The holiday season can be a time filled with festivities and joyous celebrations for many. But, as COVID-19 continues to spread quickly, holiday events may look different this year. Health experts like Dr. Nishant Anand, BayCare’s chief medical officer, recommend modifying this year’s celebrations to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

For some, preparing for the upcoming holidays and moving on to 2021 cannot come fast enough. For others, just the thought of the holidays in 2020 stirs up a sense of fear and dread.

The dreaded call comes. Someone you’ve been in contact with in recent days -- or someone your coworker, friend, spouse, child, has been in contact with in recent days -- has received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. Do you need to quarantine to protect your friends and family?

St. Joseph’s Hospital was named as one of the nation’s top performing cardiovascular hospitals in an annual study.

Starting Monday, Nov. 16, nine of BayCare’s Urgent Care centers will offer an effective and reliable rapid test that can detect both COVID-19 and the flu. The test is available to asymptomatic people wishing to confirm they are negative for both viruses before traveling or visiting loved ones during the holiday season.

When COVID-19 rocked the nation in March, the Morton Plant Mease Certified Diabetes Educators felt a sense of urgency. After all, their patients were deemed in a high-risk group. Now more than ever, they needed to be able to communicate with them.

In an effort to help mitigate the seasonal flu amid the coronavirus pandemic, BayCare is partnering with the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to expand access to flu vaccinations. Starting Wednesday, Nov. 4, a limited number of free flu vaccines will be available to the public each day at two of BayCare’s COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites.

The Child Life team organized a day of fun-filled activities for hospitalized children.

Tampa International Airport and BayCare Health System today announced the expansion of the airport’s COVID-19 passenger testing program through the end of the year after a successful October pilot. The COVID-19 testing site is located in the airport’s Main Terminal, near the entrance to Airside F.

BayCare announced visitation hours at its 14 acute care hospitals will expand to 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily starting Wednesday, Oct. 21. The earlier start is in advance of the time change on Nov. 1, so visitors who wish to travel home before dark will still have extended time to visit.

Dr. Firas S. Almahasneh, affiliated with St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, has joined BayCare Medical Group Cardiology at 4612 N. Habana Ave., Tampa. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, interventional cardiology, endovascular medicine, vascular medicine, vascular interpretations, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology. He is accepting new patients age 18 and older.

Rishay Nathoo was headed to New Jersey for a family wedding, but changed his plans after testing positive for COVID-19 on the first day of a testing pilot at Tampa International Airport (TPA) run by BayCare.

An innovative new health care offering from BayCare, BayCare@Home™, will allow patients to receive safe and effective hospital-level care in the comfort of their own homes. The program is the first by a health system in West Central Florida.

Like most holidays that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween will look different this year. But with appropriate precautions and a little creativity, you can still make it a night of spooky fun for your little ghouls and goblins.

Traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging. But taking proper precautions can help keep you and your family safe. BayCare's CMO Dr. Nishant Anand provides some helpful tips to stay safe while traveling.

BayCare Health System in partnership with Tampa International Airport announced the launch of the country's first airport testing pilot that will offer two types of FDA-approved COVID-19 tests for all departing and arriving passengers.

For a person who is sleep deprived, a long drive to a sleep center for in-lab testing or pickup of a home test might not make sense. The Mease Countryside Sleep Disorders Center now offers another option: home delivery.

After expediting the early opening of some patient rooms to serve an influx of COVID-19 patients in July, St. Joseph’s Hospital opened the front door of its $126 million dollar expansion.

BayCare announced that it will resume limited visitation at its hospitals starting Wednesday (Sept. 9), allowing most inpatients to have one visitor a day from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its sixth month in West Central Florida, Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and a member of the White House COVID-19 Task Force, visited BayCare Health System headquarters on Sept. 3 to meet with local health care and long-term care providers, patient advocates and government officials.

BayCare Health System, the leading organization dedicated to providing high quality and compassionate care to patients in West Central Florida, has been named one of the top companies in the United States by Great Place to Work and PEOPLE for supporting team members and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a time when individuals’ mental wellness may be under stress more than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BayCare Behavioral Health practitioners have found a safe way to keep serving their patients even when they don’t see them in person.

BayCare’s back-to-school resource hub offers parents and caregivers information to help get kids back to learning safely.

BayCare is proud to support a new COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in Pinellas County to open Monday, Aug. 10, at Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater. Hours of operation will be Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

To ensure hospital beds remain available to serve the community during the pandemic, Hillsborough County has created a new alternative care site for patients who are recovering from a COVID-19 hospital stay.

BayCare Health System announced Tuesday that starting on Monday, Aug. 10, it will resume all non-urgent surgeries and procedures at its six acute care hospitals in Hillsborough County.

BayCare Health System announced service changes Thursday to drive-thru test collection sites to align resources with community need and further collaborate with government partners.

BayCare Health System announced Wednesday that starting on Monday, Aug. 3, it will resume all non-urgent surgeries and procedures at its acute care hospitals in Pinellas, Polk and Pasco counties.

Regular exercise helps improve health and wellness but working out at a gym during a pandemic can be daunting. To help gymgoers feel at ease, BayCare Fitness Centers is taking extra safety and cleaning precautions throughout its facilities.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the Tampa Bay area, the need for testing remains at an all-time high. But not all tests are the same. Different manufacturers and laboratories have different chemical recipes and technology platforms for test processing.

To help enhance the region’s resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, BayCare has expedited the opening of a new patient tower at St. Joseph’s Hospital, providing more capacity to serve patients.

Whether you are planning to start a family, currently pregnant or adjusting to being a new mom, BayCare is here for you every step of the way. From the comfort of your own home, you can access a variety of podcasts and online maternity resources to help you and your growing family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an unexpected consequence for Ruskin resident Patti Greene. It may have helped to save her life.

With demand for COVID-19 testing continuing to grow, Polk County government and BayCare are coming together to establish a drive-thru test collection site at the Gil Jones Center, 3425 Lake Alfred Road, Winter Haven.

Florida’s first mobile field hospital has been deployed to Winter Haven Hospital to provide additional resources to help our community’s fight against COVID-19. The mobile unit, which has a 15-bed capacity, has been situated next to the new wing of the hospital, with easy access to the hospital facility.

BayCare Health System announced Monday it will begin reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries performed at its hospitals in Hillsborough and Polk counties due to the rising number of severely-ill COVID-19 patients.

In the interest of public health, BayCare Health System announced today it will begin reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries performed in Morton Plant North Bay, its Pasco County hospital, to ensure there is capacity for a growing number of severely-ill COVID-19 patients.

In the interest of public health, BayCare Health System announced Friday it will begin reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries performed in its Pinellas County hospitals to ensure there is capacity for a growing number of severely-ill COVID-19 patients.

With so many city fireworks displays being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, families may turn to using personal fireworks to light up the night on the Fourth of July. But St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital reminds everyone to use caution during these socially distant Independence Day festivities.

The health and well-being of our athletes and volunteers are of the utmost importance to the St. Anthony’s Triathlon. Because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the weekend of Triathlon events will be cancelled this year.

With demand for COVID-19 testing continuing to grow, government and health care partners are coming together to establish a drive-thru test collection site at Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg. Service for the public will begin on Monday, June 29.

Having cabin fever? Or feeling anxious about returning to any outside routine? After months of limiting movement, individuals are having dramatically different responses to the re-opening of businesses and other activities in West Central Florida.

Tom Garthwaite is the new president of St. Joseph's Hospital-North in Lutz. Previously, he served as operations director at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa since 2014.

BayCare Health System is moving the location of its COVID-19 drive-thru test collection site in Pinellas County after growing demand led to disruptions for neighboring businesses.

To protect the health and well-being of the community, BayCare is helping local businesses reopen safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic. BayCare, which operates 15 hospitals and hundreds of other health care locations in Tampa Bay and central Florida, is providing businesses with consultants doing on-site safe-work assessments, return to work evaluations for employees, COVID testing and antibody testing.

As Florida continues to re-open, wearing a mask or face covering has never been more important to protect you and your loved ones from COVID-19. That’s the message Dr. Nishant Anand, chief medical officer for BayCare, wants to continue to send to the community.

When Navy Reservist Christina Martinez was deployed to New York City to care for COVID-19 patients, one of the things she packed was her guiding principle that she follows as a BayCare nurse. “Humanity was the number one value I used,” she said.

As concern for the mental health of pregnant and postpartum mothers increases during the COVID-19 pandemic, BayCare offers virtual support groups and individual therapy sessions.

When Rhett started working on the face mask/face shield project at BayCare’s System Office, little did he know what an important role it would play in his personal life as well as his professional life. Hoping to propose to his sweetheart, his first two plans were spoiled by the coronavirus crisis. While commiserating with his fellow team members, they came up with the best plan yet.

For 29 years, BayCare’s Faith Community Nurses have worked with churches to form a unique partnership between two healing entities – hospitals and faith communities. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our Faith Community Nurses refocused their ministry on making masks for team members and the community.

Walk-In Care Provided by BayCare, an innovative telehealth technology installed at select Publix Supermarkets across the Tampa Bay area, is reopening for business following COVID-19 closures. Walk-In Care kiosks has reopened all of its 33 locations as of June 1 with enhanced infection control measures in place to protect shoppers, Publix Pharmacy staff and the community.

After more than two months providing drive-thru test collection sites for COVID-19 across West Central Florida, BayCare has screened nearly 20,000 individuals, including testing 15,000 of them for COVID-19. As spring turns into summer, the not-for-profit health system anticipates continuing the service to meet the needs of the community.

St. Petersburg City Council Chairman Ed Montanari did everything right last Saturday afternoon when he started to feel a pressure in his chest. “It wasn’t a 911-call chest pain, but it definitely felt strange,” Montanari said. “It felt like I needed to get it checked out.” Within 10 minutes, with the help of a friend, he was headed to BayCare’s St. Anthony’s Hospital in downtown St. Petersburg.

As communities across West Central Florida begin re-opening and the novel coronavirus is becoming better understood, strategies to stay safe are evolving, too. The risk of catching the virus and contracting COVID-19 is not an either-or proposition. With smart precautions and diligence, venturing outside your home can be done safely.

BayCare is joining leading researchers around the world to help find a safe and effective treatment for COVID-19. Top clinicians and team members across the BayCare system are taking part in various clinical trials to help provide patients access to potential COVID-19 treatments and cures.

BayCare Fitness Centers will re-open its doors Wednesday, May 20 in accordance with Governor Ron DeSantis’ announcement, allowing fitness centers to open at limited capacity across the Florida. All four BayCare Fitness Centers will resume operation: Bloomingdale, Carillon, Cheek-Powell and Palm Harbor.

Remember the Jetsons' household robot, Rosie? Well, meet “Trudy,” or Tru-D. She’s a 5-foot-5 germ-killing ultraviolet robot ready to neutralize any pathogen in her way. She is one deterrent BayCare’s Environmental Services teams use to attack COVID-19.

For primary care physicians, caring for patients in-person is part of their daily practice. That normal routine became a concern when COVID-19 began to spread across Tampa Bay. To help mitigate the spread, BayCare Medical Group (BMG) implemented telehealth technology, virtually seeing patients for their health care needs.

BayCare Medical Group (BMG) is planning to resume normal operations starting Monday, May 11. BMG, which had temporarily altered its primary care services to help reduce patients’ risk of exposure from COVID-19, will reopen all primary care offices with enhanced infection control measures in place to protect patients, physicians, team members, and the community.

When Radiation Oncologist Zunya Solc, MD, left Mease Countryside Hospital, cheers filled the air while tears flowed down cheeks. After spending 37 days in the hospital battling COVID-19, Dr. Solc and his family know better than most how to cherish every moment of life.

As Florida begins to gradually open following statewide closings in response to COVID-19, BayCare is resuming more services. Some of the system’s ambulatory services will resume normal operation starting May 11.

Winter Haven Hospital nurse works with local supply stores to collect personal protection equipment (PPE) donation supplies to protect health care workers during COVId-19.

BayCare’s top priority is the health and well-being of the community. That's why hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers are working to resume all surgical services for patients in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to lift the ban on elective surgeries four days early on Monday, May 4.

Nothing is normal or ordinary for St. Joseph’s Hospital in the time of COVID-19. There are no visitors bustling on the floors. Yet, Tina Imperato continues. Or, instead, she plays on. She is one of the few semblances of normalcy.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way BayCare HomeCare delivers its home health services to ensure patients and team members stay safe. From the start, BayCare HomeCare has taken proper measures and protocols to safely care for patients in-the-home environment.

BayCare Health Plans is doing its part to help the community during the coronavirus pandemic. BayCarePlus Medicare Advantage is collaborating with two local organizations to donate 2,000 hygiene kits to seniors in the Tampa Bay area.

Two months ago, no facility in Tampa Bay had the capacity to process tests for COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Now, just a few weeks later, BayCare’s network of laboratories have proved nimble and effective in expanding testing to handle hundreds of tests daily.

With the arrival of warmer weather, BayCare Health System is moving its operations for its drive-thru COVID-19 test collection sites an hour earlier.

BayCare's Dr. Alfonso Vargas is not only a rock star in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital, he’s also an actual rock star. Along with bandmate, Keith Schwier, Dr. Vargas wrote the song “Stronger” to bring a ray of hope during these trying times.

Almost 40 years in the sleep business has taught Marietta Bibbs a lot about the ways that people mess up the opportunity for a good night’s sleep. They stay on their electronic devices until bedtime, consume caffeine or heavy meals too late in the day. However, these days, something else may be disrupting their sleep: anxiety and worry about the coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on their lives.

When Marlene Sherman arrived at St. Anthony’s Hospital on March 27, she already had been feeling the effects of the novel coronavirus. Now, after nearly three weeks in the hospital, spending some of that time in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator while suffering from COVID-19, Mrs. Sherman was discharged on April 17.

As families continue to adapt to the changes in daily life as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and other caregivers are faced with helping children adjust to new routines, keep up with schoolwork and overcome boredom. Pediatric physician Dr. Marcy Baker provides some recommendations on how to give them guidance and reassurance during uncertain times.

She survived the Great Depression, two world wars and the polio epidemic – now this. Nearly 100 years old, Mary Ellen Owen, a volunteer at Morton Plant, has witnessed and endured a lot, but nothing like the coronavirus crisis.

As COVID-19 continues to spread across our community, many people are being advised to shelter at home. Continuous stay-at-home routines not only affect people’s overall lifestyles but also impact their daily eating habits. That’s why BayCare dietitians provide tips on how to maintain a healthy diet during these trying times.

Homemade devices created by two BayCare hospitals to protect health care providers while treating COVID-19 patients are now being mass produced and will be used throughout the system. The devices are used during intubation, the point of highest risk for spread of the virus to health care personnel.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tampa Bay-area’s leading multi-specialty medical group is altering its primary care services to maximize access for patients while reducing risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.

BayCare’s top priority is the health and wellness of patients, team members and the community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, spiritual and emotional well-being is important too. BayCare's spiritual care teams have mobilized spiritual resources to help patients cope more effectively.

BayCare has a service to help individuals in the community who are concerned about COVID-19 symptoms. Patients can call seven days a week to ask a highly skilled nurse questions about the novel coronavirus.

BayCare Health System is providing access to rapid testing for COVID-19 patients, starting Thursday (April 9). The new option will greatly reduce the time it takes BayCare hospitals to diagnose patients, enhancing care amid the growing novel coronavirus pandemic.

BayCare Health System has made significant changes to operations at its imaging services’ offices to ensure it is able to safely serve patients amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes will allow urgent outpatient imaging services to remain accessible in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties.

Being cooped up at home doesn’t mean you have to stop exercising. Jeanmarie Scordino, exercise physiologist at BayCare, recommends five exercises that can be done at home.

As more cases of COVID-19 are confirmed locally, more individuals and their families are having to figure out how to effectively quarantine a patient at home – ideally without infecting anyone else. Diligence and common sense need to work hand-in-hand to keep the virus from spreading, even if patients are only experiencing mild symptoms.

When someone is experiencing a stroke or heart attack, every second counts. Even in the midst of a pandemic, that message does not change. Individuals who are experiencing heart attack or stroke symptoms need to seek medical attention immediately.

BayCare Health Plans, a subsidiary of BayCare Health System, announced today it will waive all out-of-pocket costs for all its BayCarePlus Medicare Advantage members who must undergo testing or treatment for COVID-19, including in-patient hospital admissions.

For some BayCare team members, sewing was never in their job description. But, when coronavirus began to spread, they put their sewing skills to use to help protect the lives of those at the front lines. They've set up shop at BayCare’s system office making personal protection equipment for health care workers.

A BayCare drive-thru COVID-19 test collection site that has been operating in Haines City for more than two weeks will move to Bartow starting Monday. The change will enable BayCare Health System to reopen its Haines City Urgent Care and align all urgent care services in the community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Classes have gone online, but at one high school in Pasco County, cars are still lining up each weekday. Through a unique partnership, Gulf High School has become an epicenter of this community’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to an unprecedented state of quarantine or stay-at-home orders or advisories. Isolation presents unique challenges and circumstances. The confinement and restrictions coupled with the disease’s unknown can add to anxiety.

Sitting at home, with another beautiful spring Florida day, it can feel surreal. But social distancing remains a necessary and effective tool in our fight to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic in our local community.

With most schools and childcare facilities closed and families practicing social distancing from the safety of their home, experts warn that we may see a rise in injuries involving children. BayCare's Michelle Sterling offers some safety tips families can follow at home as they adapt to new routines.

BayCare shares the frustrations of patients who have visited our drive-thru COVID-19 test collection sites and whose results have not yet come back after more than week’s wait. Please know we are in daily contact with the commercial laboratories where the test specimens have been sent and receipt has been confirmed.

If your whole family is cooped up in the house under a “safer at home” mandate because of the novel coronavirus outbreak, you may be worried that germs could proliferate inside and make your family sick. BayCare's Dr. Jackie Cawley has some ideas about how to fight back.

To help better serve the community during the coronavirus pandemic, BayCare is shifting urgent care services at various urgent care centers across Tampa Bay. BayCare will transform seven of its Urgent Care clinics to serve patients with upper respiratory-related symptoms.

One morning earlier this month at seven parking lots across West Central Florida, BayCare health care workers donned gowns, gloves and masks and, with a box of medical-grade swabs, began the quest to determine exactly how bad the COVID-19 pandemic was here.

As the hot sun beats down on Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, the stadium sits empty. The surrounding streets are nearly silent, yet cars are winding through the south parking lot. Drivers are patients with symptoms of the novel coronavirus desperately seeking testing to determine if they have COVID-19.

BayCare will continue its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites across West Central Florida counties, but is taking a two-day break in service to align resources, including medical supplies. BayCare will resume testing Monday from 9 a.m. to noon.

BayCare has an innovative and user-friendly online screening tool for COVID-19, a disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Patients, who are concerned about COVID-19, can conveniently check their symptoms using the screening tool, available on BayCare.org.

BayCare Health System is joining with government and health care partners to support a new COVID-19 test collection site at Raymond James Stadium. Led by Hillsborough County and the City of Tampa, the new site opens Wednesday (March 25).

Effective Monday, BayCare is consolidating its drive-thru COVID-19 test collection sites to high volume locations and to provide geographic access. The centers hours will also shift to 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

During these times, the message to all has been loud and clear – to practice social distancing – but Dr. Steven Lay heard something else: A call to duty.

If you’ve been feeling anxious or stressed during the coronavirus pandemic, you are not alone. To help you manage stress and anxiety, Laura Arline, MD, interim chief quality officer at BayCare, provides some helpful tips.

BayCare on Friday announced refinements to its drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites to ensure that patients who are most at risk are the ones being tested. The changes are a response to patient patterns seen since the sites opened Wednesday, because of limited testing supplies.

As the coronavirus infection rate continues to grow, BayCare is closing patient visitation at its hospitals to safeguard the health of patients, team members, physicians and the community. The changes take effect Saturday, March 21.

To serve the public’s health amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, BayCare is postponing elective surgical procedures at its hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. BayCare hospitals will continue to do urgent and emergent procedures as needed for any patient.

As a leading health care provider for the Tampa Bay region dedicated to the community’s health, BayCare is shifting resources and adapting its visitation policies to combat the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.