As one of the state’s leading academic medical centers, Tampa General Hospital is focused on providing the most complex care (tertiary and quaternary care) to patients not only from the Tampa Bay region but across Florida, the southeast United States and the southern hemisphere.

 

“Our ability to provide world-class advanced-level care across medical specialties places us in the top five in the state and in the top 50 in the country in several areas,” says John Couris, Tampa General Hospital president and CEO. “We are one of the leading organ transplant centers in the United States, ranking sixth in the country by volume, having performed more than 10,000 transplants, and offering the most advanced level of care for transplant patients.”

 

Couris adds that its work in the fields of cardiac care, heart surgery, and orthopedics are consistently recognized as the best in the state and are ranked best in the state of Florida by U.S. News & World Report.

 

“Our nationally designated comprehensive stroke center and 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit are the largest on the west coast of Florida,” he says. “As home to the only Level I trauma center on the West Coast and with one of just five burn centers in Florida, we can care for not only Tampa Bay’s most critically injured and ill patients, but also patients across the entire state. Our five medical helicopters traversing the state allow us to transport patients from 23 surrounding counties and provide them with the advanced care they need as quickly as possible.”

 

Tampa General’s relationship with the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine sets them apart and has contributed to its reputation not only as pioneers in clinical care but in research and education, as well. In partnership with USF, there are more than 30 clinical trials that are currently active at TGH. As the primary teaching hospital and academic partner of USF, they now train more than 700 residents and fellows in 60 specialties each year—promoting and educating the future of world-class medical care here in Florida. USF’s medical faculty, as well as the region’s leading providers, admit and care for patients at Tampa General. USF’s physician scientists are working with Tampa General to develop cutting-edge treatments and medical breakthroughs.

 

Most significantly, since the outbreak of COVID-19, Tampa General, in collaboration with USF, has led the way in the care, containment and prevention of the pandemic.

 

“Within the last year we opened the Global Emerging Diseases Institute, which treats patients suffering from COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases, and developed TPRO (TGH Prevention – Response – Outreach), a TGH program that continues to assist Florida businesses in opening safely to serve both its employees and its patrons,” adds Couris. “TGH, through TPRO, also partnered with the Florida Senate to ensure a safe return to in-person legislative sessions in 2020.”

 

Couris’ vision for serving the evolving health needs of the patients of the Tampa region as well as residents living in our footprint across the state – from Fort Myers to Palm Beach – centers around pivoting toward an overall system of care coordination.

 

“Our goal is to allow us to continue to improve quality, increase Floridians’ access to leading-edge care across all specialties, to lower costs, and to ensure the best possible outcomes for our patients,” he says. “And we continue to fulfill our strategic vision of becoming the safest and most innovative academic health system in America.”

 

He notes that their work is strengthened by a strategy of innovation across the hospital which allows them to support the research from our physician-scientists and to leverage technology to develop new models for better meeting patients’ health care needs. For example, in 2019 they launched TGH’s CareComm Center—an 8,000-square-foot, NASA-style, high-tech command center to manage patient flow and increase efficiencies across the hospital. CareComm was developed in partnership with GE Healthcare and allows the region to leverage artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, and modeling to improve and better coordinate patient care. In the first 18 months, CareComm helped save more than 40 million dollars by reducing inefficiencies and dramatically improving the amount of time that care providers can spend with patients.

 

“Additionally, through our new innovation platform, TGH Innoventures, we are investing and supporting a wide array of research at Tampa General and USF, as well as through outside and emerging ventures—all of which will hopefully lead to new treatments and new modalities of service,” Couris says. “With all this work, our ultimate goal is to propel innovation to support our physicians and care teams and provide the best patient experience.”

 

One of the biggest challenges for Tampa General today is the challenge faced by all health care systems in the country: how to fund health care. Specifically, how to provide world-class care at a cost that allows providers to remain viable and that is affordable for employers and individuals.

 

“Everyone involved in the funding of health care—from providers, to employers, to insurance carriers, to legislatures – is working to find a solution,” says Couris. “The reality is that to make real and lasting change, we must redesign the whole model for how care is provided and paid for in our state and across the country. To that end, I continue to work with Florida officials in Tallahassee, health care leaders, and other stakeholders working toward real and substantive change.”