BayCare Health System has released its 2024 Report to the Community, illustrating its growing impact on the health and well-being of the communities of West Central Florida. As a nationally recognized not-for-profit health care provider, BayCare continued to invest to ensure its patients had access to the highest-quality, compassionate care; served as an essential community partner through devastating hurricanes; and provided vital care for those with limited access to health services.
BayCare’s operating revenues grew to $6.27 billion in 2024, up from $5.5 billion a year before, and the health system rose in multiple rankings as a top employer in the region and nationally.
Investing in West Central Florida for Healthy Communities
BayCare’s commitment to the region’s communities remained strong. The health system dedicated $467 million in Community Benefit to care for uninsured or underinsured patients and to improve the health and well-being of residents in the system’s primary service area of Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties. In addition, BayCare hosted emergency food and water distributions and donated $300,000 for hurricane relief to Feeding Tampa Bay, Metropolitan Ministries and the St. Petersburg Free Clinic in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
To ensure the region would have the health care it needs for the future, BayCare in 2024 broke ground for the region’s first proton therapy center to enhance cancer treatment options and continued its investment in facilities. BayCare opened a replacement South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City in August and broke ground for a $110 million expansion project at Bartow Regional Medical Center in November. While also expanding St. Joseph’s Hospital-South in Riverview and St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, BayCare announced construction plans for a new hospital in north Manatee County that will be that county’s first not-for-profit hospital. It is expected to open in 2028.
BayCare also announced a transformative $50 million gift from Tampa’s Pagidipati family to support the construction of a new facility for St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, which will be called the Pagidipati Children’s Hospital at St. Joseph’s, advancing the region’s pediatric care for years to come.
Growing Graduate Medical Education and Introducing Clinical Institutes
BayCare continued rapid expansion of its Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs to train the physicians the region will need in the future and to further develop its clinical research programs. Three new GME programs that BayCare received accreditation for in 2024 are now part of its 16 GME programs that will train nearly 300 physicians in fall 2025. The system hopes to expand further to 650 residents each year by 2029.
In 2024, BayCare implemented a new approach to organizing and delivering clinical services by creating six Clinical Institutes – an approach that is expected to expand the breadth and depth of BayCare’s clinical offerings while making care more accessible and easier to navigate for patients.
Weathering the Storms of Hurricanes Helene and Milton
“Amid the challenge of back-to-back hurricanes that impacted our patients and team members, BayCare continued to ensure access to not-for-profit, patient-centered health care for our communities for years to come,” said BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners. “BayCare’s dynamic growth and innovation in reimagining care delivery reflect our steadfast commitment to clinical excellence and our dedication to the communities we serve.”
In another milestone for 2024, BayCare transitioned from the joint operating agreement that created the health system in 1997 to a single corporate entity. The corporate restructuring ensures not-for-profit health care in the region will remain locally owned and managed for generations to come. BayCare also received approval for $1.9 billion in tax-exempt bonds to finance investments to serve the region’s health, from new construction to key technological investments.
Recognition for Clinical Excellence
Through participation in nearly 500 health research projects, including 290 sponsored clinical trials, BayCare provided patients access to cutting-edge treatments that would not otherwise be available in the region. Building upon its decades of clinical excellence, BayCare achieved continued recognition from Healthgrades for clinical outcomes and the Leapfrog Group for patient safety. In addition, BayCare earned 20 Press Ganey Human Experience Awards for extraordinary patient experience based on patient surveys.
A Top Employer and a Great Place to Work
Ranked 8th in the U.S. on the PEOPLE® Companies that Care list and 17th in the U.S. on the Fortune Best Workplaces in Health Care™ list, BayCare was also named to the Fortune Best Workplaces for Women™ list in 2024 and a Tampa Bay Times Top Workplace for the 10th consecutive year. BayCare supported its growing workforce of nearly 33,000 in 2024 by investing $855 million in benefits, career development, and rewards and recognition.
BayCare’s 2024 Report to the Community covers activity from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024. The full report is available online at baycare.org/annual-report.
