Fall is quickly approaching and, needless to say, it has been a busy and complex year. We continue to face challenges no one could have predicted, like the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainties and racial and social unrest. I am truly proud of the ways all of you have adapted during this time, and how people across our enterprise have collaborated with one another to come up with innovative ideas and solutions.

While the pandemic altered and shifted many plans for the year, our teams are moving forward in this new normal. Despite challenges related to the pandemic, we are still making significant strides in patient care. I’ve witnessed our staff and faculty grow these past few months and many of you are being rightfully recognized. Recently, several of our departments have been acknowledged with prestigious awards.

• The UF Health Jacksonville Emergency Department received the 2020 Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award for demonstrating exceptional and innovative performance in leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research.
• Both the NICU and MICU nursing units received 2020 Silver Beacon Awards, a three-year designation that recognizes nursing teams that meet national criteria consistent with Magnet recognition by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
• UF Health Jacksonville also received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2020. This was awarded to only 60 hospitals nationwide, and it recognizes our commitment to and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients.
• Healthgrades also named UF Health Jacksonville a triple-winner in women’s care. We received the 2020 Obstetrics and Gynecology Excellence Award, 2020 Labor and Delivery Excellence Award and 2020 Gynecologic Surgery Excellence Award.

Lastly, we were recognized as a high-performing hospital in five specialties, procedures and conditions in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals survey for 2020-21, including a Top 50 national ranking in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The nephrology and endocrinology programs were also listed among the country’s Top 100 and we were singled out for high performance in the specialties of gastroenterology/gastroenterology surgery and urology, and in the patient care procedures/conditions of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and heart failure.

We are also proud to be part of the larger UF Health system, which is collectively on the rise. UF Health Shands Hospital emerged as Florida’s top health center and one of the nation’s elite in the U.S. News & World Report’s survey, with nine medical specialties placing in the nation’s Top 50 — more than any other hospital in the Sunshine State.

All of this demonstrates that even during a pandemic, we continue to provide exceptional care, grow our enterprise and fulfill our vision to be the region’s most valued health care asset.

I know this has not been an easy year, so thank you again for your hard work and continued perseverance and resilience.

Sincerely,

Leon L. Haley Jr., MD, MHSA

CEO, UF Health Jacksonville

Dean, UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville