May 1, 2012
By Sammy Mack – A Miami-Dade Schools task force investigating why its kindergartners had an alarmingly low completion rate of vaccines has concluded that a form filled out incorrectly by health care providers led to the problem.
March 29, 2012
By Sammy Mack – Last year, Florida legislators passed a bill privatizing the state’s Medicaid program, moving recipients into managed care plans – a model patterned on a pilot program that’s been running in five counties since 2006. The statewide change still needs federal approval – and for one family already living in a pilot county, it’s a troubling prospect. HealthyState.org visits this Broward County family to find out why one mother has decided to leave so her son can get better access to health care.
February 16, 2012
By Dalia Colón – This isn’t about hating dodgeball or ignoring childhood obesity statistics. It’s about local control. That was the motivation behind the Physical Education in Public Schools bill, which would eliminate the required daily PE class for sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Those who want to keep gym class a mandate say education on physical health and behaviors are just as important as math and science. But supporters of the bill say making PE a requirement should be decided by the individual school districts, not the state. So does it make sense to remove gym class from mandatory middle school curricula? HealthyState.org explores the case for making PE an elective and not a requirement.
By Kimberly Vlach – Florida lawmakers who seek to remove the physical education requirement from the middle school curriculum argue that it’s a financial burden on cash-strapped schools to provide PE, when there’s no funding mechanism to support the program. But those who want to keep phys ed in grades 6-8 say that physical activity is needed during the day to allow students to release pent-up energy and be able to focus in the classroom. HealthyState.org looks further into the role physical education has in childhood development – physical, mental and social – and how fitness and academics are intertwined.
[VIDEO] By Farah Dosani – Drew Gordon, 11, dribbles his basketball across the Bonita Springs Middle School gym. The sixth-grader starts each school day with physical education this semester. But he may have to get used to the idea of not having the class at all if the Florida Legislature passes a bill to remove the state law requiring physical education in middle schools. HealthyState.org visited a gym class in Lee County to find out what the kids thought of PE and how the teacher and the school district view PE as a component of a student’s total education.
Florida middle schools are required to provide the equivalent of 1 class period per day of physical education to middle school students (grades 6 through 8). Elementary schools are required to provide at least 30 minutes of PE everyday. Take a look at how the numbers stack up surrounding the health and fitness of Florida’s children.
December 13, 2011
By Dalia Colón – Forget LeapFrogs and remote-control Hummers. This gift-giving season, the hottest toys are… blocks. Regular. Wooden. Blocks. In New York City, there are even specialized “block labs” and “block consultants” to help kids interact with the old-school toys. As the cultural pendulum swings back to basics, there’s an emphasis on age-appropriate gift-giving.
December 6, 2011
By Dalia Colón – Back in the ’60s, when Michael Henry was in first grade, he and his brother were sent to play at a neighbor boy’s house. A bunch of other parents sent their kids, too. About a week after the play date, both Henry boys came down with chickenpox. So did a lot of the other kids at school. “Apparently, some of the other neighborhood moms and dads decided it would be a good idea to have all the kids get sick at the same time,” said Henry, of St. Petersburg. Although no one labeled it at the time, there’s now a name for the gathering Henry had attended: a chickenpox party.
December 1, 2011
By Dalia Colón – When Desiree Blue’s son Darwin was 4, he caught onto something: The Nintendo DS that belonged to his 11-year-old brother, Denzel, sure looked like fun. “Once he saw the displays, he was fascinated by them,” said Blue, of Tampa. Denzel’s Nintendo Game Boy looked pretty neat, too. “I started hiding it from the little one because I think it’s too small,” Blue said. She worried the tiny screen would damage Darwin’s young eyes.
November 28, 2011
By Dalia Colón – Whoever said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” obviously never Googled it. From birthday clubs to kids-eat-free nights, restaurants are happy to dish out free food to get you in the door. But while the tab may not hit you in the wallet, it could hit you in the hips.
November 16, 2011
[VIDEO] By Sarah Pusateri – The rhetoric of abstinence – you’ve heard it: “It’s great to wait.” And “true love waits.” But does it work? While the state has refused millions of dollars in federal grants for many health care programs, they have accepted money for abstinence education – $2.6 million each year through 2014. So what exactly is Florida doing with those federal tax dollars?
November 9, 2011
By Farah Dosani – The nation’s “war on drugs” is a different beast today than it was in the past. A large part of the change has to do with the rise of prescription drug abuse over other drugs, says former U.S. special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Bob Stutman. In fact, prescription drugs may overtake car crashes as the leading cause of fatal injury in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In Florida, prescription drugs account for three-quarters of all drug overdose deaths.
November 3, 2011
By Sarah Pusateri – A chemical controversy. Splotchy teeth, reduced IQ levels, and even cancer! Some believe these are the scary side effects of adding fluoride to tap water. In October, Pinellas County voted to pull the plug on the micro nutrient despite the fact that the Florida Dental Association (FDA) supports water fluoridation. Dr. Cesar Sebates, DDS, president of the FDA says water fluoridation adjusts the level of naturally occurring fluoride in water to optimal levels in order to protect teeth.
November 2, 2011
By Sarah Pusateri – In school, getting a ‘D’ grade on a report card wouldn’t make most students happy. But when talking about Florida, a “D” on a March of Dimes Premature Baby Birth Report Card is an improvement. Last year, the state got an ‘F’. Dr. Lewis Rubin, Chief of Neonatology at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital says, “The bad news is we rate a D. The good news is, we’re turning a corner. This is a reason to redouble our efforts.”
October 27, 2011
[VIDEO] By Dalia Colón – We all know texting while driving can be dangerous. But exactly how dangerous is hard to say. Sure, statistics exist: Drivers using a handheld device are four times more likely to get into a serious crash. Using a cell phone, whether handheld or hands-free, is equivalent to having a .08 blood alcohol level – the legal limit. But National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials say it’s difficult to count the number of accidents texting causes, for several reasons.
October 21, 2011
By Dalia Colón – Here’s the good and bad news: “In general, candy is really no more likely to cause cavities than most other foods,”says Dr. Carlos Bertot, a pediatric dentist in Maitland. “Frequent snacking, whether on candy or a healthful food, is what increases one’s risk for dental decay.”
October 19, 2011
By Sarah Pusateri – Sweet Tarts, Tums and Mylanta. What do the three have in common? Both kids and teachers had a tough time telling the delicious from the dangerous.
October 11, 2011
By Dalia Colón – It was the stuff of Twitter legends: “Having contractions now! Ooo- wee! It’s like WHOA!” Some say reality star Kimora Lee Simmons kept it a little too real in 2009 when she used Twitter to give a play-by-play of son Kenzo’s birth. But in this digital age, even average Janes are inclined to share the nitty-gritty of their pregnancy online.
October 10, 2011
By Dalia Colón – There are things teens want, like more allowance. There are things teens need, like more sleep. Then things that fall in the middle. For Samanta Weichhan, the thing is jaw surgery.
October 6, 2011
By Dalia Colón – Food and education have long been linked. Schools profit from cafeteria vending machines. Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! program rewards young readers with personal pan pizzas. And boy, did I love the Jolly Ranchers my third-grade teacher doled out for good behavior.