Halifax Health gives Deltona update as hospital adds specialties and readies UF telestroke coverage

Halifax Health and University of Florida-affiliated physicians told the Deltona City Commission on May 8 that the Medical Center of Deltona has treated thousands of patients since opening and is adding specialists and services, including telestroke coverage coordinated with UF starting July 1.

The update, given by Rafael Ramirez and Matt Peckos of Halifax Health and supported by administrators Ben Evie and Tanya (director of operations), outlined clinical volumes and recruitment plans the hospital says will reduce patient transfers and increase local capacity.

The hospital’s leaders said the facility has recorded "4,500 admissions to the hospital, almost a 109 just under a 100,000, 98,000 emergency room visits and over 32 surgeries so far." They said spring volumes have been “exceptionally busy.”

Why it matters: more local specialty care can keep Deltona residents closer to home for nonemergency treatment and reduce costly transfers, but commissioners emphasized that county ambulance destinations and dispatch decisions affect the hospital’s ability to build programs such as a higher-level cardiac service.

Most important program updates - Vascular surgery: UF has grown the program to three surgeons; Dr. Michael Yacoub now maintains a primary office on the Deltona campus and the hospital has opened a vascular lab for noninvasive testing. Officials said they expect clinic volumes to rise and that the lab should support doubling clinic throughput in the coming weeks. - Orthopedics: Dr. Hayden is building patient demand in Deltona; the hospital is scheduling surgeries in Deltona and running some clinics in Daytona Beach by arrangement. - General surgery: The hospital now has two full‑time general surgeons (Dr. Bautista and Dr. Arellano) and a third surgeon covering call; Bautista focuses on oncologic surgery and Arellano is developing a bariatric program. - Telestroke/neurology: Starting July 1, UF neurologists in Gainesville will provide telestroke coverage for Deltona, Daytona and Port Orange emergency departments. Halifax said the telestroke arrangement is the system’s initial neurology strategy while it recruits in‑person neurologists and neurosurgeons. - Urology and thoracic surgery: Halifax has recruited multiple urologists (one starting in July, additional hires planned) and has posted a thoracic surgeon position with an offer extended for a candidate who would maintain a clinic in Deltona. - Medical oncology and pulmonology: Halifax said it has recruited a medical oncologist and is working to establish an oncology treatment site and to add pulmonary function testing so patients need not travel to Daytona Beach. - Cardiology: The hospital has an exclusive contract with Daytona Heart Group and operates a chest pain center. Halifax explained Florida licensing requires roughly 300 cardiac patients a year at a facility before applying for a percutaneous cardiac intervention (PCI) program; the hospital said it handled “just under a 100” cardiac patients in the last year and expects growth as ER volume rises — potentially permitting a PCI application within roughly the next 12–18 months.

Commissioners pressed ambulance/dispatch issue Several commissioners, led by Vice Mayor Bradford, raised repeated concerns that county ambulance dispatch sometimes routes patients past the Deltona hospital to facilities in nearby cities, hampering the hospital’s ability to capture enough cardiac and other non‑trauma patients to qualify for higher levels of care. Bradford said ambulance destinations had been a longstanding problem; Matt Peckos and others told commissioners that lost transports reduce the counts needed to pursue cardiac program upgrades.

Peckos said the cardiac‑program threshold is particularly sensitive to transport patterns: "When those ambulances go past the hospital, that's just hurting our ability to advance that particular program." Bradford and other commissioners urged staff and county partners to address dispatch decisions so Deltona residents can receive more care locally when appropriate.

Ambulance and trauma scope Hospital leaders said Deltona is not currently seeking trauma‑center designation. They described a common approach used in Florida: keep isolated orthopedic trauma (for example, a fall with a broken hip) locally while directing polytrauma to designated trauma centers. Peckos added that the facility can and does retain many isolated traumatic injuries to avoid unnecessary transfers.

Staffing and training The presenters described active nurse‑intern programs that bring nursing students into clinical rotations and help prepare new nurses for the NCLEX; Halifax said the program has attracted interest from nurses across Central Florida. When asked about employee counts, a Halifax speaker said the system has about 4,000 employees and estimated the Deltona hospital’s staffing varies with demand.

What’s next Hospital leaders said they will continue recruiting specialty physicians and establishing on‑site testing and clinics. Commissioners asked staff to press the county on ambulance routing and to support efforts to grow cardiology and neurology capacity, both to expand local care and to limit transfers that currently shift cases away from Deltona.

(Quotes in this article are from Matt Peckos, vice president of physician services, Halifax Health; Rafael Ramirez and other Halifax presenters; and Vice Mayor Bradford and commissioners during the May 8 workshop.)