Vol. 8, Issue 12, December 2020
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Coronavirus Brings Trinity Family Physicians’ Televisits to Forefront of Practice
By Deborah Bostock-Kelley
From acne, diabetes management, immunizations, depression, skin cancer screenings and treatment, to well-woman visits, and nutritional counseling for weight loss, Trinity Family Physicians literally has a patient covered, A to Z. A list a half of a page long on their website showcases the vast number of issues they treat. Little did board-certified family physicians of Trinity Family Physicians,
husband and wife team, Dr. Stephanie Eldridge and Dr. Amir Shirmohammad (Dr. Shirmo) know that adding convenient telemedicine services to accommodate their patients’ schedules would become their main
connection to them in early 2020. Serving elementary schoolers to senior citizens in Trinity and beyond since 2007, the doctors knew sameSee “Trinity Family Physcians” on page 14
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Editor................................................5 SAT/ACT Improvement.....................................6-7 Tech Talk with Bob................................................8
at a fraction of the cost. Grout Tech is a family owned business serving Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco Counties. With over 17 years of experience in the industry, Grout Tech specializes in cleaning and sealing tile and grout, re-coloring grout, recaulking showers and tubs, See “Grout Tech” on page 16
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Holiday Celebrations During the COVID-19 Pandemic Over one million new covid-19 cases were recently reported in the United States over the past week. As cases continue to rise all over Florida, the Tampa Bay area ranks in fifth place with some of the highest numbers of cases reported since this pandemic first started. The CDC recommended not traveling during the Holidays unless necessary and is frequently reminding people that the safest way to celebrate the Holidays is at home with only the people you live with. Traveling increases the chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. This holiday season, do not travel out of state or have family travel into Florida to join your celebrations. Personally, I used to celebrate Thanksgiving and the Holidays with large groups of over 40 people!!! But this year I’ve decided to celebrate with only the members of my household… of course my three cats are included! This pandemic has been extremely stressful and definitely isolating. I know many of us were looking forward to spending the Holidays celebrating together and cheering for the new year, but we have to do our part to flatten the curve and bring those numbers down. Consider celebrating virtually with those loved ones or family members outside of your own household. Your household is anyone who currently lives and shares common spaces in your housing unit (such as your condo, home, or apartment.) This can include family members, roommates, or people who are unrelated to you, and of course, your pets! People who do not currently live in your housing unit should be considered part of different households. Face to face celebrations that bring together different families and members of different households pose varying levels of risk that we should all consider. Social gatherings during the upcoming Holidays should be kept at a minimum, and only to those members of your direct circle. This holiday season, consider how your plans can be modified to reduce the spread of coronavirus to keep your family, friends, and community healthy and safe. If you’re hosting a party, please host
outdoor rather than indoor if possible. Limit the number of attendees as much as you can to allow people from different households to remain at least 6 ft apart at all times. Gatherings with more people always pose a higher risk than gatherings with fewer people. The CDC does not have a limit or recommend a specific number of attendees for holiday gatherings. They recommend that everyone stay 6 feet (2 arm lengths) apart, wear masks, wash hands and sanitize often, and follow all state regulations. Even though you may consider it “rude” to skip a party or gathering, do not be afraid to say no and stay at home with your immediate family. Nobody should judge you or make you feel bad for trying to keep everyone safe. If you’re an older adult or person with certain medical conditions who is at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 or live or work closely with someone at increased risk of severe illness, you should avoid in-person gatherings with people outside your household. My mother is 67 years old and has bad COPD, and her lungs are not the best. She suffers from chronic pneumonia, and she’s at a very high risk of catching it. So we’ve had to turn down some invitations because of the high risk it would represent. Even though this has been a tough year for a lot of us, there are things you can still do to enjoy the Holidays while social distancing. Go on a walk or a drive to see holiday decorations with the members of your immediate household. Learn a new recipe at home and cook more often with people who live with you. Do all your Holiday shopping online rather than in person. You can still share food and baked goodies with friends or relatives that are not the best in the kitchen, but consider delivering it to their doors without having direct contact with them. With all that said, I want to leave you with this message that resonated with me; 2020 may not have been the year we got everything we wanted, but it became the year in which we truly learned to appreciate everything we already had. Let us be thankful that despite everything, we’re still here fighting. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year 2021. Stay safe, everyone! Until next year!
Carla Dubis Tedeschi
SAT AND ACT IMPROVEMENT: THANK-YOU’S
By Dr. Wayne Adams
About this time each year, I receive many emails and calls from students and parents with some very nice “Thank’you’s.” So I would like to share several with you. “Dr. A. I just received early admission to my #1 school. Thank you so much for helping me get my SAT score way up. Can you believe it? I will have mountain views from my dorm! Got a nice scholarship too. Couldn’t have done it without you.” “After my ACT exam in September, my composite went up to a 29 but my Reading was low at 24. I kept working and doing what you showed me, and the next ACT my English jumped to a 33 and my ACT composite to 32 Thank you, thank you, thank you.” “When I took the PSAT this year, for the first time I finished each section on-time and didn’t want to throw up half-way
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through the exam. Felt great. Score was great too.” “Thank you so much for the four books/guides you sent us. We are going through the one about getting a good start as a family. College has changed greatly since my wife and I went. This has helped us understand the changes and get better prepared for what is to come for our student. Your Negotiating with Colleges will be particularly helpful and we see how we can better afford college by negotiating for a fraction of the posted costs both in-state and out-of-state.” As we move into December, all of the SAT and ACT Exams have been completed for fall. Seniors are finalizing applications and wondering what happens next. Juniors are breathing a little sigh of relief since the PSAT is done and soon the semester will be over. Sophomores look ahead and wonder how they will do
when their turn comes. The spring SAT and ACT Exams are scheduled as follows: ACT on Feb 6, Apr 17, and June 12.
SAT on Mar 13, May 8, and June 5. The early focus is preparing for the ACT on Feb 6, either with a once a week class schedule
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starting in December, or twice a week starting in early January. Some students like to get a head start with a class or two during the holidays, often starting after Christmas. SAT prep usually starts in January with once a week classes, and February with twice a week. The combination class involves both months to be ready for the Feb ACT and Mar ACT. For seniors, many schools such as FSU, USF, and UCF use “rolling admissions”, meaning you can apply and send your applications in the spring for consideration for the next fall freshman class. This is also true for many schools outside of Florida. Also, you have until the last SAT or ACT Exam in the spring to hit the qualification scores for 75% or 100% Bright Futures. For juniors, many want to get a “head start” preparing for the exams. Often, their scores are in the range needed for their “dream schools”, so that pressure is off their senior year.
For sophomores, they will be rising juniors and taking the PSAT the middle Wednesday of October when back in school. This is the only qualifying exam for National Merit Scholars and the corresponding scholarships, which usually bring additional academic scholarships because schools love to have this level of student who will perform well, and also enhance the school’s reputation. If You Would Like To Talk More About Your Student … Please contact me at 727-2530639 or send me an e mail at wwa0811@mykolab.com.
schools include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, U Chicago, Duke, U Penn, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, Notre Dame, Emory, UC Berkley, UCLA, USC, UNC (Chapel Hill), NYU, Northeastern (Boston), Boston College, Georgia Tech, Naval - Air Force - Merchant Marine Service Academies, Penn State, LSU, Auburn, UF, U Miami, FSU, USF, UCF, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, FIU, New College of Florida, Stetson, and Julliard – Manhattan - New England - and
Berkley Conservatories of Music. Many have received academic, athletic, or music scholarships. This year, he also tutored three juniors who scored at the national merit finalist/semi-finalist levels on the most recent PSAT. He is a former Dean of a Graduate School of Business and Full Professor, and began college teaching at the University of Maryland in 1968. He has degrees and advanced studies at Harvard, Yale, Vanderbilt, Columbia International, and Luther Rice.
Dr. Wayne Adams is one of the leading SAT and ACT tutors in the country. His students normally improve 200 – 350 points on the Writing, Reading, Writing and Essay, and Math, and 4 – 7 points on the ACT composite. They have been admitted to 8 of the top 10 universities in the country, 18 of the top 25, and many schools in Florida. These
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Tech Talk with Bob: Shop Safely Online
By Bob Dalles As the holidays quickly approach I find myself scrambling to get all my shopping done in time. Due to the COVID craziness I find that I am doing more of my holiday shopping online this year; and you may too. As holiday euphoria sets in we want to be sure that we do not drop our guard when shopping online. Here are a handful of tips to help improve your posture when it comes to shopping online safely. First and foremost, do not use your computer for any financial transactions if you are not certain that your computer itself is functioning 100% free of any viruses, spyware, keyloggers, Trojans or any other questionable software. If you question the integrity of your computer’s safety you need to have it checked out by a certified professional. My analysts and technicians can comb through your system to make sure it is squeaky clean and ready for
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safe online shopping. Second, make sure your computer is using robust antimalware software solutions to protect you. Be sure to keep that software up-to-date too. Third, be certain your computer’s operating system is upto-date with all its latest tweaks and security patches. Security breaches discovered in your computer’s operating system can leave you extremely vulnerable to attackers. Fourth, not only does your computer need to be safe, but the network it is connected to must also be safe. Only shop online when you are connected to a trusted network. That means use your private home network not some public wi-fi hotspot at a park, restaurant, hotel, etc. Any information that you type into any website can be seen and even collected by the owner of the hotspot; or a malicious attacker who has hacked and taken control of the hotspot. Online shopping
from your private home network is typically safer than using a public hotspot. Fifth, use credit cards instead of debit cards when shopping online. Banks these days are pretty good about protecting their card users against fraud. However, if you do have an issue with a transaction, you’ll have less of a headache if you used your credit card instead of your debit card. Sixth, vet your vendors. Don’t just buy from any website. It doesn’t take much to set up a website these days so you will find some really sketchy websites trying to sell you stuff. Be discriminating when it comes to websites you choose to enter your credit card number into. If your gut doesn’t feel right as you start to enter your card number, stop. Only buy from online vendors you are absolutely comfortable with. We have the ability to provide support without needing to send an IT Specialist out to your home
or office. We can safely remote access your computer to perform most repairs. We can also remotely perform complete scans for viruses and other malware issues. So if you think you have malware, we can scan for it remotely from our location to yours. So, during this pandemic, we can still provide technical support to you safely via your phone and internet connection. Cyber criminals will exploit the easy victims and unprotected systems. Protecting yourself online is your responsibility, but you do not have to do it all yourself. We’re here to help. If you are not sure your system is safe, please have it looked over by a Professionally Certified IT Specialist. Call us now at 727534-4000. We’ve been helping folks restore their peace of mind, and sanity, with their technology for decades. We Keep You Safer In Your Digital World!
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“Trinity Family Physicians” story continued from page 1
day and next-day appointments, early morning and late hours would help their patients, as well adding two Physicians Assistants, Rachel Azzarelli and Ian Simpson would increase their availability. “Our patients have been really happy with our Physician Assistants and we are proud to have them. We continue to increase our availability in the practice because of having the providers working under our direction and close supervision,” said Dr. Shirmo. But the doctors could never have foreseen a pandemic making their new, state-of-the-art telemedicine services absolutely paramount to the practice. “Who could predict telemedicine wouldn’t be just for comfort and convenience, but a pandemic? When the pandemic occurred, we were able to transition almost all of our patients to televisits immediately. Patients were able to get care without a lapse in their healthcare. Our staff did an incredible job to make that transition. We really have been keeping the momentum going as best as we can
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Husband and wife team, Dr. Stephanie Eldridge (right) and Dr. Amir Shirmohammad (Dr. Shirmo) (left), Board Certified owners of Trinity Family Physicains.
despite this pandemic,” said Dr. Shirmo. “As we enter the next phase of getting people back out into the workforce, I think it important for people to realize that we’re still here and we’re still able to care for them through the televisits, as well as in the office.” Though an initial in-office appointment is needed to enroll in telemedicine – with two types available, a monthly subscription service or as-needed - the virtual appointment is as
simple as downloading an app, scheduling the tele-appointment and connecting with the doctors via laptop, desktop, or smart device in a private setting with a WIFI signal. For those who need to visit the practice, the doctors and their team are following all necessary procedures to protect their patients. “We’ve taken extra measures ever since the pandemic,” said Dr. Eldridge. “We’re screening people over the phone
to make sure they don’t have any upper or lower respiratory symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, etc). If they have those symptoms or have been exposed, we ask that they definitely set up a televisit. We really don’t have the sick patient traffic in the office.” Dr. Shirmo added, “They’re still getting their healthcare but through a different avenue without exposing other people or exposing themselves potentially to other people
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Physicians Assistants, Rachel Azzarelli (left) and Ian Simpson (right)
who might be sick in different ways.” If it is medically necessary that a patient does need to come into the office, the doctors and their team have increased the frequency of their cleaning to ensure everything a patient comes in contact with is thoroughly disinfected. Following the recommendations provided by the Centers for Disease Control, they have expanded their waiting room and removed chairs to comply with social distancing. Patients are asked to bring their own pen and magazine to avoid potential transmission of
the Coronavirus. As so much misinformation is online and televised regarding the Coronavirus, the doctors, both with Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology, (the study of epidemics) started a YouTube channel that streamed on their Facebook page. “We felt we needed to give our patients unbiased information that came from a trusted source. With our background, who better to talk about this than Dr. Eldridge and myself? We started with instructional videos how to connect with us through televisits, then it led to
discussing how patients should be proactive. We have patients who are immune-compromised, so we started putting out these YouTube videos. We were astonished at how well they were received and how quickly they spread and climbed. We posted the videos on a weeknight at 11pm,” said Dr. Shirmo. Dr. Eldridge explained that when posted to their Facebook page, by morning, they had thousands of views on informational videos on how you can protect yourself, what should you do when going out, should you go to the doctor, etc.
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“What inspired the YouTube videos was we were trying to calm people down, be the voice of reason, and give them some perspective of what to expect,” said Dr. Shirmo. “If our neighbor is immune-compromised, it’s not up to our neighbor to take the proper precautions, but it’s up to the entire community to take proper precautions. That neighbor may be the first person to get it, but they will not be the only person. If you don’t think that virus isn’t going to go around and come back to you and your loved ones, you’re mistaken. We all bear that burden of responsibility to be there for each other.” Trinity Family Physicians is located at the corner of Trinity Blvd. and Duck Slough Blvd. at 1817 Cypress Brook Dr., Suite 101 in Trinity. The hours are MonThurs 8:00-6:00 p.m., Friday 8:00-5:00 p.m. For more information, call (727) 834-8377 or visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/ trinityfamilyphysicians, website at www. trinityfamilyphysicians. com or YouTube channel at https:// www.youtube.com/ channel/UCpFMVqaVL_ tvlskTvLH_Jew DECEMBER 2020 13
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“Grout Tech”
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Before
After
forced to charge more for their services because they have to maintain their franchise fees, but not with Grout Tech.” Not only does Grout Tech keep its rates competitive, but the company will also honor any other quote as long as it is in writing.
Using a step-by-step process, Grout Tech begins by using a cleansing product to remove all bacteria and surface dirt with special machinery. They will then apply a color seal (of your choice). Once the sealer is applied the grout lines will be permanently protected from any stains. The color seal also guarantees against cracking, chipping and peeling. Additionally, they will also cosmetically fix or replace chipped or cracked tiles, making your bathroom or kitchen tile like new again.
Because grout is a porous material, trying to remove stains is seemingly impossible. BJ explains, “Color sealing grout lines is one of the many services we offer and it is definitely the most effective way to create a perfect, new look.”
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Before Kathy G., a satisfied customer, shares her experience, “When BJ came out to give us a quote, she looked at the job and I could tell immediately that she knew what she was talking about. We had our family room, kitchen and dining room re-grouted. They also re-grouted the tub, shower and base of our toilet in our bathroom. They were fantastic! Not only were they professional and reliable but
they also completed the job much faster than we had anticipated.” Excellent Service Leads to Referrals Throughout the years, Grout Tech has grown through its many referrals from happy customers. People really appreciate that Grout Tech saves them time and money, but it is the excellent service provided that has really helped this business grow.
After Grout Tech’s success stories say that before calling Grout Tech, their bathrooms, guest bathroom showers and floor grout, had deteriorated over time and the tiles were dull and stained. “The tile was in good condition but it was stained so we had Grout Tech come out and clean them and they turned out very well.” They were so pleased that they have already referred Grout Tech to neighbors in
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their community. Grout Tech can also remove and re-caulk around sinks, baseboards, tubs and showers serving to clean up old moldy areas and keep your dry wall free from water damage. From old to new in just one day! To find out more about Grout Tech’s services or for a free estimate call BJ at 727768-6828.
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