Investor Spotlight: BayCare Health System


March 22, 2017




BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 14 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness.

Glenn Waters is the Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for BayCare Health System. He is responsible for the operations, strategic planning and clinical integration of BayCare’s hospitals, ambulatory care and behavioral health services, and the administrative management of BayCare Medical Group, the region’s leading multi-specialty physician group with over 500 providers practicing in more than 160 locations in 45 specialties throughout the Tampa Bay area.

Under Glenn’s leadership, BayCare launched major transformations of its hospital campuses and ambulatory services to meet the growing needs of the community, received numerous national recognition’s for quality of care, brought innovative procedures and services to its patients, and expanded community outreach through education and partnerships emphasizing health and wellness.
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1) As a business leader here, what aspects make Tampa and Hillsborough County such an attractive location for companies and talent?
In my opinion, Tampa and Hillsborough County are attractive locations for companies and talent for five main reasons: (1) the area is business friendly, (2) we have a wonderful climate, (3) the area offers accessible, high-quality health care, (4) the area has good educational offerings for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate studies, and (5) there are lots of things to do in your personal time.

This gets verified every time I talk to a business leader or a new resident of the area – they were attracted by the strong economy of the area, the fabulous weather, the availability of high-quality education and health care, and the variety of social and entertainment opportunities to choose from. At BayCare, part of our recruitment strategy is to target individuals in areas of the country that are experiencing severe winter weather, and we have had good success in recruiting new team members from out of state who recognize, and look forward to, the many benefits of living in this region.

2) In your opinion, what was the biggest win for our community in the past few years?
Being able to recover from the Great Recession while at the same time diversifying has been a huge win for the area. The companies moving here or adding jobs are coming from a range of industries. Not only does that help our economy grow, but it helps us mitigate some of the risk of a future economic downturn. Bristol-Myers Squibb and USAA are two examples that come to mind. Within BayCare we have also seen significant growth, most notably in south Hillsborough County. St. Joseph’s Hospital South has been open almost two years and we are already having to add capacity. As a result, almost 850 BayCare team members go to work there every day.

3) How does your company impact the business culture of Tampa and Hillsborough County?
As the largest provider of health care in the region, BayCare helps insure this region has access to high-quality health care, which is essential to recruiting new businesses to the area. As a not-for-profit organization, our mission is to meet the health care needs of the communities we serve, not to enhance our bottom line. As a result, we invest in some programs and services that don’t have a positive bottom line but are essential and may not otherwise be available. We also firmly adhere to our BayCare values of trust, respect, dignity, responsibility, and excellence, and I believe that our values and mission are things that resonate with our team members and other business and community leaders. Also, health care as a sector continues to see some of the largest growth in jobs in the United States. As BayCare continues to grow, we are providing a solid economic base and health care foundation for this community.

4) Where do you derive the most benefit for yourself and your company as an Investor of the EDC?
Being an investor allows us to have a direct role in helping grow the economy in the region, which helps all businesses, us included. I am also able to work with my fellow executives from other companies, get to know them, and push toward the common goal of bettering the region. That would be hard to do without the EDC supporting the effort.

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