Russell E. Armistead is named chief executive officer of Shands Jacksonville.  He will replace James R. Burkhart, who announced his resignation Jan. 2.

Armistead, who has an M.B.A., has served as associate vice president for finance and planning for the University of Florida Health Science Center in both Gainesville and Jacksonville since 2004.  He worked directly under Davis S. Guzick, senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF&Shands, the University of Florida Academic Health Center.

The Health Science Center includes the colleges of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Health Professions, and Veterinary Medicine. The HSC, which is part of UF&Shands, generates approximately $1 billion in annual revenue, with more than 6,000 students and 1,700 full-time faculty across both campuses.

Since March 2012, Armistead has worked closely with Daniel R. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for health affairs at the University of Florida and dean of the UF College of Medicine–Jacksonville, on matters pertaining to the faculty practice in partnership with Shands hospital leadership. He has led initiatives to improve profitability, managing financial and planning projects affecting the Jacksonville campus.

Armistead assumes his new role as CEO of Shands Jacksonville immediately.

Burkhart will remain with the organization in a consulting role through the end of February.  He’s the second chief recently to go to Tampa – former JaxPort CEO Paul Anderson recently moved to run the Port Authority there.