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Florida records lowest ever COVID-19 positive test rate; death toll surpasses 60,000

Florida records lowest ever COVID-19 positive test rate; death toll surpasses 60,000

Three months after the coronavirus ravaged Florida's unvaccinated and made the state the national epicenter of the pandemic, health officials logged the lowest COVID-19 positive test rate since the pandemic started. Just 2.6% of COVID-19 tests across Florida came back positive over the past week, the state Health Department reported Friday, the lowest level recorded since the first infections were detected in March 2020. [Source: Palm Beach Post]

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USF works to prepare nursing students for the realities of the job

Usha Menon, dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Nursing and a senior associate vice president of USF Health, says she gets “chills” when she reads current research concerning job satisfaction among nurses. One study, she points out, published by researchers at Emory University before the pandemic, found that nearly one-third of the nurses who quit the profession cite burnout. [Source: Florida Trend]

For some Florida parents whose kids suffered brain injury at birth, reforms are bitter pill

A Florida program designed to protect OB-GYNS from huge malpractice bills deprives families of their right to sue in the event of a birth gone terribly wrong. It provides a one-time payment and promises to cover lifetime medical expenses. Some hard-pressed parents report a bureaucratic nightmare that’s anything but supportive. [Source: Miami Herald]

Lawmakers back more than $100 million for nursing homes

Florida lawmakers Thursday signed off on providing more than $100 million to private and veterans’ nursing homes struggling with worker shortages and other financial problems. The Joint Legislative Budget Commission, a panel of House and Senate members that can make mid-year budget decisions, approved providing $99.5 million in state and federal money to nursing homes over a three-month period through increased Medicaid payment rates. [Source: News Service of Florida]

‘Healthcare expense this year is off the chart”- a conversation with Florida Blue CEO Pat Geraghty

The pandemic wrought havoc on the health care system and the economy, with the politicization of vaccines adding an extra level of chaos. So what does that mean for the business of health insurance? With open enrollment underway this week for people shopping for insurance on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Florida Blue and Guidewell CEO and president Pat Geraghty joins Intersection to talk about the impact of the pandemic on the health insurance industry, how people are getting health insurance, vaccine mandates and more. [Source: WMFE]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› ‘Overwhelmed’: Flu cases spike at FSU, Florida A&M
Tallahassee higher education campuses and hospitals are seeing large numbers of students and others suffering from influenza. Experts, many of which have warned about a severe flu season for months, say this is the result of a return to normalcy and lessening of safety precautions taken while COVID-19 numbers were at its highest.

› Central Florida doctors urge vaccination as parents debate whether to get COVID-19 shots for kids
More than 490,000 Florida children under 16 have gotten COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Health’s Oct. 29 weekly report. More than 7,680 were admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1, according to CDC data. The FDOH said 29 have died in Florida as of Oct. 28.

› GuideWell opens medical office in Winter Haven, paired with an insurance office
GuideWell opened its first Primary Care location in Polk County this week, and the Winter Haven office is bringing a new idea to the area. For the first time in Central Florida, the company has combined a retail Florida Blue office with a GuideWell primary care office, a company spokeswoman said.

› HCA Healthcare North Florida Division relocating to Cascades
HCA Healthcare North Florida Division will be the latest tenant to move to Cascades — making it the second major company to occupy office space within the $158-million downtown redevelopment. Its headquarters on North Monroe Street will relocate to two and a half floors in the Merestone building bordering Cascades Park, according to the 15-year lease.