The Associated Press reported the largest hospitals in Panama City, Fla., are shutting down and evacuating patients due to heavy damage from Hurricane Michael. Officials at Bay Medical Sacred Heart announced that they’re transferring about 200 patients to hospitals in Pensacola and Jacksonville, and to Mobile, Ala. Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center says it has suspended all services and is evacuating patients as well.
Sacred Heart’s statement says the transfers began at 3 a.m. Thursday with 39 critical care patients and would take about 48 hours to complete.
It’s still early, but reports as of now seem to indicate those facilities that evacuated their patients were successful in getting them moved, but events such as this hurricane point out the importance of planning that is part of the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule.
If you had to move your patients on very short notice, how would you do? When was the last time you tested that? How would you let family members know where their relatives were?