Rethinking emergency care at core of health law

Gainesville Sun, January 8, 2012
You might think this is an emergency: Feverish, a sore that is oozing and skin that is extremely itchy.

With those symptoms, the exam room that Tiffany Williams entered last week was not in a hospital emergency department, but at the University of Florida Shands Eastside Community Practice.

“I feel like I’m home here,” said Williams, 35, of Gainesville, who works as a cashier at Food Lion. “And my doctors are wonderful.”

And it costs a fraction of what it would have had […]

Home Magazine, October 2011
By serving 16 counties in North Central Florida, WellFlorida Council helps more than 1.6 million people across 11,000 square miles, with almost 248,000 of those being Alachua County residents, lead healthier lives. And you’ve probably never heard of them.

“People won’t know who we are,” said Steven Oliva, MHA, CEO of WellFlorida, “We rarely ask for donations or fundraise. Our goal is not to make $1 million but to build healthier communities.”

WellFlorida began in 1969 under its original name, North Central Florida […]

InformationWeek, September 8, 2011 by Nicole Lewis
Forty grant recipients will get about $300,000 each to purchase technology, install broadband networks, and train staff members.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated $12 million to rural health networks across the nation to support health IT adoption and help them meet Meaningful Use requirements and qualify for federal incentive payments.

The funds will be distributed among 40 grantee organizations that will receive about $300,000 each to purchase technology, install broadband networks, and train staff members. […]

Gainesville Sun, August 4, 2011
Lyndcey Brown, 3, climbed up into the dental exam chair recently at the Fearnside Family Services Center in northeast Gainesville and helped Dr. Micaela Gibbs brush the teeth of a stuffed alligator.

“Can you open your mouth like a big alligator?” Gibbs asked. “You have such pretty teeth. … Do you brush your teeth?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lyndcey answered.

Lyndcey was getting her teeth checked and a fluoride gel put on them to help prevent cavities as part of a partnership between the University […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (June 14, 2011)—The North Central Florida Cancer Control Collaborative (NCFCCC) is providing new tools and resources for healthcare providers, and cancer patients, survivors, families and their caregivers through the organization’s website at www.ncfcancercontrol.org.

Are you or someone you care about looking for a breast cancer support group, searching for a boutique offering specially designed swimwear or interested in joining a fitness program for cancer patients? Now you can consult the recently updated Cancer Resource Guide of North Central Florida to find […]

Business Report, North Central Florida

The University of Florida may be the face of Gainesville, but health care is its economic backbone.

When Dr. Kenneth Berns arrived in Gainesville in 1976, health care was like a teenager showing lots of promise but still finding itself.

Alachua County Hospital had just moved into a new cornerstone building a year earlier. The 480-bed Veterans Administration Hospital was only nine years old. North Florida Regional Medical Center, founded in 1972, was just getting off the ground.

And the 465-bed Shands Teaching Hospital? […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 27, 2011) – Primary healthcare providers in Alachua, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, and Union counties can now enroll in The Center for the Advancement of Health IT’s (AHIT) Regional Extension Center (REC) program. WellFlorida Council, an authorized outreach partner, will help providers review eligibility standards and enroll in the program. Membership in the program, which is free to eligible providers, allows access to resources and education, and assistance in achieving meaningful use of certified electronic health […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 2010)— The 2010 Alachua County Health Needs Assessment is now available. The assessment presents health-related data, resident’s perspectives on health and healthcare, and current and future health needs of Alachua County. The Alachua County Health Department partnered with CHOICES Health Services, North Florida Regional Medical Center, Shands HealthCare and Palms Medical Group to engage WellFlorida Council, the region’s local health council, to create the assessment.

The assessment includes data on Alachua County such as demographic and socioeconomic factors, health status, […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Oct.12, 2010)—Through the support of the Florida Mental Health Institute, a free phone consultation service—the Child Psychiatry Access Program—is being provided by the University of Florida Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

This helpline serves medical providers who have questions about the care for their pediatric patients with behavioral or psychological illnesses.

Who can call? Family Practitioners, Pediatricians, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, PAs, ARNPs, RNs, or other prescribing physicians.

What are the line’s hours? This service is available Monday through Friday 8:30 AM – 4:30 […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2010) —This year’s National Health Center Week 2010, from August 8 to 14, recognizes the accomplishments of Community Health Centers and focuses on widening access to care under health reform legislation.

Under health reform, Community Health Centers are expected to double the number of patients they currently reach from 20 million today to 40 million in five years. In addition, Community Health Centers will be included in the new market insurance plans and will be a major provider of […]