UHealth - the University of Miami Health System - a New Name for 56-Years of Quality, Comprehensive Health Care

With celebratory and educational events at the Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Hospital, UM officially launched the University of Miami Health System, also known as UHealth, the new name covering South Florida's only comprehensive network of university-based medical entities and a national brand that signifies the best in modern health care.

Launch events held at the University of Miami Hospital and at the Miller School in March were aimed at educating physicians and staff about all aspects of UHealth and informing them how critically important they are to the new brand that's been in the making since 1952, the year the medical school opened as the first in Florida.

Since then, the medical school has morphed into a powerhouse institution, nationally known for its cutting-edge research and educated health care, qualities that are the foundation of the new, comprehensive University of Miami Health System.

UHealth consists of the University of Miami Hospital, a 560-bed, all-private-rooms, acute care hospital acquired by the University in December, and two other university hospitals - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Additionally, there are three major UHealth affiliated institutions, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Holtz Children's Hospital and Miami VA Medical Center; as well as more than two dozen outpatient facilities.

"UHealth represents a new era in medical care for the citizens of South Florida, integrating an academic health delivery system that combines world-class clinical research, outstanding physicians and hospital services under one roof," said William O'Neill, M.D., executive dean for clinical affairs who took time out to greet attendees at Tuesday's event. "This is a major boost for health care in the community."

Michele Chulick, associate vice president and director of hospital operations, who was on hand for events, says UHealth is "the launch of an incredible opportunity."

"It's really a consolidation of superior health care services from outstanding providers in South Florida," said Chulick. "We're bringing all the incredible services University of Miami physicians can offer under one brand."

An estimated 7,000 Miller School and UM Hospital physicians, staff and medical students streamed through the "Welcome to UHealth Centers," a tent pitched on the Schoninger Research Quadrangle at the medical school, and the hospital's seminar center.

Employees said they were elated about the launch of UHealth and the path it has prescribed for the Miller School to play an even greater role in the region's health care. "UHealth is a terrific innovation and it's in keeping with the mission of the University of Miami to always be forward-thinking and on the cutting edge of new ways to extend excellent heath care to more people," said researcher Deborah Jones, Ph.D., who attended the launch event with several of her Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences colleagues. "This is designed to allow more people to access health care from the University. This is a big, important step for UM."

Janet George, a 10-year food services division employee at UM Hospital, was all smiles as she posed for photos with colleagues in the seminar center. George is a UHealth brand ambassador and one of "the faces of UHealth," staff and physicians who, along with Dean Goldschmidt, appear in the educational video and on other launch materials explaining the integrated University of Miami Health System.

"I consider this a privilege," George said. "The plan for UHealth is outstanding and I am glad to be part of it."