Spike in Coronavirus Numbers Could Force Seniors to Temporarily Move to Fort Lauderdale

Alina Alonso, director of the State Department of Health in Florida's Palm Beach County, said a medical center in Fort Lauderdale could serve as a temporary residence for seniors ready to be discharged from area hospitals, reports WPTV 5 . The department estimates that less than 23 percent of intensive care unit beds are available, and Alonso added that about 200 seniors who live in local care communities are ready to leave hospitals in the county. "The hospitals are concerned that they're tying up beds with these people," she noted. The nursing and assisted-living communities where these seniors live will not let them return from the hospital until tests indicate that they are coronavirus-free. Tests often take as long as four days for results. "They can also be taken to this center in Fort Lauderdale to alleviate the hospitals because of the importance of the capacity issues at the hospitals right now," Alonso said. Jupiter Medical Center CEO Amit Rastogi stressed that this is a contingency measure, and hospitals have not yet reached a breaking point.