Florida hospitals' emergency preparedness largely proved effective throughout Hurricane Milton, leaving some in a position to resume normal operations Friday, Oct. 11.
Such is the case for 1,041-bed Tampa General Hospital, the region's only level 1 trauma center. On its main campus, Tampa General healthcare providers and staff who are trained in emergency management remained on-site throughout the storm to care for patients. The hospital did not experience major power outages due to reinforcement from its Central Energy Plant, built in 2022 at 33 feet above sea level. TGH planned to resume normal operations on Friday, Oct. 11.
HCA Florida Healthcare began resuming operations for several sites on Oct. 10, reopening three locations that had been temporarily closed in hurricane preparations.
Before Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 as a Category 3 storm, 313 healthcare facilities in the state reported evacuations, including 17 hospitals. All hospitals that remained open before the hurricane remained operational the morning of Oct. 10, with the exception of HCA Florida Largo Hospital, which evacuated about 230 patients early Wednesday morning due to flooding in the facility's basement.
While Florida hospital facilities withstood Hurricane Milton relatively well, the state's healthcare system is expected to face ongoing pressure. Flooding and storm damage are likely to disrupt outpatient and community-based services, such as pharmacies, which could lead to higher patient volumes in emergency departments.