Letitia Stein, Times Staff Writer
Letitia Stein covers health and medical issues for the Tampa Bay Times. In her spare time, Stein also blogs about bargain shopping and fashion as a Deal Diva. She grew up in Tampa and joined the Times in 2004.
Phone: (727) 893-8330
Email: lstein@tampabay.com
Blog: Deal Divas
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Shop your closet: Cheapest wardrobe update ever
05/15/13 BlogMy wardrobe is enjoying a renaissance that didn't cost me a cent. I've been shopping my closet.
Like Deal Diva Kameel, I've been in need of inspiration. In my case, a move plus a baby created a disorganized closet stuffed with once adored dresses and tops that I haven't worn in two years....
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Angelina Jolie's decision draws praise from Tampa Bay patients, physicians
05/14/13HealthTAMPA — Just last week, Terri Comeau completed the grueling surgeries she has needed since making up her mind to have her healthy breasts removed to prevent cancer.
"It's a tough decision to remove your breasts, the toughest decision I've ever made. But it also was the most logical thing to do," said the 29-year-old Lutz wife, mother and sales analyst.
That kind of deeply personal decision on Tuesday became a topic of national conversation when Angelina Jolie revealed that she, too, underwent a preventive double mastectomy and reconstruction. Like Comeau, the Oscar-winning actress has a genetic mutation that sharply increases a woman's risk of breast and ovarian cancer....
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Tampa Bay hospital charges vary widely, Medicare data show
05/08/13HealthShopping around for hip replacement surgery? Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater charges $49,370 on average, while Oak Hill Hospital in Brooksville charges more than twice as much at $118,735.
In downtown St. Petersburg, Bayfront Medical Center charges $75,739, but you could pay about 30 percent less at St. Anthony's Hospital less than two miles away. Or $93,130 at nearby Edward White Hospital....
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Florida's 'trauma drama' isn't over
05/06/13 BlogThe next-to-last bill of the legislative session gave the green light to approving two new trauma centers in Florida, despite a current statewide moratorium on their creation.
But don’t think Florida’s “trauma drama” -- as one lawmaker called it -- is over.
State health officials on Monday released a much-anticipated report from the independent experts brought in this winter to examine the Florida trauma system amid a protracted hospital fight over who should treat the most critically injured patients....
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Mother's Day guide: Do's and Don'ts
05/01/13 BlogIt's T-minus two weeks to find a wow gift for Mother's Day. A few do's and don'ts:
Do bling: An initial pendant (yours or hers) is fool-proof. Or if you know her tastes well enough, try a statement necklace.
Don't be tacky: Why they sell diamond hearts with "M-O-M" down the middle is beyond me.
Do pamper. It's awfully hard to go wrong with a mani-pedi gift certificate.
Don't work. No matter what she says, she doesn't want a new vaccum....
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Deputies: Man in Pasco used candy to lure children
04/29/13CrimeThe Pasco County Sheriff's Office is warning parents about a man who used candy to lure two 9-year-old children behind a vacant home in New Port Richey. Authorities say he sexually touched at least one of the children.
The incident occurred at 8 p.m. Friday in the 6000 block of Ninth Avenue. After luring a boy and a girl out of sight, a man asked them to play a game checking out what was inside his pocket....
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Disabled in Iraq, triathlete faces toughest race at home
04/26/13HealthST. PETERSBURG — When the starter's gun goes off this morning at the St. Anthony's Triathlon, Kathy Champion will wade carefully into Tampa Bay, a slim yellow rope linking her at the waist to her training partner.
They'll avoid the fiercely kicking scrum of top competitors. But they face challenges all their own.
Service in Iraq left Champion, 48, blind and half-deaf, without feeling on much of her left side. As a consequence of severe post-traumatic stress, she fears crowds....
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Derek Lam hits Kohl's
04/17/13 BlogNext up in the annals of fru-fru designers clothing the masses: Derek Lam is at Kohl's.
But not forever, like Vera Wang. Lam has released a time limited collection for the spring inspired by the colors and prints of Rio.
It's not only lovely but also already on sale (bless you, Kohl's.) A few of my favorite pieces include a striped drop-waist dress, $37.80, and a chambray pleated skirt, $35....
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Florida lawmakers enter fray over hospital trauma centers
04/16/13HealthTALLAHASSEE — Despite the objections of leading experts, members of the Florida House on Tuesday pressed forward with a last-minute campaign to loosen state restrictions on opening new hospital trauma centers.
Legislation approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee — filed just hours before the vote, and retooled on the fly with amendments scribbled by hand — comes amid a protracted fight among Florida hospitals over who should treat the most critically injured patients....
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Taking the trauma battle to Tallahassee
04/15/13 BlogA dispute between Florida hospitals over who should treat the most critically injured patients has hit the airwaves."Powerful special interests are keeping us from the emergency care we need, restricting access, risking lives," says an advertisement depicting...Two Tampa Bay compounding pharmacies cited in FDA inspection sweep
04/12/13HealthFederal regulators say they observed unsanitary practices at two Tampa Bay-area compounding pharmacies during inspections in response to the national fungal meningitis outbreak.
Tainted drugs made by the New England Compounding Center were linked with the deaths of 53 people — five in Florida — and blamed for sickening hundreds of patients.
AnazaoHealth Corporation in Tampa and the Compounding Shop in St. Petersburg were among 31 facilities inspected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is seeking more authority to regulate compounding pharmacies. Neither was implicated in any reports of illness....
March of Dimes project curbs early delivery of babies at St. Joseph's Hospital
04/08/13HealthTAMPA — For decades, obstetricians were advised not to schedule deliveries unnecessarily early, since the final weeks of pregnancy are so critical to the development of babies' brains and lungs. But the practice became increasingly popular, largely out of convenience to mother and doctor.
That's no longer the case at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital in Tampa, which is part of a national project by the March of Dimes to curb elective early-term deliveries. ...
Spring tips to shop your closet
04/03/13 BlogNeed a spring wardrobe update? A few key pieces can freshen up your look without breaking the bank:
Something blue: Aqua is all the rage right now. Mix and match staples with a pebble print skinny belt....
Bayfront debuts new logo, management on first day as a for-profit hospital
04/01/13HealthST. PETERSBURG — Bayfront Health on Monday kicked off its first day as a for-profit hospital system, unveiling a logo, management team and slate of board members.
Bayfront's round teal symbol — a St. Petersburg icon visible from the interstate — is getting a colorful update courtesy of Health Management Associates, the hospital's new owner.
Now a ring of rainbow-hued petals, the new logo is just the start of the changes promised by the Naples-based chain operating in 15 states, which now owns an 80 percent controlling interest in Bayfront....
Thousands of Universal Medicare Advantage customers face deadline
03/28/13HealthST. PETERSBURG — Over the last few months, Helen Brown, 89, cracked three ribs, broke her ankle and stayed in a hospital after a fainting spell. Universal Health Care paid all her bills.
But reports of serious financial problems at the St. Petersburg-based insurer made her reconsider her options. Thursday, as federal agents raided Universal headquarters, she shared her experience.
"When I knew the end was coming, I figured it was time to look for a new plan," said Brown, of Pinellas Park. "Oh, my God, it's been a nightmare figuring out what to do."...
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