To first explain my beat, the health beat at the Sun Sentinel is a bit different, I suspect, than at most newspapers. I am restricted in only covering health trends, innovations and other related topics that are unique to South Florida — meaning, we can’t take a national story and “localize” it by quoting local experts. The premise has to be newsy, relevant and especially informative to our demographic, while also showing how South Florida is different than the rest of the state and nation in this regard. It can be difficult to work with such parameters sometimes, but these stories show that South Florida is truly a unique, special place with some exciting and fascinating health news going on.
Synthetic drugs a potent threat: This was the lead in a three-paies where we explored Florida’s crackdown on the synthetic drug trade. While state and local officials were passing and announcing bans on synthetic marijuana and “bath salts” all the time, we were hearing that the now-illegal drugs were still available, both at convenience stores surreptitiously selling them and via the Internet. I casually visited dozens of gas stations and convenience stores in our area asking to buy some “fake weed,” and while most stores said the drugs were illegal and not available, I was able to purchase three packages of synthetic marijuana from one. The paper paid to have one of the packages tested, and it came up positive for a banned substance. Through my sources, we also located five teens willing to go on the record about their synthetic drug use, after getting their parents’ permission. They were critical in explaining to readers how damaging the drugs are, what their appeal is and how easy they are to get, despite the crackdown. And our experts were also helpful in explaining how South Florida was no only one of the top manufacturing hubs for synthetic marijuana, but that our local communities were leaders in attempting to solve the drug’s spread.
Oxy users now turn to heroin: Florida’s crackdown on pill mills has been big news, but few knew that it came with a dangerous side effect: The scarcity of oxycodone was sending many addicts to an old, even more dangerous drug — heroin. We were able to use drug arrests and treatment addiction center figures to show that in the crackdown’s wake, heroin use had spiked. Through my sources, I also found an addict to go on record about his illegal drug use, though by using his first name only, allowing readers to hear firsthand from a user.
Delray surgeon regrows man’s severed finger: Even in an era when medical and technological advances are all the rage, this story was a talker: A local doctor regrowing a man’s severed finger using pulverized pig bladder. Through a national expert, we were able to confirm that though the feat has been accomplished before, our local doctor had joined an elite crowd of physicians regenerating human digits. The story showed the promise and excitement of regenerative medicine, with South Florida playing a prominent role.
‘Superman’ on right track to aid the disabled: This story began as a run-of-the-mill profile of a new local charity. But once I uncovered the founder’s arrest record, through a routine check, the feature became a more nuanced, layered story about one man’s difficult journey to self-discovery, and how he hoped to get as much out of helping others as they got from him. This was more than a project to Tom Mills; it had become a lifeline.