March 8, 2023 – Tampa General Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and west central Florida’s only Level I trauma center, announced the opening of its newly renovated regional Burn Center, including its connected, specialized Burn Intensive Care Unit for critically ill burn patients. Tampa General’s 18-bed Burn Center includes a six-bed intensive care unit, a 12-bed wound care unit, treatment rooms and a burn operating room located within the unit.
Tampa General’s Burn Center, which treats critically burned patients from emergency admission through rehabilitation, is one of just five burn centers in Florida to have earned verification by the American Burn Association (ABA)/American College of Surgeons (ACS) and one of only two ABA-verified adult and pediatric burn centers in Florida. This distinction means the center has met stringent guidelines for patient care procedures, facilities, and staffing.
The academic medical center’s Burn Center has nurses and physicians who are highly trained in the care of patients who have experienced a burn trauma from fire, chemicals, oil, or electricity over more than 10% of their body. All nurses within the unit have Advanced Burn Life Support (ABLS) certification. Specialized care provided in Tampa General’s Burn ICU includes intravenous fluid replacement, breathing support, pain control and treatment of burn wounds. The ICU is equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring equipment.
To streamline care, the newly renovated Burn ICU has added a room specifically for ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation). ECMO is a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide and sends oxygen-filled blood back to tissues in the body, allowing the heart and lungs to rest and heal.
Within the updated center, care is truly multidisciplinary and focused on the specific needs of the burn patient. Physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and therapists provide expertise in infection prevention, nutrition, wound care, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Tampa General also has a Burn Survivor program for patients that provides support after their initial injury.