Tampa General's Women's Institute receives The Joint Commission's Level IV Maternal Care Designation.

TAMPA, Fla., April 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Women's Institute at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) announced that it has received the highest national designation (Level IV) in maternal care from The Joint Commission — the gold standard in accreditation — underscoring its commitment to excellence in care for mothers and babies.

"At Tampa General Hospital, our physicians and team members provide exceptional care to expectant mothers throughout their pregnancy and through the delivery of their newborns. We recognize a healthy start for families will help drive healthy outcomes throughout their lifetime," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. "This recognition for Level IV maternal care is a testament to the team and their commitment to excellence in patient care and clinical research — just two of the reasons why families turn to Tampa General for world-class care."

The Joint Commission, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering health care organizations in providing the highest level of safety and quality, verified the TGH Women's Institute as a Level IV Maternal Care hospital. Tampa General is one of only seven hospitals in Florida and one of 33 birthing hospitals in the nation to receive this designation.

"Receiving this Level IV designation for our maternity care shows that our patients can receive the highest quality care at one of the most important times in their lives — even if they face complex medical issues or need advanced lifesaving care," said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "I am deeply grateful for the dedication and leadership of our health care providers. Their medical expertise ensures that our patients get the care they need."

Lockwood also is executive vice president and chief academic officer at Tampa General. He is a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"The highest designation acknowledges the comprehensive care we provide women, from conception to delivery and postpartum,'' said Judette Louis, MD, MPH, chief of the TGH Women's Institute, and James M. Ingram Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "This is about providing world-class care for mothers regardless of the complexity of their medical condition.''

Founded in 1951, The Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. In addition to accreditation, certification and verification, it provides tools and resources for health care professionals. It reviews and designates health care organizations on a four-tier system:

• Level I: Basic Care – Care for low to moderate-risk pregnancies, demonstrating the ability to detect, stabilize and initiate the management of unanticipated maternal-fetal or neonatal problems that occur during the antepartum, intrapartum or postpartum period until the patient can be transferred to a facility at which specialty maternal care is available.
• Level II: Specialty Care – Level I, plus moderate to high-risk antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum conditions.
• Level III: Subspecialty Care – Levels I and II, plus care for more complex maternal medical conditions, obstetric complications and fetal conditions.
• Level IV: Regional Perinatal Health Care Centers – Levels I, II, and III, plus on-site medical and surgical care of the most complex maternal conditions and critically ill pregnant women and fetuses throughout antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care.

"It is an honor for Tampa General to receive this recognition because we're continuously finding ways to improve and be among the best health care facilities in the country," said Melissa Golombek, DNP, vice president of the TGH Women's Institute and Muma Children's Hospital at TGH. "At the end of the day, it comes down to each patient and ensuring a safe delivery and experience for every mother and baby."

The TGH Women's Institute provides a full range of women's health services, from routine obstetrics and gynecology to more complex maternal-fetal medicine and neonatal care. As an academic health system and nationally recognized leader in high-risk obstetrics, Tampa General offers access to the highest level of women's and infant care in every medical subspecialty, as well as complex surgery and critical care obstetrics.

For many at Tampa General — which delivered more than 7,000 babies last year — the designation came as no surprise. Earlier this year, U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice, named Tampa General as a 2024 High-Performing Hospital for Maternity Care (uncomplicated pregnancy). This is the highest award a hospital can earn for maternity care in U.S. News' Best Hospitals ratings.

In 2023, Blue Cross Blue Shield named the TGH Women's Institute a Blue Distinction Center+ (BDC+) for Maternity Care for its outstanding work in providing world-class care for women and infant patient populations. The Institute is one of only 11 health care facilities in Florida and the only one in Hillsborough County to receive this distinction.

To learn more about the TGH Women's Institute, visit

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, 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 2023-24 Best Hospitals, with six specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital 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 health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women and top 25 in Florida in the 2023 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 of approximately $240.3 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 Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Outpatient Center, TGH Virtual Health, and 21 TGH Imaging 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. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). 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 .

ABOUT USF HEALTH
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, a high-impact research university dedicated to student success and committed to community engagement, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. Through hundreds of millions of dollars in research activity each year, USF is a leader in solving global problems and improving lives. For more information, visit health.usf.edu.

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital