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Tampa Bay
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Life Sciences & Health Care
In downtown Tampa, University of South Florida’s CAMLS — Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation — provides state-of-the-art, hands-on learning opportunities for practicing physicians and medical students. Nearby, at USF’s 395,000-sq.-ft. Morsani College of Medicine & Heart Institute, some 1,800 students, faculty and staff live, work and study along Tampa’s downtown waterfront.
Here, too, students enjoy ready access to Morsani’s primary teaching hospital, Tampa General, which for the seventh year in a row has been named Tampa Bay’s “Best Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report with top 50 rankings in seven medical specialties: ear, nose and throat (No. 16); diabetes and endocrinology (No. 27); orthopedics (No. 33); gastroenterology & GI surgery (No. 34); obstetrics and gynecology (No. 40); rehabilitation (No. 40); and pulmonology and lung surgery (No. 49). Tampa General is also the nation’s sixth busiest transplant center, logging a total of 558 individual adult and pediatric transplants in 2021, including its 1,500th adult heart transplant to date.
Also earning top 50 rankings from U.S. News & World Report in 2022-23 is Moffitt Cancer Center at No. 25 nationwide for cancer care and Sarasota Memorial Hospital with a pair of No. 35s for rehabilitation and urology.
And on the pediatric side, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg scored Top 50 rankings in: pediatric neurology & neurosurgery (No. 18); pediatric diabetes and endocrinology (No. 34); pediatric nephrology (No. 34); and pediatric orthopedics (No. 50).
In addition to providing direct patient care, Tampa Bay’s Life Sciences sector has a thriving technology component. Thanks to familiar names like Johnson & Johnson, Amgen and Bristol Myers Squibb, this region has become a natural magnet for newly emerging biotech companies looking to make their marks. Recent arrivals include:
• Switzerland-based Inpeco, the pioneer in clinical lab automation to reduce errors and advance medical diagnoses, opening a regional headquarters at CAMLS in downtown Tampa;
• NuMedTechs, establishing a U.S. research hub in Tampa to grow its diagnostic abilities and treatment processes associated with diagnosing respiratory conditions; and
• BeniComp, a health tech company in the insurance space looking to create 100 new jobs through 2025.
Education
Educational opportunities thrive at all levels throughout Tampa Bay.
University of South Florida is named among the nation’s top 50 public universities by U.S. News & World Report for the fourth year in a row, but this year, the news is even sweeter. For the first time in school history, with its score of 42, USF joins the elite group of top 100 universities nationwide.
Also scoring points in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 rankings:
• Florida Polytechnic University: No. 1 — Top Public Schools; No. 3 — Regional Colleges South; No. 1 — Best College for Veterans; and No. 30 Best Value School
• University of Tampa: No. 20 — Best Regional Universities South; No. 20 — Best College for Veterans; and No. 34 — Best Value Schools.
• Florida Southern College in Lakeland: No. 8 — Best Regional Universities South; No. 11 — Best Value School; and No. 16 — Most Innovative (tie).
Educational excellence in Florida’s Tampa Bay region is not limited to colleges and universities. Sarasota County is home to Florida’s 2nd and the nation’s 24th best high school according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 “Best U.S. High Schools” list. Snagging the honors for multiple years is Pine View School in Osprey.
Life & Leisure
Hip, Hip, Hurray! The Greatest Show on Earth Is Coming Back to Town
If you thought live circus was a thing of the past, rejoice! Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey will be back in the fall of 2023 with loads of thrills, high-flying acts and jaw-dropping moments … just no animals. A global search for the best acts in the world is already underway, with rehearsals scheduled to begin in June 2023, followed by the official U.S. launch to more than 50 cities in North America starting in September. Tickets go on sale in April 2023.
Here Comes the Sun!
At last … a direct route to sun and fun. Opening October 21 in Pinellas County — SunRunner — a 16-stop transit line that will shuttle passengers between downtown St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach. The trip takes 35 minutes each way — about 30% faster than the current bus service. Riding will be free for the first six months of operation, then it’s $2.25 one way.
Saying Goodbye to an Icon
Winter, the bottlenose dolphin with a prosthetic tail who starred in a movie and turned Clearwater Marine Aquarium into a global tourist attraction, died in November 2021 from an intestinal problem. Discovered entangled in a crab trap off the coast of Cape Canaveral in December 2005, Winter was transported to Clearwater where she was fitted with a prosthetic tail and became the star of her own movie, “Dolphin Tale.” Winter was believed to be about 16 years old.
