Who We Are
UF Health is the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic health center.
UF Health is the Southeast’s most comprehensive academic health center and part of one of the nation’s Top 10 public research universities, unique for our diverse constellation of health colleges, centers and institutes, and our hospitals, faculty practices and patient care programs. Academic health centers make discoveries that lead to breakthroughs in patient care. And our patients are at the heart of everything we do. We offer compassionate care with a focus on world-class outcomes for all, no matter how simple or complex their illness, and we offer hope — and results — for those who have been told elsewhere they have run out of options.
UF Health encompasses the Gainesville-based colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Professions, and Veterinary Medicine; the UF Health Shands family of hospitals; UF Health Jacksonville medical center; UF Health North; and an academic campus in Jacksonville that is home to the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville and includes degree programs offered by the colleges of Nursing and Pharmacy. It also includes primary care and specialty practices throughout North Central and Northeast Florida, as well as Southeast Georgia. The UF Health network of hospitals and physician practices manages more than 3 million inpatient and outpatient visits each year, and serves patients from all 67 Florida counties, from around the nation and from more than 30 countries.
UF Health is an integral part of the University of Florida, ranked No. 8 among the nation’s public universities. As we continue to rise among the nation’s top-tier academic health centers, we contribute to UF’s goal of becoming a Top 5 public university.
As a premier destination, our thriving patient care, education, research and outreach programs support community growth through positive economic impact and significantly improve the quality of life for Florida residents. Our two hubs — in Gainesville and in Jacksonville — are home to more than 26,500 faculty, staff and residents.
UF and UF Health attract skilled health professionals and staff from across the country. The dynamic university environment encourages business and community growth and development, and offers innumerable career opportunities. UF Health’s robust strategic alliances with hospitals and health care providers throughout the state not only bring our medical experts, graduate programs and patient care services to other areas where they are needed, but they also create strong referral patterns for residents from other areas to visit or even relocate for our hospitals and outpatient programs, where we provide care for patients with the most complex conditions. In these ways, UF Health is poised to expand as a preferred destination for health care, education and training, and scientific research in the health sciences.
Our Journey
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1923
UF College of Pharmacy established.
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1956
The UF colleges of Medicine and Nursing established.
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1958
On Oct. 20, the
400-bed UF
Teaching Hospital opened.
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UF College of Public Health and Health Professions (current name) established. -
1965
UF developed Gatorade sports drink.
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1967
The Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center (current name) opened and affiliated with UF.
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1972
The UF college of Dentistry established.
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1976
UF College of Veterinary Medicine established.
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1983
The state’s first Level I trauma center opened at UF Health Jacksonville.
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The ShandsCair emergency transport program began at UF Health Shands Hospital. -
1985
UF Health TraumaOne flight program started.
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1999
Shands Jacksonville was created when UF, Shands HealthCare, University Medical Center and Methodist Medical Center affiliated as one health care institution, becoming the Gainesville-based health system’s urban, North Florida campus.
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2006
UF Health Proton Therapy Institute opened.
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2008
The UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute opened.
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2009
UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital opened, with 192 private rooms and 12 operating rooms.
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The UF Health Shands E.R. and Level I trauma center opened in its new facility in Gainesville. The new E.R. and trauma center was the largest in the region and was designed upon opening to manage up to 100,000 cases per year. -
2011
The UF Health Shands Pediatric E.R. opened with its own entrance, 13 patient treatment rooms and two waiting rooms.
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2014
UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital got a significant makeover with a new family-centered entrance and lobby to welcome young guests and their loved ones.
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2015
The UF Health North medical office building opened.
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The Florida governor and Department of Health recognized the UF Health Cancer Center as a state-designated Cancer Center of Excellence.
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The George T. Harrell, M.D., Medical Education Building opened. -
2016
The UF Health Emergency Center at Kanapaha opened as our second freestanding, 911-receiving, 24/7 E.R.
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2017
Three new hospitals opened, the UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and the UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital in Gainesville and UF Health North in Jacksonville.
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2018
UF Health Shands hospitals and programs earned a fourth-consecutive Magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the ultimate “gold standard” measure of nursing achievement.