University of Central Florida
08/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/26/2024 07:28
University Unites Clinical Services Under UCF Health Brand
Clinical faculty across UCF provide almost 120,000 patient visits for the community each year, and the university announces today it's linking those healthcare services under a new UCF Health brand.
University leaders say they hope the branding will help the community and patients understand the breadth of medical services they can get from UCF physicians, nurses, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, audiologists and other providers.
"UCF is taking care of our community's health in so many extraordinary ways," says. Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and dean of UCF's College of Medicine. "By bringing these services under the UCF Health brand, we make it easier for our community to understand our services and seek academic patient care."
The rebranding comes as the latest step in the development of UCF's Academic Health Sciences Center, which unites all of the university's clinical programs - the colleges of Health Professions and Sciences, Medicine and Nursing as well as Student Health Services. As part of that effort, UCF will open in 2025 the new Dr. Phillops Nursing Pavilion in Lake Nona's Medical City - next door to the medical school. Eventually it plans to bring other clinical programs to Lake Nona to foster increased interprofessional education, research and patient care. As Dr. German explains, "Whenever healthcare professionals work as a team, patients always get better care."
The university has almost 140,000 square feet of clinical space, caring for patients in Central Florida as well as children and families who travel from across the country to access UCF services:
- UCF Health Student Health Services offers a variety of primary and specialty care services to help keep students at their optimum health. The primary Health Center is located on the main campus with satellite clinics on the Rosen College, Health Sciences, and UCF Downtown campuses. Student Health Services also offers a pharmacy and dental care. "Student Health Services is thrilled to collaborate with our UCF clinical partners to share not only an exciting new brand but also to maximize the patient benefit of all our combined services," says Michael Deichen, associate vice president of UCF Student Health Services, who also serves as the chief public health officer for the university as a whole.
- UCF Health Faculty Physician Practice, formerly called UCF Health, has two locations; one in East Orlando just blocks from the main UCF campus and one in Medical City. Physicians provide academic, personalized care to the community in a variety of areas including cardiology, rheumatology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, dermatology, internal and family medicine, and geriatrics. All physicians are UCF College of Medicine faculty.
UCF's College of Health Professions and Sciences also provides wellness and rehabilitative patient care services to the community:
- UCF Health Physical Therapy Clinic delivers high-quality, patientcentered care delivered by licensed physical therapists and faculty members with expertise in orthopedics, sports injuries, geriatrics, neurology, pediatrics and women's health. The clinic serves patients through three facilities located in Research Park, on the UCF main campus and at UCF Athletics.
- The UCF Health Communication Disorders Clinic provides cutting-edge diagnostic and treatment services to people of all ages with communication and hearing challenges. It treats patients across the lifespan - from toddlers developing speech and language to adults who have lost speech or language due to disease or trauma. The Communications Disorders Clinic offers speech therapy, audiology, assistive technology and an intensive aphasia treatment program, among other services. "Thousands of patients and their families already choose UCF each year for our competent and compassionate providers," says Matthew Theriot, interim dean of the College of Health Professions and Sciences. "Uniting our diverse expertise under the UCF Health name is another step toward making healthcare more accessible to our community and beyond."
In addition to these services, students and faculty from UCF's Academic Health Sciences Center provide free care to medically underserved residents through service learning clinics. These include the KNIGHTS (Keeping Neighbors In Good Health Through Service) Clinic at Grace Medical Home, the Chapman Compassionate Care Clinic for people experiencing homelessness, and a clinic for Apopka farmworkers through a partnership with the Farmworker Association of Florida.
UCF has launched a new Academic Health Sciences Center Academic Health Sciences Center website, where you can find out how to get care at UCF, including appointment information.