HIALEAH, Fla. – Five major local hospitals in South Florida are now under new ownership.
Steward Health Care Systems acquired Tenet Healthcare hospitals in South Florida, which includes Palmetto General Hospital, Coral Gables Hospital and Hialeah Hospital, as well as North Shore and Florida Medical Centers.
For Steward Chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre, it’s a homecoming of sorts.
“My brother and my mom lives in Coral Gables, and I have more cousins in Hialeah, Miami Springs and you can imagine,” he said. “We want this to be the best healthcare, not a only in South Florida, but in the world.”
Confidence was clear as de la Torre said he is up for the challenge, even as COVID-19 cases and hospitalization rates hit record numbers in Florida.
“We’ve already started redeploying staff, PPE, ventilators and other vital supplies from across the country to our new five hospitals across South Florida,” Dr. Sanjay Shetty, President of Steward North America.
Added de la Torre: We have capabilities through our E-ICU, through centralizing of things like ventilators, supplies, drugs and pharmaceuticals to really move huge resources into any area as Hospitalizations grow.
“What worries me more and what I think is more important is we really need to get people vaccinated.”
For information on where COVID-19 vaccines are available in South Florida, click here.