Tampa General Hospital Named One of Forbes Magazine's America's Best Employers, Ranking Third Out of 100 Florida Companies and First in the State in Healthcare and Social Organizations

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – America's Best Employers by State and America's Best Employers for Women.

In the 2021 America's Best Employers by State list announced Aug. 24, the academic medical center ranked third out of 100 Florida companies and first among health care and social organizations. In 2020, Tampa General was 14^th out of 100 top employers in Florida and third in the health care and social industry category. For the Best Employers for Women designation, released July 27, Tampa General moved from 24^th in 2020 to 13^th in 2021 out of 300 employers nationally.

"In the past 17 months of the pandemic, our team members proved that they are warriors and heroes. They have been dedicated, flexible and compassionate and they truly deserve these honors," said John Couris, CEO and president of Tampa General. "Our vision is to be the safest and most innovative academic health system in America and our team is the driving force."

Tampa General employs nearly 8,500 team members at more than 80 owned or affiliated locations in the Tampa Bay region. A core part of the hospital's approach to building its culture is encouraging team members to be authentic and transparent. The voices and ideas of team members are highly valued, and Tampa General provides multiple channels for team members to offer feedback, ask questions, give ideas and challenge the status quo. These include a team member engagement survey, an idea submittal program that links directly to hospital administration via the team member portal, team member rounding where questions are welcomed, and town halls.

When COVID-19 began shutting down businesses, Tampa General took immediate steps to minimize the impact on its team. "We focused on supporting our team members and keeping them whole," said Couris. As of May 31, Tampa General invested $13.5 million in team member pandemic response initiatives, which included:

• Supplemental Work: A supplemental staffing pool to help team members continue earning if their regularly scheduled shifts were affected by cancellations of elective surgeries.
• Premium Contributions Suspended: The hospital covered the team member portion of the medical plan premium and short-term disability premium for all hourly team members during the period elective surgeries were paused. Team members were not required to repay these premiums.
• Pandemic Pay: Tampa General created a 20 percent pay differential for all team members providing direct care to COVID patients for the entirety of their shifts.
• Team Member Emergency Fund: Tampa General's Team Member Emergency Fund was enhanced to help team members suffering financial hardships during this time. A special grant program provided up to $600 for eligible team members to purchase back-to-school supplies, including laptops for their children. This initiative stemmed from a team member idea.
• Team Member Wellness Support: In addition to our on-site wellness program, and generous benefits, numerous virtual resilience and emotional support group programs have been developed and implemented to support team members during this time.

Strong benefits, generous accumulated time off, flexible work schedules and supportive solutions, and a robust training and career development program that provides many job advancement opportunities for Tampa General team members are all part of what makes Tampa General a great place to work and deserving of this award. Tampa General truly focuses on caring for the team member physically, mentally and emotionally.

"When I joined Tampa General in April 2021, what immediately stood out is that the hospital puts people first and works every day to foster a people-oriented culture," said Qualenta Kivett, executive vice president and chief people and talent officer, Tampa General. "Despite the challenges of COVID, we continue to look for ways to support our team."

Forbes partnered with market research company Statista to compile both the America's Best Employers by State and America's Best Employers for Women lists.

The America's Best Employers by State list is divided into rankings for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It was compiled by anonymously surveying 80,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 500 employees on a rolling basis from October 2020 to June 2021. The rankings seek to demonstrate how perceptions of companies differ from state to state based on local leadership and economies.

The America's Best Employers for Women list was compiled by surveying 50,000 Americans, including 30,000 women, working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. Representation at the executive and board levels were considered, as were initiatives to improve gender equity and recent or unresolved allegations regarding discrimination or misconduct.

About Forbes
Forbes champions success by celebrating those who have made it, and those who aspire to make it. Forbes convenes and curates the most influential leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact on the world. The Forbes brand today reaches more than 140 million people worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature LIVE and Forbes Virtual events, custom marketing programs and 32 licensed local editions in 71 countries. Forbes Media's brand extensions include real estate, education and financial services license agreements. For more information, visit the Forbes News Hub or Forbes Connect.

About Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,041-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 2021-22 Best Hospitals, and one of the top 4 hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal 2020 provided a net community benefit worth more than $182.5 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. 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.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy
Sr. Communications Specialist
(813) 844-7322 (direct)
ehardy@tgh.org

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital