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Every day, hundreds of sick and injured patients walk into free and charitable clinics around the Tampa Bay area in need of a doctor.Many are suffering from chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Some patients were referred to the clinics by staff at hospitals where they landed after years of neglecting to care for treatable conditions.The clinics allow the patients to pay what they can, or nothing at all. They are staffed by doctors and nurses who volunteer their time. They survive off donations and small grants.Many of the patients have jobs but they are living paycheck to paycheck. None have health insurance, either because they do not qualify for Medicaid or can’t afford private coverage. For these patients, the clinics are often their only option for primary care.

Banned Gun Buyers Left Off Report

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

The names of 1,100 severely mentally ill people, banned by law from buying guns, were not forwarded to state and federal agencies for nearly two years, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

An Orange County Clerk of Courts employee assigned to send monthly reports to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement went on leave for several weeks and no one did the work in their absence, according to the Sentinel.

The employee did not resume the task upon their return, leading to nine months of missing reports and the 1,100 people capable of buying guns, the Sentinel reports. There is no report that any of these people did make a gun purchase, according to the Sentinel.

 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.