UF Health Jacksonville names successor for late CEO Leon Haley Jr.

Patrick Green, an executive at Yale New Haven Health in Connecticut who has about 25 years of experience in the health care industry, has been named CEO of UF Health Jacksonville.

He succeeds the late Dr. Leon Haley Jr. who died in 2021. Former CEO Russ Armistead served in the interim.

Green, who begins his new duties July 10, has been executive vice president of Yale New Haven Health and president and CEO of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., since 2017. Yale New Haven Health is the largest health system in Connecticut with 30,000 employees and 8,200 medical staff. He will oversee about 5,000 employees at UF Health Jacksonville and UF Health North.

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Dr. David Nelson, senior vice president for health affairs at the University of Florida and president of UF Health, said Green "is a dynamic leader and change agent with a wide breadth of experience in health care, serving in top leadership roles for more than a decade. His leadership skills and strong business acumen, coupled with UF Health Jacksonville's mission to heal, comfort, educate and discover, position us to create tremendous impact on the delivery of high-quality care to patients throughout the region."

Green led Yale New Haven Health through the COVID-19 pandemic and developed a strategic vision focused on high-quality care, expanding service and increasing market share, according to UF Health Jacksonville. He also improved the health system's operational performance and oversaw patient safety and quality outcomes, employee engagement, patient experience and financial performance, according to his new employers.

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"There never has been a stronger commitment to ensuring a thriving UF Health Jacksonville," Green said. "I look forward to partnering with our dedicated team and physician colleagues to further advance the mission of UF Health. Together we will improve the health of the communities we serve."

Prior to joining Yale New Haven, he served as senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer, chief operating officer, then interim president at Centura Health in Lakewood, Colo. Earlier he was associate chief operating officer at Denver Health and worked at UW Medicine in Seattle.

Green's appointment is just one news item in the high-growth health care industry in Northeast Florida. Here's what else has been happening that's not already reported by the Times-Union:

After months of study, Flagler Health+ and UF Health have agreed to "integrate" the St. Augustine-based health system into the Gainesville-based University of Florida academic health center.They expect to formally close the deal end of September after fulfilling regulatory notification requirements and related reviews. Flagler patients can continue to see their current doctors and get the same services they have in the past.

In February the Flagler board trustees and leadership team selected UF Health as the "like-minded organization it wanted to move forward with to enhance local health care services and expand access to care in the community."

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UF President Ben Sasse cited Florida's population growth, particularly in St. Johns County where Flagler is based and adjacent Flagler County, as impetus behind the move. Those counties are among the state's 10 fastest growing, he said."This agreement builds on Flagler's long tradition of caring for the community and positions UF to offer the latest breakthroughs in pursuit of ensuring Floridians can enjoy the quality of life they deserve," he said.

For more information go to flaglerhealthforward.org.

HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital has opened the 24-room third floor in its new $62 million patient tower, which is part of a $126 million expansion project.

Floors in the tower have opened in phases, with the fourth and fifth floors first, now the third. The newly completed space focuses on caring for medical-surgical patients in a "home-like setting," according to the hospital. Next up will be the second floor, which will also serve medical surgical patients and is expected to open in June, completing the tower project.

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The five-story tower's first floor, including the hospital's outpatient testing and imaging services and patient registration, opened in 2019. The total expansion project has brought 100 new jobs to the community, CEO Lisa Valentine said.

"We’re feeling the effects of the growth happening in Clay County," she said. "With this growth comes the need to expand our team, our facility and our services to continue to rise to the needs of our community."

The new rooms are equipped with the latest in digital medical charting, which sync treatments, lab results and surgery details for the patient all in one place. An advanced nurse call system will connect the patient directly with their nurse via the nurses' handheld iPhone and a system identifies and logs each caregiver entering the room, monitors all patient activity and tracks medical equipment.

The rooms also have Apple TVs with advanced WiFi and faster internet speeds for connectivity in patient care as well as entertainment. Physicians can use the Apple TV to review lab results or diagnostic images with patients.

The month after Ascension St. Vincent's Riverside Hospital stopped providing maternity care, its sister hospital, Ascension St. Vincent's Southside, had a record number of births.

On March 19, Riverside ended maternity services. In April, Southside delivered 253 babies, a 67% increase over the previous high mark, according to the Ascension. The hospital also had 230 babies in May, lower than the record number but higher than the historical average.

"Patients in Jacksonville have many choices when deciding where to deliver their babies and their choice of Ascension St. Vincent's Southside is a testament to the exceptional care that the hospital provides," according to Ascension.

Southside offers breastfeeding support, childbirth classes, midwifery services and labor, delivery and postpartum care, as well as maternal-fetal medicine and neonatal specialty care.

A Place At Home, a state-licensed home-care provider that allows seniors to age in their homes, has opened its first Florida corporate location in Jacksonville.

A Place At Home-Jacksonville Southeast serves Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and Saint Johns. The office is managed by Chris Adams, former owner of the provider's Orange Park franchise who has about 30 years of experience in senior care.

"There are many other in-home care providers in the city, but nothing quite like us," he said, citing the company's focus on "customizable care" that accommodates a senior's needs and budget. A Place at Home also is in the process of becoming a Veterans Administration provider.

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