Tallahassee, Fla. – Yesterday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Focus on Florida’s Future Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. These monumental investments exemplify Governor and First Lady DeSantis’ continued commitment to the health of Florida’s communities by directly fostering innovation, efficiency, and collaboration across Florida’s health care systems.

"This year’s investments made by Governor DeSantis and our leaders in the Florida Legislature will continue to improve the lives of Floridians,” said State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo. “I am proud to serve under our Governor as we continue advancing public health and personal responsibility in Florida.”

Key investments include:

• $232 million for cancer research, including $60 million for the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund that supports groundbreaking cancer research stemming from emerging ideas, trends, and promising practices that can serve as a catalyst for further exploration, and $127.5 million for the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program.
• $10 million to establish the Sickle Cell Disease Research and Treatment Grant Program to improve the quality of services for persons living with sickle cell disease in Florida and advance research addressing sickle cell disease.
• $9.6 million in additional funding to support infants and toddlers with, or at risk of, developmental delays through Early Steps.
• $3.5 million to support the Florida Department of Health's public-private FOCUS partnership, which improves diagnosis and treatment for HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis by expanding routine screening in emergency departments. The FOCUS initiative enables health care institutions to develop and share best practices in routine blood-borne virus screening, diagnosis, and linkage to care.
• $2.25 million to expand access to behavioral health care for children by training pediatricians to connect families to pediatric mental health care services through Behavioral Health Hubs.
• $1.5 million for the Florida Stroke Registry, which is instrumental in helping Florida’s health care providers improve stroke care through data utilization while developing and sharing best practices.

Through these key investments, the Florida Department of Health will continue to expand health access and services through integrated state, county, and community efforts within our integrated public health system.