Tampa General Hospital Opens Infusion Center at the TGH Cancer Institute's State-of-the-Art Satellite Location

As part of the academic health system's $550 million master facility plan, the TGH Cancer Institute's Brandon location expands access to world-class cancer care for more patients.

TAMPA, Fla. , July 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an endeavor to expand cancer care for the rapidly growing communities of south Hillsborough County, Tampa General Hospital (TGH) opened a state-of-the-art, 26-bay Infusion Center in the TGH Cancer Institute's Brandon location. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on July 19. Additionally, a Radiation Oncology Center will open at the Brandon location, 10740 Palm River Road, this fall.

"By collaborating with some of the nation's preeminent physicians and researchers, we established a leading-edge, research-driven Cancer Institute. Our multidisciplinary team combines the highest level of expertise with compassion as they provide personalized treatments to the greater Tampa Bay region," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. "Our new TGH Cancer Institute location allows us to expand our reach and provide greater access to our community."

The TGH Cancer Institute satellite location in Brandon is part of Tampa General's $550 million master facility plan, the largest in the hospital's almost 100-year history. Once completed, TGH will bring more of the most advanced technology and leading-edge care to the academic health system's patients in Florida and beyond.

The TGH Cancer Institute in Brandon means that residents in south Hillsborough will no longer have to travel to the Tampa General Hospital campus near downtown Tampa for infusion treatments, radiation oncology and doctor visits. Its location in the outpatient center means that patients can also receive lab work, standard imaging exams as well as visit the pharmacy for prescriptions and over the counter medications.

"The addition of the Infusion Center to our rapidly growing Cancer Institute allows us to reach even more members of our community who need access to personalized and empathetic research-driven cancer care," said Dr. Eduardo M. Sotomayor, director of the TGH Cancer Institute. "Since opening the Brandon location last fall, the number of patients the Infusion Center has treated in our Brandon location has exceeded expectations and we hope our strategic position near the intersection of two major highways will help in removing geographical barriers and allow us to continue to treat more patients who need it."

The addition to the TGH Cancer Institute's Infusion Center will offer seven more chemotherapy areas for the treatment of cancer. This will bring the total number of infusion areas to 26, which is expected to make scheduling treatments more efficient.

Designed to encourage therapeutic connection and camaraderie, the Infusion Center at TGH Cancer Institute in Brandon is equipped with advanced technology and offers spacious semi-private, private, and shared treatment bays, as well as a separate space with beverages and light snacks for patients' family members. At the infusion center, patients can receive treatments ordered by their doctor including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, blood transfusions and more.

The Brandon location is staffed by a group of cancer care specialists and physician-scientists, as well as specially trained oncology nurses, physician assistants, or nurse practitioners who are experts in delivering compassionate cancer care for all oncology infusion needs within the following specialties:

• Breast cancer, lung, gynecologic and colorectal cancers, head and neck cancers, and sarcomas
• Advanced care, including abdominal cancers such as liver and hepatobiliary, urologic and genital cancers, and blood cancers
• Neurology, neurosurgery, and neuro-oncology

This fall, the Radiation Oncology Center at the TGH Cancer Institute in Brandon will open. It will provide evidence-based, multimodal radiation therapies, including high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy — a targeted radiation treatment that provides higher doses while preserving the surrounding tissue or skin. The center will also offer radiopharmaceuticals (radioisotopes to target specific organs, tissues or cells) and the TrueBeam™ system (an advanced medical linear accelerator capable of fast and precise image-guided radiation therapy).

"This TGH Radiation Oncology Center is a testament to the TGH Cancer Institute's commitment to providing world-class care to our community," said Dr. Richard Tuli, professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, deputy director of the TGH Cancer Institute, and director of Radiation Oncology at Tampa General Hospital. Tuli joined TGH from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, N.Y. "Added capacity means we can provide treatment to more of the most difficult cancer cases safely using the most cutting-edge technology available to us in a location close to those who live in south Hillsborough."

In a continued effort to provide world-class care to the region, Tampa General is preparing to build a Proton Therapy Center, in collaboration with the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS). The Center will be located within the Tampa Medical and Research District adjacent to downtown Tampa in a highly specialized and comprehensive three-story, 44,000-square-foot building at the intersection of W. Kennedy Boulevard and S. Fielding Avenue.

The expansions reflect a greater undertaking to develop a world-class cancer center at Tampa General. "The completion of the Infusion Center, the addition of a Radiation Oncology Center and a Proton Therapy Center supports our goal to advance an already sophisticated standard of care at the TGH Cancer Institute," said Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, executive vice president and chief of Oncology, Tampa General. "We will not stop in making world-class care accessible for cancer patients and their families."

In December 2022, Tampa General announced that it had earned a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program established by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). TGH Cancer Institute was also recently named one of "America's Best Cancer Hospitals" by Newsweek.

Ranked among the top 10 percent of U.S. hospitals for cancer care according to U.S. News & World Report's 2022-2023 rankings, the Tampa General Cancer Institute provides comprehensive care via groundbreaking therapies and advanced diagnostic imaging tools and is part of the hospital's vision to be the safest and most innovative academic health system in America.

Through the TGH Cancer Institute, Tampa General and USF Health, physicians offer a highly coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to quality patient care and provide a wide range of multidisciplinary specialties such as hematologic malignancies, bone marrow transplant, cell therapy, neuro-oncology, thoracic oncology, breast, colorectal and gynecologic oncology. Advanced subspecialties include liver and hepatobiliary oncology, otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), and genitourinary (reproductive system and genitourinary tract).

The infusion center will be open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information about the TGH Cancer Institute, visit www.tgh.org/cancer.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 1,040-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, 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 2022-23 Best Hospitals, and is tied as the third highest-ranked hospital in Florida, with seven specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by two prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – first nationally in the 2022 America's Best Employers for Women and sixth out of 100 Florida companies in the 2022 America's Best Employers by State. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2021, provided a net community benefit worth more than $224.5 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 six 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 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 21 TGH Imaging powered by Tower outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org).  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital