Hospitals and healthcare facilities across South Florida are on high alert as they prepare to treat patients suffering from coronavirus disease. As of this writing, Broward County has 180 confirmed cases of infection from the COVID-19 virus; the most of any county in the state.
Virtually all of the seventeen hospitals serving Broward County have installed triage tents at the entrances to their Emergency Rooms. Patients will be evaluated prior to entering the hospital. In addition, in order to lower the risk of infection, all area hospitals have banned visitors from entry.
Field Hospital Deployed
Our local hospitals are being backed up by a 250-bed field hospital located at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Commercial Blvd. The Governor order deployment of the field hospital last week. It is currently not in use but is available should demand for beds overwhelm existing facilities. The field hospital is made up of a couple of dozen highly customized trailers, lined up with military precision, in a large parking lot adjacent to the airport. It includes rest quarters for healthcare workers in addition to patient treatment rooms.
Testing Ramps Up
The number of patients tested is expected to skyrocket in the coming days. Commercial testing labs will come online this week. The facilities will have the capability to test dozens of samples simultaneously, as opposed to current efforts which are more manual and take two to four days to produce a result.
FREE Doctor Consultation
People who exhibit symptoms should call their doctor for a phone consult. If you don’t have a personal doctor or if your doctor is not available, Baptist healthcare is offering FREE telehealth visits to their doctors using Baptist’s healthcare app. Click here for a consultation and use the code CARE19.
