S.C. Hospitals Prepare to Help Hurricane Maria Survivors
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- The Department of Defense and State Forestry Commission are leading the efforts for state agencies to help after Hurricane Maria devastated the island.
Officials working with the National Disaster Medical System said the Palmetto State is prepared to take in dozens of evacuated patients they refer to as casualties.
“There is roughly 300 individuals in Puerto Rico that will be transferred to the continental United States for evacuations. We are one of three facilities across the country that have received casualties,” Dr. Steve Shelton of Palmetto Health Richland.
Under the leadership of the Department of Defense’s Federal Coordination Center and the Forestry Commission’s Incident Management Team, participating hospitals are standing by, ready to treat any aliments the patients may have.
“You’ve seen the devastation that has occurred out there, likely without any kind of power or resources or water when they arrive. We expect they will be naturally dehydrated, very fatigued and that’s on top of whatever kind chronic medical condition that they are being sent here for management of,” said Shelton.
The state’s forestry commission said four people were flown into South Carolina and two of them are at Palmetto Health Richland. Doctors said they are doing their best to make sure the patients feel welcome.
“We want to provide care, we recognize what they’ve been through. There’s a lot of folks around that still remember Hugo when it passed through, so they felt that impact here. These folks have even bigger devastation than we did. So we understand what it’s like to be exposed to something like that. We want to take them, make sure they are provided the proper care, and make sure their family is cared for properly too,” said Shelton.
The patients here at Palmetto Health Richland are said to be older and in stable condition but staffers said they are prepared to bring kids into the children’s hospital here if the need arises.
