FHWC Celebrates 5 Years; ‘Inspiration Place’ Women’s Center Set To Open!

When 8,000 people attended the public grand opening of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) a couple of weeks before it opened to patients on October 1, 2012, they couldn’t have imagined how much of an impact on the community the hospital would have had on so many of us, just five years later.

FHWC continues to expand and grow, adding more services and technology to serve Wesley Chapel. In the last five years, FHWC has had 177,000 emergency room visits, more than 27,000 inpatient admissions  and more than 1,900 babies born. And, the hospital’s medical staff physicians have performed nearly 17,500 surgeries.

In addition, FHWC also features its Health & Wellness Center (which now has more than 5,500 members), the Center for Women’s Health, Outpatient Rehabilitation services, robotic surgery systems and a recently completed expansion, which cost $78 million and added a heart catheterization lab, nearly doubled the number of emergency rooms and operating rooms, and added 62 patient rooms to the original 83. FHWC also will add a new wound care center in the spring of 2018.

FHWC also has provided advanced medical care for the Wesley Chapel community and has had a major economic impact on our area. For example, FHWC opened with 400 employees, but now the hospital and adjacent Wellness Plaza employ more than 1,000 people.

The hospital hosted a community celebration on October 1, with family activities, food trucks and community partners from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Pasco County Fire Rescue. The hospital also showcased its new ambulance, which will transport patients from a new offsite emergency department in Land O’Lakes (opening in January) and transport patients between FHWC and the other local hospitals in the Florida Hospital/Adventist Health Care family when necessary.

“We are blessed and proud to have served our community for the last five years,” says FHWC president and CEO Denyse Bales-Chubb. “Our expansion reflects the community’s trust in our care and the awards and recognitions we have received are a testament to the expertise and compassion of our staff and physicians.”

She adds, “But, we’re not done. We continue to add services to better meet the needs of our community.”

True Inspiration!

A $2.8-million dollar women’s health center, which will be called “Inspiration Place,” will open in the FHWC Wellness Plaza, today, Monday, October 23, offering comprehensive care for women at every stage of life.

Services available at Inspiration Place include gynecology, obstetrics, and prenatal care, along with primary care services, wellness services and more. Inspiration Place also includes a spa, for services such as massage and skin care treatments. Appointments can be booked now on its website, FHInspirationPlace.org.

An open house for ladies will be held at Inspiration Place on Tuesday, November 14, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Event is free, but registration is required at tinyurl.com/FHWCInspirationplace.

Starbucks, Chick-fil-A & CubeSmart Among The New Businesses Coming To The Area

Updating The Map Of Wesley Chapel Along S.R. 54, From I-75 To W. Of Curley Rd.

  1. Developers are seeking approval for a 110,000-sq.ft. self-storage facility and a 160,000-sq.ft. hotel to be located directly behind the Walgreens at the intersection of S.R. 54 and BBD. The brand of the hotel isn’t determined.
  2. Wesley Chapel’s second Wawa location was approved in Oct. of 2016. Ground just started to be moved near the site where the 6,119-sq.ft. convenience store will be located.
  3. Land is currently being cleared for Chick-Fil-A’s proposed 4,877-sq.ft. restaurant with indoor play area & drive-through.
  4. The 4,000-sq.ft. Heartland Dental office is under construction & will be going vertical by the end of the month. It will share its location with a 4,200-sq.ft. stand-alone building that is still seeking a tenant but has suitors.
  5. Starbucks is expected to open early next year, and the 2,330-sq.ft. coffee hotspot will be flanked by at least three other retail tenants occupying another  5,700-sq.ft. One of those tenants will be a Pizza Hut. 
  6. The Racetrac convenience store, expected to be 5,411-sq.ft. with a 771 sq.ft. patio, is still going through the approval and permitting process, but is planned for the northwest corner of Vandine Rd. &  S.R. 54.
  7. CubeSmart will provide self storage in a three-story, climate-controlled 80,000-sq.-ft. facility, which will be surrounded by 14,000 sq. ft. of single-story storage.
  8. Nail & hair salons are two of the future tenants signed up for Nye Commons, which has 14,000-sq.ft. of space and is hoping to possibly add a restaurant and as many as four other tenants before opening by the end of the year.

After years of developer attention along the S.R. 56 corridor, which has included the debut of the Tampa Premium Outlets, the opening of a plethora of new restaurants and stores like Costco  and the continued growth in the southern portion of the Wiregrass Ranch Development of Regional Impact (DRI), things appear to be turning north.

In and around the intersection of S.R. 54 and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., which had begun to show its age since it was widened a few years ago, ground is being moved as a number of new projects begin to sprout up.

Included in future plans at the intersection and westward on S.R. 54 is another  Wawa, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Racetrac and a number of commercial strip centers that will potentially provide office space to everything from small restaurants to dentists and doctors.

“Everything’s moving north, and that is consistent with our growth pattern,’’ says Hope Allen, the CEO of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce. “You’re starting to see that northern progression.”

The interest in SR. 54 is likely also the result of the saturation of the market along S.R. 56. In fact, Kim Lohry of Berkshire Hathaway says that there are now 27 restaurants located in the S.R. 56 corridor between Wesley Chapel Blvd. and Mansfield Dr., and “it’s a natural progression” for developers to look for other areas more ripe for new development.

Lohry is involved in a project bringing a 4,000-sq.ft. Heartland Dental office to the north side of S.R. 54, between the Walgreens and Wesley Chapel Nissan, as well as a 4,200-sq.ft. free-standing building which will share parking with the dental office. She says she has already fielded a number of inquiries from potential tenants.

Much of the area currently beginning a developmental phase lies south of the so-called “Connected City” project, including Florida’s first two lagoons by Crystal Lagoons in the new Mirada and Epperson Ranch housing developments. The Connected City is expected to add thousands of new residents, and many businesses and jobs to the area over the next 20 years.

While this stretch of 54 has been anchored by Publix and recently added a Wal-Mart Supercenter, the influx of new businesses will find plenty of customers located within a 10-mile radius.

That, along with the widening of S.R. 54 east of Curley Rd. — expected to begin this year or early 2018 — makes this area of Wesley Chapel an attractive target for potential businesses.

“It’s most certainly a prime area for development,” Allen says.

“I sure hope so,’’ says developer Brent Nye of Nye Commercial Advisors, whose retail strip center on BBD just south of the Wells Fargo bank is expected to open by the end of the year. Nye says he already has contracted with a nail and hair salon, and plans to add a restaurant as well. He adds that the 14,000-sq.-ft. plaza, where his business also will be based, could accommodate as many as eight tenants.

Nye also says other projects — like a Racetrac and Bay Breeze Car Wash on S.R. 54 and Vandine Rd., as well as the CubeSmart Self Storage nearing completion on the southwest corner of S.R. 54 and Wesley Chapel Loop — are signs that the stretch of S.R. 54 from BBD to the entrance to Meadow Pointe will soon become populated with businesses.

“I think this is the next area you will see a lot of growth in,’’ he says. “You are already seeing it.”

Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival Returns To District Park October 21!

Jazz Tyme Productions is proud to announce that the Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival will return to the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. on Saturday, October 21, noon-8 p.m. (File photo from 2016)

Although it always features a little more than “just” great jazz, it’s hard not to have a soft spot for the Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival, which returns to the Wesley Chapel District Park on Boyette Rd. (two miles north of S.R. 54) on Saturday, October 21, noon-8 p.m.

Event organizer and promoter Tim Hancock of Jazz Tyme Productions has previously survived events where the heat index seemed to reach 120 degrees and one cancelled by torrential rain as the headliner hit the stage.

But, through it all, Hancock has brought great music, some excellent food and other vendors together for all-day shows that are appropriate for families but still allows adults to enjoy adult music and to a location only 15 minutes or so north of the Hillsborough/Pasco county line.

Bring your lawn chairs and/or blankets and grab the kids for some fun activities just for them.

This year’s Jazz Festival sponsors include the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce, Rubenstein Law, DeSigns Signs & Printing, Serenity Village Insurance & Consulting, Kaptain Krab Seafood, Jazz Tyme Productions and the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News.

Food vendors already announced for this year include JB’s Sweet Addictions, Anthony & Son Catering, Momma’s Empanadas, The Tea Jug, T-Momma Catering & Kaptain Krab Seafood.

For more info about the latest Wesley Chapel Jazz Festival, visit JazzTymeProductions.com.

Small Business Administration Provides Hurricane Assistance Loans

New Tampa and Wesley Chapel residents whose homes, possessions or businesses suffered damage or loss as a result of Hurricane Irma may be surprised that the Small Business Administration (SBA) can help them get back in business or help them be made whole again.

The SBA is providing assistance with low-interest disaster loans for Florida residents and businesses in the 48 counties covered by U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s disaster declaration covering areas affected by Hurricane Irma. Hillsborough and Pasco are among the Florida counties eligible for federal assistance.

Homeowners can apply for low-interest loans up to $200,000 to repair or replace damage to their primary residence and along with renters, can apply for up to $40,000 to cover personal property, including vehicles. SBA homeowner disaster loan rates are advertised as being as low as 1.75 percent with terms up to 30 years.

Help For Businesses, Too

When it comes to assisting businesses and private nonprofit organizations of any size, the SBA disaster loans address not only physical damage to assets such as real estate, infrastructure and inventory, but economic loss as well. Owners can apply for up to $2 million for physical loss and $2 million to cover working capital.

Those loans, called Economic Injury Disaster Loans, are available even if no physical property damage has occurred.

The SBA is advertising loan rates as low as 3.305 percent for businesses and as low as 2.5 percent for non-profit organizations.

The SBA may not be the first place people might think of for homeowner or renter disaster assistance, so public affairs specialists like Mary Gipson and Laura Wages have been dispatched from the agency’s Disaster Assistance Field Operations Office in Atlanta to spread the word about the resource through local media, including a recent stop at the Neighborhood News office.

Gipson says providing disaster assistance is part of the job. “In times of presidential or other federal agency-declared disaster, we make loans to businesses of all sizes, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters,” she says.

Applications for physical property damage loans need to be filed by Thursday, November 9, and the deadline to return economic injury applications is June 11, 2018.

According to Gipson, if you think you have a claim, apply sooner, not later.

“Do not delay when completing your SBA application,” she says.

The SBA loaned $40,900 in Tampa in 2016, with no reported loans in Wesley Chapel, according to data on its website, sba.gov, where you can find more information and apply online.

You can call (800) 659-2955 (or {800} 877-8339 (for deaf and hard of hearing applicants) or call Mary at (202) 579-3172.

If you prefer to do business in person, there is an SBA Disaster Recovery Center serving Hillsborough and Pasco county residents 36 minutes south of County Line Rd. and Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd.,  at Hillsborough Community College at the Regent (6437 Watson Rd. in Riverview). It is open daily from 8 a.m. — 8 p.m., according to the SBA website. Applicants can get assistance filling out the form and have their application reviewed before submitting it.

‘Let’s Not Be Still’ Walk To Be Held Oct. 15!

On Saturday, October 15, which is National Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day, Heritage Isles resident Kimberley Asante will lead an event called “Let’s Not Be Still!”

It’s New Tampa’s first walk to support the Star Legacy Foundation, which provides research, education and support for families who have lost their babies due to miscarriage, stillborn birth or death shortly after birth.

“In 2016, I was pregnant with my daughter,” says Kimberley, who lives in Heritage Isles. “My cousin, who lives in Spain, was pregnant at the same time and was due 10 days after me. We shared a lot of our experiences, because this was the first pregnancy for both of us. On December 31, my baby, Maya, was born happy and healthy. Unfortunately, 2 weeks later my cousin’s baby was stillborn. It was such a horrible loss for the whole family.”

Kimberley decided to do something in honor of her cousin and many other families who suffer similar losses. She says she tried to find an event to participate in, but couldn’t find anything closer than Atlanta. That’s when she decided to organize the event herself.

The “Let’s Not Be Still” walk will start at Heritage Isles Country Club (10630 Plantation Bay Dr.) with registration at 8 a.m. and a family walk at 9:30 a.m. There’s a “diaper dash” for toddlers ages three and under, and a “kids fun run” for ages four through 12. Also, there will be a remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m.

For information or to register, visit LetsNotBeStill-Tampa.org.