Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene left behind a trail of devastation on Florida’s West Coast and in Western North Carolina, AdventHealth team members in Florida, from the west coast to the east, were working tirelessly to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Milton tore through the area.
With 30 hospitals and 70,000 team members in Florida, preparations began in earnest as serious impacts from Hurricane Milton, which quickly intensified into a monstrous Category 5 before making landfall as a Category 3 storm just south of Tampa, were expected.
Hurricane Milton’s arrival came as AdventHealth was still in the process of helping more than 70 team members in Florida who lost their homes or cars in Hurricane Helene and helping AdventHealth Hendersonville and AdventHealth Polk in North Carolina recover from the hurricane’s devastating impacts there.
AdventHealth facilities remained fully operational and able to care for patients, with the exception of AdventHealth North Pinellas, which, because of its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, had safely transferred patients to other AdventHealth facilities before the storm hit. A Florida-wide assessment Thursday morning revealed that the damage was relatively minor – loss of power, water intrusion and leaks, broken windows and downed trees.
Staffing models ensured team members and physicians were available at hospitals across Florida, and the swift and coordinated efforts of team members dedicated to Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ, meant AdventHealth was able to care for all patients safely. Indeed, while Hurricane Milton raged outside hospitals’ walls, inside AdventHealth care teams were busy delivering dozens of babies and performing critical surgeries. As an additional service to the community, AdventHealth Centra Care offered free video visits with a medical provider for patients in Florida.
In the wake of the storms, AdventHealth team members have helped raise more than $500,000 for relief efforts.
"I’m so inspired by our leaders and our team members because the heart of their service really is pronounced in times of crisis,” said Randy Haffner, president/CEO for AdventHealth Florida. “It’s the times where they leave their own families, their own children, and come into the hospital so they can serve others."
Click here to hear more of Haffner’s perspective on AdventHealth’s response.
To monitor all AdventHealth facility updates in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, please go to AdventHealth Hurricane Updates.
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