Tampa General Hospital Launches Concierge Health Care for Residents of Palm Beach County

Dr. Laurie P. Rothman joins Tampa General as the first concierge care physician to be part of one of Florida's leading academic medical centers, serving patients on the Florida's East Coast.

JUPITER, Fla., Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to connecting the Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast communities to world-class care, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is launching a concierge primary health care practice on Florida's East Coast. Dr. Laurie P. Rothman is the first doctor to join TGH Concierge Health.

Rothman is a concierge primary care physician, board-certified in family medicine and in obesity medicine. She has two decades of experience delivering world-class care to patients in Palm Beach County and has been practicing medicine for nearly 25 years. For an annual fee, her patients will receive the highest level of primary care, including personalized plans, along with after-hours and weekend access to the concierge medical team.

"I love what I do. I love taking care of patients and families, and the time I spend with people, and the relationships we build, are most important to me. This practice will allow me to have more time with my patients, and to be there for them when they need me," Rothman said.

Other benefits of TGH Concierge Health include same-day or next-day appointments, after-hours communication with the concierge physician or staff, annual executive-level physical examinations, coordination of specialty or hospital care, more one-on-one time with the doctor, and telephone consultations or video visits. "If someone isn't feeling well, they don't want to wait for the next available appointment," Rothman said. "In addition to more time, my patients will also have increased access. If there is an emergency or they are sick, and it's 9 o'clock at night, they can call me or text me and we'll be able to talk it through and make a plan."

A former attending physician in the emergency department at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J., Rothman can also provide her patients with emergency room advocacy. Most recently, she served the brave men and women in law enforcement as the dedicated doctor for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Department. Rothman is also a member of the Florida Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

"I'm very excited to join the Tampa General network and help start this concierge practice," Rothman said. "I've known Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg with the TGH Cancer Institute for more than a decade, and we have collaborated to help care for many patients over the years."

Rothman's clinical focus is on preventative care, wellness and metabolic health for adults and adolescents ages 12 and up. She is proactive, analytical, and wholeheartedly committed to providing comprehensive, compassionate, and evidence-based patient care. Rothman also prides herself on her strong collaborative and leadership skills, enabling the entire medical team to perform at its optimal level for the benefit of her patients.

"Dr. Rothman blends a brilliant mind with a compassionate spirit," said Schwarzberg, EVP, Network Development, chief of Oncology, and vice president of Clinical and Translational Research, Tampa General. "She is a dedicated, patient-centered physician who becomes connected to her patients and cares about the best decision-making for them, both medically and within the context of their home and family lives.

"The commitment TGH has to this community," Schwarzberg said, "is to support the talented physicians who have been the backbone here, like Dr. Rothman has for 20 years. We want to help enhance the services they can provide by enriching their relationships with super subspecialists, helping with rare and complex care, and offering access to innovative research, clinical trials and new diagnostic tools. We are supporting them in their back yards and ensuring the level of care is not only individualized and streamlined, but also best-in-class, with the backing of a major academic institution."

For more than two years, Tampa General Hospital has been creating a framework of state-of-the-art services for patients in the Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast areas, with the expertise and innovation of a preeminent academic medical center. The Florida East Coast initiative began with an alliance with the Cancer Center of South Florida and then the Gastro Group of the Palm Beaches.

Since the alliances began, Tampa General has continued to grow its services for the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast communities. Recently, the TGH Gastro Group of the Palm Beaches recruited Dr. Sonja K. Olsen, a board-certified internist, gastroenterologist, and transplant hepatologist from New York University (NYU) Langone Health. The TGH Cancer Institute in Palm Beach County also includes West Palm Beach-based Dr. Robert Scoma, a thoracic surgical oncologist, and Dr. Jason Hechtman, a breast cancer surgeon. Tampa General has also established TGH General Surgeons of the Palm Beaches with renowned West Palm Beach robotic surgery specialists Dr. Daniel R. Higgins and Dr. Itzhak Shasha, along with TGH Advanced Kidney Care and TGH Imaging.

Tampa General is one of the highest-ranked hospitals in Florida by U.S. News & World Report for 2022-23, the primary teaching affiliate of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and is one of the largest hospitals in the nation. Patients who need a higher level of care have a direct connection to Tampa General's academic medicine and resources, including research breakthroughs, a wider variety of clinical trials and options for advanced immunotherapy procedures, enhanced personal treatment plans and a convenient path to complex surgeries. Patients who receive more complex procedures or treatment at Tampa General will be able to follow up with their local physician on the East Coast upon returning home.

Tampa General Hospital has been affiliated with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine since the school was created in the early 1970s. Today, more than 700 medical school residents and fellows receive specialty training at TGH in areas ranging from general internal medicine to neurosurgery. In addition, USF medical, nursing, pharmacy and physical therapy students all receive part of their training at Tampa General. Faculty of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine admit and care for patients at Tampa General, as do private practice physicians, many of whom also serve as adjunct clinical faculty at USF.

For those interested in learning more and/or becoming a TGH Concierge Health patient, please call (561) 559-0955.

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.

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital