University Community Hospital (UCH) was founded in the mid 1960's by a group of progressive businessmen who recognized the need for hospital services in a rural, yet developing north Tampa region. Led by John S. Allen, the president of the newly opened University of South Florida, former Florida Governor Doyle E. Carlton, Tampa attorney Michel G. Emmanuel and businessmen Bruce M. Robbins Jr. and J. Ross Parker, this group was able to turn their vision into reality. Piecing together a unique financing plan and receiving an agreement of support from Hillsborough County, $6.25 million in tax-exempt bonds were sold to build the 208-bed University Community Hospital, a not-for-profit facility that accepted its first patient on July 15, 1968.

Today, UCH has grown into a 357-bed facility that is home to five Centers of Excellence. The Centers focus resources on major disease areas including cancer treatment, women's health, pediatrics, diabetes management and orthopaedics, and offer patients access to the most advanced technology and treatment options.

Highlights of University Community Hospital's History include:

Opened July 15, 1968 with a 208-bed facility and treated 10 patients the first day.
Growth came quickly. Only a year later, UCH added ICU and CCU services. By December 1971, the Board approved a $6.25 million, 192-room addition to UCH.
UCH initally opened as an "adults only" hospital. By 1977 a 26-bed Pediatric floor was opened to meet the needs of the community.
UCH quickly became a leader in radiology services. In June 1976, the hospital installed the first CT Scanner on the west coast of Florida. In January 1986, UCH installed the first MRI in Tampa.
In 1977, the medical staff voted to begin a cancer program. Today, The Center For Cancer Care is one of UCH's Centers of Excellence.
Anticipating program growth and the need for more space, UCH opened an $18-million, 103,715-square-foot addition in May 1984 to provide support services to the growing hospital.
By the mid-1980's the demand for sophisticated medical services fueled program improvements at UCH. In August of 1985, UCH opened the Diabetes Treatment Center. In November 1987, UCH opened its first cardiac catheterization lab, the first step in an expanding cardiac care program. In February 1988, the cancer program's Radiation Therapy Department added a state-of-the-art linear accelerator. And in May, the hospital began construction of additional critical care units to support the two open-heart surgery suites that also were under construction.
By 1988, UCH's community service programs enjoyed a renewed commitment. Health Source, a free physician referral service opened. The UCH Foundation was formed and in March 1991, UCH added the Health Express, a screening and wellness bus that takes hospital-sponsored health fairs on the road.
In 1989, UCH turned its attention to health care services for women when its Board of Trustees approved plans to build a three-story, free-standing facility to provide OB/GYN services. The Women's Center opened on Labor Day 1991 and celebrated the birth of its 10,000th baby.
In September 1989, Tampa businessman Art Pepin donated $1 million to the hospital's growing heart program and the Pepin Heart Centre was founded. Today, the Pepin Heart & Vascular Institute is ranked in the top 10 percent of heart centers nationally, based on the number of procedures it performs each year.
In June of 1992, opened its One-Day Surgery Center.
In April 1993, UCH opened a 5-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the first step in a major expansion of pediatric services at the hospital. In June 1994, it opened a newly remodeled pediatric floor, designed and developed through a partnership with Tampa's premiere theme park, Busch Gardens. Every patient room, the hallways and the nurse's station are decorated with a unique jungle theme. This theme has been carried into the PICU and is used in the pediatric waiting and treatment rooms in UCH's Emergency Department.
In 1993, UCH acquired Centurian Hospital on North Dale Mabry and renamed it University Community Hospital-Carrollwood. Corporately, the two became known as UCH, Inc.
In August 1994, UCH opened a 20-bed, comprehensive adult inpatient rehabilitation unit.
In 1998, UCH-Carrollwood completed construction of a new 10,000 square foot Emergency Department and in 1999, opened a new five-story Medical Arts Tower.
In 1999, UCH completed installation of a new high tech CT Scanner and a new PET Scanner in the Radiology Department.
In 2000. UCH, Inc. solidified the management arrangement for Sun Coast Healthcare in Largo and assumed operational oversight for Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs. That same year, UCH installed a $2.9 million state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) unit and opened the Ambulatory Infusion Center.
In Y2K, UCH was proud to become the first hospital in the Tampa Bay area to do cardiovascular "laser lead extractions" in the electrophysiology lab and in 2001, Pepin Heart & Vascular Institute became the only facility in Hillsborough County to offer Cardiac Brachytherapy.
In 2001, the Center For Cancer Care was awarded accreditation by the American College of Sugeons and received accreditation from the Commission on Cancer as a comprehensive community cancer center. The center also completed installation of an additional Radiation Therapy Vault and the Linear Accelerator.
2002 was a year of major change as University Community Health was formed. A new logo and brand was launched as four hospitals began working as one network. The network included: UCH and UCH-Carrollwood in Tampa, Sun Coast Hospital in Largo and Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs. That same year, the system became Pewter Partners and earned the designation, Official Hospitals of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In 2002, UCH opened a $9 million expansion to The Women's Center to accomodate the explosion in women's services at the same time UCH-Carrollwood opened a new, state-of-the-art Center For Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine.
We celebrated in 2003 with significant anniversaries at all four facilities: UCH-35 years; UCH-C-10years; Sun Coast Hospital-45years; and Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital-75 years.
UCH proudly opened a new Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 2004 to provide the highest level of care for Tampa Bay's tiniest newborns.
In 2004, Healthgrades awarded UCH and Helen Ellis Memorial 5-star ratings in orthopaedic care and the Society of Chest Pain Centers awarded the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to UCH, one of only 6 in Florida and 48 in the nation. UCH also launched Joint Camp, group rehab for joint replacement patients.
In 2005, UC-Health went live with PACS, digital radiology archiving system, and launched Vitality, a new Women and Heart Program.Also, after 37 years of being neighbors, UCH developed a relationship with the University of South Florida resulting in a formal affiliation in the areas of medical education and clinical research.
In 2006, the fifth hospital in the system opened, the Pepin Heart Hospital & Dr. Kiran C. Patel Research Institute. Today it is poised to be the most advanced cardiovascular and research hospital in the Southeastern United States.