Sara Bassoumi, “It’s an outstanding achievement that he learned to speak English and published a book” in the short time he’s been at the school.
“I like that now everyone will get to see the story,” says Fernando, whose book also is now on one of the shelves at the school’s library. Saddlebrook Prep recently hosted a book signing, honoring the author in front of his school family, and allowing Fernando to share his story and his achievement with his classmates. For more info about Saddlebrook Prep, visit SaddlebrookPrep.com or call 907-4300.
With growing businesses, new residential developments, two major malls including the brand new Tampa Premium Outlets, and highly-rated schools, what is there not to like about living in Wesley Chapel?
According to WalletHub, not much at all. The personal finance website recently rated Wesley Chapel the 7th best city for families in Florida. Wallethub compared 115 Florida cities across 21 metrics, with Wesley Chapel scoring No. 1 for housing affordability and wealth gap, and finishing in the top 10 for general affordability (5th) and divorce rate (9th).
“I am very pleased with the rating,’’ says Hope Allen, the president and CEO of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC). “To be No. 1 in affordability and housing says a lot about our area and community. People do look at national ratings when looking to relocate, so it’s very important to do well in these.”
Allen also noted that Wesley Chapel is a Census-Designated Place (CDP), and to be ranked with cities across the state is a great achievement. “Pretty impressive to make the list when we’re not even a city,’’ Allen said. Wesley Chapel received its lowest marks for education, health and safety (77th).
The No. 1 city rated overall was Parkland in Broward County, just north of Coral Springs.
WalletHub’s report looked closely at four specific categories: Family Life & Fun; Education, Health & Safety; Affordability; and Socioeconomic Environment, attributing 25 points to each category.
Within those categories were 21 different metrics. For example, under Family Life & Fun, WalletHub’s experts looked at number of playgrounds per 100,000 residents, the number of family attractions like parks and museums, the percentage of families with children under the age of 18, weather and average commute time.
In 2014, Wesley Chapel was rated the fourth-best place (out of 179 studied) to own a home/raise a family by the national consumer advocacy website Nerdwallet.com. In June of 2015, Nerdwallet.com bumped Wesley Chapel up one spot to No. 3 in the ratings.Top 10 Cities
If you, like the Neighborhood News staff, enjoy singing, dancing, enjoying delicious food and sipping some great wine or even whiskey, why not join us at our VIP “Speakeasy’ event before our two-year anniversary party at our office on Thursday, January 14, 2016.
