ORLANDO HEALTH DIGESTIVE HEALTH INSTITUTE INAUGURATION VIDEO

Today - April 29, 2025, marks a red-letter day in the annals of Orlando Health – the Digestive Health Institute (DHI) will be inaugurated at 1305 Kuhl Avenue in the Orlando Regional Medical Center campus. The new DHI premises with a built-in area of 80,000 square feet will house the state-of-the-art Center for Advanced Endoscopy, Research & Education (CARE), subspecialty clinics, administrative and research offices, and educational conference rooms. Orlando Health Digestive Health Institute (OHDHI) was conceived on January 1, 2022, by four advanced endoscopists: Robert Hawes, Shyam Varadarajulu, Ji Young Bang and Uday Navaneethan. In 40 months, to this day – April 29, 2025, the group has expanded to include 36 full-time gastroenterologists encompassing all GI subspecialties: advanced endoscopy, IBD, medical pancreatology, hepatology and neurogastroenterology. The group provides inpatient clinical coverage at six area hospitals in Central Florida, outpatient care at 9 locations, general endoscopic services at four ambulatory surgical centers and advanced endoscopy procedural services at the CARE unit. The editors of two leading textbooks, SLEISENGER & FORDTRAN and ENDOSONOGRAPHY are faculty members of OHDHI. Within a period of 40-months, the group has published 136 peer reviewed articles in leading journals that include Lancet, Lancet GI-Hepatology, Gut and Gastroenterology and have concluded three randomized controlled trials. The group was also instrumental in establishing the United States Pancreatic Disease Study Group (USPG), a consortium of 40 major medical centers in the United States, that was formed to foster cutting-edge clinical research. The CARE team were also first to pioneer the use of artificial intelligence in real-time at endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) examinations of the pancreas and presently the advanced endoscopy unit is the largest center by EUS procedural volume in North America. While Orlando is home to many popular theme parks, clinical protocols for the management of diseases such as pancreatic fluid collections and bile duct stones have been developed by our group and named after our adopted hometown. Likewise, while international visitors throng the recreational facilities of the area year-round, the Florida Educational Symposiums organized by our group draws delegates from all continents and from throughout the United States. To commemorate the inauguration of OHDHI, a celebratory video has been developed and attached herewith for your view. I take this opportunity to invite you to please drop by and see us at our new OHDHI home in Orlando, Florida!

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