Hospital-Based Services

As part of BayCare Health System, the physicians of BayCare Medical Group offer exemplary care at locations throughout the Tampa Bay area. In addition to primary care and specialty offices in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties, our board-certified doctors also provide care in many of BayCare’s 16 local hospitals.

Palliative Care

BayCare Medical Group’s palliative care specialists are focused on providing patients with a higher quality of life through thorough pain and symptom management, intentional conversations about care and a patient centered approach to illness. Working with an interdisciplinary team of professionals we provide medical, emotional, and spiritual support aligned with the patient and family goals and values.

Goals of palliative care include:

  • Reducing physical pain
  • Managing symptoms
  • Increasing mobility
  • Nurturing relationships with family and the community
  • Enhancing the patient’s understanding of his or her treatment path
  • Assisting and supporting caregivers

A palliative care team can consist of a palliative care physician, as well as nurses, professional counselors, chaplains, home health professionals, physical therapists, dieticians, and rehabilitation specialists. A multidisciplinary care team helps to ensure the holistic well-being of the patient.

Hospitalists

Many of our physicians use a hospitalist to care for their patients when they are in a hospital emergency room or are admitted to the hospital. The Hospitalist coordinates the patient's care during the time they are at the hospital and communicates with the patient's physician. Hospitalists transfer the patient's follow-up care back to their physician after they have been discharged from the hospital. A hospitalist physician has completed medical school and usually specializes in a specific field such as pediatrics, internal medicine, or family medicine.

A nocturnist is a hospital-based physician who only works overnight. Most nocturnists are trained in internal medicine or family medicine and have experience in hospital medicine, but may also have specialty training. 

Intensivists

An intensivist is a doctor who specializes in critical care medicine and is trained to care for patients who are critically ill due to complex conditions. Intensivists have completed medical school and completed residencies in specialties such as surgery, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, or anesthesia. Because critical care physicians care for patients in the Intensive Care Unit who may be suffering from a broad range of conditions, they have a more multidisciplinary, comprehensive approach to care.

Specialized ICU care from intensivists can help:

  • Improve patient outcomes
  • Shorten ICU stays
  • Reduce risks