BayCare Offers Properties to Support State's Hurricane Milton Response

In response to Hurricane Milton emergency needs, BayCare Health System has made available two of its properties to Florida state officials to assist in storm response for the West Central Florida region, including Tampa Bay. 

• A former Barnes & Noble building in Tampa that BayCare purchased earlier this year for conversion into an outpatient facility, known as a BayCare HealthHub, is expected to be used as an emergency shelter post-storm for displaced residents.  
• The retired South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City has been turned over to the state to house health care patients displaced by the storm’s impact. BayCare shuttered the facility in August after it opened a newly constructed replacement facility for South Florida Baptist Hospital at 3202 N Park Rd., Plant City.

“As the region’s largest not-for-profit health care provider, we are here to serve our community, especially during times of crisis,” said BayCare President and CEO Stephanie Conners. “We hope all of our region’s corporate entities will consider how their underutilized assets might help our region and neighbors recover after Hurricane Milton.”