Peter Schorsch
Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine announced this week they will combine Tampa General Medical Group and USF Health Physicians Group to create one of the largest academic medical center physician groups in the state of Florida.
The new alliance will benefit patients across Tampa Bay by enabling the region’s leading academic medical center to more easily provide seamless, comprehensive care for patients, said John Couris, TGH President and CEO.
“This is a great day for health in Tampa Bay,” Couris said. “TGH, USF and our private practice physicians have always had the most success when working together to improve health in Tampa Bay. Now that we are more closely strategically aligned, we can create a powerhouse that delivers world-class health care on the west coast of Florida.”
Creation of this enhanced alliance was approved Tuesday by the University of South Florida board of trustees. TGH’s board of directors previously approved the alliance, which will be jointly governed by leaders of both organizations.
The new agreement will enable these two organizations to partner more quickly and broadly on a variety of strategic goals, ensuring that Tampa Bay’s best health care providers become economically stronger and well-positioned to deliver the cutting-edge care and innovative treatments that are a hallmark of academic medicine.
“By coming together with the University of South Florida, we are replacing a ‘transactional’ relationship with a true collaborative partnership that is built on a foundation of mutual respect and trust, transparency, and a commitment to working together in the best interest of the academic medical center as a whole,” said John Touchton, chairman of the TGH board of directors.
Through this new alliance, TGH and USF Health are strengthening their position as one of Florida’s leading academic medical centers through a sustainable, collaborative and comprehensive partnership that mutually benefits each organization across all missions, including clinical care, teaching, research and advocacy.
Stronger ties between Tampa General Hospital and USF Health already have paid off in the new downtown USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute building. The building is a cornerstone of the new medical district that the partnership is creating around downtown Tampa, which includes USF Health’s CAMLS, the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation, and TGH’s plans for a new acute care rehabilitation center and a free-standing emergency department.
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,007-bed nonprofit academic medical center, delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. It is one of the nation’s busiest organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
TGH houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to an 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally certified spinal cord and brain injury rehabilitation center.
