Tampa General Hospital Recognized as Top Hospital for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report

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Dec 11, 2024, 14:43 ET

The region's only university-affiliated academic health system is acknowledged for its continued commitment to providing exceptional maternity, childbirth and postpartum care.

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) has been named one of the 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in hospital rankings and consumer advice. This marks the second consecutive year Tampa General has been designated a high-performing hospital for maternity care, the highest honor a hospital can earn from U.S. News in this specialty area. Just half of the hospitals evaluated for the 2025 ranking were named Best Hospitals for Maternity Care, with Tampa General as the only health system in the Tampa Bay region to achieve this distinction.

"At Tampa General, our physicians and team members understand that a healthy start to life contributes to better lifelong health," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. "We are proud to have earned this prestigious recognition, which celebrates our team's commitment to providing world-class, compassionate maternity care to expectant mothers and newborns in our community and beyond."

Each year, the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care evaluation provides expectant parents and their prenatal care teams with valuable information for choosing the maternity care that best suits them and their family's needs.

"This recognition reflects the dedication of our incredible health care team at USF Health and Tampa General Hospital," says Dr. Judette Louis, chief of the TGH Women's Institute, and James M. Ingram Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. "We are committed to providing the best possible care for every mother and baby, from routine pregnancies to high-risk cases requiring the advanced capabilities of an academic health system. Where you deliver matters, and this ranking indicates that we are successfully meeting the quality measures that lead to better outcomes for mothers and babies."

The U.S. News & World Report 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care is based on eight quality indicators:

Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex (NTSV) C-section rate, which describes the proportion of live, full-term babies born to women in their first pregnancy, that are singleton and in the vertex presentation (no breech or transverse positions), via cesarean birth
Unexpected newborn complication rate
Episiotomy rate
Exclusive human milk feeding rate
VBAC rate
Transparency on racial/ethnic disparities
Early elective delivery rate
Birthing-friendly practices

These metrics are evaluated via a nationwide survey, and hospitals scoring 70 or higher are recognized as "High Performing." The methodology focuses on uncomplicated pregnancies.

Prior to this latest ranking from U.S. News & World Report, the TGH Women's Institute has achieved national recognition for its maternity care services, including:

In 2024, Tampa General Hospital was named to Newsweek's list of America's Best Maternity Hospitals for the fourth consecutive year.
In 2023, Tampa General Hospital was redesignated as the only Baby-Friendly® birth facility in Hillsborough County. Earning the Baby-Friendly® designation is a rigorous achievement given only to facilities that have implemented the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding and are compliant with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
In 2022, Tampa General Hospital was recognized by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health with an award for exceeding national goals for reducing the number of unnecessary cesarean deliveries for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies and instead promoting vaginal deliveries. It was one of only 26 delivery hospitals in Florida to achieve the award.
In 2021, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Health named Tampa General Hospital as one of only 15 delivery hospitals in Florida to promote vaginal deliveries and reduce cesarean section deliveries for first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies.
Tampa General was recognized in 2020 for its achievement in maternal care during a Florida Hospital Association webinar titled "Reducing Unnecessary C-Sections: Successful Florida Strategies."

"The TGH Women's Institute provides comprehensive women's health services, from routine to complex care, for families across Florida," says Melissa Golombek, vice president of the Muma Children's Hospital at TGH and the TGH Women's Institute. "Our focus on safe childbirth and quality care contributes to better outcomes for both mother and baby."

More information about the ranking methodology can be found, along with the full list of the U.S. News & World Report's 2025 Best Maternity Hospitals, can be found here.

To learn more about the services offered by the TGH Women's Institute, please visit https://www.tgh.org/institutes-and-services/womens-institute.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 981-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 2024-2025 Best Hospitals, with two medical specialties ranking among the top 20 in the nation and eight medical specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital 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 three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2024 America's Best Large Employers, the top 50 in Florida in the 2024 America's Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2022, provided a net community benefit of approximately $240.3 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 Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North, which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, two TGH Outpatient Centers, TGH Virtual Health, and 20 TGH Imaging 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 the 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.