It is a new chapter in children’s health care — regionally and beyond — from a couple whose name is synonymous with transformative giving.
Welcome to the new Muma Children’s Hospital at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) — the embodiment of a long-held vision shared by area philanthropists Pam and Les Muma. A new and transformational contribution by the Mumas in late 2023 has paved the way for the renaming of the Children’s Hospital at TGH and marks the most significant contribution and the largest gift ever to any children’s hospital in the region.
“There are no limits to the generosity of Pam and Les Muma,” said TGH president and CEO John Couris. “Their contribution to TGH in support of the Children’s Hospital will have a meaningful and lasting impact across the state, most especially on the families and children of our community.”
The result of the Mumas’ contribution is a state-of-the-art, comprehensive pediatric center equipped to handle virtually any situation facing you and your child — all right here in the heart of the Tampa Bay area and powered by the vast resources and expertise of nationally renowned TGH.
When the Mumas lost their newborn daughter shortly after delivery at TGH in 1973, they developed a passionate commitment to help the hospital build the best newborn intensive care unit in the nation. With a major gift in 2006, they created the Jennifer Leigh Muma Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in honor of their baby girl — a center known for providing the highest quality of complex care. The TGH NICU is able to care for the sickest babies because of the expertise of the team at the Muma Children’s Hospital and the TGH Women’s Institute, which is ranked one of the top 10 hospitals in the nation for Obstetrics & Gynecology by U.S. News & World Report for 2023-24.
A Comprehensive Children’s Hospital Backed by the Power of Academic Medicine
Parents and patients can receive a full spectrum of cutting-edge care from the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH — from simple injuries to major trauma; from basic illnesses to complex, chronic, life-threatening conditions; and from newborn infants to young adults. A gifted team of professionals supports the entire needs of each child and their family — including pediatric specialist doctors and surgeons, pediatric-certified nurses, psychologists, certified child life specialists and pediatric therapists.
“We provide a wide range of top-tier services,” said Patty Emmanuel, medical chief of the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH, medical service line director and chair of Pediatrics for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “We have a number of subspecialty doctors advancing children’s health care and educating our future providers of pediatric care. From neonatologists who care for the tiniest infants to our physicians who work with adolescents and older youth to transition to adult care, we’re here for the lifespan of your child and the full range of their care.”
And as a leading academic health system, TGH and the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine provide a depth of resources, expertise and groundbreaking research, and a multidisciplinary approach that can only be found at a system like this.
Those resources represent a distinct advantage in housing the Muma Children’s Hospital within TGH, underscores Melissa Golombek, vice president of the Muma Children’s Hospital and Women’s Institute: “With the power of the Mumas and other philanthropic investments, united with the power of TGH and academic medicine, we’re able to focus on building the best programs available. We’re dedicated to channeling these funds into the highest quality programs and people, with the goal of advancing pediatric health care in Tampa Bay and Florida.”
Building a Children’s Hospital for the Future
The Muma Children’s Hospital has been undergoing extensive renovation, including a multimillion-dollar remodeling of the pediatric space to provide a healing, comforting environment that better aligns with the top clinical excellence found at TGH.
Prior to the Mumas’ most recent gift, they were longtime supporters of TGH. “The Children’s Hospital has been something we’ve always wanted to do,” Pam Muma said following their gift. “I’ve been on the board and Les has been on the board and it happened at the right time — we had the right people and the right place. John Couris came to TGH with this great passion and desire to take the hospital to another level in children’s care.”
And now, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of two special donors, the Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH has begun an exciting new chapter, with a commitment to providing world-class pediatric care to patients and parents throughout the region and Florida.