Around UF Health
A look at the news you may have missed around UF Health and the community
A place to remember
On July 11, a Florida Historical Marker was unveiled to honor the legacy of Alachua General Hospital, Alachua County’s first community hospital. “It’s an honor to pay tribute to AGH — not the building, but the thousands of people who, for decades, provided life-enhancing medical care and compassionate attention to residents of Alachua County and the surrounding communities,” said Tim Goldfarb, executive vice president for regional and governmental affairs at UF Health. “We’re celebrating the doctors, nurses, techs, support staff and volunteers whose commitment, talent and positive spirits made AGH such a special and beloved part of our community.” The marker was installed on the site where the hospital stood for nearly 82 years, at the corner of Southwest Fourth Avenue and Southwest Seventh Terrace in Gainesville. — Marilee Griffin
On-screen science
Thanks to a fantastic Gator rally that spread to nearly all corners of the UF campus and fanned across the state, three UF science videos landed three of the top six spots among 57 entries nationwide for a National Institutes of Health video contest. The contest invited creative explanations of science funded by the NIH Common Fund. Faculty and staff from UF Health Communications, the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the UF College of Pharmacy and the UF Center for Precollegiate Education and Training collaborated to create and promote UF’s three short videos: a film-noir interpretation of metabolomics, an oceanic treasure hunt for new drug targets, and an animated casting call for the next stars of translational science. Nationally, UF’s metabolomics and pharmacy entries were among the five videos garnering the most likes on YouTube. Check out UF’s three videos at www.ctsi.ufl.edu/videos. — Alexandra Mills
Get vaccinated for the flu by Nov. 15
Flu is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S., resulting in approximately 36,000 deaths and 226,000 hospitalizations annually. Health care workers infected with influenza have been the cause of outbreaks of the disease in hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. Because of the responsibility health care workers bear to protect the patients they serve, UF Health is introducing mandatory flu vaccination or a formal opt-out/mask process in areas where care is provided to patients. The mandatory flu vaccination or formal opt-out/mask process applies to individuals who provide service in any UF Health Shands, UF College of Medicine and UF Health Physicians facilities, and UF College of Dentistry facilities and programs. This includes UF Health Science Center college and institute physicians; residents and clinical providers; UF Health Shands employees; UF Health Physicians employees; credentialed medical staff and allied health staff; students; trainees; and volunteers. These UF Health individuals are expected to be vaccinated against the flu by Nov. 15. For employees of UF Health Shands and UF Health Physicians, and UF College of Medicine physicians and allied health providers on our medical staffs, vaccination is available through UF Health Shands Occupational Health at no cost. All other UF Health faculty, staff and students can obtain the vaccination for free from the UF Student Health Care Center during on-site vaccination events at UF Health. Visit the Flu Central page on the UF Health Bridge portal at bridge.UFHealth.org for full details and to view an updated schedule of flu vaccination events across UF Health.