Tampa General Hospital Announces Taneja Family Global Emerging Diseases Institute, First of Its Kind in Florida

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Tampa General Hospital celebrated the opening of the new Taneja Family Global Emerging Diseases Institute, a stand-alone facility that will provide world-class care for patients battling COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. The new Institute will also lead Florida in conducting research and education in infectious diseases. A special gift from the Taneja Family Foundation helped make opening the Institute possible.

"It means a great deal to us to be able to give back to the Tampa Bay community and to help others. This has been a very difficult time for everyone, and we want to do our part to support Tampa General, whose clinical scientists will be conducting global research to provide answers and hope," said Jugal Taneja on behalf of wife, Manju and the entire Taneja family. "We encourage others to give back and show support. These are heroes on the front lines."

The Taneja Family Global Emerging Diseases Institute is a true collaboration between Tampa General Hospital and USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. An entire team of physician leaders from TGH and USF Health Morsani College of Medicine will serve the Institute, from the inpatient clinical care to the outpatient clinics to teaching and research.

Leadership and collaboration will be provided by Dr. John Sinnott, TGH's chief epidemiologist and chair of Internal Medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; Dr. Kami Kim, director of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, who will oversee the Institute's future expanded laboratory space for infectious diseases research and education. This will provide a greater opportunity for Tampa General, USF Health and private practice physicians to all collaborate on groundbreaking research and clinical trials to include vaccines and other lifesaving medical testing.  

Additionally, Dr. Seetha Lakshmi serves as the medical director of the infectious diseases service line and is an associate hospital epidemiologist at TGH, and also serves as assistant professor of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. And Dr. Asa Oxner, vice chair, department of Internal Medicine, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, will lead the development of future infectious diseases/COVID-19 outpatient clinics and therapy programs.

"Tampa General has been a longstanding leader in diagnosing and treating infectious diseases, so this new facility is a great addition to our program that allows us to continue to meet the immediate challenge of COVID-19 and ensure that we have the capacity to deliver world-class care for every patient facing this disease," said TGH President and CEO John Couris. "Thanks to the generous donation of the Taneja family, our clinical teams can continue to provide the best possible care for COVID-19 and other deadly infectious diseases and discover new treatments to face these threats in a fully equipped, dedicated facility on our campus."

As a leading academic medical center, Tampa General Hospital and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine are dedicating valuable resources to mounting an aggressive fight against COVID-19, both in research and patient care. Since March of 2020, the hospital has now treated more than 1,400 COVID patients, produced more than 120,000 COVID tests and currently has more than 30 clinical research trials underway. A pioneer in teaching, research and clinical care, Tampa General Hospital was also the first in Florida to offer monoclonal antibody treatments to COVID-19 patients, and the only hospital in the Tampa Bay area – one of only five hospitals in the state – to receive the first round of the state's COVID-19 vaccine pilot program.

"I'm honored to witness these clinical teams in action. TGH has been leading the way since the global pandemic started, continuing to deliver world-class care. I want to personally thank the Taneja family for the difference they are making for our community," said Greg Celestan, chairman of the TGH Foundation Board.

Frann Richards, senior vice president and chief development officer of the Tampa General Hospital Foundation, added, "Our partnership with this incredible family means so much to TGH. We are immensely grateful to the Taneja family for their generosity, especially at such a critical time. The impact of this gift will be felt by our Tampa Bay community, the state of Florida and beyond."

If you would like to learn more, please visit www.tgh.org/covid.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 1006-bed non-profit academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2020-21 Best Hospitals, and one of the top 4 hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 19 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track.  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost.  For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

USF HEALTH
USF Health's mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the Taneja College of Pharmacy, the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Biomedical Sciences Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs, and USF Health's multispecialty physicians group. The University of South Florida is a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report's national university rankings than USF. For more information, visit health.usf.edu. 

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SOURCE Florida Health Sciences Center, Inc. d/b/a Tampa General Hospital