Local hospitals restrict surgeries, outpatient services

Tampa Bay hospitals are ceasing elective procedures and transporting existing patients as Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall this week. 

These are the following local hospitals that have announced changes to operations due to the storm: 

Bayfront Health St. Petersburg

• Bayfront Health St. Peterburg’s emergency department in Pinellas Park will close Tuesday at 5 p.m. as it is in an evacuation zone. All elective surgeries and procedures are canceled for Wednesday and Thursday. The hospital is still open for emergency care. 
• Bayfront Health will activate its Incident Command and the Hospital Emergency Response Team
  (HERT) at 5 p.m. Tuesday. 

AdventHealth 

• Leaders at AdventHealth North Pinellas in Tarpon Springs will complete the transport of all team members and patients to AdventHealth sister facilities throughout Tampa Bay. All patients and their families have been directly notified of the transfer. The hospital is located in a mandatory evacuation zone in Pinellas County.  
• AdventHealth hospitals have paused elective surgeries in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties for Wednesday and Thursday. 

Update as of Thursday afternoon: AdventHealth hospitals in Hillsborough and Pasco counties have resumed normal hospital operations, including regular visitation. Elective procedures and the opening of AdventHealth Medical Group and AdventHealth Centra Care locations will resume Friday. AdventHealth Tampa will reopen outpatient services on Friday. 

Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital 

• All of its outpatient centers throughout Tampa Bay and on the main campus will close today (Tuesday) through Thursday. Nonemergency surgeries are also canceled Tuesday through Friday. Its emergency center at the hospital in St. Petersburg will remain open for pediatric emergencies throughout the storm.

BayCare Health System 

• In Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, BayCare’s urgent care centers and outpatient facilities will close starting Wednesday.
• Morton Plant North Bay in New Port Richey closed its emergency department and the remaining hospital facilities Tuesday afternoon. The Bardmoor Emergency Department in Largo closed Tuesday evening. 

Update as of Thursday afternoon: Bayfront Health St. Petersburg deactivated its HERT team as of noon, Thursday. The Bayfront Health St. Peterburg Emergency Room – Pinellas Park opened Thursday at noon. All elective surgeries at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg facilities will resume Friday and all outpatient clinics and physician offices will open Oct. 3. 

Tampa General Hospital

• Tampa General Hospital has installed a wall surrounding its campus in South Tampa to prepare for the storm surge. The hospital is closing its TGH Urgent Care powered Fast Track centers from Tuesday at 2 p.m. through Wednesday. Ambulatory surgery centers closed Wednesday and will remain closed Thursday. 

The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System 

• Due to potential impacts from Hurricane Ian, the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (BPVAHCS) will close all of its locations for in-person and procedure appointments through Saturday, Oct. 1. This closure extends to its emergency department.

Update as of Friday morning: After assessing the extent of the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, Bay Pines VA Healthcare System has reopened its C.W.Y VA Medical Center and its North Pinellas VA Clinic for mental health and primary care services on a walk-in basis until 4:30 p.m. Friday. The remainder of its locations will remain closed for in person and procedure appointments until further notice. The St. Petersburg regional office will be closed for face-to-face appointments until Oct. 4. 

Moffitt Cancer Center 

• Moffitt Cancer Center closed Wednesday and will remain closed Thursday. With the exception of scheduled virtual health visits, all appointments are canceled.

Check the websites and social media notifications from the hospitals as these changes are subject to change. 

While many hospitals will continue to operate to address emergency situations, residential health care facilities will be under mandatory orders.