How healthcare in South Florida is changing with risks and renewal
Health Care How healthcare in South Florida is changing with risks and renewal
Healthcare in South Florida is shifting fast, driven by challenges and innovation.
This list of stories outlines risks in Miami's booming plastic surgery scene — like office centers tied to tragic outcomes and unlicensed recovery houses — and financial shake-ups affecting hospitals.
Medicaid's future is also uncertain as proposed federal budget cuts force local leaders and advocates to fight for vulnerable residents across Miami-Dade and Broward.
At the same time, major organizations like Nicklaus Children's Hospital are teaming up with Broward Health to expand kids' access to specialty care, and Miami Beach is exploring a 'Blue Zone' wellness makeover to promote healthier living.
See the stories below.
The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories below were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Three employees leave Palmetto General Hospital through the emergency entrance on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in Hialeah, Fla. By Sophia Bolivar
NO. 1: 'LIKE IT WAS ABANDONED.' CAN NEW OWNER HELP FIX THE PROBLEMS AT THIS HIALEAH HOSPITAL?
Unions representing hospital workers have spoken about staffing challenges, including the resignations of key staff members. | Published November 3, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante Ana Claudia Chacin
A doctor now working in Pembroke Pines has a state complaint filed against him for his actions during a Miami Brazilian butt lift in 2021.
NO. 2: A WOMAN'S BRAZILIAN BUTT LIFT IN MIAMI BECAME 2 WEEKS IN JACKSON WITH A TUBE INSIDE HER
A state complaint has been filed against the doctor who now has his own plastic surgery center in Broward. | Published October 24, 2024 | Read Full Story by David J. Neal
Nurses train to use the equipment of the operating room in the new Kenneth C. Griffin surgical tower at Nicklaus Children's Hospital on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024, in Miami, Fla. The operating rooms of the new building are 800 square feet and among the biggest in the country.
NO. 3: 'HOSPITAL WITHIN A HOSPITAL.' NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S OPENS NEW SURGERY HUB WITH SPECIAL TECH
Here's what we know | Published November 7, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante
In this photo illustration, the CareMax logo is displayed on a smartphone screen. (Photo by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images/Sipa USA) *** Strictly for editorial news purposes only ***
NO. 4: A MIAMI HEALTH COMPANY IS IN BANKRUPTCY AND PLANS TO SELL. WHAT PATIENTS SHOULD KNOW
What will happen to the medical centers in South Florida? | Published November 21, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante
Florida has experienced an outbreak of measles, including among children in Broward County.
NO. 5: NICKLAUS CHILDREN'S AND BROWARD HEALTH TEAM UP FOR CARE. WHAT IT MEANS FOR PATIENTS
The initiative will give Broward Health pediatric patients access to certain Nicklaus specialists. | Published November 30, 2024 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante
Eliana Lancellotti, 37, right, performs lunges while exercising as Miami Beach Vice Mayor Tanya Bhatt and city officials hosted a tour for Blue Zones experts at South Pointe Park to assess the city's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. By Carl Juste
NO. 6: CAN MIAMI BEACH BE A HEALTHIER PLACE TO LIVE? HERE'S HOW A 'BLUE ZONE' WORKS
What are these lifestyle advocates looking for? | Published February 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante
Los estados enfrentan espinosos desafíos: asegurarse de no eliminar a personas que todavía califican, y conectar al resto con otras coberturas. By Dreamstime
NO. 7: IS MEDICAID AT RISK IN FLORIDA? HOW PROPOSED FEDERAL CUTS COULD AFFECT YOUR HEALTHCARE
What to know about possible changes. | Published February 27, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante
Miami police are investigating the death of Ahmonique Miller at 3637 SW Fourth St., which was being used as Keyla's Recovery House. The address on the right, 3639 SW Fourth St., was used by Keyla Oliver for K&L Global Express and another address on Keyla's Services. By DAVID J. NEAL
NO. 8: A NEVADA MOTHER CAME TO MIAMI FOR PLASTIC SURGERY. SHE DIED IN THE RECOVERY HOUSE
What happened is under investigation. | Published March 21, 2025 | Read Full Story by David J. Neal
This report was produced with the help of AI tools, which summarized previous stories reported and written by McClatchy journalists. It was edited by journalists in our News division.
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2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Texas clarified when abortions are OK and aligned with RFK Jr. on health this legislative session
The 2025 Texas Legislature proved to be a session of recalibration, where health care regulations were either tightened or loosened and attempts to delve further into some policy areas were left hanging until the next session. The past two legislative sessions saw more seismic shifts: a near-total ban on abortion, a massive expansion of the state's psychiatric hospital system, the teeniest of Medicaid expansions to offer one year of insurance coverage to new moms and a mental health budget boom following the tragic Uvalde school shooting. That didn't appear to leave much for the 89th Legislature to do on health, although lawmakers managed to approve a handful of intriguing bills and budget requests while killing other proposals. Vaccine-hesitant parents successfully lobbied and won easier access to the vaccine exemption form and lawmakers narrowly clarified the state's near-total abortion bans to give doctors more confidence in performing life-saving abortions. They also passed a historic $3 billion dementia research fund that awaits voter approval in November. There were also a variety of bills signaling to the Trump administration, particularly U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., that Texas was all on board his priorities to create transparency on food labeling and to stamp out chronic diseases. The remaining health care cliffhanger is whether Gov. Greg Abbott signs or vetoes a hard-fought ban on THC products in the state. Abbott has until June 22 to veto any legislation passed this session. Otherwise, most of them will go into effect immediately or in September, even without his signature. Here's a rundown of how health care fared this past session. House Bill 1586 allows anyone the ability to download a vaccine exemption vaccine exemption form at home. The form allows children to be exempted from being vaccinated to attend public schools. Currently, parents have to contact the Texas Department of State of Health Services and request the exemption form be mailed to them. Critics of the bill fear it would allow vaccine exemptions to flourish, as the state grapples with declining vaccination rates, but proponents say the bill is only meant to make it easier for parents to access a form. Other vaccine skeptic measures that passed include HB 4076 which bars making patients ineligible as organ transplant recipients solely based on their vaccination status and Senate Bill 269 which requires providers to report patients' vaccine complications to the national Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. HB 4535 requires health care providers obtain informed consent from patients before a COVID-19 vaccine is administered and that patients receive notice about possible side effects. Two nutrition bills dubbed Make Texas Healthy Again bills passed. Texans who receive benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program will no longer be able to purchase soda and candy with their Lone Star card following the passage of SB 379. SB 25 requires food manufacturers to label foods by 2027 that contain any one of 44 additives or colorings not permitted in food sold in the United Kingdom, Australia, the European Union or Canada. The state labeling requirements would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027 but a loophole exists that if on Dec. 31, 2026 a snack food producer wants to stick with its existing packaging for another decade, no warning label is needed because the new law 'applies only to a food product label developed or copyrighted on or after January 1, 2027.' The bill also requires elementary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions to re-prioritize health and exercise. It also forces health professionals to take continuing education courses regarding nutrition and metabolic health. And it will require recess or physical activity for kids in charter schools – physical activity is already required in public schools. HB 26 creates a pilot program within Medicaid to offer pregnant moms with nutritional counseling and medically-tailored meals. Texas banned all abortions three years ago, with a narrow exception that allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy only to save a pregnant patient's life. Immediately, doctors and legal experts warned that this exception was too narrow and vaguely written, and the penalties were too severe, to ensure women could get life-saving care. SB 31 says doctors need not wait until death is imminent to intervene, but affirms that the condition must be life-threatening to justify performing an abortion. It will also require doctors and lawyers to take continuing education courses on the nuances of the law. Legislators passed a bill restricting cities, like Austin and San Antonio, from using taxpayer dollars to assist people who travel out-of-state to have an abortion. But the highest profile anti-abortion bill, SB 2880, which would have allowed anyone who manufactures, distributes, provides or prescribes abortion pills to be sued for $100,000 passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Lawmakers passed bills to expand crisis hotline services and provide loan reimbursement to address the mental health workforce shortage. After a couple days of debate about the role of mental health professionals in Texas, lawmakers passed SB 646, which broadens eligibility for Texas' loan repayment assistance program to include school counselors, marriage and family therapists, and other behavioral health professionals. HB 5342 establishes the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Trust Fund, which will accept donations, grants and federal funds to maintain or improve the crisis line. 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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
What's in RI's proposed $14.3B budget? Help for primary care, RIPTA funds and 'Taylor Swift tax'
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The budget would inject $15 million into the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority, the same amount of money lawmakers added to the statewide bus system a year ago but less than half of the $33 million the agency says it needs to plug a budget hole and avoid service cuts. The extra RIPTA funding will come from a 3-cent-per-gallon hike in the gas tax slated to go into effect July 1 and tweaks to the formula that distributes transportation funds. A 1-cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax is already set to go into effect in July. The budget, a rewrite of the $14.2 billion tax and spending plan Gov. Dan McKee proposed in January, was quickly passed on an 11-3 vote by the House Finance Committee on June 10, setting it up for a vote before the full House on June 17. "All our colleagues have heard, the Senate has heard and we decided that we needed to take action now," House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi told reporters about the money for primary care. 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DMV: A $1 hike in the Division of Motor Vehicles "technology fee" to $3.50 per transaction. Superman Building: The House budget included a provision, already passed as a standalone bill in the Senate, that would exempt the owner of the vacant Industrial Trust Tower in Providence from sales tax on construction materials while claiming a maximum in other state incentives. Parking: The state's 7% sales tax would be charged to parking, generating $3.2 million per year. Nicotine pouches: The tax applied to the wholesale cost of tobacco products would be expanded to synthetic nicotine pouches such as Zyn, generating $12 million per year. Vacation home tax: The "Taylor Swift Tax" would not go into effect until the fiscal year that starts July 1, 2026 and no estimate was provided of how much it would eventually raise. Longtime advocates of increasing taxes on Rhode Island's highest-earning residents hoped the budget pressure facing the state this year would convince top lawmakers that the time was now right to do it. They proposed a 3% surcharge on income above $625,000, which was estimated to generate $190 million in annual revenue. And as lawmakers waited for the final details of the budget to be hammered out on June 10, the Working Families Party camped outside the State House with a box truck showing illuminated messages of support for a tax hike, such as, "Save Rhode Island. Tax the Rich." But Shekarchi told reporters that lawmakers decided against a tax hike, at least until the state knows whether Congress is going to pass a tax cut bill that could slash Medicaid funding and shift more costs to states. "We don't know what's going to happen in Washington," Shekarchi said. "We don't know what changes are going to be made in the federal tax code. We felt comfortable enough to do the non-owner-occupied taxes over a million dollars at this time, and we will revisit that issue when we have more clarity from Washington." But Working Families Political Director Zack Mezera said what's happening in Washington is even more reason to make the "1% pay their fair share," not an excuse. 'Today's budget shows that state leadership would rather raise gas taxes for working families than increase taxes on millionaires," Mezera wrote in a news release. "As President Trump and his allies advance destructive cuts that could cause over 240,000 Rhode Islanders to lose Medicaid and hundreds of educators and care workers to lose their jobs, we need bold action to raise revenue now – otherwise working people and small businesses will be paying the price for years." With $15 million from the budget to fill a $33 million projected shortfall, it looks as though RIPTA is going to need to scale back what it does, but Shekarchi said it would not necessarily mean large layoffs or route cuts. "I think they need to look at everything," he said. "Maybe it's smaller buses, maybe it's addressing the ride schedule, maybe it's a slight fare increase, maybe it's looking at management positions. That's why we mandated, when we gave them $15 million last year, they do an efficiency study and find out the solutions." Despite the prospect of having to make painful cuts this summer, RIPTA CEO Christopher Durand said the bus system is "grateful" for the additional permanent state revenue. "The agency has long needed a consistent funding stream to allow us to better support getting Rhode Islanders to work, school and healthcare," he said in an email. "The last time the agency saw a permanent change in its funding structure was over ten years ago; this is a needed improvement, which we are thankful for." This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI's proposed $14.3B budget: Primary care; RIPTA; 'Taylor Swift tax'
Miami Herald
3 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Do you need tattoo anesthesia or a measles vaccine? What to know
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