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JAMES M. COX FOUNDATION The charitable arm of Cox Enterprises awarded a $500,000 grant to fund CareView®, a predictive patient monitoring system at the new Baptist Hospital campus and Behavioral Health Unit. CareView is a virtual monitoring system designed to help healthcare providers with patient safety by reducing falls, reducing self-harm and increasing patient safety. Its patented technology can help predict inpatient falls, alert staff to at-risk patients and further a culture of patient safety. The patient monitoring solution uses infrared technology and 24-hour monitoring for patients perceived to be at risk for suicide or self-harm. The Cox grant will include the installation of 20 observation cameras at Baptist Hospital and 72 cameras installed for observation at the Behavioral Health Unit. All cameras will be strategically located and adjusted to units where there is the greatest risk to patient safety.

ED MEADOWS The president of Pensacola State College (PSC) has been elected to serve as chair of the Florida College System Council of Presidents (COP). He is a past COP chair and returns to the role as Pasco-Hernando State College President Dr. Timothy Beard prepares for retirement. Dr. Meadows is PSC's sixth president and has held the position since 2008. The Florida College System Council of Presidents is the collective body on issues and matters of concern to Florida's public college system and provides information on issues, as it deems appropriate, to the executive and legislative branches.

KRISTIN HUAL During last month's Florida Association of County Attorneys (FACA) conference, Deputy County Attorney Kristin Hual received the Writing Award from the FACA Board of Directors. The Writing Award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to FACA and its program through his or her leadership and dedication. Escambia County Attorney Alison Rogers praised Hual. She said in a written statement, "Kristin has worked very hard to serve not just the Escambia County Attorney's Office, but also our colleagues across the state. It is a very well-deserved honor."

MILTON CONSPIRACIES Scott Collins backed out of the city manager job for the City of Milton after County Commissioner James Calkins, Councilman Jeff Snow and others injected themselves into the contract negotiations and insisted City Attorney Alex Andrade was intentionally sabotaging the negotiations. Andrade has shared his emails and text messages. There was no conspiracy on his part, but others appeared to have been desperate to manufacture one.

LUIS GOMEZ, JR . NorthEscambia.com reports that the Century Town Council president will ignore Florida's Sunshine Law and no longer bother to check and see if a meeting has been legally noticed under Florida's Sunshine Law. Gomez said, "I think everyone in Century knows what time when we have the meeting."

HOUSE DISTRICT 35 Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled a special election in House District 35 for Jan. 16, the day after the Iowa GOP caucus and a week after the start of the Florida Legislature's 2024 session. The seat became open last month when Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, was appointed president of South Florida State College. Whoever wins House District 35 will be playing catch-up the entire session. However, the governor is in no hurry to fill the seat, because he doesn't want to deal with the fallout of a Democrat winning and having to explain it to Iowa Republicans.

NEW COLLEGE OF FLORIDA Amid heavy turnover, New College of Florida, the school Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to make into a bastion of conservative values, is struggling to fill a third of its faculty positions ahead of the fall semester. New College has secured signed offer letters for 15 incoming visiting faculty members as it looks to address what Provost Brad Thiessen called a "ridiculously high" level of turnover compared to previous years. Six faculty members have retired, six have resigned and six took leave without pay. Another 16 faculty members will be out for reasons such as being assigned research leave or on family leave. Also, two visiting professor positions are open.