Tampa General Hospital Appoints Dr. Ram Velamuri as New Medical Director of Regional Burn Center

The board-certified plastic surgeon brings expertise in leading a comprehensive burn care center for patients with complex burn injuries.

 

Tampa, Fla. (Nov. 6, 2024) — Tampa General Hospital (TGH), the region’s only academic health system together with USF Health, today announced Dr. Ram Velamuri, a distinguished board-certified plastic surgeon, as the new medical director of the academic health system’s Regional Burn Center.

 

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Velamuri to lead the burn center during such an exciting period of innovation and growth at Tampa General,” said Leah Toms, senior administrator of the Plastic & Burn Surgery Institute at Tampa General. “As medical director, he will manage a highly skilled team of physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, therapists and pharmacists in helping patients with complex burns and traumatic injuries achieve the maximum possible quality of life.”

 

In his new role, Velamuri will oversee clinical services at the burn center, which is among five in Florida to have earned verification by the American Burn Association/American College of Surgeons and is one of two ABA-verified adult and pediatric burn centers in Florida. The TGH Plastic & Burn Surgery Institute has treated more than 3,100 pediatric and adult patients from October 1, 2023 to today.

 

“I am thrilled to join such a dedicated and skilled team of compassionate clinicians and caregivers at the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care,” said Dr. Velamuri, medical director of the burn center at TGH and associate professor of Plastic Surgery at the USF Health Morsani School of Medicine. “Together, we will ensure the best possible treatment and care for burn patients.”

 

Velamuri completed his medical education in India before serving his residency in plastic surgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine in Missouri. Following his training, he pursued a specialized fellowship in burn care at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he gained invaluable experience in managing complex burn cases.

 

He has held various leadership positions throughout his career, including service as the burn director of the Firefighters Burn Center in Memphis, Tenn., and as the director of the Burn Fellowship Program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, also in Memphis. The former chair of the American Burn Association Global Health Committee, he also is a national faculty member for Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) training and a contributor to the education and preparedness of health care professionals in burn management.

"Dr. Velamuri’s passion for advancing the field of burn care and enhancing patient outcomes has led to significant contributions in clinical practice and academic leadership in the health-care industry,” said Dr. Nicholas Panetta, chief of the TGH Plastic and Burn Surgery Institute and chairperson of the Department of Plastic Surgery at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "His commitment to exemplary patient care and deep expertise in complex burn injuries will play a critical role in advancing and innovating burn care, treatment, and recovery at Tampa General.”

 

TGH’s 18-bed burn specialty unit is equipped with the latest technology. It includes a six-bed intensive care unit, a 12-bed acute care unit, treatment rooms and a burn operating room conveniently located within the unit. Each room features a new "patient room of the future," which increases the efficiency of care with advanced technologies and allows caregivers to quickly receive the needed information to provide better patient care. Pediatric burn patients are treated in the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH by a multi-disciplinary care team trained in the unique nature of pediatric burns. Tampa General Hospital is one of only two American Burn Association-verified Adult & Pediatric burn centers in Florida. Visit the TGH Regional Burn Center for more information.