Shands At Agh

Description

Shands HealthCare is a private notforprofit healthcare system affiliated with the University of Florida and its Health Science Center campuses in Gainesville and Jacksonville The system includes eight Shands hospitals and two homehealth agencies Shands is affiliated with more than 80 UF outpatient practices located throughout North Central and Northeast Florida

Shands is a leader for healthcare referrals in the state of Florida and the healthcare system is among the most respected in the Southeast UF and community physicians on our medical staff provide care in more than 100 specialty and subspecialty medical areas from primary care to highly complex care including cancer cardiovascular neurosurgery and transplantation services Patients come to us from every county in the state throughout the nation and more than a dozen countries

Our more than 13000 employees 2300 volunteers and 1500 UF and community physicians contribute to our excellent reputation and share a common vision the Science of Hope

Shands HealthCares Mission

Shands HealthCares mission is to provide excellent patient care collaborate in improving community health and create an environment that supports education and research in the health sciences

Were committed to delivering essential care to residents in North Florida communities offering advanced diagnostic and medical services for regional patients and pioneering and providing sophisticated treatments that draw patients nationally for highly specialized complex care

Our Vision
Shands HealthCare in partnership with the University of Florida Health Science Center will be a model of excellence for integrated academic health systems and a healthcare leader in the Southeast

Our Values
Our governing values are the principles guiding our ethical behavior everyday at Shands

Accountability

Collaboration

Compassion

Competence

Communication

Creativity

Empowerment

Excellence

Integrity

Respect

Trust

History

Florida Senator William Augustine Shands was born on July 21 1889 His family moved to Gainesville in 1901 Shands and his brothers attended the University of Florida in the early 1900s when Gainesville was just sand roads and a few buildings As a member of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity he played baseball and football for the university during a time when barely 200 people attended football games

He left school without graduating which is something he regretted and went into the fertilizer business in Gainesville After marrying Kathryn Hawkins in 1912 and moving to Alabama he soon faced the tribulations of the Great Depression Doing anything he could to make ends meet Shands eventually returned to Gainesville where in 1928 he created the Gainesville PosterAdvertising Company This became his stepping stone into Gainesville politics

As a prominent member of the business community Shands ran for city council He joined the Committee Charter Commission and was appointed a member of the Road Board in 1929 These experiences led him to return to school to study law to help further his business and political aspirations

After being elected a Florida Senator he dedicated his efforts to enhance the Gainesville community by building a teaching hospital Though initially he needed convincing that such a hospital in a small university community would be more beneficial than one in a metropolitan area he began to diligently rally support for a teaching hospital in Gainesville rather than in cities like Tampa Miami and Jacksonville

Shands described UF as the center of Gainesville and believed that UFs success stemmed from the unified support it received from being located in a small community The University of Florida Colleges of Medicine and Nursing opened in 1956 The UF Teaching Hospital opened its doors on October 20 1958 In 1965 it was renamed in Shands honor as W A Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics