Boasting to have “The Skill to Heal, The Spirit to Care,” Florida Hospital Altamonte
gives many reasons to provethat statement correct. With new additions and expansions, the hospital
offers state of the art technology and state of the art staff to accommodate more than 175,000
patients per year.
Since 1973, the largest satellite campus within the Florida Hospital system has provided
this state of the art service to more than 17,000 inpatients, 50,000 emergency room patients,
8,000 surgical patients. The facility also delivers approximately 1,500 babies each year.
The newest addition is the New Emergency Room Department. There are more rooms
and more doctors than ever before to assist patients in their time of need. Florida Hospital
Altamonte is also giving patients a 60 minute guarantee. That’s right, you will be seen by a
physician in 60 minutes or less. This does not mean that you will be out and on your way
home in 60 minutes or less, what it means is that you will be seen by a physician in that
amount of time.
For those patients needing critical care there are 11 new intensive care rooms. The
new Emergency Department also offers a new healing environment that provide patients
with private rooms for a quieter, calming experience with plenty of space for family support,
private bathrooms and if you so desire you can watch television on the flat panels.
Florida Hospital Altamonte is a nationally accredited Chest Pain Center and designated
Brain Attack center. This means that the center possesses the technology and expertise to stop
a heart attach and reverse the effects of a stroke in just minutes thus improving the clinical
outcomes of patients.
You may be wondering how a hospital can make such a claim of having an Emergency
Room that promises that you will be seen in 60 minutes or less. It all has to do with space,
technology and interdepartmental communication, which has been enhanced.
With the new additions to the hospital and Emergency Department, Florida Hospital
Altamonte has many qualified physicians and other staff member to handle the needs of
patients and their families. Many of these staff members are women. These gifted women
seemed to be concentrated more in the area of pediatrics and family practice.
Medicine and women have come a long way in the past several years. Just over 150
years ago Elizabeth Blackwell, a determined young student, became the first American
woman to gain admission to medical school.
Her acceptance to Geneva Medical College had been an accident. The faculty had not wanted
to admit women, but desiring the student body’s support, they had put the issues to a
vote and the student body voted her in. This move totally shocked the staff but led the way
for many women to enter the world of medicine.
There were several women’s medical colleges developed and by the end of the 19th
century the percentage of students in medical school was approximately 5 %.
Unfortunately in the early 20th century the medical field saw a decline in the women’s
medical movement, largely the result of multiple influences. These influences were medical
education reform, closing of all but one of the women’s medical colleges, the rise of allied
health fields such as nursing, as well as public health and social work. The face of medicine itself
was changing also. It was becoming more scientific and less humanistic.
Society in the 1950’s glorified domesticity, placing a women’s primary role as that
of homemaker. In those days, just 100 years after Elizabeth Blackwell, only 5.5% of entering
medical students were women, the same as the end of the 19th century. It wasn’t until
after the revival of feminism in the 1960’s and the passage of Title IX of the Higher Education
Act (preventing federal funded educational institutions from discriminating on the basis of
gender) that these numbers began to increase significantly. In 1974, 22.4% of new medical
school entrants were women; today, that figure has increased to 45.6%.
Women at Florida Hospital Altamonte gain considerable grounds when it comes to
patient care, elder care, family care and educating others. The hospital offers seminars
on various topics such as: infant CPR, breast cancer support groups, children’s classes, safe
sitter classes, and many more. Patients that attend these classes have all of the support and
information that they need to learn from these seminars, many of which are led by women.
More Seminole County residents visit Florida Hospital Altamonte than any other hospital
in the state and with good reason. The hospital offers the only comprehensive cancer center
in the county. In addition the center boasts a dedicated outpatient surgery center and orthopedic
institute. Florida Hospital Altamonte is the only hospital in the area to offer the revolutionary
4D ultrasound for the most realistic view of your unborn child.
Located at 601 East Altamonte Drive in Altamonte Springs, Florida Hospital Altamonte
offers concierge services as well as state of the art technology and the finest in health care.
The friendly, service-oriented staff of the concierge service takes care of patients and their
families during the healing process. They will have your film developed, get your dry cleaning
done, notarize documents, make restaurant reservation, and many other services that you
might need while you or a loved one are recovering. They will even arrange to have your oil
changed and your car washed.
Healing and service are the priority at Florida Hospital Altamonte and women are key to
making that happen. Women are natural born caregivers and this hospital gives the care and
service that makes patients and their families feel welcome, comfortable, and stress-free.
For more information or comments on this or other stories please visit
www.seminolecountywoman.com
