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The state Senate, the upper chamber of Legislature, has proposed lowering funds for an invaluable state-local program — Florida Healthy Start.

Disappointing.

The Florida House of Representatives, which has called for maintaining Healthy Start funding, should stay the course and say no to this unhealthy proposal.

We strongly urge the two senators from our region — Republicans Dennis Baxley and Keith Perry — to break ranks with their fellow senators and support an adequate appropriation for a program that improves the lives of individuals and families […]

County Health Profiles Provide Overview of Region’s Health Status

February 6, 2018

WellFlorida Council recently updated health data for each North Central Florida county and the collective region.

WellFlorida provides annual county health profiles to help residents and community leaders get an accurate overview of each county’s health status, and how it compares to the state.

The data represents: Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwanee and Union. Categories include socioeconomics, maternal and infant care, and healthcare access.

County profiles can be used to conduct further research and can help creates awareness […]

Florida Rural Health Educational Summit

January 30, 2018

The 24th Annual Rural Health Educational Summit will be held from March 27 to 28 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. The summit, hosted by the Florida Rural Health Association (FRHA), will focus on “Rural Florida: Healthcare, Politics and Funding in Uncertain Times.”

Featured topics will include: crisis leadership, rural veterans and mental health, safe opioid prescribing, rural tobacco cessation and prevention, alternative revenues for rural health, and federal health policy update. Dr. Larry Mullins, Diane Calmus, E. Blake Fagan and Jessica Joiner will be […]

2018 Area 3/13 Ryan White and HOP Survey

January 24, 2018

The North Central Florida CARE Consortium is encouraging persons infected with HIV to indicate their satisfaction with the care they received in 2017 from our Ryan White clinics, medical case management, eligibility and our HOP (housing) programs by taking the 2017 Area 3/13 Ryan White and HOP Survey. This annual survey is for individuals who receive HIV services in the following counties: Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putman, Sumter, Suwannee and Union. Individuals who take part in the […]

Tower Road, babies, fairgrounds on county’s 2018 agenda

January 11, 2018

Other

Gainesville Sun

Making Tower Road less bumpy could be key to making 2018 a smooth year for motorists who travel the road that’s been long slated for improvement.

Commission Chairman Lee Pinkoson, who has said after four terms on the board, he won’t run for the post again, met Tuesday for about 30 minutes with recent commission chairman Ken Cornell to talk about what they hope county government can accomplish this year.

Pinkoson said his priorities will be to ensure the fledgling Alachua County Children’s Services Advisory Board […]

Get ready, get set, go! Babies compete in benefit Diaper Derby

January 8, 2018

Gainesville Sun
By Christopher Baldwin

Held Sunday at Sun Country Sports in Jonesville, the derby benefits the Alachua County Perinatal Mental Health Coalition’s All Bottoms Covered Diaper Bank program.

He came. He crawled. He conquered.

One-year-old Foster, in a series of quick, successive spurts, won back-to-back heats to secure the golden baby bottle trophy during the inaugural Gainesville Diaper Derby.

Held Sunday at Sun Country Sports in Jonesville, the derby benefits the Alachua County Perinatal Mental Health Coalition’s All Bottoms Covered Diaper Bank program.

The event, which saw baby athletes […]

Brad Rogers: Resolutions and statistics

January 5, 2018

Ocala Star Banner

Turns out, I have a gym membership. Oh, it’s not like I was completely clueless. I just chose to ignore it … since, oh, about 2012. I have good excuses (note the plural). I’m really busy. The gym is always crowded. It won’t do any good. I’m tired. Did I mention I’m really busy?

So when my buddy Ben Marciano — who owns The Zone and collects the monthly gym fee from the Rogers household, whether I go or not — mentioned my perpetual […]

Free Training: Improve Patient Care Through Collaboration

January 2, 2018

Rural Health Partnership, WellFlorida Council and the Florida Department of Health are hosting a free course entitled Critical Access Hospitals and Regional Trauma SystemPartners Improve Patient Care Through Collaboration. The agenda for this training session will include:

Regional Trauma Plan
Uniform Trauma Transport Protocols
EMS and Emergency Preparedness Issues for Critical Access Hospitals
Pediatric and Geriatric Trauma
What to Do for Trauma Patients (coding, assessment, treatment, etc.)
Quality Assurance for Transportation and Care

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for nurses and other health professionals have been applied for […]

Cancer support group

December 5, 2017