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Coronavirus Updates

News outlets have been providing daily updates with the number of new cases of Coronavirus contracted globally each day. While we want to ensure a proactive and aggressive response to all public health concerns, it is important not to cause panic. I am working with my colleagues to ensure U.S. Health officials have the resources they need to ensure adequate preparation at the federal, state and local levels to properly manage a potential Coronavirus outbreak. In the interim, senior doctors at the CDC ask that we all take the following steps to safeguard our families and our community against Coronavirus.

Wash Hands Often
Cover Coughs
Stay Home if Sick
See your Doctor if your symptoms persist  

This page has been created to provide new and accurate information on the Coronavirus and the steps I am taking to ensure public safety.

Pasco County COVID-19 Testing Sites

AdventHealth

1127 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Wesley Chapel

877-847-8747

BayCare at Gulfview Square Mall

Sears Auto Center 9409 US Hwy. 19, Port Richey

1-800-229-2273

CVS Pharmacy & Minute Clinic: 866-389-2727

  • 12015 Little Rd. Hudson
  • 13839 Little Rd. Hudson
  • 7120 Ridge Rd. Port Richey
  • 11938 US Hwy. 19 N Port Richey
  • 7325 State Rd. 54 New Port Richey
  • 10925 State Rd. 54 New Port Richey
  • 5432 US Hwy. 19 N New Port Richey
  • 3511 US Hwy. 19 New Port Richey
  • 7071 Mitchell Blvd. New Port Richey
  • 11500 Ridge Rd. New Port Richey
  • 2513 US Hwy. 19 Holiday
  • 2322 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., Lutz
  • 5606 Post Oak Blvd. Wesley Chapel
  • 30050 County Line Rd. Wesley Chapel
  • 12804 US Hwy. 301 Dade City
  • 34502 State Rd. 54 Zephyrhills
  • 36440 State Rd. 54 Zephyrhills West

Care One

10435 US Hwy. 19 Port Richey

727-378-4477

Doctor’s Urgent Care

13256 State Rd. 54 Odessa

813-920-0023

Florida Medical  Urgent Care

38021 Market Square Zephyrhills

813-715-0374

2352 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.  Ste. 101, Wesley Chapel

813-929-3600

Med Express

8849 State Rd. 52 Hudson

727-863-7150

22945 State Rd. 54 Lutz

813-909-9099

Premier

14105 5th St.    
Dade City

352-518-2000 Tuesdays

Suncoast Urgent Care

10730 State Rd. 54 New Port Richey

727-274-9138    Press 1

Wiregrass Direct Primary Care

2726 Windguard Cir. Ste. 102, Wesley Chapel

813-999-0505

 

COVID-19 Testing Locations in Pinellas County

Pinellas County COVID-19 Testing Sites

Drive-Thru Testing:

Tropicana Field Parking Lot 2

  • Located on W side of the stadium off 16th St. S, St. Petersburg, FL
    Free COVID-19 Testing, regardless of symptoms (no insurance required). Limit 4 people per car.
  • Tuesday – Saturday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

BayCare at Ruth Eckerd Hall

1111 McMullen Booth Rd, Clearwater

Community Health Centers of Pinellas (CHCP)

  • Insurance card and ID requested – insurance will be billed for those insured, but no out-of-pocket charges for anyone, including uninsured.

    Call (727) 824-8181 and select option 0
    www.chcpinellas.org  

CHCP at Clearwater
707 East Druid Road, Clearwater

  • Tuesdays and Thursdays: 5 to 8 p.m.

CHCP at Pinellas Park
7550 43rd Street North, Pinellas Park

  • Tuesdays and Thursdays: 5 to 8 p.m.

 

Walk-Up Testing:

AFC Urgent Care – Clearwater

1500 N. McMullen Booth Rd.

 

AFC Urgent Care – Pinellas Park

7101 U.S. Highway 19 N.

 

AFC Urgent Care – Seminole

11241 Park Blvd Suite A

 

AFC Urgent Care – Tyrone/St. Petersburg

2241 66th St N St.

 

Your Kids Urgent Care – St. Petersburg

4040 49th St. N.

  • Monday – Friday: 7 – 10 p.m.
    Saturday & Sunday: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
    (727) 526-6483

 

Your Kids Urgent Care – Largo

12190 Seminole Blvd, Suite A

  • Monday – Friday: 7 – 10 p.m.
    Saturday & Sunday: 12 p.m. – 8 p.m.
    (727) 586-6483

Appointment Required:

 

Midnight Medicine, Inc. – Pediatric and Adult Urgent Care

Jeffrey A. Hirschfield, MD

6705 38th Ave N, Suite A, St. Petersburg

 

Any CVS location in Pinellas

 

Doctor’s Urgent Care

34621 U.S. Highway 19, Palm Harbor

  • Appointment only with symptoms or exposure
  • Monday – Friday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
    Saturdays & Sundays: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    (727) 953-9888
    www.yourdoctorsurgentcare.com

 

Federal COVID-19 Response in Florida Updated 8/21/20

 

Overview: Response and recovery efforts are locally executed, State managed, and Federally supported. Successful emergency management requires nationwide cooperation and unity of effort, combining the strength and ingenuity of our citizens and private sector with a sweeping, all-inclusive, and whole-of-government response. The below is a partial overview of Federal assistance provided to the State of Florida and the people of Florida to combat the Coronavirus. The information is bolstered by hundreds of additional actions by the Federal government to help the people of Florida. President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have appreciated the strong State-Federal partnership with Governor Ron DeSantis and other State, local, and Tribal leaders in Florida. 

 

  • The President quickly approved Florida’s major disaster declaration on March 25, 2020 and National Guard funding requests on March 28, 2020 providing additional Federal resources to supplement State response efforts.
  • This year, over 2.7 M N-95 masks, 1.1 M surgical & procedural masks, 220 K eye and face shields, 190 K isolation & surgical gowns, and 1 M medical gloves have been shipped to Florida through private sector, State, and Federal collaboration.
  • The Federal government has directly supported 33 community based testing sites in Florida and will be providing over 411,000 swabs and 411,000 media to support state testing needs in the month of August.
  • The Federal government coordinated the surge of supplemental personal protective equipment to all Florida Medicaid & Medicare certified nursing homes. And to supplement private sector supplies, 446 of Florida’s Medicaid & Medicare certified nursing homes are receiving federally supported point-of-care COVID-19 testing.
  • Previously deployed Battelle Critical Care Decontamination Systems to Florida that were capable of decontaminating up to 80,000 N-95 masks daily.
  • Coordinated donation of 1,078 cases (40 vials per case) of Remdesivir and 2,253 cases of commercially available Remdesivir to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Florida.   
  • Medical facilities and providers in the State of Florida have received over $5.3 B in COVID-19 related allocations from HHS. This includes more than $4.2 B from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund to support healthcare-related expenses or lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 and ensures uninsured Americans can get testing and treatment for COVID-19.
  • The State of Florida and eligible local governments received over $8.3 B from the CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to help address unforeseen financial needs and risks created by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Tribal governments received over $157.7 M in CRF funding.  
  • The Small Business Administration has issued over $32.2 B in loans to over 430 K Florida small businesses.
  • The U.S. Department of the Treasury has made 11 M Economic Impact Payments totaling more than $18 B to hardworking taxpayers of Florida.
  • The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has made over $413.3 M in COVID-19 funding available to Florida grantees via CARES Act authorizations to help America’s low-income families and most vulnerable citizens. 
  • The U.S. Department of Education provided $370.1 M to support postsecondary education students and institutions of higher education in Florida, authorized $173.6 M for the State from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, and $770.2 M to ensure learning continues for all elementary and secondary students. 
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation allocated more than $958.6 M to help the Florida public transportation systems and $896.1 M to help Florida airports.

COVID Press Release MA Part D Memo

PDF iconCOVID Press Release MA Part D Memo.pdf

COVID News Alert FAQs On Survey Guidance 

PDF iconCOVID News Alert FAQs On Survey Guidance.pdf

COVID Press Release Home Health and ESRD Guidance

PDF iconCOVID Press Release Home Health and ESRD Guidance.pdf

COVID Press Release on Mask Guidance

PDF icon3.10.20 COVID Press Release on Mask Guidance.pdf

Coronavirus Update Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8RCFkZIfU&t=95s

CDC Fact Sheet:

PDF iconCDC Fact Sheet What you need to know about coronavirus.pdf

PDF iconCDC Fact Sheet What to do if you are sick.pdf

Florida Delegation Letter:

As a member of the Florida Delegation, my colleagues and I sent a letter to President Trump to express our desire for the administration to prioritize resources to prevent, respond to, and treat outbreaks of Coronavirus to states such as Florida that have current cases, a substantial senior population, and high levels of foreign tourism.

Full Letter Attached Below

PDF iconSigned FL Delegation Coronavirus Letter 04 March 2020.pdf

IN WAKE OF CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK, REPS. PETERS, ENGEL, GUTHRIE, ESHOO, HUDSON, MCCAUL, SCHRADER, BILIRAKIS INTRODUCE BIPARTISAN BILL TO PREVENT CRITICAL ACCESS DRUG SHORTAGES

Press Release: PDF iconIn Wake of Coronavirus Outbreak, Reps. Peters, Engel, Guthrie, Eshoo, Hudson, McCaul, Schrader, Bilirakis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Critical Access Drug Shortages.pdf

Coronavirus Appropriations:

I have recently supported and voted for a bill in the House which will provide $7.8 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for the U.S. response to coronavirus.

Full Letter Attached Below

PDF iconCoronavirus Emergency Supplemental.pdf

Florida Health Care Association Statement on Coronavirus

FHCA Statement on Coronavirus and Nursing Home Preparations to Keep Residents Safe

“The trained health care professionals at Florida’s nursing centers are taking the threat of Coronavirus most seriously, as the safety and well-being of residents and staff is always our highest priority. Our members are focused on minimizing the potential risks by boosting preventive actions and utilizing fundamental infection control protocols, including the use of eye protection, standard hand hygiene procedures, contact and airborne precautions, and other key practices within their centers.”

Preventive measures include daily cleaning of commonly touched environmental surfaces, using an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant to decrease environmental contamination taking the steps necessary to optimize surveillance programs to identify cases, clusters, and outbreaks of disease; re-educating all staff – both clinical and nonclinical – on proper use of personal protective equipment; implementing policies to stop visitors who are sick from entering the centers, providing them with alternative ways to visit with their family members; and ensuring that health care providers avoid working while ill and developing policies to account for potential absenteeism during community-wide outbreaks.

FHCA has activated our standard emergency preparedness activities, including frequent calls with nursing homes and establishing a dedicated coronavirus web page at https://www.fhca.org/facility_operations/coronavirus. In addition, we remain in close contact with the Office of the Governor, the Florida Department of Health, the Agency for Health Care Administration, the CDC, and other state and federal partners to monitor the virus and communicate updated information and ongoing resources to our members.”

ABOUT THE FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION

The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) is a federation which serves nearly 1,000 members and represents over 500 long term care facilities that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development and financial stability of its members. As Florida's first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about the Florida Health Care Association, visit www.fhca.org.

PDF icon COVID-19 Quick Points.pdf

Update on Diagnostic Testing:

On March 4th, Vice President Pence announced that the COVID-19 test will be covered by Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance plans.  HHS denominated the test to be an essential health benefit.  In addition, CDC has expanded coronavirus testing to all U.S. patients with an order from a doctor for testing.  According to the CDC, clinicians should “use their judgment to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and whether the patient should be tested.”

Update on other Federal Actions:

Today, CMS released three memoranda to assist providers and labs in limiting the spread of COVID-19: guidelines for infection control in hospitals; guidelines for infection control in nursing homes; and discussion of the suspension of non-emergency infections.

CMS is suspending all non-emergency inspections to allow inspectors to turn their full attention to infectious disease control and abuse.  Inspectors will be focusing on non-compliant facilities and those with active infection; inspectors will also respond to complaints of infection and serious threats like abuse allegations.  CMS plans to focus attention on areas where there is significant activity, including Washington, California, and Florida.

More information on this announcement is available here.

 

CDC Awarding Initial Funding to State and Local Jurisdictions for COVID-19
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing upcoming action by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide initial resources to a limited number of state and local jurisdictions in support of our nation’s response to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Using funds provided to CDC through the HHS Secretary's Transfer, CDC will:

  • Award an initial $25 million cooperative agreement to the states and local jurisdictions who have borne the largest burden of response and preparedness activities to date. This is an initial award for those jurisdictions who require immediate assistance for activities such as monitoring of travelers, data management, lab equipment, supplies, staffing, shipping, infection control, and surge staffing. Once supplemental funding is provided, support will be provided to all states and local jurisdictions for a variety of critical public health activities.  Below is information specific to what State and County Health Departments are receiving in your State:
    • Florida: $500 ,000
  • Award an initial $10 million cooperative agreement to state and local jurisdictions to begin implementation of coronavirus surveillance across the U.S., building on existing influenza activities and other surveillance systems. This initial award is for a limited number of jurisdictions. Once supplemental funding is provided, additional support will be provided to all states and local jurisdictions to enhancing testing and surveillance.

CDC will use existing networks to reach out to state and local jurisdictions to access this initial funding.

For more information about this virus, please visit CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

For the latest information on the outbreak, visit CDC’s Novel Coronavirus 2019 website.

For questions about CDC’s response to COVID-19, please contact the CDC Washington Office
at CDCWNCoVResponse@cdc.gov

 

·       FDA: Emergency Use Authorization

·       FDA: Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

·       CDC Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators