Health Care
— TAMPA, Fla. -- In the wake of Hurricane Milton, the AdventHealth West Florida Division, based in the Tampa Bay region, will provide more than 25,000 gallons of gas and 10,000 gallons of diesel to support team members with urgent fuel needs across all 14 of its hospital campuses.
Several fuel tanker trucks, brought in from out of state, are currently rotating between the hospitals to ensure team members have access to the fuel they need to safely travel to and from work during this challenging time.
David Ottati, president and CEO of the AdventHealth West Florida Division, said team members play a crucial role in patient care. This initiative aims to make their commute a little easier.
“The continuous service throughout the storm would not have been possible without our team members’ dedication—from our clinicians to our facilities crew monitoring backup generators,” Ottati said. “By providing this fuel, which has come from all across the country, we hope to support our team members as they continue delivering the high-quality, whole-person care our patients rely on.”
Rosemary Tyrkala, a facilities manager at AdventHealth North Pinellas, lost her home initially in Hurricane Helene and was in temporary housing when Hurricane Milton hit. She said that with the fuel lines in her area being more than an hour long, the ten gallons of gas she received from her hospital made a huge difference.
“It’s one less thing to worry about,” Tyrkala said.“It meant that I didn’t need to go and stand in that line for hours to get gas so that I can go to work. I'm sure that's how it assisted other people, knowing that if they had to get to work or if they had to get to a store for medicines or food or their necessities, that they had some gas in their car to be able to do it."
As of Sunday, October 13, AdventHealth has distributed more than 22,000 gallons of total fuel to team members.
Please monitor all AdventHealth facility updates at adventhealth.com/hurricane.