Tallahassee, Fla.-based HCA Florida Capital Hospital served a record number of patients during the Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial HealthCare IT security incident.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare experienced an IT security issue on Feb. 2 that forced the health system to divert emergency patients to HCA Florida Capital Hospital.
HCA Florida Capital Hospital told Becker's that it typically sees around 200 to 220 patients a day, but during the IT issue, the hospital reached a high of 338 patients.
"Over the last 14 days, we have cared for more than 600 additional patients," said Tara Anderson, chief nursing officer at HCA Florida Capital Hospital.
HCA also told Becker's that during the time Tallahassee Memorial was offline, HCA and community partners such as EMS, local government officials, and both nursing and technical schools all assisted in caring for the influx of patients.
"I could not be prouder of the strategic coordination of our colleagues here in Tallahassee and across North Florida to launch into quick action to ensure our hospital could absorb volumes higher than we'd seen during the pandemic," said Monique Butler, MD, chief medical officer of HCA Healthcare North Florida Division.
In addition to 200 students HCA took on during the incident, HCA said 50 support staff, clinical staff and leaders from nearby HCA Florida Healthcare hospitals traveled to Tallahassee to assist the efforts.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare fully restored its systems on Feb. 15.