Leon Haley is bringing more than 26 years of medical experience to UF’s College of Medicine-Jacksonville. Haley, who began working as the new dean of the college Jan. 1, said he wants to help provide care for people who may not have access to highquality medical services, while also training the next generation
of doctors and nurses. “I’m very excited to be here,” Haley said. “I think UF’s College of Medicine-Jacksonville was a unique opportunity to continue to develop this organization’s growth in clinical care.” Before coming to UF, Haley served as an executive associate dean at Emory University and as chief of emergency medicine for Grady Health System, a safetynet hospital. Safety-net hospitals take care of populations unable
to afford much of their health care, Haley said. After deciding to go into emergency medicine 26 years ago, Haley said he’s dedicated his career to providing highquality clinical care for all. “One of the unique things about emergency medicine is that we see people in all walks of life,” Haley said. “They may be black, white, rich, poor and we learn to take care of everyone as excellent as we can, re
gardless of who they are.” As dean, Haley wants to continue practicing that level of care. “This institution has a unique position of providing cutting-edge clinical care, critical clinical care, but also serving a vulnerable population,” Haley said. He plans to work with Russ Armistead, the CEO of UF Health Jacksonville, to continue the hospital’s work in the com
munity. Armistead said the hospital deals with a large number of uninsured patients. “He has that experience, and it should be just a breath of fresh air for us, and a new set of eyes looking at what we do, and hopefully help us do things better,” Armistead said.
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Leon Haley
