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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.

Former Health Worker Convicted Of Patient Sex Abuse

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

A former psychiatric technician at a Sarasota mental health hospital has been convicted on six counts of lewd or lascivious battery and one count of lewd or lascivious molestation of juvenile female patients, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.

Five victims testified that they were abused by Jeremy Henry, 28, between December 2014 and January 2015 at the Bayside Center for Behavioral Health, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

He is scheduled for sentencing June 10. 

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.