Medical City: Education Sector Update

Insight Magazine

By Nikki Stephens

With the University of Central Florida College of Medicine completing its first year and with plans for a Valencia campus, as well as a UCF new dental school in the planning stages, many of the initial large-scale education components of the Medical City are coming together nicely.

The UCF College of Medicine was established in 2006 by the Florida Board of Governors, the Florida Legislature and the Governor of Florida in order to increase opportunities for medical education in Florida, address the physician shortage and enhance the overall economy. According to the school’s website, www.med.ucf.edu, the College of Medicine is a forward-looking medical school with a culture based on partnership and collaboration and is an integral part of the growing medical city in Lake Nona.

In August 2010, the M.D. program enrolled its second class of 60 students, and for the second year in a row, the college received more applications than any other public medical school in Florida.

The UCF Medical school is also doing its part in building up the economy, even surpassing projected numbers. In 2006, the Milken Institute conducted a study to determine a 10-year economic-activity projection based on the addition of the school. In only two years of running, the school has reached 80 percent of that projection already.

A 2008 economic impact study says that by 2017 up to 30,000 new jobs could be added. UCF is also addressing the physician shortage around the country right now by producing up to 120 medical graduates a year.

Down the road, Valencia College broke ground on the first building of its new Lake Nona Campus on June 22. The Valencia campus will open opportunities for students to study biomedical and life sciences and to earn their associate degrees.

Dr. Mike Bosley, assistant provost at Valencia College Lake Nona, says the three-story, 83,000 square-foot building will open in August 2012. It will have 18 classrooms, six science labs, a library, a bookstore, small café and administrative offices. It cost roughly $21.7 million and is the first of four buildings proposed for the campus. All four buildings will eventually accommodate about 5,000 students and 250,000 square feet.

There is also hope for a UCF dental school in the area. Zenaida Gonzalez Kotala, senior communications coordinator for UCF News & Information, says UCF’s proposed College of Dental Medicine will be an economic driver for Central Florida, will strengthen the UCF Health Sciences Campus at Lake Nona and will bring an increased focus to the emerging medical city.

The idea of a new dental school in the area is undergoing a lot of criticism though, which stems from state reports that say there are plenty of dentists in Florida, just not in the areas with the greatest need.

Kotala says the Florida Board of Governors is currently considering whether it is wise to invest in creating these costly dental schools when the schools won’t necessarily address the big picture problem. UCF responds to this debate by not seeking any state funds for the dental college. “We have a $10 million donation, will secure loans and are creating a funding model that requires no state funds,” she says. “The school will use tuition and fees as well as clinic income to be self-sufficient.”

The College of Dental Medicine is expected to create at least 110 local jobs as well as an initial economic impact of $73 million.

If the Board of Governors approves the building of a dental school, Kotala says the plan is to construct one building next to the UCF College of Medicine and have the school’s first 60 students start classes in 2014.

Park Pals

Park Pals

Central Florida Lifestyle Magazine – Central July 2011

By Nikki Stephens

More than 70 Winter Park High School (WPHS) students go out of their way to give 32 special-needs students at their school a genuine teenage experience by playing sports and having lunch with them and by simply accepting them and their disabilities.

Park Pals is a student club that began three years ago, thanks to exceptional student education (ESE) teacher, Debbie Hammonds. Originally the school was a member of Best Buddies, which is an international nonprofit organization that create opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hammonds says the club had to pay a membership fee each year and give a certain percentage of their fundraising money to the organization. She didn’t feel it was benefitting her students as much as it could have, so she start PArk Pals with the approval and help of the school’s principal.

Hammonds says these students are in rooms with other ESE students all day long with very little interaction with the general population. The club gives special-needs students the chance to make friendships outside of their classrooms and improve their social skills. “They are the forgotten ones,” Hammonds says. “They really enjoy the attention the get now. It makes them feel like part of the school.”

Ellen Christner is a sophomore at WPHS and this is her first year as a member of Park Pals. She says when she was younger she was really close friends with a girl who had Down’s Syndrome, which is associated with some impairment of cognitive abilities and physical growth. “I never even realized she was special needs because she was my friend,” Christner says. “That’s what this club does too.”

She says she tries to meet with the ESE students every morning and goes to the room where they have lunch. She is most impacted, though, by the way other students have grown to accept and embrace these differences. “Seeing the entire school actually get involved; not being afraid and just accepting them is what I love,” she says. “The Special Olympics gets the loudest applause out of all the sports at pep rallies.”

Hammonds’s daughter, Shayne is a sophomore at WPHS. She admits that when she would see a student with disabilities in the past, she wouldn’t think of being his or her friend. “Getting to know ESE students has shown me how to get to know people who are different than me and make friends,” Shayne says. Christner adds, “You always know you can come in here and have a friend.”

Keefer Rennebu is a senior in the ESE program. He says he loves having parties, hanging out, socializing and dancing with his Park Pals. But this club isn’t just a club for students with special needs; it is also a club that teaches acceptance and friendship to an entire school.

For more information on Park Pals, visit our website at CentralFloridaLifestyle.com.

Chicken enthusiasts share their expertise

Sarasota Herald Tribune

By Nikki Stephens

SARASOTA COUNTY – For some time now, Helga Eaglin has tossed around the idea of raising some chickens on the one-acre property she owns in Sarasota.

Eaglin thinks the open space is conducive to raising chickens and doing so could become something of a hobby — and a way to rekindle some fond memories.

“I want to own chickens because it reminds me of when I was a little girl growing up in Denmark, where I would help my aunts and uncles on their farms,” Eaglin said.

Eaglin was among about 20 people Saturday who attended a workshop on raising chickens sponsored by the county. Titled Chickens 101, the workshop held at a family-owned barn on Palmer Boulevard taught the curious everything they needed to know about owning their own chickens and raising them from eggs.

This was the first time the class had been taught, but instructor Robert Kluson said he plans to hold it four times a year.

The course covered how to choose the right breed for different uses and the proper way to incubate, house, feed and keep the chickens healthy.

Kluson said that the most important thing that people should take away from it is biosecurity.

“A lot goes into protecting the health of these birds,” Kluson said. “Anyone can introduce a deadly disease to them unintentionally and wipe out the entire flock.”

George Lauterbach is a breeder and has been raising chickens for about 10 years. He and his wife, Janice, owned all of the chickens that were used in demonstrations Saturday.

Lauterbach said he wants people to realize that raising chickens is not hard and that they can make great, inexpensive pets, too.

“Chickens are pets with benefits,” he said. “What other animal can make you breakfast every morning?”

The founder of Transition Sarasota, Don Hall, was also at the class to educate people on local laws.

Currently, chickens are only allowed in Sarasota County and not in the city. Hall said he wants to see that change so more people can raise their own chickens.

“The average person’s food comes from 1,500 miles away,” he said. “Transition Sarasota wants to have food and products from local gardens and farms.”

Wakeboarders are ditching the boat and hopping on the line at Orlando Watersports Complex

Central Florida Future

By Nikki Stephens

OWC offers an eco-friendly, boatless alternative to wakeboarding.  Rather than holding onto the back of a boat, the rider is latched onto a cable that runs along the perimeter of a lake.

“O-Dub,” as the regulars call it, is one of four cable parks in Florida and is the only one in the country that has two operating cable systems, said Sophie Teitelbaum, the sales and marketing manager of OWC. These types of parks are an eco-friendly alternative to wakeboarding behind a boat.

“Cable’s are fun because it’s more relaxing,” said UCF junior Tristan Hays. “Riding the cables is like going green: You’re not burning gas on a boat like crazy.”

Hays, a biotechnology major and president of Knight Kiteboarding, has been riding at OWC for a year and a half and uses it as a training ground for the open waters.

A cable park is a German concept that operates like a ski lift. It runs at a constant speed over low electricity and has a set of carriers that pick up the riders one at a time.

“The only difference between cable parks and ski lifts are that cables run faster and drag you across water instead of up a mountain,” Teitelbaum said.

She said that these types of parks are becoming more popular among watersports athletes because they are environmentally friendly and less expensive. They use very little electricity and do not emit any fumes into the atmosphere.

Teitelbaum said that she also sees more people coming to cable parks than in the past to practice their air tricks. The advanced cable at OWC has several obstacles, barrels and signature sliders for wakeboarders to use.

“My favorite part of the park is that I get to slide my board across hard surfaces,” Hays said.

Cable-operator Mick Sanders has been working at OWC for four months. He said he likes his job because he gets to help people of all levels try new tricks. He has been wakeboarding, wakeskating and kneeboarding for four years.

“Our sliders and kickers [ramps] here are awesome,” Sanders said. “Because we have two cables, we can set up the obstacles however we want in the advanced section and not have to worry about the beginners getting tripped up.”

Basic cable and riding instruction is included in all sessions. Boat lessons are also available by  instructors Cobe Mikacich and Tarah Benzel Mikacich for $55 for 30 minutes or $100 for an hour for riders who like traditional wakeboarding.

Orlando Watersports Complex is located at 8615 Florida Rock Road in Orlando. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to  9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and opens at 10 a.m. on weekends. A one-hour session costs $22, two-hour session $28, four-hour session $34, and an all-day pass $40. OWC also offers annual, biannual and weekly passes.