Physical illness or disease can sometimes trigger depression…and depression can sometimes trigger physical illness or disease. A forum in Fort Myers today will explore the connections. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry has more.

Health Departments are gearing up for flu season. Sarasota County is already rolling out its mobile flu shot clinics. Mia McCormick has more.

A Collier County man died last week after contracting West Nile Virus. Another is hospitalized, and the illness has also claimed the life of an Orange County resident. In addition, more than a hundred cases of another mosquito-borne illness, dengue fever, have been reported in Florida this year. Mosquitoes carrying the dengue virus haven’t been seen in the state for decades, but they have now shown up in Key West and Broward County. With mosquito-borne diseases on the rise, public health officials are increasing mosquito control efforts, and a team of researchers from the University of Central Florida is trying to produce a low-cost dengue fever vaccine. Euna Lhee reports.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that only two out of five women in the U-S breastfeed their babies for the first six months. It’s a statistic the Women, Infants, and Children program or WIC is trying to change. Rather than simply the “better alternative”, WIC hopes to make breastfeeding the cultural norm in our society – which seems to have lost the practice. For the Healthy State Collaborative, WGCU’s Farah Dosani has the story.

The American Cancer Society reports 15 to 20 percent of breast cancer survivors will develop lymphedema; a condition identified by fluid retention and swelling in a particular part of the body. Yet there’s been very little research into treating this chronic condition, and almost none conducted in the United States.  Now, Rehabilitation Associates of Naples is teaming up with Vanderbilt University on a new study to look at the effectiveness of laser treatments on patients with breast cancer related lymphedema.  WGCU’s John Davis reports.

The Lee County Health Department is expanding childhood vaccination services in response to a chicken pox outbreak.   WGCU’s John Davis reports.

Rick Bender gets a lot of attention whenever he enters a room.  He’s known as the man with half a face.  He says it’s the best tool to get the message out about the dangers of chewing tobacco. As WGCU’s Luis Hernandez reports Bender is in southwest Florida this week.

Southwest Florida Cities earned high marks on a national air quality report released last week.  WGCU’s John Davis reports.

The Community Health Improvement Partnership or “CHIP” is surveying households in southwest Florida to determine residents’ health status and gauge how the economic downturn is affecting their overall well-being.  WGCU’s John Davis reports.

A new grant will allow several public broadcasters in Central Florida, including WUSF Public Broadcasting, to hire eight people for a special project focusing on in-depth health reporting. The project is called “The Healthy State Collaborative,” and it will create stories for television, radio and the Web about healthcare issues and policy. The two-year project is being funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It will include audio, video, text, photos, blogs, social networking, and mobile applications.

It will try to engage a younger and more diverse audience in addition to the existing public broadcasting audience, especially reaching out to students, faculty and alumni at area universities and partnering with community groups. President and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service, Paula Kerger, said it’s a response to shrinking newsrooms at newspapers and commercial broadcasters.

“Others may be slashing their newsroom budgets, but we are increasing our budgets for newsgathering,” Kerger said. CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said “The Healthy State Collaborative” will cover health issues from a policy and a consumer point of view in a diverse area that is “way overdue for in-depth coverage.”

WUSF Public Broadcasting is the lead agency for the effort. Other stations involved include WEDU in Tampa, WGCU Public Media in Fort Myers, WMFE Public Media in Orlando, WMNF in Tampa and WUFT in Gainesville.The grant will create eight new positions among the participating stations, including five reporters, an executive editor, a senior multimedia manager and a community engagement specialist. Four other regions of the country received the CPB grants and will cover topics from the new economy to food production and policy. (Scott Finn - WUSF, Tampa)