COVID surge forces Florida hospital to shut down maternity ward 'until further notice'
Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale (Photo courtesy: WSVN)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A South Florida hospital has temporarily closed its maternity ward due to staff shortages related to recent outbreaks of COVID-19.
Mothers-to-be who had planned on giving birth at Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale will have to find another option.
"In the best interest of patient safety, the Labor and Delivery unit is on diversion until further notice," Holy Cross spokeswoman Christine Walker told WSVN.
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The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Post-Partum units at the hospital remain open, she said.
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Nearby hospitals including Memorial Healthcare System and Broward Health are taking on patients from Holy Cross in the meantime.
"We’ve been receiving a few of their patients and working closely with them to ensure that they get safe high-quality care," Leah Carpenter, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Memorial, told WTVJ.
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The announcement from Holy Cross comes as Florida continues to shatter daily records for new COVID cases, which are most likely fueled by the omicron variant. The variant is now the dominant strain across the United States.
Since last week, there have been long lines at testing sites across South Florida and in other areas of the state.
Holy Cross did not specify when they expect the hospital’s Labor and Delivery Unit to reopen.