HCA

Flu, RSV and other respiratory illnesses are sending people to urgent care and emergency rooms. In some cases, these patients are ending up with pneumonia.

HCA Florida’s two freestanding emergency rooms in Lakeland – one opens Dec. 23 – are part of a wave of new facilities in this Central Florida town.

The hospital system's report to the SEC estimates the cost of damage at facilities due to hurricanes Helene and Milton in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

HCA North Florida Regional removed a vice president and fired others nearly six weeks after nonemergency surgeries abruptly halted with concerns about sterilized operating room equipment.

Concerns about sterilizing equipment has led to suspending nonemergency surgeries for one week longer as the hospital grapples with issues that could lead to serious infections, surgeons say.

The HCA Florida facility in Gainesville is one of the state’s largest hospitals. The suspension is for at least four days. The hospital says the move was proactive and described it only as an unspecified “operational matter.”

Consumers should know that medical identity theft can happen, whether from a large-scale breach or theft of an individual's data. The result could be thousands of dollars in medical bills.

The data, apparently taken from a location used to automate email messages, was made available by an “unknown and unauthorized party” on an online forum, HCA announced.

The patient tower is part of a $126 million expansion in response to the growing population in Clay County.

HCA denies the union’s claims and says union protests tend to take place during collective bargaining to get attention.