Timely news from UF Health Jacksonville: Summer 2020
Dear colleagues far and wide,

Greetings from UF Health Jacksonville from where you once hailed. I hope this finds you well given all that is happening in our world. It has been a somber time for our country, no doubt, but there have been rays of light shining through.
  • The outpouring of support from our community continues in various forms, including PPE, cash donations, meals and more. These gestures brighten our days and provide much-needed financial support for the enterprise. We hope that you, too, have felt the renewed appreciation for health care heroes being expressed around the globe.
  • Earlier this month, we graduated — in unconventional Zoom fashion — 124 residents and fellows who completed their medical education. We also welcomed about as many new learners to campus. These residents and fellows are eager to begin their training and will certainly have a once-in-a-lifetime experience given the environment in which we are navigating. We are optimistic about the imprint they will make on the world through compassionate care and innovative research in an increasingly complex environment.  Please click here to read the full article.
  • As we move toward a full reopening, our hospital visitation and building entrance policies are evolving. Face masks are still required for patients, staff and visitors. Patients are now allowed multiple visitors during the day, but only one visitor at a time will be allowed in a patient room. All additional visitors waiting to see a patient must remain outside of the building. The visitation hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Additionally, visitors will continue to have travel and temperature screenings at entrances and be instructed to wear a mask and practice physical distancing. Building access is still limited on the UF Health Jacksonville and UF Health North campuses. Per current policy, visitor waiting rooms remain closed and no visitors are allowed for COVID-19 patients or patients in the Total Care Clinic.
  • We proudly celebrated UF Health Jacksonville’s official 150th anniversary on June 4, complete with a Mayoral Proclamation presented by Jacksonville mayor and proud UF alumni, the Honorable Lenny Curry. Founded in 1870 as Duval Asylum and Hospital, we have successfully persevered through pandemics, the Great Fire of 1901 and other disasters. And we are confident that we’ll come through this storm stronger together, just as our predecessors did. We had big plans for 2020, including a reunion celebration this fall. While in-person activities are unlikely as of now, stay tuned for more details about how you can commemorate with us. To learn more about our 150-year history, of which you are an important part, click here for our dedicated website and read about us in The Florida Times-Union.
  • Today, we find ourselves grappling with another national crisis — one that reminds us that we have much work to do to overcome the endemic problems caused by racism and pervasive socioeconomic inequity. We are horrified by the series of racially motivated police brutalities and other recent images of violations of human rights reported in the media. In response to these injustices and tragedies, Dr. Adriana Cantville, assistant professor of pediatrics, stepped forward to organize a White Coats for Black Lives event at Memorial Park in Riverside. We hosted similar remembrances on our campuses. I was moved to see employees and colleagues of all colors and ranks kneel for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — a tribute to the length of time an unarmed George Floyd was restrained by a Minneapolis police officer, ultimately leading to his death. The UF Health Jacksonville family is diverse, as is our patient population, and we are committed to doing our part to improve the lives of Black Americans. As leaders of the state’s premier academic health center, charged with educating the next generation of health care providers and scientists, as well as with caring for the health and well-being of our community, I want to assure you that we are united in working to combat racism and to eliminate health disparities and inequities that contribute to the racial divide in our country.
  • Like many health care systems, we’ve iterated our business model substantially during the coronavirus pandemic. While prioritizing the quality of our care, we’ve leveraged technology to connect providers and patients through a dramatic increase in telemedicine offerings. We received a $100,000 grant to expand these efforts and have submitted additional funding requests to enhance our operation. The response from patients has been overwhelmingly positive, and we intend to continue to grow this area of the business.

  • We are grateful for the generosity of Dr. Andrew Kaunitz and Mrs. Karen Koppel Kaunitz’s commitment to UF Health Jacksonville through their philanthropic support. They established the Andrew M. Kaunitz and Karen Koppel Kaunitz Critical Care Nursing Education Fund to support the education of nurses in critical care. The fund is their way of saying thank you to the entire medical team that provided exceptional care to a family member.

  • Last month, I announced the establishment of the Colleagues Caring for Colleagues, or C3, Fund, offering emergency financial assistance to UF Health and UFJP staff in need who have exhausted all other resources during a time of crisis. The C3 Fund was initiated by employees to benefit employees. The financial future of the fund relies upon the generosity of employees, former staff and the community, as well as fundraising throughout the year. All donations to the fund are tax-deductible through the UF Foundation.  Click here to contribute to the C3 Fund.
  • I invite you to join our COVID-19 community call on July 2 at 10 am. This will be the fourth such opportunity to hear about our COVID-19 efforts as well as other matters at UF Health Jacksonville. To learn more, please contact Crystal Ranns at Crystal.Ranns@jax.ufl.edu or call 904.244.1090.
  • Lastly, if you keep in touch with fellow residents who passed through our campus, please forward this email to them and encourage them to keep in touch with our Office of Development and Engagement so they can receive communications like this in the future. We have exciting plans and opportunities underway, and we’d like to share our progress with all who have trained on our campus.

Thanks for all you do for your patients and communities. We need you now more than ever.
 
Take good care,
Leon L. Haley Jr., M.D., MHSA, C.P.E., FACEP
CEO, UF Health Jacksonville
Dean, College of Medicine – Jacksonville
Vice President for Health Affairs, University of Florida


P.S. Please visit history.ufhealthjax.org to learn more and to view our anniversary video! 
CME Course – Head & Neck Cancer 
Precision Medicine: The Role of Proton Therapy in Head & Neck Cancer Care
Wednesday, July 22, 4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Presented by Roi Dagan, MD, MS
Associate Professor, University of Florida Department of Radiation Oncology, UF Health Proton Therapy Institute
Virtual CME via Zoom.

UF Health Jacksonville | UFHealthJax.org
IF YOU PREFER NOT TO BE CONTACTED BY UF HEALTH JACKSONVILLE FOR FUTURE FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES, PLEASE NOTIFY US BY CALLING 1-866-682-2372 OR VISITING http://giving.ufhealth.org/opt-out . A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL FREE 1-800-435-7352 WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.