Shands HealthCare, affiliated with the University of Florida Health Science Center, is one of the premiere health systems in the Southeast. Shands HealthCare started as the University of Florida Teaching Hospital in 1958. Affiliated with the research and education center now known as the UF Health Science Center, it was Florida's first academic medical center. It was then renamed the W. A. Shands Teaching Hospital and Clinics after Gainesville's former Senator William A. Shands in 1965. In 1979, it changed from a state institution to a private, not-for-profit corporation taking the name of Shands Hospital. Shands added a network of facilities that included four community hospitals and two specialty hospitals in 1979. The teaching hospital was renamed Shands at UF and included Shands Children's Hospital.
Nowadays Shands HealthCare includes eight hospitals, affiliated UF primary and specialty care doctors' offices, and a growing network of UF faculty physicians and community physicians throughout north-central Florida. Shands has a workforce of more than 9,000 staff, nearly 2,000 of whom are nurses. Its healthcare professionals cover virtually every medical specialty offering a variety of medical services. Some of its services are: the University of Florida Shands Cancer Center that provides options based on traditional treatments and innovative research alternatives. The Shands Cardiovascular Center at the University of Florida offers world-class cardiovascular care featuring state-of-the-art diagnosis and advanced surgical and non-surgical techniques. The Shands Transplant Center at the University of Florida, ranked 19th in the nation, features UF physicians and multidisciplinary teams of specially trained experts in transplant care.
Shands HealthCare strives to deliver essential medical care to residents living in the local communities it serves, offering advanced diagnostic and medical services. It is well known for groundbreaking medical advances and as a pioneer of several complicated medical procedures.