Shands UF Hospitals to Restructure Leadership

The Shands Hospital board of directors has voted to restructure governance of Shands Jacksonville and Shands at the University of Florida so they can collaborate as “sister” entities with parallel roles, each with a direct relationship to UF leadership, Shands has announced.

David S. Guzick, MD, senior vice president for health affairs at UF, president of the UF&Shands Health System at UF, and chair of both Shands boards, says the decision is an important step in the evolution of the UF Academic Health Center and the Shands hospital.

“This action allows a natural evolution of our Jacksonville campus as a mature institution under the UF umbrella, and allows the leadership at the Gainesville campus to focus on our academic and clinical activities there, while still ensuring overall governance and strategic direction from the University of Florida,” Guzick says.

Both hospitals will operate independently, each with its own board. They will have a shared focused on the academic health center’s goals for patients, students and research programs. Timothy M. Goldfarb, CEO of Shands HealthCare, and James R. Burkhart, CEO of Shands Jacksonville, will report to their respective boards, and to Guzick as chair of each board.

UF President Bernie Machen and Guzick are convening a new Shands HealthCare Strategic Cabinet, through which all Shands hospitals and other facilities will work with the UF Health Science Center as part of the UF Academic Health Center. The new cabinet will provide advice on strategic and financial issues before action is taken.

“This change gives hospital leadership and its board the ability to address the needs of the Jacksonville community in a more nimble fashion, and to draw on its resources and those of the Jacksonville community to grow and prosper,” Burkhart says.

Goals include more efficient delivery of healthcare services, improved outcomes, stimulating educational programs for students, residents and fellows, and research that fosters novel discoveries and economic development, Burkhart says.