Rick Mayer
Digital ProducerI’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
This is an important position at WUSF. In 2019, the typical U.S. family spent about 11 percent of its annual income on health care, so it stands to reason issues of cost, quality, access and innovation are consequential to all Floridians. Then COVID-19 came along, and the weight of these matters gained exponentially. I take our reporting on these topics quite seriously, as I’m sure you do, too.
Literally growing up in newsrooms and a little serendipity along the way prepared me well for the post. Here’s the abridged version: I’m a Tampa guy, graduating from H.B. Plant High and thrust into the world with my USF degree rolled tightly in hand. From there, it was three mostly sleepless decades as an editor at The Tampa Tribune, then developing and managing an online journal serving physician executives. There’s also my side job editing a statewide health magazine.
And being married to a longtime hospital nurse/case manager helps; dinner conversation often gives me a feel of what’s happening on the front lines. The good and not-so-good.
Of course, my time isn’t always spent flailing in the health news vortex. You’re actually more likely to find me breaking down the Bucs, Bulls or Bolts after a game, taking Oodle the poodle to the dog park or tinkering the backroom piano while vicariously reliving my former life as a musician. (Remember, kids: Parents of percussionists have plenty of patience. Plenty!)
Contact Rick on X @rmayer2361 or by email at [email protected].
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BayCare Manatee will rise next to a new medical arts building on Moccasin Wallow Road at I-75. When it opens in 2028, it will be the only hospital in the county north of the Manatee River. -
The group seeking to attract a team - perhaps the Tampa Bay Rays - says John Morgan, founder of the Morgan & Morgan law firm, is also financially involved in the effort. -
The panel has been tasked with reforming and streamlining the nation's disaster response and recovery as the president shifts more responsibility from FEMA to the states. -
Hogs for the Cause, a New Orleans-based charity known for its barbecue fundraisers, will renovate apartments to provide quarters to families while their kids receive care. -
The 82,000-square-foot Kolschowsky Research and Education Institute is designed to promote collaboration, discovery and innovation in medical education and research. -
Tampa Bay has the 19th overall selection on Thursday night. That should allow plenty of time for family fun during the Bucs' annual draft party at Raymond James Stadium. -
Gulf War veteran Jeffrey Hutchinson was convicted in the 1998 murders of his girlfriend and her three children in the home they shared in Crestview. -
USF president Rhea Law cited an "abundance of caution" for the added patrols and encouraged students and employees to take advantage of mental health services offered by the university. -
Tampa Bay opens the chase for the Stanley Cup against the defending champion and state rival Florida Panthers on Tuesday night at Amalie Arena. -
The South Tampa medical building, purchased for $9.1 million, will house a relocated Pamela Muma Women’s Health Center and new Chivukula Men’s Center, with the opening slated in the fall of 2026.
