Author Archive

Gainesville Sun, August 1, 2012
Florida has had its challenges with HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. Most recently there have been struggles to meet the needs of HIV-positive individuals on the Florida ADAP list, and a restructuring of the State Bureau of HIV. And, well, the rates of HIV infection speak for themselves. But today we can say that we are being heard! Let’s hear it for Florida leadership on HIV, thanks to Congressman Hastings!

On Thursday, July 26, Congressman Alcee Hastings of South […]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (July 10, 2012)— Are you or someone you care about in need of a cancer support group, transportation for medical treatments or financial assistance with prescription drugs? Locate resources for these needs and more on the recently launched website www.CancerResourceGuideNCF.org. The Cancer Resource Guide of North Central Florida is a public service of North Central Florida Cancer Control Collaborative (NCFCCC), WellFlorida Council and the Florida Department of Health Cancer Control Program.

The Cancer Resource Guide of North Central Florida, compiled by WellFlorida and […]

Special to the Gainesville Sun, February 29, 2012 by Vivian Filer
African-American women my age (three score and 10 and beyond) can probably relate as I do to Fannie Lou Hamer’s famous saying, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

Hamer, who spent many years working in the fields in Mississippi, was ready to take action to eliminate the disparities of segregation. Today, I challenge all of my sisters to use Hamer’s energy to tackle the disease of breast cancer.

Research has proven that early […]

WellFlorida News Release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (Feb. 29, 2012)—Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men. The presence of risk factors in men should guide screening and treatment options, according to Dr. Johannes Vieweg, MD, of the University of Florida Department of Urology and Prostate Disease Center.

As guest speaker at The North Central Florida Cancer Control Collaborative (NCFCCC) 2012 Kickoff, Vieweg presented current screening recommendations and advocated for a risk‐based treatment approach for patients diagnosed with the disease. The NCFCCC 2012 Kickoff […]

Gainesville Sun, February 28, 2012
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently downgraded the effectiveness of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in preventing prostate cancer deaths, but that has been met with some protest.

The North Central Florida Cancer Control Collaborative 2012 Kickoff plans a fuller discussion of that finding Wednesday with guest speaker Dr. Johannes Vieweg of the University of Florida Department of Urology and Prostate Disease Center.

The talk, “Prostate Cancer: Current Screening Policy Debates and Recommendations,” will be held from 10 a.m. to noon […]

Special to The Gainesville Sun, February 21, 2012
Imagine you learned last year that you had a life-threatening allergy to a common medication. This year you arrive in an emergency room, unconscious, and the medication you’re allergic to is a common treatment option.

If the doctors treating you do not have access to your medical records, then they might give you the drug you’re allergic to. If your doctors do have access, they could make an informed choice—preventing harm to you.

That’s the point of allowing health […]

Business Report, North Central Florida

The University of Florida may be the face of Gainesville, but health care is its economic backbone.

When Dr. Kenneth Berns arrived in Gainesville in 1976, health care was like a teenager showing lots of promise but still finding itself.

Alachua County Hospital had just moved into a new cornerstone building a year earlier. The 480-bed Veterans Administration Hospital was only nine years old. North Florida Regional Medical Center, founded in 1972, was just getting off the ground.

And the 465-bed Shands Teaching Hospital? […]