BayCare on Thursday said it secured a “final key piece” in its development as an academic health system through a new collaboration with Chicago’s Northwestern Medicine.
The partnership, which includes Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, gives BayCare expanded access to treatments, enhanced clinical research, and improved training and education for current and future physicians,” according to a news release.
“BayCare and Northwestern Medicine have signed a definitive agreement to formalize our collaboration,” said BayCare president and CEO Stephanie Conners, adding she expects the partnership will accelerate “our trajectory as an academic health system.”
“This collaboration secures a final key piece in our effort to grow,” Connors said.
Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of BayCare’s February purchase of three buildings on the west side of its St. Joseph’s hospitals in Tampa. The 36-acre parcel will be called the BayCare Academic Health and Research Corridor.
Hospital officials say the partnership is central to BayCare’s plans for the campus addition.
“Initially, our efforts are focused on education and training opportunities as well as clinical research development,” Connors said in a video detailing the collaboration. “Conversations are happening every day to determine how we can combine the power of our education and research capabilities.”
The Clearwater-based nonprofit previously announced it was expanding its graduate medical education programs to 650 residents by 2029 to help attract and retain physicians in the region.
“Our leadership teams have worked collaboratively together to define development opportunities, including potential for faculty appointments through the Feinberg School of Medicine,” said Dr. Sowmya Viswanathan, chief physician executive of BayCare.
According to Hillsborough County property records, BayCare paid $145 million for the new buildings, located in Tampa Bay Park, a 72-acre complex with seven buildings and 26 acres of lakes at Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard and Himes Avenue.
The added 615,656 square feet of office space (and two parking garages) increased the system’s property holdings by 75% in the West Tampa area, the news release said.
It was the latest of several major property investments in recent years for BayCare, already the region’s largest health system with 16 hospitals in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk counties:
- In April, the nonprofit broke ground on BayCare Manatee hospital, the anchor of a $563 million health care campus off Interstate 75 in Parish. It is scheduled to open in 2028.
- In March, BayCare paid $9 million for about 1.6 acres at a major Tampa intersection for a standalone emergency center, according to property records. The parcel, near the West Shore business district at Kennedy Boulevard and Dale Mabry Highway, was previously the site of a CVS pharmacy.
- In September, BayCare announced plans to build a medical office for two Wesley Chapel residential developments that would include primary and acute care and an emergency department. Pasco County records show BayCare paid $12 million for a 15-acre parcel.
- BayCare announced plans last spring to construct a new St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital by 2030. The project, boosted by a $50 million donation from philanthropist Sidd Pagidipati, will be called the Pagidipati Children’s Hospital at St. Joseph’s.
- In January 2024, BayCare Behavioral Health announced plans to open an urgent care center in Pasco focused on mental health and addiction needs. To assist, the county awarded the system just over $3.57 million from opioid settlement money.
Northwestern Medicine is one of the nation’s largest regional health systems, with 11 hospitals. For 13 consecutive years, it has been named to the Best Hospitals Honor Roll by U.S. News and World Report. The Feinberg medical school has been lauded for its education and research programs.
“As a nationally recognized academic health system, we look forward to helping strengthen BayCare’s mission to attract, retrain and train the next generation of health care professionals,” said Dr. Howard Chrisman, Northwestern Memorial’s president and CEO.
