Agency takes 20 hours to respond to questions about rumors involving Boca Area Hospital.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — BocaNewsNow.com, trying to get to the bottom of a rumor Wednesday night involving a local West Boca Hospital, reached out to the Florida Department of Health.
One would think the Florida Health Department would be quick to support the fast sharing of information during a quasi-crisis. One would think that the Florida Department of Health would be interested in definitively reporting that the rumor involving isolated people in a hospital– spreading at great speed on social medial — was untrue.
One would think.
But the Florida Department of Health’s media center, when contacted online, took nearly 20 hours to respond. And the response showed a scary level of incompetence and a disconnect the social-media-driven world in which we live. Here’s the response:
“Please visit FloridaHealth.gov/COVID-19 for all confirmed cases. Thank you.”
No contact. No guidance. No insight into what was really happening at the hospital that sparked the mass rumors. Nothing. Just 20 hours for a website referral.
The Florida Department of Health needs to step up its communication — one of the main jobs of any public health agency.
And for the record, there was NO incident at a local hospital.
