Tampa General Hospital highlights partnerships amid mixed financial results

The parent company of Tampa General Hospital posted an increase in operating revenue, but a slip in operating earnings, in fiscal year 2018.

The financial results are included in a report to bondholders that emphasizes the business partnerships the hospital established in the last few years.

Florida Health Sciences Center, which includes Tampa General and other subsidiaries, reported $1.325 billion in operating revenue for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, a 5.4 percent increase from the previous year. Operating earnings fell 31.4 percent, to $13.6 million, and the operating margin dropped to 1 percent. The report cited increases in salary and benefits, as the number of workers went up, as well as increased costs for medical supplies, malpractice insurance and a marketing campaign. Capital expenditures included $50 million to relocate departments to improve patient flow and make room for new services.

The total gain for FY 2018, including non-operating items such as investments, was $66.4 million, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier.

The results include operations from TGH, which is the largest independent hospital in the Tampa-St. Pete area with 1,010 licensed beds. TGH has the area’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, a burn center and an organ transplant center. It’s the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and it’s a major employer, with 7,247 full-time equivalent employees as of Sept. 30.

Other subsidiaries in the financial report include Tampa General Medical Group, with 70 physicians; real estate and architectural operations; a staffing company; surgical and pharmaceutical businesses at the Brandon Healthplex; and a division that operates two Starbucks restaurants at the hospital and the Brandon Healthplex.

The bond report highlighted seven key events in FY 2018:

• Kicked off collaboration in July with GE Healthcare to develop a care coordination center to improve patient safety and quality and efficiency through the use of artificial intelligence and predictive analytics. The care coordination center is expected to be operational in FY 2019.
• Celebrated transplant services, performing the 10,000th transplant on Sept. 30.
• Began process in September to develop a partnership with Lee Health to expand transplant services by providing kidney transplant services in Fort Meyers.
• Launched a multi-media advertising campaign in July to highlight Florida Health Sciences Center’s market strength and partnership with USF.
• Partnered with Chapters Health Systems on a hospice unit within the hospital, with 16 private rooms that opened in October.
• Opened a 16,000-square-foot endoscopy center in August, with seven procedure rooms and 16 pre-and-post bays within the hospital.
• Opened Florida Health Sciences Center’s first urgent care center in Brandon in September, with 4,000 square feet of patient space.

During FY 2018, TGH had a 4.4. percent increase in inpatient surgeries, while outpatient surgeries increased 14.2 percent.