COMMUNITY NEWS
‘Flying ICU’ launch, grant to MSS, first novel, Cambridge Learner Awards
HCA Florida Air Life helicopter pilots answer questions from Blessed Trinity Catholic School students during a March 25 event in Ocala. [Photo courtesy HCA Florida]
‘Flying ICU’ launch
HCA Florida Healthcare, in partnership with Air Methods, has launched an air ambulance service that will serve communities along the Nature Coast and inland in western North Central Florida.
At a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 25 at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, 680 students from Blessed Trinity Catholic School participated in a “helicopter petting zoo,” where they met the pilot and flight crew. The hospital is a Level I trauma center as well as a comprehensive stroke center.
The HCA Florida AirLife fleet will provide the specialized response and speed necessary to stabilize trauma, stroke and other seriously injured or ill patients before they reach a hospital, significantly improving outcomes, the news release noted.
The “flying ICUs” have a range of 379 miles and cruise speeds of 153 miles per hour. Flight nurses and paramedics are trained to provide critical care to patients suffering from trauma due to accidents, cardiac and stroke events, pregnancy emergencies and other major health concerns. The helicopters are based in Chiefland.
In 2025, Air Methods transported more than 2,800 critical care patients to 83 HCA Florida Healthcare facilities statewide, the release noted.
Spectrum donates to Marion Senior Services
Spectrum is nearing the completion of an expansion of services in Marion County, which is part of a multi-year rural construction initiative.
Driven by more than $7 billion in private investment, Spectrum will add more than 100,000 miles of fiber-optic network infrastructure and deliver symmetrical and multi-gigabit speed Internet access to more than 1.7 million new locations across the country, the news release stated.
On March 26 at One Health Center in Ocala, Spectrum presented a grant of $18,000 to Marion Senior Services to support the organization’s mission to increase digital literacy and technology access for older adults. The program included a Digital Literacy Workshop for seniors, designed to empower participants with practical technology skills, cybersecurity basics and greater confidence using digital tools for everyday life, the release noted.
“We are truly grateful to Spectrum for investing not only in digital access, but in the safety, confidence and well-being of the seniors we serve,” said Cynthia Moody, Fund Development Officer, Marion Senior Services, in the release.
First novel published
Steven Marks of Ocala has published his first novel, “Judas, Otherwise,” which is a work of historical fiction that wonders what would have happened if Judas had had free will.
“This isn’t really a religious novel, although it uses a well-known religious figure. The book does not question the legitimacy of religious faith, nor does it disparage God, Jesus or any faith. It just always bothered me that people always told me Judas did what he did because he had to; that everyone in the world had free will, except him, and then for doing what he had to do he was vilified for eternity. I chose to humanize Judas, give him a believable back story that told who he was and why he was who he was and then gave him reasons for everything he did, free will to choose and then ramifications for choices,” Marks explained in an email message.
To learn more, go to amazon.com/dp/B0GTBN4HMH
Cambridge Learner Awards
Forty-five high school students from Belleview, Lake Weir and North Marion High Schools have earned Cambridge Learner Awards for their performance on the June 2025 Cambridge exams.
Of the students, Aidan Aylward, Azarah Doyle, Douglas Vandeursen and Evan Kenney from Belleview High were recognized with merit, which requires earning B grades or higher on three exams. Aylward and Vandeursen also received merit recognition for the June 2024 exam series. The remaining 41 students earned the Scholar Award, which requires earning C grades or higher on three exams, the news release stated.
Cambridge exams are graded on a scale from E to A+, with A+ being the highest. A study by the Florida Department of Education found that a Cambridge grade of E most closely aligns with the minimum passing grade for Advanced Placement tests.
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