Health Care

3 health care challenges in South Florida: pandemic, insurance, organ recovery

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

South Florida health care has faced significant challenges.

Take a look at three stories covering the pandemic, insurance and organ recovery.

Miami-Dade County resident Joanna Moore creates a tombstone for her late mother’s first cousin who recently died from COVID-19. Moore did so after an event on Nov. 24, 2020, to unveil an expanded memorial cemetery in Liberty City’s Simonoff Park for those lost to the coronavirus. Moore’s mother also passed away from COVID-19 in August. By Daniel A. Varela

NO. 1: ‘THIS IS APOCALYPSE NOW.’ THE MOMENT MIAMI BEGAN SHUTTING DOWN AFTER PANDEMIC DECLARED

See in real time what happened to businesses, work places, sports teams and prayer. | Published March 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Miami Herald Archives

Memorial Regional Hospital, the flagship facility of Memorial Healthcare System, opened in Hollywood in 1953 and has since grown to include six hospital locations, a nursing facility, urgent care centers and several walk in clinics. The search is on for a new chief executive of the hospital system. Seven candidates will be interviewed Friday and Saturday at the hospital system’s corporate offices on 3111 Stirling Road in Hollywood. By EILEEN SOLER

NO. 2: MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM GOES OUT OF NETWORK FOR FLORIDA BLUE POLICYHOLDERS

Memorial Healthcare System’s doctors, specialists and hospitals are no longer in the network for Florida Blue policyholders, the state’s largest health insurer. | Published September 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Cindy Krischer Goodman

The Health Resources and Services Administration estimates that each new transplant through a living donor would save Medicare $136,000. By Marsha Halper

NO. 3: A MIAMI-AREA ORGAN RECOVERY AGENCY COULD CLOSE AFTER ‘UNSAFE PRACTICES’ FOUND

A South Florida nonprofit that recovers organs for transplantation could close after a federal investigation found years of unsafe practices and other problems. | Published September 18, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Marchante

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.