Shands HealthCare offers many unique programs to the various communities it serves:

• Arts in Medicine

  Arts in Medicine has developed a two part model that includes a) artists in residence working in the clinical setting using dance, music, drama, creative writing and the visual arts to enhance the patient experience. b) incorporating the creative arts to transform the physical hospital setting.

• AIM Together
  In 2004, the National Endowment for the Arts funded the AIM Together pilot project, bringing artists on the University of Florida Performing Arts Season to Shands Healthcare facilities for performances and short residencies. Artists from six continents have participated in this initiative, bridging their art forms and the healthcare services provided in Gainesville, Florida.

• Child Life Program

  The Child Life Program was established to help children and families cope with the stress and anxiety of hospitalization. Child Life Specialists at Shands Children's Hospitals are certified non-medical professionals who understand child development and provide interventions in an environment that will support normal growth and development.

• ElderCare of Alachua County

  ElderCare provides services to seniors such as delivering meals to homebound seniors, providing daycare for Alzheimer's patients, and providing transportation.

• Senior Advantage

  Senior Advantage is a free program specificially designed for people 55 years old and older that offers numerous benefits to members.

• Shands at Work

  The Shands at Work program offers local companies reliable health information, education and preventative screenings at the work site or other convenient locations.

• Speakers Resource Program

  The Speakers Resource Program is a free community education service that provides community organizations, schools, businesses and civic clubs with free educational programs presented by Shands HealthCare professionals.

• Streetlight Program

  Shands Children’s Hospitals have been bringing hope into the lives of adolescents for years. Streetlight, a ground-breaking pilot program, will begin to meet their unique psychosocial needs by customizing the rooms of individual patients (which may include items such as posters of the patient's favorite celebrity), facilitating relationships with peers, profiling and preserving their non-medical identity, keeping them connected to pop culture, promoting self-advocacy and independence, and hopefully creating an Adolescent Unit and Teen Lounge.

• Women's Advantage

  Women's Advantage is a free membership program for women designed to enhance the health and lifestyle of women at every age.