'Things went downhill quickly': NYC hospitals evacuate
The Journal News | LoHud.com-22 hours ago
'Things went downhill quickly': NYC hospitals evacuate ... hospitals in New York City to scramble and evacuate patients Tuesday, and two ... Several hospitals had evacuated prior to the storm and remain closed Tuesday.
|
Sandy prompts harrowing NYC hospital evacuation
In-Depth
Unprecedented flooding and power outages from superstorm Sandy
forced more hospitals in New York City to scramble and evacuate patients
Tuesday, and two facilities for the elderly to relocate patients to
safe areas.
No storm-related fatalities have been reported at any of the hospitals, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, adding the one thing "they had not counted on" was the failure of the backup system at New York University Langone Hospital.
Monday evening as the record-setting storm surge began to hit low-lying areas in the city power failures started in critical areas of the NYU Langone Hospital, including the emergency room, the transplant unit and labor and delivery. The emergency system did not respond, hospital officials said.
The hospital, which did evacuate prior to Hurricane Irene last year, then launched into emergency mode to move about 260 patients. Officials are still sorting out what caused the failure of the backup power, but the generator might have been located in the basement and was stalled by rising waters. The scene was a reminder of the chaos in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"Things went downhill very, very rapidly and very unexpectedly," Andrew Brotman, senior vice president and vice dean for clinical affairs and strategy of NYU, told CNN. "The flooding was just unprecedented."
When the elevators shut down, the hospital staff was forced to carry patients down several flights of darkened stairs, according to the Associated Press. Evacuations continued into Tuesday morning. Ambulances escorted them to nearby hospitals.
Hospital trustee Gary Cohn told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday that the backup generators at Tisch are not "state of the art and not in the most state-of-the-art location."
"That's all very well-known by the board of directors of NYU," Cohn said.
Kenneth Langone, the billionaire chairman of New York University Hospital, told Bloomberg News he was a patient at the NYU Langone Medical Center when it lost power during Hurricane Sandy and had to be evacuated.
"The backup generators failed, it's that simple, but the story here is the magnificence of the effort of all of our people and what they did," Langone, 77, said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his Fifth Avenue apartment.
Several hospitals had evacuated prior to the storm and remain closed Tuesday. Troubled hospitals continue to coordinate with government agencies to find openings for patients in other hospitals. Coney Island Hospital was also making plans for possible evacuations Tuesday.
"We've taken in some of the patients from NYU and the latest I heard they're doing fine,'' said Kathy Robinson, spokesperson at New York Presbyterian Hospitals.
Montefiore Medical Center took six babies into its neonatal unit at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday from NYU Tisch, according to spokesperson Susan Green Lorenzen: "Monday night we got on the phone to offer our support when we heard what was going on.'' Montefiore had taken five babies from another hospital that evacuated before the storm hit.
A report from The New York Times said backup generators at a nursing home and adult home had also failed: "Administrators at Horizon Care Center and Seaview Manor said they had repeatedly sought instructions and advice from the city's emergency management authorities but did not receive directions to evacuate before the surge hit between 8 p.m. and midnight Monday.
"At Horizon, all 269 patients had been moved to the second floor when the surge came. But there was very rapid flooding within five minutes and the generator was knocked out within 10 minutes," said Nicole Markowitz, an administrator. By Tuesday morning, residents were cold and scared."
end quote from:
ADVERTISEMENT
'Things went downhill quickly': NYC hospitals evacuate
4:59 PM,
Oct 30, 2012
|
Comments
Medical workers assist a patient into an ambulance during an evacuation of New York University's Hospital Monday. / John Minchillo AP
Ads by Pulse 360
Pacific Grove :Diet Exposed!
Learn How A Mom Lost 27 lbs In One Month By Obeying 1 Old Rule
www.ConsumerHealthWatch.net
2.13% California Mortgage Rates
$150K Mortgage $581mo. 2.35%APR. Quickly Compare Top Online Rates!
Learn more...
Pacific Grove, CA Arrest Records
Who do you know in Pacific Grove that's been arrested? You? Your friends?
InstantCheckmate.com
No storm-related fatalities have been reported at any of the hospitals, according to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, adding the one thing "they had not counted on" was the failure of the backup system at New York University Langone Hospital.
Monday evening as the record-setting storm surge began to hit low-lying areas in the city power failures started in critical areas of the NYU Langone Hospital, including the emergency room, the transplant unit and labor and delivery. The emergency system did not respond, hospital officials said.
The hospital, which did evacuate prior to Hurricane Irene last year, then launched into emergency mode to move about 260 patients. Officials are still sorting out what caused the failure of the backup power, but the generator might have been located in the basement and was stalled by rising waters. The scene was a reminder of the chaos in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
"Things went downhill very, very rapidly and very unexpectedly," Andrew Brotman, senior vice president and vice dean for clinical affairs and strategy of NYU, told CNN. "The flooding was just unprecedented."
When the elevators shut down, the hospital staff was forced to carry patients down several flights of darkened stairs, according to the Associated Press. Evacuations continued into Tuesday morning. Ambulances escorted them to nearby hospitals.
Hospital trustee Gary Cohn told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday that the backup generators at Tisch are not "state of the art and not in the most state-of-the-art location."
"That's all very well-known by the board of directors of NYU," Cohn said.
Kenneth Langone, the billionaire chairman of New York University Hospital, told Bloomberg News he was a patient at the NYU Langone Medical Center when it lost power during Hurricane Sandy and had to be evacuated.
"The backup generators failed, it's that simple, but the story here is the magnificence of the effort of all of our people and what they did," Langone, 77, said Tuesday in a telephone interview from his Fifth Avenue apartment.
Several hospitals had evacuated prior to the storm and remain closed Tuesday. Troubled hospitals continue to coordinate with government agencies to find openings for patients in other hospitals. Coney Island Hospital was also making plans for possible evacuations Tuesday.
"We've taken in some of the patients from NYU and the latest I heard they're doing fine,'' said Kathy Robinson, spokesperson at New York Presbyterian Hospitals.
Montefiore Medical Center took six babies into its neonatal unit at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday from NYU Tisch, according to spokesperson Susan Green Lorenzen: "Monday night we got on the phone to offer our support when we heard what was going on.'' Montefiore had taken five babies from another hospital that evacuated before the storm hit.
A report from The New York Times said backup generators at a nursing home and adult home had also failed: "Administrators at Horizon Care Center and Seaview Manor said they had repeatedly sought instructions and advice from the city's emergency management authorities but did not receive directions to evacuate before the surge hit between 8 p.m. and midnight Monday.
"At Horizon, all 269 patients had been moved to the second floor when the surge came. But there was very rapid flooding within five minutes and the generator was knocked out within 10 minutes," said Nicole Markowitz, an administrator. By Tuesday morning, residents were cold and scared."
end quote from:
No comments:
Post a Comment