UF Health Shands Children's Hospital

04/17/2026

Tomorrow is Healthy Heroes Day!

Join UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, the University of Florida Police Department, Safe Kids North Central Florida and several community partners to learn how to help keep your child safe and healthy through a variety of hands-on learning experiences and safety demonstrations.

Enjoy bike raffles, games and prizes, music, free bike helmets, a bike obstacle course led by experts and the Touch-A-Truck activity where children are given the opportunity of a hands-on learning experience about emergency vehicles and pedestrian safety.

Remember to bring your bicycles!

04/16/2026

With just two days to go until Healthy Heroes Day, we’re excited to highlight our giveaway partners: Cade Museum, APEX, and Balance 180!

Enter for a chance to win prizes from our partners during the event! In addition, nearly 40 bikes and scooters will be given away during the event.

Join us Saturday, April 18, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at UF Health Professional Park for a fun-filled day and your chance to win family-friendly prizes!

04/12/2026

Just 6 days until Healthy Heroes Day!

Join us on Saturday, April 18, 2026, Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at UF Health Professional Park for a morning of bike safety, hands-on activities and family-friendly fun.

Bring your bike or scooter and get ready to ride our Four Seasons course, enjoy free helmets and enter for a chance to win one of 30+ bikes.

04/10/2026

Get ready to ride through the seasons at Healthy Heroes Day!

Healthy Heroes Day is proud to announce this year’s theme, The Four Seasons, featuring an interactive bicycle course—complete with faux snow—for a fun and educational ride.

Bring your bike or scooter and don’t miss your opportunity to win one of 30+ bikes in our raffles!

Join us on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at UF Health Professional Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there!

04/10/2026

Last week, a team of specialists from the University of Florida Health Craniofacial Center attended The American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association’s 2026 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

Our specialists heard from a series of inspirational keynote presenters, including motivational speaker and decorated wrestler Ben Kjar. Born with Crouzon syndrome, Kjar has overcome many challenges and shared his inspirational journey with the conference audience.

UF Health is proud to have an ACPA-approved team, recognized for meeting national standards for coordinated, family-centered, interdisciplinary care. This designation highlights the center’s commitment to following best practices based on expert guidance and experience, ensuring comprehensive care for individuals with cleft lip, cleft palate and other craniofacial conditions.

04/05/2026

UF Health Shands Children's Hospital and the city of Gainesville came together Wednesday in front of our children’s hospital in recognition of April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

More than 2,000 blue pinwheels were planted by community members and several local agencies to symbolize the happy, healthy and safe childhoods that all children deserve.

We thank the Children’s Advocacy Center for hosting this annual activity and all collaborators who joined in this effort.

Alachua County Child Abuse Protection TaskForce
Children's Trust of Alachua County
Alachua County Sherriff’s Office
Partnership for Strong Families
Peaceful Paths
Florida Department of Children and Families
Healthy Families ACUB
Early Learning Coalition of Alachua County
UF Child Protection Team-Gainesville
The Parent Academy
Florida Health - WIC Florida

At UF Health, we remain committed to protecting children. Our hospital maintains a strict, zero-tolerance stance on abuse and leads in prevention, detection and forensic care efforts through our Child Protection Team. 💙

04/02/2026

Get ready for our Healthy Heroes Day, Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at UF Health Professional Park! This free, family-friendly event will feature 60+ community health and safety organizations, touch-a-truck opportunities, a car seat safety check station, health screenings, face painting, a bicycle obstacle course and much more!

Stay tuned for more updates!

For additional details visit, UFHealth.org/HealthyHeroesDay

04/01/2026

Dance Marathon at University of Florida raised $1,152,326.32 this year for UF Health Shands Children's Hospital.

Thank you to the students, ambassador families and staff whose dedication continues to make a meaningful difference for children and families in our community.

03/21/2026

Meet the new clinical patient gaming technology coordinator for the UF Health Streetlight program, Hunter Ross!

Hunter not only manages Streetlight's gaming inventory and Discord server, he also provides psychosocial peer-support groups for hospitalized teenagers and young adults to help alleviate boredom and stress through gaming, arts and conversation.

Hunter joined the Streetlight team in December 2025 and is one of about 80 members in a national network of gaming technology professionals across 70 children’s hospitals.

Read more about how Streetlight supports teenagers and young adults bravely battling cancer here. https://giving.ufhealth.org/2026/03/16/hunter-ross-turns-gameplay-into-healing/

03/20/2026

to Gainesville's popular India Fest 2026, where UF Health's pediatric experts, Dr. Sarah Vas and Dr. Ruchita Kachru, were invited to share information on behavioral health topics like anxiety, depression and su***de prevention in children and adolescents.

UF Health's Pediatric Behavioral Health Clinic is located at our UF Health Pediatrics – Gerold L. Schiebler CMS Center. To learn more about ways our experts support children and teenagers, visit UFHealth.org/peds-cms.

03/19/2026

Looking for a quick treat? Stop by Dairy Queen today, March 19, 2026 and enjoy a free cone! Dip your cone for $1 to support children's health here at UF Health Shands Children's Hospital! 🍦 "

TODAY IS THE DAY! 🍦🍦

Don't forget to when you visit participating Dairy Queen locations. For just $1, you can support UF Health Shands Children's Hospital and help kids in your community get the critical care they need!

03/18/2026

When an unexpected citywide power outage plunged the UF Health Pediatrics–Tioga clinic into darkness for more than two hours, the Tioga team rose to the moment.
Lights, phones and desktop computers shut off instantly— all while physicians, team members and a full schedule of pediatric patients were already on site.

Rather than closing their doors, the Tioga team rose to the moment.

Read how the team continued care for our patients here! https://pediatrics.med.ufl.edu/2026/02/05/lights-out-care-on-how-tioga-pediatrics-turned-a-power-outage-into-a-moment-of-innovation/