Physicians Regional opens sparkling new 9,000 sq. ft. clinic on island; throws a party to celebrate
By LANCE SHEARER | Thursday, February 21, 2013
MARCO ISLAND — What Rick Locastro wanted Marco Island to know about the new Physicians Regional medical clinic is the level of commitment the hospital group is making to the island. Locastro, chief operating officer of Physicians Regional Healthcare System and a Marco resident, said the new 9,000 square foot clinic, set for a grand opening on Saturday at their location in the Shops of Marco at San Marco and South Barfield, will function as a department of the Physicians Regional full-service hospitals.
“This is so much more than a walk-in clinic,” he said, during a tour of the facility, which is already open and seeing patients. “We have that, plus the ability to schedule appointments with a full range of medical doctors in various specialties, plus lab facilities and a complete physical therapy and rehab unit.”
The new clinic will see physicians, nurses and technicians rotate in from the Physicians Regional hospitals on Collier Blvd. and Pine Ridge Road in Naples, and Locastro said staff are eager to be assigned to the brand-new facility.
“We have so many experts at our disposal. We’re robustly staffed, both with numbers and experience. You’re going to see some people here with very thick resumes.” One staff physician will be Dr. Jim Klein, who Locastro said is well known to Marco Islanders.
Todd Gibson, R.N., director of emergency services, stressed how carefully the company thought out and custom-designed the clinic for Marco Island.
“All the experience HMA has in designing clinics went into this. There is not another facility like this.”
Many patients who have been traveling to Pine Ridge for therapy appointments will now be able to get them right on the island, said Gibson.
“We offer rehab programs such as gait and balance, tailored to an older population. We’ll have cardiology and pulmonary specialists here,” he said, along with the ability for part-time or seasonal residents to have tests performed, see a given doctor here, visit after visit, and send results to the patient’s full-time doctor up north or elsewhere.
“A primary care physician can follow their care day to day and follow up, even if the patient is here just a few months.”
“Everything’s connected there are no walls between the different disciplines,” said Gibson, facilitating treating the patient as a whole person, not merely a collection of symptoms. And test results, notes and patient information will be available electronically throughout the Physicians Regional system. Building out the clinic from scratch has allowed them to incorporate the latest technology, including digital information systems and fiber optic communications. “Everything we do is electronic.”
The clinic, said Walt Tester, director of facilities, is also built with patient privacy in mind, and green and recycled products. As an example, he cited the ceiling tiles, providing sound attenuation for more confidentiality, and sensor-activated lighting and air conditioning units.
One thing the clinic is not, said Gibson, is an emergency room. While the walk-in clinic will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week “think 7-7-7,” said Locastro in an emergency, calling 911 is still the proper action.
“No ambulance will ever deliver a patient here,” he said. There is an entrance in the rear customized to facilitate the transfer of patients to an ambulance, quickly and discreetly, and all Collier EMS and Marco Island Fire-Rescue personnel have been given the tour and made aware of the capabilities of the new clinic, said Gibson.
While new equipment and furnishings are still arriving, the clinic is up and running, and patients are delighted to be able to get care on the island, said Locastro.
“People on the island have been clamoring for this. We’ve had multiple referrals already,” he said. Physicians Regional is interested in being a good neighbor, a good corporate citizen, he added. Much of the artwork on the walls at the clinic comes from the Marco Island Center for the Arts, and is available for purchase.
“We had one painting sold right off the wall already,” said Locastro.
The big grand opening celebration Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., featuring the “Flying Elvi,” a troupe of Elvis-impersonating parachutists, and catering by SMH Catering with proceeds benefitting St. Matthews House, is the clinic’s introduction to the island, said Taylor Hamilton, Physician Regional director of marketing and communications. They are expecting a crowd, and free shuttle service from Veterans Community Park will be provided.
“We’d like everyone to come and tour our new facility,” said Hamilton. “We have a lot to offer the people of Marco Island.”
IF YOU GO
What: Physician’s Regional Clinic Grand Opening featuring ‘The Flying Elvi’
When: 2 until 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23
Where: Shops of Marco at San Marco and South Barfield; parking and complimentary shuttle service is available from Veterans Community Park, 403 East Elkcam Circle, beginning at 1:30 p.m.
Description: The Flying Elvi to descend on Marco Island at the Rockin’ Grand Opening of the Physicians Regional-Marco Island Walk-In Clinic, 2 until 5 p.m., Sat., Feb. 23, in the parking lot of The Shops of Marco, 1839 San Marco Road corner of Barfield and San Marco Road on Marco Island. St. Mathews House catering will be a primary food concessionaire, and all proceeds will benefit St. Matthew’s House.
© 2013 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
By JESSICA LIPSCOMB | Thursday, February 21, 2013
NAPLES — Decreases in aggravated assaults and larcenies led to a lower number of reported crimes in the city of Naples last year, according to new data.
The numbers, released by Naples police on Thursday, are reported to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement each year. The agency then compiles the results in its annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which tallies homicides, sexual offenses, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, larcenies and auto thefts.
In Naples, crimes in six of the seven categories declined from 2011 to 2012. The exception was the number of reported burglaries, which rose from 73 to 96.
There were no homicides in Naples in 2012 and one reported sex offense, according to the data. Police investigated five robberies, compared to six in 2011.
There were nearly half as many aggravated assaults, with 26 reported last year compared to 46 in 2011.
The number of larcenies fell from 526 to 431, and the number of auto thefts decreased from 16 to 10.
Altogether, there were 100 fewer crimes reported to police in 2012 570 compared to 2011’s 670.
Police spokesman Lt. John Barkley said a crime rate, which compares the number of crimes to the city’s population, was not available Thursday. Barkley said the city’s crime rate would be released when FDLE puts out its report later this spring.
© 2013 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
Naples, FL (February 15, 2013) – The housing market momentum established in 2012 is shown to be continuing in 2013 as home sales remain strong. The overall median closed price increased 16 percent, and the overall closed sales increased 10 percent for the 12-months ending January 2013, according to a report released by the Naples Area Board of REALTORS® (NABOR®), which tracks home listings and sales within Collier County (excluding Marco Island).
The NABOR® January report provides annual comparisons of single-family home and condominium sales (via the SunshineMLS), price ranges, and geographic segmentation and includes an Overall Market summary. The NABOR® January sales statistics are presented in chart format, with these overall (single-family and condominium units) specifics:
– The overall median closed price increased 16 percent from $179,000 at the end of January 2012 to $207,000 for the 12-month period ending January 2013.
– Overall pending sales increased 13 percent from 9,456 units to 10,681 units for the 12-month period ending January 2013. Overall pending sales increased 35 percent in the $300,000 to $500,000 category from 1,225 units to 1,652 units and 35 percent in the $500,000 to $1 million category, from 892 units to 1,200 units, and increased 22 percent in the $1 million to $2 million category, from 408 units to 497 units, respectively for the 12-month period ending January 2013.
– The average DOM (Days on the Market) decreased overall from 173 days in January 2012 to 161 days in January 2013.
– Overall pending sales in the Naples coastal area increased 36 percent from 1,555 units to 2,112 units, and closed sales increased 16 percent, from 1,638 units to 1,893 units, for the 12-month period ending January 2013.
“The strong performance in the housing market is consistent with improvements we are seeing in other aspects of the economy, especially the stock market,” said Dr. Tim Allen, Professor and Alico Chair, FGCU. “The housing market is benefitting from the general economic improvement coupled with relatively low mortgage rates.”
View the January 2013 Market Statistics
• Look for the hot spots – Where is the clutter piling up? Are games, books, magazines and craft supplies being left out in the open? Are dishes and cereal boxes piling up in the kitchen? Who needs a reminder to clean up after themselves?
• Dump the duplicates – Do you really need two non-stick spatulas? Six hairbrushes or 15 unmatched coffee mugs? Tossing the duplicates is one of the easiest ways to de-clutter – and remember to toss out the old whenever you bring in the new.
• Add clutter control solutions – Add additional shelving to bedrooms, family rooms, and laundry areas to get books, hobby materials and other supplies off desktops and floors. Buy a few stackable clear plastic storage boxes. Strategically placed, they can hold bill-paying and stationery supplies, hobby materials, toys and games and more. In the kitchen, bathroom and linen closet, use drawer dividers, baskets and pantry turntables to organize kitchen gadgets and spices, hold incoming mail and brochures, and get soaps and shampoos and hair décor off the counter.
• Schedule cleanups – Assign each family member a living area (besides their own bedrooms!) and a day of the week to de-clutter it: get scattered supplies into bins and baskets, update the mail and bills, and clear magazines, games and newspapers off the tables.
• Go through closets – Getting rid of clothes and other things you no longer use will give you much-needed closet space. Be ruthless. Stop holding onto out-of-style or ill-fitting clothes that “you may want to wear again someday.”
• Beware nostalgia – It’s not easy for doting parents to toss out a child’s creation –whether it’s a drawing or a collage. Try taking pictures of the child with the item and let the photo be your remembrance. The same is true for 10-year old trophies and other outdated memorabilia taking up space around the house.
By LAURA LAYDEN | Sunday, February 17, 2013
NAPLES — Builders in the Naples market are investing millions in houses with no buyers.With the housing market on the rebound, the speculative, or so called “spec” market has made a comeback, especially in areas near the water such as Port Royal, Aqualane Shores, Coquina Sands and Old Naples.In the past year, more high-end custom builders have been buying lots and putting multimillion-dollar houses on them, expecting buyers to come. And buyers have come, sometimes snatching up houses before they’re finished.Spec home building slowed to a virtual halt after the red-hot housing market went bust starting in 2006, but it’s back.
* * * * *
41 West, a longtime luxury builder in Naples, decided to start building spec homes again last summer after a four-year pause.”Builders like myself are building homes on a speculative basis. Where everybody has been afraid of their own shadow for the last four years, people are stepping up. It’s a totally different market,” said William Bayes, 41 West’s vice president of operations.It’s a different market because the inventory of both new homes and resales has shrunk, which is slowly driving up prices.41 West’s decision to get back into speculative building came after Naples-area Realtors saw one of their busiest summers for sales in a decade, Bayes said.
* * * * *
Other builders jumped back into the speculative market more quickly than 41 West, with construction picking up noticeably last year, such as in Old Naples.During the past two years, Waterside Builders built two quaint cottages off Third Street South that fetched some of the highest prices per square foot seen in Old Naples, said Mike Assaad, the company’s president.Buyers paid more than $1,000 per square foot for the living space under air and one of the homes was a spec that brought $2.6 million, he said.”There are a lot more buyers at $2.5 million than there are at $4 million or $5 million,” Assaad said.
* * * * *
While much of the speculative building is near the water, it has picked up elsewhere in Collier County, including Mediterra, the luxury golf community straddling the Lee-Collier county line off Livingston Road.Most of the builder’s spec homes have been priced at $1 million to $3 million. They are three- and four-bedroom homes, ranging from 3,000 to 5,400 square feet.The builder will soon start similar spec homes in downtown Naples and Quail West, another golf community east of Interstate 75 between Bonita Beach and Immokalee roads.
* * * * *
WCI Communities Inc., a Bonita Springs-based home builder, has spec homes in all five of its gated communities in Collier and Lee counties.WCI has two communities in Collier, including Tiburon in north Collier, where it’s building four spec homes with four and five bedrooms, priced at about $1 million. They’ll range from 3,800 to 4,500 square feet.There are another seven spec homes under construction at WCI’s Manchester Square community off Livingston Road, north of Pine Ridge Road.”We definitely have increased spec count,” Wolf said. “Last year, we were kind of following a sell one, replace one (strategy). This year, there has been enough demand that we are putting out two specs for every one that we sell.”
© 2013 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
