A pair of Orlando hospitals will not bill patients hurt in the June mass shooting that took place at a nightclub in the Florida city, according to a new report.
Orlando Health and Florida Hospital on Wednesday announced the gesture benefiting victims of the Pulse nightclub attack, CNN said on Thursday.
{mosads}“Orlando Health has not sent any hospital or medical bills directly to Pulse patients and we don’t intend to pursue reimbursement of medical costs from them,” spokeswoman Sabrina Childress said Wednesday.
“It was incredible to see how our community came together in the wake of the senseless Pulse shooting,” Daryl Tol, president of Florida Hospital, said Wednesday. “We hope this gesture can add to the heart and goodwill that defines Orlando.”
Forty-nine people were killed and another 53 were wounded on June 12 when a gunman opened fire on Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.
Gunman Omar Mateen, 29, was shot and killed by police responding to the attack at the gay venue.
Orlando Health on Wednesday predicted its total unreimbursed costs from the massacre could exceed $5 million.
The hospital added that it now plans to explore options for helping patients with lingering medical fees.
“These include state and federal funds, private insurance, victim funds like the One Orlando fund, disability insurance, Florida’s crime victim compensation program, funding sources established for individual victims, means-tested programs like Medicaid, as well as charity care provided by Orlando Health,” it said in a statement.
The Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday reported Orlando Health’s main hospital is only a few blocks from Pulse.
Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) treated 44 victims during the incident, it said, including nine who died shortly after arrival.
Their families will not be charged, the newspaper added. Another victim remains hospitalized at ORMC.
The Orlando Sentinel added that Florida Health, meanwhile, treated 12 people hurt in the attack. It now has unreimbursed care totaling more than $525,000 there.
Both hospitals say they plan on working with victims who need more surgeries and treatment, the newspaper said.