Tampa General Hospital's Cancer Institute Awarded Coveted Accreditation from Commission on Cancer (CoC)

The TGH Cancer Institute has experienced tremendous growth since its establishment in 2021 and continues to provide patients in the Tampa Bay region and beyond with high-quality and compassionate multidisciplinary cancer care.

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) — the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine — today announced its Cancer Institute earned a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

With this accreditation, TGH's Cancer Institute is recognized for meeting 34 quality care standards, taking a multidisciplinary approach to delivering high-quality, patient-centered cancer care, and demonstrating a commitment to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for all cancer patients.

"We set out to build a Cancer Institute of the future that excels in cancer research, clinical investigations, prevention and control, and we have spent the past several years devoting significant energy and resources and acquiring the brightest talent to bring that vision to life," said John Couris, president and CEO of TGH. "Our team is tremendously proud of this accreditation, which is a testament to the unparalleled expertise and quality of care we offer our patients and community across the continuum of cancer care services."

The TGH Cancer Institute partners with patients to manage all aspects of their cancer care journey, from diagnosis to survivorship and everything in between. This collaborative approach to cancer care ensures patients feel supported through what can often be an overwhelming process and offers them comfort in knowing that there is continuity in their care every step of the way.

"The TGH Cancer Institute is dedicated to providing the most advanced testing, next-generation research, therapies and treatment, and patient care because we recognize the importance of treating the whole person, not the condition. When fighting cancer, every decision impacts patients' lives and every advantage needs to be identified," said Thomas Rutherford, MD, medical director of the TGH Cancer Institute and professor and director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "We are proud of the personalized care plans we provide for patients through our patient navigation program, which has helped us establish relationships with local oncologists, radiologists and other physicians in the community to manage our patients' care together. We also continue to invest in growing our services, as well as our physical footprint, to better support and reach more patients."

The TGH Cancer Institute has expanded to several additional locations, staffed by specially trained physicians, to increase the community's access to world-class, innovative cancer care. TGH also recently established the TGH/USF Health Precision Medicine Biorepository, which collects, catalogs and stores samples of biological material for medical research. The biorepository holds donated specimens from patients that researchers, physicians, and scientists can access for scientific study, creating new opportunities to advance research in cancer tumor sequencing and precision medicine.

"The ground-breaking translational and clinical research we're conducting at the Cancer Institute is already paving the way for better care delivery and improved outcomes because it is rooted in the understanding that there is more to cancer care than the cancer itself," said Eduardo M. Sotomayor, MD, director of the TGH Cancer Institute. "We have created an innovative and nimble institute with strong connections to specialties outside of oncology because, ultimately, that multidisciplinary approach is what benefits our patients and medical community the most."

CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed patients with cancer. The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework for accredited facilities to further enhance the quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care, including prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care.

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 are 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.

TGH Media Contact: Karen Barrera
Assistant Director of Communications & Partnerships
(813) 844-8725 (direct)
(813) 928-1603 (cell)
[email protected]

SOURCE Tampa General Hospital