{"id":133147,"date":"2026-01-27T05:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133147\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T05:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:20:10","slug":"ben-albritton-moved-to-shands-in-gainesville-amid-concern-over-blood-clot-in-lung-heart-abnormality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/133147\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Albritton moved to Shands in Gainesville amid concern over blood clot in lung, heart abnormality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senate President\u00a0Ben Albritton<\/a>\u00a0continues to undergo treatment and observation for a blood clot in his lung, and he is leaving Tallahassee for the time being.<\/p>\n

After the 57-year-old Wauchula Republican spent the night at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, he is being transferred to UF Health Shands in Gainesville for what a release from his office calls a \u201cpotential abnormality in the upper left portion of the President\u2019s heart that requires additional testing and review\u201d that was diagnosed at TMH.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of an abundance of caution, the President will begin additional testing and observation from a multidisciplinary team at Shands Hospital in Gainesville later this evening. This information will help him determine a treatment plan moving forward,\u201d the statement continues.<\/p>\n

The timeline for his treatment is unknown, and plans have already been made for Senate President Pro Tempore\u00a0Jason Brodeur\u00a0to preside over Thursday\u2019s floor session in the event Albritton cannot attend. Nevertheless, Albritton is still in constant communication with staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President and Mrs. Albritton are grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support from hundreds of people across the state from both inside and outside of the political process. In addition, they are extremely grateful for the professionalism, care, and support they received from the medical staff at Tallahassee Memorial,\u201d the statement adds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Albritton was elected in 2018 in Senate District 26, but the district was redrawn and renumbered in 2022. Thanks to a draw<\/a>\u00a0in that process, he ended up in odd-numbered Senate District 27 in the 2022 campaign cycle. That meant he had to run again in 2024, but won election to a four-year term, giving him the opportunity to serve a full decade in the Senate.<\/p>\n

He said during pre-Session meetings of county delegations<\/a> that he likely was making his last round of those meetings. It\u2019s unclear whether his medical condition would affect his decision-making for the two post-presidential years he can serve in the Senate.<\/p>\n

Legislative colleagues and others in The Process are expressing well wishes upon hearing the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cKatie and I are praying that Sen. Albritton has a quick recovery. He\u2019s a good man and a man of God,\u201d said U.S. Rep.\u00a0Jimmy Patronis.<\/p>\n

Lt. Gov.\u00a0Jay Collins, who served with Albritton in the Senate before being appointed to his current position, called the Senate President a \u201cstalwart friend to farmers, ranchers, and all Floridians who wish to preserve Florida for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI wish him the best of health and hope that he\u2019s back on his feet soon fighting for the conservative principles that make our state so great,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n

Attorney General\u00a0James Uthmeier said he and his wife Jean \u201care praying hard for Senate President Albritton and Missy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that \u201cSenator Albritton is a good friend and great leader\u2014we wish him a strong and quick recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen.\u00a0Carlos G. Smith is sending \u201clove, positivity, and prayers to President Albritton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful for the outstanding care he is receiving at Tallahassee Memorial and are wishing him a smooth and speedy recovery. Our thoughts are with him, Missy, and his family,\u201d Smith added.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura and I are keeping Senate President (Albritton) and his family in our prayers for a speedy recovery,\u201d added state Rep. Tom Fabricio.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlad to see he is receiving medical care and look forward to his full recovery soon,\u201d said former House Speaker and current candidate for Governor\u00a0Paul Renner.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are praying for Senate President Ben Albritton and wishing him a swift and full recovery. We are grateful for his dedicated service to the State of Florida and confident in his strength as he continues to lead us into a successful session,\u201d the Republican Party of Florida said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPraying for President Albritton\u2019s recovery. Glad he went to the hospital when he experienced chest pain,\u201d said\u00a0Alan Levine, the Vice Chair of the Florida Board of Governors.<\/p>\n

____<\/p>\n

Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Senate President\u00a0Ben Albritton\u00a0continues to undergo treatment and observation for a blood clot in his lung, and he is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[4218,65217,5189,232,234,7450,233],"class_list":{"0":"post-133147","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tallahassee","8":"tag-ben-albritton","9":"tag-blood-clot","10":"tag-senate-president","11":"tag-tallahassee","12":"tag-tallahassee-headlines","13":"tag-tallahassee-memorial-hospital","14":"tag-tallahassee-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=133147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/133147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/133148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=133147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=133147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=133147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}