St. Joseph's Hospital-South

03/30/2026

On Doctors Day and every day at BayCare, we’re grateful for the exceptional, patient-centered care provided by our physicians. Serving our West Central Florida communities with clinical excellence and compassion, BayCare physicians help deliver outstanding outcomes and high levels of patient satisfaction across the region. As part of the region’s largest academic health system, their dedication also helps shape the future of care. Happy Doctors Day! 🩺💙

03/28/2026

Riverview native Ashley is our new surgical services director! Ashley will oversee our entire surgery department including preoperative (preop) care, the operating room, postoperative recovery and endoscopy. The position is responsible for ensuring high-quality patient care, efficiency and regulation compliance.

Ashley succeeds Jelissa, now BayCare director of system quality, safety and education for perioperative services.

Ashley has held surgery nursing positions in local hospitals since 2014 and managerial positions since 2022. Since 2024, she was St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s nurse manager for surgical services overseeing preop care, the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) and preprocedure testing. She was instrumental in the planning and ex*****on of St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s new and expanded PACU and preop space which opened in 2025.

“Ashley has consistently demonstrated strong leadership, operational expertise and a deep commitment to delivering exceptional care for our patients and surgical teams,” said Patrick Downes, St. Joseph’s Hospital-South president. “Ashley knows our organization well and embodies our family-centered culture. Her hands-on leadership and dedication to our team members have made a meaningful impact on our surgical services. I am confident she will continue to elevate both our performance and culture in this expanded role.”

“I hope to bring thoughtful and collaborative leadership that supports the continued growth and success of the surgical services department,” Ashley said. “My goal is to help strengthen the foundation that already exists while identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, quality outcomes and the overall patient experience.”

Ashley holds an associate and bachelor’s degree in nursing and master of science in nursing leadership and management.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-South provides surgical services in disciplines that include cardiology, emergency surgery, gastroenterological, general surgery, gynecology, orthopedics and urology.

Read more about St. Joseph’s Hospital-South’s surgical services: https://bit.ly/4lNNMc8

03/27/2026

A dozen years of recognition from the Tampa Bay Times Top Workplaces — and counting! 🎉

BayCare has been named a 2026 Top Workplace for the 12th year in a row, based entirely on team member feedback. We’re grateful to our team members for creating a culture rooted in values, growth and support. Read more about our award here: https://bit.ly/3O67Wlp.

Energage

Based entirely on team member feedback, the prestigious recognition underscores BayCare’s continued commitment to fostering a people‑first workplace culture across the Tampa Bay region.

03/26/2026

Following a successful Match Day, we’re proud to share that BayCare programs achieved a 100 percent match. 🎉This milestone reflects the strength of our training environments, the dedication of our faculty and BayCare’s growing reputation as a leader in physician education. We’re grateful to every applicant who considered BayCare and excited to welcome our incoming residents as they begin their training across our health system! 💙 Congratulations to the new residents including those who will be coming to St. Joseph's Hospital-South in our residency programs in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine! We’re excited to have you! Learn more in this BayCare article:
https://bit.ly/4bOQmu3.

With another 100% match, BayCare is expanding its physician pipeline and preparing hundreds of new residents to improve patient access and help meet the region’s growing health care needs.

03/25/2026

As we begin National Physicians Week, we honor our BayCare physicians who provide compassionate care to patients and their families, advance medicine and strengthen our communities. Thank you for all you do!

03/23/2026

March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month. Discussing colorectal cancer can be difficult. But a busy member of the clergy, Rev. Christian Wood, shares his story hoping it will encourage others to get the recommended screening. He and his BayCare Medical Group surgeon, Dr. Elizabeth Myers, also hope the screening age will be lowered.

Read the article by clicking this link or clicking the photo below: https://bit.ly/4djweT0

Although guidelines now recommend that screening for colorectal cancer begin at 45, colorectal cancer remains a significant health concern with rising cases among younger people.

03/20/2026

Happy Match Day from all of us here at St. Joseph's Hospital-South! There is so much to celebrate today, and even more to come soon! 💙 We can’t wait to share final details next week and officially welcome our newest BayCare residents. ✨

03/19/2026

Thursday, March 19 is the Catholic solemnity of St. Joseph, the namesake and patron saint of our hospital. A solemnity is a celebration of great importance.

Joseph was chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus. He was the spouse of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Joseph was the head and protector of the Holy Family. He is known as Patron and Protector of the Holy Universal Church and patron saint of families, fathers, expectant mothers, travelers, immigrants, craftsmen, engineers and working people in general.

A statue of St. Joseph adorns our campus outside near the main entrance.

We are blessed and honored to be named for St. Joseph.

03/17/2026

Our Team Member of the Month (TMOM) award celebrates the dedication and exceptional work of a team member and is a way to say a special “Thanks” for a job well done. It’s a way to acknowledge a super team member both internally inside our hospital and to the community.

Our TMOM honoree today is Michelle, a nursing professional development practitioner in our surgical services department. Michelle is a valuable resource in surgical services as she educates, trains, teaches and mentors team members.

Michelle is an “outside the box” thinker, solution-focused and a problem solver, even if the problem doesn’t particularly pertain to surgical services. She is the ultimate professional and always readily available to answer questions.

Besides outstanding education and teaching skills in her profession, Michelle has an artistic flair, creating Christmas “Angel Trees,” bulletin boards and flyers. She also made a beautiful “shadow box” display case when our new PACU opened to commemorate the milestone. She does this with much thought and love and does it effortlessly, without hesitation or expectation of recognition.

Michelle is also an organizer of surgical services team member activities such as potlucks, fashion shows and derby car races. She finds way to keep things fun and engaging for the team!

From Michelle’s TMOM nomination documents: “Michelle is a unicorn, a one in a million kind of person and she is so deserving of this recognition.”

Congratulations Michelle as a TMOM and a unicorn, an exceptionally rare, unique, remarkable and extraordinary team member and individual!

03/15/2026

March is Child Life Month and we are featuring Margaret and Danielle, our hospital's child life specialists. They provide emotional support to help children overcome the fear and uncertainty that comes with being in the hospital. They also explain diagnoses and procedures in ways kids understand. They use toys and play to distract and calm our young patients, their siblings and sometimes their parents too! Margaret and Danielle make things like undergoing a medical test, surgery, getting stitches, getting an IV or missing your friends a little bit easier for kids. They are essential members of our health care team and work alongside our doctors and nurses to help reduce a child's fear, anxiety and pain.

Watch the video and see some of the places where Margaret and Danielle help kids:
• Pediatric ER waiting room and pedi ER
• The pedi ER's sensory room for children with varying cognitive conditions
• Inpatient pediatric floor

Read more about pediatric services at St. Joseph's Hospital-South: https://bit.ly/3YSdwHf

03/13/2026

Nurses, nurse interns, patient care technicians (PCTs) and patient support technicians (PSTs) from our orthopedics unit and PACU recently attended an orthopedics skills fair at our hospital. The fair was a refresher in caring for patients such as those receiving hip, knee and shoulder replacements, back surgeries or patients with spine, arm and ankle fractures or injuries. The nurses, nurse interns, PCTs and PSTs (PCTs and PSTs are team members caring for patients under the supervision of nurses) visited stations and received hands-on training and had questions answered by educators and expert instructors. Station topics included neck collar, compression ice therapy, bracing, splinting, surgical incision wound dressings and post-operative care.

The skills fairs are part of our continuing education and learning to keep our teams up-to-date and give them an opportunity to review skills and practice techniques.

The gallery includes photos and descriptions of some stations.

Read more about our orthopedic services: StJosephsSouthOrtho.org

Please note: The skills fair was held during Mardi Gras. The fair included Mardi Gras beads and decorations to make the learning fun.

03/11/2026

BayCare is committed to meeting the wide-ranging health needs of our neighbors in Hillsborough County. Every three years, BayCare conducts a comprehensive Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to identify the most significant health needs across our region and develop strategies to address them. Access the CHNA for Hillsborough County and learn how BayCare and its community partners are responding to meet your community’s needs here: https://bit.ly/3PemoIa