Recovering from Florence, hospitals get an outside assist
When Atrium Health’s mobile hospital unit arrived into Burgaw, N.C., on Sept. 18 from its home-base in Charlotte, residents of the rural area had been without medical care for days in the wake of Hurricane Florence. They lined up for help even as the medical team was setting up in a Family Dollar parking lot.
Pender Memorial Hospital, a criticalaccess facility, was evacuated ahead of the storm and remained closed because of flooding. The nearest open hospital was 50 miles to the south in Wilmington, N.C., a city unreachable by ground transportation after rising floodwaters cut if off from the rest of the state.
Within 18 hours, Atrium Health’s Med-1 mobile hospital had treated more than 50 patients, many with chronic illnesses. Their conditions had been exacerbated by the stress of the hurricane, loss of electricity or damage to their homes, and the lack of medical care. Others suffered minor injuries that turned major after becoming infected by unclean water and debris.
Hospitals prepared extensively for the hurricane by stocking up on fuel, water, food and medical supplies as part of emergency plans that had been tested and honed by past disasters.
Many had evacuated patients who were well enough to be moved to make room for the injured they expected to see after the storm.
“Our material management staff has worked nonstop making sure that we’re in constant communication with our suppliers,” said Raymond Leggett, CEO of CarolinaEast Health System in New Bern, N.C., where hundreds had been rescued from floodwaters. “We’re in the business of pondering whatifs, so we had other plans—plan B and plan C if they couldn’t get in by truck, including using helicopters. We’re going to write a lot of thank-you notes.”
As of last week, at least 36 people had died in the Carolinas and Virginia because of the storm.