Health - Rick's Blog

Scott ask Congress to act on Zika

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA With 70 confirmed cases resulting from Florida mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus, Gov. Rick Scott traveled to…

Scott, CDC Chief detail ‘aggressive’ efforts to curb Zika

By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott joined the director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday…

Scott: State to offer free Zika virus tests for pregnant women

While in Gulf Breeze this morning, Gov. Rick Scott said the state’s health departments will offer pregnant women free tests for the Zika virus. “I’ve…

Escambia County has second Zika virus case [podcast]

The Florida Department of Health announced today that Escambia County has its second confirmed Zika virus case. Yesterday, I interviewed Dr. Antonio Crespo of Orlando…

Medical pot to hit market next week

By DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Medical marijuana could be available to a select group of Florida patients as early as next week,…

Pensacola health system ranks 266 of 306 U.S. communities

This 2016 edition of The Commonwealth Fundâ€™s Scorecard on Local Health System Performance assesses the state of health care in more than 300 U.S. communities…

Charlotte’s Web creators fight for Florida license

By DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA More than two years after lawmakers legalized a limited type of medical marijuana, an administrative law judge…

Breaking news: Judge sides with Planned Parenthood

A federal judge late Thursday issued a preliminary injunction against two parts of a controversial new Florida abortion law that was to go in effect…

VA has wrongly declared more than 4,200 veterans dead between 2011-15

The Department of Veterans Affairs has acknowledged to U.S. Rep. David Jolly (FL-13) that it wrongly declared more than 4,200 people dead between 2011 and…

UF researchers present inner workings of Ebola vaccine trial

An experimental vaccine combined with an innovative way of vaccinating people has resulted in an estimated 100 percent efficacy of the vaccine against the Ebola…

UWF warns of Zika fever, Santa Rosa case confirmed

Mission sent out by UWF to facility and students: Due to a case of Zika fever recently confirmed in Santa Rosa County, the University of…

Florida leads nation in HIV cases

In 2014, 6,132 people newly reported with HIV infection in Florida, 15 were among children younger than 13 years of age. Of the adult cases…

Health advisory for Bayou Texar

Press release: Health Advisory for Bayou Texar at Bayview Park Tuesday, December 15, 2015 – 3:30pm Effective immediately, in response to bacteriological sampling, the Florida…

Escambia County has little positive news for World AIDS Day

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. It is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and mourning those…

Escambia County gets ‘F’ on premature births

The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign aims to reduce preterm birth rates across the United States. The organization has set a goal of reducing the…

LIP money back on the front burner

The state’s Medicaid director said today he hopes in the coming weeks to finalize an agreement with the federal government about details for the Low…

Teens dump smokes for e-cigarettes

By JIM SAUNDERS AND TOM URBAN THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Florida high-school students have largely kicked the cigarette habit. But many have found another…

UWF Foundation announces $100,000 endowment from Partnership for Public Health

Press release: Partnership for Public Health, Inc. â€“ a non-profit corporation with a mission to support local organizations interested in improving public health â€“ recently…