Q&A with the CEO – Ed Jimenez
Curious to know what’s on the mind of our UF Health Shands CEO?
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!

Who decided how vacated space at UF Health Shands Hospital would be filled once services moved over to the new hospitals?
We have a strategic “backfill” plan to use space that becomes available once services move to a new location. First, we assessed what space would be free once heart, vascular and neuro services moved over to the new facility. What’s left behind is valuable space for patient care, giving us the chance to renovate these areas and rethink how we use them. Second, we engaged College of Medicine and hospital leadership to propose for consideration their ideas for how to use the space. We encouraged requests and kept an open mind. Of course, there were many more requests than space available. It’s all about weighing options. Patients always come first in these decisions. We had chairs and delegates present ideas on behalf of their integrated teams to David Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health, and the exec team. We had a lot of discussions and deliberation before decisions were made.
What criteria did you consider?
One, we took into consideration the patient experience and what would be needed to take the existing space and make it contemporary, and to create private rooms and offer a more welcoming environment to support care. Two, we thought about current programs that were capped out of space and were bursting, that needed room to grow in order to serve patient demands. Three, we assessed what new programs there were that may need space. Four, we discussed how each option connects to existing programs and services and fits with the big picture and our strategic goals.
When will we learn more about the services that will fill the vacated space?
Dr. Guzick shared an overview in his “On the Same Page” e-newsletter in December. You can find that on the Bridge (under the “News & Events” tab). Stay tuned for more details as they evolve. It’s an exciting time for us at UF Health but also a continually busy journey to make all these plans happen. We reached the milestone of opening the heart and vascular and neuro hospitals but our work isn’t done yet. The new year brings more changes which will be positive for our patients. We appreciate everyone’s support!
Want to submit a question?
Email Michelle Moore, assistant director, strategic communications, at moormm@shands.ufl.edu and we’ll consider it for an upcoming edition.