News, Events &#038; Public Meetings

T.E.A.M. Dad Available in North Central Florida

Main Street Daily News
By Glory Reitz

T.E.A.M. Dad, a branch of HealthyStart, recently extended its coverage to 16 counties in North Central Florida. The free home visiting program currently has three coaches, each working with about eight men.

Coaches work with fathers and father figures to improve their fatherhood knowledge and skills, and to increase their confidence in the role they fill in a child’s life. T.E.A.M. Dad Coordinator Joseph Neal said many fathers want to be involved in their children’s lives but do not know […]

August 22, 2023

Florida Healthy Start Announces Expansion of Nurse-Family Partnership Funding

Florida Healthy Start administers the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) in 12 Florida counties as a result of a funding increase.

This year, The Florida Legislature approved funding to support the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program in nine additional counties. This increase expands the funding from three to twelve counties. The Florida Association of Healthy Start Coalitions (FAHSC) administers the NFP program through a contract with the Florida Department of Health (DOH) with direct services available at Healthy Start Coalitions in each of the 12 counties where the […]

August 9, 2023

T.E.A.M. Dad Boosts Confidence and Skills in Fathering

A new and free program in North Central Florida helps fathers increase their awareness and knowledge about what it takes to be a good father. T.E.A.M. Dad, which stands for Teaching, Empowering, Advocating for and Mentoring men on their fatherhood journey is inviting fathers, grandfathers or role models involved with a child under the age of three or men with a pregnant partner to enroll.

The program provides a dedicated T.E.A.M. Dad support specialist, who is an experienced father and/or who has received extensive training in […]

August 7, 2023

2023 County Health Profiles Now Available

WellFlorida’s annual publication North Central Florida County Health Profiles provides the health status of the 16 counties we serve as the region’s local health planning council — Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee and Union. The County Health Profiles offer a snapshot of each county’s health data, and how the counties compare to each other, the region and the state. Learn more.

May 30, 2023

Upcoming First Responder Events

Join WellFlorida Council, Lutheran Services Florida and the First Responder Project for the following upcoming events:
Building a Successful Behavioral Health Access Program for First Responder Readiness Townhall

You are invited to a townhall that summarizes our shared efforts to broaden behavioral health and wellness supports for first responders, and battle stigma and other barriers to care. Learn about new resources and share your expertise as we review LSF’s strategic plan for building a successful behavioral health access program (BHAP) for first responders in Northeast and North Central […]

May 2, 2023

Help Our Community’s Babies Have More First Birthdays

Be a part of Healthy Start’s Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR), a community-driven action to make meaningful changes to improve services, systems and resources for families and reduce stillbirths and infant deaths.

WHY YOU SHOULD BECOME INVOLVED

Infant mortality is a key indicator of the health of a community and its social and economic well‐being
Our community’s fetal & infant mortality rates are persistently high: consistently higher than the State’s
average rates
Alarming racial and ethnic disparities: Black babies in our area are more than twice as likely […]

March 15, 2023

Community Health Surveys

WellFlorida Council is conducting Community Health Surveys for various counties in North Central Florida in 2023. Survey results, along with local health data, will be used to develop Community Health Needs Assessments. These reports identify and prioritize the most pressing health issues in each county, guide planning initiatives and serve as a resource for the public and community leaders.

Visit “Surveys” to take a survey in your county.

See “Reports” for examples of WellFlorida’s Community Health Needs Assessments and other reports.

For more information about the […]

February 13, 2023

Community Input Needed for the Citrus County Health Needs Assessment

Citrus County residents, businesses, community-based organizations and health-related professionals are invited to take a 15-minute survey to help identify the county’s most pressing health concerns. Survey results, along with local health data, will be used to develop a Community Health Needs Assessment for the county.

The Community Health Needs Assessment will guide planning initiatives for the Florida Department of Health in Citrus County, determine funding priorities for the Community Charitable Foundation and provide data for other entities in the community to use for grants.

The survey is […]

November 14, 2022

Citrus Department of Health to Conduct Community Health Needs Assessment

The Florida Department of Health in Citrus County (DOH-Citrus), in partnership with the Citrus County Community Charitable Foundation, has kicked off its months-long Community Health Needs Assessment process.

WellFlorida Council, a nonprofit agency which works with 16 counties in North Central Florida, is facilitating the needs assessment for Citrus County.

The assessment will seek input from community members through one-on-one interviews, surveys and in-person focus groups.
The final product will identify the community’s health priorities and needs for the county at large which will in turn guide […]

October 31, 2022