Tampa General builds ‘AquaFence’ as area hospitals brace for Helene

TAMPA — The barrier stands between 5 and 10 feet high. It’s sealed to the ground, secured with metal anchors and completely surrounds the grounds of Tampa General Hospital.

The AquaFence, as it’s known, looks similar to the barricades that stand at construction sites. It acts as a kind of force field, designed to protect the hospital — the region’s only Level 1 trauma center — from storm surge and flooding.

Personnel at Tampa General worked Tuesday and Wednesday to install the AquaFence along the hospital’s perimeter as Hurricane Helene barreled toward Florida. It was one of many measures Tampa Bay area hospitals took to ensure they can keep treating patients amid impacts from the storm.

Although Helene is not expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area, its effects will still be felt locally, with storm surge and tropical storm-force winds a main concern.

“Tampa General Hospital teams are monitoring the weather situation and preparing for any potential impacts from the impending storm,” read a statement on the hospital’s website Wednesday.

The hospital sits on the northern tip of Davis Islands, one of the city’s lowest-lying neighborhoods and one that is particularly vulnerable to flooding during storms.

Its newer areas were built with hurricanes in mind. The arrival ramp for the emergency room sits high above the water line. In 2022, the hospital built a new energy plant, which sits 33 feet above sea level, designed to withstand a severe hurricane. The plant ensures the hospital can continue to provide power and hot water to its staff and patients if their power supply is disrupted.

The AquaFence is designed such that when flooding occurs, the water weight will keep the barrier grounded. The barriers are also resistant to wind and punctures. They can withstand storm surge up to 15 feet above sea level.

The facility’s designation as a Level I trauma center means it’s capable of providing a high level of immediate care to patients with severe injuries or medical emergencies.

Hospital leaders and staff go through emergency training throughout the year. Early this week, they enacted an emergency response plan and opened a command center.

Ahead of Helene’s arrival, Tampa General announced the closure of some of its facilities elsewhere, including local physician offices, clinics and outpatient surgery centers. They also plan to temporarily suspend general visitation early Thursday, with some exceptions for those in labor and other vulnerable patients.

All facilities were expected to reopen Friday unless they experience storm damage.

Other hospitals throughout the Tampa Bay area are also employing emergency measures ahead of the storm.

BayCare, which operates 16 hospitals in Tampa Bay and Central Florida — among them St. Joseph’s in Tampa, St. Anthony’s in St. Petersburg, Mease Countryside in Safety Harbor and Morton Plant in Clearwater — also activated their own emergency plans this week, with a focus on facilities in Pinellas and Pasco counties.

The plan includes making staffing changes to ensure patients continue to receive care during the storm, closing nonhospital facilities and securing construction sites.

“Every storm is different and we work hard, every time a storm threatens, to assess how that storm’s characteristics, path and intensity could impact each hospital’s capacity to operate safely,” BayCare spokesperson Lisa Razler said Wednesday in an email. “This storm we are not anticipating any of our hospitals will require evacuations or other measures.”

The hospital system provided hurricane information on its website.

At Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, storm preparations included plans to bring in staff early Thursday to keep operations running during the storm. The hospital has its own energy tank capable of providing power for days in the event of outages, said All Children’s spokesperson H. Roy Adams.

They planned to continue taking in patients, but had canceled all nonemergency procedures scheduled for Thursday. Doctors will conduct telemedicine appointments as necessary.

“We will assess the effect of the storm and reopen locations Friday if possible,” Adams said.

All of the region’s hospitals emphasized Wednesday that they are not equipped to act as shelters.

Information about open emergency shelters in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties is available on the respective county websites.

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