Long-time Moffitt Cancer Hospital President and Tampa !p Executive Board member, Jack Kolosky

The Tampa Innovation Partnership (!p) will present the first Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovator Award at the organization’s Innovation Gathering on October 28th.

Named for retired Moffitt Hospital President and long-time Tampa !p Executive Board member, Jack Kolosky, the Healthcare Innovation Award will recognize an individual or group in the Uptown Community & Innovation Quarter (“Uptown”) who has made a significant advancement in the delivery of healthcare.

“Tampa’s Uptown is home to one of the largest medical and research districts in Florida and the future of healthcare is being shaped by the innovations that are happening right here. The finalists for this year’s Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovator Award tell a powerful story about the elite med-tech district that we have here” said Tampa !p Board of Directors Chairman, Chris Bowen. “Jack Kolosky helped build this district into a real dynamo during his tenure as President of Moffitt’s Cancer Hospital and we are proud to introduce this award for healthcare innovation in his name.”

Finalists for the first Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovator Award are Anna Giuliano, Ph.D., founding director of the Center for Immunization and Infection Research in Cancer (CIIRC) at Moffitt Cancer Center; Drs. Louis Harrison and Jason Fleming of Moffitt for their role in creating the First Connect program; Summer Decker, Ph.D., director of 3D Clinical Applications at the USF Department of Radiology; the COVID Recovery Unit at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital; and Physician Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

Dr. Giuliano is nominated for her work spearheading the testing of Gardasil among males to show that the vaccine prevents infection and HPV-related diseases in men just as it does females. Thanks to the work of Dr. Guiliano, neutral HPV vaccination is now available in 41 countries, which may – over time – lead to the elimination of six cancers caused by HPV that affect both men and women.

Louis Harrison, MD and Jason Fleming, MD of Moffitt Cancer Center are nominated for their role in creating the First Connect program – a new way of engaging with patients that begins with a strong, emotional and personal connection to a subject matter expert who provides comfort, reassurance, and guidance through the treatment process. Since creation of the program, more than 18,000 new patients have had First Connect visits and the program has resulted in improvement in overall patient satisfaction rates among other performance metrics.

The USF 3D Nasal Swab for COVID-19 Team, led by Dr. Summer Decker is nominated for their work swiftly responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by creating a 3D-printed nasal swab during a worldwide shortage of testing swabs early in the pandemic. The swab developed by Dr. Decker and her colleagues from the USF Department of Radiology has been the subject of clinical trials determining it to be the new standard of care and a key life-saving tool in the response to future pandemics.

One of two nominees from the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital is the COVID Recovery Unit (CRU) which quickly adjusted procedures to provide early intervention for COVID patients by converting rooms into negative pressure rooms, identifying needed supplies and resources, and educating staff. The CRU’s swift response provided life-saving early intervention for COVID-positive patients and freed up acute care beds for other patients who needed care.

Also nominated from the James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital is the Physician Medicine and Rehabilitation Department for a number of interventions related to the COVID pandemic, including the implementation of a tele-rehab program for those still experiencing symptoms weeks after diagnosis. Programs implemented by the Physician Medicine and Rehabilitation Department have helped over 250 veterans and active-duty service members recover independently following diagnosis.

Jack Kolosky retired as President of Moffitt Cancer Hospital in 2021 and now serves as the Executive Director of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. He served  as Moffitt’s representative on the Tampa !p Board of Directors for the organization’s first ten years of existence.

“Jack Kolosky’s leadership and wise counsel has been instrumental in the establishment and operation of Tampa !p and contributed greatly to the development of Tampa’s Uptown as one of the nation’s top-tier Innovation Districts,” said Tampa !p Executive Director, Mark Sharpe. “I can’t think of a better way to recognize his contributions than presenting this award for healthcare innovation.”

The winner of the first Jack A. Kolosky Healthcare Innovator Award will be announced at the Innovation Gathering on October 28th in the west wing of the University Mall Community Accelerator Building and site of the 100-acre RITHM@Uptown urban mixed-use innovation village development. The evening’s program will also include the Community Impact Awards and keynote address from historian and best-selling author, Margaret O’Mara.

For more details about the Innovation Gathering, visit www.TampaInnovation.com/Innovation-Gathering