Sarasota Memorial Hospital provides update on COVID-19 patient

Ten days after Sarasota Memorial Hospital officials held a press conference to field questions about the first identified case of COVID-19 in the region, hospital leadership once again assembled to share an update on the first patient to test presumptively positive for the coronavirus disease at SMH.

At a press conference today, hospital leadership confirmed the patient who tested positive for COVID-19 is a 70-year-old man from Massachusetts who resides in Sarasota seasonally. SMH President and CEO David Verinder said the man is “doing well” as health officials continue to research the origins of his infection. The hospital is working with the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County to respond to the diagnosis, a process that includes reaching out to individuals who may have been exposed to the disease.

Verinder once again expressed confidence in the hospital’s preparedness to address the spread of COVID-19 in the community, but he also reiterated his call for expanded testing capability at the local level. As of Friday afternoon, SMH had sent 146 samples to an external lab for COVID-19 testing, Verinder said. One was positive, 85 returned negative and 60 remained outstanding.

Verinder expressed hope the use of private labs could help improve testing capability in the near future, but it is still a primary point of concern for the hospital.  

“It’s here, and testing remains one of our biggest challenges,” Verinder said. “It’s not growing fast enough.”

Hospital officials could not provide a specific number of tests they would be conducting under ideal conditions, but they said it would be significantly higher than the current capability. Chuck Henry, administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County, expressed optimism officials would eventually be able to meet the testing needs of health professionals despite existing challenges.

“I think over the coming days and weeks we’ll finally get to that testing capacity we want,” Henry said.

Henry said the other positive case of COVID-19 announced Thursday involved a 50-year-old Sarasota County resident currently outside of the region. Henry said the individual has been traveling across the country, has not been in Sarasota since late December and is being treated in Broward County.

Verinder said the hospital has asked 16 staff members to go into self-quarantine as officials evaluate the exposure risk associated with the patient there. He said he did not expect there to be any issues with those employees.

The hospital reiterated the need for individuals who believe they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to call their physician or another health official rather than coming into the hospital and risking exposure to other members of the community. Resources include the Florida Department of Health’s COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121, the county health department’s coronavirus call center at 941-861-2883 or the SMH coronavirus information center at 941-262-4000.

SMH announced changes to its visitor policies that went into effect today to minimize risk for individuals at the facility. Visiting hours now end at 6 p.m., rather than 9 p.m., and there is a limit of two visitors at a time per room. No visitors under the age of 13 are permitted. Visitors are restricted for patients in isolation, with the hospital asking families to use video calling to speak to those patients. The hospital is planning to add staff at most entrances to encourage hand washing and check the health of visitors. Visitors with a cough or fever will not be able to access patients. 

Verinder applauded the commitment of physicians, staff members and volunteers at the hospital to fighting the disease and its potential spread. He encouraged members of the public to also stay vigilant to help mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19.

“We all need to do our part to prevent the spread of this virus and protect those most vulnerable in the community,” Verinder said.