As of October 10, Hurricane Milton has crossed over Florida and continues its eastward path into the Atlantic. It made landfall along the Westcoast of Florida late Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane and weakened to a Category 1 as it moved inland producing significant rainfall and flooding.
Healthcare Ready is ENGAGED for this event.We are monitoring potential concerns for supply chain disruptions and impacts on healthcare services on our response page, listing resources and previous situation reports.
As of October 10, Hurricane Milton has crossed over Florida and continues its eastward path into the Atlantic. It made landfall along the Westcoast of Florida late Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane and weakened to a Category 1 as it moved inland producing significant rainfall and flooding.
This emergency order waives competitive procurement requirements, permits medical transportation services from other states to operate in Florida, permits paramedics licensed in other states to practice in Florida, and permits pharmacies to operate in multiple or mobile locations.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued blanket waivers and other flexibilities through the end of the Hurricane Milton PHE declaration for Florida.
This includes waivers and flexibilities for hospitals, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, end-stage renal dialysis facilities, and other health care facilities.
Information on those waivers and flexibilities can be found here.
Emergency Prescription Refills
In Florida, under a state of emergency, individuals are permitted to receive early prescription refills.
The Agency for Health Care Administration issued a Health Care Alert that waives all prior authorization requirements for critical Medicaid services. Early prescription refill edits have been lifted for all maintenance medications.
Healthcare Infrastructure
According to the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), as of October 10, 401 health care facilities have reported evacuations. This included 223 assisted living facilities, 76 nursing homes, 21 hospitals, and other health care facilities.
As of October 10, 165 health care facilities are without power. This includes 70 assisted living facilities, 3 nursing homes, 3 hospitals, and other health care facilities.
The table below provides a snapshot of pharmacy status across the potentially impacted areas. This information was pulled from RxOpen.
Information on facility status:
Open: Operational
Closed: Not providing services
Unknown: Operational status uncertain
Not Participating: Specific to pharmacies not sharing data
Impacts to Supply Chain
IV Solutions
The Braun IV manufacturing plant and distribution center in Daytona Beach, Florida, are currently closed, with plans to resume operations on Friday, October 11. HHS ASPR aided in evacuating IV solution products ahead of the storm's landfall. There have been no reports of damage at this time.
Transportation Waivers
On October 6, the Florida State Surgeon General issued a curfew letter for businesses providing health care deliver services, supplies, and pharmaceuticals in response to Hurricane Milton.
On October 7, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) issued Emergency Order 24-06. It suspends the enforcement of registration requirements for vehicles providing emergency services or supplies.
As of October 7, Governor DeSantis suspended tolls across Central and West Florida in preparation for Hurricane Milton. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will suspend toll collection from October 7 through October 14.
On October 6, FDOT issued Emergency Order 24-12 which waived and suspended size and weight restrictions for vehicles responding to Hurricane Milton.
On October 6, FDOT released an Emergency Road Use Permit for vehicles transporting goods from seaports impacted by the port strikes. The permit is also issued for the purpose of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton emergency response.
On October 6, FDOT released an Enforcement Bulletin determining what sort of supplies (besides emergency equipment, services, and supplies) would be covered by the Emergency Road Use Permit.
FDOT has also coordinated with Georgia and Alabama to allow bypassing of weigh stations for emergency response vehicles.
Ports
As of October 10, JaxPort (Jacksonville) is fully closed. The port plans to reopen Friday morning after damage assessments are conducted.
As of October 10, Port Tampa Bay is closed as damage assessments are conducted. Currently, the port is without power.
Airports
As of October 10, Tampa International Airport is closed while conducting damage assessments to determine when they can safely reopen.
As of October 10, Orlando International Airport has suspended operations will reopen once they assess damages. There is currently no timeline for when services will resume.
Miami International Airport is currently open but delays and cancellations may occur due to Hurricane Milton.
Logistics
As of October 10, FedEx has stated delays and disruptions can be expected along the west coast of Florida due to Hurricane Milton.
As of October 10, UPS has listed out all the ZIP codes in Florida where services are impacted due to Hurricane Milton.
Road Closures
Updates on any road closures in Florida can be found here.
About Healthcare Ready 
Healthcare Ready is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to ensure patient access to healthcare in times of disaster, emergency, and disease outbreaks. We leverage unique relationships with government, nonprofit and medical supply chains to build and enhance the resiliency of communities before, during and after disasters. Learn more about Healthcare Ready
Healthcare Ready leverages unique relationships with government, nonprofit and medical supply chains to build and enhance the resiliency of communities before, during and after disasters.
Healthcare Ready is approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (C)(3) tax-exempt organization, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Healthcare Ready's Federal Identification Number (EIN) is 46-3134601.
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