Category: Business

WCCC Still Cutting Ribbons!

Just when yours truly thought that the summer was a slower time for the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), I realized how wrong I was.

Since our last issue, there have been eight well-attended WCCC ribbon-cutting and other free events to keep the local businesses hosting these events happy, even in the 100° heat of late June and early July.

Here’s a listing of a few of the events you may have missed:

Señor T’s

LA Fitness Tampa Palms (6/25)

Seven Oaks Pet Depot & Hospital (also 6/25)

Buttermilk Provisions (July 6)

Bay Dermatology (7/15)

Pasco Education Foundation (7/21)

Try 7 Layers Bakery!

If you haven’t yet tried the new 7 Layers Bakery (26306 Wesley Chapel Blvd., or S.R. 54) in the Grand Oaks Plaza in Lutz since we told you about it opening a few months ago, check out the picture and tell me you don’t want to try this true, New York-style bakery owned by Evelyn Barrero and William Moreno. Pictured are the new amaretto cupcake, my favorite peanut butter cup cupcake, a hand-piped cannoli, the new chocolate eclair, my new favorite creme brulée cupcake and the bakery’s signature 7-layer cookies. Call 388-2271 or see pg. 37 for info.

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care’s Dr. Rita Dubey Promises Excellent Care

For Dr. Rita Dubey (pronounced “Doo-bay”), the best part of being a pediatrician is not just that she gets to care for sick children or advise families about how to help keep their kids healthy — although she says she loves that part of her job. The best part, she says, is watching them metamorphose from newborn infants to toddlers to teens and beyond.

“The best part of pediatrics is the evolution that we see,” says Dr. Dubey, who is the owner and sole physician at New Tampa Pediatrics and Adolescent Care located the Seven Oaks Professional Park (west of Sam’s Club), off S.R. 56. “It’s so interesting to see the patients blossom and grow, their development and growth.”

Dr. Dubey has practiced medicine for more than three decades. She received her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, equivalent to the MD) degree from Mumbai University in Mumbai, India, in 1982.

She completed her residency in pediatrics at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN, in 1991, and practiced at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in Knoxville until she moved to Tampa in January 1999.

After moving here, she worked for the Health Point Pediatric Group in Tampa and the Pediatric Health Care Alliance in Riverview before deciding to set up her own practice.

With two young children who were then ages 4 and 7 and attending local schools, Dr. Dubey and her husband Rajiv (who is the chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida) settled in Tampa Palms. Taking measure of the rapid growth north of where they lived, Dr. Dubey decided to open her own practice in Wesley Chapel in October 2006.

Over the past decade, she has seen patients from newborns upwards — “Once they leave home, they leave me!,” she says — and her services run the gamut of traditional pediatric care.

Dr. Dubey says she often “meets” a patient when they are still in utero and the parent comes by for a visit to see if this is the office they want for their family. Once the baby becomes a patient, Dr. Dubey carries out the gamut of periodic well care visits based on the timeline set by the American Association of Pediatrics. She checks growth and development, making sure the children meet their milestones, and offers counseling, behavior, safety and well-care visits.

Patients also can get sports physicals, as well as school and camp physicals.

Because Dr. Dubey is the only physician on staff, she sees all of the patients herself and knows all of their families and their concerns personally. She is almost always able to see patients the same day they call because the office keeps half the day open to see sick children and the other half for well care and physicals. Basic lab tests also are performed at the office.

For Wesley Chapel resident Liz Crew, New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care was worth the drive from Brooksville, where she lived at the time when her older daughter, now 10, was born.

That daughter was Dr. Dubey’s third Crew family patient. She says he two younger daughters (now ages 4 and 7) have been Dr. Dubey’s patients all along.

Crew also has referred other friends and family members to the practice.

“We really love the practice,” says Crew. “We love Dr. Dubey. The staff is always courteous and on top of things. There’s never been a time that I’ve made an after-hour call and not received a call back. Dr. Dubey is very personable and likes to know what’s going on in life, in school and with extra-curricular activities. She recognizes if kids are apprehensive and has a good bedside manner.”

Dr. Dubey says she believes medicine was a natural fit for her after she became interested in the sciences as a teen. Once she started medical school, she says she was drawn to pediatrics because of the positive impacts she could have on young lives.

She says she also loves the fact that the follow-through is so much better with children than with adults, noting that while grownups will frequently disregard doctors’ advice about health and habits, when it comes to their children, they are so careful and will go the extra mile for their health.

Keeping Up With Trends

Having been in practice so long, Dr. Dubey is ideally positioned to observe trends in children’s health. One is the issue of childhood obesity, the rise of which she has certainly noted.

“With every other child, we have to talk about weight management,” she says.

So many children suffer from being anywhere from mildly overweight to obese that a regular part of Dr. Dubey’s practice has become to find resources to get children back into good health with healthy food and proper exercise.

She says that moving away from a sedentary lifestyle and eating so many processed foods are the keys to curbing the increase in early onset diabetes and high cholesterol in so many children.

“Another disturbing trend is the practice of questioning immunizations,” says Dr. Dubey. Over the past decade, she has had an increase of parents coming to her concerned about information they have gathered from the internet about the dangers of immunization, Widely publicized — and yet, thoroughly discredited studies — linking vaccinations to autism are one reason for parents refusing vaccinations. Other reasons include a belief that vaccination schedules are the result of drug companies pushing for profits, or fear mongering from the medical community.

Dr. Dubey tells parents that the vaccinations prevent illnesses that have caused devastation in the past, and she is worried about pockets of illnesses now breaking out when people refuse to vaccinate their kids.

Anxiety amongst teens is another issue commonly in the news, and Dr. Dubey says it has always been there, but parents are acknowledging and addressing it more nowadays. She says parents also are more aware, informed and wary about overmedicating children. The overuse of antibiotics and resulting resistance is an issue with which many parents have become familiar. She adds that today’s parents are more amenable to suggestions to observe their children and give nature a chance. If problems persists, they are encouraged to bring the child back.

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care is open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., but Dr. Dubey also takes after-hours calls. The office accepts most private insurance plans, as well as Medicaid.

“We strive to provide competent and compassionate care,” says Dr. Dubey. “Our staff knows that our patients come first.”

New Tampa Pediatric & Adolescent Care is located at 2236 Ashley Oaks Cir. in Wesley Chapel. For more information, see the ad on page 42 of our current issue or, to make an appointment, call 973-2500.

Fast Track Urgent Care — Bridging The Gap Between Your Doctor & The ER

If you’re sick or injured and can’t be seen by your primary care doctor right away, urgent care facilities offer a convenient alternative. Much less expensive than a visit to the emergency room, and with expanded hours when compared with a typical doctor’s office, it’s no wonder urgent care facilities are popular with people in need of medical care all over the U.S.

One urgent care facility in Wesley Chapel takes its role in helping meet the healthcare needs of the community to the next level.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center, located just off of S.R. 54 west of I-75, calls itself a “boutique” urgent care facility, because it offers not only a personal touch, but also expanded services that can make the inconvenience of a sudden illness or an unexpected injury a little easier to deal with.

For example, the center offers what it calls “Fast Pass,” an online check-in system. Although appointments are not required, patients can fill out their paperwork in advance and skip the line when they arrive at the urgent care facility.

“Our goal is to get you in and out within 30-60 minutes,” says Paul Nanda, M.D., who is the medical director for Fast Track’s four locations, including Wesley Chapel, South Tampa, Westchase, and Carrollwood. “We know you didn’t wake up that morning with plans to go to urgent care, so we want to make you better and get you back to your life as soon as possible.”

Dr. Nanda says Fast Track also offers free home delivery of medications. “If you’re not feeling well and have a fever, we know you don’t want to wait in line at the pharmacy,” he explains. “So, after your appointment, you can go home and we’ll bring your prescriptions to you within two hours.”

He adds, “We also handle all referrals in-house, so we actually make the phone call, ensure that the facility we refer you to will take your insurance, and set up the follow-up appointment for you,” says Dr. Nanda. “We help you navigate the healthcare system. And, we don’t just tell you to follow up with your primary doctor if you don’t feel better in a few days. We tell you to come back to us. We’re a boutique facility, so we give a higher level of care.”

Medical Staff

The staff at Fast Track includes a dozen Board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The team of experienced professionals rotate among the company’s four locations.

Fast Track Urgent Care Center was founded in 2005 by Tampa native Daron G. Diecidue, M.D., who is Board-certified in Family Medicine. Dr. Diecidue holds Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees in both Biology and Psychology from Florida State University in Tallahassee, and a degree in Chemistry from the University of South Florida in Tampa. He received his M.D. degree from the University of South Florida School of Medicine and performed his residency in family medicine at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He is an active member of the American Academy of Family Practice, the Florida Medical Association and the Urgent Care Association of America.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nanda has served as medical director of Fast Track Urgent Care since 2013. He also is Board-certified in Family Medicine. Dr. Nanda received a B.S. degree in Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1996, and a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Immunology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1999, and his M.D. degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine in St. Maarten in 2003. He completed his residency at Ohio State University in Columbus in 2007.

Dr. Nanda also interviewed for a residency at Bayfront Hospital in St. Petersburg. At that time, he says he, “fell in love with Tampa” and was hoping to find an opportunity to work in the area. When the opportunity arose to work with Fast Track Urgent Care Clinic, he says he jumped at the chance.

“I really like the office and its philosophy of how to treat patients,” Dr. Nanda says. “When I interviewed with Dr. Diecidue, the CEO, I found that he is doing things the way I would do them if I owned my own practice.”

Dr. Nanda was hired in 2013 and was quickly promoted to medical director. He says he is, “responsible for ensuring the practice consistently offers patient-oriented, evidence-based, cost-effective care” at Fast Track’s four locations, including the Wesley Chapel center.

“I was always taught that patients come first,” explains Dr. Nanda. “As providers, we are advocates who do what’s best for the patient. Sometimes that means we have to fight with insurance companies. Sometimes that means we don’t randomly prescribe antibiotics. Sometimes that means we help people navigate the healthcare system, which has become more and more confusing. We hire providers who agree with our patient-first philosophy, and we ask them to treat every patient like they would treat their own mom or child.”

For a complete list of the medical providers at the Wesley Chapel office, go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com.

Newest Location: Wesley Chapel

The Wesley Chapel office opened in February of this year. The location was previously a different urgent care center, so Fast Track Urgent Care was able to move in quickly when that location became available.

“We were looking to get into this area because it’s exciting — and growing — and there was a lack of really good urgent care facilities,” says Dr. Nanda.

He says the practice treats most conditions that a traditional family practice would treat, but without the wait times that can be associated with a primary care physician in today’s healthcare environment. He explains that Fast Track’s doctors don’t handle long-term management of a chronic condition, such as high blood pressure or depression, but when you’re sick or injured, that’s the time to come to the center.

“We treat everyone from infant to geriatric,” says Dr. Nanda. “The youngest patient I’ve ever treated in urgent care was two days old, and the oldest was 103,” although the clinic currently does not treat infants under three months old.

“For young, healthy people with no chronic conditions, in some cases we actually function as a primary care doctor,” says Dr. Nanda. “We’re not trying to take the place of a primary care physician, but you can come and see us whenever you’re sick or injured. We’re open 84 hours a week (12 hours a day, Sunday-Saturday), and we’re here to serve you and your medical needs. We make it as quick and easy as possible, and we take care of our patients with extra care services.”

He says another important role that the Wesley Chapel Fast Track Urgent Care Center plays is to give people an alternative to visiting the emergency room when they find themselves sick or injured, and their doctor’s office is either booked or closed.

“Healthcare is getting more and more expensive,” Dr. Nanda says. “While a typical emergency room visit can cost thousands of dollars (with no insurance), our average visit is just $125. We want to keep people out of the ER and get them feeling better.”

And, people do seem to be taking notice. On the center’s website, dozens of five-star reviews highlight what people love about Fast Track Urgent Care Center.

“Very quick, and attentive staff all around,” writes John P. “Best urgent care experience I’ve ever had.”

And, patient Carmen L. writes, “Fast Track is always the place I choose when I can’t get in to my own doctor. They always give exceptional service. I truly recommend Fast Track for your urgent care needs.”

Fast Track Urgent Care Center has four locations throughout the Tampa Bay area. The Wesley Chapel office is located at 5504 Gateway Blvd. and is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. To make a reservation with Fast Pass or for more information, go to FastTrackUrgentCare.com or call 925-1903.

Second-Largest Hotel In Wesley Chapel Breaking Ground Soon

A Hilton Garden Inn (rendering below) planned for an outparcel on the southeast corner of S.R. 56 and Silver Maple Pkwy. is currently wrapping up the permitting process and could break ground by the end of August, according to Justin Floyd, the president of R.E. Floyd Construction Corporation.

The new hotel, which will have 123 rooms, making it the largest in Wesley Chapel other than the 540-room Saddlebrook Resort, will be constructed next to the existing BB&T Bank, which is on the same side of S.R. 56 as Texas Roadhouse.

Floyd heads up the construction firm handling the project for a local ownership group based out of New York. He says the ownership group has 27 years of experience in the hotel business and made the decision to expand into the Florida market and the Wesley Chapel area because, “they saw the tremendous amount of growth potential.”

The Hilton Garden Inn will be six stories, and will feature a full restaurant with outdoor seating, a pool and spa with outdoor patio and fire pit, a conference/meeting facility as well as business and fitness centers.

Floyd says he hopes to complete the project and open the hotel during the summer of 2017.

The Hilton Garden Inn is one of three hotels expected to be built along roughly a three-mile stretch of S.R. 56.

Almost directly across S.R. 56, near what will soon become Florida Hospital Center Ice, a Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites is expected to open at 2775 Cypress Ridge Blvd. in March 2017. Owned by Global Hotel Group and Gillym Investments, the Holiday Inn Express will have 80 rooms.

And further down S.R. 56, east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall, the 54,500-sq.ft. Fairfield Inn & Suites Wiregrass — which will have 92 rooms — is going through permitting. We’ll keep you posted.

Porter/Raymond James Financial Finally Given Permit To Begin Construction

Following almost five years of discussions and anticipation — mixed in with a nice-sized helping of doubt — the long-talked-about Raymond James Financial campus is one huge step closer to becoming a reality at the corner of S.R. 56 and Mansfield Blvd.

Wiregrass Ranch developer JD Porter finally received the news two weeks ago that he has been waiting more than two years for, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proffered an environmental permit for the 65 acres of property just east of the Shops at Wiregrass mall.

“We were all thrilled, everyone in the family,’’ said Porter, the owner and operator of Wiregrass Ranch Inc. “We worked very, very closely with the Army engineers, and it is nice to finally reach a resolution.”

Porter joked in April at a Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) Economic Development meeting that he was tired of hearing about the delays involving Raymond James, but insisted (as he has many times in the past) that the facility was still imminent. He predicted then he would have the Army Corps permit in a few weeks, and though it took just a little bit longer he is now ready to proceed.

“Right now, we have all the permits in hand to proceed forward,’’ Porter said.

The St. Petersburg-based financial services company has been working for several years on the process with the Porter family and, in early 2011, agreed to purchase the land at an undisclosed price, provided the permitting could be completed.

The deal was approved by the Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) later that year. In exchange for $15-million in incentives and tax breaks, the county would reap the benefits of what would eventually be planned as six four-story buildings totaling roughly 1-million-sq.-ft., and housing 750 employees by 2024, which will inject millions into the county tax rolls.

Although the Raymond James campus was originally scheduled to begin building in 2012, with the first 100 employees arriving by 2014, the project stalled.

In 2014, a few months after another financial firm, T. Rowe Price, jettisoned its plans to build on 72 acres near the Suncoast Pkwy., Raymond James postponed its project. But, the financial services giant did say it still had plans for the property.

Now, there is renewed optimism that Raymond James will make the impact promised years ago.

“I’m glad that’s over and done with,’’ said District 2 commissioner Mike Moore. “The economic impact will be huge for Pasco County as a whole. There will be nothing bigger in the county.”

Moore said Raymond James will become the largest non-governmental employer in Pasco. “And, anytime you bring in a large employer like that, things start to happen around it,’’ he says.

Bill Cronin, the new president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council (EDC), said when he started in January, one of his first meetings was with Raymond James, citing the importance of getting the company here.

“The investment by Raymond James will be one that, when other companies look to grow here, they will see that someone else has blazed that trail for them,’’ Cronin said. “It will make my job a little easier, to show people there are others that have made this positive decision.”

He added, “Success begets success.”

The next step for Porter will be to re-negotiate the development agreement and adjust some of the original timelines with the BOCC, which will likely take place in the next month or so.

“That triggers the closing,’’ Porter said.

Porter thinks the addition of the financial facility is a major piece of what he hopes the Wiregrass Ranch area will become, as it should drive up home sales and makes the area more attractive to other businesses.

“I think whether we’re talking Raymond James, or the mall or Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, the state college, you are looking at the kinds of things that define cities and define regions,’’ Porter says. “We’re lucky to land four of them in a short time, when some communities don’t have this after 30 or 40 years.”