Peter Schorsch
Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida are working together in a new project toward improving health care in Tampa Bay by creating one of the largest academic medical centers in Florida.
Announced last week, the new collaboration will enable the region’s only academic medical center to provide seamless, comprehensive care for patients, according to a statement from John Couris, TGH President and CEO, and USF President Steven Currall.
“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 strategically aligned, we can create a powerhouse that delivers world-class health care on the west coast of Florida.”
The new combined model will help reinforce academic research and clinical care, positioning TGH and USF to deliver state-of-the-art care and treatments that are a feature of academic medicine.
“Strengthening and expanding upon the affiliation between the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital presents extraordinary benefits and new opportunities for education, health care, and research in the Tampa Bay region and beyond,” Currall said. “Our joint vision is to become one of the nation’s most outstanding academic medical centers.”
TGH and USF have worked closely together for nearly 50 years since the opening of the medical school in the early 1970s.
This new project builds on a long-standing relationship. positioning the two organizations to advance quickly and broadly on a variety of strategic goals — with the ultimate beneficiary being the community — allowing physicians from both groups to work together to provide tightly coordinated, seamless patient care.
This is more critical now while facing the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Tampa General has been a leader in health care for the state.
In response to COVID-19, TGH has partnered with many organizations and businesses in the Tampa area, including the Florida Aquarium, to assist them in instituting health care safeguards to protect employees and visitors.
Additionally, TGH collaborated with multiple other local health care systems to share data, develop dashboards and implement best practices to treat patients diagnosed with coronavirus.
Couris sat on the Governor’s Re-Open Florida Task Force, and TGH hosted Gov. Ron DeSantis and Vice President Mike Pence in discussions on Florida’s response coronavirus response.
