It is not an easy thing for a family to place trust in someone else to care for their child — but in Greater Tampa Bay, they can rest easy knowing their loved ones are in good hands.
Greater Tampa Bay is home to the No. 1 children’s hospital in Florida — Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg — in addition to several more highly regarded hospitals devoted to the unique care that youth require. Each has its own unique strengths and specialties that combine to make GTB a place where children can receive all the care they need — whether it is a common health concern or a complex and severe condition.
Medical care for children has some notable differences from the needs of adults. Developing young minds require extra compassion, thoughtful communication and more involvement with the entire family. Medication doses must be smaller and carefully measured, while equipment also must be the appropriate size. Having quality care is crucial at this stage of life, and instilling good habits is extremely important for setting youth up to lead a healthy life, mentally and physically. The area’s several teaching and research hospitals not only master these differences, but they stay on the cutting edge of technology and innovative treatments to advance medicine for children.
Any hospital, especially those devoted to children, has a huge responsibility to care for both patients and their families to the best of their ability. They provide comfort and care for not just the body, but also the mind and spirit.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital — St. Petersburg
National rank
- No. 25 Pediatric Neurology & Neurosurgery
- No. 30 Pediatric Diabetes & Endocrinology
- No. 43 Pediatric Cancer
- No. 39 Pediatric Nephrology
- No. 45 Neonatology
- No. 45 Pediatric Orthopedics
- No. 45 Pediatric Urology
- No. 46 Pediatric Pulmonology & Lung Surgery
Regional rank
- Florida No. 1 (tie)
- Southeast No. 5
U.S. News & World Report 2022 rankings included evaluations of 5,000 hospitals around the country. Specialty rankings are out of 279 of the nation’s best hospitals. The hospital’s ability to provide exceptional care for the most medically complex and sick patients contributed to its ranking in specialties.
Originally opened in 1926 as the American Legion Hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg is a children’s general medical and surgical facility providing comprehensive care and more than 50 pediatric specialties. The teaching hospital has a mission to advance clinical education and research to benefit patients and physicians of the future.
Johns Hopkins received national ranking in eight pediatric specialties, which include neurology and neurosurgery, diabetes and endocrinology, nephrology, cancer, neonatology, orthopedics, urology and pulmonology.
Johns Hopkins President Thomas Kmetz has expressed his gratitude for the rankings and his joy for the success that they will continue.
“With the world focused on health, medicine and science, we are honored to be recognized for the broad range of expert care we offer to this community and its children and families,” Kmetz said. “It is humbling to think that an organization formed to fight a national polio crisis more than 90 years ago now stands amid a pandemic at the forefront of care for kids in Florida and beyond.”
Beyond the walls of the hospital, Johns Hopkins partners with community leaders to support healthy lifestyles, disease management, injury prevention and childhood development. It leads several community-focused programs and initiatives throughout the region.
St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital —Tampa
Tampa is home to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, a leader in pediatric heart and cancer care. There are more than 80 pediatric physician specialists representing 25 medical and surgical disciplines.
The hospital prides itself on treating children with specializations in inpatient and outpatient pediatric care to children and their families.
With its specialty in pediatric cancers, St. Joseph Children’s Hospital has recently helped a toddler survive a serious condition through a unique and risky brain surgery.
It was a difficult time for McKenzie Tanner and her family, when her daughter had to undergo a rare and complex hemispherectomy brain surgery. When Tanner was pregnant with Mercedes, she contracted a virus called cytomegalovirus, or CMV. The virus had serious health consequences, resulting in her daughter suffering from malfunctioning on the right side of her brain. By the time Mercedes turned six months old, she was dealing with as many as 30 seizures a day.
Medicines were no longer working, so Mercedes’ neurologist Dr. Eric Vernier recommended they meet with BayCare Kids Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery Dr. Abilash Haridas.
Dr. Haridas completed an eight-hour surgery at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital and removed the right side of Mercedes’ brain.
Today, Mercedes is reaching huge milestones and growing stronger without another surgery needed.
“It’s so fortunate that we’re able to perform these high-risk brain surgeries at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, with great outcomes,” Dr. Haridas said. “Mercedes’ brain was hijacked before by the seizures. Now, it’s free and thriving with hope.”
Tampa General Hospital Children’s Medical Center — Tampa
One of the primary teaching hospitals for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa General Hospital is a level I trauma center providing medical, surgical and rehabilitative services for infants, children and adolescents. It offers several specialized programs and services that can only be found in a few other places around the state of Florida.
TGH has one of only three dialysis units in the state. The hospital is one of few in the state to specialize in kidney transplants for children, and has a legacy of providing this program since 1983. The Pediatric Burn Program addresses patient’s special needs for burns and other skin wounds. TGH also cares for the invisible wounds that burn victims carry after they leave the hospital, inviting them to a week-long summer camp for other child burn victims, called Camp Hopetáke.
When injuries occur, specially trained nurses and physicians are prepared to comfort and care for children in the pediatric emergency and trauma center. Other programs include a comprehensive pediatric cancer program, pediatric dialysis, a Day Hospital with a child-friendly environment and more.
Shriners Hospitals for Children — Tampa
Shriners Hospital Tampa is a premier destination of choice for parents whose children have orthopedic problems, burns, spinal cord injuries, cleft lip and palate and other rare diseases or syndromes. Shriners provides services to families, regardless of their ability to pay, based on the model for care that was established for them back in 1922.
When the polio epidemic reached large proportions and only families of means had ready access to doctors, the Shriners fraternal organization were determined to create equal pediatric care for all and open their first hospital. The hospital in Tampa remains a nonprofit organization today.
This Tampa hospital is recognized for its continued leading philanthropy and devotion to transforming the lives of children and their families through care and research, regardless of economic background. It makes it part of its mission to educate the next generation of health care professionals and conduct research that improves the quality of life and care.
To learn more about the highest ranked hospitals in GTB, head here.
