Sarasota hospital pushes back on activist criticisms at board meetings

SARASOTA, Fla. (FLV) – Sarasota Memorial Hospital Board Chair Tramm Hudson believes a group of “radical right” activists are using the hospital’s platform for public statements to “advance their agendas.”

During a March 17 press conference with Chair Hudson, Chief Medical Office Dr. James Fiorica said they are concerned about accusations that “simply aren’t accurate.”

Critics are calling for an independent investigation into Sarasota Memorial after the hospital released a report in February that reviewed the care that Sarasota Memorial Health Care System provided throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Activists in the “medical freedom” movement are reportedly questioning the hospital’s “avoidance of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.”

Chair Tramm Hudson and Dr. Fiorica, however, said the critics’ accusations “don’t match the report.”

“The report is very clear, and the accusations don’t match the report, and we are concerned about that – because all these things affect the reputation of the hospital, the reputation of the physicians. It decreases morale amongst the staff and the physicians. I mean, it’s a distraction. We have important things that we need to accomplish,” Dr. Fiorica said.

Hudson said a lot of the comments have been related to national policy related to COVID-19.

“There are issues related to drug protocols and standards of care, and there are things that we can control that Sarasota Memorial, and there are things that we can’t control and those things are like CDC protocols or NIH recommendations,” Hudson said. “And you know, our board has been very focused on what can we control at Sarasota Memorial.”

The report from the hospital said, “Meanwhile, some repurposed drugs, including hydroxychloroquine, remained available by physician order but were not recommended after further study found they did not reduce the incidence of severe disease or death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.”

The hospital report said Ivermectin has been used in COVID-19 patients at risk of Strongyloides infection, or as part of a clinical trial.

“As with any medication or medical procedure, treatment decisions are made between patients and their doctors, but most physicians at Sarasota Memorial and across the nation do not recommend or use ivermectin for hospitalized COVID patients due to lack of proven efficacy in large, randomized and controlled trials. Over the past three years, ivermectin has remained available at Sarasota Memorial by physician order,” the report said.

Both residents and non-residents have been vocal during public comment, including members of advocacy groups such as Zelenko Freedom Foundation, Sarasota County Moms for America and other groups.

Hudson called out the Zelenko Freedom Foundation, who had a representative speak at the board meeting. Florida’s Voice reached out to the Zelenko Freedom Foundation for a comment and will include it if one is provided.

Hudson said those who visit their website can “make [their] own opinion of what they stand for.”

“I think there’s some groups that have a political agenda, whether it’s related to the former president or those that are running for president and their position in terms of the COVID-19 response, I think they’re using our hospital platform as a way to advance their agendas,” Hudson explained.

Hudson said there are people coming from out-of-state to their board meetings and mentioned one woman from Kentucy.

“One woman in particular, was talking about her husband’s death in Kentucky. She didn’t mention it was a Kentucky Hospital. And I asked her – I said ‘Was that here in Sarasota?’ And she declined to comment,” Hudson said.

Sarasota County Moms For America posted a video on March 12 and said the care that went on at Sarasota Memorial Hospital is “not sufficient, and does not need to be covered up.”

“We will not just forget about this, this is a closure, anticipated result for the family members of the deceased that died in the hospital, among other hospitals in the nation, and we’re going to be fighting for those families,” Tanya Parus said in the video.

“What we came here to do back in November, was to look at you all and hear the stories, hear the compassion, hear the pain […] It’s not about a political agenda,” Parus said at the March 20 meeting.

Parus said they asked for an independent investigation and that “nobody can investigate themselves.”

The critics have also blamed the hospital for The American Board of Family Medicine stripping the certification of Dr. John Littell, a 25-year board-certified family physician and Veteran, as first reported by The Floridian Press.

In an email obtained by Florida’s Voice, a Zelenko Freedom Foundation representative emailed Chair Hudson to say, “Dr. Littell was stripped of his boards by the American family board of medicine because he came and spoke at the hospital.”

Dr. Littell made headlines after an Epoch Times contributor “mischaracterized” an incident where Dr. Littell was removed from a Sarasota Memorial Hospital board meeting, making the video go viral.

Previous rumors were debunked, as Dr. Littell was not removed during his speech.

The spokeswoman for the health care system previously said the doctor left his seat in the audience and approached a hospital board member while the board was actively discussing and preparing to vote on the matter at hand.

In the letters posted online, the The American Board of Family Medicine said Dr. Littell’s “Public Channels contain false, inaccurate, and misleading statements constituting health misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19, the COVID-19 vaccine, and the effort of public health officials to address the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccination and other mitigation measures.”

The letter did not state the reason for his stripping of certification was from the board meeting viral video. The letter cited his Rumble and YouTube videos, some of which are from 2021.

Dr. Littell told the Floridian Press that he is being “singled out” and he guarantees “this was done because of the viral video,” despite the fact that the letter does not mention his board meeting appearance.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital Report Details

In February, the Sarasota County Public Hospital Board shared a report to the public that reviewed the care that Sarasota Memorial Health Care System provided throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

Sarasota County Public Hospital Board voted in November 2022 to conduct a review of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s COVID-19 policies throughout the pandemic, as well as the guidelines and references clinicians used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Over the course of the pandemic, Sarasota Memorial cared for 70% or more of all COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Sarasota County, and over a third of those hospitalized in the four-county region.

The report noted that visitation restrictions at the hospital “took a heavy toll” on patients and their loved ones. 

But, the report found that Sarasota memorial had lower complication rates and generally shorter lengths of stay than other hospitals.

The report found that the lack of testing sites led to extended hospital stays. It touted the hospital’s care for 70% or more of all COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Sarasota County over the course of the pandemic.

Areas for improvement highlighted in report included:

• Hospital readmission rates higher than expected
• Limitations on communications and visitations took a major toll on patients and families