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Hernando Healthcare, Oak Hill Hospital and a heart care expert give a total of $22,500 toward an education initiative.
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 1, 2002
BROOKSVILLE -- Hernando County's planned war on heart disease has received a $22,500 jump start.
Hernando Healthcare and Oak Hill Hospital each donated $10,000 toward the education initiative in recent days, fulfilling pledges made during their fall dispute over whether county commissioners should allow Hernando Healthcare to move Brooksville Regional Hospital.
"The discussion was that the hospital moving would put people with heart and stroke disease in danger of having to go farther and be without care for a longer period of time," recalled Jean Rags, county social services director.
The other $2,500 came from Dr. Anthony Joseph, a nationally known heart care expert, who served as an adviser to Oak Hill.
"Since I am part of a national effort dedicated to the early diagnosis and treatment of heart attack, I have a strong advocacy position for reducing any delay, whether it's patient care seeking behavior, transport time or emergency department care," Joseph wrote in a letter to commission Chairman Chris Kingsley, to which he attached his check. "Please do not donate this to the American Heart Association. Please use this for education within your own community."
The contributions dovetail nicely with the county Health Care Advisory Board's plan to create a task force aimed at reducing the number of heart disease-related deaths, Rags said. A needs assessment report, released in mid December, showed that the county death rate per 100,000 for heart disease exceeded the Florida rate for almost all age groups under 55.
The advisory board set improvement of these numbers as its top priority. It will ask commissioners to use the checks as seed money for that effort.
"This is worthwhile to the community," said Tom Barb, Hernando Healthcare chief executive. "I don't think you can do too much in educating the public on heart attack and stroke symptoms."
He said he hoped the task force will find some workable solutions to the county's heart disease problems. The advisory board will begin forming task forces for heart disease, diabetes, primary care and access to medication when it meets Jan. 24.
Hernando Healthcare also has come through with many of the other promises it made to secure commission approval to rebuild and relocate Brooksville Regional.
In October, it turned over office space free of charge to Access Hernando, the county's new indigent care program. In mid December, it handed over a $20,000 check to support Access Hernando operations.
Sometime in January, the company will give the county $100,000 toward the purchase of a new ambulance, which will serve eastern Hernando County. And by next December, it will open and staff a clinic in eastern Hernando.
-- Staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.