Division of Hospital Medicine

Welcome to the Division of Hospital Medicine

The Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Florida is committed to providing excellent, timely, and compassionate care. As specialists in Hospital Medicine we are also committed to improving quality and safety in the systems we work within. Toward that end we have diversified our division services as described below:

• Intermediate Care and Floor Services

  Medical Directors: Dr. Kiran Lukose (Floors) and Dr. Raul Perez (IMC)

  The IMC and floors are where we care for the majority of our 170+ patient panel. These services along with AOD1 (see below) are required services for all Hospitalists whereas all other services are optional. We station 2 Hospitalists in the IMC, 5 on our home units (units 74 and 75) and 3 Hospitalists serve as “scatter.” One of the scatter lines plays a unique role for the institution: Our CV Hospitalist Service provides and coordinates care with our Cardiology Consult Service and CV Surgical Services.

• Teaching Services

  Medical Director: Dr. Nila Radhakrishnan

  We have two formal teaching services. The first is the Green Medicine Teaching Service which shares call with three other general medicine teaching services. Here the Hospitalist attending supervises two upper level internal medicine residents with a team cap of 20 patients. Dr. Nila Radhakrishnan also directs our Medicine Consult/Co-Management Service which now also harbors a Procedure Service. Here the Hospitalist supervises a medicine resident in the delivery of general medicine consultations including pre-operative evaluations. The Hospitalist also provides co-management services with Orthopedics and Urology. The teaching services described above are popular among Hospitalists and are available after their first 6 months of employment. Hospitalists provide teaching to medical students also as well as formal didactic curriculum to the residents about High Value Care.

• AOD

  Medical Director: Dr. Umar Ghaffar

  We have a unique relationship with our Emergency Medicine colleagues maintained by the presence of the Hospitalist Admitting Officer of the Day (AOD1). Ten percent of each Hospitalists shifts are worked as AOD1. This Hospitalist along with the Resident AOD are stationed in the ED and serve as the “air traffic controllers” for the 60+ admissions that come to the inpatient medicine services each day from the ED. Together the AODs receive and assess patients from ED providers, facilitate their early care, and decide their disposition. We also provide a Hospitalist AOD2 swing shift (2 PM – 2 AM) which supports this mission.

• Palliative Care

  Palliative Care Division Chief: Dr. Sheri Kittelson

  Founded in 2014 by Dr. Sheri Kittelson we are extremely proud to host a full time inpatient Palliative Care Service. Staffed by an Attending, 2 extenders, and a social worker this growing and dynamic service brings the expertise and comfort of Palliative Care to patients across the institution.

• Care One Clinic

  Medical Director: Dr. Kiran Lukose

  Founded in 2012, this unique clinic assists those patients who find themselves in our ED or Hospital on a regular basis. Staffed by a Hospitalist, Social Worker, Pharmacist and Addiction Medicine physician, this clinic has reduced hospital utilization by 30% for these clients. Opened throughout the week and just a few floors down from our home unit, this is the one ambulatory venue available for our Hospitalists. Dr. Lukose takes great care in offering this essential service to our most vulnerable patients.

• Select LTACH

  We provide a hospitalist line at this LTACH, which is housed within UF Health. Our presence there facilitates the smooth hand-off of some of our most complex patients to their next stage of care. Select adds variety to the schedule and is a change from the university hospital.

• Night Team

  Medical Director Dr. Carlos Leon

  At our 900 bed tertiary care center the activity continues 24 hours daily and our Hospitalists play an integral role in providing and coordinating the care which occurs at night. We have three faculty in-house at night – two admitting Nocturnists in the ED (night AODs) and an IMC Nocturnist who cares for our IMC patients but also assists with hospital transfer admissions and oversees night cross cover physicians - we employ one North and one South Tower cross-cover physician which are generally filled by moonlighting residents. The teaching services also provide night resident coverage and the Hospitalists serve as faculty resource for them as well. Of note, to date we have been fortunate to have enough Hospitalists interested in working nights that we have not needed daytime Hospitalists to rotate nights. However, in the future if we could not procure full nighttime coverage, daytime hospitalists would be called upon to contribute night shifts.