Orlando Health Donates $500,000 to FSU College of Medicine

Today, Orlando Health announced a $500,000 donation to support the Florida State University College of Medicine’s Orlando program. The contribution reinforces the organization’s long-term commitment to medical education and to working with the university.

“Medical education is critically important in the training of tomorrow’s physicians,” said Jamal Hakim, MD, chief operating officer for Orlando Health. “Teaching medical school students and residents who have already graduated from medical school has been, and will continue to be, one of our core missions. We are proud to have partnered with FSU in this mission since 2002.”

“Orlando Health has been an incredible partner with a superb teaching environment,” said John Thrasher, president, Florida State University. “This gift will be invested locally to support the kind of medical education that leads many of our students to become practicing physicians caring for patients throughout the Orlando community and, in many cases, to work for Orlando Health as part of its next generation of physicians.”

Since FSU College of Medicine’s first graduating class in 2005 to the present, more FSU College of Medicine graduates have chosen to do their residency training at Orlando Health than at any other teaching institution in the nation. Currently, nearly 50 FSU College of Medicine alumni physicians practice in the Orlando area. Twelve serve as medical education faculty with FSU and nine are practicing physicians who care for patients at Orlando Health facilities.

The FSU College of Medicine opened in 2000 with a unique model. Instead of building its own teaching hospital, FSU medical students were sent into communities across the state for their clinical education during the third and fourth years of medical school. An increasing number of medical schools are now recognizing the benefits of this community-based education model, which enables students to learn at facilities in communities where the majority of patients receive their health care.

Orlando Health has been committed to medical education for 90 of its nearly 100 years. In 1926, Orange Memorial – the predecessor to Orlando Health – accepted its first intern. In 1951 the organization was designated a statutory teaching hospital in the State of Florida, making it one of the first in the state. Since then, Orlando Health has graduated thousands of residents and provided clinicals for hundreds of third- and fourth-year medical school students.

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health is a $2.6 billion not-for-profit health care organization and a community-based network of
physician practices, hospitals, and outpatient care centers throughout Central Florida. The organization is home to the area’s only Level One Trauma Centers for adults and pediatrics and is a statutory teaching hospital system that offers both specialty and community hospitals. More than 2,000 physicians have privileges at Orlando Health, which is also one of the area’s largest employers with more than 18,000 employees who serve nearly 2 million Central Florida residents and more than 4,500 international patients annually. Additionally, Orlando Health provides more than $204 million in support of community health needs. More information can be found at www.orlandohealth.com.


# # #