The Tampa health system has shuttered many urgent care and imaging locations, but its four hospital campuses are prepared to remain open through the storm.
FILE – Patients are evacuated from Palms of Pasadena Hospital in South Pasadena, Fla. on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, as Hurricane Irma approaches. Hospitals and other health care facilities on Florida’s Gulf Coast — still reeling from Hurricane Helene — are now revving up for Hurricane Milton.
“I’ve lived on the Gulf Coast my entire life and in Sarasota for 20 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. “Our anxieties are high, but we’re as prepared as we know how to be.”Tampa General Hospital has stocked up on more than five days of supplies, including food, linens and 5,000 gallons of water, in addition to an on-site well.
AdventHealth North Pinellas evacuated its 40 patients Tuesday afternoon, transferring them to nearby hospitals in their health system. The hospital’s emergency department remains open. Randy Haffner, CEO and president of AdventHealth Florida, said in an emailed statement that the system is “as prepared as we can be with water, generators, sandbags, satellite phones and the best caregivers there are.
“We are not a designated medical shelter, but we are working with the county to care for medically dependent persons assigned to the hospital because of the acuity of their needs … and patients evacuated from other hospitals in the region,” he said. “It’s increasing the vulnerabilities in the area, from flooding to clogged drains to debris that hasn’t been removed that may exacerbate the situation that is already forecasted to be catastrophic,” Mayhew said. “Area hospitals routinely prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
In counties under state of emergency orders, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are required to have enough emergency generator fuel to power life-saving equipment and keep indoor temperatures at a safe level for 96 hours.
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