Mirta Aguilar-Ragbir is a passionate pulmonary nurse practitioner with
Tampa General Hospital Pulmonary Care & Sleep Institute
Atlantis, Fla. – December 29, 2025 – The Nurse Practitioner Council of Palm Beach County (NPCPBC) recently honored Mirta Aguilar-Ragbir, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, RRT, as its 2025 Nurse Practitioner of the Year. Aguilar-Ragbir is a longtime pulmonary nurse practitioner with Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Pulmonary Care & Sleep Institute, whose passion for lung and respiratory care spans nearly 30 years.
The Nurse Practitioner of the Year award recognizes a superior nurse practitioner in Palm Beach County who makes significant contributions to advancing the awareness and recognition of nurse practitioners, as well as to nonclinical initiatives such as leadership, precepting, policy, politics, research, education or community affairs. The award is presented at the NPCPBC’s annual conference.
For Aguilar-Ragbir, who was serving as chair of the 2025 conference, the recognition came as a complete surprise.
“I was speechless,” she said. “I was already on stage. When they began describing the winner, I realized they were talking about me. I was humbled and honored to receive this recognition from my peers.”
According to a nomination submitted by a colleague, Aguilar-Ragbir is deeply committed to mentoring other nurse practitioners while continuing to advance her own pulmonary knowledge and clinical skill set. Regardless of how busy her schedule is, she takes the time to answer questions and help solve problems.
Aguilar-Ragbir has worked in lung and respiratory care for 29 years, beginning her career as a registered respiratory therapist in 1997. After earning her Master of Science in Nursing – Family Nurse Practitioner from Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri, she worked briefly in nephrology before returning to pulmonology – a specialty she describes as both professional and personal.
“I grew up in a family of asthmatics,” said Aguilar-Ragbir, who was born and raised in Belize, Central America, before immigrating to the United States to attend college. “As someone with asthma and sleep apnea, I feel I have a special understanding of what patients are experiencing.”
Since 2018, Aguilar-Ragbir has cared for patients at TGH Pulmonary Care & Sleep Institute, which provides advanced treatment for pulmonary, sleep and critical care conditions. The practice joined Tampa General Hospital’s growing network in 2024, increasing access to academic-based medicine for patients in the Palm Beaches and on the Treasure Coast.
“Mirta is a talented, knowledgeable and compassionate provider,” said Dr. Carlos Sanchez, a pulmonologist with TGH Pulmonary Care & Sleep Institute. “I’ve worked with her for many years when she was a respiratory therapist. When I learned she became a nurse practitioner, I knew she’d be an excellent addition to our practice. She is great with patients and an invaluable team member.”
About Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital, the Tampa Bay region’s only academic health system, is a 1,529-bed not-for-profit network of hospital and outpatient services spanning across Florida. As the only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care center serving 23 counties, Tampa General delivers world-class care. The system’s hospitals include Tampa General Hospital, Tampa General Rehabilitation Hospital, Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, all in Tampa; Tampa General Brooksville, Tampa General Spring Hill, and Tampa General Crystal River. Tampa General is the highest-ranked hospital in Tampa Bay in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best Hospitals, with six medical specialties ranking among the top 50 in the nation and five additional medical specialties ranked among the top 10% best hospital programs in the United States. As the first hospital in Florida to open a clinical command center for real-time situational awareness, the academic health system has elevated its digital care coordination center to the next level by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and its analytics platform across inpatient and outpatient care to ensure patients receive leading-edge care as quickly and safely as possible. Tampa General’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings — in the 2025 America’s Best Large Employers, ranked as the Tampa Bay region’s #1 employer in the health care category for the fifth year in a row, and among the top five in the state of Florida, in the 2025 Best Employers by State and the 2023 America’s Best Employers for Women.
Tampa General is the area’s safety-net hospital, caring for anyone regardless of ability to pay; in fiscal year 2024, Tampa General provided a net community benefit of approximately $289.1 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It was the nation’s No. 1 adult solid organ transplant center in 2024 and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General transports critically injured or ill patients from surrounding counties to receive the advanced care their conditions require. Tampa General has a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It is home to the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General’s footprint includes TGH North, which consists of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties; 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices; TGH Family Care Center Kennedy; two TGH outpatient centers; TGH Virtual Health; and 19 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care, powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). For more information, go to www.tgh.org.
