first responders

Three groups filed a lawsuit after lawmakers approved directing money to AHCA to adjust reimbursement rates so Medicaid providers would pay at least $15 an hour to direct-care employees.

Florida is among 32 states that don’t treat 911 dispatchers as first responders. Recent efforts in the state Legislature to change that have not advanced.

In total, 67 babies had to be evacuated from Southwest Florida hospitals to regions throughout the state. All Children's in St. Petersburg has 21 of them.

The Mental Health for Heroes Foundation hopes to provide around 250 hours of paid counseling a month and other mental health services to first responders and their families.

These steps follow the recent deaths of six people in Gadsden County from fentanyl overdoses. That prompted first lady Casey DeSantis to call for a meeting to work out strategies to warn residents and promote increased awareness.

A survey of Sarasota and Manatee health professionals and first responders reflects how the COVID pandemic has deeply affected people who help others and the need for more trauma-based services.

Operators will have a map to show exactly where the call comes from and then will share that information with responders.

Sen. Elizabeth Fetterhoff reintroduced her bill, saying she opposes vaccine mandates for first responders because of the potential for mass resignations that threaten public safety.

A 20-year report on the health consequences of the attacks finds the mental health quality-of-life indicators for first repsonders is better than average Americans, even as their physical health declines.

Firefighters who lost colleagues and loved ones on Sept. 11, 2001 kept up with their work for many months following the attack. Kerry Sheridan tells what she learned about grief in writing about their work.