Here are the Top 10 most important Florida health care stories of 2022

| 1/3/2023

Here are the Top 10 most important Florida health care stories of 2022

Framed by the ongoing fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic to the seismic shift in abortion rights, the past year in Florida contained significant moments in the intersection of health care policy and politics, much of it driven by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is seen as a likely Republican presidential contender. Many of these stories, however, are only half-written, with more to come in 2023, including a probe into vaccine manufacturers and another round of legislation dealing with abortion as well as likely legal battles over transgender care. [Source: Florida Politics]

Florida lawmakers likely to consider additional abortion restrictions in 2023

Republican legislative leaders say they are open to advancing more limits on abortion in 2023, but it's not yet known how strict any new restrictions would be. Incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo has said she wants to see Florida's ban on abortion after 15 weeks reduced to 12 weeks. The proposal could include an exclusion for rape and incest, which is currently not allowed. [Source: Health News Florida]

Broward Health has touched many lives in 85 years. It has big plans for the future

The hospital system touts a lot of firsts: In the 1940s, it opened one of the country’s first radiation treatment centers and was the first hospital in Broward County to offer a dedicated pediatric unit. In the 1950s, it received the first electrocardiogram machine in Broward County. Fast forward to today and the public hospital system has turned into one of the 10 largest safety net healthcare systems in the country, with 30 locations, including four hospitals. [Source: Miami Herald]

COVID-19 cases in Florida increase by thousands over holidays

COVID-19 cases increased by about 6,000 over the holidays throughout Florida, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The uptick comes while fewer than 10% of Floridians aged 5 and older have received their updated COVID booster shot, according to the CDC. It’s important to note that not all cases are accounted for, as not everyone with symptoms takes a test, and at-home tests are not reported to the CDC or the Florida Department of Health. [Source: Gainesville Sun]

Hospitals face direct competition from the 'retailization' of healthcare

Hospitals and physician practices are seeing direct competition from CVS, Amazon, Walmart and others that are investing heavily in different ways. In October, Walmart said it was planning the expansion of 16 clinics in Florida in 2023, to include primary care, labs, X-ray and EKG, behavioral health, dental and community health, with services to vary by location. In July, Amazon announced it would acquire primary care company One Medical for $3.9 billion. [Source: Health Care Finance]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› How Miami Dade College is using teletherapy to reach more students in need [WLRN]
College students across the country were in need of mental health services long before COVID-19 hit. That need is even greater due to the isolation, stress and grief brought on by the pandemic. Many state and community colleges – including Miami Dade College – don’t have a dedicated on-site counseling center. Now they’re turning to outside telehealth providers to help students cope.

› Medical fluid maker rolls with the punches as delays mount [Business Observer]
Back in August, serial entrepreneur Alex Lucio didn’t have much to show, yet, for Assure Infusions, his grand new medical-supply manufacturing venture in Bartow, a city of about 20,000 people in Polk County. A sign reading “Future Home of Assure Infusions” stood in front of an empty field back then. A few months later, a chain-link fence has gone up and steel girders are stacked along shipping containers full of windows, doors and other building materials. In the middle of the field sits a RV Lucio uses as an office.

› Dementia-friendly dining in Central Florida grows to 5 restaurants [WMFE]
A fifth Central Florida restaurant is joining a special effort to meet the needs of people with Alzheimer's disease and those who care for them. Dementia-friendly dining provides specific times and days of the week for eating out, free from the usual hubbub and clatter of a crowded restaurant, and with servers specially trained to interact with people who have Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

› HCA Florida Middleburg Emergency opens [Jacksonville Daily Record]
HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital opened its $14.4 million HCA Florida Middleburg Emergency facility at 2560 Blanding Blvd. near Everett Avenue on Dec. 28. The full-service emergency care facility is 10,820 square feet with 11 patient rooms, imaging and lab services. It is open 24 hours daily to serve Middleburg, Lake Asbury, Green Cove Springs and Penney Farms residents. The PHM Group is the contractor and Hereford Dooley Architects is the designer.

Tags: Health Care eNews

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