The first article was titled, ‘Restrictions alleviated for patient visitations by loved ones under new Florida law’. The “No Patient Left Alone Act” was signed into law on the morning of April 6th, 2022. This law will grant loved ones the right to visit patients in hospitals, hospices, and long-term care facilities. The act is also known as the Senate Bill 988, “it will require health care providers to establish visitation policies and procedures to their greatest extent possible” (Davis, K., 2022). Moreover, it will grant an essential caregiver to visit a patient for an additional two hours aside from other requirements.

South Florida has seen an increase in people testing positive for HIV that are ages 50 and older. Earvin “Magic” Johnson was first diagnosed with HIV in 1991, where he made his official public announcement of his diagnoses and retired from his NBA career. Johnson along with Clear Health Alliance organized an event for people with HIV and AIDS. It is important to raise awareness and educate the community about safe sex to prevent the spread of HIV. The director of the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County, stated that she believed more women over the age of 50 were contracting HIV because they were not using protection, she stated that the women used condoms only to avoid pregnancy.

The two articles I spoke about previously are related to the public health. The first article, that was about the “No Patient Left Alone Act” had to do with families being able to visit their sick relatives in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. The restrictions in place during the COVID outbreak left many patients alone during very crucial moments including some of their last moments. Many families suffered a lot due to being separated from their loved ones, not being able to provide care or support because they were not allowed into the facilities. Therefore, I would say the first article has to do with the public health, in the aspect of emotional wellbeing and support. The second article also has to do with public health. It speaks about an increase in people testing positive for HIV age 50 and older. It speaks about a need in the community to raise awareness about HIV to adults.

Davis, K. (2022, April 6). Restrictions alleviated for patient visitations by loved ones under new Florida law. ABC 3 news.

Zaragovia, V. (2022, April 6) South Florida seeing an uptick in HIV diagnoses among people 50 and older. WUSF news

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This January, Tarrant County Public Health came together with the local bus service to create a mobile vaccination station for the county. It hopes to serve local areas that have been shown to have the least amount of vaccinated citizens. It does not require insurance and walk-ins are welcome.

Tarrant County health inspectors have found multiple restaurant that are in high violation of health codes. Any restaurant that has a score higher than a 29 must undergo remediations to meet the standards that can allow them to pass. Two restaurants in particular are mentioned, Italiannis and Aloha Chicken and shrimp. Italiannis has a rodent problem and problems with staff not cleaning hands after dealing with drains. Aloha chicken has problems with improperly stored foods.

Vaccinations are a hot topic right now, especially with the pandemic going on. It is important that people get vaccinations, because the more people that are vaccinated means the more we are safe from another outbreak. The goal of Tarrant County is to reduce the barriers that are common in not getting vaccinations, “The goal of Vaxmobile is to remove some of the barriers preventing residents from getting vaccinated, including transportation, scheduling conflicts, and technological literacy,” (Stevenson, 2022).

Restaurants that are in violation of health codes put people in a community at risk of getting severely ill and injured. Rodent infestations can lead to extreme illness. So can improperly stored food, especially when it is something like shrimp and chicken. As nurses we all understand how hand hygiene is important in breaking the spread of germs at a hospital, and the same goes for kitchens. Restaurants should be a safe place you can trust to get a good meal without getting sick.

References

Hartley, J. (2022, April 7). Rodents, mold-like growth among violations found by Tarrant County restaurant inspectors. Star Telegram.

Stevenson, S. (2022, January 24). Tarrant County’s Vaxmobile is up and running, bringing COVID vaccine to underserved areas. Star Telegram.

Community and Public Health impact almost every aspect of your life. In this discussion, you will locate and summarize local interest stories or articles from the newspaper (or other local publications) that demonstrate how community or public health impact our daily lives.

Browse your local newspaper or other local publications for articles that focus on public health issues at the local, state, and/or national level. For example, reports or articles that discuss a train collision, an earthquake in California, the dedication of a new park in your neighborhood, an outbreak of the flu in Texas, low-cost child immunization clinics, or a free traveling mammogram program for low-income women are all examples of public or community health issues.