Tampa General Hospital is investing more than $162 million next year in the health system at the University of South Florida, its longtime academic partner.
That’s about $100 million more than what the hospital gave to USF Health five years ago, when the organizations created a formal partnership to integrating patient care, education and research.
The latest commitment comes in the form of a revised affiliation agreement that was approved Wednesday by USF’s Governance Committee on behalf of the school’s Board of Trustees. Tampa General approved the revision Aug. 6.
The investment is slated to support plans to “increase integration, recruit best-in-class providers and advance research initiatives while continuing to grow the region’s economy and create jobs,” the statement reads.
“At the core of this agreement lies our commitment to delivering world-class patient care, expanding our state's health care workforce and advancing research — three goals that play a vital role in the future of our university and our communities," USF president Rhea Law said in the statement.
The agreement becomes effective Oct. 1.
“We’re setting the standard for the future of health care, and now is the time to strengthen our investments and integrations across the academic health system so that we can have an even more meaningful impact on our patients and the health care industry across our state and the country,” Tampa General president and CEO John Couris said in the statement.
Their collaboration goes back to 1970, when USF agreed to become the primary teaching hospital and residency programs for Tampa General.
In 2020, they combined clinical practices and administrations through a new formal partnership that allows physicians from both groups to work together to coordinate patient care.
That same year, USF opened a 13-story downtown Tampa tower to house the USF Morsani College of Medicine, about a mile away from Tampa General, which covers about 25 acres on Davis Islands. The hospital paid USF $20 million as part of a 25-year lease agreement for three floors, or about 25,000 square feet of space.
Several hundred USF medical students conduct clinical rotations each year at Tampa General, along with 726 residents and fellows who also train there. TGH funds programs that support 344 of these residents, as well as more than 70 training programs, according to the statement.
Tampa General has made other significant donations to USF in recent years. Last year, the hospital contributed $4.4 million over six years to support the planning and implementation of the USF College of Nursing Simulation Lab on the Tampa campus. The hospital also gifted $25 million to USF’s new on-campus athletic district.
“USF Health and Tampa General are stronger together than we could ever be apart,” said Dr. Charles J. Lockwood, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
