Tampa General Hospital Reaches Milestone in Newborn Deliveries

The city of Tampa just got a boost in its resident population with a record number of newborns delivered at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) during the past fiscal year (October 2021 through September 2022).

More than 7,000 babies came into the world at the TGH Women’s Institute, the most deliveries at the hospital in more than 20 years. In addition to these routine deliveries, the hospital and specialists with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine also delivered more high-risk patients than any other hospital in the region.

“This is a milestone number, but it’s more than just a statistic on deliveries at Tampa General Hospital,” said Dr. Judette Louis, MD, Chief of the Women’s Institute at Tampa General Hospital and James M. Ingram Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “More patients are deciding to deliver their babies at TGH. This means that our programs to provide safe, innovative and world-class care will impact more patients, resulting in better outcomes for mothers and their newborns.”

The record number of babies – roughly 1,000 more than the previous fiscal year – underscores the work of the Women’s Institute, which provides a full range of women’s health services, from routine obstetrics and gynecology to more complex maternal-fetal medicine and neonatal care.

As the only academic medical center in West Central Florida and a nationally recognized leader in high-risk obstetrics, TGH and USF Health offer access to the highest level of women’s and infant care in virtually every medical subspecialty, including specialty services in mental health, genetic counseling and pediatrics. The entire team at the Women’s Institute also goes the extra mile in making mothers feel welcome and comfortable during their stay at Tampa General Hospital.

The new record also speaks to the broader recognition TGH and USF Health have received in related areas of specialization. Recent accolades include:

The consistency of excellence, along with the growing number of deliveries, highlights the vital role TGH plays in the community, said Melissa Golombek, RN, DNP, MHCM, NE-BC, CPN and senior administrator at the TGH Women’s Institute.

“The milestone of 7,000 deliveries in a single year is a major accomplishment for the Women’s Institute,” Golombek said. “Each of these birth stories is a testament to the successful collaboration between our physicians and team members who partner with families and provide the utmost care and attention. As we continue to achieve new milestones, we commit to focusing on excellent care by enhancing each patient’s labor, delivery and postpartum experience. Each and every birth is incredibly special and rewarding for our team.”

Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-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 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven 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 Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America’s Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America’s Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 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 Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed 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 provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health’s multispecialty physicians’ group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News & World Report’s national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu.