Hospitals Along Southeastern Coast Gear Up To Stay Head Of Hurricane Dorian: Ways To Protect Patients — And Their Data

Modern Healthcare: How Hospitals Can Keep Access To Patient Data In Hurricanes
Hurricane Dorian, a Category 2 storm that's said to be headed toward the Florida coast, is the latest natural disaster to threaten U.S. hospitals. While hospitals previously struggled to keep paper records free from physical damage, more recently hospitals have struggled with maintaining EHR connectivity after power outages or sharing patient medical histories if a patient is displaced from their usual hospital. Here are four things to consider to maintain access to patient records during the storm. (Cohen, 9/3)

Modern Healthcare: Steep Hurricane-Related Costs Could Hit HCA, Tenet Hospitals
After battering the Bahamas as a Category 5 storm, a weaker but still destructive Hurricane Dorian is now marching toward the Southeastern U.S. with threats of strong winds and storm-surge flooding. For hospitals unlucky enough to be caught in its path, Dorian could also bring steep costs associated with disruptions in patient visits or facility damage. Of the investor-owned hospitals, Tenet Corp. and HCA Healthcare are most likely to be affected by the hurricane. (Livingston, 9/3)

Medpage Today: Bahamas Hospitals Struggle With Dorian's Impact
Nineteen patients were airlifted from Marsh Harbour Healthcare Centre in the Abaco Islands, and rising floodwaters forced an evacuation of Rand Memorial Hospital, the main clinic in Freeport on Grand Bahama, according to early reports of Hurricane Dorian's impact on hospitals in the Bahamas. The Abacos and Grand Bahama bore the brunt of the Category 5 storm's prolonged punch to the area, which continued on Tuesday, though it has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm by the National Hurricane Center. (Fiore, 9/3)

Miami Herald: Hurricane Dorian: Over 100 FL Healthcare Facilities Evacuated
More than 100 healthcare facilities have been evacuated in Florida, displacing thousands of patients and residents, as state officials remain wary of storm surge and flooding that Hurricane Dorian could bring on its path up the east coast. Dorian was downgraded Tuesday to a widening yet weakened Category 2 storm and now looks unlikely to unleash its full wrath on the state’s densely populated coastline. (Koh, 9/3)

South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Hurricane Dorian Forces Some Palm Beach County Hospitals To Close
Three major medical centers closed their doors and evacuated patients as Hurricane Dorian menaced the east coast of Florida and Palm Beach County. Good Samaritan Medical Center, which sits along the Intracoastal Waterway at 1309 N. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, transferred its 64 patients to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center and St. Mary’s Medical Center. (Baitinger, 9/3)

Georgia Health News: As Dorian Nears, Hospitals And Nursing Homes Mobilize
With Hurricane Dorian moving toward Georgia, coastal medical facilities have swung into action.Nursing homes and assisted living facilities along the coast have begun evacuating residents to more inland locations. And hospitals are scaling back operations but plan to remain open as the storm approaches. (Miller, 9/3)

Greenville Online: Hurricane Dorian Sends Lowcountry SC Patients To Greenville Hospital
As Hurricane Dorian continues churning toward South Carolina, four patients were evacuated Tuesday from Lowcountry hospitals to Prisma Health-Upstate. The patients are from Charleston-area hospitals and are in need of acute care, said Dr. C. Wendell James III, chief clinical officer for the region of the former Greenville Health System. James said other patients had been evacuated to other inland hospitals, including Prisma's Midlands affiliate, though he didn't know how many. Last year during Hurricane Florence, the hospital cared for 52 patients, he said. (Osby, 9/3)