Florida, Sept. 29 (BUS): Hurricane Ian swept through a Florida hospital from above and below, storms inundated the lower-level emergency room while high winds tore part of the ceiling of the fourth floor of the intensive care unit, according to the doctor who works there.
Dr. Birgit Bowden said she spent the night at the HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, expecting the storm would make things crowded, “but we didn’t expect the roof to explode on the fourth floor,” the Associated Press reported.
On Wednesday, water gushed from above onto the intensive care unit, forcing staff to evacuate the hospital’s sickest patients, some on ventilators, to other floors. Staff resorted to towels and plastic bins to try and get rid of the wet mess.
The medium-sized hospital spans four floors, but patients have had to stay on only two floors due to the damage.
Bowden plans to spend another night in the hospital, where the injuries of the upcoming storm could make matters worse.
“Ambulances may be arriving soon and we don’t know where to put them in the hospital at this point,” she said. “Because we doubled and tripled.”
Despite the floods, Bowden said, patients were often perceptive and upbeat.
“For us, as horrific as everything is and we’re exhausted, as long as our patients are fine and no one ends up dying or having a bad outcome, that’s what matters,” Bowden said.
FAE