LIVING LAKEWOOD
SUNCOAST BLOOD CENTERS OPENS THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN LAKEWOOD RANCH
SAVING LIVES THE LOCAL WAY
LIVING LAKEWOOD
Blissfully Ranch
As summer heat abates and our comfortable Florida winter nears, the Ranch becomes among the finest places in the world to live. And part of enjoying our paradise is staying healthy and hearty. In this edition we explore two local facilities that make Lakewood Ranch a mecca for life-saving technolgies. LECOM: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Suncoast Blood Centers are invaluable neighbors. Both institutions save lives both near and far away. We all love to stay feeling, looking, and living young— newcomer to the Ranch, the climbing gym Project 24 Climbing will offers safe and exciting activities that will keep your body vigorous starting this spring. Meanwhile, you can care for your beauty inside and out with the wide range of aesthetic dermatology services at both Glow Dermspa and Sirius Day Spa, Salon & Med Spa. Each offers their own unique path to a lovelier and rejuvenated you.
WES ROBERTS SRQ MEDIA | Executive Publisher
Continuing a Legacy of Quality
As the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center community continues to celebrate 20 years of compassionate, quality healthcare services for patients, I am excited to share the details of our latest milestone. Our largest and most significant expansion in the hospital’s history is now underway. On June 11, the hospital broke ground on the first phase of its $120 million expansion project. Completion of a new five-story, 170,000 square foot multiphase addition on the hospital’s campus is expected in December 2025. The first phase of the new patient tower will add 60 beds for intensive care and progressive care patients, bringing patient bed capacity to 180. The new tower will be equipped with advanced medical technologies. Complex cardiology, higher acuity neurological services, and key ancillary departments will be expanded. Patient-centric design features will be implemented for a soothing and healing environment. The contemporary design of the universal patient rooms allows for pivoting of the rooms to accommodate whatever is needed for the patient in real time, whether this be telemetry, intensive care or other specialty service. Once both phases are completed, patient bed capacity will be increased to 240. We’re proud of our commitment to our patients. The Lakewood Ranch Medical Center expansion project highlights our dedication to the continued delivery of quality, advanced care to our growing community. As always, Let’s Do Well Together.
ANDY GUZ LAKEWOOD RANCH MEDICAL CENTER | Chief Executive Officer
Below, left to right: Project 24 nnderway for a spring grand opening. CEO Andy Guz of Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.
LIVING LAKEWOOD
FEATURES
Cultivating Compassion, 8
Dr. Mark Kauffman, Associate Dean of Medical Affairs at LECOM shares his insight into the world of osteopathic medicine.
Saving Lives the Local Way, 12
With over 75 years of experience in delivering precious life-saving products in our community, SunCoast Blood Centers is the go-to partner for blood-related healthcare services in Southwest Florida.
Reaching New Heights, 16
Austin Venhaus first started w orking on the concept for Project 24 Climbing back in 2019 but faced many obstacles along the way. Now, with the help of partners Aaron
Rutsky and his wife Andrea Rutsky, his vision is about to be realized. Construction for the brand new facility began in August and the opening date is projected for April of 2025.
Rejuvenation Station, 20
From relaxing massages to revitalizing facials to revolutionary medical procedures that treat specific skin conditions, these tranquil havens offer a holistic approach to self-care, allowing us to unwind, recharge and emerge feeling our best. Residents of Lakewood Ranch are fortunate to have some world-class facilities available to them. Melissa Beachy from Glow Dermspa and Karen Medford from Sirius Spa, Salon & Med Spa shared their insights.
Above: The LECOM campus at dusk, image courtesy of LECOM. Cover: Scott Bush, CEO of Suncast Blood Centers has over 30 years of experience in the blood banking industry, photo by Wyatt Kostygan.
Cultivating Compassion
“I HAD A CURIOUS INTEREST IN MEDICINE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING AS A KID,” says Dr. Mark Kauffman. “When someone was hurt or bleeding it never shocked me or made me feel intimidated. I always went forward and wanted to help other people so that was kind of built into me. My dad always said that he never saw somebody at five-years-old say that they wanted to be a physician and never really change that their entire life.”
“I was actually born with a medical segment in my DNA,” he adds with a laugh. Kauffman is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Bradenton campus of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM). The original LECOM campus was established in Erie, Pennsylvania where the charter class began in August of 1993. Kauffman was part of the fourth matriculating class. “I came from a financially-challenged family and none of my family had ever gone to college. And I thought you had to be a genius to be a physician,” Kauffman says. “So I was concerned about that, because if I never would get into medical school and medicine was in my blood what else could I do to still be in medicine?”
Kauffman’s father was in the military and he asked his son if he’d ever heard of a physician’s assistant (PA). These mid-level practitioners emerged as a profession in the mid-1960s in the United States to address a shortage of primary care physicians
and to improve healthcare access in underserved areas. The military played a large role in developing the profession, as experienced military medics were ideal candidates for early PA programs. Kauffman did become a PA and went on to work in that role for six years in the field of pediatric transplant surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, but he always planned to go back to medical school one day. He continued to take additional courses and then applied to LECOM which was still a fledgling school at the time.
“They gave me a chance,” Kauffman says. “And that’s how I ended up with my DO degree and the rest of my career.”
A DO, or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, is a fully-licensed physician that is trained to perform all the tasks that MDs (Doctors of Medicine) do. This includes diagnosing and treating illnesses, prescribing medications and performing surgeries. But there are some differences in training and philosophy.
HOW LECOM IS SHAPING A NEW GENERATION OF HEALERS
This spread, left to right: The LECOM campus in Lakewood Ranch provides unique learning opportunities for students interested in the medical field. Dr. Mark Kauffman is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at LECOM’s Lakewood Ranch campus.
“Osteopathic medicine was developed in 1874 by an MD. His name was Andrew Taylor Still and he had a personal tragedy in his family with meningitis. At that time, traditional medicine was still using bleeding as a method of treatment and poisonous compounds like arsenic and mercury to treat patients,” Kauffman explains. “Still lost his wife and children to that crisis and that’s when he started saying there’s something different that we can do in medicine that’s more hands-on. He started to study anatomy and what the body can do for itself and he came up with some tenets that said that structure and function are interrelated. The body has an inherent ability to heal itself, but sometimes it needs some help.”
That help comes in the form of osteopathic manipulation, a handson technique used to diagnose, treat and prevent illness or injury. This practice involves using the hands to gently move muscles and joints.
“Our curriculum is the same as MD programs, but we also add manipulation onto that,” says Kauffman. “The second thing that’s always said is that DOs are more holistic or humanistic, which is something that I really don’t like to say because every physician should be humanistic— our caring of a patient is a very important, vital part of our profession. But we do teach a lot of mind, body and spirit. You have to treat the entire person to have healing, not just the diagnosis.”
LECOM offers an extensive array of programs. In addition to the College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Bradenton campus offers a School of Pharmacy, School of Dental Medicine, School of Health Services Administration and Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as well as opportunities for post-graduate education. Dr. Kauffmann took a
less conventional route to becoming a medical doctor, and LECOM still affords that opportunity to students. Both the Erie and Bradenton campuses offer a Master of Medical Science program with a rigorous curriculum that allows students without the highest GPAs or MCATs to demonstrate that they have the capability to qualify for doctoral level studies. LECOM also works to keep their tuition as low as possible, both to make their program more accessible, and to allow their students the opportunity to pursue less lucrative fields like primary care and family medicine which are facing overwhelming shortages.
“One of the questions I often get as the Dean is why am I still here after all these years, coming up on three decades?” Kauffman says. “As a student, one of the things that always impressed me was that they always asked for our opinion. The reason they did that was because they wanted to improve. It’s always a culture of improvement. Them always asking what can we do differently, how can we be better—that’s never changed over thirty years. I still sit with my students today and ask them what was good and what could be better? The end result is that the patient they just walked out of the room from, whether they’re a dentist or pharmacist or physician or healthcare administrator—that patient should have just been seen by one of the best providers in the world. To do that, you have to give them the curriculum and the environment to be able to get to that level. That’s my personal goal, is that everybody who walks out of the door at LECOM is proud to have been part of this institution.” LL LECOM Bradenton Campus, 5000 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. Bradenton, 941756-0690, lecom.edu/communities/bradenton
Saving Lives
WITH OVER 75 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING PRECIOUS LIFE-SAVING PRODUCTS IN OUR COMMUNITY, SUNCOAST BLOOD CENTERS IS THE GO-TO PARTNER FOR BLOOD-RELATED HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA.
WITH OVER 75 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN DELIVERING PRECIOUS LIFE-SAVING PRODUCTS IN OUR COMMUNITY, SunCoast Blood Centers is the go-to partner for blood-related healthcare services in Southwest Florida. The only thing that has changed for the organization in recent years is their central location—all facets of the operation are now under one roof in their beautiful Lakewood Ranch headquarters. Prior to the move in March 2020, the organization had their main lab in Sarasota Memorial Hospital
As the hospital began to grow by leaps and bounds, Suncoast Blood Centers found themselves needing to relocate their labs and administrative offices. Rather than pay rent for multiple facility spaces, they decided to move all functions into one centralized space.
(SMH).
Below: Scott Bush, CEO of Suncast Blood Centers has over 30 years of experience in the blood banking industry.
“We took five locations from all across Sarasota and Manatee Counties and put them here in our Lakewood Ranch headquarters during the pandemic,” shares Community Liaison, Joan Leonard. “We moved in the day Florida shut down everything. It was a wise decision on our part and the timing couldn’t have been any better. We had 25,000 square feet coming from a combination of about 10,000 square feet so everybody suddenly had their own offices and we were easily socially distanced. Moving to Lakewood Ranch was a blessing in disguise for us. We have staff members that have worked for us for more than 30 years and never worked under the same roof until now, it’s really wonderful.” From their new headquarters, SunCoast is able to stage their mobile units, house their administrative staff and share a wonderful teaching facility with the public. “By being under one roof, we can show the community from start to finish blood collection and everything else we do, our finance operations, quality assurance, it’s like a regular business with healthcare being our main goal,” adds Leonard.
As the local blood supplier serving five counties, SunCoast Blood Centers currently has 140 employees and about 85 to 100 volunteers. Their products go as far north as Moffitt Cancer Center and as far south as Charlotte County. “Everything that we collect from the community stays in the community,” says Leonard. In recent years, however, organizations
like SunCoast are struggling to find donors. According to the company’s statistics, twentyfive years ago, fifteen percent of the population donated regularly, whereas currently, only three percent of the population is donating. ”We can’t blame it all on Covid, although the pandemic certainly played a part,” Leonard sharess. “In the generation before us, it was an obligation to donate blood, because many people served in the armed forces. We don’t see that in the 25 to 50-year-old population today. People don’t move to Lakewood Ranch and say ‘Where am I going to donate blood today?’ They are here to find the best schools, breweries, pickleball and all of the other great things that bring people to our region. Also, a lot of people have come from Red Cross serviced areas up North so they’re only used to donating blood at the Red Cross. There is no Red Cross connection here in the state of Florida— we are the local supplier of our hospitals.”
One way that SunCoast is trying to remedy the problem is by reaching out to local schools and luckily, the new headquarter’s location is close to some great ones. “We have an awesome partnership with the local schools, and we’ve found that high school students have been incredibly helpful volunteers and interns,” explains Leonard. The SunCoast team is also out and about more than ever before with very visible mobile vehicles visiting new HOAs, attending public speaking events and presenting at coffee talks at local clubhouses.
“As a nonprofit, we are looking for blood, money and time,” says Leonard. “We host blood drives at schools and we have a volunteer core team of about 25 people who are at the blood drives and then deliver the product to our hospitals three times a day. Today alone, we have a team here stuffing 1,000 mailers for us. There are a lot of opportunities to help us get the word out and we encourage all members of the community to get involved, students, teachers, retirees, we appreciate all of our volunteers.”
Leonard is always happy to give a tour of the organization’s impressive facility. “I love showing what we do because I think a lot of people don’t realize that this product has to come from one human heart to another—it’s not found on the shelves at Walmart or Walgreens.” She also adds that SunCoast is on the frontlines of technology in the industry and she credits CEO, Scott Bush for much of this. “Scott is very innovative. While we are recognized as one of the smaller blood centers across the country, we are also one of the first ones to present new ideas,” she says. “When Covid hit, for example, we lost 95% of our blood drives. To make up for this loss, we started our Donate at Home program that still continues today. So if somebody’s working from home, or is unable to get out, we will come right to their driveway with the vehicle to donate.” LL SunCoast Blood Center, 3025 Lakewood Ranch Blvd, Suite 111, Bradenton, 1-866-97-BLOOD, suncoastblood.org.
Below, left to right: Through employee and volunteer efforts, Suncoast Blood Centers serves the community and maintains a safe and adequate supply of blood products.
PROJECT 24 CLIMBING SLATED TO BRING NEW ADVENTURES TO LAKEWOOD RANCH IN 2025.
New Heights
ROCK CLIMBING IS ALL ABOUT FINDING WAYS TO OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES, BOTH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL. Each ascent presents unique challenges that require strength, strategy and perseverance, turning every climb into a journey of problem-solving and self-discovery. Austin Venhaus first started working on the concept for Project 24 Climbing back in 2019 but faced many obstacles along the way. Now, with the help of partners Aaron Rutsky and his wife Andrea Rutsky, his vision is about to be realized. Construction for the brand new facility began in August and the opening date is projected for April of 2025. “We want Project 24 to be for everyone,” says Venhaus. “”From zero years old to a hundred years old, from the most athletic person in the world to someone who has never climbed at all. We want everyone involved.” Venhaus and the Rutskys talked with climbing gym owners all over the country including Vertical Ventures in St. Petersburg and have designed the project from the ground up to accommodate every member of the community. The 19,000 square foot facility will feature a bouldering area and a top rope area with both lead climbing and auto-belay, and climbing routes will rotate every six to eight weeks to keep things fresh. In addition to social groups and youth camps, Project 24 has plans for programs to accommodate climbers with physical limitations including sensory issues or low grip strength. This might look like early quiet hours or adaptive equipment. “We very much want to be a space where everyone feels welcome, not just climbing-wise but in terms of being themselves authentically,” Venhaus says. “Everybody should be able to act like themselves and feel comfortable and not feel judged,” Aaron Rutsky adds. “That includes people with physical limitations that might feel like they can’t climb.” Additional amenities will include a dedicated area with gym equipment, yoga and other fitness classes and an infrared sauna. There is also a 2,000 square foot social working area that’s open to everyone, whether that’s remote workers who want to bring their laptops and get out of the house, high schoolers who want to work on homework before a climb, or parents who want to relax while their child is in a class. It’s intended to serve as one of those increasingly-rare third spaces where people can socialize outside of home or work. “We want to be a hub for the community,” says Venhaus. Project 24 Climbing will be located off Fruitville Road, east of I-75 across the lake from downtown Waterside. LL To keep up on the latest news including opening dates and the micro-gym that will be available before the opening, follow the gym on social media at facebook.com/SarasotaClimbingGym and instagram.com/project24climbing. You can also visit their website at project24climbing.com.
VISIT THESE LAKEWOOD RANCH SPAS TO GET REFRESHED AND REVITALIZED.
Rejuvenation Station
WITH THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE EVERYDAY WORLD, IT’S EASY TO PUT OURSELVES IN SECOND PLACE. But as we juggle demands like work, family, extracurricular activities and personal responsibilities, taking the time to nurture our physical and mental well-being is essential in helping to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Spas and medspas serve as sanctuaries where we can escape the daily grind and indulge in rejuvenating treatments that not only enhance our appearance but also promote a sense of wellness. From relaxing massages to revitalizing facials to revolutionary medical procedures that treat specific skin conditions, these tranquil havens offer a holistic approach to self-care, allowing us to unwind, recharge and emerge feeling our best. Residents of Lakewood Ranch are fortunate to have some world-class facilities available to them. Melissa Beachy from Glow Dermspa and Karen Medford from Sirius Spa, Salon & Med Spa shared some insights into the services they provide.
GLOW DERMSPA
“I started my career in dermatology right out of PA school,” says Melissa Beachy. “I had the opportunity to join a derm practice in the Naples area and right from day one I was able to do a hybrid of medical and aesthetic dermatology. I hit the ground running in aesthetics really right off the bat, just kind of immersing myself in it as much as I could as far as training and learning the skill set it takes to be an aesthetic provider as well as doing
medical dermatology.” Beachy is a physician assistant, who received a Masters of Medical Science Degree from Nova Southeastern University. There are several subspecialties in the field of dermatology, and in the first part of her career Beachy honed her skills in two of them—medical dermatology, which deals with diagnosing, treating and preventing conditions including acne, eczema, psoriasis and skin cancer and aesthetic dermatology, which focuses on improving appearance by addressing concerns like fine lines and wrinkles, age spots and scarring.
After a decade, Beachy realized she wanted to fully focus her attention on aesthetic dermatology. In 2015 she joined Arsenault Dermatology in Lakewood Ranch where she worked on growing the aesthetic side of the business. It was such a success, the aesthetic portion of the business soon outgrew the space. To give it room to flourish, Arsenault Dermatology opened Glow Dermspa and appointed Beachy as director.
“We have a fantastic team of highly-trained and educated people that practice aesthetic medicine with a very high quality of patient
care,” Beachy says. “As far as service offerings, we really take a comprehensive approach to aesthetics.” The services at Glow fall into a few different categories, starting with skin care. If you’re looking for something simple and straightforward, you can get a classic facial that’s customized to your skin type and concerns. If you’re in need of more intense exfoliation, chemical peels can remove damaged skin while dermaplaning skims dead skin cells and hair from your face. Looking for something more advanced? Microneedling can trigger the body’s natural healing response and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin which are key components for smooth and youthful skin. Next, there are laser treatments. Glow has several specialized lasers designed for an array of treatments. The MOXI laser can treat melasma and improve skin texture, while the VBeam PDL laser treats rosacea, broken capillaries and spider veins. The CO2RE laser treats scars, age spots, fine lines and wrinkles, while the BBL Photofacial laser removes brown spots.
But perhaps the area that Glow is best known for is injectables. Botox can be used to prevent or correct fine lines and wrinkles, while facial fillers can replenish areas that have lost volume
from age or weight loss. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) is an FDA-approved therapy where a patient’s own blood is drawn and spun in a centrifuge, isolating the plasma. That plasma can then be injected under the eyes to treat hollows or into the scalp to promote growth after hair loss. The Glow team is exceptionally skilled in the realm of injectables—and the industry has taken notice.
“We were honored to receive the Top Growth Achievement award in Florida by Allergan, which is the company that makes Botox and the full line of Juvederm fillers,” Beachy says. “Allergan also ranked us in the top 500 in the country out of over 47,000 other aesthetic practices.” In addition to the accolades given to the practice, Beachy was recently given a position as a national trainer for the Allergan Medical Institute. As part of this select group of trainers, she’ll be tasked with training other up-and-coming injectors. “I think that these things are just a testament to our dedication, our expertise as a team, our quality of care, and the personalized experience that we focus on for our clientele,” Beachy says. Glow Dermspa 9023 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch, (941) 264-1161, glowdermspa.com
SIRIUS SPA, SALON & MED SPA
For many years, being on the road was a way of life for Karen Medford. “My whole world was traveling. I traveled all over the place, right? So I was never home,” she says. “I would go to spas as my little bit of quiet time and selfcare.” Medford’s travel had been motivated by her career. She started in the music industry before becoming a medical sales executive. But at a certain point her priorities shifted. “I ended up getting married and having children,” she says. “And I was really missing being home and watching my children grow up because I’d be on a plane or leaving the house early in the morning or coming back late at night.” Medford’s husband is an entrepreneur, and while she had never owned a business, the thought of opening something of her own and creating a legacy appealed to her. One day she was driving across the state listening to Sirius XM radio, when she heard an ad for a brand-new salon and spa concept from the founders of Massage Envy and Joint Chiropractic. She flew to Arizona and toured two corporate-owned model salons and fell in love, signing up as the first franchisee.
“However, I realized very quickly that if you are the first franchise, you don’t get the benefits of a franchise really,” she says. “No one knows who you are, so you’re really starting from zero.” Further complicating matters, her vision soon began to outgrow the confines of the business model. “I ended up getting very lucky hiring an amazing team of people, many of whom are still with me today,” Medford says. “My head of aesthetics told me we could be doing so much more here than what the franchise was letting us do. Instead of doing regular facials, she convinced me we could do better. I ended up buying this really nice microdermabrasion machine with microcurrent because people in Lakewood Ranch want more than just your cookie-cutter stuff. But when you’re in a franchise you get locked down. You’re not really supposed to add services.”
As time went on, Medford wanted to grow the business while the founders wanted to scale it back even more. After some legal wrangling, the two parties “consciously uncoupled” and Medford could finally operate fully on her own terms. “We started adding services very quickly,” she laughs.
These days, there are three facets to Sirius. The salon offers a wide array of hair services, including cut, color, balayage and extensions. You can also visit the salon for waxing, manicures, pedicures, nail art and lash extensions. In the day spa, you can enjoy a full body exfoliation with sea salt or a massage. Finally, you can visit the med spa for facials, injectables, laser hair removal and permanent makeup among other services. One of the best features at Sirius is the wellness program, which offers special member pricing to people
who are enrolled. Membership also grants you open access to the Serenity Lounge where you can walk in anytime during open hours to relax in a deluxe massage chair and enjoy complimentary tea and guided meditation. There are three membership tiers at different price points, but they aren’t fees. Essentially, you’re just depositing money into your wellness bank account that you can use dollar for dollar on the services of your choosing. The plans are month-to-month so there’s no longterm commitment and unused credits roll over.
“It’s about self care, and a lot of people don’t do that,” Medford says. “It’s a reminder to take care of yourself.” LL Sirius Day Spa, Salon & Med Spa, 11585 State Road 70 East, Lakewood Ranch, (941) 357-4611, siriusdayspas.com
