http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=539536 (http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=539536)
QuoteShands Jacksonville is now UF Health Jacksonville and other aspects of the UF&Shands health care system have adopted new names to more clearly reflect the system's affiliation with the University of Florida, officials announced Monday.
IMO that new name sounds silly; It seems like the University of Florida is being forced down our throats. We get it already, UF has a large presence here, with all of the medical staff, alum etc. 'UF Health Jacksonville' sounds like a medical plan more than a hospital. Usually hospitals names end with 'Hospital' or 'Center'. How come there's no 'UF Health Gainesville'? Yeah, because the name sounds stupid, that's why they kept it Shands G-ville. I really think that rename was a mistake, Shands had a strong name recognition. Literally no one will call it UF Health Jacksonville consistently, atleast until the next couple of years.
^
I lived in Jacksonville for 3 years before I knew there was any UF affiliation.
However, I agree that the name sucks. It needs a short, easy name, like...Shands. You're dead on about "center" or "hospital." No one is going to say "she checked in to UF," because she didn't. Either people will keep calling it Shands or they will call it UF Hospital. I don't see anyone calling it UF Health.
Considering the state of his career, they should probably call it the Timothy Richard Tebow Memorial Hospital.
It amazes me that someone gets paid the big bucks to rename stuff that no one ever should think needs renaming. Shands, Prince, BljueCross/BlueShield....no one will ever ever ever use their new and improved names.
I guess they don't want the Shands part any more. UF & Shands was already there. I guess Florida Hospital, or UF Medical Center were already taken?? That would have made more sense, and could easily applied to multiple locations. I wonder how much some marketing company (most likely not local) came up with this winner?
It'll take time, but I think the name will start sticking eventually.
^ agreed, noone (besides maybe my mom) still calls it University Hospital.
^Yes, it will catch on, just as "Shands Jacksonville" caught on over "University Hospital" since 1999.
The entire system has been renamed from "UF&Shands" (formerly just "Shands") to "UF Health". All the hospitals are being renamed "UF Health ____". This is to emphasize that they're tied to the university, which they felt wasn't clear enough under the old names. Even the original hospital in Gainesville is now "UF Health Shands Hospital" (keeping "Shands" so the original hospital still honors William Shands).
The Jacksonville hospital is unique compared to the others, as it contains (1) the hospital itself, (2) campuses for 3 UF colleges, and (3) associated clinics that aren't part of the the hospital but are part of the network. Confusingly, the hospital will be known as "UF Health Jacksonville" while the greater medical network will be "UF Heath at Jacksonville". Overall, though, I think this is a good move, since the UF connection wasn't particularly clear, and it's a pretty big deal.
Though I think UF Medical Center Jacksonville would have been better, I agree with Tachale. Everything in life changes. I have to wonder if part of the reason was that since moving south of Orange Park in 2002, I have always been told "oh SHANDS is a horrible hospital", "SHANDS is where the poor souls with no insurance go", and "have a gunshot wound? go to SHANDS". After my car accident in 2010 I was taken to SHANDS and received excellent service, but there is an underlying hatred when people speak it. So maybe this was UF's way of shedding those connotations.
I think I'm ok with the name - UF has a stronger name than Shands, which is strictly local. In Atlanta the go-to hospital is Emory (for research), in Pittsburgh it's University of Pittsburgh, in Baltimore it's Johns Hopkins U Hospital, in LA it's UCLA Medical Center, in SF it's UCSF Medical Center, in Nashville it's Vanderbilt U Hospital, etc.
The difference with all of these, though, is that they are large networks and the primary hub of the university hospital. I was always under the impression that Shands Jax merely had a teaching affiliation and some small research capability with the much larger Shands/UF hospital down in Gainesville, but that overall Shands Jax was more like a Grady - a large, notable public hospital. Even at Grady, which has a standalone name recognizable anywhere, they have affiliate programs with Emory. Nobody graduates Emory med without doing some time at Grady! It's still "Grady" and not part of the Emory Hospital network, which is separate.
To that, it does seem like UF is ramming itself down Jacksonville's throat - they should at least increase their presence/investment in the city to be worthy of putting their name on the big hospital there.
^UF's presence at the former Shands Jax is pretty major. The system now called "UF Health at Jacksonville" includes a campus of UF's Health Science Center, which accommodates three UF colleges (Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy). I don't know about the second two, but the Jacksonville branch of Medicine is treated as its own department in the college with its own separate chair, and it also has the Proton Therapy Institute. I think a big part of the push for the change was that a lot of people don't understand how big the presence is. At any rate, all of the hospitals are being renamed "UF Health XX", and the various facilities in Gainesville are being called "UF Health at Gainesville".
Back in the University Medical Center days there was always the UF connection focused in the Faculty Clinic building.
Damn, I'm old, I remember when it was Duval Medical Center ...
Quote from: Tacachale on June 03, 2013, 12:17:14 PM
^UF's presence at the former Shands Jax is pretty major. The system now called "UF Health at Jacksonville" includes a campus of UF's Health Science Center, which accommodates three UF colleges (Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy). I don't know about the second two, but the Jacksonville branch of Medicine is treated as its own department in the college with its own separate chair, and it also has the Proton Therapy Institute. I think a big part of the push for the change was that a lot of people don't understand how big the presence is. At any rate, all of the hospitals are being renamed "UF Health XX", and the various facilities in Gainesville are being called "UF Health at Gainesville".
Makes sense.
folks it is simple...outside of folks in the know, few people who hear Shands think UF....so changing the name and more closely affiliating the hospital with the university should help elevate both