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Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board (FHIAB) Conference Call Meeting

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WHO:            Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board (FHIAB)

WHAT:          The FHIAB will hold a public meeting via conference call to finalize its 2018 legislative recommendations. A copy of the agenda is available for review.

WHEN:          Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE:        This conference call is open to the public. To call-in, dial 1-866-200-9760 and provide code 4288083#.  For more information, visit the FHIAB website page.

About the Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board
The Florida Health Insurance Advisory Board is a legislatively established entity whose responsibilities include an advisory role on health insurance issues to the Office of Insurance Regulation, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Department of Financial Services, other executive departments, and to the Legislature. The current legislation governing this Board is found in Section 627.6699(11), Florida Statute.

About the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has primary responsibility for regulation, compliance and enforcement of statutes related to the business of insurance and the monitoring of industry markets. For more information about the Office, please visit www.floir.com or follow us on Twitter @FLOIR_comm and Facebook. 

PSC Celebrates National Lifeline Awareness Week with Events in Sarasota County

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TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) will host information sessions on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, in Sarasota County for residents to learn about the Lifeline Assistance (Lifeline) discounted telephone service program.

These events highlight National Lifeline Awareness Week 2017, September 11-17, which aims to raise awareness and increase participation in the Lifeline program.  Representatives will be available to help qualified residents apply.

Due to Hurricane Irma the events have been rescheduled to the following times and locations:

Tuesday, September 26, 2017
9 a.m.

Senior Friendship Center Inc.
1888 Brother Greenen Way

Sarasota, FL 34236

and

 11 a.m.

Senior Friendship Center Inc.
2350 Scenic Drive

Venice, FL 34236

 The Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates support National Lifeline Awareness Week. For more information, visit,www.lifeline.gov and www.naruc.org.

 For additional information, visit www.floridapsc.com

Follow the PSC on Twitter, @floridapsc.

THE UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA SETS ANOTHER ENROLLMENT RECORD

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TAMPA — For the 21st consecutive year, The University of Tampa has set another enrollment record. This year’s total enrollment, including graduates and undergraduates, is 8,913 — up 7 percent from last year’s total of 8,310. This year’s total enrollment is about quadruple the University’s enrollment of two decades ago.

            The enrollment continues to be strong as new student enrollment goals were attained, plus the University posted a 78 percent freshman-to-sophomore retention rate. This rate is a record for UT.

         All U.S. states and approximately 140 countries are in the mix of students. About 16 percent of UT students are international, and 20 percent of UT students declare themselves as Hispanic, African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native or Asian.

         Almost 97 percent of UT undergraduate students are full time, and the majority of them live on campus. Students are housed in 12 different residence halls all built or renovated since 1998.

         The University continues to be more selective, receiving more than 163,000 inquiries and 23,000 applications for this fall’s new class of 2,684 full-time undergraduate students.

Entering students’ SAT scores were also elevated with 22 percent of the new first-year students being eligible for the University’s distinguished Honors Program.

         The graduate school student population increased to 939 students, many from all over the world.

         Vice President of Enrollment Dennis Nostrand said the University’s record enrollment shows UT’s increasing appeal amongst prospective students, as well as the degree to which students enjoy their rich and meaningful UT experience.

         “Interest in UT set an all-time record this past year, due in large part to our expanding reputation for delivering a rich, high-quality educational experience,” Nostrand said. “Plus, once undergraduates decide to attend UT, we do an excellent job of graduating them in four years or less.”

         UT President Ronald L. Vaughn added that the University is successfully maintaining its personal attention and community feel, which have been characteristics of UT throughout its 86-year history. Also, UT added 28 new full-time faculty positions for this fall, as well as additional staff support.

         “We remain committed to pursuing quality and educational excellence,” Vaughn said. “The fact that we met our enrollment goals, plus we set new retention records, shows our success in providing an outstanding academic and co-curricular experience to students.”

         The University of Tampa is a private, residential university located on approximately 110 acres on the riverfront in downtown Tampa. UT is known for academic excellence, personal attention and real-world experience in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

UCF Reports $136 Million in Research Funding in FY17

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ORLANDO – UCF faculty brought in $136 million in research funding in 2017, a year that was also marked by national recognition for the number of patents issued to UCF, tech transfer excellence and overall innovation.

Of all the research funding collected, $73.9 million came from federal sources, $41.1 million from private industry and $21 million from state and local government agencies.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science garnered the largest proportion of the total with $33 million, followed by the College of Sciences with $16 million and the Institute for Simulation and Training $14 million.

“We’re off to a good start with funding,” said Elizabeth Klonoff, vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies. “But where we truly see the impact is in what our researchers are doing to help our communities — from finding new ways to make solar energy systems more efficient and affordable, to improving forecasting methods for sea level rise, to exploring vaccines that have the potential to eradicate disease. It is in this broad array of areas where you can see UCF making a big difference. As we continue to grow our funding, we’ll have more opportunities to have an impact in our Central Florida community and beyond.”

UCF’s research is already getting national attention.

Earlier this year the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association announced the University of Central Florida ranks 41st in the world for the number of U.S. patents issued in 2016. From this report, UCF ranks 21st among public universities in the nation.

The recognition is an important one because patents often lead to industrial innovations that impact daily life.

UCF was ranked in the top 25 in the nation in technology transfer, the process of disseminating technology developed as a result of research, along with Columbia University, MIT and Carnegie Mellon University in a report from The Milken Institute, a nonprofit think tank.

U.S. News & World Report’s Best College guide this month (September) also named UCF one of the most innovative universities in the nation, alongside Harvard, Stanford and Duke.  UCF was No. 25 out of nearly 1,400 universities and colleges in the nation. UCF also was ranked No. 91 in engineering doctorate programs. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools of 2018 also recognized 22 UCF programs in the top 100 in their respective fields.

Professors are working on projects that could potentially revolutionize industries and save lives.

For example, Engineering Professor Shawn Putnam is working to change the way electronic devices use and dissipate heat. His work is designed to help keep up with the global demand for faster, more powerful and smaller devices such as computers, radars and lasers. He was awarded a $510,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support this work.

The Department of Energy this past year supported UCF researchers at the Florida Solar Energy Center and the College of Engineering and Computer Science with almost $4 million of funding to expand their work in solar energy, energy efficiency and improving air quality in homes.

UCF researchers from the College of Medicine, the NanoScience Technology Center, the College of Science and the College of Engineering & Computer Science received more than $1.3 million from the state to come up with ways to combat the Zika virus.

And an assistant professor of philosophy conducted fieldwork at the Dunhuang Mogao Caves along the Silk Road in China this summer. Lanlan Kuang is one of a select group of international scholars with access to the caves which house the largest and most complete repository of Buddhist art, murals and painted sculptures in the world. She will share her findings at conferences around the world including the International Symposium on Cultural and Art Exchanges and Cooperation in Dunhuang, China, in October and at the national conference of Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory in November.

All this research and the funding that comes with it is also important for one other reason.

“Research is fundamental to our mission of educating our students,” Klonoff said. “Hands-on research is essential to preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers, so they can help us with tomorrow’s challenges.”

UT STUDENTS HOST “FAIR-STYLE” HURRICANE FUNDRAISER ON WEDNESDAY

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UT STUDENTS HOST “FAIR-STYLE” HURRICANE FUNDRAISER ON WEDNESDAY

Mechanical bull riding, other activities to encourage campus-wide donations

TAMPA — A fair-style fundraiser to support Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria disaster relief efforts — featuring a lighthearted nod to Texas with mechanical bull riding — will be held at UT on Wednesday, Sept. 27.

The event will be held in the courtyard behind the Vaughn Center from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. It is a student-coordinated event, sponsored by UT’s PEACE Volunteer Center, Student Productions and Student Government.

Additionally, approximately 20 student organizations will host activities to encourage students to donate to the effort.

All funds will be donated to the Red Cross, and physical donations will be collected by a local nonprofit.

Media is welcome to cover the event. Please contact the Office of Public Information and Publication, or the fundraiser organizers ([email protected]), with any questions.

CFO Patronis Extends Insurance Professional Continuing Education Deadline to Assist with Hurricane Irma Recovery

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – To help accelerate Hurricane Irma recovery efforts across Florida, CFO Patronis today announced an extension of continuing education deadlines for licensed insurance professionals in Florida. Continuing education deadlines are set by the licensee’s birthday month, and any licensee with a deadline in September, October or November will now have an extended deadline of December 31, 2017, to complete their continuing education requirements.

CFO Patronis said, “My primary goal is to get Floridians back on their feet and back to normal life as quickly as possible, and allowing insurance professionals to continue their work in the field – instead of stopping to complete office work – will allow more insurance claims to be adjusted and paid out faster. Continuing education is important in all professions, and it will be completed, but I believe that granting this extension is in the best interest of our state.”

Currently, more than 500,000 insurance claims have been filed following Hurricane Irma, totaling estimated losses of more than $3 billion. 470,000 of those claims remain open, further proving the necessity of allowing insurance agents, adjusters and customer representatives to focus on their post-storm work.

The extension applies to all insurance professional licensees that require continuing education, including insurance adjusters, agents and customer representatives. No form or application process is required to be approved for this extension. The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Agent & Agency Services is updating its online database to automatically reflect the updated deadline.

To learn more, visit www.myfloridacfo.com/Division/Agents.

GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT’S SCHEDULE FOR MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 

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GOVERNOR RICK SCOTT’S SCHEDULE

FOR

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017 

9:15am                       TOUR OF HURRICANE IRMA IMPACTS IN THE FLORIDA KEYS

Location:         Blue Gill Lane

                        Cudjoe Key, FL 33042

10:30am                     MEETING WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS ON HURRICANE IRMA RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

Location:         Marathon City Hall

Address:          9806 Overseas Highway

                        Marathon, FL 33050 

3:00pm                       FIRST RESPONDERS APPRECIATION EVENT

Location:         Miami Police College Auditorium

Address:          350 Northwest 2nd Avenue

                        Miami, FL 33128

 

LT. GOVERNOR LOPEZ-CANTERA’S SCHEDULE

FOR

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2017

1:00-5:00pm              TOUR OF HURRICANE IRMA IMPACTS IN COLLIER COUNTY

Location:         Ochopee, FL                          

Princeton Review Names UNF ‘Best in the Southeast’ College

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For the ninth consecutive year, the University of North Florida is one of the best colleges in the Southeast, according to The Princeton Review. The nationally-known education services company recommends UNF in its “Best in the Southeast” list for 2018.

Only 140 colleges and universities in 12 Southeastern states made the “Best in the Southeast” list for 2018. The list is part of the company’s website feature, “2018 Best Colleges: Region by Region.”

“We’re thrilled that UNF is being recognized as an all-around outstanding academic institution within the Southeast by The Princeton Review,” said UNF President John Delaney. “This prestigious recognition affirms the tremendous on-going effort UNF has put forth to build one of the finest universities in the state.”

The Princeton Review editors made their selections based on data the company collected from its survey of administrators at several hundred colleges in each region as well as its staff visits to schools over the year and the perspectives of college counselors and advisors whose opinions the company solicits.

“We chose UNF and the other institutions we name as ‘regional best’ colleges mainly for their excellent academic programs,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president and publisher.

The Princeton Review survey asks students attending the schools to rate their own schools on several issues—from the accessibility of their professors to the quality of their science lab facilities—and answer questions about themselves, fellow students and campus life.

Students at the University say, “There is no typical student at UNF.” Filled with “friendly” people, UNF possesses “all the aspects of a huge state college with a much more laid back feel.” Professors were praised for their accessibility, with students reporting that they’ve “never had a situation where a professor was unavailable.” Students also say at UNF, “you’re not a number, you’re a person.”

The Princeton Review doesn’t rank the 658 colleges in its “2018 Best Colleges: Region by Region” list hierarchically or in various categories. The 140 colleges that The Princeton Review chose for its “Best in the Southeast” 2018 list are located in 12 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. 

The Princeton Review also designated 229 colleges in the Northeast, 127 in the West, and 158 in the Midwest as best in their locales on the company’s “2018 Best Colleges: Region by Region” lists. Collectively, the 658 colleges on The Princeton Review’s “regional best” list constitute about 25 percent of the nation’s 2,500 four-year colleges.

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books and other student resources. For more information, visit www.princetonreview.com.

UNF, a nationally ranked university located on an environmentally beautiful campus, offers students who are dedicated to enriching the lives of others the opportunity to build their own futures through a well-rounded education.

Gov. Scott Visits Utility Linemen in Collier County

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IMMOKALEE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott visited utility linemen in Collier County to thank them for their work restoring power to Florida homes and businesses. This week, Governor Scott announced that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will accept official utility workers’ identification in lieu of a Florida freshwater or saltwater fishing license through June 30, 2018, and that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is offering free day-passes to Florida State Parks that can be used on an unlimited basis until October 2018 for all utility workers.

Governor Scott Discusses Hurricane Irma Recovery Efforts in the Florida Keys

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MARATHON, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott visited Monroe County to discuss Hurricane Irma recovery efforts with state and local officials and thank first responders, law enforcement and utility workers for their commitment to Florida families. Since Hurricane Irma moved through the state, Governor Scott has visited communities in the Florida Keys, Southwest Florida and Northeast Florida to tour local impacts, thank law enforcement and first responders and discuss recovery efforts with local leaders. 

Governor Scott also announced that the license-free freshwater and saltwater fishing offer made to Florida’s law enforcement and first responders to include utility workers. Read more HERE.