AdventHealth to pause inpatient elective surgeries in Tampa Bay area
TAMPA, Fla. - Beginning Friday, July 17, AdventHealth hospitals in the greater Tampa Bay area will pause the scheduling of any elective surgeries that require an overnight night stay, as long as the procedure can be safely delayed with no risk to the patient.
The healthcare system said the decision was made in anticipation of increased demand as COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
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The hospitals impacted include:
•AdventHealth Carrollwood
•AdventHealth Dade City
•AdventHealth North Pinellas
•AdventHealth Tampa
•AdventHealth Wesley Chapel
•AdventHealth Zephyrhills
The facilities will continue to perform same-day surgeries and procedures that do not require an overnight stay.
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“The ability to care for our community in the safest way possible is our top priority,” said Mike Schultz, president and CEO of AdventHealth West Florida Division. “We will continue to closely monitor and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in our facilities and with strategic processes in place that we are prepared to activate and implement to ensure we are keeping our patients, employees, physicians and community safe.”
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AdventHealth said it has sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and specialized equipment available to quickly and safely convert existing spaces in the hospital, such as the Progressive Care Unit (PCU) to ICU/critical care rooms, if needed due to increased demand.
If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has opened a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions around the clock. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.
LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
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