The only ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center in the West Florida region, Tampa General is re-verified through January 2029, reaffirming its national standard of excellence in trauma care.

TAMPA, Fla., April 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) and Muma Children's Hospital at TGH today announced the renewal of their Level I Trauma Center verification by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT). The verification, which extends through Jan. 29, 2029, affirms Tampa General's standing as the West Florida region's only ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center and one of the nation's premier academic trauma programs, in partnership with the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

"Trauma care is among the most time-sensitive, high-stakes services a health system can provide, and this renewal is a testament to our extraordinarily dedicated team and how effectively we collaborate across disciplines to deliver the best care possible," said John Couris, president and CEO of Florida Health Sciences Center | Tampa General. "As West Florida's only ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center, we understand our profound responsibility to the patients and communities who depend on us fin their most critical moments. In partnership with the USF Health, we are delivering exceptional care today while also training the next generation of trauma surgeons and advancing the science of trauma medicine."

ACS-verified trauma centers must meet the essential criteria that ensure optimal trauma care capability and the highest level of institutional performance, as outlined in the ACS COT's current manual, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient. The rigorous renewal process included an on-site review conducted in January that evaluated all aspects of the trauma program, including physician leadership, nursing coverage, harm prevention, performance improvement, and patient outcomes.

The Trauma Quality Improvement (TQIP) report from the ACS' Verification Review Committee placed the academic health system in the top 30% (3^rd decile) nationally for severe traumatic brain injury risk-adjusted mortality. Additionally, the site visit reviewers highlighted numerous clinical and operational strengths across the program during the survey, including its neurotrauma and orthopaedic trauma programs along with robust injury prevention outreach, a highly trained registrar team, and a trauma ICU nursing model in which surgical trauma intensive care unit (STICU) nurses accompany patients through every step of their diagnostic workup. The ACS also recognized Tampa General and USF Health's Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), a state-of-the-art facility that provides expanded training and simulation opportunities for the trauma program, as a notable institutional strength, reinforcing the power of academic medicine to advance innovative care.

"This Level I re-verification reflects years of intentional investment in our people, our processes and our patients, and we are incredibly proud of what this distinction means to the patients we serve across our region," said Melissa Golombek, DNP, MHCM, RN, NE-BC, CPN, executive vice president and president of Tampa General Hospital. "We are committed to continuously raising the standard for trauma care and the recent ACS review validated not only the depth of our program but also the quality of every discipline involved in how we care for our patients, from the moment EMS activates through discharge and rehabilitation."

"Our goal has always been to build a program that is not only nationally verified, but nationally recognized as a model for academic pediatric trauma care," said Sarah Frahn, MBA, MSN, RN, NE-BC, vice president of the TGH Women's Institute and Muma Children's Hospital at Tampa General. "It is the greatest privilege to care for children and families across the Tampa Bay region, and this verification affirms our commitment to delivering the highest standard of trauma care to our youngest and most vulnerable patients."

Tampa General is also a participant in the ACS Trauma Quality Improvement Program (ACS TQIP), which provides hospitals with risk-adjusted benchmarking data to continuously analyze and improve patient outcomes. Tampa General's neurotrauma program, as one example, ranked in the third decile of TQIP for severe traumatic brain injury mortality, which is a significant marker of clinical excellence.

As an ACS-verified trauma center, Tampa General is also recognized as an ACS Surgical Quality Partner. The Surgical Quality Partner designation reflects a hospital's dedication to consistently improving procedures and approaches to health care delivery while maintaining rigorous self-evaluation at every step. Patients can trust that care at Surgical Quality Partner hospitals adheres to the highest standards of surgical quality.

"Trauma care is a team sport, and this verification is a recognition of every provider and team member – whether clinical or ancillary support – who shows up for our patients every single day," said Michele Moran, MBA, MSN, RN, senior vice president of emergency services and acute care surgery at Tampa General. "As the Tampa Bay region's sole Level I Trauma Center, we serve as the safety net for the most severely injured patients across our community. The ACS review confirmed that our performance improvement culture, our community outreach and our clinical protocols are operating at the highest national standard, and we look forward to harnessing their feedback to continue leveling up."

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL 
Tampa General Hospital, the Tampa Bay region's only academic health system, is a 1,530-bed not-for-profit network of hospital and outpatient services spanning across Florida. As the only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care center serving 23 counties, Tampa General  delivers world-class care. The system's hospitals include Tampa General Hospital, Tampa General Rehabilitation Hospital, Tampa General Behavioral Health Hospital, all in Tampa; Tampa General Brooksville, Tampa General Spring Hill and Tampa General Crystal River. Tampa General is the highest-ranked hospital in Tampa Bay in U.S. News & World Report's 2025-2026 Best Hospitals, with six medical specialties ranking among the top 50 in the nation and five additional medical specialties ranked among the top 10% best hospital programs in the United States. As the first hospital in Florida to open a clinical command center for real-time situational awareness, the academic health system has elevated its digital care coordination center to the next level by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and its analytics platform across inpatient and outpatient care to ensure patients receive leading-edge care as quickly and safely as possible. Tampa General's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings — in the 2025 America's Best Large Employers, ranked as the Tampa Bay region's #1 employer in the health care category for the fifth year in a row, and among the top five in the state of Florida, in the 2025 Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women.

Tampa General is the area's safety-net hospital, caring for anyone regardless of ability to pay; in fiscal year 2024, Tampa General provided a net community benefit of approximately $289.1 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It is recognized as one of the adult solid organ transplant centers in the nation and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General transports critically injured or ill patients from surrounding counties to receive the advanced care their conditions require. Tampa General has a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It 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's footprint includes TGH North, which consists 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; two TGH outpatient centers; TGH Virtual Health; and 20 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care, powered by the 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). For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Assistant Manager
Publications & Physician Communications
(727) 510-6363 (cell)
ehardy@tgh.org

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital