UF Health Shands

UF Health Shands is a private, not-for-profit hospital affiliated with the University of Florida, one of the nation’s top 10 public research universities. It is part of UF Health, a world-class academic health center with main campuses in Gainesville and Jacksonville, as well as satellite hospital sites in Ocala, Leesburg, The Villages and St. Johns County.

UF Health Shands is based in Gainesville. It features UF Health Shands Hospital, five specialty hospitals — UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital, UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, UF Health Psychiatric Hospital, UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital — UF Health Ocala Neighborhood Hospital, a network of freestanding ERs, outpatient radiology, laboratory and rehabilitation centers, and a home health agency. UF Health Shands is affiliated with over 60 UF Health Physicians primary care and specialty medical practices located throughout northern Florida. UF Health Shands Hospital is also home to a state-designated Level I trauma center, a Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, a regional burn center and an emergency air and ground transport program.

UF Health Shands has built relationships with care providers throughout the state in services such as cancer, heart surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics, pediatric cardiology, pediatric nephrology, vascular surgery and addiction medicine. UF Health Rehabilitation Hospital is a collaboration between UF Health and Select Medical. UF Health Shands is also affiliated with CareSpot urgent care centers in Gainesville and Ocala and collaborates with other hospitals and health care providers to expand clinical programs and research and education efforts.

More than 1,400 UF College of Medicine faculty physicians on the UF Health Shands medical staff provide care in more than 100 specialty and subspecialty medical areas, from primary care to highly specialized and complex care, including cancer, heart and vascular, neuromedicine, pediatrics and transplantation services. In the past year, patients came to UF Health Shands from all 67 Florida counties, from throughout the U.S.

Accolades

UF Health Shands Hospital consistently earns top 50 national rankings in multiple medical specialties in the annual listings of America’s Best Hospitals and Children’s Hospitals, published by U.S. News & World Report. UF Health Shands Hospital has achieved its fifth consecutive Magnet® designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, the nursing profession’s most prestigious honor, for our outstanding patient care and nursing excellence, as well as our innovations in nursing.

Quality & Service Excellence

Our teams provide comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic inpatient and outpatient specialty and subspecialty care. Nationally and internationally renowned UF Health faculty physicians collaborate with highly skilled nurses and clinical staff and have access to the latest medical technologies, treatments and research findings. This truly multidisciplinary approach is unique to the academic environment. Our patients benefit as we strive to provide the highest standards of quality care, patient safety and hospitable, compassionate service.

Social Responsibility & Charity Care

Our commitment as a responsible, accountable steward of our resources is the cornerstone of UF Health’s not-for-profit mission. In fiscal year 2025, UF Health Shands provided $149 million in unreimbursed charity care (at cost). UF Health Shands Hospital is among the state’s statutory teaching hospitals, and we are one of Florida’s 14 “safety net” hospital systems that provide accessible, high-quality health care for all Floridians, regardless of their ability to pay. According to the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, safety net hospitals represent 14% of the state’s hospitals, but they provide over 50% of the state’s charity care and Medicaid care as measured by days spent in the hospital. Safety net hospitals also provide 60% of the state’s graduate medical education.

Economic Support & Impact

Our health care programs generate a significant positive economic impact that supports our local communities and the state of Florida. The patient care programs of UF Health Shands and the UF College of Medicine in Gainesville result in an annual combined economic impact of approximately $4.8 billion.

Ranked nationally as a top hospital

U.S. News & World Report America’s Best Hospitals rankings (2025-26)

• Cancer (35th)
• Geriatrics (44th)
• Obstetrics & Gynecology (16th)
• Neurology & Neurosurgery (32nd)
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery (39th)

U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals rankings (2025-26)

• Cardiology & Heart Surgery (15th)
• Pulmonology & Lung Surgery (22nd)
• Cancer (36th)
• Neonatology (38th)
• Diabetes & Endocrinology (42nd)
• Pediatric & Adolescent Behavioral Health (top 50)

UF Health Shands Hospital

• Established in 1958
• Regularly recognized nationally as one of the top programs in the U.S. for liver, kidney, lung and multi-organ transplants, based on data released by the Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients, or SRTR
• Designated a Level IV Maternal Care-Verified Facility by the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
• The UF Health Transplant Center is designated a Blue Distinction Center in the area of transplant care by Florida Blue as part of a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association national program
• Awarded Baby-Friendly designation by Baby-Friendly USA

UF Health Psychiatric Hospital

• Established in 1987
• Comprehensive behavioral health and addiction medicine hospital
• UF physicians provide inpatient and outpatient services
• Comprehensive adult, adolescent and child psychiatry programs
• Services include treatment for addiction, anxiety and panic disorders, depression, mood disorders, psychoses and other psychiatric illnesses
• Baker Act receiving facility to care for people in crisis
• The affiliated UF Health Florida Recovery Center, recognized as the No. 1 addiction treatment center in Florida in 2025 by Newsweek magazine, moved to a modern new 5.6-acre campus in Spring 2025. FRC offers alcohol and substance abuse treatment through a partial hospitalization program, intensive outpatient program and outpatient appointments

UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital

• Established in 1996
• UF faculty physicians are available for consultation in more than 20 medical specialties, including pediatric surgery, cardiology and hematology/oncology
• 72-bed Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
• 24/7 pediatric ER provides one-stop emergency care for children
• The Pediatric Cardiac ICU, part of the UF Health Congenital Heart Center, provides patients with comprehensive pediatric heart care, from noninvasive cardiac imaging to treating those who are in need of, or recovering from, pediatric heart, lung or heart-lung transplantation
• Verified by the American College of Surgeons, or ACS, as a Level I pediatric trauma center, one of just 67 in the nation to earn the distinction

UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital and Trauma Center

• Established in 2009
• One of Florida’s five regional burn centers
• The UF Health Cancer Institute, which works in collaboration with the UF Health Shands Cancer Hospital, has received prestigious designation from the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, joining the country’s most distinguished cancer centers
• Features a stem cell laboratory, a bone marrow transplant unit and clinic, 13 leading-edge operating rooms, one interventional radiology room and one OR/IR hybrid trauma room
• Houses the UF Health Shands Critical Care Center, with a co-located adult emergency room and the region’s only Level I trauma center

UF Health Heart & Vascular Hospital and UF Health Neuromedicine Hospital

• Established in 2017
• Two specialty hospitals feature a combined 216 beds (including 120 ICU beds) and 15 leading-edge ORs, as well as cardiac catheterization suites, to provide comprehensive care for patients with heart and vascular and neurological needs
• Accredited electroencephalography center co-located with patient exam rooms, offering advanced neurological testing and study capabilities
• Seven dedicated neuromedicine ORs, including two with intraoperative MRI and two hybrid endovascular/cerebrovascular ORs with the latest imaging capabilities
• UF Health Shands Comprehensive Stroke Center is nationally recognized by The Joint Commission, the American Stroke Association and the American Heart Association as a comprehensive center offering the highest level of stroke care
• The UF Health Comprehensive Spine Center is the region’s largest spine treatment facility, supported by a multidisciplinary staff of providers

UF Health Ocala Neighborhood Hospital

• Established in 2024
• The 150,000-square-foot hospital features 10 ER rooms, including seven emergency exam rooms and one room each for consultations, triage and trauma
• Includes a medical/surgical inpatient unit, 10 inpatient rooms, four surgical ORs, 12 pre- and postoperative beds, and an imaging center with two general X-ray rooms, two CT rooms and ultrasound and MRI suites
• The three-story facility has an outpatient center for lab draws; the UF Health Rehab Clinic – Ocala, featuring physical and occupational therapy; an anesthesia preoperative center; physician office space; and room for future expansion