JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Though there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the First Coast, local hospitals say they are ready to treat patients if the virus reaches the area.
With all of the information to digest at once about COVID-19, UF Health wants the public to know there is no need to panic, they are fully prepared.
The Director of Infectious Disease Chad Neilsen and doctors at UF Health have been preparing for medical threats since the Ebola virus outbreak in 2014. Since then, they have a baseline preparedness and policy plan.
Neilsen says those plans haven't just been sitting on the shelf collecting dust.
“Every year, we tweak our policies regarding a sudden influx of infectious disease no matter what it is,” Neilsen said.
The hospital frequently practices the plans, identifying any shortfalls. One of those plans is isolated negative air pressure rooms. It recycles air.
“It’s actually sucked out through filters and expelled outside the facility,” Neilsen said.
It's so other hospital patients don’t contract COVID-19. UF Health has several of those isolated rooms if needed, but in case COVID-19 hits the First Coast hard, the hospital says they’ve got plenty of room.
“We can turn entire hospital wings into isolation areas,” Neilsen said.
The hospital says they also anticipate, and have built-in the flexibility, to change any preparedness plans based on patient needs.