Author Archive

Gainesville Sun
By Courtney Lindwall

If Bobby Davis were to write a story about AIDS, he said he would call it “Young Men With Canes.”

It would be the story of young men with short lives, of disease without treatment, of sickness with shame. Eventually, it would be the story of progress.

For nearly 30 years, Davis has led the fight in Alachua County agrainst the virus that at times has seemed unbeatable. In that job, he was an advocate, community leader, mentor and friend.

This year will be […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (April 15, 2014)— Julie Moderie has been promoted to chief operations officer of WellFlorida Council, Inc., a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) located in Gainesville. WellFlorida is the state designated local health planning council for North Central Florida and specializes in health consultancy for clients and projects throughout the state. As the program director for the Healthy Start program, Moderie has seven years of service with the organization, and has advanced from senior planner in 2007 to planning manager in 2010. In her current […]

Suwannee Democrat
By Bryant Thigpen

Suwannee County has been ranked 53 out of 67 counties in Florida regarding the overall health status of the county, according to recent data released by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Suwannee County’s ranking did improve from last year which was ranked at 54.

Union County was ranked this year at 67.

According to a press release by the Florida Department of Health, this study highlights the many community factors that influence health. These rankings are a snapshot of […]

Special to the Gainesville Sun

For most Americans, open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace ended on March 31. However, there are some special cases that allow consumers to finish their insurance application in the marketplace if they were not able to do so before the deadline.

It is important for consumers to fully understand their options when it comes to completing their enrollment, especially given the ever-changing climate that has been health care reform.

Despite information throughout the media, the open enrollment period for the health insurance […]

GTN News

There’s still a lot of confusion about the healthcare enrollment deadline. The Obama Administration announced a deadline extension, but was it extended for you?

GTN’s Hailey Holloway has what you need to know to avoid a fine from the IRS.

“We didn’t expect something like this to happen!,” said Lauren Vagelakos, an associate planner at WellFlorida Council and the coordinator of navigators in North Central Florida.

If you’re confused about the deadline to sign up for healthcare, you’re not alone. Even the federally-employed navigators had to figure […]

Gainesville Sun
By Kristine Crane

Google e-cigarettes and celebrities and you’ll see glam shots that seem to glorify smoking the “harmless” new type of cigarette.

The problem is, electronic cigarettes aren’t harmless, experts told an audience Tuesday of about 60 people — mostly health care professionals in rural North Central Florida — at a tobacco summit in Lake City.

The sixth-annual gathering, which was organized by the Suwannee River Area Health Education Center and other partners, focused in part on e-cigarettes and youth addiction.

According to the Florida Youth […]

By HEALTH NEWS FLORIDA AND ASSOCIATED PRESS

Enrollment in health insurance plans is continuing, and navigators in Florida are still working to help people pick plans.

Jodi Ray, who directs the USF grant program that contracts with navigator groups, said the contracts haven’t expired so the navigators are still available at the same places they were before — some community centers, health clinics, and so on.

(Go to this page and click on “find local help.” You can type in your zip code and get a list.)

A few routes remain […]