Tampa General Hospital Leaders Jennifer Crabtree and Dr. Nishit Patel Honored as Part of Tampa Bay’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2024

The academic health system executives are recognized for exceptional leadership in the Tampa Bay business community.

 

Tampa, FL (Nov. 8, 2024) – Tampa General Hospital (TGH)’s Jennifer Crabtree, vice president of corporate communications and chief of staff for the office of the president & CEO, and Dr. Nishit Patel, vice president and chief medical informatics officer, were honored as part of the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 class of 2024. This list honors exceptional young professionals in the Tampa Bay area who have demonstrated professional excellence and a commitment to improving the community through their leadership.

 

"Jennifer and Dr. Patel both embody the Tampa General Hospital spirit of harnessing impactful and innovative leadership to drive meaningful transformation,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. "While they play unique roles within our organization’s leadership team, they share the same relentless commitment to the success TGH and, in turn, the care we deliver to our region, the state and beyond. We are incredibly proud to celebrate their contributions and to have them represent Tampa General on this prestigious list."

 

In her role, Crabtree has spearheaded key growth initiatives for Tampa General, including the development of the Tampa Medical & Research District (TMRD), the system’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge technology and innovation to the Tampa Bay community and surrounding regions. Additionally, she played a critical role in the successful acquisition and integration of Bravera Health, now TGH North, expanding the Tampa General health care network to encompass six hospitals, over 150 care locations and a team of more than 14,000 dedicated team members and physicians. Crabtree’s  leadership has been instrumental in elevating Tampa General's national recognition and brand awareness through strategic external and internal communications, including a robust thought leadership program positioning Tampa General’s leaders as influential voices in health care legislation, sought-after experts for national media outlets and prominent speakers at national conferences. These contributions have not only established Tampa General as an innovative, model academic health system within the health care industry, but also drove substantial market share growth for the organization.

 

“Tampa General’s story is one of transformative growth and unwavering commitment to excellence – clinical, operational, experiential and more,” said Crabtree. “I’m proud to be part of the team whose collective efforts are writing this story and feel energized to continue amplifying our achievements and sharing Tampa General’s vision for the future of health care.”

 

Patel has contributed to Tampa General’s significant and sustained growth in inpatient, outpatient and ambulatory care. Under his leadership, the academic health system successfully integrated 17 urgent care centers, 22 imaging centers and over 25 ambulatory locations into one single technology infrastructure for the entire organization. He serves as the chief relationship-builder for the Tampa General team with critical technology partners and continues to be a key facilitator in delivering technological solutions to improve efficiency and experience for the health system’s more than 1,400 health care providers.

 

Patel’s focus lies in leveraging technology to optimize care delivery and enhance patient experience. He has led multiple initiatives in this sphere, including deploying video-based language translation services, implementing a secure clinical messaging platform and transitioning to full medical record transparency. Additionally, he played an integral role in developing USF Tampa General Physicians, a clinically integrated managed service organization. He also led the design of the “Patient Room of the Future” program, which evaluates, tests and scales new transformative care technologies.

 

Most recently, Patel spearheaded the implementation of technologies allowing fully virtual nursing and consultation for inpatient settings, with the medical intensive care unit now fully virtually enabled. Patel also leads Tampa General’s Artificial Intelligence strategy and AI governance committees.

 

“I’m fortunate to work alongside a brilliant team that shares my passion for harnessing innovative technologies to enhance the way we deliver care,” said Patel. “This recognition is a testament to their hard work and dedication, and I am honored that our outcomes have had a positive impact on the many communities statewide that our team is privileged to serve.”

 

Patel, Crabtree and the complete class of this year’s 40 Under 40 honorees were celebrated at an award ceremony on Oct. 30 and are profiled by the Tampa Bay Business Journal here.