The Health Ambassador Program reduces stress on patients and families, so they can focus on what matters most.
The Health Ambassador Program at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) provides world-class medical care with white-glove service. When patients from across Florida need to be transferred to TGH, a TGH health ambassador will handle all the details for them, whether they need help making a general appointment, scheduling a test, or preparing for surgery and/or an inpatient stay. Simply give TGH a call, and they will take care of the rest.
Lynn Stockford, RN, BSN, Manager, Physician Network Business Development, educates healthcare providers and patients on the complex care TGH’s expert physicians provide and where appropriate, facilitates transfers through TGH’s ambassador and transfer teams.
As an integral part of the TGH team, a designated health ambassador will:
- Schedule patient appointments and testing
- Arrange hotel and other travel needs if the patient and their family are coming to TGH from outside the Tampa Bay area
- Help patients with any business needs they may have during their stay
- Coordinate any follow-up care, imaging, or further tests a patient may need
Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, Senior Vice President of Network Development & Chief of Oncology at Tampa General Hospital, sees patients in Palm Beach County and from across the Treasure Coast. When needed, he refers patients to Tampa Genera Hospital for complex care.
Tampa General Hospital is committed to becoming the safest and most innovative academic health system in the country. It is working to achieve that by offering the latest treatment options available, utilizing evidence-based practices, providing full transparency every step of the way, and extending personalized, white-glove service to each patient.
“Patience, empathy and servitude are the basis of our program. We understand and respect each of our patients’ unique medical and personal needs,” said Lynn Stockford, RN, BSN, network development manager at TGH. “Our goal is to reduce stress, so patients and their families can focus on what matters most.”
When K.C. Austin, a resident on Florida’s East Coast, was battling the Delta variant of COVID-19, he was rushed to a Palm Beach County hospital’s intensive care unit. Austin was intubated, and he and his family were soon facing life-or-death decisions.
“They started talking about him needing a transfer for ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation through a heart-lung machine), and that made it more real,” said Danielle Austin, K.C.’s wife. “Luckily, the doctors had started the paperwork for the transfer pretty early on. When I got that phone call that he was being transferred to TGH, I just said, ‘Oh my gosh, we have a chance.’ The night he was airlifted, we sat on my in-laws’ patio and waited to see that helicopter take off.”
“The communication at TGH was unbelievable,” Danielle said. “The fact that I was able to speak to a physician or representative every day, even when I was in West Palm Beach, was unbelievable. I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on. I never felt that they weren’t doing everything they could.”
All of the right decisions were made at the right time for Mr. Austin, and that continuum of care at TGH is why he is alive today.
For a consultation, please call (561) 644-0125.
