Shands.org - Growth and Expansion

Shands at the University of Florida

Shands at the University of Florida is the state’s leading hospital for physician referrals – it is the only hospital in Florida that serves patients from every county. Shands at UF has an extremely high patient census, and our customers’ demand for services is increasing.

Shands HealthCare is committed to meeting this demand. Our plan includes construction on the Shands at UF Cancer Hospital and reconfiguring and renovating the existing Shands at UF facility to build capacity for expanded services to help more patients.

SHANDS AT UF OPENS NORTHEAST FLORIDA’S FIRST DEDICATED NEURO INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

University of Florida and Shands HealthCare leaders today opened a new, 30-bed Shands at UF Neuro Intensive Care Unit for critically ill patients with brain disease and injuries.

The unit, a $9.6-million project, provides neurosurgery and neurology patients access to UF medical experts and the latest technological resources consolidated at Shands at UF. Each private room includes monitoring equipment for round-the-clock assessment of each patient’s brain electrical activity as well as vital signs. Electroencephalogram, or EEG, equipment can detect subtle or non-apparent seizure activity, and brain-pressure monitoring also is available.

The hospital will install a dedicated CT scanner immediately adjacent to the Neuro ICU. The imaging equipment will provide the medical team with fast, convenient access to information about blood vessels in the brain and neck and show areas affected by partial or complete blockages. It will also provide real-time data about patients’ brain blood flow and volume. Additionally, the hospital plans to install electronic systems for records, ordering, remote monitoring and radiology and lab-result access to eliminate paper records and make the Neuro ICU the first entirely electronic intensive-care program at Shands at UF.

The UF College of Medicine has one of the nation’s largest academic neurosurgery departments. This year the UF and Shands medical teams at Shands at UF will provide neurosurgical care to more than 5,000 patients from all over the world.

Other dedicated Neuro ICUs in Florida are located in Orlando, Tallahassee, Miami, St. Petersburg and Tampa.

Shands at UF Recieves Magnet Redesignation

In May 2008, Shands at UF earned the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) “Magnet” status - the nursing profession’s most prestigious national honor for excellence. The facility first achieved Magnet status in 2003.

Six Shands HealthCare facilities in Gainesville earned the Magnet status. This is Shands Vista’s initial Magnet designation. Shands at the University of Florida, Shands HomeCare, Shands Rehab Hospital, Shands Florida Surgical Center and Shands at UF Dialysis Center received redesignation.

Magnet hospitals must meet stringent quantitative and qualitative standards that define the quality of nursing practices and patient care. The application process includes comprehensive written documentation, which is validated by site visits. ANCC appraisers conducted on-site assessments of the Shands facilities from Feb. 18-21, 2008.