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First Coast Connect

8/21/2018: We Care Jacksonville; Heart Drug; The New Town Success Zone

Tuesday on First Coast Connect we spoke with outgoing We Care Jacksonville Executive Director Dr. Sue Nussbaum along with her successor Susan King, the former Executive Director at Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry. They discussed the Affordable Care Act and the need to provide healthcare for Jacksonville’s poor and homeless (01:13).  

We spoke with Dr. Seth Baum, a cardiologist based in Boca Raton. He  has been working  to help patients with high LDL cholesterol receive the PCSK9 inhibitor treatments they need when traditional statin therapies prove to be ineffective or intolerable. However, the increasing rates of PCSK9 inhibitor denials from Florida’s health insurance companies have presented challenges for Dr. Baum’s ability to provide his patients with the therapies they need (29:27).

It was ten years ago when Edward Waters College and the City of Jacksonville launched The New Town Success Zone. Since the launch the neighborhood around EWC has seen lower crime rates and more community policing. But there is still much work to be done. We heard an update from New Town Success Zone Executive Director George Maxey (36:36).     

Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.

Kevin Meerschaert has left WJCT for new pursuits. He was the producer of First Coast Connect until October of 2018.