FSU College of Medicine 2018 annual report 2019 Annual Report | Page 53

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A BRUSH WITH GENEROSITY
Two of the strongest supporters of FSU PrimaryHealth
live four hours from Tallahassee and have virtually no
affiliation with the university. But Syble and Richard Eads
handy. Anytime I ask for anything that our patients need,
they’re willing to help in any way they can.”
This relationship began several years ago, when a family
are close friends of Sherri Swilley, the associate director that they both knew was affected by a loved one’s suicide.
of health and human services in the College of Medicine’s They worked together to create a University of Florida
Florida Medical Practice Plan. And that’s enough. endowment to fund a scholarship for medical students
So in mid-2019, when the med school’s new community health
who were interested in suicide prevention. “The benefit of
center was opening and Swilley was its busy-beyond-belief having an endowed account,” Swilley said, “is that it will
interim practice manager, they did whatever they could to help. continue to give long after the donor’s lifetime.” Later, they
“I have to be very careful what I ask for or what I say we created another endowed fund – designed to help people in
need to help others – because whatever I ask for, they will underserved areas afford such things as prescription drugs
supply it,” Swilley said. “I mentioned: ‘The kids at Sabal and rides to medical appointments.
Palm [the elementary school by FSU PrimaryHealth]
have a lot of dental issues, so maybe we could give them
toothbrushes and toothpaste, because they don’t always have
“Syble had a hard time growing up,” Swilley said, “so she
really values helping others who are struggling.”
Although the Eadses live in New Smyrna Beach,
the money to buy necessities.’ Lo and behold, Syble shows they come to Tallahassee fairly often – whenever there’s
up with CASES of toothpaste and toothbrushes. Same with something they can do to help.
Vaseline – she bought a boatload of it. It’s really come in
Read more about FSU PrimaryHealth on page 33.
A PLACE TO STAY IN MARIANNA
Just an hour from Tallahassee is the small town of
Marianna, with an impressive hospital, an eager-to-teach
community and a surprising variety of medical challenges
for hungry students. Since 2005, up to four of our third-year
students have spent the entire year there.
One thing the Marianna experience didn’t offer was
customized student housing – until now. Thanks primarily to
Jackson Hospital, students will have a four-bedroom, five-
bath, fully furnished place to stay.
Sunshine Health contributed $25,000 to furnish the house.
Badcock Furniture donated furnishings and provided a
generous discount toward the purchase of additional items
from its location in Marianna.
“Gifts like this are so important to us,” Dean John P.
Fogarty said. “They make life much easier for our hard-
working students. And they allow us to do worthwhile things
that we couldn’t afford to do otherwise.”
CEO Jim Platt said the hospital had bought the house