BayCare's St. Joseph's Hospital Achieves Teaching Hospital Status in Florida

CLEARWATER, Fla., July 1, 2025 — In a significant development for medical education in Florida, BayCare’s St. Joseph’s Hospital has been designated as a statutory teaching hospital by the State of Florida. This recognition underscores the hospital’s growing role in graduate medical education, a move supported by the Agency for Health Care Administration. The designation includes all five BayCare facilities under the St. Joseph’s name, located in Tampa, Lutz, and Riverview.

The announcement comes as BayCare significantly expands its graduate medical education (GME) programs. Nearly 300 residents are set to train across BayCare this academic year, with plans to increase that number to 650 by 2029. This expansion is partly due to the Florida Legislature’s commitment to funding support for GME. Additionally, BayCare has doubled its research efforts, increasing the number of clinical trials enrolling patients.

Expanding Medical Education and Research

The GME programs at St. Joseph’s Hospital currently include Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, and Transitional Year, supporting a total of 135 residents. BayCare also operates GME programs at several other hospitals, including St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.

“BayCare has one of the fastest-growing Graduate Medical Education programs in the country with 14 BayCare-sponsored and four university-sponsored programs,” said BayCare Chief Physician Executive Sowmya Viswanathan. “We know that more than half of residents tend to practice where they train, so we’re investing in the future of health care through the region while bringing the latest medical knowledge and standards into our community.”

Criteria for Statutory Teaching Hospital Status

Under Florida law, a statutory teaching hospital must be affiliated with an accredited Florida medical school and have at least seven different accredited GME programs and 100 or more full-time equivalent resident physicians. St. Joseph’s Hospital meets these criteria through affiliations with several medical schools, including the University of South Florida and the University of Florida.

This designation highlights the hospital’s role in training the state’s physician workforce and supporting the broader health care infrastructure. The move represents a commitment to enhancing academic medicine in the region.

Strategic Collaborations and Future Directions

Earlier this year, BayCare announced a strategic collaboration with Northwestern Medicine, a leading academic health system in Chicago. This partnership aims to expand access to advanced medical treatments, enhance clinical research, and improve training and education for current and future physicians.

“The official state designation of St. Joseph’s Hospital as a statutory teaching hospital confirms our commitment to the future of academic medicine throughout West Central Florida,” said BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners. “This community deserves a stronger bridge between clinical care delivery and academic excellence, and BayCare is the best provider in the region to deliver on that.”

About BayCare Health System

BayCare is a leading not-for-profit academic health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 16 hospitals, including a children’s hospital, and hundreds of other locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. As the largest provider of behavioral health and pediatric services in West Central Florida, BayCare’s network includes laboratories, imaging, surgical centers, urgent care locations, wellness centers, and one of Florida’s largest home care agencies, BayCare HomeCare.

With a mission to improve the health of all it serves, BayCare continues to set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit BayCare.org.

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