As Pinellas County’s only Level II trauma center, Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital would be the main destination for ambulances in a major emergency event like a hurricane.
But until recently, the emergency department of the city’s marque hospital only had room for four ambulances.
The opening of a new ambulance bay on Friday leaves the 480-bed hospital better equipped to respond during disasters. The expanded bay can accommodate up to 13 ambulances with enough room for paramedic crews to unload patients and take them into the emergency department.
The urgent need to be able to handle a greater influx of patients was driven home by events like back-to-back hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“As the city’s only trauma center, it was important that we grow with our community’s needs,” said Stefan Sumby, the emergency room’s nursing operations manager. “Now we are properly outfitted to receive a much larger number of ambulances, so we can quickly deliver quality medical care to more patients when they need it most.”
The old ambulance bay required a lot more coordination to unload patients in its two lanes, hospital officials said. When full, ambulances sometimes had to park close by to unload patients.
Those limitations were among issues identified by Orlando Health after it purchased the hospital in 2020. Construction began around June 2023.
The Florida Department of Health has designated 36 hospitals across the state as either Level I or II trauma centers. The list includes Tampa General Hospital, this region’s only Level I facility, and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, a designated pediatric trauma center.
To qualify, hospitals must meet a variety of criteria, including the number of trauma specialist surgeons and neurosurgeons, anesthesiologists and nurses assigned to the emergency department.
All trauma centers are required to be able to receive patients from at least two ambulances or paramedic trucks simultaneously and have a helicopter landing site within easy reach of a resuscitation area.
The expanded ambulance bay is is part of an overall upgrade of Bayfront under its new owners. There are expansion plans too, with the addition of a three-story women’s health pavilion and a four-story tower housing specialists in oncology, orthopedics and women’s care through new partnerships with Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute, All Florida Orthopaedic Associates and Women’s Care.
