Protect Health Care Access in the State Budget
6/1/2026
This article first appeared as a column in the 2026 June issue of South Florida Hospital News
By Mary Mayhew, FHA President and CEO
June 1 marks the start of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. Running through November 30, this season is predicted to have below-average activity, according to forecasters at the Colorado State University, a welcome announcement after several years of devastating storms. But, below-average storm activity does not mean no storm activity. This year is predicted to have 13 storms, six of which will become hurricanes, and two of which will reach Category 3 status or stronger.
Coast-to-coast, Florida’s hospitals are ready.
In 2024, less than six weeks after Hurricanes Milton and Helene tore through Florida, almost every hospital in every community in the state was open and operational. This resiliency didn’t happen by chance. It happened because of commitment, planning and preparedness, and collaboration and coordination. Florida’s hospitals take their role as a 24/7, 365-days-a-year healthcare provider extremely seriously because hospitals are just as essential to community safety and well-being as the electric grid, transportation infrastructure, and communications systems.
The level of planning hospitals undertake for each hurricane season doesn’t vary in response to forecast. Planning and preparation are always at the highest level because weather is unpredictable, modeling isn’t perfect, and Floridians deserve always-reliable infrastructure, including hospitals. And, Florida’s hospitals understand far too well that natural disasters, however rare, rarely bring just one challenge. They bring multiple, from multi-day flooding and power outages to fuel shortages and increased EMS demand.
Florida’s hospitals are laser focused on protecting life and safety and preserving critical health care capacity to ensure access to essential medical care before, during, and after a storm. No matter how high the waters rise or how fast the winds blow, hospitals are responsible for managing the continuous care of acutely ill patients already in their care, such as patients on ventilators, as well as being accessible during the storm for pregnant women in labor and those experiencing medical emergencies or injuries. The commitment is to maintain care and operations throughout the entire storm event without sacrificing the safety of patients and staff.
To deliver on this commitment, all Florida hospitals, no matter their size or location, have a comprehensive and all-hazards emergency management plan to govern emergency response before, during, and after a storm with the goal of maintaining a safe care environment for patients and staff. These plans reflect regulatory changes and new best practices in emergency response as well as lessons learned from the management of previous crises.
County emergency management officials review these plans annually for comprehensiveness and accuracy, and hospitals conduct at least two exercises a year to test, drill, and practice their plans to identify any areas of needed improvement and to ensure their teams understand how to operationalize the plan in an actual emergency. The after-event analysis is critical and guides future planning. Most recently, for example, a Naples hospital system installed new flood barriers at two of its campuses following experiences during Hurricane Ian. The barriers protect critical areas like emergency department entrances and help ensure uninterrupted patient care.
Hospitals plan for the worst.
And, when hurricanes actually threaten and become not just a scenario to plan for but an imminent reality to expect, hospitals activate their emergency response plans. They mobilize around-the-clock command centers to communicate and coordinate with local officials and that inform critical decisions governing patient care and continued operations.
With patient and staff safety at the forefront of all decision-making, hospitals evaluate whether evacuations ahead of storm landfall are necessary. The purpose of the physical infrastructure hardening and improvements such as flood barriers is to avoid, when possible, patient evacuations, which are disruptive to patients, and to preserve hospitals’ operations to respond to the needs of the community.
Every year, Floridians are asked to “make a plan” for hurricane season. Preparedness is the key to weathering any storm safely. Florida’s hospitals share that commitment to preparedness, and they invest in people, infrastructure, technology, and procedures to minimize any disruption in their 24/7 operations to the greatest extent possible.
Make a plan, be prepared, follow local and state guidance, and trust that your local hospital is doing everything possible to remain a trusted port in whatever storm comes ashore.