Derrick: Mainstreet, Fresh Take Florida join forces

In the four years since Mainstreet Daily News launched, we’ve consistently jumped at opportunities to collaborate. Examples include newsmaker interviews at Santa Fe College, a LifeSouth blood drive, partnering with Elder Options on our Aging Matters series, and teaming with Google to help its users discover good local news.

Now, Mainstreet is partnering with Fresh Take Florida, a news service operated by the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, to further investigate the circumstances surrounding the surgical shutdown at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital in Gainesville.

Fresh Take Florida reporter Valentina Sandoval first broke news of the shutdown and its subsequent extension in January. In February, Mainstreet’s Gary Nelson reported on the arrival of mobile response units and the state investigation, the fallout from the shutdown, and the circumstances that led up to the Jan. 17 decision to halt surgeries. 

Both Fresh Take Florida, which has earned national, regional and state awards for its journalism, and Mainstreet have received many tips and cultivated many sources related to this ongoing story. It made sense to combine those ongoing efforts to streamline reporting and better serve the community.

“Please print any news as soon as you can,” wrote a reader who had a surgery scheduled and was pondering what to do.

Joining forces with Fresh Take Florida is an effort to do that. Many unanswered questions remain, including about the total number of surgeries effected, any adverse surgical outcomes, the departures of key leadership dating back to last year, who will ultimately take responsibility for the failures, and most importantly, details on how the hospital is addressing the problems to restore public trust.

Based on article traffic, reader feedback and a steady stream of tips, we know that this is the most important story in the community right now. We will not rest until we know what happened and how local citizens can have confidence it will not happen again.

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know has been impacted by, or has information about, the surgical shutdown at HCA Florida North Florida Hospital, please email editor@mainstreetdailynews.com or call 352-313-3192.