UF Health Jacksonville CEO remembered as a family man & proud father of 3

Dr. Haley was begetter of three

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – UF Health Jacksonville CEO Dr. Leon Haley Jr., who died this play successful a idiosyncratic watercraft mishap successful South Florida, was much than conscionable the antheral who ran the ample infirmary and aesculapian group.

News4Jax learned helium was besides a arrogant begetter of 3 children. One of his children, Grant Haley, is simply a cornerback for the New Orleans Saints. He has 2 different children, Nichelle and Wesley.

Dr. Haley, 56, made an contiguous interaction successful Jacksonville aft taking implicit UF Health Jacksonville successful 2018, but helium didn’t primitively commencement retired dreaming of a occupation successful medicine. He studied astatine the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and an article from Pitt Med states that increasing up successful Pittsburgh, Dr. Haley “dreamed of becoming the archetypal African American sportscaster connected web television.”

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“But that changed erstwhile I mixed hoops with a trampoline,” helium told the mag successful 2017.

Dr. Haley yet went to enactment astatine Grady Memorial Hospital successful Atlanta earlier becoming the CEO of UF Health Jacksonville. People who worked with Haley said helium was benignant to everyone.

“I haven’t met idiosyncratic who’s specified a consummate nonrecreational but could personally link with each azygous idiosyncratic helium met,” said Chad Neilsen, UF Health Jacksonville manager of accreditation and corruption prevention, who worked wth Dr. Haley. “You would ne'er spot him without a grin connected his face.”

Neilsen described Dr. Haley arsenic a household antheral who was precise arrogant of his 3 children.

“We each knew him. We knew his lad played for the New York Giants, and present his lad is simply a subordinate for the New Orleans Saints. He’s got different daughters, 1 plays volleyball astatine college,” Neilsen said. “We knew him. He was 1 of us.”

Agape Health CEO Mia Jones knew Dr. Haley well, saying that erstwhile helium moved to Jacksonville, helium instantly ingratiated himself with the community.

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“He was a subordinate of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, truthful helium had fraternity brothers that were here, that helium could easy link with,” Jones said. “He was a subordinate of the aesculapian society, truthful helium had aesculapian professionals crossed the state that helium was connecting with.”

Haley was besides precise progressive with getting backing for assemblage wellness needs, and Agape Health was 1 of the organizations that helium worked intimately with.

“He was decidedly 1 that was not an introvert by immoderate means,” Jones said. “So helium could locomotion into a country and consciousness comfortable, lasting flat-footed, letting himself cognize wherefore helium was present and what helium wanted to do.”

There are inactive ongoing discussions of ceremonial arrangements. It’s unclear whether his ceremonial volition instrumentality spot successful Jacksonville oregon Pittsburgh. If the work is held successful Pittsburgh, UF Health Jacksonville told News4Jax that it volition apt clasp a memorial successful Jacksonville.

News4Jax has reached retired to Dr. Haley’s family, which includes his 3 children, to spot if they privation to accidental thing publically astir their father.

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