UF Behavioral Health Hub – Gainesville serves children ages 0-21 years in North Central Florida. We receive consult referrals from participating and enrolled providers in the following counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Sumter, Suwannee, Union, and Volusia.
- Phone: 352-265-2252
- Email: PSYCH-UFBHH@ad.ufl.edu
- Address: Springhill Health Center II | 4197 NW 86th Terrace | Gainesville, FL 32606
Providers:
Andres Pumariega, MD, Medical Director
Dr. Pumariega is a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with over 40 years’ experience in multiple children’s mental health settings, including consultation to pediatrics. He is Professor and Division Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Florida. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Miami. Dr. Pumariega did his psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He is a national expert in community systems of care for children’s mental health, having helped to start many state level children’s mental health programs, including the New Jersey Pediatric Psychiatry Collaborative Program before arriving in Florida. He has published over 250 scientific publications, has over 250 presentation abstracts and has received numerous national awards for his work, including being named to the University of Miami Medical Alumni Hall of Fame (1999). Recipient of the 2024 Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Distinguished Career Achievement by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and APA Foundation.
Sarah Vas, MD
Dr. Vas is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. She is interested in prevention and treatment of mental illness and substance use in children and adolescents, using a youth guided and family driven model. Dr. Vas completed her undergraduate and graduate education at Washington University in St. Louis and her medical education in Manipal University-Kasturba Medical College/American University of Antigua College of Medicine. She moved to Gainesville to complete the combined Psychiatry – Child Psychiatry Fellowship track at University of Florida. During her Child Psychiatry training, Dr. Vas recognized the importance of prevention of substance use and addiction right from adolescence. As a natural alignment to Dr. Vas’ interests, she went on to complete an Addiction Medicine Fellowship at UF. During her Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Dr. Vas continued to treat children and adolescents as part-time Adjunct Faculty. She remained at UF as full time faculty and serves to train medical students, residents and fellows in the Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics.
Dr. Vas consistently serves her community through activities geared toward the prevention of mental illness and recovery. Dr. Vas is fluent in Spanish. She enjoys spending time with her family.
Richard D’Alli, MD, MEd, DLFAPA
Dr. D’Alli is Associate Professor Emeritus in the UF College of Medicine and currently Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the UF Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He has 30 years of experience as a clinician, educator, and administrator in pediatric age mental health programs at four academic medical centers. He received his undergraduate degree and master of education degree from the University of Florida and medical degree from the University of Arizona. Dr. D’Alli completed his residency in psychiatry and fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. After serving as Director of Community Child Psychiatry Programs at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, he returned to Duke to build a multidisciplinary, pediatric age behavioral health clinic over 13 years. He joined the UF faculty in both Pediatrics and Psychiatry in 2015, building a developmental and behavioral health program embedded in the Department of Pediatrics and supervising the outpatient autism clinic in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. D’Alli is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
Youngsuhk Jo, MD
Dr. Jo joined the University of Florida Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry after having completed fellowship training from the same program. He completed his undergraduate and medical school education at the University of Miami and residency at Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, also near Miami. During medical school and residency training, Dr. Jo took particular interest in working with adolescents and young adults, specifically for those at risk of substance use, and has had several projects, publications and posters on this topic. He is also interested in incorporating artificial intelligence in medicine, specifically to provide timely detection and intervention to youths. Dr. Jo’s expertise is in treating patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. In addition to English, Dr. Jo is proficiently fluent in Korean and Spanish. He enjoys traveling, photography, musical instruments and supporting the Miami Hurricanes athletics.
Administrative Team:
Kati Breton, BS, Program Director
Kati received her Bachelor of Science degree from Syracuse University and began working in healthcare after relocating from New York City to Florida in 2000. She worked in pediatric primary care for six years before joining the Ped-I-Care team at the University of Florida. In this role, she served as the Director of Network Management, Contracting and Data Management for the health plan serving Title XIX and XXI children with special healthcare needs in the state of Florida. After 14 years at Ped-I-Care, she joined the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to serve as the Program Director for the Gainesville and Panhandle Behavioral Health Hubs. Additionally, Kati is the Manager for the UF Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Program and works with leadership of both child psychiatry and psychology clinical programing.
Keisha Thornton, MSW, LCSW, Care Coordinator
Keisha has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of West Florida. She has been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker since 2018. She is also a Qualified Supervisor. Keisha has worked with youth, women and families in a variety of counseling settings since 2012. Her focus has been working with children and families in crisis and with those who have found themselves coping with adversity. Keisha has extensive experience working with clients who have experienced trauma, grief and loss, family separation and terminal medical diagnoses. She has provided counseling and case management services to children, adults, and families in a myriad of settings – school, home, hospital, outpatient clinic as a school social worker. Keisha enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, being active outside and gardening.
Stephanie C. Gann, BS, Program Coordinator/Data Analyst
Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida in 2008. She has worked in the healthcare field since 2003, starting in medical records for both a pediatric clinic and orthopedic clinic, then in transcription for the hospital. In 2012, she started as a contracting assistant for pediatric patient insurance and then worked as a liaison for network management, serving the Medicaid population of Florida. In 2019, she joined the Self-Insurance Program serving Florida’s Colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Veterinary Medicine at FAU, FIU, FSU, UCF, and UF as an education/training specialist and database administrator, as well as the data analyst for the Florida Academic Healthcare Patient Safety Organization. 2023 has brought her to the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry to serve as the Program Coordinator and Data Analyst.
Sarah A. Ortega, MPH, Hub Assistant
Sarah received a dual degree in Biomedical Sciences Pre-Professional concentration and Cinema Studies from the University of Central Florida in 2018. Her early background is in the arts, working as a producer and casting assistant for films and television as well as a journalist for the UCF newspaper. However, after graduating, she decided to continue pursuing her true passion in medicine and public health and earned her Master of Public Health degree from New York University in 2024. At NYU she worked as a project manager for the NYU Urban Health Lab coordinating projects with organizations such as UN-Habitat and the World Health Organization, focusing on projects that improve the lives of urban youth. She also has experience running a business in chiropractic billing and working as a clinical office assistant. In the future, she hopes to earn her EMT certification and attend medical school.