Health in a heartbeat
UF Health opens new emergency department in northwest Gainesville.
By Andrew Ragsdale
UF Health leaders celebrate opening of UF Health Shands Emergency Center – Springhill, Gainesville’s newest emergency department
UF Health now offers two destinations for emergency care in Gainesville — at UF Health Shands Hospital and at a new freestanding emergency department in northwest Gainesville.
UF Health leaders celebrated the opening of Gainesville’s newest full-service, 24/7 emergency department July 24, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and building tours. The new emergency department, UF Health Shands Emergency Center – Springhill, opened Aug. 1.
Located on Northwest 39th Avenue one mile east of Interstate-75, the freestanding emergency department is housed in a completely renovated 8,500-square-foot building, retrofitted to include all of the technology and diagnostic resources necessary for emergency care.
“We’re excited to expand our emergency medical services even further into the community,” said Ed Jimenez, UF Health chief operating officer and senior vice president. “Our ER teams are the best at what they do, and this emergency center makes it easier for people in northwest Gainesville, Alachua and beyond to get the absolute best emergency care possible, faster than if they had to come farther into town.”
UF Health Shands Emergency Center – Springhill will be staffed entirely by board-certified and board-eligible UF Health emergency medicine physicians and experienced emergency medicine nurses. The 911-receiving emergency center is equipped with 10 treatment spaces for patients, an onsite lab and diagnostic radiology services including X-ray and CT imaging systems. A permanently stationed ShandsCair ambulance will transfer patients requiring hospitalization to UF Health Shands Hospital.
“In emergency medicine, speed counts,” said Michael Falgiani, M.D., a UF assistant professor of emergency medicine and medical director of UF Health Shands Emergency Center – Springhill. “However, not only do patients in need of emergency care benefit from having a state-of-the-art emergency room closer to their homes, but our faculty and staff have the opportunity to work in yet another cutting-edge ER to deliver expert medical care.”