UF Health Jacksonville

A year ago, the CDC awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from COVID. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.

A physician at the new centers will direct patients to the level of care they need — a concept new to Northeast Florida.

The Florida Blue Foundation is granting $3.7 million to UF Health's Urban Health Alliance to establish the statewide Center for Health Equity and Social Justice.

The money will pay for a new trauma center in the next four years. Hospital administrators say the current center is outdated, overcrowded and in dire need of renovations.

The six-story tower will include 124 rooms at the UF North campus. It is expected to open in early 2024.

Dr. Lisa Gwynn of the UM Miller School of Medicine tells Florida Roundup that many pediatricians "feel as though this is part of the political narrative that is being pushed forward by Gov. DeSantis."

The health system says the facility, nearly four decades old, is in dire need of renovation. Legislators included the money in the state budget they will vote on Monday.

About 200 people are expected to be enrolled in the UF Health component of the trial, with about 15,000 participating nationwide

Fabian Granado was not vaccinated when the disease struck him. He now encourages other reluctant people to "do the right thing."

Hundreds, if not thousands, of workers have missed out on overtime and holiday pay in recent weeks, including UF Health in Jacksonville. In Cleveland, city administrators set up a "war room" to deal with the paycheck backlog.