Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida establishes center in colleges of PHHP, Nursing
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida has established a $3.5 million endowment at UF to open the BCBSF Center for Health Care Access, Patient Safety and Quality Outcomes. The new center will be housed in the colleges of Public Health and Health Professions and Nursing and will work to significantly improve the health of Florida’s citizens.
The endowment, which will total $6.7 million with state matching funds, was announced Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Enterprise Florida board of directors meeting in Tallahassee.
In addition to establishing the BCBSF Center, the endowment brings both the BCBSF Professorship in Health Services Administration in the College of Public Health and Health Professions and the Dorothy M. Smith Professorship in the College of Nursing and to full chair status. These positions allow for the recruitment of premier faculty members in the fields of health services administration and nursing health policy to conduct research focusing on the nursing workforce, patient safety, and health-care delivery and access.
Through this center, UF leaders and BCBSF hope to address the unique health-care issues that affect Florida’s quality of life and economic viability. Critical issues include access, the nursing shortage, patient safety and medical errors. Florida also faces unique challenges due to rapid growth, the large elderly population and the diverse and international composition of its residents.
“The University of Florida is grateful for the generosity of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and its dedication to improving Florida’s health care,” said UF President Bernie Machen. “With this new center, the state is positioned to become a national leader in health-care delivery, demonstrating that safe, high-quality care can be provided, and that health-care costs can be reduced by preventing medical errors and complications.”
