Health First to open free-standing emergency department in Rockledge to help fill gap

Health First is accelerating plans to unfastened Brevard County's archetypal stand-alone exigency departments, arsenic rival wellness attraction institution Orlando Health prepares to adjacent its 298-bed Rockledge Hospital aboriginal this month.

Health First said it volition beryllium opening 2 free-standing exigency departments. One volition beryllium adjacent to Health First's Business Center astatine 3300 S. Fiske Blvd., astir 1.5 miles from Rockledge Hospital, which volition adjacent connected April 22. The different volition beryllium astatine a yet-to-be-announced tract successful southbound Brevard.

“We’ve been readying to turn our emergency-care network, and the timing could not beryllium much captious for america to accelerate our plans," Health First President and CEO Terry Forde said, successful announcing the determination of the aboriginal Rockledge exigency department.

Specific timelines for the opening of the Health First facilities and the outgo of their operation were not announced.

Orlando Health bought Rockledge Hospital in October arsenic portion of Steward Health Care's bankruptcy proceedings.

Also included successful the $439 cardinal woody were Steward's 119-bed Melbourne Regional Medical Center (now known as Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital) and its 178-bed Sebastian River Medical Center successful Sebastian (now known as Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital). Orlando Health said it has nary plans to adjacent those hospitals.

On Feb. 20, Orlando Health announced it was closing Rockledge Hospital connected April 22, citing the hospital's mediocre carnal information that the institution said made it unsafe for patients and staff.

The determination has sparked protests from section residents and infirmary staff, and interest from elected officials.

With Rockledge Hospital's closing, Brevard County volition person six different wide hospitals. That includes 4 operated by Health First successful Cocoa Beach, Melbourne, Palm Bay and Viera; 1 operated by Orlando Health successful Melbourne; and 1 operated by Parrish Health Care successful Titusville. Health First's Cape Canaveral Hospital successful Cocoa Beach is scheduled to adjacent successful 2027, erstwhile a caller Health First infirmary opens connected Merritt Island, astir 4 miles westbound of the existent hospital.

Changes successful BCFR ambulance transports

Separately, Brevard County Emergency Medical Services connected Monday is implementing caller procedures to easiness the expected strain connected Brevard County Fire Rescue crews involving the transport of patients to the existing infirmary exigency departments — a strain caused by Rockledge Hospital's closing.

That's because, opening astatine 7 a.m. Monday, the Rockledge Hospital exigency section nary longer volition judge transports from exigency aesculapian services crews, specified arsenic from BCFR. Patients who locomotion successful oregon thrust themselves to the Rockledge exigency section from April 7 until the hospital's authoritative closing "will beryllium stabilized, and transferred" to different hospital, Orlando Health said.

As portion of the county's effort, Brevard County EMS is coordinating with Coastal Health Systems of Brevard to supply diligent proscription to section hospitals successful the lawsuit of non-life-threatening injuries and different aesculapian conditions. Under the plan:

• 911 calls volition beryllium triaged, oregon sorted out, to guarantee the close resources are being dispatched for patients.

• BCFR could respond to a call, measure the patient, and interaction Coastal to transport the diligent to a section infirmary for non-emergency cases.

• Once BCFR has verified the information is non-life-threatening and the Coastal portion has been dispatched, the BCFR portion tin permission the country to guarantee punctual effect to exigency calls.

This volition let BCFR crews to alteration the full clip they are handling calls, transporting radical to hospitals and waiting astatine the infirmary exigency section with them — frankincense are unavailable to respond to different calls.

The region said this volition assistance support speedy effect times, and guarantee precocious beingness enactment services are disposable for patients, erstwhile needed.

Health First's exigency section plans

Health First said it is moving to make a 13,000-square-foot, 12-bed, free-standing exigency section successful Rockledge. Architectural assessments person confirmed the site’s viability, and Health First is moving with Rockledge officials connected zoning and permitting. Discussions with the Florida Department of Transportation are underway to amended postulation travel successful the area.

Health First said its plans to unfastened free-standing exigency departments had been successful the works for respective years, arsenic the colonisation is projected to turn steadily into the adjacent decade. However, Health First present is fast-tracking those efforts.

Health First said a 2nd free-standing exigency section is successful the aboriginal stages of improvement to service the confederate portion of the county. Health First expects to denote much details erstwhile plans beforehand further and permitting is underway, with an announcement apt wrong the adjacent 3 months.

“We’re moving quickly, but carefully,” said Keila Stradtner, Health First strategy vice president for facilities operation and existent estate. “We privation the assemblage to cognize that these exigency departments person been successful the works — and we’re accelerating our efforts to conscionable the infinitesimal and guarantee each nonmigratory has entree to safe, timely care.”

Johnette Gindling, president and CEO of the Space Coast Health Foundation, said free-standing ERs "are a caller inclination successful wellness care, due to the fact that they let services person to wherever residents live, owed to their smaller size, portion providing the aforesaid attraction arsenic a accepted infirmary ER. Stand-alone ERs could heighten entree to wellness attraction for Brevard residents.”

Health First said the free-standing exigency departments would beryllium afloat equipped and staffed astir the timepiece by exigency physicians and trained attraction teams. Such facilities tin assistance trim question times for patients, arsenic good arsenic enactment faster treatment.

Health First's free-standing exigency section plans would beryllium taxable to support from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and different authorities agencies.

Dave Berman is concern exertion at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at [email protected], connected X at @bydaveberman and connected Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

Brevard's different hospitals

Health First operates the 550-bed Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne; the 150-bed Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach; the 120-bed Palm Bay Hospital; and the 98-bed Viera Hospital, which precocious expanded by 14 beds with the determination of a labour and transportation portion determination from Cape Canaveral Hospital. Holmes is Brevard County's lone Level II trauma center.

Health First said it plans to grow the diligent furniture counts astatine immoderate of its hospitals successful the future.

The different wide hospitals successful Brevard are the 119-bed Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital and Parrish Healthcare's 210-bed Parrish Medical Center in Titusville.

The main geographic areas that Rockledge Hospital draws patients from see Rockledge, Cocoa, Merritt Island, Port St. John, Canaveral Groves and different unincorporated areas northbound of Cocoa. After the infirmary closes, galore of those patients apt would spell to Cape Canaveral Hospital, Parrish Medical Center oregon Viera Hospital.

When to telephone 911 for aesculapian emergency

Brevard County Emergency Medical Services says residents and visitors should usage 911 for emergencies similar bosom attack, stroke, terrible injuries, uncontrolled bleeding and life-threatening allergic reactions.

But if a loved 1 has a non-emergency aesculapian condition, it suggests considering taking them to the nearest infirmary oregon urgent attraction for faster and much businesslike treatment, alternatively than calling 911.

Emergency country vs. urgent care

Health First provides this guidance:

Emergency room: For terrible burns, thorax pains, terrible allergic reactions, cervix and spinal injury, terrible breaks, seizures, dense bleeding, nonaccomplishment of consciousness.

Urgent care: For colds and flu, insect bites, cervix and backmost discomfort, urinary tract and yeast infections, receptor symptom and infections, pinkish eye, sprains, non-severe breaks, stitches.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected Florida Today: Free-standing exigency section planned by Health First successful Rockledge