Branching Out

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UF Health ushered in a big change to Northeast Florida health care when it completed its acquisition of Flagler Health+ in early September.

Flagler Health+ operated Flagler Hospital, a 335-bed facility in St. Augustine, as well as dozens of other smaller offices in or around Northeast Florida.

Since the acquisition, Flagler Hospital is now known as UF Health Flagler Hospital, and the overall system is called UF Health St. Johns.

UF Health St. Johns includes more than 1,900 employees, UF Health Flagler Hospital and nearly 30 care sites. It focuses on health care in Flagler, St. Johns, Putnam, Clay and Duval counties. Flagler Health+ has been in the community for 130 years.

In a video about the merger, David R. Nelson, senior vice president for health affairs at UF and UF Health president, says that UF Health offers additional financial and human resources, intellectual capital and innovation to the former Flagler health care system. Residents of the area and providers also will have expanded access to new clinical trials, and providers will have access to additional training programs, he adds.

Another addition for UF Health St. Johns will be a new technology strategy that will include integration of an electronic health record system across the health network and new clinical equipment, Nelson says.

When choosing a potential acquisition partner, leaders from Flagler Health+ aimed to find an organization that focused on quality enhancement, community-focused service lines such as behavioral health and women’s health, and high-quality health care services to underserved populations, among other factors.

Acquiring Flagler Health+ is part of UF Health's expansion, which now includes 11 hospitals. Other recent acquisitions include UF Health The Villages (formerly The Villages Regional Hospital) and UF Health Leesburg Hospital (formerly Leesburg Regional Medical Center) in 2020. 

Tags: Healthcare, Feature