TAMPA, Florida – Hospitals in the Tampa Bay area are absorbing this recent surge in COVID-19 cases day in and day out, juggling high patient numbers, increased needs, and scarce staff. It is because public health officials continue to urge people to get vaccinated and take precautions to avoid overloading the health system.
“We’re seeing more COVID patients now than ever before,” said Glenn Waters, executive vice president and chief operating officer, BayCare Health System.
ABC Action News spoke to Waters about the current state of their resources amid this surge in COVID-19 cases. On a staffing level, Waters said they were overwhelmed and stated that they now have more travel nurses in the house than ever to help ease that burden.
He said ventilators and ventilators gave them what they need, although supplies are running out in some areas than they’d like.
“We have vents in all of our hospitals, but in some cases it can be three or four, not six or eight,” said Waters. “As we see the levels of COVID increasing, this is cause for concern. In some cases, we’ve reached out to the state and said, ‘Hey, we want to be able to tap into your supply of emergency outlets just to make sure we have the resources we need when things turn in Don’t change the future. “
ABC Action News has also checked in with other hospitals in the Tampa Bay area. AdventHealth said they have sufficient PPE, ventilators and specialized equipment to quickly and safely convert existing rooms in the hospital to standard patient rooms or critical / intensive care rooms if necessary.
The Sarasota Memorial has so far stated that they are fine with supplies and equipment. Tampa General Hospital stated regarding PPE and resources that they are currently well stocked with supplies such as vents and ventilators.
“The hospital beds, every bed is occupied, so it’s a very busy situation,” said Adam Rudd, CEO of Largo Medical Center.
Like other hospitals in the region, Largo Medical is looking for ways to handle the surge. Rudd shared that the easiest thing people can do to help is to get vaccinated.
“I can’t tell you how many sad stories I see every day from someone, if they had just been vaccinated, we had never met them or their families,” said Rudd.
