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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (November 8, 2021) 鈥� Stellar has made a generous donation to UF Health Jacksonville, enabling the health system to build a more modern and efficient incident command center. The UF Health Jacksonville Hospital Incident Command Center assists the hospital in emergency management planning, response and recovery for various scenarios such as large-scale special events, hurricanes, pandemics and other crises.

Stellar, a fully integrated design, engineering, construction, and mechanical services firm, is a long-time partner and supporter of UF Health Jacksonville. The $150,000 donation from the Stellar Foundation helped UF Health Jacksonville to relocate the command center to a more expansive, secure and functional space with improved technology and communication capabilities. Stellar crews also provided on-site assistance with renovating the new space.

鈥淲hen disaster strikes, every second counts, and it鈥檚 critical that the disaster response team has the best resources to properly respond to a situation," said Dr. David Caro, emergency medicine physician and Disaster Medical Officer at UF Health Jacksonville. "Thanks to The Stellar Foundation, the new Hospital Incident Command Center will help the team to quickly and appropriately react to a situation and provide the best care for the community and hospital patients.鈥�

The UF Health Jacksonville Hospital Incident Command Center upgrade was on the minds of hospital leaders long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the center has been utilized extensively ever since, further proving the need for an improved space. The project was a passion of the late Dr. Leon Haley Jr., who served as CEO from 2018 until his passing in July 2021.

The Hospital Incident Command Center, which was formerly located in the administrative suite at the downtown campus, is now located in the campus basement. The repurposed space was an old training area and is larger than what the incident command team had before. The new facility includes upgraded meeting rooms, multi-functional workstations, updated technology infrastructure, and communication tools that allow emergency personnel to better react and respond to a crisis. The team can also meet virtually with decision-makers at the health system's other campuses and communicate with local and federal emergency operation centers, as needed.

鈥淐ommunication is the key,鈥� said Jennifer Silvey-Cason, Emergency Preparedness Manager for UF Health Jacksonville. 鈥淚 know that may sound clich茅, but it鈥檚 huge. Emergency operations centers and federal partners need to know what鈥檚 going on with us and what our needs are to stay afloat during any sort of disaster incident. With this new incident command center, we can now do that better than ever before.鈥�

About UF Health Jacksonville
UF Health Jacksonville is a private, not-for-profit hospital affiliated with the University of Florida Health Science Center campuses in and . In Jacksonville, UF Health includes University of Florida faculty, residents and fellows within the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville, who team up with outstanding caregivers and other employees to provide state-of-the-art services to residents throughout northeast Florida and southeast Georgia. This academic medical center鈥檚 mission is to heal, comfort and educate in an environment where exemplary medical care is complemented by outstanding service.