Verónica Zaragovia
Health Care ReporterVerónica Zaragovia was born in Cali, Colombia, and grew up in South Florida. She’s been a lifelong WLRN listener and is proud to cover health care, as well as Surfside and Miami Beach politics for the station.
Verónica has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master's degree in journalism. For many years, Veronica lived out of a suitcase (or two) in New York City, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, D.C., San Antonio and Austin, where she worked as the statehouse and health care reporter with NPR member station KUT.
In 2016, she received a Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship and moved to Germany’s capital city of Berlin where she lived for several years, working as a freelance reporter and radio instructor to American college students at the Center for International Educational Exchange (CIEE). In between that time, she also spent six months in Colombia, reporting on the peace treaty between the Colombian government and the former FARC guerrilla group, with the support of a grant from the Pulitzer Center.
Verónica speaks English and Spanish fluently and can converse in French, German and Hebrew. She loves warm weather and friendly, diverse people, and that’s why Miami will always be home.
Contact Verónica at vzaragovia@wlrnnews.org
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Federal investigators say they continue working to determine what caused the catastrophic partial collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside that killed 98 people in June 2021. -
Miami Beach Commissioners agreed to consider renovation costs and rehabbing the theater with Live Nation. That’s the entertainment company that operates the Fillmore. -
Miami Beach commissioners agreed to preserve the South Shore Community Center and to keep looking for alternatives to Flamingo Park. They also agreed to upgrade and improve the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater, with $29 million set aside, rather than tear it down for a new performance space. -
A synthetic opioid called isotonitazene or ISO is far more potent and deadly than fentanyl, and a standard amount of Narcan won't overturn an overdose. Police are finding it pressed into pills, marketed as oxycodone, for instance, here in South Florida. -
Officials are proposing changes to the city’s sea turtle ordinance from 2006 to reduce how often hatchlings are led away from the ocean after becoming disoriented by artificial lights. -
Hospital systems across South Florida are using more robots in operations, because these machines make finer incisions that lead to quicker recovery times. Surgeons still need to train to use these platforms, though, since they don't operate alone. -
Voters in Miami-Dade County will weigh in on whether Miami Beach should build a new fire station on the edge of the popular Flamingo Park. The alternative would likely lead to demolishing a historic building, leaving South Beach residents divided. -
Florida, like states across the country, has declining immunization rates among kindergarten students. As classes resume, health care providers are urging parents or guardians to protect their children against potentially fatal diseases like measles. -
After a large study showed the accuracy of blood tests in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease, doctors in South Florida explain why an FDA approval is required to make these affordable and why you need a brain specialist who can make an accurate diagnosis. -
Extreme temperatures can cause far more than sweaty clothes for people in South Florida, especially outdoor workers, children training outside or people 65 and older with chronic conditions. Amid a barrage of heat advisories, doctors urge the public to pay attention. -
Earlier this month, the FDA approved Donanemab, which will be sold under its brand name Kisunla. The new drug helps slow decline in patients who have Alzheimer's disease, but only with mild cognitive impairment. -
Nursing homes in Florida and across the U.S. will need to comply with a federal rule that establishes minimum staffing standards to address safety and quality concerns.
