Tampa General VP Named To 'Chief Medical Officers To Know' List

TAMPA, FL — Tampa General Hospital's Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peggy Duggan has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review on its 2023 “Hospital and Health Systems Chief Medical Officers to Know” list, which highlights clinical leaders playing a crucial role in directing their organization's forward momentum while serving their patients and communities.

Since joining Tampa General in 2021, Duggan has overseen a multitude of functions related to physicians and patient care for the academic medical center, which includes 1,040 beds and more than 8,000 team members. In addition to her leadership role, Duggan is a practicing physician, leveraging her top-tier credentials in breast cancer surgery as a senior member of the breast oncology program at the TGH Cancer Institute.

“I am extremely proud of Peggy and her inclusion on this list as a national medical leader. She is a world-class physician, a highly effective leader, an exceptional person, and an invaluable asset to Tampa General and our entire team,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. “Every day, Peggy dedicates tremendous energy and talent to serving our patients and supporting our team to propel Tampa General forward. This national recognition is emblematic of the exceptional level of care and leadership she provides.”

Duggan is responsible for the conceptualization and implementation of many innovative programs across Tampa General, impacting both patient and team member safety, enhancing world-class care and supporting a compassionate culture.

For example, in 2022 Duggan initiated Schwartz Rounds, an international program using research-based strategies, tools and support to provide caregivers with resources to create and sustain a culture of compassion.

During regularly scheduled times, physicians, nurses, social workers, health care professionals and psychologists openly and honestly discuss the social and emotional issues they face in caring for patients and their families. The benefits of Schwartz Rounds include strengthening caregiver-patient relationships, improving caregiver support and boosting caregiver resiliency.

As a leader in Tampa General’s initiative to become a certified Collaborative High Reliability Organization, Duggan was instrumental in the hospital becoming the first academic medical center and Level I trauma center to receive two key qualifications — Collaborative Just Culture Program and Reliability Management Team.

The qualifications are initial steps in the process of achieving Collaborative High Reliability Organization certification. Organizations worldwide from airlines to major utilities have achieved high reliability by demonstrating they have maintained high levels of safety, quality and efficiency over an extended period, and health care organizations have just started to take this approach to achieving safety and improving quality.

Additionally, under Duggan’s leadership, Tampa General revolutionized its approach to sepsis management, creating an early warning system that helps with improved intervention for this life-threatening complication of an infection.

As a result of this effort, the early death rate was nearly cut in half from 6.1 percent to 3.1 percent. This accounts for more than 50 lives saved in the past six months. Through this ongoing work, Tampa General developed pathways to get patients home from the hospital in a more timely manner.

“I am thrilled to be included in this list alongside exemplary chief medical officers from impressive institutions across the country,” said Duggan. “Tampa General is a leading provider for the health and well-being of our community, and I am honored to work with our exceptional physician team every day to provide world-class care to our patients while infusing innovation every step of the way.”

Becker’s Hospital Review is a leading source of hospital business news and analysis for the health care industry. Duggan and the rest of this year’s “Hospital and Health System CMOs to Know” honorees can be found online here.