Journalist

Caroline Catherman

Caroline Catherman is the Health reporter for the Orlando Sentinel. She earned her master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 2021 after graduating from Emory University in 2020 with degrees in Psychology and English. She previously worked in public health research and is the first author of a published study.

Overdoses are becoming more common, driven by fentanyl, a drug up to 50 times stronger than heroin that is increasingly being mixed with drugs like MDMA, cocaine, and pills.

Electric Daisy Carnival returns with music, art and risk of fentanyl overdose

November 9, 2023 at 12:04 p.m.

Overdoses are becoming more common, driven by fentanyl, a drug up to 50 times stronger than heroin that is increasingly being mixed with drugs like MDMA, cocaine, and pills.

Zebra Youth and the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida are fighting back amid recent crackdowns on transgender and nonbinary youth. In 2023 alone, Gov. Ron DeSantis enacted six laws in Florida labeled anti-LGBTQ by the Human Rights Campaign.

News |
Orlando nonprofits rise to support homeless LGBTQ youth amid statewide restrictions

November 3, 2023 at 1:04 p.m.

Zebra Youth and the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida are fighting back amid recent crackdowns on transgender and nonbinary youth. In 2023 alone, Gov. Ron DeSantis enacted six laws...

Dubbed the "free kill" law, Florida is the only state in the U.S. with this type of legal restriction in place. The law, passed in the 1990s, says only a surviving spouse or a minor child under 25 can pursue pain-and-suffering damages in medical malpractice cases that result in death.

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Health |
‘Florida’s dirty little secret’: Families are rallying hard to end the medical malpractice ‘free kill’ law

November 3, 2023 at 1:42 p.m.

Dubbed the "free kill" law, Florida is the only state in the U.S. with this type of legal restriction in place. The law, passed in the 1990s, says only a...

The Western diet, sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco and alcohol and stress are driving up young and middle-aged adults' cancer rates.

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Cancer is rising in Central Florida’s young adults, doctors warn

October 30, 2023 at 5:36 a.m.

The Western diet, sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco and alcohol and stress are driving up young and middle-aged adults' cancer rates.

Orlando Health STAR Outpatient Centers step in when at-risk patients lack primary care, or can't get a follow-up appointment within seven days of discharge.

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New Orlando Health program offers hospital aftercare to reduce readmissions

October 26, 2023 at 11:56 a.m.

Orlando Health STAR Outpatient Centers step in when at-risk patients lack primary care, or can't get a follow-up appointment within seven days of discharge.

After decades of research, there’s finally a gene therapy approved for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare and deadly degenerative muscle disease.

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Orlando toddler first in Florida to get Duchenne gene therapy

October 20, 2023 at 4:18 p.m.

After decades of research, there’s finally a gene therapy approved for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare and deadly degenerative muscle disease.

Florida’s public schools historically have checked thousands of students a year for vision, hearing and growth problems, hoping to catch early health issues that can impede academic achievement. But the number of students in Orange and Seminole public schools screened last year plummeted after Florida passed a new law that requires parents to give written permission for their children to take part in them.

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Education |
School health screenings plunge in Central Florida under parents’ rights law

October 20, 2023 at 9:41 a.m.

Florida’s public schools historically have checked thousands of students a year for vision, hearing and growth problems, hoping to catch early health issues that can impede academic achievement. But the...