Five Tampa Bay Healthcare Providers Win Innovation Awards at 360 Summit: Perspectives on Healthcare Innovation

TAMPA, Fla., /PRNewswire/ -- Five Tampa Bay regional healthcare providers - Tampa General Hospital (TGH), Lincare, Gracepoint, Fast Track Urgent Care (Fast Track), and Largo Medical Center - were presented Innovation Awards by Ultimate Medical Academy at its inaugural 360 Summit: Perspectives on Healthcare Innovation on Friday, Sept. 21 in Tampa, Florida.

UMA, a nonprofit healthcare educational institution, designed the 360 Summit to bring together healthcare providers and educators to encourage collaborative problem-solving by highlighting workforce diversity, innovative design, transformative technology, disruptive solutions and creative alternatives to traditional healthcare offerings.

"We presented the Innovation Awards to local healthcare providers that are taking significant steps to innovate and make a real impact on patient care in the greater Tampa Bay community and beyond," UMA Executive Chair and Former Governor of Massachusetts Jane Swift said. "These awards recognize the vital work these organizations are doing to strategically transform healthcare and improve patient outcomes."

Three of the five institutions receiving awards are UMA Corporate Alliance members, who represent the top healthcare employers of UMA graduates locally and across the nation.

• John Couris, President and CEO of TGH, who delivered a keynote address at the 360 Summit, received an award for TGH being a beacon of innovation through impactful partnerships, innovative technologies, team engagement and cultural evolution.
   
• Shiraz Mohammed, Head of Human Resources and Payroll, and Todd Gladden, Head of Talent Management at Lincare, a Corporate Alliance member, received an award for Lincare's mission of setting the standard for excellence and transforming the way respiratory care is delivered in the home.
   
• Joe Lallanilla, Director of Performance Improvement and Analytics at Gracepoint, a private, nonprofit behavioral health system, received an award for Gracepoint's work with Florida Hospital to provide behavioral health assessments in the hospital emergency room, a strategy that has reduced average emergency room cycle time by 40 percent and repeat and avoidable emergency room visits by 59 percent.
   
• Dr. Daron Diecidue, CEO at Fast Track, a Corporate Alliance member, received an award for Fast Track's work to meet the growing demand for urgent care by providing patients with increased access and convenience while reducing costs in the Tampa Bay area and throughout Florida.
   
• Kevin Bellas, Senior Recruiter at Largo Medical Center, received an award for the teaching hospital's partnership with Jersey College to train nursing students onsite to help address the nursing shortage at the local and national level, which is projected to exceed 800,000 over the next 15 years.

Almost 300 healthcare and education leaders and practitioners attended the 360 Summit to participate in sessions on expanding access, managing costs, and improving the quality of care and patient outcomes in the face of an aging population and critical staffing shortages in the U.S.

For more information, please visit www.ultimatemedical.edu/360summit/.

ABOUT ULTIMATE MEDICAL ACADEMY
Ultimate Medical Academy is a nonprofit healthcare educational institution with a national presence. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida and founded in 1994, the school has more than 45,000 alumni and offers content-rich, interactive online courses to almost 15,000 students, as well as hands-on training to hundreds of students. UMA students have access to academic advising, one-on-one or group tutoring, resume and interview coaching, job search assistance, technical support, and more. UMA is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). Learn more by visiting https://www.ultimatemedical.edu/. UMA's continuing medical education division provides CME to almost 40,000 healthcare professionals annually.

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SOURCE Ultimate Medical Academy