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Bayfront Health Surgeon Inducted into American College of Surgeons

St. Petersburg, FL (December 20, 2023) - Dr. Julia Pfaff, Chairman, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg was inducted into the American College of Surgeons (ACS), a national organization dedicated to improving the care of surgical patients and safeguarding standards of care in an optimal and ethical practice environment.

Dr. Julia Pfaff

Dr. Pfaff was inducted into the ACS during their October Clinical Congress. She joins the approximately 90,000 surgeons worldwide who have met the stringent requirements of membership. Dr. Pfaff became eligible for induction after a rigorous review of her education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct.

This significant honor coincides with the 300th Inspire procedure. Inspire is an innovative FDA-approved device that treats sleep apnea without requiring patients to wear a CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) mask while they sleep. Dr. Pfaff is Florida’s top provider, and the second-highest provider in the United States, of this innovative sleep therapy system. Dr. Pfaff achieved these major milestones at the end of 2022 and has grown the practice since then.

“It is an honor to be inducted into the American College of Surgeons. I’m proud to join this esteemed group of professionals. The team at Bayfront has given me the tools I need to be successful professionally, but more important is the critical care we provide to our patients every day,” said Dr. Pfaff. “The Inspire implant has a tremendous impact on patient’s lives, but is really just one small example of the great surgical work we do here at Bayfront.”

 

About Bayfront Health

The 480-bed Bayfront Health St. Petersburg was founded in 1910. It was acquired October 1, 2020 by Orlando Health, a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization with $9.6 billion of assets under management. The hospital’s areas of clinical excellence include heart and vascular, surgical services, rehabilitation services, neurosciences, maternity care and – as home to the only state-accredited Level Two Adult Trauma Center in the St. Petersburg region – emergency services and trauma care.

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg is integral to the 3,429-bed Orlando Health system that includes 29 hospitals and emergency departments – 25 of which are currently operational with four coming soon. The system also includes nine specialty institutes, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 375 outpatient facilities that include physician clinics, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care. More than 4,750 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 27,000 team members and more than 1,500 physicians.

Orlando Health’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows including more than 40 who are enrolled at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg’s OB/GYN, Family Medicine, Sports Medicine and Pharmacy programs.

In FY 23, Orlando Health cared for 197,000 inpatients and 6.6 million outpatients. The healthcare system provided nearly $1.3 billion in total impact to the communities it serves in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 22, the most recent period for which this information is available. 

Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.