Staff Reports
HCA Healthcare is donating $1 million to Florida’s Hurricane Disaster Fund, an effort to help patients, colleagues and communities recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Ian.
Many employees with HCA were personally impacted by the hurricane, some suffering substantial or total loss of property. Despite that strife, employees within the system have continued providing services to meet patient needs.
HCA employs more than 77,000 across Florida, including 11,000 physicians.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian and unfortunate disasters like it, we tend to see such extraordinary stories of people reaching out to make a difference in all of our local communities,” said HCA Healthcare West Florida Division President Ravi Chari.
“And by being there for our HCA Florida Healthcare family, our caregivers know that we are taking care of them and their families so they are able to show up and provide outstanding care and emotional support to our patients.”
Along with monetary support, HCA is working to meet employees’ needs so they can remain focused on patient care. The system activated its HCA Hope Fund to provide grants to employees affected by Hurricane Ian. As of Friday, the fund has provided assistance to nearly 50,000 employees with emergency funds totaling more than $83 million.
HCA is also providing assistance to staff at other hospitals and sites across impacted areas. That includes cash, free gas, access to showers, food, clothing and laundry services.
The system is paying 100% of employees’ base rates and is placing dozens of employees who have lost their homes in hotels.
HCA’s efforts began even before Hurricane Ian made landfall. The group’s Enterprise Emergency Operations Center, including a 200-person incident response team, coordinated hospital preparation and response activities with HCA’s West Florida Division’s Emergency Operations Center. The company pre-positioned emergency supplies, equipment and personnel to be ready to deploy quickly to Southwest and Central Florida and the Tampa Bay region, and emergency support teams were on the ground less than 12 hours after Ian’s landfall.
As the hurricane’s path shifted, the company transferred ICU patients from threatened hospitals to safer locations. No one was lost or injured due to Ian.
HCA officials say the company is committed to continuing these recovery efforts over the months ahead, including caring for the region’s residents throughout the rebuilding process.
