Several Tampa Bay area hospitals report full ICUs

“As COVID-19 cases continue to increase across the Tampa Bay area, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties have seen available hospital bed capacity decline significantly in the past month. Our hospitals in both counties are no exception.

As we announced late last week, we will begin reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries performed in our Pinellas County hospitals to ensure there is capacity for a growing number of severely-ill COVID-19 patients.

BayCare’s top priority is the health and well-being of our patients and the community and we’re working together with officials and other health systems in both counties to properly respond to the pandemic.

For the latest on statewide bed capacity, you can visit the Agency for Health Care Administration website: https://ahca.myflorida.com/.”

"Our executive and clinical teams at AdventHealth North Pinellas are closely and continuously monitoring positive COVID-19 cases in the hospital. In the event the hospital reaches ICU capacity, there are response plans in place which include:

• Expanding our ICU capacity to our Progressive Care Unit (PCU), which has the staffing expertise and monitoring capability to manage critically ill patients in the hospital;
• Use of patient overflow locations for patients who are ready to be discharged from the hospital;
• The ability for AdventHealth North Pinellas to transfer patients for continued medical care as needed to a local AdventHealth hospital in our connected network of care in Tampa Bay;
• Reducing and/or pausing our non-emergent surgical cases to increase capacity for COVID-19 patients, when necessary.

Currently, AdventHealth West Florida Division hospital locations have sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for our team members, patients and guests, as well as available medical-surgical beds, ICU beds and ventilators, should they be needed. The planning and protocols we put in place earlier this year, including strict safety guidelines, quarantining of COVID-19 patients in designated units and care areas, and enhanced cleaning and infection control measures, has well-positioned us to respond and ensure we continue to provide high-quality care for our community. We remain prepared to take care of any patient in our community who needs our services."