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Editorial: Healthy step for region

 
Published Sept. 19, 2014

The relationship between the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, the university's main teaching hospital, is continuing to move in the right direction. The chief executives of USF's College of Medicine and Tampa General announced last week that both would play overlapping roles at the two institutions. This new level of coordination aligns the strengths of two powerhouses in ways that could make for a healthier and more prosperous region.

The arrangement will give the two executives a voice at both institutions, enabling them to focus their academic, research and clinical assets, and maximize their spending in an era of fast consolidation within the health care industry. Medical school dean Dr. Charles Lockwood will become executive vice president and chief academic officer at TGH, while Tampa General CEO Jim Burkhart will become senior associate dean of the medical school.

The move builds on the fresh start that both leaders have made since replacing their squabbling predecessors in the last year. By sharing seats at the executive level, Lockwood can help shape Tampa General's academic and research programs. Burkhart can help the university enhance its clinical and research offerings, recruit physicians to the medical school and solicit support for USF through the broader business community.

Lockwood and Burkhart have underscored many of the same priorities since taking their positions, from the need to make the bay area healthier to strengthening primary care and exploring new business opportunities in the health care industry. This move puts the two major players in line to recast the bay area's niche in academic medicine. It will also bring more exposure to USF as the university looks to build a new medical school, perhaps downtown and closer to Tampa General.

This show of trust is a model partnership that should bring a bigger bang for the health care buck. USF and Tampa General still have distinct missions, but this arrangement bolsters the intersection between medical science and medical service. The spirit of cooperation should also filter down the ranks and foster a better working culture across the board. It's a wonderful step.