Organ transplants, emergency surgeries and births as Hurricane Dorian approached

As Hurricane Dorian approached Florida on Tuesday, clinical teams cared for more than 1,600 people at AdventHealth hospitals in metro Orlando – performing three organ transplants, multiple emergency heart surgeries and Cesarean sections.

Roughly 15,000 team members and physicians worked at AdventHealth’s nine hospitals in the tri-county area, coordinating hospital operations and clinical care via the organization’s new Mission Control — the largest command center of its kind in the country.

Highlights of AdventHealth’s response in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties:

• 1,675 adult and pediatric patients treated Tuesday
• 66 babies born since Sunday
• Roughly 45 surgeries Tuesday
• Three people received new organs Tuesday — one liver, two kidneys
• Cared for 28 patients who were transferred from health care facilities in Indian River County

“As a community resource, we remain open and available for all needs that the community may have. Even in the middle of everything going on, we are still business as usual in many respects,” said Dr. Neil Finkler, chief medical officer for acute care services in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. “When you really look at both the staff as well as the physicians who are here, it is the ultimate sacrifice. They are truly caring for our community, and putting the community needs above their own.”

Leaders say AdventHealth’s new Mission Control, a 12,000-square-foot center staffed by more than 50 people, was instrumental in coordinating care across the region. Using artificial intelligence, Mission Control provides up to 600 data points per second.

“We know where every person is, what their needs are and what the next step of their care is. We’ve done that in the past, but never with such ease,” Eric Stevens, chief executive officer of acute care services at AdventHealth. “We know every moment what we have, what we need to get accomplished. The system doesn’t solve problems for us but shows us immediately where chokepoints might be and how we can move resources effectively. Every data point you would see is a human being. It’s somebody’s parent, child, grandparent, loved one.”