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Advanced Kidney Care has partnered with Tampa General Hospital to provide world-class care for kidney disease, hypertension and related disorders.

July 12, 2022 Advanced Kidney Care, which has been delivering high-quality nephrology services to Palm Beach County for more than 30 years, has partnered with Tampa General Hospital (TGH) as part of the academic medical center’s initiative to serve more patients across the state. The new affiliation will be known as TGH Advanced Kidney Care.

TGH Advanced Kidney Care is staffed by four of Palm Beach County’s top board-certified nephrologists: David Amrose, M.D.; Imtiaz Ather, D.O.; James Mullen, M.D.; and Kerim Oncu, D.O. The practice will continue serving patients from its locations in Jupiter and West Palm Beach, and is now matched with the world-class resources and specialists at Tampa General, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. TGH Advanced Kidney Care will be an integral part of connecting more residents in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast communities to the complex kidney care they need.

“This alignment will help us elevate the kidney care we provide by leveraging the tremendous resources that Tampa General can offer,” said Dr. David Amrose, nephrologist and managing partner with TGH Advanced Kidney Care. “We are thrilled to work with a renowned institution that is committed to delivering the highest quality in medical care.”

For the last two years, Tampa General has been creating a framework of state-of-the-art services for patients in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast areas with the expertise and innovation of a preeminent academic medical center. The Florida East Coast initiative includes alliances with Cancer Center of South Florida and Gastro Group of the Palm Beaches. Last fall, the hospital established TGH General Surgeons of the Palm Beaches, and opened the area’s first Tower Radiology location, a PET/CT imaging center. The TGH Cancer Institute also recently partnered with West Palm Beach-based physicians – thoracic surgical oncologist, Dr. Robert Scoma and Dr. Jason Hechtman, a surgeon specializing in the treatment of breast cancer and breast diseases.

“Our partnership with TGH Advanced Kidney Care is the next step in expanding access to highly complex care for Palm Beach and Treasure Coast residents,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. “Together with the physicians of Advanced Kidney Care, we will work to ensure that patients can receive the same level of clinically excellent, compassionate care they have come to rely upon and expect, and be directly connected to leading-edge procedures and research protocols as needed to deliver the optimum outcomes for our patients.”

Patients who need a higher level of care have a direct connection to Tampa General’s academic medical center resources through its affiliation with USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, including research breakthroughs, a wider variety of clinical trials and options for advanced immunotherapy procedures, enhanced personal treatment plans, and a convenient path to complex surgeries.

Tampa General Hospital has been affiliated with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine since the school was created in the early 1970s. Tampa General Hospital is the primary teaching affiliate of the University of South Florida medical school and over 300 residents are assigned to Tampa General Hospital for specialty training in areas ranging from general internal medicine to neurosurgery. In addition, USF medical, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy students all receive part of their training at Tampa General. Faculty of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine admit and care for patients at Tampa General as do private practice physicians, many of whom also serve as adjunct clinical faculty at USF.

Patients who receive more complex procedures or treatment at Tampa General will be able to follow up with their local physician on the East Coast upon returning home.

Through a patient-centered, comprehensive approach, TGH Advanced Kidney Care’s nephrologists diagnose and treat all aspects of kidney disease, with the ultimate goal of preserving kidney function and overall health. TGH Advanced Kidney Care follows National Kidney Foundation Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (NKF-KDOQI) guidelines to provide a level of care of the highest standards. Together, the doctors have produced numerous articles and presentations, and earned several honors and awards.

TGH Advanced Kidney Care’s practice treats a number of kidney-related disorders, including , chronic kidney disease, hypertension, electrolyte disturbance, diabetic kidney disease, acute kidney injury, kidney transplant aftercare and all modalities of dialysis: home peritoneal, home hemodialysis and in-center hemodialysis.

“Our goal is to provide patients with the most advanced, comprehensive, compassionate and personalized care possible,” said Amrose. “Partnering with Tampa General will ensure we are providing world-class kidney care, including access to one of the country’s top transplant institutes.”

Tampa General has long been a leader in kidney care. The academic medical center performed its first kidney transplant in 1974. Since then, its Kidney Transplant Center (one of five centers in TGH’s Transplant Institute) has performed over 5,300 kidney transplants, earning Tampa General the rank of No. 3 in the nation by volume. Tampa General also has the No. 1 living donor kidney transplant program in the state for three consecutive years. Multidisciplinary teams within TGH’s Transplant Institute consist of medical specialists including Kidney Transplant surgeons through Tampa General Medical Group and Transplant Nephrologists from Florida Kidney Physicians, social workers, financial counselors and care coordinators who work together with patients to ensure they are prepared before, during and after surgery for the best possible outcomes.

TGH Advanced Kidney Care will remain in Jupiter at 4425 Military Trail, Suite 212, as well as in West Palm Beach at 1500 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 100. The group’s affiliation with Tampa General is anticipated to be a seamless transition for patients, not requiring them to make any changes in care. Insurance, co-payments, and electronic medical records will remain the same. Patients who have questions about the new alliance and the wide array of new services are encouraged to call TGH Advanced Kidney Care at 561-721-1112.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL 

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,041-bed, not-for-profit, academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-22 Best Hospitals, and one of the top four hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic medical center’s commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious 2021 Forbes magazine rankings – America’s Best Employers by State, third out of 100 Florida companies and first among health care and social organizations, and 13th nationally in America’s Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2020, provided a net community benefit worth more than $182.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With six medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of FloridaIt also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.