Florida will start reporting COVID-19 hospitalization rates

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State of Florida will start reporting current hospitalization numbers for all counties this week.

The Governor’s Office made the announcement Tuesday. Action News Jax reached out to the Florida Department of Health to learn when thr numbers will be released and how it will work. A spokesperson said the information was not available Wednesday.

All local hospitals said they already submit this information to AHCA, The Agency for Health Care Administration, which is a healthcare regulator for the state of Florida.

Now, the state will be releasing this information to include the number of coronavirus patients being hospitalized.

Dr. Chad Neilson, Director of Accreditation and Infection Prevention at UF Health, said their Jacksonville hospital is experiencing an increase in new coronavirus diagnoses.

“As those young folks might get it, they might be healthier and might not need hospitalizations. But they will pass it on inevitable to an older individual or someone who has preexisting health problems and that will drive hospitalizations up,” Dr. Neilsen said.

UF Health reported 33 coronavirus patients being hospitalized at their Jacksonville hospital Wednesday. Baptist Medical Center reported 90 COVID-19 patients within their five hospital. They said nine of those are in the ICU.

Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville sent the following statement about hospitalizations. “Mayo reports data to the state’s Emergency Status System as required by the Agency for Health Care Administration, including the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in general and ICU beds.”

The spokesperson for Memorial Hospital and Baptist Health directed Action News Jax to the Florida Department of Health.

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