UF Health Jacksonville broke ground Nov. 21 on the $90 million Dr. Leon L. Haley, Jr., MD, Emergency and Trauma Center.
The new facility will be constructed at the UF Health Jacksonville campus at 655 8th St. W.
It is named after the former CEO and dean of the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville. He pushed to expand the region’s only Level One facility.
“The University of Florida and UF Health want you to know that we have audacious ambitions when it comes to delivering high-quality, leading-edge care to the people in our communities. Only the very best care is good enough,” said Mori Hosseini, chair of the UF Board of Trustees, in the news release.
“This new facility – the first and only Level I trauma center in the region – will be a game-changer for this region and truly a gem for the entire state of Florida, but even more importantly, it’s our UF Health experts who will work 24/7 inside it who will make the true difference.”
The facility is being built with $80 million from the state and $10 million from the city.
Dr. Haley died in July 2021 from injuries sustained after being ejected from a personal watercraft in Palm Beach Inlet. He was 56 years old.
The project will be built in five phases.
Phase one will increase the number of emergency and trauma rooms from 78 to 125. It will expand the existing facility by 35,000 square feet, to include 53 new beds along with new adult and pediatric waiting areas. It is expected to take 18 months to complete.
In phases two through five, the existing 41,500-square-foot emergency room will be renovated and will include new diagnostic equipment, a new radiology section and behavioral health space.
“This initiative is reflective of the continual commitment of UF Health’s expert health care providers to offering the highest-caliber care, with compassion, to all our patients,” said Dr. Steven J. Motew, president and system CEO of UF Health’s clinical enterprise, in the release.
“When an emergency happens, we’ll be here for anyone who needs us.”