On Oct. 16, students from the Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy and Public Health & Health Professions gathered in the Health Professions, Nursing and Pharmacy complex auditorium, prepared to tackle health care needs in East Gainesville. Groups of students were assigned to one of four projects, which included:

Students worked in groups on their assigned topic the week leading up to the event to fully research and investigate how to address the topic using technology, education and policy. The day of the event, students finalized their presentations and presented their work to the judges. Faculty judges included Jane M. Carrington, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAMIA, Dorothy M. Smith Chair and director of the Florida Blue Center for Healthcare Quality; Amy Blue, PhD, associate vice president for interprofessional education
in the UF Health Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Affairs and clinical professor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions; and Richard Segal, RPh, PhD, MS, professor of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy in the UF College of Pharmacy.

The winning team for the inaugural Hack-A-Thon was:

Given its success, the Florida Blue Center plans to make this program an annual event, while expanding the student population to additional colleges across UF.