ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – It was the best day in forever.
In March 2020, Flagler Health+ became the first healthcare system in Northeast Florida to treat a patient diagnosed with COVID-19. And now, two years and six days later, the hospital in St. Augustine is finally able to say that there are zero patients currently admitted with COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
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While the hospital does anticipate that they will care for more patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the future, it is a milestone moment.
“Our caregivers – clinical and non-clinical, at the bedside and behind the scenes – have worked tirelessly over the past 736 days to care for patients during some of their darkest days. No one came into this profession expecting a global pandemic but our staff members have risen to the occasion time and time again. Their dedication to our patients and each other is commendable,” said Interim President and CEO, Carlton DeVooght.
“While this doesn’t mean that the pandemic is over or that we will scale back our efforts to provide safe, quality care to patients with COVID-19 and other diagnoses, it does give us a moment to pause in order to recognize all that our staff has endured since March 2020. We could not be more proud of them,” said Flagler Health+ Chief Physician Executive, David Rice, MD.
Nearly 2,000 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 have been cared for at Flagler Hospital since the pandemic began. During that time Flagler Hospital has been nationally recognized by the Leapfrog Group as a Top Hospital and with the America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award from Healthgrades, placing Flagler Hospital in the top 1% of all hospitals in the county for clinical care and patient outcomes.
To learn more about Flagler Health+, visit flaglerhealth.org.