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Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and Florida Hospital create affiliation to deliver high quality pediatric care

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Florida Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital are creating an exclusive affiliation to deliver high quality pediatric care, closer to home for patients in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. These two organizations share a common goal – to be leaders in children’s health and well-being through treatment, education and advocacy.

Together, Florida Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital are committed to creating more access to quality pediatric care for our community. That includes access points through Florida Hospital emergency rooms in Tampa Bay. Each of the Florida Hospital emergency rooms are staffed with board certified emergency room (ER) physicians. The ER’s have adopted clinical protocols from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital evidence-based standards of care for pediatric emergency medicine. This includes Florida Hospital Tampa, Florida Hospital Carrollwood, Florida Hospital North Pinellas, Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel and Florida Hospital Zephyrhills.

“We are excited to be affiliating with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital. They’ve been a leader in pediatric medicine since 1926 and are currently ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the U.S. and on Florida’s West Coast according to the 2016-17 Best Children’s Hospital rankings by U.S. News and World Report. We will now be able to provide their quality and standards of care with access points through all Florida Hospital emergency rooms in Tampa Bay,” said Mike Schultz, President & CEO, Florida Hospital West Florida Region.

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Pediatric Programs will reside at Florida Hospital Tampa beginning August 23, 2016. Expanding on existing collaborations in neonatology and surgery, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Specialty Physicians will provide specialty care in cardiology, critical care, hematology/oncology, hospital medicine, general surgery and neonatology within the walls of Florida Hospital Tampa. The hospital has several dedicated pediatric medical units including a pediatric emergency room, level three neonatal intensive care unit (Level III NICU), pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and an inpatient pediatric unit.

“We want to be able to treat sick kids without geography being a barrier. Today, in the evolving world of health care, that means expanding outside the walls of our main campus in St. Petersburg,” said Jonathan Ellen, M.D., President, CEO & Physician-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Vice Dean and Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “This new relationship with Florida Hospital Tampa fosters exactly that, as well as demonstrates to patients and families that there is a shared commitment between our two organizations to provide the highest quality of care.”

Florida Hospital Tampa recently opened a brand new, fully-dedicated pediatric emergency department (ED) which includes 10 private treatment rooms with ambient lighting that allow each child to choose their environment, a feature exclusive to Florida Hospital. The new ED, titled Doc1stERâ"  4 Kids, is modeled after the success of the original Doc1st ER Florida Hospital Tampa opened in 2014. Doc1stER 4 Kids ensures that patients will see a board certified emergency physician specializing in pediatric medicine first.

Every detail was taken into account in the décor and theming from the front lobby to the treatment rooms, the hallways, and nursing stations…which have all been designed to look and feel like a pirate ship to provide a calming distraction and reducing anxiety in children.

“This affiliation with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital demonstrates our commitment to children and families in our community,” said Brian Adams, President & CEO of Florida Hospital Tampa. “Our investment of more than $18 million dollars in the expansion of our pediatric services and resources from the inside out is further proof of that commitment and we look forward to many years of working together.”

Florida Hospital and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital are committed to delivering quality pediatric care with the best possible outcomes, closer to where patients live. To learn more about this affiliation, visit PediatricCareTampaBay.com 

About Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg is a leader in children’s health care, combining a legacy of compassionate care focused solely on children since 1926 with the innovation and experience of one of the world’s leading health care systems. The 259-bed teaching hospital, ranked as a U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospital, stands at the forefront of discovery, leading innovative research to cure and prevent childhood diseases while training the next generation of pediatric experts. With a network of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Outpatient Care centers and collaborative care provided by All Children’s Specialty Physicians at regional hospitals, Johns Hopkins All Children’s brings care closer to home. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital consistently keeps the patient and family at the center of care while continuing to expand its mission in treatment, research, education and advocacy. For more information, visit HopkinsAllChildrens.org.