Health First Prepares for COVID-19, Erects Triage Tents in Compliance With CDC Recommendation

By  //  March 20, 2020

HEALTH FIRST: Triage tents are not COVID-19 screening and testing tents

As you drive by a Health First hospital, you might notice tents outside of their emergency rooms. These tents are not currently being used for patient care and are only set up as part of our ongoing preparedness efforts. They are not COVID-19 screening and testing tents.

HEALTH FIRST: These tents are not currently being used for patient care and are only set up as part of Health First’s ongoing preparedness efforts.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – As you drive by a Health First hospital, you might notice tents outside of their emergency rooms.

These tents are not currently being used for patient care and are only set up as part of our ongoing preparedness efforts.

They are not COVID-19 screening and testing tents.

Per state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, Health First has triage tents in place in case of a surge of patients.

Health First operates four hospitals in Brevard County, including Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Palm Bay Hospital and Viera Hospital—and is home to the county’s only Level II Trauma Center.

Please visit HF.org for updates on how Health First is responding to COVID-19.

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Steve Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Health First, “We are prepared and have implemented processes to ensure we can continue to provide you and your loved ones safe, high-quality care.”


HEALTH FIRST: Information about COVID-19 is constantly changing. What won’t change is our commitment to you.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – As President and CEO of Health First, I wanted to take a moment to reach out and let you know what we are doing in response to COVID-19.

I know this is an unsettling time for many, and I want to reassure you we are doing all we can to protect our community.

We have served the health needs of our families, friends and neighbors for more than 80 years. It’s an honor to do so – especially during times like these.

Information about COVID-19 continues to be released at a rapid pace.

I want you to know we are closely monitoring the situation, working with the Brevard County Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on a constant basis. We are here to protect you and working diligently to do so.

In this calling of healthcare, we are always training for situations such as this.

We are prepared and have implemented processes to ensure we can continue to provide you and your loved ones safe, high-quality care.

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Some of the measures we have in place to protect you include:

▪ Screening visitors at all of our facilities

▪ Monitoring our associates to confirm they are healthy and ready to work

▪ Being prepared with the supplies needed to care for anyone who may be concerned about COVID-19

▪ Testing as needed. The capability for testing through the CDC and commercial laboratories remains limited. Therefore, we continue to follow the Florida Department of Health guidelines for testing.

I encourage you to visit HF.org to learn more and also watch the above video, where I talk about what we are doing to keep you and your loved ones well.

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