Eye on the Tropics

Ormond Beach hospital to be closed for at least 18 months due to Hurricane Irma damage

When Hurricane Irma hit in September, Florida Oceanside Hospital in Ormond Beach received extensive damage inside and out, officials said.
Since the storm, the 199-bed facility, which has its own emergency room and rehab center, has been shuttered.
The extent of the damage has experts estimating the hospital will likely be closed for at least 18 months while repairs are made.
Ormond Beach resident Helene Desantos said the loss of the hospital means people in the area will have to travel about twice as far during an emergency.
“It’s a convenience that will no longer be there,” she said. “People who live here year-round will miss it.”
Daytona Beach resident Charles Smyth said residents shouldn’t have to wait more than a year for the hospital to be repaired.
“They need to get the bulldozers over there immediately and start tearing down the old structure, and the sooner they start tearing it down, the sooner they can start rebuilding it and they don’t have to wait 18 months,” he said.