U.S. Department of Health awards $80,000 to Tampa General hospital as part of the Mission Zero program

Tampa General Hospital (TGH) is introducing the Mission Zero initiative, a Military Civilian Partnership for the Trauma Readiness Grant that will help those with traumatic injuries.

The $80,000 federal award, which was given out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be used to pay military doctors so they can treat trauma patients at the university medical center.

Mission Zero is to foster and expand military-civilian collaborations that will enhance the country’s capability to respond to public health and medical emergencies. Additionally, it will give medical professionals who deal with combat casualties more practice in handling trauma patients who have suffered severe injuries. The money from the grant will be used to pay Tampa General’s administrative expenses as well as to hire and educate military trauma care specialists.

The award will support Tampa General’s ambitions to become a regional tertiary academic medical safety net hospital and the only Level I Trauma Center in West Central Florida that has been verified by the American College of Surgeons. A recognized burn center by the American Burn Association, Tampa General is also the main teaching affiliate of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.

In 2021, Tampa General cared for about 3,000 trauma patients, including 747 who were transferred from other trauma centers and needed more advanced medical attention.

The Florida Department of Health’s Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program has designated Tampa General. The USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation (CAMLS), a cutting-edge building housing high-fidelity simulators, mannequins, cadavers, and an animated training curriculum, provides military personnel with access to world-class doctors in every specialty. TGH is a tertiary/quintenary academic medical center with more than 1,700 medical staff members.