FORWARD
HEALING
ALL WOUNDS
The Regional Burn Center offers compassionate, advanced care to those who need it most BY SETH SOFFIAN
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Sunny Sandhu never learned what caused the explosion that nearly took his life. Sandhu was a medical student living on the small Caribbean island of Saba at the time of the 2019 accident, when flames engulfed his apartment. He was burned on more than 95 percent of his body. What Sandhu did discover during six months of treatment at Tampa General Hospital’s Regional Burn Center—and later after moving home to his native Southern California to continue his recovery—was a level of care and concern for which he’ll forever be indebted. “I just feel an immense sense of gratitude,” said Sandhu, who was then 25. “It does get me a bit emotional.” Now 28, Sandhu remains in touch with most of the medical staff who treated him at TGH, where he was
flown via aeromedical helicopter from St. Martin after he was originally transDr. Jake Laun ferred there from Saba. As the only Level I trauma center in West Central Florida, TGH regularly receives burn patients from 23 counties across Florida. TGH’s Wallace Trauma Center was the first verified American College of Surgeons (ACS) Level I adult and pediatric trauma center in the State of Florida. TGH is one of only five burn centers in Florida to earn verification from the American Burn Association (ABA). The verified status—which the hospital also holds as one of only two pediatric burn centers in the state—means TGH has met the stringent guidelines for patient care, procedures, and staffing.
ADVANCES
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