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Featured Story

🏡 Meet Your Neighbor: Carine Pierre of Wellness Vitalized

Solving Problems with Passion

Some people treat health like a to-do list. If this, prescribe that. If that, prescribe this. Carine Pierre treats it like a story. You’re the author, and she’s there to help you make it better.

After more than 15 years in healthcare, she built Wellness Vitalized to ask better questions and go after root causes. She’s a nurse, a neighbor, and a mom who learned firsthand how powerful prevention can be. Around here, that kind of perspective goes a long way. It’s time to get to know Carine a little better.

How long have you lived in Southshore?
Carine: I’ve lived in Riverview for almost a decade and truly consider it home.

What’s your favorite thing about living out here?
Carine: The sense of community. I love that our family lives close to several relatives, and I love that we’re close to Tampa, Sarasota, and St. Petersburg but still enjoy the family-friendly, small-town feel.

Least favorite?
Carine: Definitely the traffic, especially during rush hours.

How long have you been in wellness?
Carine: I’ve been in healthcare for over 15 years, and the last several years I’ve devoted myself fully to wellness and health optimization.

What made you choose this as a profession?
Carine: I’ve wanted to be in healthcare since I was little. Over time, my perspective deepened through life experiences. With my son’s autism, I learned how important it is to look beyond labels and get to the root of physical symptoms that often come along, and that opened my eyes to a whole new approach. When COVID hit, it became even clearer how much preventive care and self-care matter. Those experiences together shaped my passion for helping people not just get by, but truly thrive.

When did you start Wellness Vitalized?
Carine: I started Wellness Vitalized toward the end of the COVID pandemic. That time reinforced how important preventive and root-cause wellness is, and I wanted to create a space where our community could access personalized care that empowers them to take charge of their health.

What did you do before getting into wellness?
Carine: Before starting Wellness Vitalized, I worked in different healthcare settings as both a registered nurse and a nurse practitioner. Over the years, I’ve served as a chronic care manager and a health coach, which gave me a wide range of experience in helping people manage their health. Those roles taught me a lot, and they inspired me to focus more on prevention and root-cause care.

What’s your favorite thing about your work?
Carine: Seeing people go from just getting by to feeling truly vitalized and optimized. Whether it’s renewed energy, balanced hormones, a healthier weight, or a healthier gut, I love watching clients transform as we uncover the root causes and put real solutions in place. Helping someone feel like the best version of themselves again is what excites me every day.

Outside of work, what do you like to do?
Carine: I love spending time with my husband and our two boys. I love hanging out with our relatives and friends. We enjoy biking, jogging, dancing, and being outdoors together. Family time keeps me grounded.

Favorite place to eat in Southshore?
Carine: I’m more of a home-cooked meals person, but when I treat myself, I love Cali Café. It’s perfect for a good cup of coffee and something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth.

What’s your favorite success story from helping a client?
Carine: One that stands out is a woman who came to me exhausted and discouraged. She struggled with constant fatigue and low mood, and she admitted she had started resenting her spouse because she didn’t feel like herself anymore. Together, we took a root-cause approach, looking at her gut health and hormone balance. Over time, her energy returned, her mood lifted, and she began to reconnect with joy in her life and relationships. She told me she felt like “a whole new person.” Moments like that remind me why I do this work.

Why is it important for you to serve clients in our community?
Carine: Because this is my home too. I want to see Southshore thrive, and that starts with helping individuals feel their best so they can show up fully for their families, careers, and themselves.

What’s one tip you’d give everyone about wellness?
Carine: Don’t wait until something is wrong to focus on your health. Small, consistent steps toward wellness today build the foundation for a healthier, more vibrant tomorrow.

Things to do

What’s Washing Up on The Shore This Week

Pothole Planning

Yes, we’re still talking about potholes. The county can’t seem to get a handle on them, which leaves many of us driving an obstacle course on our daily commute.

Here’s the current state in plain English: Hillsborough runs a Pavement Management Program that grades roads every three years and uses those scores to schedule resurfacing or reconstruction. In between, crews do quick patches when problems are flagged through the maintenance authority map, and bigger trouble spots get slotted for longer-term projects.

Your part is simple, and it really helps: if you hit a crater, report it. Use Hillsborough’s At Your Service portal or call (813) 635-5400 for urgent hazards. If it’s on I-75, US-41, US-301, or SR-674, that’s FDOT District 7 at (800) 226-7220. Be precise so crews can find it fast: drop a pin or nearest address, note the lane and direction, and add a quick photo if it’s safe. Help them find the holes before they find your coffee.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is when we go pink with a purpose, although I could get behind doing it all year. This month is about early detection, real education, and making sure our neighbors get the support they need. If you’ve been putting it off, schedule your screening and nudge a friend to do the same.

The National Breast Cancer Foundation has free guides, help finding mammograms, and resources for patients and families. Wear your pink, check on someone you love, and let’s keep Southshore informed and supported.

Southshore Spotlight

Wheels of Success

Wheels of Success is a Tampa Bay nonprofit that helps low- and moderate-income working families with reliable transportation—vehicle replacement, repairs, and help with licensing and payments. Through programs like Build-A-Car and other targeted initiatives, they repair and place donated vehicles so people can get to work and keep life moving.

Nominate your local hero by emailing us at [email protected]

We Know a Guy…or Girl

Southshore Services

Need a painter? A plumber? Someone brave enough to tackle that lightbulb orbiting 30 feet above your living room? We’ve got you. And the best part, they’re all right here in our community.

Interested in joining the list? Shoot us an email to [email protected]

“Keep it Local!”

Foodies Only

Your Restaurant

New menu items, promos, specials, events- feature them here. This is the place to tell 30,000 readers in Southshore what you've got. Only 20 spots for the year. Claim yours today.

If you’ve got a restaurant, food truck, or even a lemonade stand, it could be featured here. Email us at [email protected]

Local Sports

Football

Lennard vs Parrish Community, Friday 10/17 @7:30 PM - Away

East Bay vs Tampa Bay Tech, Friday 10/10 @ 7:30 PM - Away

Sumner vs Hillsborough, Friday 10/10 @7:30 PM - Away

Riverview vs Bartow, Friday 10/10, @ 7:30 PM - Away

Spoto vs Leto, Friday 10/10, @7:30 PM - Home

News or Events you’d like to share? Email us at: [email protected] 

Until next time,

Keep It Local.