Florida Trend Exclusive
Delivery shift
Hospitals have long echoed with the wailing cries of newborns, their delivery wards reigning as the dominant setting for American births for around a century. In Florida, though, that could change. Since 2019, at least 21 Florida hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units. Some traditional birth centers — an alternative option for low-risk patients to give birth under the midwifery model of care — are also closing their doors. As remaining delivery sites hemorrhage money, and hospitals jettison those services, a potential solution arises from the Florida Legislature: advanced birth centers. [Source: Florida Trend]
‘Cicada’ COVID is spreading and may be more contagious. What about Florida?
A new COVID-19 variant is on the rise across the country, including Florida. It’s named for the cicada, an insect that goes underground for long periods. Like the insect, the Cicada COVID-19 variant has shown a pattern of disappearing and reappearing months later. It was first identified in 2024, detected in someone traveling to the United States in 2025. It is formally referred to as the BA.3.2 variant. [Source: Miami Herald]
Advocates question Florida’s efforts to reduce disability care waitlist
Families navigating severe developmental disabilities in Florida say the years-long delay for home-based services exposes a much deeper breakdown in state government. Well-intentioned legislative efforts have repeatedly resulted in negative unintended consequences. For example, the legislature recently created a program to train and pay parents to be caregivers for their own disabled children. However, the program paid just enough income to disqualify many families from Medicaid. [Source: WTVT]
Black maternal mortality remains high in Florida. Groups, hospitals look for change
Nationally, Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida, it's worse. Across the country, the pregnancy-related morbidity rate is about 24 deaths per 100,000 births, according to a report by the March of Dimes. In Florida, mothers face about 25 deaths. State data shows that in 2023, for Black women, it was 53.3 deaths per 100,000 births. [Source: Central Florrida Public Media]
Florida's rural hospitals can begin applying for $209 million in federal grants
Florida's rural hospitals will see an infusion of $209 million in federal money after the Joint Legislative Budget Commission approved a request Friday from the state's health care agency to authorize the funds. The move transfers money from the Medical Care Trust Fund to support the Florida Rural Health Transformation Program. [Source: Health News Florida]
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› GLP-1s and the future of weight loss: 4 takeaways from Spotlight Tampa Bay
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have gained attention in recent years for their uptake among Hollywood’s elite. But before they went mainstream and online pharmacies began marketing them to the general public, doctors say the diabetes medications played a breakthrough role in helping patients manage chronic obesity.
› FGCU breaks new ground in healthcare education
Florida Gulf Coast University took another transformative step toward preparing more future-ready healthcare graduates at the April 15 groundbreaking celebration for Academic Building 10, now known as Marieb Hall South. The four-story structure — an expansion of Marieb College of Health & Human Services — will house 158,040 square feet and become the largest academic building on campus.
› Orange County School District faces big budget gap on health care funding
The Orange County School District is grappling with budget-busting health care costs this year and a possible deficit of almost $150 million in its employees’ health care fund for next year. The district had $25 million in the Employee Benefit Trust Fund at the beginning of this school year, and district officials say they plan to put an additional $61 million into the fund to cover this year’s health care costs. However, the district will face a huge challenge for next year unless it makes big changes to its health care plans.
› New medical school to open in South Miami-Dade. How it will impact jobs and care
Larkin University plans to open a new college of osteopathic medicine in South Miami-Dade that it says will bring jobs to the area and improve access to care as the state faces a growing doctor shortage. “South Florida currently is facing a significant and worsening physician shortage, particularly in primary care and in underserved communities,” Rudi Ettrich, the president and CEO of Larkin University, told the Miami Herald in a phone interview, explaining that the college’s goal is to encourage medical students to stay and work in the region.