Moffitt Cancer Center, Shands Healthcare and University of Florida fact sheet

Overview of the Moffitt-Shands-University of Florida Cancer Effort

The burden of cancer in Florida is the second highest in the nation and the multiple challenges that cancer presents will not be solved by one entity alone. Alliances are needed among superior health care providers across the state to personalize and improve cancer care.

Moffitt, Shands HealthCare and the University of Florida believe there is significant opportunity to create synergies between the three organizations by forming an alliance that will be the leader in scientific discoveries for cancer research, treatment and prevention.

This collaboration will not only benefit local communities but Florida and the United States, with the goal of impacting cancer care worldwide.

The goals of this collaboration include:

* Incorporate a Moffitt model of cancer care at Shands and UF.

* Incorporate UF into Moffitt's National Cancer Institute Cancer Center designation.

* Increase integration of the broader UF cancer research enterprise into the Moffitt cancer research enterprise.

* Improve the overall level of cancer care in Florida.

* Increase Florida's profile in cancer care and research in the nation.

* First steps will include the incorporation of all the elements of Moffitt's Total Cancer Care* culture and approach to the patient's life journey and will involve active participation by UF and Shands cancer programs in quality improvement, survivorship and personalized medicine efforts involving tissue and data collection.

* A board-level Advisory Group with representation from the boards of all three sponsoring organizations will monitor the plan for implementation.

*Total Cancer Care: Moffitt's Total Cancer Care is a patient-centered program focusing on the needs of patients and families. It combines information technology, scientific research, clinical treatment and quality of life studies that seek to improve the care and outcomes for cancer patients throughout Florida and beyond. It addresses cancer as a public health issue, encompassing the study of genetic predispositions as patients are followed through screening, diagnosis and treatment, and incorporating translational research at each step along the continuum of care.

Additionally, it focuses on developing a database as a source for the collection, storage, integration and management of clinical data and scientific findings that can be translated into new treatments and combines that data with specific genetic information so that oncologists will eventually be able to tailor treatments to their patients.

Facts About Moffitt

* Moffitt was created by the Florida Legislature to address the burden of cancer in Florida. The institution was incorporated in 1984 as a Florida not-for-profit corporation.

* Moffitt is dedicated to one mission: "to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer."

* An NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center – the only one in Florida that is home-based.

* Scientific programs include Molecular Oncology and Drug Discovery; Immunology; Experimental Therapeutics; Health Outcomes and Behaviors; and Risk Assessment, Detection and Intervention.

* Consistently ranked on the U.S. News & World Report "Best Cancer Hospitals" for the past nine years.

* Established reputation for "translational research" – fast tracking laboratory successes into new treatments. At present more than 200 clinical research trials are ongoing.

* Moffitt Cancer Center consists of:

Hospital with 162 licensed beds and a large outpatient clinic, both focused exclusively on cancer

Moffitt Research Institute that receives more than $58 million in grant funding

The Bill and Beverly Young National Functional Genomics Center, funded by the Department of Defense

Largest marrow transplant program in the Southeast

More than 3,000 employees across four corporate entities

* Patients served through inpatient admissions: 7,261.

* Outpatient visits: 264,533.

* Moffitt is the 12th largest employer in Tampa Bay.

* It is projected that Moffitt will generate nearly $900 million in economic output in 2008.

* The Moffitt Affiliate Network is composed of 17 hospitals and practice affiliations and is represented by more than 400 oncologists.

* In 2007 Moffitt established M2Gen, a wholly-owned subsidiary created to advance cancer research and develop personalized treatments for patients based on the gene expressions of their cancers. M2Gen was established to implement a major research collaboration between Moffitt Cancer Center and Merck, Inc. This collaboration is the single largest and most advanced project relating tumor gene expression profiling to clinical outcomes.

Facts About Shands HealthCare

* Shands HealthCare is a private, not-for-profit health care organization affiliated with UF. It encompasses eight hospitals, outpatient practices and more than 13,000 employees.

* Shands at the UF medical center in Gainesville specializes in tertiary and quaternary care for patients with highly complex medical conditions. Areas of emphasis include cancer, cardiovascular, orthopaedic and rehabilitation, neurosurgery, pediatric and transplantation services.

* Shands at UF is one of the Southeast's leading medical centers and healthcare referral centers. It is the only academic medical center that treats patients annually from every county in Florida, as well as serves patients from throughout the Southeast, the nation and more than a dozen other countries each year.

* The mission of Shands is to provide excellent patient care, collaborate in improving community health, and support education and research in the health sciences.

* Shands includes:

Eight hospitals, two of which are academic medical centers, in Gainesville and Jacksonville.

Four community hospitals in North Central Florida.

Two specialty hospitals in Gainesville.

* More than 1,500 affiliated UF faculty and community physicians representing more than 100 medical specialties provide services in Shands facilities.

* Shands at UF is consistently ranked on the U.S. News & World Report list of "Best Hospitals" in a variety of specialties.

* The Shands at UF Cancer Hospital is a $388-million, 500,000-square-foot facility slated to open in 2009. It will house 192 private beds for a variety of inpatients, including those receiving diagnostic and therapeutic oncology services. It also will include a Critical Care Center for emergency- and trauma-related services. Site preparation and demolition began in April 2006. Construction began in January 2007 and will be completed in 2009.

* Shands' two academic medical centers (which are part of the state's seven statutory teaching hospitals) along with our community hospitals are considered "safety-net" hospitals, providing a significant level of care to low-income, uninsured and vulnerable populations. Shands is one of Florida's largest Medicaid and charity-care providers.

In fiscal year 2007 Shands spent approximately $104 million on unreimbursed charity care. That same year, it also spent approximately $9.3 million in unsponsored community benefit (at cost).

Shands fiscal year 2007 statistics at a glance:

Admissions85,662

ED visits 212,801

Emergency transports 3,135

Outpatient visits 1,189,261

Faculty practice outpatient visits641,783

University of Florida College of Medicine

* The College of Medicine, which opened in 1956, is the largest of six colleges at the UF Health Science Center.

* The College of Medicine strives to improve health care in Florida, our nation and the world through excellence and leadership in education, clinical care, discovery and service. More than 4,000 physicians have graduated from the College of Medicine.

* In addition to a medical degree, the college also offers other master's and Ph.D. programs in areas such as medical science, biomedical engineering, physician assistant studies, the sciences basic to medicine and an Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences. The college has almost a thousand physicians training as residents and fellows in Gainesville and Jacksonville.

The College of Medicine has 2 campuses:

Gainesville comprises 24 clinical and basic science departments staffed by nearly 1,000 faculty members.

Jacksonville is home to 350 physicians and scientists delivering medical care in an urban setting.

* The College of Medicine works collaboratively with Shands, the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center and other community health care sites and other affiliated Florida hospitals.

* Medical faculty are among the scientists conducting breakthrough research at the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute of UF, the UF Institute on Aging, the UF Genetics Institute, the UF Shands Cancer Center and the new Emerging Pathogens Institute.

* College of Medicine faculty have attained national leadership in patient care, research and education related to the brain and spine, cancer, diabetes, drug design, genetics and organ transplantation.

* With contributions from the College of Medicine faculty in the development of new health-related technologies and products, UF ranks among the top 10 U.S. universities in licensing income and averages more than 50 issued patents each year.

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Shands employees Diana Cubbedge, left, and Tammy Hughes tour the Sanctuary of Peace chapel at the Shands Cancer Hospital during the employee open house.

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Student Trip 2009