Since its inception, Lake Nona’s Medical City has become the hub of medical treatment, education and research in Central Florida. Anchored by UCF’s College of Medicine, the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Medical City will be expanding its medical cluster in the coming year.

One of Medical City’s new additions, the VA Medical Center, will open in the fall of 2012. The $665-million building will take up 1.2 million square feet, which is large for a medical center. Also on the property will be a community living center and the SimLEARN building, which will provide training to nurses and doctors.

“Our property is about the size of Sea World and our building will fill up most of that space,” says Joe Battle, the VA’s Activations Executive.

Battle says the hospital will be very modern and will be equipped with the latest diagnostic care equipment. The building is also energy efficient in the hopes of earning a silver LEED certificate. It offers single rooms with great views and there are healing gardens that offer patients a place to get some peace of mind.

Since the patients are older, specific accommodations have been made to help them during their stay. For example, the parking garage is part of the building so patients don’t have to walk a long distance to get to the building. The rooms are also equipped with mechanical lifts so the hospital staff doesn’t have to lift patients out of bed.

“Our hospital is set up for ease of use with the veteran so they can get where they need to go with the minimum amount of effort,” says Battle.

In fact, the entire building was designed with the veterans in mind.

“We want the veterans to feel like they’re being honored,” says Battle. “Our patients will know they’re coming to a place that’s special for them.”

But the VA isn’t the only facility opening next fall. The Nemours Children’s Hospital will be a 630,000-square-foot building with the capacity for 137 beds.

“The rooms will all be single-family rooms and will be 50 percent larger than required,” says Josh Wilson, senior manager of public and community relations for Nemours.

Like the VA, Nemours caters to its patients and has specifically designed the hospital to be family friendly. As Wilson says, the building is designed by families for families. Nemours’ own family advisory council, which consists of parents of Nemours’ patients, was able to give input on how the building should be designed.

“They met with an architect, helping to make careful decisions about how the hospital should look and feel,” says Wilson.

Each of the rooms is equipped with a colored light and kids can choose which color they’d like for their room. There will be rooftop gardens on the second and fourth floors as well as nature trails and a healing garden outside.

Both Nemours and the VA will have the opportunity to partner with other medical powerhouses in Medical City, including the medical schools, UCF and UF.

UF will open its 100,000-square-foot academic and research facility next summer. The lab will allow students to study aging and mobility as well as conduct drug research.

Valencia Community College will also open a campus on Lake Nona. The first of four buildings is expected to open August 2012 and will contain classrooms, labs, a bookstore and café as well as a library. The building will cost Valencia close to $22 million and will take up around 250,000 square feet. About 5,000 students will be serviced through this new campus.

Coupled with dozens of smaller-scale medical and nonmedical businesses, the Lake Nona area shows little sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Article by Marisa Ramiccio

The faculty at the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine has been educating the future physicians of America for years, but now it has a new endeavor - to provide medical services to the public.

Last November, UCF opened Pegasus Health, a clinic that focuses on primary care and specializes in sports medicine, nephrology, neurology, rheumatology, cardiology, geriatrics and infectious diseases.

The clinic is staffed entirely by UCF College of Medicine faculty and the best part is that you don’t have to be a Knight to receive treatment. That’s right, the clinic is open to the general public and people from throughout Central Florida and beyond have already taken advantage of what the facility has to offer. According to Linda Smelser, director of clinical operations, the clinic has treated patients from Kissimmee, Jupiter and even Palm Beach.

“We’ve seen about 300 patients so far and we’ve heard a lot of positive feedback about [the clinic],” says Smelser. “I think the College of Medicine faculty attract people from far and away, which is wonderful.”

Although UCF’s College of Medicine is located in Lake Nona, the Pegasus Health clinic is located on the corner of University Boulevard and Quadrangle Boulevard, close to UCF’s main campus.

“We picked this particular location because of the close proximity to the university,” says Smelser.

According to Leonardo Oliveira, a College of Medicine faculty member and physician at Pegasus Health, this location allows the physicians to serve the community better.

“We’re so close to the main campus. We want to give back to the community and being where we are allows us to do that,” says Oliveira, who is board certified in sports and general medicine.

“It’s a way for us to become better communicators. Medicine is the art of communication and caring for individuals,” says Oliveira. “We’re delivering the best care for our students in the classroom and the best care for our patients in the community.”

In order to provide the best care, the clinic utilizes the most up-to-date technology. The computers run on wireless Internet, and medical publications and books can all be accessed remotely on-site. The patients’ medical records are also electronic, to cut down on the use of paper, and can be accessed from the clinic or at the college.

The facility itself is also designed to provide the best care for the patient. The patient rooms, where the doctor and the patient confer, tend to be a dreaded place for many who don’t like going to the doctor’s office. But these patient rooms don’t look or feel like the typical ones found in many other practices. Instead, these rooms are designed to relax the patient and help take the stress out of the visit. All of the rooms have paintings and windows that offer plenty of sunshine and outside views.

“The building is designed to make patients feel like they’re not in a physician’s office, but in a hotel,” says Oliveira.

In the future, the physicians at Pegasus Health would like to further their patient care by adding a portal where patients can access their own medical information. Smelser says at some point in the future the students at UCF’s College of Medicine may be able to use the clinic to gain hands-on experience.

Another future goal of the clinic is to spread the word about Pegasus Health and let people know that it’s not just for students; anyone is welcome.

If you need to stop by the Pegasus Health clinic, it’s open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. The clinic accepts most major health insurance carriers and patients must be 16 or older. For more information on Pegasus Health, visit www.UcfPegasusHealth.com.

Article by Marisa Ramiccio

First off, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and say I sincerely hope you had a wonderful and safe holiday season. A new year brings new opportunities and challenges and if you’re like me, you’re ready to hit 2012 with full force. But, before we all get a running start on the New Year, I want to inform you about the final decision on redistricting and changes to district lines.

Redistricting

The Florida Constitution and Orange County Charter require redistricting to occur once every 10 years in response to the new census. On Tuesday, December 6, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) voted to approve Map Proposal M-3 for redistricting. This map can be found on the Orange County Government website at www.OCFL.net/RAC.

The map was voted on and approved with a 4-3 vote by the BCC. Map M-3 was proposed by Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and resembles many of the features found in Committee Proposal Map 12B. The decision at the BCC meeting came after an additional Sunshine Meeting was scheduled and held on November 29 to facilitate continued discussion between commissioners, as a decision could not be finalized at the previously scheduled BCC meeting.

An element of the redistricting process is to assure that all districts are as equal in population as possible. With the largest population of any district, District 4 had to shed an estimated 63,000 residents to fall in line with remaining district populations. This process does not affect District 4 residents east of Semoran Boulevard as your representation remains largely intact.

I would like to thank everyone who actively participated in the redistricting process. Your time, input, and patience into the matter were truly appreciated. I’ve always believed active participation in local government by residents helps to make Orange County a great place to call home, no matter what district you find yourself living in.

Upcoming Events

Please join me Saturday, January 7 from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. to celebrate the First Annual District 4 Three Kings Day event. The event will be held at the Meadow Woods Magic Recreation Center located on 1751 Rhode Island Woods Circle, Orlando, FL. This celebratory event is designed to observe the holiday and will feature music, entertainment, food and gifts for children ages 2-8 who attend. The event is completely free and open to the public

Also, be sure to mark your calendars for Thursday, January 26 at 7 p.m. That’s when I’ll be speaking to East Orange residents at the Stoneybrook Clubhouse regarding issues facing the South Alafaya Trail communities.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact my office at 407.836.5881 or email me at JenniferThompson@OCFL.net. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

My husband Justin and I have always loved the sport of rowing. For as long as I can remember it has been a passion of ours and even though we’re new to the Lake Nona area, we are certainly not new to rowing. With more than 33 years of combined experience, it’s our hope to bring new sporting opportunities to East Orlando and Central Florida while adding to the overall health and activity level of our neighbors.

Our rowing team, South Orlando Rowing Association (SORA), has programs for anyone who is passionate or even just interested in learning about rowing. But starting last month, we began a whole new phase of programming that has us very excited. We are now hosts to two athletes training for the 2012 London Paralympic Games. Sgt. Rob Jones and Oksana Masters are both Trunk and Arms Athletes who will be in Orlando for three months through SORA’s partnerships with Paralympic Military Program, Athletes Without Limits and Louisville Adaptive Rowing.

Rob is a US Marine who was honorably serving our country in Afghanistan when he came across an IED (explosive), which resulted in amputation of both legs. Rob became a bilateral above knee amputee in July of 2010.

After spending her early childhood in a Ukranian orphanage, Oksana was adopted when she was 7-years-old. As a result of radiation poisoning, Oksana had both of her legs amputated above the knee. Oksana has been rowing for 10 years through Louisville Adaptive Rowing.

Working with Athletes Without Limits whose focus is intellectually disabled athletes, and the Paralympic Military Program doors will be opened for adaptive rowing and rehabilitation in Central Florida. Through this partnership, SORA coaches and families are receiving training on the integration of adaptive rowing with existing programs.

Justin has always said that in rowing, disabled athletes are able to experience the freedom that the water has to offer.   A boat glides through the water with the same grace and ease no matter what your skill level or ability and the thrill of competition can be just as rewarding for all. The pride of being part of a team, that is greater than the sum of its members, is equal for all athletes and coaches alike and rowing offers that opportunity to the disabled community.

The sport of adaptive rowing, which made its Paralympic debut in 2008 Beijing Paralympic games currently offers three competitive categories for athletes:

• Legs, trunk, and arms
• Trunk and arms only
• Arms and shoulders

In addition to physically disabilities, there are also rowing opportunities for the intellectually disabled (ID) community with most ID athletes rowing in group boats with SORA adult and youth volunteers.

We encourage everyone to get involved by volunteering or by learning to row. Our volunteers are a vital part of being able to serve the adaptive community in Central Florida but they don’t need to have previous rowing experience.

SORA coaches and volunteers utilize rowing to promote strong character, high integrity, positive self-concept, contribution to community, and a healthful lifestyle. We are honored to be here and look forward to you joining our diverse, challenging and rewarding group as we become even more involved in the community.

SORA can be found daily at Moss Park rowing on Lake Mary Jane and Lake Hart. They offer programs for all ages including Middle School, High School, Adult, Adaptive and programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. If interested in volunteering with rowing programs serving Physically Disabled and Intellectually Disabled athletes or any of SORA’s programs, visit www.SORAcrew.com.

Article By Katie Lednar

Giving back to the community may not be on many high school students’ list of priorities, but for some it’s a must. This is the first year that community service hours are a requirement for both the Bright Futures Florida Medallion Scholars Award (FMS) and the Gold Seal Vocational Award.

Students who wish to receive the Florida Medallion Award must complete at least 75 hours of community service. The FMS Award used to cover up to 75 percent of college tuition per year, but now, like the rest of the Bright Futures Scholarships, it only covers a certain dollar amount.

The FMS Award isn’t the only one now requiring community service; students who want to earn the Gold Seal Vocational Award must complete at least 30 hours of community service as well.

Bright Futures has also upped the ante for students striving to earn the Florida Academic Scholars Award. That award now requires 100 hours of community service to be completed instead of 75 hours.

To help students meet this requirement, some schools offer Volunteer Public Service courses, which enable students to volunteer at their own school.

According to Jill Weems, a guidance counselor at Timber Creek, students there can aid teachers, work in one of the offices and take part in janitorial work for a class called Engaged Citizenship. Students can earn up to 75 community service hours during the semester-long course, but are eligible to take it twice in one year for a total of 150 community service hours.

Although there aren’t a lot of benefits to obtaining a high amount of hours, the eligibility for scholarships does increase.

“For many scholarships out there, a number of community service hours is part of the eligibility requirements so more hours could mean more scholarship opportunities,” says Anne Wilson, a guidance counselor at East River High School.

One of those opportunities is at Timber Creek High School. The school participates in a scholarship program for students who have the highest amount of community service hours, called the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, and the prize is much desired.

“That [scholarship] is for someone who does a lot and one of the things they can win is a trip to Washington D.C. with everything paid for,” says Weems. “So there are a lot of other scholarships that are service-based.”

Earning community service hours may sound like a chore to some high schoolers, but once they start getting involved, they don’t want to stop. Weems says that she has seen students who aren’t enthralled with school find their niche in community service.

“Once they do that, they feel good about what they’re doing,” says Weems.

In the past, students at Timber Creek have volunteered their time to help underprivileged kids in Parramore while students at East River have volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida, the Russell Home for Atypical Children and the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

Wilson says that some students also choose to host fundraisers and car washes, while others get involved through their church. Wilson and Weems agree that colleges look for this kind of community involvement on college applications.

“I think colleges are looking for students who are involved outside of a school day, and often that means community service of some type,” says Wilson. “Colleges like to see that same type of involvement on the college campus. They are looking for students who are going to do more than just go to class and go home.”

Article by Marisa Ramiccio