Inside a unit at Muma Children's Hospital at Tampa General Hospital, staff lined the hallway Tuesday and cheered as hospitalized children crossed a finish line of their own. The special race, held for kids in rehabilitation and other patients unable to attend ZooTampa's 4th Annual Kids Fun Run this Saturday, brought the spirit of the community race directly to bedsides and wheelchairs.
According to WFLA, both Muma Children's Hospital staff and ZooTampa staff cheered on patients as they crossed the finish line in the hospital unit. TGH said the event celebrated the bravery and resilience of children facing serious medical challenges, per the same report.
The timing lines up with ZooTampa's 4th Annual Kids Fun Run, set for this Saturday in Tampa. That off-site event features five race categories — an Adaptive/Wheelchair ZooRun, a 2K, a 1K, a Toddler Trot, and a Diaper Dash — designed to include children of all physical abilities, according to ZooTampa. Registration fees support the zoo's wildlife conservation programs, and participating kids receive free zoo admission.
A Young Ambassador's Story
This year's Kids Fun Run also has a patient ambassador: 8-year-old Jaxon Feagin, a recent pediatric kidney transplant recipient at Muma Children's Hospital, according to Tampa Bay Parenting. His family is sharing his transplant recovery story to help raise awareness and donations for pediatric medical care and to inspire other families facing severe illnesses, the outlet reports.
The hospital race and the Kids Fun Run are not one-off gestures. Tampa General Hospital and ZooTampa maintain an ongoing medical partnership that includes a 1-mile wellness walking trail at the zoo and “The Lil' Joey Family Stop,” a care center for parents with young children, according to Tampa General Hospital's announcement of the partnership. TGH serves as the zoo's official health care partner in an effort to promote outdoor wellness and pediatric health beyond traditional clinical settings.
Why So Many Patients Can't Leave
Many of the children who took part in Tuesday's hallway race are unable to leave the hospital for public events because of the severity of their conditions. Tampa General Hospital holds dual Level I Trauma Center designation for both adult and pediatric care from the American College of Surgeons, one of only three hospitals in Florida with that dual status, and the hospital serves a 23-county region for emergency air transport and trauma care.
Muma Children's Hospital also houses a CARF-accredited Inpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation Program and is one of just three specialized pediatric brain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation centers designated by the state of Florida, according to USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. The 138-bed hospital offers physical, occupational, and speech therapies for children recovering from complex injuries, many of whom spend extended stretches bedbound or confined to the unit.
Research Behind the Playful Approach
The hallway race also reflects a research-backed strategy at the hospital. Muma Children's Hospital has led clinical research examining how animal-assisted therapy and child-life interventions affect pediatric rehabilitation, finding that such approaches can reduce pain perception, anxiety, and procedure times for young patients, according to Spectrum Bay News 9. Child-life specialists at the hospital use structured play and animal connections to support recovery during long hospital stays.
That focus on play therapy fits within a broader modernization of the pediatric facility. In July 2025, Muma Children's Hospital completed Phase 2 of its renovation, adding non-clinical activity areas including a child play center and the Fishman Family Foundation Teen Lounge, part of a multi-phase plan to improve emotional and developmental care for hospitalized youth.
A Hospital Built on a Historic Gift
The hospital's name itself traces back to a landmark act of philanthropy. Tampa General Hospital renamed its pediatric facility Muma Children's Hospital at TGH in December 2023 after a donation from Pam and Les Muma — the largest single financial contribution in TGH history and the largest ever given to a children's hospital in the region, according to the hospital.
That investment has been paired with recent recognition. In September 2025, Muma Children's Hospital was named a top-performing pediatric hospital in Vizient Inc.'s Quality Leadership Ranking, making TGH one of only 10 health systems nationally, and the only one in Florida, to earn that distinction. Then in August 2026, the hospital's emergency department received the Emergency Nurses Association Lantern Award, becoming the only children's hospital on Florida's West Coast and one of eight nationwide to earn the honor for emergency care leadership.
Together, the accolades and the Tuesday hallway race point to the same idea driving the hospital's partnership with ZooTampa: bringing recognition, resources, and a little bit of celebration directly to kids who cannot always come to it themselves.
