It was another busy year for UofL Health in 2025. From completing construction projects to great stories featuring our patients and community, take a look back at 10 of our favorite moments from throughout the organization.

UofL Hospital West Tower Open for State-of-the-Art Patient Care

December 2025 | The seven-story UofL Hospital West Tower is now ready to serve patients, visitors and the community.

The expansion project provides significant upgrades for patient care, adding new surgical suites, inpatient rooms and a 24-bed observation unit to ease demand on one of Kentucky’s busiest emergency departments. The new tower creates room for nearly 100 more patients and includes the infrastructure to support two additional floors for future growth.

Former LMPD officer Nick Wilt—who was treated at UofL Hospital after being shot while responding to the mass shooting at Old National Bank in April 2023—helped us cut the ribbon marking the achievement.

Read the full story

Deputy Zac Andry in a wheelchair being pushed through a hospital hallway at UofL Health – Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, applauded by a group of spectators including law enforcement officers and medical staff.

Southern Indiana sheriff’s deputy Zac Andry heading home after recovering from shooting

April 2025 | Orange County Indiana Sheriff's Department Deputy Zac Andry returned home more than three months after being shot multiple times in the line of duty.

After being on a ventilator and sedated for weeks following the incident, Deputy Andry made great progress and was doing occupational, physical and speech therapy. On April 9, 2025, he was discharged from Frazier Rehab to return home.

Watch Deputy Andry's sendoff from Frazier Rehab

Wedding ceremony held at UofL Hospital after news of a possible cancer diagnosis

June 2025 | Our team held a wedding ceremony at UofL Hospital after a patient received news of a possible cancer diagnosis.

Sylvia and Doug, a couple from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, had their wedding planned for October, but Sylvia expressed to her social worker it was important to be well for her wedding, so the UofL Health team started planning with only a few days' notice.

Nurse manager Emma Carter said the 6 South nursing team, music therapy, chaplaincy, Metz head chefs, facilities and float pool nurses all came together to make it happen, planning a wedding for up to 40 people. Education nurses even came to cover on the floor so the 6 South team could attend the wedding.

Watch a recap of the wedding ceremony

Jason W. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Jason Smith Appointed UofL Health CEO

October 2025 | The UofL Health Board of Directors named Jason Smith, M.D., Ph.D., MBA, FACS, as its new chief executive officer. With his appointment, UofL Health became the only physician-led health system in the region.

Dr. Smith has been a member of the University of Louisville School of Medicine faculty since 2008, operated as Chief Medical Officer for UofL Health since its inception in November 2019 and has been serving as the system's CEO on an interim basis since June.

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Former UVA football player Perris Jones tackles new challenge of UofL doctoral degree

August 2025 | Former Virginia running back Perris Jones returned to Louisville to tackle a new challenge—a Ph.D. from the University of Louisville.

Perris suffered a serious spinal cord injury against Louisville in Nov. 2023 that required spinal surgery, and he miraculously was able to walk out of Frazier Rehabilitation Institute under his own power less than three weeks later.

Now he's back to pursue his doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development in the College of Education and Human Development.

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UofL Health – Frazier Rehab Institute and Neuroscience Center in Louisville, KY

Frazier Rehab Ranked Among 2025-26 Best Rehab Hospitals in U.S.

July 2025 | UofL Health - Frazier Rehabilitation Institute was named a 2025-2026 Best Hospital by U.S. News and World Report, ranking No. 1 in Kentucky and No. 40 in the nation in Best Hospitals for Rehabilitation.

“Helping patients regain their lives with hope and dignity is the focus for our providers and employees, and we get some pretty amazing results,” said Darryl Kaelin, M.D., Medical Director at Frazier Rehab Institute.

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UofL Hospital Receives Re-Verification from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma

October 2025 | UofL Hospital was re-verified as a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, recognizing the hospital’s dedication to providing the highest quality of trauma care for all injured patients.

Hospitals voluntarily undergo trauma re-verification every three years, and UofL Hospital is one of just two adult Level I Trauma Centers in the state of Kentucky.

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Group of people wearing red, black and white attire, celebrating with a large check presentation benefiting pediatric care at a University of Louisville sports event.

Kosair for Kids Invests More than $3.1 Million in UofL, UofL Health to Expand Pediatric Care

October 2025 | Kosair for Kids announced a series of significant gifts totaling more than $3.1 million to strengthen pediatric care and expand access for children and families across Louisville and beyond.

The largest of these gifts, a $3 million investment in UofL Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, will help create eight new private family rooms designed to improve outcomes for medically fragile newborns.

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UofL, UofL Health receive $11.5M from NIH to develop new immunotherapies for cancer patients

October 2025 | UofL Health – Brown Cancer Center oncologists and University of Louisville researchers will continue to develop new immunotherapies for cancer patients thanks to an $11.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

UofL’s Center for Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy has been at the forefront of exciting developments in immunotherapy, which uses a patient's own immune system to defeat cancer.

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UofL men's basketball team visits Brown Cancer Center patients

January 2025 | Louisville Men's Basketball players and NCAA champion Peyton Siva stopped by to meet with patients and staff at the Brown Cancer Center ahead of the team's Coaches vs. Cancer Suits & Sneakers Game. The annual visit from the team helps spread awareness and lift the spirits of those facing cancer.

Check out more photos from the team's visit

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UofL Health

UofL Health is a fully integrated regional academic health system with nine hospitals, four medical centers, Brown Cancer Center, Eye Institute, nearly 200 physician practice locations, and more than 1,000 providers in Louisville and the surrounding counties, including southern Indiana. Additional access to UofL Health is provided through a partnership with Carroll County Memorial Hospital. Affiliated with the University of Louisville School of Medicine, UofL Health is committed to providing patients with access to the most advanced care available. This includes clinical trials, collaboration on research and the development of new technologies to both save and improve lives. With more than 14,000 team members – physicians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists and other highly-skilled health care professionals, UofL Health is focused on one mission: to transform the health of communities we serve through compassionate, innovative, patient-centered care.

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