We caught up with CEO Ed Jimenez and asked him several questions for this edition of News+Notes. See how to submit your question at the bottom of the page!

What stands out when you look back at 2016?

The patient care delivery our teams provide is impressive. It’s also gratifying for all of us as we continue to get external validation that great things are happening. On the Vizient Report Card for quality outcomes, we recently received information about our mortality reduction numbers continuing to improve and how well our results stack up against our competitors. Additionally, our strength as a resource for the state continues to grow as we care for more patients from all over Florida. We’ve broadened our presence in Daytona Beach with Halifax Health and in Pensacola with Sacred Heart. When Hurricane Matthew hit, we were trusted to treat patients who were evacuated from other hospitals. We see everyone’s hard work and results daily but this recognition from others is definitely a boost.

What are some of the biggest challenges we will face as our teams prepare to move into the new hospitals?

First, the building shouldn’t become the catalyst for change. If there are areas we need to improve, it’s best to have solutions in place before we move. That’s what we’re always doing — building on what’s working and continually improving. Second, we must channel our excitement. When you move into a new building, sometimes you want to do a million things and answer the most complicated questions immediately. We must pace ourselves and do things thoughtfully. Third, we can’t allow our focus to stray from our core approach — taking great care of people, making patients and families feel good and paying attention to our colleagues.

How is UF Health Shands doing financially?

The Wall Street ratings process confirmed in an external way that we’re a strong financial organization. That allowed us to borrow money to build the new hospitals and use some of our funds on recognition programs to thank employees for their contributions to our success. It enabled us to spend on projects like the EPIC Beaker system and the new Kanapaha E.R. I think we are taking calculated and thoughtful approaches to our financial position and balancing our borrowing and spending at a comfortable rate. This is due to strong patient volumes that yield a financial bottom line that allows us to have these options to support future growth. Everything we do has our patients in mind. It’s a great time to be part of UF Health.

want to submit a question?

Email taylt@shands.ufl.edu and we’ll consider it for an upcoming edition.