Dear Editor,
I’ve had the privilege to be included on the South Bay Hospital Safety Committee as a “civilian” (not part of the South Bay Hospital staff but rather as a community member) for a few years, and I’m taking this opportunity to let our community know how really important, and welcome for us, is their designation as an “A” Grade Hospital for Patient Safety!
South Bay Hospital is our readily accessed community hospital that has provided us with broad services over many years. It continues to grow in quality, services and even size.
Of critical importance to those of us of Sun City Center, however, is the assurance that when we’re admitted, we will be in professional hands and cared for with special emphasis on “First, do no harm.”
And for South Bay Hospital to receive such hard-won recognition from national surveying standards should be comforting to all of us who appreciate its handiness and professional care and caring.
As a retired medical doctor who has practiced in many different settings and participated on hospital committees and helped hospitals better their services and participated directly in reviewing South Bay Hospital’s safety concerns and their continually finding ways to better insure patient care and safety, I am sincerely delighted to applaud South Bay Hospital for having been reviewed and found doing excellent patient safety.
I can assure our community that with the Administration, Medical, Nursing and Ancillary staffs, South Bay Hospital will continue to monitor patient safety and will always be looking for ways to improve it more. We should be delighted to have such a valuable resource right here in Sun City Center.
H.E. “Pat” Crow, MD
Sun City Center
Dear Editor
At Candidate’s Night on November 11th, in Sun City Center, candidates for the Sun City Center Board of Directors explained their views and opinions on a number of issues. One candidate, Lynn Mooney, expressed support to radically change Sun City Center’s “basic fabric” to a “blended community.”
When asked for the definition of a “blended community,” she indicated that Sun City Center should be split into two areas — one for people 55 years and older, and the other for people with no age restrictions, including school-age children.
Having some areas of the community open to under 55 years of age opens the door to all kinds of occurrences, such as school bus stops and traffic, homes with jungle gyms and multiple cars to accommodate larger families, and added use of our facilities, including swimming pools.
Clearly, this proposal would be more for the benefit of local Realtors, than for our current residents.
In the past, because of “loopholes” in our age-restriction guidelines, there were several attempts by local Realtors to sell homes to families with children under 18 years of age. Upon the request of the Community Association, the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners, at its meeting held June 5, 2003, authorized a Special District Overlay covering the residential areas of Sun City Center. The Sun City Center Senior Citizen Overlay District was established to foster and preserve the health, safety, comfort, welfare and support systems developed to benefit senior citizens in this age-restricted self-contained community. This agreement is a basic foundation of our community.
This overlay requires that:
– “Each dwelling unit within the overlay shall have at least one person not less than 55 years of age, and no person 18 years of age or under, for a period of time exceeding 30 calendar days per year;” and
– “All Senior Citizen occupancy requirements for State, Federal, and local exemptions to fair housing regulations, as amended, must be met and maintained or the overlay will become void. It shall be the responsibility of the Sun City Center Community Association, its designees or its successors to ensure that accurate records of occupancy requirements have been met and maintained.”
Sun City Center has built its core fabric as a 55 and older community for more than 50 years. Do the residents of Sun City Center want that radical of a change of our basic fabric by putting personal gain over the best interest of our community?
Edmund L. Barnes
Past President
Sun City Center Community Association