TGH Women’s Institute Receives Highest Honor from National Accrediting Body

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

 

 

Tampa, FL (April 5, 2024) – 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 https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/womens-institute.