By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY. Oct. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) — As Hurricane Milton barreled toward the west coast of Florida, hospitals in its path were making ready.<\/p>\n
Milton is projected to make landfall a bit south of the Tampa area late Wednesday night. Long-term care facilities in counties where mandatory evacuations have been issued have taken their patients elsewhere, while some hospitals prepare to stay open through the storm, the Associated Press<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n According to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019 website<\/a>, 10 hospitals had reported evacuations as of Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, 300 health care facilities have evacuated — 63 nursing homes and 169 assisted living facilities.<\/p>\n Steve McCoy<\/a>, chief of the Florida Department of Health\u2019s Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight, called it the state\u2019s \u201clargest evacuation ever.\u201d<\/p>\n But not all hospitals will evacuate.<\/p>\n Tampa General Hospital has more than five days of supplies, including food, linens and 5,000 gallons of water, the AP<\/em> reported. The hospital also has an energy plant with generators and boilers perched 33 feet above sea level.<\/p>\n During Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, Tampa General deployed an \u201caquafence\u201d that prevented storm-surge flooding. The same barrier will be resurrected for Milton and can withstand a storm surge of 15 feet. The U.S. National Hurricane Center estimates Milton\u2019s surges will be 10 to 15 feet high at their peak, the AP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Sarasota Memorial Hospital is also preparing for the worst. The facility, about an hour south of Tampa, isn\u2019t evacuating because it\u2019s the largest and the safest hospital in the area.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re probably on the highest ground in Sarasota and we\u2019re the largest hospital,\u201d David Verinder<\/a>, president and CEO of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, told NBC News<\/em>. \u201cWe just have way too many patients to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n To prepare for the hurricane and its aftermath, the hospital system has ordered enough food and water for at least seven days.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have linens, you know, everything that you\u2019ll need,\u201d Verinder said. \u201cWe can\u2019t guarantee that we\u2019ll have anybody be able to make any deliveries through the weekend. So we\u2019re at least planning for seven days.\u201d<\/p>\n Hospital staff members will work in two main shifts, NBC News<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n The A team, which includes a couple hundred physicians, will stay at the hospital through the storm, Verinder said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be prepared to sleep and rotate shifts for three days.\u201d<\/p>\n Once the storm has passed, the B team arrives, but that shift switch is what always makes Verinder nervous.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope they\u2019re safe,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hope they\u2019re safe and that they can come in and relieve the A team. And if they can\u2019t get through the roads, the downed power lines, the A team will continue to work until they\u2019re relieved.\u201d<\/p>\n Farther south, in Fort Myers, Fla., the A team at Lee Health hospitals, part of the Southwest Florida Hospital System, reported to their locations on Tuesday, a spokesperson told NBC News<\/em>.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Florida Hospital Association has more on dealing with hurricanes<\/a>.<\/p>\n