Tampa General Hospital Wins Coveted Extracorporeal Life Support Award

The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Program at TGH has been granted a Center of Excellence in Life Support – a first-time Gold Level designation.

Tampa, FL (Aug. 30, 2024) – For the first time Tampa General Hospital (TGH), one of the country’s leading academic health care systems, has been honored for its advanced life support care.

The hospital’s Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Program, called ECMO, has been granted a Center of Excellence in Life Support – a first-time Gold Level designation and the academic health system’s first time applying for the recognition. The honorary award was given by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO), a nonprofit organization established in 1989 to support health care professionals and scientists involved in this form of life support.

“This is yet another reason that Tampa General is among the finest hospitals in the country,’’ said M. Raheel Qureshi, MD, Director, ECMO Program at TGH and Assistant Professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “This recognition underscores our organization’s culture and commitment to caring for these complex patients around the clock and in this highly specialized way.”

ECMO is a life-support machine that takes over a patient's heart and lung functions when they are too weak or sick to effectively function on their own. As a modified heart-lung bypass device, it pumps blood outside of the body to a membrane lung, where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide is removed. The oxygenated blood is then returned to the body through a tube, allowing the heart and lungs to rest and heal.

ECMO mechanical support is used in dedicated intensive care units (ICU) and requires a specialized multidisciplinary team including physicians, ECMO specialists, advanced practice practitioners, perfusionists, cardiothoracic (CT) ICU or high-level RNs and trained respiratory therapists. Tampa General Hospital is among the leading centers to care for these complex patients, eventually advancing them to physical, occupational or pulmonary rehabilitation. 

ELSO recognizes health care systems worldwide that distinguish themselves by having processes, procedures and systems in place to provide exceptional care in membrane oxygenation. ELSO's goal is to recognize and honor hospitals that reach the highest level of performance, innovation and quality.

As a designated Center of Excellence, TGH “demonstrated extraordinary achievement’’ in three categories:

• Excellence in promoting the mission, activities and vision of ELSO
• Excellence in patient care by using the highest quality measures, processes and structures based upon evidence
• Excellence in training, education, collaboration and communication supporting ELSO guidelines that contribute to a healing environment for families, patients and staff

“We are thrilled to have achieved the coveted Gold Level designation with ELSO,” said Leah Toms, Administrator, Adult Health Services, ECMO Service Line at TGH. “It’s another reason why more and more patients are choosing to come here.’’