Timely News and Updates
Amid a global pandemic, UF Health leaders and community members step up to ensure health care heroes, patients and families feel supported and safe. We hope you — our friends and supporters — are taking good care of yourselves and your families. Though it has been a somber time for our country, rays of light are shining through.
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Whoever said the only thing constant is change was prophetic and wise, and 2020 has been a study in adaptability to change. For our health system, this has been an incredibly challenging time but we have been inspired by our patients and encouraged by the overwhelming support of our community. From video messages cheering us on to meals that sustain our more than 7,600 employees battling COVID-19, we have felt your appreciation and it has made a difference. Thank you.
Even in the midst of the pandemic, we've found ways to celebrate our 150th anniversary. We are also hosting several virtual events this fall and welcome you to join us from the comfort of your home. click here for details and to RSVP. If you or your organization would like to learn more about how you can support our health care heroes, please email development@jax.ufl.edu.
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Caring for the Invisible Wounds of War: The UF Health Brain Wellness Program –Jacksonville
Thanks to a generous $12.5 million grant from the Avalon Fund (supported by The Marcus Foundation and The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation), we are pleased to announce the development of the UF Health Brain Wellness Program – Jacksonville, which will be dedicated to helping veterans and their families. The program will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
This is a collaborative effort with the Marcus Institute for Brain Health at the University of Colorado and the Boulder Crest Foundation, which specialize in delivering transformative care for veterans and others.
The UF Health Brain Wellness Program – Jacksonville will officially open next year in renovated space on the third floor of the Professional Office Building. It will be an interdisciplinary effort that uses intensive outpatient treatment led by a comprehensive team of behavioral neurologists, physical therapists, neuropsychologists, case managers and integrative therapists, using programs including healing arts, equine therapy, pet therapy, yoga, sleep analysis and more.
Our team is grateful for the opportunity to provide this life-changing care to our heroes and patients in need. We will share more information as we get closer to the opening in 2021.
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Employee Spotlight: Leigh A. Neumayer, M.D., M.S., F.A.C.S
We are proud to introduce a new member of our leadership team, Leigh A. Neumayer, a professor and chair of the department of surgery at UF Health Jacksonville. Dr. Neumayer is internationally known for her expertise in breast cancer surgery and research, advocacy for women’s health issues, and leadership in surgical education.
To get to know Leigh A. Neumayer, please visit:
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Growing our Northeast Florida Footprint
On Oct. 2, UF Health unveiled its new building in the Wildlight community with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Facebook Live. The full-service rehabilitation services facility offers pediatric and adult occupational, physical and speech therapy, as well as an on-site YMCA. The YMCA includes an indoor running/walking track, individual exercise equipment and group exercise rooms. A shared classroom is also available as a community resource for health education programs. To learn more about the opening of UF Health Rehabilitation – Wildlight, click here.
The UF Health Wildlight medical office building opened in December 2019 and includes dentistry, family medicine, imaging, laboratory, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and an urgent care center.
UF Health Urgent Care – Wildlight offers in-person and virtual treatments for cold and flu symptoms, eye infections, gastrointestinal conditions, and other urgent but non-life-threatening ailments and injuries. Urgent care services also include COVID-19 testing for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Call 904.427.8590 to make an appointment. Visit Wildlight.UFHealthJax.org for more information about UF Health Wildlight services.
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Colorful Changes
Thanks to volunteers and participants of UF Health Jacksonville’s Run for Heroes 5K, two areas in the downtown clinical center recently received a colorful makeover.
Walk through the pediatric spaces – now washed with boldly colored smiling fish and 3-D turtle art installations – and you cannot help but smile. The artist, Troy Summerall, started his design company OnieTonie after being inspired as a child by his young cousin who lost his battle with leukemia. His grandmother was a 30-year hospital volunteer, so giving back is very important to him.
“When I do these projects they are not mine anymore,” artist Troy Summerall said. “They belong to the community. The point is to make people happy in whatever space they are experiencing this art.”
The upgrade made possible by philanthropy is the second in the Pediatric Emergency Room, the first being a new treatment room and enhanced physician workspace, thanks to a Florida Blue grant in 2019.
“To see these hallways come to life through donor support, it really makes a dramatic impact on our patients and our staff,” said Dr. Andy Godwin, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. “We’re grateful and inspired and the timing couldn’t be better, after some of the most difficult months at our hospital.”
The 2020 Run for Heroes in conjunction with Tony’s Turkey Trot takes place on Thanksgiving Day this fall and will feature an in-person and virtual 5K in Atlantic Beach. For more information, visit our website.
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Importance of Breast Cancer Screenings
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As you may know, October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The video above shows UF Health’s Dr. Shahla Masood discussing the history of breast cancer, as well as primary and secondary factors to getting breast cancer.
The info graphic to the right illustrates important statistics regarding breast cancer and when you should begin to schedule regular mammograms.
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UF Health Jacksonville has been recognized as an LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the second year in a row that the organization has not only received the honor, but also achieved a perfect score.
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It’s Flu Season | #FluVaxJax Campaign
Doctors are voicing concerns about what’s being described as a “twindemic,” as flu season is expected to collide with the coronavirus pandemic.
That’s why the city of Jacksonville and Duval County Medical Society are teaming up to launch #FluVaxJax, a community-wide campaign to get people vaccinated as part of an effort to keep area hospitals from being overwhelmed by incoming patients.
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Ways to Stay Healthy During Flu Season
Though reducing the spread of COVID-19 is paramount these days, the flu hasn’t disappeared and, unfortunately, emerges each year. The good news is that there are countless ways to protect yourself and your family. Understanding the facts about the flu and taking preventative measures to reduce infection spread can also reduce the number of needed hospitalizations
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UF Health Sending Supplies, Making an Impact in Beirut
The community has been kind to our health care heroes during these unprecedented times, and we are beyond thankful. In turn, one of our own took it upon herself to give back to her hometown when it needed it most.
The devastating explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4 really hit home for UF Health Jacksonville otolaryngologist Dr. Akabar Halawi, as the blast struck the hospital she was born in. With the help of her UF Health colleagues and the Supply Chain Services department, a donation of medical supplies totaling about $4,000 was gathered and shipped to the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital.
“This kind, thoughtful contribution and compassion goes a long way for me,” Dr. Halawi said. “UF Health stood by me and made me feel that I am not alone in Jacksonville, but that I have a whole UF family of support. It fills my heart with hope, love and optimism of a better future.”
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Showing Us You “CARE”
UF Health would like to thank our partners at Perry-McCall Construction Inc., BDR Partners, CPPI, VyStar, W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor Inc., and others. We were able to proudly showcase banners throughout the UF Health Jacksonville Campus to lift the spirits of employees and fellow Healthcare workers.
We CARE is an initiative to elevate staff morale and mitigate the impact of work fatigue. We CARE stands for
Connections Advocacy Resources and Empathy. To get involved or learn more, please click here to email us.
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Perry-McCall Construction Inc., We CARE
Recently, complimentary donuts were given out to UF Health employees across four Jacksonville locations thanks to a generous donation from Perry-McCall Construction Inc. A whopping 2,640 donuts were delivered in an effort to boost morale and thank UF Health and all of its healthcare workers.
UF Health would like to thank Perry-McCall for this donation and their continued commitment to serving UF Health and its employees.
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Jacksonville Business Journal Awards UF Health “Community Impact Award”
We are pleased to share that UF Health Jacksonville has been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal with an inaugural “Community Impact Award” for our outstanding care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The journal stated that we were chosen because we have “stepped up to help the community” in many ways during this time, including offering testing to residents in underserved areas in Jacksonville. We were able to provide thousands of free COVID-19 tests to those who were not able to take advantage of other testing opportunities throughout the city due to health concerns or inability to travel.
It is part of our mission to ensure these community members are well-cared for, and we are honored and proud to see our enterprise recognized for these efforts. To read more, click here.
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The Andrew M. Kaunitz and Karen Koppel-Kaunitz
Critical Care Nursing Education Fund
Dr. Andrew M. Kaunitz and Karen Koppe-Kaunitz are grateful to UF Health Jacksonville and staff for the care that Karen, a pulmonary, cardiology and critical care patient, has received over the years. Their appreciation has inspired a gift to establish a new fund designed to support the education of nurses in critical care.
This fund supports nurses, as well as professional development activities focused on critical care, and recognizes extraordinary care by nursing and medical staff at the hospital with educational funding.
We are grateful for the generosity of Dr. Andrew M. Kaunitz and Karen Koppel-Kaunitz. We appreciate their commitment to UF Health Jacksonville through their philanthropic support as a grateful patient family, and as a member of the UF College of Medicine faculty.
To make a gift to show your support and recognize nurses, please click here.
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Give Today. Heal Tomorrow.
At the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville, philanthropy has been the bedrock for thriving research, excellence in patient care and extraordinary educational leadership. Contributions, at both the individual and corporate level, have propelled the mission of the college forward to national prominence.
If you’d like to learn more about scholarships or talk with a gift officer about making a contribution, please reach out to our office by emailing Development@jax.ufl.edu. Thank you for your consideration.
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UF Health Jacksonville is proud to be a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital of Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia.
All funds raised in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia support the pediatric programs at both Wolfson Children's Hospital and UF Health Jacksonville. CMN donations supports the purchase of life-saving medical equipment, child life activities and educational resources for nurses and doctors.
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Save the Dates: Thursday, Thursday, Dec. 3
You're Invited to a COVID-19 Community Briefing with Dr. Leon L. Haley Jr.
We invite you to join a COVID-19 Community Briefing on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. This will be an opportunity to hear about our COVID-19 efforts as well as other matters at UF Health Jacksonville.
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Gators football is back! And while it might not look how any of us would have imagined, we are excited to give our valued fans like you the chance to secure your “spot” in The Swamp for all home games. Click here to order your fan cutout!
U.S. News & World Report today named the University of Florida the No. 6 public university in the country, continuing the university’s upward trajectory and placing it on the cusp of reaching its top-five goal.
The announcement marks the fourth consecutive year UF rose in the rankings for public universities, advancing from No. 14 in 2017 to No. 6 today. During the same period, UF leapt from No. 50 to No. 30 on the U.S. News National Universities list, which includes both public and private institutions.
As one of the first biotech business incubators in the United States, UF Innovate | Sid Martin Biotech has paved the way to success for many startup companies. Sid Martin celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and continues to have a timeless impact.
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Important Dates to Remember
Feb. 6, 2021 – A Night for Heroes (virtual) Gala. Click here to learn more.
Feb. 11, 2021 – Giving Day
March 30, 2021 – National Doctors Day
Spring 2021 – Medicine and Miracles benefiting Children’s Miracle Network
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