It’s been an exciting year so far. With the help of our community partners, we were able to expand access to medical care by opening three innovative centers that combine Emergency and Urgent Care. It was a pleasure to celebrate each of those milestones with ribbon-cuttings and share the news with people in the surrounding neighborhoods.

We also gathered in February for the UF Health Vision Fest. With a variety of speakers and presentations, we reflected on how we have grown as an organization and where we are headed next. David Nelson, MD, senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health, spoke about our continued goal of improving health in our local communities and shared our new strategic roadmap — One UF Health Together.

The event also focused on our ability to directly impact the health of the Jacksonville community. Ann-Marie Knight, MHA, FACHE, vice president of community engagement and chief diversity officer at UF Health Jacksonville, shared details about our overall efforts to support and improve community health during the Vision Fest event. We will continue to use    research and outreach to learn and implement best practices that will improve access to health care for those in our most vulnerable neighborhoods.

This month, we are again reminded about the importance of our efforts to improve health equity. April is National Minority Health Month, which is focused on raising awareness about health disparities affecting people from racial and ethnic minority groups. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, this year’s theme is Better Health Through Better Understanding. This aligns with our goals and programs, including the UF Health Urban Health Alliance, which aims to improve health equity for minority groups. The program seeks to help residents achieve their full potential for optimal health and well-being by creating community-initiated, self-sustainable solutions.

It will take time to make permanent changes and see growth, but it is our goal to continue striving toward improving health equity and transforming the lives of our community members. As always, thank you for the work you do every day. It is an honor to serve as your CEO.

Sincerely,

Russell E. Armistead, MBA

CEO, UF Health Jacksonville