A vision for enhanced patient care in Jacksonville is now a reality, thanks to an award of nearly $1.1 million to the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville for the creation of the Center for Convening Transformative Care. The center will benefit patients in the greater Jacksonville region and across the UF enterprise.
UF President Ben Sasse announced the award as part of his program to support strategic projects, using a portion of funds the university received from the Florida Legislature. The university requested the submission of proposals aimed at advancing the student experience and interdisciplinary scholarship.
“UF is helping build healthier communities, and the Center for Convening Transformative Care is a prime example of this undertaking,” Sasse said. “Creating better, more sustainable medical interventions in Jacksonville and beyond is critical work.”
The Center for Convening Transformative Care proposal, one of 163 submissions, was written by Kelly Gray-Eurom, M.D., the chief quality officer and assistant dean for quality and safety at the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. Gray-Eurom expressed her gratitude for Sasse’s willingness to engage colleges across the system.
“This award will enable Jacksonville to translate the exceptional work occurring in clinical patient care, patient safety, population health, and integrated cross-team dynamics into programs that will benefit the patients,” Gray-Eurom said. “The support of Dean Edwards, CEO Patrick Green, and the teams in Jacksonville enable a comprehensive approach to collaboration, and I am very excited to undertake these next steps in advancing care.”
The College of Medicine – Jacksonville, part of UF Health, will receive $1,098,700 throughout three years to establish the center. The plan is to fully integrate the talents and resources of existing groups of UF faculty, clinical teams, and students within the medicine, nursing, and pharmacy disciplines. The goal of the integration is to create robust programs and care pathways, using data science statistics to establish population metrics, social factors of health, and community infrastructures for various health care strategies.
Linda R. Edwards, M.D., the dean of the College of Medicine – Jacksonville and an associate professor of medicine, believes the funded program is an amazing opportunity.
“We’re tremendously excited to receive this strategic funding award from UF. This is an opportunity for the students, faculty, and staff of the three health colleges in Jacksonville to work collaboratively and with agencies in the city to address the health care needs of the community we serve,” Edwards said.
Sasse announced the first round of 19 strategic funding recipients in October, and seven second-round awards were released today. A third group of submissions is currently undergoing a preliminary feasibility study.
In her winning project presentation, Gray-Eurom detailed that UF’s College of Medicine, College of Nursing, and College of Pharmacy in Jacksonville oversee nearly 800,000 patient encounters annually (across two hospital campuses and six emergency rooms). The colleges also oversee more than 60 UF primary and specialty care clinics, home visits, infusion services, and post-acute therapy services.
The center’s creation is expected to enhance care delivery, improve quality outcomes, and translate data-driven results to enhance personalized care for patients. It will also provide students and trainees with the tools and skills needed to increase patient safety, efficiency, and quality of care.
“The Center for Transformative Care will use data science statistics delineating population metrics, social determinants (drivers) of health, and community infrastructure to develop robust programs and care pathways to meet the heath care needs of those we serve,” Edwards said. “It is an exciting time for the College of Medicine, and I look forward to the development of this center under the leadership of Dr. Gray-Eurom.”
Featured Faculty
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Associate Professor
Dean, College of Medicine - Jacksonville
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Kelly R. Gray-Eurom, MD, MMM, FACEP
Professor
Chief Quality Officer, UF Health Jacksonville; Assistant Dean for Quality and Safety; Associate Chair and Director, Business Operations, Department of Emergency Medicine