Tampa General Hospital Recognized as Top Hospital for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report

The region’s only university-affiliated academic health system is acknowledged for its continued commitment to providing exceptional maternity, childbirth and postpartum care.

 

Tampa, FL (Dec. 11, 2024) – Tampa General Hospital (TGH) has been named one of the 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice. This marks the second consecutive year Tampa General has been designated a high-performing hospital for maternity care, the highest honor a hospital can earn from U.S. News in this specialty area. Just half of the hospitals evaluated for the 2025 ranking were named Best Hospitals for Maternity Care, with Tampa General as the only health system in the Tampa Bay region to achieve this distinction.

“At Tampa General, our physicians and team members understand that a healthy start to life contributes to better lifelong health,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. “We are proud to have earned this prestigious recognition, which celebrates our team’s commitment to providing world-class, compassionate maternity care to expectant mothers and newborns in our community and beyond.”

Each year, the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care evaluation provides expectant parents and their prenatal care teams with valuable information for choosing the maternity care that best suits them and their family’s needs.

“This recognition reflects the dedication of our incredible health care team at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital,” says Dr. Judette Louis, 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. “We are committed to providing the best possible care for every mother and baby, from routine pregnancies to high-risk cases requiring the advanced capabilities of an academic health system. Where you deliver matters, and this ranking indicates that we are successfully meeting the quality measures that lead to better outcomes for mothers and babies.”

The U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care is based on eight quality indicators:

• Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex (NTSV) C-section rate, which describes the proportion of live, full-term babies born to women in their first pregnancy, that are singleton and in the vertex presentation (no breech or transverse positions), via cesarean birth
• Unexpected newborn complication rate
• Episiotomy rate
• Exclusive human milk feeding rate
• VBAC rate
• Transparency on racial/ethnic disparities
• Early elective delivery rate
• Birthing-friendly practices

These metrics are evaluated via a nationwide survey, and hospitals scoring 70 or higher are recognized as "High Performing." The methodology focuses on uncomplicated pregnancies.

Prior to this latest ranking from U.S. News & World Report, the TGH Women’s Institute has achieved national recognition for its maternity care services, including:

• In 2024, Tampa General Hospital was named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals for the fourth consecutive year. 
• In 2023, Tampa General Hospital was redesignated as the only Baby-Friendly® birth facility in Hillsborough County. Earning the Baby-Friendly® designation is a rigorous achievement given only to facilities that have implemented the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and are compliant with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. 
• In 2022, Tampa General Hospital was recognized by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health with an award for exceeding national goals for reducing the number of unnecessary cesarean deliveries for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies and instead promoting vaginal deliveries. It was one of only 26 delivery hospitals in Florida to achieve the award.
• In 2021, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health named Tampa General Hospital as one of only 15 delivery hospitals in Florida to promote vaginal deliveries and reduce cesarean section deliveries for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies.
• Tampa General was recognized in 2020 for its achievement in maternal care during a Florida Hospital Association webinar titled “Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections: Successful Florida Strategies.”

“The TGH Women’s Institute provides comprehensive women’s health services, from routine to complex care, for families across Florida,” says Melissa Golombek, vice president of the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH and the TGH Women’s Institute. “Our focus on safe childbirth and quality care contributes to better outcomes for both mother and baby.”

More information about the ranking methodology can be found, along with the full list of the U.S. News & World Report’s 2025 Best Maternity Hospitals, can be found here.

To learn more about the services offered by the TGH Women’s Institute, please visit https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/womens-institute.