Gov. DeSantis to approve $80M for new UF Health Jacksonville trauma center

UF Health Jacksonville.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday he would approve an $80 million budget allocation to fund a new trauma center at UF Health Jacksonville that will be named after the late Dr. Leon Haley.

Haley, the former UF Health Jacksonville CEO, passed away last year in an accident. He was 56. The $80 million allocation was part of a bipartisan effort to update the Jacksonville hospital’s trauma center by replacing it with a state-of-the-art facility to help serve citizens of Duval, Nassau, Clay, St. Johns, Baker and surrounding counties.

DeSantis announced he will approve the funding at a UF Health Jacksonville facility flanked by hospital leadership, family members of Haley, Republican legislators who fought for the funding, and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo. DeSantis said the new facility will help serve hundreds of thousands of Floridians, a fitting way to honor Haley.

“Dr. Leon Haley dedicated his life to helping people and those who knew him were inspired by his leadership and commitment to bettering his community,” DeSantis said. “It is fitting to honor his legacy with a facility that will serve Jacksonville and the surrounding communities for generations to come.”

Grant Haley, one of Leon’s sons, thanked DeSantis and everyone who helped push the initiative forward.

“My siblings and I watched my father work at the ER and the trauma center, and it was really important to him to be a hero,” he said. “I think his legacy goes far beyond just being a trauma doctor or CEO. He taught me so many values and lessons about being a man of service, a man of faith and what truly is a man. It is such a blessing.”

Leon’s father, Leon Haley, Sr., said he was grateful to God for giving the world Leon for the time he was here.

“We are grateful for the love that he had for this city, this hospital, and this community. It is a deep sense of gratitude for us in terms of the resources that were made available to build this new facility named after him and it will be a legacy that I’m sure Leon is smiling down on us about it all,” he said.

The new center will replace a currently outdated one. The current one is heavily used, serving around 125,000 patients a year. It is the only Level-1 trauma center — which treats the most serious injuries — located between Gainesville and Savannah, Georgia.

Linda Edwards, the dean of the UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville, said the naming of the facility is a great honor for Haley and his family.

“Dr. Haley was beloved by the entire Jacksonville community because of his leadership, his role as an educator, an emergency room physician and as a community bridge builder,” Edwards said. “The new center will benefit the community for decades to come.”

The center is expected to be completed within the next four years.