Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Fla. Nursing Homes, Hospitals Evacuate Patients Amid Power, Water Outages
AP: Florida Health Care Facilities Evacuate Patients After Ian
Thousands of people were evacuated from nursing homes and hospitals across Florida on Thursday even as winds and water from Hurricane Ian began receding. Hundreds of those evacuations were taking place across the hard-hit Fort Myers region, where damage cut off potable water to at least nine hospitals. Kristen Knapp of the Florida Health Care Association says 43 nursing homes evacuated about 3,400 residents as of Thursday morning, mostly in southwest Florida. As many as 20 facilities had reported electricity outages, but Knapp says generators are powering those buildings. Water was shut off at some facilities, too. And one area hospital began assessing the full damage from ferocious winds that tore away parts of its roof and swamped its emergency room. (Calvan and Hartounian, 9/29)
NBC News: Florida Hospitals Report Evacuations, Lockdowns And Water Outages
Hurricane Ian has forced several Florida hospitals to evacuate patients and place staff members on lockdown as facilities contend with power outages and critical disruptions to water supplies. Mary Mayhew, the CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, said 16 hospitals across the state had evacuated or were in the process of evacuating Thursday afternoon. (Bendix, Syal and Martin, 9/29)
NBC News: Florida Resident Secured Paralyzed Husband To Hospital Bed And Gave Him A Life Jacket
A Florida woman used duct tape, tarpaulin, blankets, pillows and zip ties to secure her paralyzed husband to his hospital bed as Hurricane Ian battered their Punta Gorda home. She also gave him a life jacket in case water flooded their home, some 24 miles north of Fort Myers. ... He was scheduled to undergo radiation treatment on Wednesday but it was canceled due to the hurricane, which made landfall Wednesday afternoon and knocked out power to more than 2.6 million people across Florida. “It was terrifying," she said. (Lozano, 9/29)
Also —
Bloomberg: Raw Sewage Swirls Into Florida Floodwaters In Hurricane Ian’s Wake
Untold gallons of raw and poorly treated sewage have flowed into streets and rivers as floodwaters inundate infrastructure, power failures knock pumps offline, and manholes overflow. (Natter, 9/29)
The New York Times: A Baby Boy Was Born As The Hurricane Arrived In Florida. No, He Won’t Be Named Ian.
With the hurricane barreling toward their stretch of the Florida coast on Tuesday afternoon, Amanda Mahr and her husband, Matthew Mahr, got an urgent call from their doctor: They had to schedule an emergency C-section. The baby was four days past due, and the ultrasound that morning had showed fluid levels that were too low for them to wait until after the storm for delivery. Hurricane or not, the baby was going to have to come. (Kim, 9/30)
