Tidelands Health hospitals are open and patient evacuation is underway ahead of Hurricane Florence.
Carl Lindquist, with Tidelands Health, says in a press release that Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital and Tidelands Georgetown Memorial Hospital remain open until either Thursday at 1 p.m., when closure is mandated by the state, or when wind speeds or bridge closures require EMS to suspend patient transport, whichever comes first.
In compliance with the medical evacuation order issued on Monday, patient evacuation at Tidelands Waccamaw, Tidelands Georgetown, and the Tidelands Health Rehabilitation Hospital is underway, according to the Lindquist. Patients are being transferred to other South Carolina hospitals outside of the storm area and some Tidelands Health clinical staff members are evacuating with patients to help with care.
A limited number of Tidelands Health staff, including clinicians, facilities management personnel, and security officers, will remain at both Tidelands Waccamaw and Tidelands Georgetown throughout the storm to “allow the hospitals to provide care for any inpatients who were not able to be safely evacuated and will also facilitate rapid reopening of the hospitals after the storm.”
