Waste Pro Director of Government Affairs, Dayna Miller, and Rebecca Ipatenco from the Malcom Randall VA Center in Gainesville, FL.

GAINESVILLE, FL – Dec. 7, 2023 – Waste Pro continues its program of giving back to veterans with a recent donation of four laptops to the Malcom Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Gainesville, Florida. Waste Pro’s North Florida Director of Government Affairs, Dayna Miller, was honored to deliver four new Microsoft Surface Pro laptops to Paula Cummings and Rebecca Ipatenco, two Voluntary Service Specialists at the Center for Development and Civic Engagement, part of the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System.

“This partnership with Waste Pro has been fantastic. They asked what our needs were and answered the call to help when asked,” shared Robert Coon, Voluntary Service Officer and head of the department handling corporate partnerships and events. Mr. Coon went on to share that since their facilities’ libraries have been closed, access to information has been limited. “We plan to use the computers with veterans and their caregivers to access information, share critical documents, and stay in touch with experts throughout the veteran’s medical community during treatments.”

The VA North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System is the country's largest VA health care system, with two medical centers, a 45-bed domiciliary, three large multi-specialty outpatient clinics, and nine community-based outpatient clinics spanning 40,000 square miles. In 2021, the facility network served 176,915 veterans and completed 1.9 million outpatient visits.

For more than 15 years, Waste Pro's Laptops for Veterans program has assisted veterans across the company's regional footprint. Waste Pro President/CEO Sean Jennings is thrilled that the program continues to give back, “Waste Pro is founded on a mission to care for our communities, and it is our privilege to extend a hand with these donations to those who served in the military. Many here at Waste Pro are veterans, so it’s a worthwhile partnership we hope to continue for many more years.” Funding for the laptops comes from Waste Pro employees who regularly contribute to the Laptops for Veterans program.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With $1 million in support from University of Florida President Ben Sasse’s strategic funding initiative, investigators at the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute will launch a new project that combines basic and clinical research with artificial intelligence to improve stroke treatments.

Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death and the No. 1 cause of disability in the United States, and it presents a growing health care challenge among Florida’s aging population.

“We are grateful for these strategic funds, which will further propel our multidisciplinary research efforts in stroke prevention and treatment,” said Jennifer Bizon, Ph.D., the director of the McKnight Brain Institute and the chair of the UF College of Medicine's Department of Neuroscience. “This project, under Dr. Brian Hoh’s leadership, exemplifies our mission to build research collaborations among clinical and basic science investigators across our UF and UF Health campuses to improve outcomes and change lives.”

The Transforming Stroke Care initiative will unite investigators across disciplines and colleges who will benefit from UF and UF Health’s exceptional resources, including the HiPerGator supercomputer, the UF Health Shands Comprehensive Stroke Center, the OneFlorida+ Clinical Research Network, and the McKnight Brain Institute.

“We are thrilled that President Sasse has given us this opportunity and the resources to transform stroke research and care for the future,” said Hoh, a UF Health neurosurgeon and chair of UF College of Medicine’s Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery. “As the flagship university in the state, where stroke is particularly prevalent among Florida’s aging population, the University of Florida is uniquely positioned to lead the nation in stroke research.”

By forming teams of investigators (studying all aspects of stroke, from prevention and treatment to rehabilitation and imaging) and pairing them with experts in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science, the project will provide a multidisciplinary learning experience for students. This will position UF as a leader in training the next generation of stroke researchers.

“We need more experts to specialize in stroke research, and the Transforming Stroke Care project is illuminating that need,” Sasse said. “We want this initiative to help create training pathways for UF students to become stroke AI researchers, and that is a critical step toward innovation.” 

UF Health recently became the first in Florida to launch a Mobile Stroke Treatment Unit program, featuring state-of-the-art stroke ambulances equipped with a computed tomography (CT) scanner and clot-busting drugs to save lives and reduce disability. Hoh — who is also leading the Comparison of Anticoagulation and anti-Platelet Therapies for Intracranial Vascular Atherostenosis (CAPTIVA) stroke-prevention clinical trial — believes the new research project will help propel UF’s stroke research efforts to new heights.

“Our vision is to create the top stroke AI research center in the country,” Hoh said. “It will expand UF Health’s reach and impact to patients, clinicians, and researchers throughout the world, and attract the top scientists and faculty for the future.”

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L-R: Alachua Chamber President Mitch Glaeser, architect Paul Stresing, Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper, Tower Hill CEO Kirk La, Scherer Construction President Erik Otte, and CHW President Robert Walpole turn the dirt marking the official start of construction of Tower Hill’s new headquarters building.

ALACHUA ‒ One of Florida’s largest residential property insurers will soon be calling Alachua home. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Tuesday, Nov. 28 for Tower Hill Insurance’s new headquarters in Alachua.

The state-of-the art 65,000 sq-ft two-story building will feature more than 25,000 sq-ft of energy efficient glass and was designed by local architectural firm Paul Stresing Associates. When completed, the facility will house 300 of the company’s 500-plus employees. Tower Hill currently has offices in Gainesville, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Lexington, Ky, and operates in 17 states in the U.S. Anticipated construction completion is planned for spring 2025.

The soon-to-be headquarters for the 50-year-old firm will be accessed from U.S. Highway 441 at Northwest 167^th Boulevard traffic signal south of where the Alachua Publix is located. CHW serves as the project civil engineer and Scherer Construction is the project contractor.

Tower Hill Insurance was founded in 1972 by William T. Shively as a mobile home insurer based in Miami. His son, Bill Shively, now carries on the family business. Bill Shively has long had a vision of building Tower Hill’s headquarters in Alachua on the property he has owned for some 30 years.

When founded, Tower Hill offered only mobile home insurance. Today its portfolio has grown to include residential and commercial property insurers offering homeowners, rental property, condominium, and flood insurance, among others.

On hand for the groundbreaking was Tower Hill Insurance Group CEO Kirk La who spoke of the company’s vision for the property and its corporate responsibility as a member of the Alachua business community. La said that in the face of insurance woes that have plagued Florida, Tower Hill is unyielding in its commitment to the state in which it was founded.

Also present at the groundbreaking ceremony was Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper who included in his remarks that many people know the property as the former home to an ostrich farm. Joining Coerper representing the City of Alachua were Alachua Vice Mayor Dayna Miller and Commissioners Jennifer Blalock, Shirley Green Brown and Ed Potts. Also on hand was a large contingent of the Tower Hill executive team and employees.

Alachua Chamber of Commerce President Mitch Glaeser also addressed the crowd of well over 150 people about the impact of Tower Hill on the Alachua community. Glaeser likened the groundbreaking as a moment in time that in the future will be remembered as a watershed moment marking a turning point in the economic evolution of the city.

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GAINESVILLE, FLA. – Santa Fe College (SF) will celebrate Fall 2023 graduates with in-person commencement ceremonies that will be held in the SF Gymnasium on the Northwest Campus, 3000 N.W. 83rd Street, Gainesville.

The pinning/graduation ceremony for Nursing program graduates is Thursday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. No tickets are required to attend this ceremony.

Students earning a bachelor’s, A.A., A.S., A.A.S. or certificate degree will be recognized at the ceremony on Friday, Dec. 8 at 3 p.m. Students who are walking in the Friday ceremony will receive four tickets each. Only people with tickets will be admitted.

Doors to the gym will close once the procession begins. On Friday, guests arriving late and/or without tickets can view the ceremonies on the big screen inside the Fine Arts Hall. Seating in both the gym and the Fine Arts Hall is provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Everyone should plan their travel routes accordingly. North Road at the gym intersection will be closed at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 7 and 8.

Visit the graduation website for parking information and more.

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