The term “health span” was added to Merriam-Webster in 2018 but is still just catching on in our daily vocabulary. As opposed to lifespan, which means how long we are alive, health span refers to how long we are healthy, which for most of us means free of incapacitating disease. We are so very fortunate here in Greater Gainesville to live in a region devoted to increasing all our health spans by making healthcare more accessible and comprehensive than ever.
In the latest example, a vacant lot in east Gainesville has been transformed into the University of Florida Urgent Care Center—Eastside. Scheduled to open next month, this new Center will feature eight exam rooms, two procedure rooms, an x-ray area and a community room and will be open extended hours and weekends.
What is really wonderful about this long-needed facility is how it came to be, perfectly demonstrating the power of collaboration. The City of Gainesville and Alachua County both contributed $2.5 million of their federal pandemic relief funds to help fund the Center, while UF will be responsible for its operation and maintenance.
And even better, because the new Center adjoins the Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center (GTEC), further development of the area is almost certain. A City-run bus transfer station, a community garden, a grocery store and retail outlets are all under discussion, with new housing already underway. Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Community Resource Paramedicine Program is also looking to locate on the site.
HCA Florida Healthcare is also expanding our options across the community. Construction has begun on the $231 million HCA Florida Gainesville Hospital, on the same site as the recently opened HCA Florida Gainesville Emergency Room. Conveniently located near I-75 and Celebration Pointe, the new full-service hospital will include a surgical services department, a catheterization lab, 60 medical/surgical beds, a 30-bed in-patient rehab unit and imaging services.
Of course, it’s not just our physical well-being that contributes to our health span, but also our mental health and our nutrition. Two new options are expanding those services as well. A $2.5 million extension at Meridian Behavioral Healthcare, scheduled to finish in September, will provide additional nurses, emergency screeners and mental health technicians there.
And an innovative new project from UF Health will bring services directly to those who need them most. With a $500,000 grant from the Florida Blue Foundation, over the next five years, a mobile food pharmacy will travel to east Gainesville neighborhoods, delivering and filling prescriptions for healthy food.
Additionally, care coordinators will work with Uber Health to facilitate rides to appointments and medicine and grocery delivery. And, going even a step further, a cohort of medical students will be trained as interpreters, helping remove language barriers for the 40% of non-English speakers seen at local clinics.
Comprehensive services like these contribute to our well-earned reputation as a healthcare destination, aiding all of us in living our best health span.
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of business columns sponsored by Pavlov Media.
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