Due to concrete beams being set for the new Overpass Rd. bridge on I-75 in Wesley Chapel, the Florida Department of Transportation says to expect detours this weekend.
Southbound detour
Southbound I-75 trafficย will be detoured off the interstate at exit 285, or S.R. 52 between 9 p.m. Friday night, Oct. 15 and 9 a.m. Saturday morning, Oct. 16.ย Travelers who get off on exit 285 will turn right onto S.R. 52 and continue for approximately one-half mile. At the next traffic signal (Old Pasco Road), turn left and go south on Old Pasco Road for approximately 6.75 miles to S.R. 54/C.R. 54. Turn left at the traffic signal onto S.R. 54/C.R. 54/Wesley Chapel Blvd. and continue east about 7/10s of a mile to re-enter southbound I-75.ย
Northbound detour
Northbound I-75 trafficย will be detoured off the interstate at S.R. 54/C.R. 54 between 9 p.m. Saturday night, Oct. 16 and 9 a.m. Sunday morning, Oct. 17. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left onto S.R. 54/C.R. 54/Wesley Chapel Boulevard and continue west about 8/10ths of a mile to Old Pasco Rd. At the traffic signal for Old Pasco Rd., turn right and go north for approximately 6.75 miles to S.R. 52. Turn right atย the traffic signal onto S.R. 52 and go east about 3/4 mile. After passing under I-75, turn left onto the entrance ramp to re-enter northbound I-75.
FDOT asks drivers to be careful on Old Pasco Rd., which is one lane in each direction and will be congested during the hours of the tour. Motorists are urged to plan plenty of extra time to drive the detour and return to the interstate or consider alternate routes. Law enforcement officers and traffic management personnel will be active along the detour route to assist with traffic flow, as well as detour signs and message boards.
Construction crews, large machinery and those all-too-familiar bright orange cones have returned to the intersection of S.R. 56 and I-75, as work on the much-anticipated Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) has finally and officially resumed.
Superior Construction Company Southeast, LLC, was chosen by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and surety bond companies to replace D.A.B. Constructors, which defaulted on the project on July 1 and went out of business shortly thereafter.
D.A.B. defaulted on six other projects in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, including the S.R. 54 widening project from east of Curley Rd. to east of Morris Bridge Rd.
D.A.B. told FDOT on July 28 it could not afford to complete the S.R. 54 widening, due in part to penalties incurred by missing benchmarks on the DDI project.
Superior began work to complete the $36-million DDI on Sept. 13, which included mobilization of labor, equipment and materials, erosion control, survey, jobsite cleanup of debris and office setup. Full maintenance responsibility was transferred to the new contractor on Sept. 20.
The project, originally scheduled for completion before the end of 2021, is now expected to be finished within 10 months, likely in the summer of 2022, said FDOT spokesperson Kris Carson in an email.
Superior also currently is working on the realignment of S.R. 52 in eastern Pasco County. Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore represents District 2, where the DDI is located, and he said he was happy with the choice.
โIโve heard great things about them,โ Moore said. โAnd they are actually ahead of pace on the S.R. 52 project, so thatโs a good sign.โ
Stepping into a new project that already was more than halfway finished is unusual but not unprecedented in the construction business, especially considering the effect that Covid-19 and staffing issues have had on the entire construction industry.
โWhile this process is not how a typical FDOT project is executed, there are procedures in place for replacing a contractor,โ Carson said. โIt will take the new contractor some time (a few weeks) to clean up items from the previous contractor in order to complete the new work items. The new contractor evaluates the remaining work items and prices the items that are left to complete. Superior has already mobilized a staff and are in the process of mobilizing crews to complete the work.โ
Meanwhile, the surety company put out an advertisement for bids for completion contractors on Sept. 9 for the $42.5 million S.R. 54 widening project, and were expecting to receive bids by the end of the month.
A subcontractor, Southern Precision, has been taking care of the S.R. 54 site in the meantime, with mowing, little control and filling potholes. Last week, work began on milling driveways and side streets, as well as some paving.
K-Bar Ranch resident Pete Radigan has a story to tell, and heโs been waiting 20 years for people to read it.
On Oct. 4, Tragedy to Triumph: The Story of Tomโs Heart will be officially released for sale by Red Penguin Books.
โOh my God, I canโt wait,โ says Radigan, who moved from New Jersey to K-Bar Ranch in 2019. โIf there was ever a made-for-TV (story), this book is it.โ
Decades in the making, it is the personal story of Radiganโs battle with his health, his life-saving heart transplant and Jan Maukโs healing from the loss of her son Tom, the teen whose heart keeps Radigan alive, and the rare relationship between the parent of a donor and the donor recipient.
Radigan says he and Jan have talked about writing the book for many years. Radigan, who had kept a journal during his long hospital stays while waiting for a transplant, had written his version of it years ago, and Jan surprised him with her version at Christmas in 2018.
A friend of Radiganโs, writer Jim McGrath, weaved it all together.
โOver the last 10 years, when was the last time you heard of a major story about organ donation?,โ Radigan asks. โThey are few and far between. This book talks about what the experience is like from the view of the mother of a deceased donor โ how she felt and went through the grieving process โ and also about the recipient and what they go through together. Itโs the first time something like this has been catalogued in a book. I feel like itโs a healing guidebook for those on both sides of the organ donation process.โ
Born on Staten Island, NY, in 1965 and raised in East Windsor, NJ, Radiganโs story certainly is unique.
In 1987, he was first diagnosed with hypertrophic cardio myopathy, which is an enlargement of the heart. It was later discovered he was actually suffering from Emery Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, which affects the heart.
By age 30, Radiganโs health had deteriorated to the point where he was having difficulty walking up stairs. He says he was teaching a corporate class in Orange County, CA, and couldnโt even wear shoes because his feet hurt so much. He was unknowingly already in end-stage heart failure.
โI thought, โWhen did I get in such bad shape?,โโ he recalls. โI was embarrassed.โ
Radigan returned to the east coast and underwent a battery of tests that made it official. He needed a heart, or, his doctors told him, he was going to die.
That led to months in the hospital. His first transplant was canceled after Radigan, surrounded by his family, had been prepped for the surgery. The heart he was to receive, doctors said, was damaged.
A week later, at 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 4, 1997, a new donor heart had been found, and Radigan received his heart at the New York Presbyterian Medical Center.
Just two days earlier, 16-year-old Tom Mauk was driving his motorcycle when a car struck him and sent him flying more than 150 feet.
Jan says she struggled for a day with the decision to donate Tomโs organs, but knew that was what her son would have wanted.
Jan listening to her son’s heart. Pete described the moment as one of the most emotional of his life.
On Sept. 13, Radigan walked out of the hospital with a cane and a new lease on life.
Jan mourned.
Thatโs the tragedy. The triumph came more than a year later, when, after a few letters back and forth, Pete and Jan agreed to finally meet on Feb. 5, 1999, in Niagara Falls in Toronto.
Radigan says it was one of the most emotional moments of his life. He brought Jan flowers and asked her if she wanted to listen to her sonโs heart. She leaned in and pressed her ear to his chest.
โIt was not like listening to the quality, rhythm, or rate of a heartbeat or detecting arrhythmias, which I practiced as a nurse,โ she wrote. โListening to his heart brought a connection to Tom, joy to my soul, in contrast to the previous sadness, as tears formed in my eyesโฆ.The sound of his heartbeat was a melody to my ear, as I wanted to permanently affix my head to (Peteโs) chest to hear it continually. It brought comfort to me.โ
Radigan says that the last third of the book details their friendship, and includes the letters and emails they wrote to each other over the years.
โWhen I asked Jan what made her want to write the book, her answer was pretty simple: โIt gave me the opportunity to leave a legacy for my son, the man he was and the gifts he provided,โโ says Radigan.
For Pete Radigan, it was another chance to say โthank you.โ
To purchase the book or for more information on donor and tissue donation, visit TragedyToTriumph.net. Tragedy to Triumph will also be available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Google Books.
Deputy William Mellana (left) and Wharton High nurse Alicia Robertson helped save a studentโs life at the school on Aug. 17 (Photo courtesy of Hillsborough Schools)
Saving A Studentโs Life: All In A Dayโs Work
On any โnormalโ day on a high school campus, the most extraordinary things can happen.
On Aug. 17, a Wharton High student started experiencing a medical emergency, and the schoolโs resource officer and nurse are credited with jumping in to save the studentโs life, working together until paramedics arrived.
Video from Deputy William Mellanaโs body camera was released by the Hillsborough County Sheriffโs Office, showing him performing CPR on the student with the assistance of an automated external defibrillator (AED), which he continued until paramedics arrived. Prior to his arrival on scene with the AED, school nurse Alicia Robertson already had started CPR.
Thankfully, the student has since returned to school.
Alicia deflects any praise directed toward herself and Deputy Mellana, saying it was a team effort to aid the student.
โSeveral educators and a student who sought out an adult, who initiated help, all played roles in responding in a timely manner to assist the student that day.โ
Hillsborough County Public Schools released a photo of the pair and said, โWe could not be more proud and thankful to have these two incredible people at Wharton High School to protect our students and staff.โ
King High Seniors From New Tampa Collect, Disperse School Suppliesย
Three King High seniors from New Tampa have launched the Road to Success School Supply Drive to support students and teachers in their school and throughout the wider community.
Toluwa, Onella and Emma launched the drive with collection boxes at businesses, including Mahana Fresh in New Tampa, Staples and The Salvation Army in Wesley Chapel, and the Ice Dreammm Shop in Lutz.
Their goal is to support students who need tools to be successful in school, and supplement teachers who often have to pay out of their own pockets to keep their classrooms stocked with basic supplies.
The drive was to benefit the Hillsborough Education Foundation (HEF), a local nonprofit that distributes school supplies to the countyโs schools and students with the greatest needs, with some of the collected supplies directly benefiting King High, where the students attend.
Although their collection for the drive has ended, the teens invite supporters to donate to HEF online at EducationFoundation.com/programs/donate/ and note that itโs part of the โRoad to Success School Supply Driveโ in the instructions section.
For more information, visit RoadtoSuccessDrive.com and see the latest news about the drive on Instagram @roadtosuccessdrive.
Wharton Physics Experiments Soar To 80,000 Feet
Wharton High physics teacher Christopher Hart says his AP Physics C class jumped at the chance to develop an experiment that could be tested during the launch of a weather balloon up to 80,000 feet at an educational event held at Tampaโs MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry) on Aug. 28.
The launch was organized by Space Trek, an educational company based out of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Merritt Island, FL, and was part of a Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) event encouraging students to get excited about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) concepts.
Hart says HCPS executive director of science education Larry Plank invited his students to design and place and experiments in the balloon, knowing of Hartโs previous experience with the type of programming required to execute them.
AP Physics C is one of four Advanced Placement physics classes offered at Wharton, and Hart says the students in the class have previously had at least one or two years of physics prior to entering the class.
But, it still wasnโt an easy feat to start school on August 10, and have everything designed and ready to launch less than three weeks later.
The class brainstormed a wide range of ideas and came up with two different experiments. One used four ultraviolet sensors to test different brands of sunscreen, while another measured how the size of different volumes of foam insulation changed with temperature changes as the balloon rose.
Hart says 80,000 feet is teetering toward the edge of space, where the highest-flying spy aircraft fly.
โThere are pretty dramatic temperature changes, from below zero in some layers of the atmosphere, to spike really high when leaving the atmosphere,โ Hart explains.
He says he told his students that the items they touched in designing the experiments would go to the highest point away from earth, farther than anything theyโve ever touched.
โThey outsmarted me,โ he laughs, saying that one of his students touched a moon rock at MOSI just to prove him wrong.
He says opportunities like this can be inspirational for students.
โIt shows them the real world application of what theyโre learning in the classroom,โ says Hart. โTheyโre taking something that is very math-oriented and sometimes very abstract, and they can see it, feel it and touch it. It shows them how that math is applied, and hopefully encourages them to continue their education in this path.โ
The students who participated in the event include Dillon Cao, Alex Lopez, Sean Grass, Adriana Salazar, Alex Devers, Dane Devers, Timothy Norwood, and Harshavardan Yuvaraj.
The 50,000-square-foot AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunterโs Green is now open in the former LifePoint Church building on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. at Hunterโs Lake Dr. (Drone photo by Charmaine George)
Going to the doctor may never be described as a fun experience. From the dreary waiting room to being shuffled in for the poking and prodding to the inevitable stop at the pharmacy on the way home or, even worse, a separate trip to another dreary waiting room at an imaging center or somewhere else for more tests, itโs an experience many people arenโt thrilled to go through.
However, AdventHealth Care Pavilion is opening on Sept. 14, and is happy to try and change some of that.
Located on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. at Hunterโs Lake Dr. in front of Hunterโs Green, the areaโs newest facility also is its most innovative. The emphasis was on taking everything that patients find most frustrating about going to see a doctor and improving it.
That means easier and more convenient registration, modern waiting rooms and in addition to being home to eight primary care physicians, there will be no need for additional trips elsewhere in most cases because the new facility boasts in-house labs, imaging for x-rays and MRIs to name a few, and even a pharmacy.
โWe tried to think through some of the little things that make it easier and more convenient and comfortable for people,โ says John Johannessen, senior executive officer for non-acute services in the West Florida division of AdventHealth. โThatโs the mindset of what a care pavilion is. We make it easier, make it comfortable and add a higher level of service so itโs just simply a destination location that you want to come to for your care and to stay healthy.โ
Johannessen says AdventHealth is so serious about making it a pleasant experience, they hired a longtime Disney hospitality employee who will be specifically dedicated to the buildingโs consumer experience.
In fact, Johannessen doesnโt call it a reception desk that greets you upon entering, he says itโs more of a concierge-level welcome center.
โObviously nobody likes registering,โ he adds. โYou register for the doctor and then when you have to go for the lab, you have to register for the lab, and then when you need to go get an image you have to register for the imaging. Itโs a nightmare. Itโs easy for people to say, โWhy donโt you already have this information, why do I have to tell you this 10 times?โโ
In addition to primary care, there will be other offerings, like subspecialties offered, such as cardiology, gastroenterology, obstetrics and general surgery. By the end of the year, Johannessen expects to have a pediatrician on staff as well.
While it is not labeled as an urgent care, the pavilion will accept walk-ins and can provide emergency care.
The facility is roomy, going more for an open-air mall type of feel than your traditional doctorโs office. A lot of thought has been put into the light, the music and even the colors, according to Johannessen, so a better mood and tone can be set.
When you are brought to your exam room, thatโs where everything, even bloodwork, will happen.
When you are brought to your exam room, thatโs where everything, even bloodwork, will happen (unless you need an X-ray, which is just a short walk away).
The focus is on connecting services for the convenience of patients.
Another convenience โ a kids club for families who have children and canโt find a babysitter. The hours at the Advent Health Care Pavilion are Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m., and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday, so parents have flexibility and donโt have to schedule their doctor visits around childcare or work.
โWe try to make it easy,โ says Johannessen , who adds that the pavilion will initially be closed Sundays but the goal is to add enough to make it a seven-days-a-week facility.
The pavilion also offers a cafรฉ, although it wonโt be ready on day one at the New Tampa location. But, until it is ready, there will be a refreshment center.
The on-site Imaging Center will offer a separate womenโs suite, focused on services that are important to them, like mammograms.
Imaging also has a large-bore MRI, which is the same as a traditional MRI but has a larger bore opening that adds more comfort and less stress for those who may suffer from claustrophobia.
โWe tried to think through (many) of the little things that make it easier and more convenient,โ says Johannessen.
The Hunterโs Green location actually is the second Care Pavilion center opened by AdventHealth. The first one opened in Westchase in June, to great response , according to Johannessen. But, the New Tampa location, which is roughly 50,000-sq.-ft. compared to its 20,000-sq.-ft. counterpart across the county, has more room to offer and room for expansion as well.
AdventHealth had been looking for a site somewhere along BBD for a year, and had all but settled on one when the previous owners of the property, which was most recently home to LifePoint Church (and Winn-Dixie before that) elected to sell.
The new site was perfect โ close to an intersection, linked to a large community like Hunterโs Green, and was the right size with plenty of parking. โIt checked all our boxes,โ Johannessen says.
And, that is exactly what he hopes the AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunterโs Green will do for those looking for quality, innovative and easy-to-navigate healthcare.
The AdventHealth Care Pavilion at Hunterโs Green (8702 Hunterโs Lake Dr.) is now open. For more information, call (813) 467-4700 or visit AdventHealthCarePavilion.com.
