When BayCare’s St. Anthony’s Hospital experienced operational challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, multiple other BayCare hospitals rallied to assist. The success of the effort reflects the resilience of a large, integrated health system and its ability to mobilize quickly to prioritize patient care and serve the community in a time of need.
St. Anthony’s Hospital, located in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, endured multiple obstacles during the Category 3 storm that struck the region on Oct. 9. Diminished water pressure, an internet failure that shut down communication, and a failure of two of the three backup generators used to power the hospital during the storm resulted in exceptional measures being undertaken by team members who were determined to continue to care for patients while keeping the hospital operational.
So, when the city of St. Petersburg temporarily shut off the potable water supply due to a water main break, the hospital staff quickly pivoted once more to address another important issue—the need for water to disinfect and sanitize medical instruments.
“Without sterile processing, we would have had to delay critical surgeries and other medical procedures,” said Susan Torti, vice president of perioperative services at BayCare.
Although the water supply to St. Anthony’s Hospital was restored within 24 hours, the area remained under a boil water advisory for four days. Testing done by the city indicated the water was safe for consumption. However, BayCare’s water management policies required that water used for sterile processing meet a higher standard. As a clinical quality measure, additional samples were sent to a third party for further testing, yet the results were not expected to be returned for several days. The Sterile Processing Department (SPD) team brainstormed ways to continue to provide the critical service to avoid any interruption in medical care at St. Anthony’s Hospital.
Acting swiftly, BayCare’s Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater and Mease Countryside Hospital in Safety Harbor, absorbed the limited number of immediate orders for sterile processing, while the team sought a more efficient arrangement moving forward.
“We knew that BayCare Hospital Wesley Chapel had the space to accommodate the additional workload. However, St. Anthony’s Hospital had more of the equipment we needed,” said BayCare Director of Sterile Processing Francisco Garcia. “Working out the logistics of how to modify our usual processes while maintaining our quality standards took some creativity.”
The details were surprisingly complex and required action from multiple departments across each hospital. Team members from Materials Management, Infection Prevention, Facilities, Home Health, Quality, Security, Ambulatory and Administration all had to work together to devise a strategy that would allow St. Anthony’s Hospital to continue operating as usual.
Ultimately, the team implemented a plan that worked. Multiple times throughout the day, couriers from St. Anthony’s Hospital navigated the flood waters and transportation routes from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel to deliver medical instruments to be cleaned and disinfected, before returning them to St. Anthony’s Hospital for final sterilization. The ongoing process began at 5 a.m. and concluded by 10 p.m. each day.
“What was a harried and stressful situation, was made much easier by everyone working together and staying motivated and positive,” said Julie Kirn, manager of sterile processing at St. Anthony’s Hospital. “I appreciate everyone’s efforts, from Home Health assisting us with transportation, to the other hospitals that lent us instruments, and the SPD team at Wesley Chapel who were so welcoming. In the end, we got it done.”
Water quality at St. Anthony’s Hospital was restored to BayCare standards within a week, and sterile processing operations resumed as normal. Every medical procedure scheduled at the hospital during the aftermath of Hurricane Milton was performed without delay thanks to the quick collaboration and troubleshooting capabilities of a remarkable team.
“The kindness and willingness of everyone to do what needed to be done was extraordinary,” said Garcia. “In addition, we’ve now developed a playbook for how to respond should we ever be faced with this situation again.”
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