This partnership provides individuals with disabilities meaningful employment opportunities within the hospital setting, fostering independence and a more inclusive community.

TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital (TGH) today celebrated the grand opening of a new Coffee Uniting People (CUP) location at the TGH Outpatient Center in Brandon. CUP is a Tampa-based nonprofit that hires people with and without disabilities to work together in an inclusive café workplace. This partnership with Tampa General will mark CUP's fifth Tampa Bay area location.

"This partnership is an embodiment of Tampa General's commitment to giving back to our community and leading with authenticity, kindness and inclusivity," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General. "With the opening of our CUP café, we are supporting a truly impactful local business, creating new employment opportunities and also enhancing the experience for our patients – a testament to our belief that a united community is a healthier and stronger community."

CUP's mission is to help individuals with disabilities, often intellectual or developmental, become employed and, in turn, more independent. This mission is deeply rooted in the personal experiences of CUP's founders, Laura and Greg Jones. After seeing the limited job prospects and social isolation faced by adults with disabilities after aging out of youth programs—a challenge exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—the Joneses conceived CUP. In this nonprofit coffee shop, people with and without disabilities work side by side, providing vital employment opportunities and fostering community.

Earlier this year, Tampa General's immediate past board chairman, Phil Dingle, introduced the Tampa General team to CUP and proposed the idea of a CUP location in a Tampa General facility. From there, Marion Dawkins, senior vice president of ambulatory operations for the academic health system, met with CUP to see if the café might be a fit for the Outpatient Center and continued working closely with them to bring the partnership to life.

"CUP is truly the perfect fit for our TGH Outpatient Center," said Adam Smith, executive vice president and chief ambulatory care officer at Tampa General. "Their mission aligns seamlessly with our own, to provide compassionate care and create a welcoming, supportive environment."

With the opening of their new location at the TGH Outpatient Center in Brandon, CUP currently employs more than 60 individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in inclusive workplaces.

"We are incredibly grateful to Tampa General for embracing our mission and providing the opportunity to expand CUP into their facilities," said Gregory Jones, president, founder and executive director of CUP. "In addition to standing as a powerful example of what inclusive employment can achieve, our new location at the TGH Outpatient Center will expand our reach and continue proving that everyone deserves to be recognized as integral and vital contributors to the workforce."

Tampa General and CUP co-hosted a celebratory ribbon-cutting ceremony at the TGH Outpatient Center on Nov. 19. The café is now open to patients and visitors at the TGH Outpatient Center at 10740 Palm River Rd. in Brandon, Florida.

ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 981-bed, not-for-profit, academic health system, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 Best Hospitals, with two medical specialties ranking among the top 20 in the nation and eight medical specialties ranking among the top 50 best hospital programs in the United States. Tampa General Hospital has been designated as a model of excellence by the 2022 Fortune/Merative 100 Top Hospitals list. The academic health system's commitment to growing and developing its team members is recognized by three prestigious Forbes magazine rankings – in the top 100 nationally in the 2024 America's Best Large Employers, the top 50 in Florida in the 2024 America's Best Employers by State and the 2023 America's Best Employers for Women. Tampa General is the safety net hospital for the region, caring for everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and in fiscal year 2023, provided a net community benefit of approximately $301.8 million in the form of health care for underinsured patients, community education, and financial support to community health organizations in Tampa Bay. It was the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant center in 2024 and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center, and its 32-bed Neuroscience, Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Muma Children's Hospital at TGH, the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes TGH North, which is comprised of three hospitals and several outpatient locations in Citrus and Hernando counties, 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, two TGH Outpatient Centers, TGH Virtual Health, and 19 TGH Imaging outpatient radiology centers throughout Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Palm Beach counties. Tampa Bay area residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by the Fast Track network of clinics. To see a medical care professional live anytime, anywhere on a smartphone, tablet or computer, visit Virtual Health | Tampa General Hospital (tgh.org). As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is the first in Florida to open a clinical command center that provides real-time situational awareness to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

Media Contact: Beth Hardy, APR
Assistant Manager
Publications & Physician Communications
(727) 510-6363 (cell)
ehardy@tgh.org

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SOURCE Tampa General Hospital