On Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007, Shands HealthCare broke ground
on the Shands at the University of Florida Cancer Hospital, a
$388 million investment to bring additional state-of-the-art cancer treatments
to North Central Florida. The 500,000-square-foot facility
will house 192 private inpatient beds for a variety of patients,
including those receiving diagnostic and therapeutic oncology
services. It also will include a Critical Care Center for emergency-
and trauma-related services.
We hope you will support Shands HealthCare in the establishment of the Shands at UF Cancer Hospital. Through the Raising Hope Campaign there are many ways that you can be a part of the history of this facility. Click here to learn more.
In August 2007, Shands HealthCare employee Carrie Dunn arrived at the Shands at UF Level 1 Trauma Center following a serious car accident. Her car was totaled when a driver ran a stop sign at about 55 mph and struck her vehicle’s driver’s side during her 5:30 am commute from Williston to Shands at UF. Dunn’s right foot was nearly severed – an injury that would have forced most doctors to amputate her leg. Her additional injuries included a broken collarbone; fractured ribs; punctured lungs; abdominal wall rupture; and a broken leg. The trauma team performed four essential surgeries within the first month after the accident.
“I knew from the beginning it would be hard, but I also knew I had a ton of support to help me every excruciating step of the way,” Dunn said. She spent five weeks at Shands at UF and seven weeks at Shands Rehab Hospital. She was then treated for several months as an outpatient at the UF Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute.
Dunn has regained 85 percent of the feeling in her foot. Once confined to a wheelchair for eight months, she is once again walking and also driving from Williston to her job at Shands at UF. She and her family insist that she wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for the expert care she received through the team of UF physicians and Shands HealthCare providers.
Shands at the University of Florida 50th Anniversary Gala
Join us on October 18, 2009 for the Shands at the University of Florida 50th Anniversary Gala. We will celebrate Shands at UF with a black-tie gala at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center. The event will begin at 6 PM with an elegant reception. Dinner, program and entertainment will follow at 7 PM. In October 1958, the University of Florida Teaching Hospital opened. Since then, the team of UF physicians and Shands employees have achieved moments of caring, discovery and compassion providing hope to patients and families for 50 years. This legacy defines Shands at the University of Florida, but more importantly, it is the foundation upon which we are building for tomorrow. We hope you will join us for this milestone event. Seats are $150 person. Tables may be purchased for $1,500. Click to learn more about the event or purchase seats.
THE GROWING NEED FOR CANCER CARE