Rick Mayer
Health News FloridaI’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
This is an important position at WUSF. In 2019, the typical U.S. family spent about 11 percent of its annual income on health care, so it stands to reason issues of cost, quality, access and innovation are consequential to all Floridians. Then COVID-19 came along, and the weight of these matters gained exponentially. I take our reporting on these topics quite seriously, as I’m sure you do, too.
Literally growing up in newsrooms and a little serendipity along the way prepared me well for the post. Here’s the abridged version: I’m a Tampa guy, graduating from H.B. Plant High and thrust into the world with my USF degree rolled tightly in hand. From there, it was three mostly sleepless decades as an editor at The Tampa Tribune, then developing and managing an online journal serving physician executives. There’s also my side job editing a statewide health magazine.
And being married to a longtime hospital nurse/case manager helps; dinner conversation often gives me a feel of what’s happening on the front lines. The good and not-so-good.
Of course, my time isn’t always spent flailing in the health news vortex. You’re actually more likely to find me breaking down the Bucs, Bulls or Bolts after a game, taking Oodle the poodle to the dog park or tinkering the backroom piano while vicariously reliving my former life as a musician. (Remember, kids: Parents of percussionists have plenty of patience. Plenty!)
Contact Rick on Twitter @rmayer2361 or by email at Mayer1@wusf.org.
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An online survey by the ADA showed 52 percent of dentists dealt with patients who were under the influence of marijuana, and 56 percent said they were limited in treating those patients. -
The White House announced the initiative this week as part of President Joe Biden’s push to increase COVID vaccinations and treatments to slow a possible fall and winter surge.
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Neal Land & Neighborhoods said the hospital will be part of a medical district planned for its North River Ranch development in Parrish.
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The plan is for health departments in all 67 counties to have kits with two Narcan nasal sprays that can be administered without a health care provider.
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The last place in the nation you’ll want to take a stroll: the Daytona Beach area, according to Smart Growth America’s "Dangerous by Design" report covering 2016 to 2020. Six other regions in Florida didn't fare very well, either.
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Counselors in Florida have been preparing for the abbreviated number, which proponents say will be easier to remember in a crisis. They also hope it improves access to services, decreases unnecessary interactions with the police and saves lives.
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Orlando Health Wiregrass Ranch Hospital is slated for the Wiregrass Ranch community in Wesley Chapel, just north of Tampa. An opening date has not been announced.
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Case counts are as high as they’ve been since mid-February, part of a national surge arriving ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, as the school year wraps up and Americans prepare for summer vacations.
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Health officials says the risk of transmission remains low.
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Center for COVID Control, which closed its Florida sites in January after receiving complaints about questionable results, is accused of deceptively marketing testing services and violating Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act.
