New leaders at Clay hospital and UF proton center lead Jacksonville area's Healthful News
Orange Park native Ed Hubel was named hospital president of Baptist Medical Center Clay effective Dec. 18, after serving as interim leader since mid-June.
Hubel joined Baptist Health, which owns and operates Baptist Clay in Fleming Island, in 1996. He has been president of a sister hospital, Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Fernandina Beach, since 2016.
"Ed’s health care experience and humble leadership style make him the perfect fit for Baptist Clay, our newest community hospital," said Matthew Zuino, Baptist Health executive vice president and chief operating officer. Zuino will serve as interim hospital president for Baptist Nassau.
Earlier, Hubel served in numerous positions at Baptist Health, including assistant administrator of operations, administrator of surgical services, director of patient care operations and service line lead for Baptist Health Orthopedics.
"I am overwhelmingly grateful to be appointed to this position. Having grown up in Orange Park, Clay County holds a special place in my heart," he said.
Baptist Medical Center Clay opened in December 2022.
Hubel's appointment is just one of the recent news items to highlight Northeast Florida's expanding health care industry. Here are some more:
UF Health Proton Therapy Institute
Kristin Heath is the new executive director at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, succeeding the founding leader Stuart Klein who retired in November.
Since 2019, Heath was director of operations at the Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health South Florida.
She is a "talented radiation oncology administrator who has demonstrated a passion for patient-centered care" with key experience in proton therapy operations and professional staff development of staff, said Colleen Koch, dean of the UF College of Medicine and chairwoman of the institute’s board of directors.
Prior to joining the Miami facility, Heath was clinical director of technical services at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy at Texas Oncology and chief radiation therapist at the UF Health Institute.
"I am honored," she said. "The tremendous success and sterling reputation of the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute is one that proton therapy centers around the world emulate."
The Jacksonville facility, which opened in 2006, was the first proton center in the Southeast and the fifth in the United States.
HCA Florida Orange Park
HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital has broken ground on a $3 million simulation center to help train at least 150 residents a year in its graduate medical education program.
The 15,000-square-foot facility will include offices, conference rooms, classrooms, lounges and an auditorium. It also features multiple clinical settings "to simulate the latest techniques in the practice of medicine," according to the hospital.
Residents and fellows in the graduate medical education program are mentored by physicians who are teach them about "exceptional, compassionate care," according to the hospital.
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"Our program is led by an accomplished faculty and set under rigorous standards. We provide extensive training for the next generation of physician leaders right here," said Hope Greig, administrative director of graduate medical education.
Other projects underway at the hospital are doubling the size of inpatient rehabilitation unit, increasing cardiovascular care capabilities and modernizing and expanding imaging services.
UF College of Medicine
Dr. Jennifer Hunt has been appointed interim dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine, which includes a Jacksonville campus, beginning Jan. 2.
Hunt is currently chairwoman of the college’s department of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine and UF Health Shands chief of staff. She joined UF in 2020 after nearly a decade as the Aubrey J. Hough endowed professor and chairwoman of pathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she was also the chief of staff, among other things.
Multiple Jacksonville area hospitals
UF Health Jacksonville, Ascension St. Vincent's Clay County and Ascension St. Vincent's Southside have been named to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for uncomplicated pregnancies.
Using data provided by hospitals, U.S. News evaluated multiple rates, including C-sections, newborn complications, early elective delivery rates and exclusive breast milk feeding, among other things.
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In March, Ascension St. Vincent's Riverside in Jacksonville stopped providing maternity care, citing declining patient numbers and the growth of alternative sites across Northeast Florida, including its sister hospitals in Clay County and on the Southside.
Send area health care industry news to bcravey@jacksonville.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville area health care news at Baptist Clay, UF Proton Institute
