Florida Hospitals Brace for Hurricane Milton's Arrival

October 9, 2024
Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter

As Hurricane Milton barreled toward the west coast of Florida, hospitals in its path were making ready.

Milton is projected to make landfall a bit south of the Tampa area late Wednesday night. Long-term care facilities in counties where mandatory evacuations have been issued have taken their patients elsewhere, while some hospitals prepare to stay open through the storm, the Associated Press reported.

According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ website, 10 hospitals had reported evacuations as of Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, 300 health care facilities have evacuated -- 63 nursing homes and 169 assisted living facilities.

Steve McCoy, chief of the Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight, called it the state’s “largest evacuation ever.”

But not all hospitals will evacuate.

Tampa General Hospital has more than five days of supplies, including food, linens and 5,000 gallons of water, the AP reported. The hospital also has an energy plant with generators and boilers perched 33 feet above sea level.

During Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, Tampa General deployed an “aquafence” that prevented storm-surge flooding. The same barrier will be resurrected for Milton and can withstand a storm surge of 15 feet. The U.S. National Hurricane Center estimates Milton’s surges will be 10 to 15 feet high at their peak, the AP reported.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital is also preparing for the worst. The facility, about an hour south of Tampa, isn’t evacuating because it’s the largest and the safest hospital in the area.

“We’re probably on the highest ground in Sarasota and we’re the largest hospital,” David Verinder, president and CEO of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, told NBC News. “We just have way too many patients to take care of.”

To prepare for the hurricane and its aftermath, the hospital system has ordered enough food and water for at least seven days.

“We have linens, you know, everything that you’ll need,” Verinder said. “We can’t guarantee that we’ll have anybody be able to make any deliveries through the weekend. So we’re at least planning for seven days.”

Hospital staff members will work in two main shifts, NBC News reported.

The A team, which includes a couple hundred physicians, will stay at the hospital through the storm, Verinder said. “They’re going to be prepared to sleep and rotate shifts for three days.”

Once the storm has passed, the B team arrives, but that shift switch is what always makes Verinder nervous.

“We hope they’re safe,” he said. “We hope they’re safe and that they can come in and relieve the A team. And if they can’t get through the roads, the downed power lines, the A team will continue to work until they’re relieved.”

Farther south, in Fort Myers, Fla., the A team at Lee Health hospitals, part of the Southwest Florida Hospital System, reported to their locations on Tuesday, a spokesperson told NBC News.

More information

The Florida Hospital Association has more on dealing with hurricanes.

SOURCE: Associated Press; NBC News

Emergencies / First Aid Hospitals Weather