Ben Harris, Chief Executive Officer for University Hospital and Medical Center in Tamarac.
By Sharon Aron Baron
In a podcast featured on Spotify, Tamarac North Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce featured Ben Harris, Chief Executive Officer for University Hospital and Medical Center.
In the interview by Executive Director Peter Mason, Harris provides insight into UHMC services and his perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic related to the hospital and community.
“It has been a turbulent last year, not just for us here at University Hospital or those of us who live here around Tamarac and South Florida, but really across the county,” said Harris.
Harris mentions some of the challenges related to COVID-19 and the lessons learned over the past months. This includes how to treat those with COVID-19, keeping colleagues safe, ensuring the availability of necessary personal protective equipment, and providing seamless, appropriate, and safe care to those that visit or are admitted into the hospital and do not have COVID-19.
“University Hospital is part of HCA Healthcare – the largest hospital system in the entire country and the largest hospital system in the state of Florida with more than 40 hospitals in Florida and more than 14 in the South Florida area,” said Harris. “That kind of scale, size, and level of access to data enable the hospital to deploy high-end treatment algorithms and understand how to best take care of patients.”
Whether you live in Tamarac, Parkland, Coral Springs, or in another nearby city – UHMC, a 317-bed acute care facility, offers comprehensive care to the community at large.
Harris is proud UHMC contributes to the community and partners with other organizations and professionals to drive health outcomes. This includes Kings Point, where most of the hospital’s volunteers reside. Last fall, UHMC collaborated with Kings Point, local EMS, and other safety providers to provide a two-day COVID-19 testing site.
He said, “I’m real proud to be a part of HCA Healthcare and the role it has played not here just driving clinical outcomes and the health of South Floridians, but really the role we have played in impacting folks across the country even in markets where we do not have a presence.”
Listen to the full podcast free on Spotify.
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