In August, Elizabeth Ruszczyk, J.D., CIPP, C.H.C., CHRC, was named the new UF-wide chief privacy officer while continuing her position as UF Health Compliance and Privacy vice president. The unique dual roles and reporting arrangement will help Ruszczyk facilitate greater collaboration and access to shared resources across UF and UF Health. “With her focus on supporting faculty and staff and building teamwork and efficiency, Elizabeth embodies a customer-focused and responsive approach to privacy and compliance,” said Ed Jimenez, UF Health Shands CEO.

In October, C. Parker Gibbs, M.D., UF College of Medicine orthopaedic surgery division chief and the Eugene L. Jewett professor of orthopaedic surgery, was named chief medical officer for UF Health Shands. As CMO, Gibbs is responsible for the direction and oversight of medical staff practicing at UF Health Shands hospitals and outpatient programs. “Dr. Gibbs is the embodiment of a ‘triple threat’ academic physician, and thus has the respect and support of the entire faculty,” said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., UF senior vice president for health affairs and UF Health president.

After serving in the position for more than six years, Timothy C. Flynn, M.D., stepped down as UF Health Shands chief medical officer. He will continue his 30-year medical career with the UF College of Medicine as senior associate dean for clinical affairs and a professor in the department of surgery’s division of vascular and endovascular surgery. We thank Flynn for his pioneering efforts and contributions to our medical staff and for serving as a champion for our expert nursing and patient care staff.

Our teams made rapid progress on construction of the UF Health Heart & Vascular and Neuromedicine hospitals in 2016. With an average of 450 workers on site every day, this $415 million project is scheduled for completion in less than a year, with the doors opening for patients in December 2017. Hundreds of staff are participating in transition planning workgroups and leading this exciting endeavor.

The UF Health Children’s Surgical Center opened in April to accommodate the growing need for specialized pediatric care. The 17,500-square-foot building mimics the soothing, nature-themed design of the UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, and features four large operating rooms constructed specifically for outpatient surgical procedures for children and adolescents.

In July, the fourth UF Health Pediatrics primary care practice opened at Tioga Town Center. With 6,220 square feet, UF Health Pediatrics at Tioga includes 16 exam rooms for newborns and children up to age 21, and a designated room for outpatient procedures.

The UF Health Shands Emergency Center at Kanapaha opened Oct. 1. Our second freestanding emergency room in Gainesville provides patients with 24/7 access to high-quality care close to home. The 10,881-square-foot facility features 14 exam rooms and provides patients with critical care and a full complement of diagnostic radiology and laboratory services, including CT scans. As a 911-receiving center, the team is connected with EMS to handle a broad range of emergency services. More than 2,400 patients were treated in October and November.

In November, we completed Phase 1 of the Neonatal ICU expansion at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital. Our most vulnerable critical patients moved into four areas known as “neighborhoods,” with a soothing and welcoming wildlife and nature theme. The cohesive and connected space is designed to meet the needs of all NICU patients, regardless of their level of care.

The UF Health Shands Core Laboratory is now fully automated. With more advanced technology and additional workspaces, the lab automation enables staff to provide faster turnaround times and more precise, reliable specimen testing for even greater quality and efficiency.

In August, 4-month-old conjoined twin girls who were connected at the heart, liver, diaphragm and sternum were successfully separated in an extremely rare and complex surgery performed by our physicians, nurses and pediatric teams at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital. After more than a dozen surgeries performed on each girl, their parents were able to take them home thanks to the expert care they received.

UF investigators were awarded a five-year, $12 million grant to address the major challenges in the current treatment of tuberculosis. Our TB researchers strive to provide a reduction in treatment duration and drug resistance for people suffering with the disease.

In September, the National Institute on Aging funded UF researchers a five-year, $5.7 million grant titled “Augmenting Clinical Training in Older Adults: The ‘ACT Study.’” The focus is to test whether the benefits of cognitive training can be augmented by transcranial direct current stimulation — a form of noninvasive brain stimulation that uses constant, weak and safe electrical currents delivered to the brain via electrodes placed on the surface of the scalp.

The recently launched Efficiency, Effectiveness and Patient-Centeredness initiative, or EEPC, is a coalition of more than 250 executive leaders, managers and frontline staff working together to further boost clinical quality and the patient experience at UF Health. They are working to address key quality measures like length of stay, patient-centeredness and community engagement.

The UF Health Shands Transplant Center and LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services celebrated 50th anniversaries this year. More than 8,300 transplants have been performed at UF Health since our surgeons were responsible for the state’s first adult kidney transplant in 1966.

Three of our UF Health academic health center colleges celebrated major milestones this year — the UF College of Medicine and UF College of Nursing both turned 60, and the UF College of Veterinary Medicine turned 40. We are grateful for the faculty and staff in these colleges for training future generations of care providers.

For the second year in a row, UF and UF Health were named on Forbes’ list of America’s Best Employers. Overall, both moved up the list since 2015. UF Health came in at No. 89 of the top 500 companies, from 154th last year. UF also saw a notable rise to No. 90.

In March, UF Health was named one of the nation’s 150 great places to work in health care by Becker’s Healthcare — a list of the premier health care workplaces developed through nominations and editorial research. UF Health Shands Hospital was also named one of the 100 great hospitals in America by Becker’s Hospital Review.

In June, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital was recognized in nine medical specialties in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings. In August, UF Health Shands Hospital was recognized in eight adult specialties by U.S. News &World Report — tied for the most in Florida. We were the only Florida hospital ranked in a combined 17 specialties.

The Cardiac ICU, Pediatric ICU and Surgical/Trauma ICU teams each earned a gold-level Beacon Award for Excellence, while the Post Anesthesia Care Unit earned a silver-level award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, one of the highest honors in nursing. In 2016 we had six nursing care units with active Beacon Awards, a reflection of our nurses’ commitment to providing experienced care and expert caring.

This year, the Vizient Quality and Accountability Scorecard (formerly known as UHC) ranked UF Health Shands 25th out of more than 100 academic health centers for observed versus expected mortality rates, marking our advances in quality and patient safety.

In 2016 we also saw encouraging results from the annual UF Health Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Culture Survey, which provides a critical overview of the perception of UF Health’s patient safety culture. Participation increased this year and results showed that staff feel more comfortable reporting safety events and trust that their managers will make patient safety improvements. Quality is Job 1 as we continue to work together to deliver exceptional quality care, value and service to every patient at every encounter.

In July, we launched “In the Q” — a new video series that features quality improvement and patient safety updates and other information to help us provide the best possible experience for our patients. Randy Harmatz, M.B.A., UF Health Clinical Quality and Patient Safety senior vice president and chief quality officer, has used the videos to explain publicly reported quality data and rankings as well as quality and safety goals and progress.

In February, after a pilot over several months, we rolled out Hospitality Huddles, twice-monthly briefings to discuss a monthly Hospitality and Service behavior to model and help us make a positive difference for patients, visitors and staff. Participants are asked to practice and observe specific behaviors and share lessons learned. Staff and patients are already noticing a difference. “Patient and visitor feedback seems to recognize that we’re more welcoming and attentive. Thanks to everyone for participating in our Huddles and making UF Health a better place to work and receive care,” Jimenez said.

This year, UF Health Communications launched a new staff welcome video that introduces new hires to UF Health and is used in orientation for UF Health Shands and UF Health Physicians staff, residents, faculty and volunteers. Find the video on the Bridge under “Education” and “Faculty/Staff Development” or search “Staff welcome video.”

January 2017 marks two years since we launched the UF Health Bridge, our UF Health intranet site. With more than 37,000 users, the Bridge is the place to access internal communications for employees. Throughout 2016 we made numerous improvements and additions, including the heart icon for users to “like” a story or post. Empathy Corner is the most popular widget on the home page, averaging 10,000 page views per month, followed by FYI: Announcements and Leadership Status Updates. In all, the Bridge receives over a million page views a month!

Launched in April, UF Health’s new advertising campaign for UF Health Pediatrics and UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital focuses on our patients who have managed their health issues with the help of our pediatric care teams. The campaign was created by several of our UF Health Communications teams. Visit UFHealth.org/peds to learn more about the campaign.

We hope you noticed News+Notes’ facelift this year! We listened to your feedback and updated our newsletter to better provide information about the outstanding work being done in our Gainesville hospitals and practices among our faculty, staff, volunteers and students. If you can’t pick up a copy, visit the website at news-notes.UFHealth.org to read the latest edition.

In June, we began a long-term collaboration between UF Health Shands Rehab Hospital and Select Medical to build on the outstanding rehab care and take our programs there to the next level. We plan to use the academic health center model used by Select Medical at centers such as the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation. We’ve been sharing best practices and information to improve quality care. An interim management agreement is underway and plans include shared ownership with Select Medical overseeing operations for the rehab hospital. Meanwhile, the relationship with Select Medical includes co-ownership of Select Specialty Hospital — Gainesville on Archer Road. Our College of Medicine physicians will join the medical staff and focus on quality care and patient safety.

In March, the Sacred Heart Health System and the UF College of Medicine announced a collaboration to operate physician residency programs in Pensacola to train medical school graduates specializing in pediatrics as well as obstetrics and gynecology. We continue to explore other collaborative opportunities to help us improve care and meet the needs of patients throughout the region and state.

At UF Health, we are engaged in improving the health and wellness of our patients and communities. In 2016, UF Health provided more than $190 million in community benefits, including unsponsored charity care, regional health services, donations and in-kind services, education for health professionals and scientific and clinical research. Learn more at UFHealth.org/about under “Social Mission & Community.”

Looking ahead, leaders at UF Health are preparing teams to transition staff, services and patients to the UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and the UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital in December 2017. Patients with complex health conditions will receive inpatient and outpatient specialty care from specialized teams co-located in the new facility. “It’s going to be phenomenal to have hospitals where patients can have all of their disease-specific needs met,” Jimenez said.

On Jan. 1 we began a relationship with Sacred Heart Health System to provide inpatient pediatric subspecialty coverage for The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart. We will also be providing outpatient pediatric nephrology support at Sacred Heart’s pediatric specialties practice. We plan to add support for other pediatric specialties as well. These relationships allow us to improve the lives of even more patients and expand our reach to Northwest Florida and South Alabama.

In 2017, we will open new offices in Ocala and Summerfield for cardiology and orthopaedic care. Cardiology will be offered at UF Health Cardiology at Ocala Heath Brook and UF Health Cardiology at Villages. Both locations will offer general cardiology services, and the Ocala practice features a catheterization lab. Orthopaedics will be offered at UF Health Orthopaedics at Villages, offering comprehensive orthopaedic care, including sports medicine; joints, foot, ankle, hand and upper extremity care; and radiology services.

As NICU III patients have moved into the newly renovated space in UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, NICU II patients will follow close behind. In spring 2017, the final phase of the NICU transformation is expected to be complete — increasing from 12,632 to 20,844 square feet.

The UF Health Cancer Center has been selected as one of 12 initial clinical trial sites to participate in Precision Promise — the first large-scale medicine trial designed to bring promising therapies to patients with pancreatic cancer. The trials will start in the spring.

Our UF Health Shands Nursing and Patient Services teams are applying for our fourth Magnet designation (third redesignation) in October 2017. Magnet designation is the nursing profession’s most prestigious honor for exceeding standards in quality patient care and nursing excellence. Magnet hospitals are known to attract and retain top talent; improve patient care, safety and satisfaction; foster a collaborative culture; and advance nursing standards and practice.

And we have great news from our Finance colleagues: A new user-friendly patient billing tool that will debut in Spring 2017. Our patients will find the UF Health Shands and UF Health Physicians billing process easier with a single itemized invoice and online bill pay that is straightforward and consistent across services.

As you can see, we have much to be proud of and look forward to as we celebrate our accomplishments and anticipate more success and growth across the organization.

“Thank you for everything you’re doing,” Jimenez added. “Everyone’s teamwork and dedication makes all this possible. We are moving medicine forward together for our patients and communities.”