Recognition of Healthcare Excellence

Shands HealthCare received the 2008 Florida Governor’s Sterling Award, the state’s top honor for performance excellence. Shands is the largest organization ever to receive this prestigious award since its introduction in 1993. Few healthcare systems have been recognized this way for quality, outcomes and organizational excellence.

The American Nurses Credentialing Center awarded “Magnet” designation to several Shands hospitals and programs: Shands at UF, Shands HomeCare, Shands Florida Surgical Center, Shands Vista, Shands Rehab Hospital and Shands at UF Dialysis Center. The most prestigious national honor for nursing excellence, “Magnet” status is achieved by less than one percent of the nation’s acute-care hospitals.

Shands at the University of Florida earned top-50 rankings in seven specialties in the 2009 edition of America’s Best Hospitals, published by U.S. News & World Report. Shands at UF ranked as the top Florida hospital in heart and heart surgery, urology and geriatrics.

The Agency for Health Care Administration has designated Shands at the University of Florida and Shands Jacksonville as Comprehensive Stroke Centers. These facilities are two of only 16 AHCA-designated Comprehensive Stroke Centers in Florida. Shands Jacksonville received the Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval for stroke care.