Tampa General and USF Health tighten bonds

TAMPA — Tampa General Hospital and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine have increased collaboration by allowing chief executives of both institutions a voice in each institution's operational and strategic decision-making.

Tampa General CEO Jim Burkhart and Charles Lockwood, dean of the Morsani College of Medicine and senior vice president of USF Health, will now participate in each other's senior executive meetings, according to a press release. Each will receive an additional title to reflect the collaboration between the two health care institutions.

Burkhart, in his role at USF Health, will participate in strategic planning and work with the vice deans to enhance clinical training. He will also help recruit physicians for the medical school. Lockwood, meanwhile, at TGH, will work with the hospital's leadership and medical staff to further develop academic programs and expand research capabilities. “This gives us a new level of integration that will help the hospital and medical school create much closer ties,” Burkhart says in the release.