“A centralized focus on economic development for Winter Haven is our primary reason for forming the Winter Haven EDC.” said Ingram Leedy, President/CEO of Elephant Outlook and Chairman of the Transition Team heading up the EDC effort.

“We’ve identified target industries best suited for recruitment to and expansion in the Winter Haven area, such as medical services; software and information technology; and logistics and distribution facilities. General business and professional services would be on that list, as well as agribusiness. Those are niches we will be directing our development efforts towards.” Leedy said.

Charter Board Members of the new EDC include representatives from the 6-10 Corporation, Collany Properties, Elephant Outlook, Envisors Engineering, The Landings, Polk State College, Tampa Electric, Tucker Construction, USF Polytechnic, and Winter Haven Hospital. Legal and accounting services to establish the EDC have been donated by Sharit, Bunn & Chilton, P.A. and LarsonAllen, LLP, respectively. The EDC Board intends to develop a membership program, solicit additional board members, raise funds and hire a new Executive Director/CEO by the end of 2011.

“We have built tremendous momentum for the EDC with great interest and commitment from Winter Haven business leaders and city officials. The formation of the EDC would not have been possible without the support of the City of Winter Haven. ” Leedy said, adding that efforts by the organization will complement new economic development in the area by CSX, LEGOLAND Florida and more.

Leedy noted,  “The creation of the Winter Haven Economic Development Council is a culmination of hard work and real visioning for our community and we expect great things from this important public/private partnership.”

Among Florida groups, five hospitals received three-star ratings. Winter Haven Hospital was among those five.

Congratulations to our medical professionals who earned this recognition.

The proposed building site is more than three acres and located adjacent to State Farm’s Winter Haven Operations Center with frontage to Cypress Gardens Boulevard. The facility will be built in two phases and will eventually encompass over 16,000 sq. ft. The center will house a number of primary care physicians as well as specialty physicians and services.

“We can’t thank State Farm enough for this wonderful investment in our organization,” saidLance Anastasio – CEO of Winter Haven Hospital. “State Farm’s generosity will help us in our mission to improve the health of the people we serve by providing the highest quality and most effective care and services – and to return value to the people of our communities.”

Eric Adamson, chairman of the Winter Haven Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, said: “State Farm has been an outstanding corporate citizen in our community for generations and has helped build this region in ways largeand small. We are very honored and grateful that State Farm has chosen to recognize how our not-for-profit patient care mission creates long-term value for Central Florida.”

State Farm and the Hospital began discussing this donation more than four years ago. “State Farm is proud to be a partner with Winter Haven Hospital,” said State Farm’s Vice President-Operations Julia Muscott. “This donation also helps State Farm achieve our mission of helping people manage the risks of everyday life, recover from the unexpected, and realize their dreams.”

Stephanie Rapke, MD

Winter Haven Hospital welcomes Radiation Oncologist Stephanie Rapke, M.D.

WINTER HAVEN, FL – (February 17, 2011) – Winter Haven Hospital is pleased to welcome to its medical staff Stephanie Rapke, M.D., a radiation oncologist. A radiation oncologist is a physician who specializes in the treatment of cancer patients, using radiation therapy as the main modality of treatment. Dr. Rapke will practice at the Cassidy Cancer Center, specializing in treatment of all malignancies with radiation. Dr. Rapke said she has a clinical interest in treating breast cancer with a special emphasis on taking proactive measures to reduce possible side effects from treatment.

“With a proper diet and use of appropriate clinical measures, we can do a lot to help patients maintain a good quality of life even while going through cancer treatment,” Dr. Rapke said.

Dr. Rapke graduated with the highest honors from the University of Maryland, where she majored in general physical science. She attended the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed an internal medicine internship and radiology residency at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. She completed her residency in radiation oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she served as chief resident. After completing her training, Dr. Rapke became an instructor in radiation oncology at Vanderbilt Medical Center. She also served as Clinical Director and Assistant Professor at Stony Brook Hospital in New York. She returned to work for Johns Hopkins Hospital and directed its first satellite center in Chambersberg, PA.

Welcome to Winter Haven Dr. Rapke.

• Central Florida Physician’s Directory and Medical Provider Guide: Publishing annually on the final week of January, this is PCMA’s endorsed directory of all area Physicians and Healthcare providers in the local medical industry. The basic white page listing in the directory is complimentary for physicians and other health care professionals.
• Central Florida Doctor Magazine: As a quarterly publication, which will publish mid-month in February, May, July, and October, this will be an industry news magazine, and it will also serve as PCMA’s official newsletter.
• Central Florida Health News: This will be a monthly publication aimed to serve the general consumer and present specific, health-related topics for a broad audience. The magazine will debut in the spring of 2011 and publish the final Week of each month.
• In addition to print media, all three of these publications will be represented on the website, www.CentralFloridaHealthNews.com.

Central Florida Media Group was founded by Kirkland in 2010 and currently publishes Central Florida Ag News in coordination with the Polk County Farm Bureau and the Crime Stoppers News Magazine in coordination with Heartland Crime Stoppers. The company’s offices are located in downtown Winter Haven in the USF Polytechnic Blue Sky East Business Accelerator.

The magazine went on to list 50 top-rated surgical groups from across the U.S. The ratings include groups that have agreed to let CR publish their results. The top-50 list includes three Florida groups and among those is the Winter Haven Hospital Bostick Heart Center. Other Florida groups were the Monroe Heart Center at Monroe Medical Center in Ocala and Cardiovascular Surgical Associates at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.

All groups in the top-50 received three star ratings meaning that their performance was rated as above average.

Congratulations to the staff and management of Winter Haven Hospital and the Bostick Heart Center.

Citing continued transit service in Polk County as a business, employment and economic issue, the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors have unanimously approved a resolution of support urging voters to approve a charter county transportation surtax of one-half percent (1/2 percent) to be considered on our November 2, 2010 ballot. You can read the full text of the resolution here.

The Board discussion noted that our transit system allows our citizens to work, shop,  and seek healthcare and other pursuits through transportation that would not otherwise be available. These are the people who take care of our loved ones in clinics and hospitals, serve us in retail stores, scan our groceries, attend our colleges and universities as well as some who, due to physical limitations, have no other transportation available to help meet their needs.

Chamber President, Howard King noted, “Polk’s citizens have acted collectively to fund indigent healthcare needs as well as endangered land preservation. We believe public transit helps our citizens live with dignity and stay gainfully employed — and we believe our voters need to consider this investment a key element in taking care of one another. We urge our citizens to vote for the transit referendum.”

The gala is held annually to help support the Foundation’s fundraising programs and services at Winter Haven Hospital, Regency Center for Women and Infants; seven Family Health Centers and a variety of additional healthcare facilities. Winter Haven Hospital is a community-owned, not-for-profit major medical center.

Last year’s Gala raised more than $500,000 in philanthropic contributions.

Note:  Admission to the Gala is primarily through sponsorships. Individual tickets, if available, are sold shortly before the event.

You can read for yourself here beginning on Page 24.

It provides a much more comprehensive look than Florida Trend’s April Economic Yearbook.

Dr. Daniel Haight is the Director of the Polk County Health Department. Learn Polk County’s current flu situation, the latest developments and practical information to minimize your families risk and exposure.

Enjoy a wonderful holiday luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Chamber’s Coleman Auditorium. Advance registration is required. $25 for Chamber members and $40 for non-members. Convenient payment here.