HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy in South Sarasota, FL

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - The red tide advisory that has been in place at beaches in south Sarasota county have been lifted, teh county health department said Wednesday.

The advisories in effect at Turtle Beach, Nokomis Beach, North Jetty, Venice Beach, Service Club Park, Venice Fishing Pier, Brohard Beach, and Caspersen Beach since Oct. 19 have been lifted.

The beach advisory signs have been changed at all beaches at this time with the exception of North Jetty, due to a temporary road closure associated with hurricane Ian clean-up. The signs will be changed as soon as possible once the area is accessible.

Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County officials received testing results Wednesday that showed zero cells for red tide were present.

There are no advisories in place for any beaches in Sarasota County at this time.

Red tide can cause some people to have mild and short-lived respiratory symptoms such as eye, nose, and throat irritation like those associated with the common cold or seasonal sinus allergies. This can cause severe symptoms among individuals with respiratory issues like asthma.

Usually, symptoms stop when a person leaves the beach or goes indoors. It’s best to avoid the beach or go indoor if issues present themselves.

Results for Sarasota County beaches will be posted today at www.ourgulfenvironment.net.

FWC red tide status updates are posted on the FWC website at https://myfwc.com/research/redtide/statewide/

Mote Marine’s Beach Conditions report is updated twice daily beaches with lifeguards at https://visitbeaches.org/.

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As the 44,000 students of the Sarasota County Public Schools district are preparing to return the classroom for the 2022-23 school year, the district’s Construction Services division is busy planning four near-term construction projects, three of which will relieve crowding and create capacity for anticipated growth in the southern part of the county.

Scheduled to open in 2025, two new schools in Wellen Park will serve every grade with a new K-8 and a new high school scheduled to open in time for the 2025-26 school year.

Covering 11,000 acres, Wellen Park, a planned community near Venice, will have 22,000 homes and some 60,000 residents at buildout.

A second K-8 at Clark and Lorraine roads will open a year earlier, and over the next two-plus years the Bay Haven School of Basics Plus will undergo necessary mechanical upgrades and renovations sensitive to the historic nature of the building.

In all, the four projects will cost $343 million and serve upwards of 5,700 students. Here is a summery of the district’s four capital projects.

• New high school in Wellen Park: Architect-engineer and construction management contracts are complete and design was scheduled to begin in August 2022 with construction to start in April 2023. With approximately 2,100 students in grades 9-12, the school is scheduled to open in in August 2025.

In addition to classroom space, the project includes an auditorium, media center, gymnasium, cafeteria, full athletic facilities and site work on a compact site located within Wellen Park. The district is planning to utilize a Florida prototype to reduce time and cost.

With a total of 425,000 square feet, the school will cost $155 million. It is intended to relieve pressure at Venice High plus accommodate a projected increase of nearly 3,400 future students across all grades from Wellen Park.

• New K-8 school in Wellen Park: Architect-engineer and construction management contracts will be let in January 2023 and design should start in February 2023. Construction is scheduled to begin in January 2024 with opening expected in August 2025. With a budget of $85 million, the school will accommodate approximately 1,500 students, providing relief for Taylor Ranch Elementary School and classroom space for new students from Wellen Park.

The new K-8 and high schools are located on adjoining sites on River Road. The schools will share sharing parking lots and bus loops.

• New K-8 at Clark and Lorraine roads: Design is underway with construction expected to begin in January 2023 and opening in August 2024. It is the district’s intent to utilize a prototype K-8 concept. Final programing decisions are in process with a focus on STEAM and Robotics. Designed for 1,500 students, the budget is $85 million.

• Renovation at Bay Haven School of Basics Plus: Design work is scheduled to begin in July 2022. The renovations will be phased-in over 24 to 30 months. The historic circa-1926 building requires careful demolition and specific renovation procedures to ensure that the finished project maintains its historic significance.

At $18.1 million, the project consists of setting up 10 existing portables on site and possibly adding two additional units to house displaced students and staff, renovation of the building and restoration of the site. The renovation includes electrical, mechanical and plumbing upgrades; structural remediation where necessary; new exterior doors and hardware; partial window replacement; new flooring, painting and partial casework replacement; new elevator; restroom upgrades; and new soffits and fascia.

South Sarasota County’s United Way is leading the effort to find those still suffering and link them with needed resources.

By Sarah Owens/Community News Collaborative July 20, 2023

It’s still the early stages of the 2023 hurricane season, with September’s traditional peak of activity still on the way, but hundreds of Sarasota County residents remain in crisis following Hurricane Ian and the season that ended in November 2022, a South County study has found.

The Sarasota County Long Term Recovery Group, spearheaded by United Way of South Sarasota County, created a needs assessment to identify people and projects that require attention. As of June 27, the group has served more than 287 households, although it originally expected to see as many as 2,000. Participation is still open to those in need.

“In this particular area, they had not experienced any significant hurricane damage for 80 years, so the fact that there was a need for any assistance was very unusual,” says United Way vice-president of philanthropy Judy Jankowski. “I think a lot of folks were not prepared, and a lot of them decided to ride out the storm. Because of that, they didn’t have time to evacuate or adequately prepare in their minds.”

Jankowski says many residents had faith that agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or private insurance companies would help.

Instead, residents such as 43-year-old Lindsay Weishaar, a nurse at Sarasota Memorial Hospital at the time of the hurricane, and her family have hit roadblock after roadblock, spending months dealing with insurance companies and FEMA for funding or help in repairing their home in Venice.

“I had flood insurance, I had homeowners’ insurance, two separate companies, two policies. We evacuated despite the fact that less than a year prior we installed all new hurricane-impact windows and doors, our roof was only eight or nine years old, and historically we have never flooded,” says Weishaar. “The next morning, we came [home] and there was still water in the house. All the rugs were soaking wet, all my furniture was soaking wet. I thought, ‘OK, well this isn’t good, but this is why we have insurance.’”

Weishaar began the claims process on her way back home the morning after Ian delivered torrential rain, flooding storm surge and triple-digit winds, beginning what would be a long road toward getting her home back, though it’s still not finished. From October to January, the Weishaars moved nine times, a difficult task with two children under the age of 6, and exhausted their savings.

“FEMA provided no reimbursements for housing, no help whatsoever, and their statement to me was, ‘Well, ma’am, we’re really here to help the people who are uninsured or underinsured, and you have insurance,’” said Weishaar. “But my insurance, Citizens, would not allow me to use my loss of use funds because we were out of the house due to the flood, and the flood insurance doesn’t even offer loss of use. So if your house is damaged by a flood, you’re just out of luck if you can’t live in it.”

Before the family could receive help from FEMA, they had to provide a denial letter from Citizens, which Weishaar says she did not receive until Dec. 27, 2022. After receiving the letter, Weishaar visited the Disaster Recovery Center in Englewood, where she was approved for about $1,500 a month in rental assistance.

According to apartments.com, the average studio apartment in Venice costs $1,516 a month, while a three-bedroom is nearly $3,000. With Weishaar having to live within 30 minutes of the hospital for work, this made finding housing near impossible.

Finally, a friend referred the family to United Way, which provided them with a camper in which to live in their backyard. After months fighting with insurance, getting their home reappraised, waiting on permits, and taking out more than $130,000 in loans to cover the difference between coverage and actual cost, repairs to the Weishaars’ house began on June 6, 2023, with completion expected in September—about a year after the damage was done.

At press time, the Weishaars had not participated in the needs assessment, so their expenses are not included in the estimated $4,796,964 cost to cover the needs of the 287 households that applied for the assessment.

Over half of those who took part in the assessment are elderly, with another 58 being disabled and 46 being veterans. According to Chris Johnson, vice-president of community impact at United Way, 80 percent of applicants also suffer from chronic medical conditions.

The assessment breaks down needs based on severity and urgency, fulfilling needs through partnerships with more than 45 local nonprofits and volunteer groups. These groups have been organized into committees and case managers.

“We were able to break it down from the construction and structural needs of recovery to household needs and personal needs,” says Johnson. “Case management is the key to the success of any of these programs, because that case manager is the one who’s helping that family one-on-one, identifying the needs and then connecting resources.”

The needs assessment can connect individuals to resources that provide assistance with structural repairs, clothing, appliances, spiritual needs and mental health needs beyond those which traditional insurance and federal aid can provide.

According to Johnson, this is exactly the group’s mission. He says that there are three stages to disaster response and recovery: short term, intermediate and long term. Short term is where the county and local entities provide immediate help in the days after the event. Intermediate is when organizations such as FEMA do the heavy lifting, lasting weeks to months. The long term response is reserved for groups such as the Long Term Recovery Group, potentially reaching the year or more mark.

“There are still people out there who are in the middle of crisis,” Johnson says. “The hurricane is not over for them yet, even though the vast majority of the county has moved on. It’s still a day-in, day-out thing for them.”

As the group continues to fill these needs, Johnson noted that it will also be preparing and planning so that it can respond much more quickly to any future events.

The Emergency Fund is a “last resort fund” established to assist working people and their families who live in Venice, North Port, Englewood, Osprey, Nokomis or Laurel and who have experienced an unbudgeted and unexpected expense, a lay-off, an unexpected loss of income or a financial hardship

Click here or visit the United Way offices at 4242 South Tamiami Trail, Venice for assistance in signing up for help.

Construction is officially underway for the first-ever student center and residence hall on the University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus, launching a new era for USF’s home along Sarasota Bay and the surrounding community.

The six-story, 100,000-square-foot building, going up along the south side of the campus courtyard, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024 as the on-campus home for as many as 200 students.

USF students, community leaders and other guests gathered on campus on Wednesday, March 1, for a groundbreaking ceremony hosted by USF President Rhea Law and Sarasota-Manatee campus Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook.

“This project represents a significant milestone in the University of South Florida’s history and signals our commitment to the expansion of the Sarasota-Manatee campus,” Law said. “We’ve made it a priority to increase student housing at USF because we know that living on campus can raise academic performance, support student retention and create a stronger sense of community. This new facility will transform the student experience by providing more opportunities to get involved, connect with peers and build long-lasting relationships.”

Holbrook said the first major expansion of the campus since the opening of the Crosley Campus Center 17 years ago, “changes the dialogue about USF’s Sarasota-Manatee campus in our community and beyond.

“The student center and residence hall will help recruit and retain students, and infuse students’ college experience with a new vibrancy that will allow the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus to forever shed the moniker of being a ‘commuter college,’” Holbrook said.

Highlights of the approximately $42 million building:

The USF Board of Trustees and the State University System of Florida Board of Governors approved construction of the new building last year.

The addition of the student center and residence hall will elevate the higher education profile of the Sarasota-Manatee region by making the campus an even more desired destination that can attract talent from outside the local area.

The new building will be topped by the first-ever residence hall on the Sarasota-Manatee campus, but the first two floors also will provide new, larger homes for several services now scattered in smaller spaces, in a central student center. For example, the current bookstore is located several blocks south of campus and the student government is squeezed into small offices on the first floor of the Crosley Campus Center.

And the new dining hall will be considerably larger than the current café, which will soon be renovated into a teaching kitchen for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Likewise, the first-floor ballroom in the new building will be a much larger, more formal location for events than the Selby Auditorium or the FCCI Rotunda.

Student government leaders thanked USF for making them part of the planning for the new building.

“We’re excited that we will finally have a dedicated student center, just for the students, because education goes beyond the classroom,” said Student Government Gov. Evelyn De Oliviera. “We are honored to have been involved in the planning of the building and to see what the future students will have access to.”

History of the campus

The University of South Florida’s presence in Sarasota-Manatee started in the early 1970s with night classes at local high schools. The university shared space with New College of Florida on its Sarasota campus from 1975 to 2006, when USF moved its local campus to the new Crosley Campus Center, across Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41) from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport.

The move to its own facilities was the catalyst for a period of remarkable growth in academic offerings and enrollment at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus that coincided with the region’s rise in prominence.

A second campus expansion project in development is a $62 million Nursing/STEM building being planned and designed for a spot across the campus courtyard from the student center and residence hall.

“This community, the Sarasota-Manatee community, is key to USF’s identity,” said USF Trustee Rick Piccolo, who also is the chairman of the Sarasota-Manatee Campus Board. “USF is serving the educational demands, providing solutions and realizing even greater opportunities for our ever-expanding economy.”

However, missing — until now — was a way for students to live on campus and enjoy a fuller college experience.

For more information about the new student center and residence hall, visit sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/welcomehome For more about expansion plans at the Sarasota-Manatee campus, visit sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/future

For more photos and video from the groundbreaking event, visit here.

University Communications and Marketing

University of South Florida has selected architects and a general contractor for the planned Nursing / STEM building on the Sarasota-Manatee campus.

The architects are HuntonBrady Architects of Orlando and Tampa; and Baltimore-based Ayers Saint Gross, both of which have experience designing nursing and health sciences facilities for universities and other institutions.

The general contractor is Willis A. Smith Construction of Sarasota. The company has worked on various education-related projects in the region, including buildings at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota in Bradenton and LECOM School of Dental Medicine in Lakewood Ranch.

Faculty members, staff, students and community members at two ideation sessions Monday, April 24, shared with architects what they would like to see in the Nursing / STEM building.

Participants told architects what physical features they’d like to see in the building – from biology, chemistry and nursing simulation labs to art displays to a sufficient number of charging stations for technology. They also shared ideas for what new or expanded academic programs they would like to see housed in the new building.

At the ideation sessions, Sarasota-Manatee campus Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook and Earl Purdue, a principal with Ayers Saint Gross, told participants that the submitted ideas would guide architects as they begin to design the $61.7 million, 75,000-square-foot Nursing / STEM building.

Audience members wrote their ideas on large post-it notes and architects then affixed them to the wall of the Selby Auditorium, grouped under general themes, like laboratories, student success and the arts. The architects then encouraged participants to further describe what they would like to see in the new academic and research building.

"We are thrilled to reach this important milestone in the planning and design of our new academic and research building, which is a centerpiece of our campus’s expansion," Holbrook said.

“No idea is too big or too small,” she said. “The whole idea is to explore the extraordinary.”

Community members also participated in the ideation sessions.

“We have great partners in Manatee and Sarasota counties. We want to hear from our friends, as we envision the building becoming a key engine of growth for a region we are proud to call our home,” Holbrook said.

“This is our first major project on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, with Ayers Saint Gross as design architect and HuntonBrady Architects as architect of record, and we look forward to designing a cutting-edge, technologically advanced facility for aspiring nursing and STEM professionals,” said Arash Kamangar, associate principal with HuntonBrady. “Our project team combines our national experience with recent STEM and health sciences buildings and our intimate knowledge of the local region and history of USF.”

Kamangar said the intent of the ideation sessions was to generate a large number of ideas that the team will filter and reduce “into the best, most practical, or most innovative ones to inspire new and better design solutions. … We will use the information gathered at these sessions to direct the start of our design process.”

The Nursing/STEM building, along with a student center and residence hall under construction, will transform both the appearance of the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus along U.S. 41, and the academic and other opportunities available to students, faculty, and the greater Sarasota-Manatee community.

Research has indicated that STEM buildings, which commonly include advanced laboratories that enable pioneering research, influence many prospective students' decisions on which university to attend. Additionally, STEM buildings aid in the recruitment and retention of faculty members.

Opening a Nursing/STEM building on the Sarasota-Manatee campus will allow a doubling of the campus's nursing program; introduce new majors in healthcare fields, engineering, the arts, and other programs; and address the demand for more spacious classrooms, teaching and clinical laboratories, and research facilities on campus.

The expansion of the Sarasota-Manatee campus will showcase USF's commitment to offering students an exceptional educational experience and position the university to effectively address the rising demand in the region for skilled professionals in nursing, business, science, engineering and other fields.

This will be the third major building on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, after the Crosley Student Center, which opened in 2006, and the student center and residential housing building, which is set to open for the fall 2024 semester. Together, the two expansion projects along the campus courtyard will more than double the amount of space on campus and provide students with a world-class learning environment.

The state and federal governments have already provided funding for the design of the Nursing/STEM building, and additional funding will come from the state, the proceeds of the annual Brunch on the Bay fund-raisers and a capital campaign.

For more information and to stay updated on the progress of the Nursing/STEM building project, visit the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus website.