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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 30 September 2022

Florida health care facilities evacuate patients after Ian

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN medical care. And to iden-
and ALINA HARTOUNIAN tify hospital beds available
The Associated Press either in the region or else-
Thousands of people were where,” she said.
evacuated from nursing Hurricane Ian swamped
homes and hospitals across HCA Florida Fawcett Hos-
Florida on Thursday even as pital in Port Charlotte - just
winds and water from Hurri- north of Fort Myers - from
cane Ian began receding. both above and below,
Hundreds of those evacu- as the storm surge flooded
ations were taking place its lower level emergency
across the hard-hit Fort My- room while fierce winds
ers region, where damage tore part of its fourth floor
cut off potable water to at roof from its intensive care
least nine hospitals. unit, according to a doctor
Kristen Knapp of the Flor- who works there.
ida Health Care Associa- Dr. Birgit Bodine spent the
tion says 43 nursing homes night at the hospital, an-
evacuated about 3,400 ticipating the storm would
residents as of Thursday make things busy, “but we
morning, mostly in south- didn’t anticipate that the
west Florida. roof would blow off on the
As many as 20 facilities fourth floor,” she said.
had reported electricity Damaged homes and debris are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, Water gushed down
outages, but Knapp says in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. Wednesday from above
generators are powering Associated Press onto the ICU, forcing staff
those buildings. Water was floodwater in a neighbor- pitals in southwest Florida Mary Mayhew, the presi- to evacuate the hospi-
shut off at some facilities, hood that doesn’t typically had the opposite problem. dent of the Florida Hospital tal’s sickest patients some
too. And one area hospi- flood. Paramedics rolled “We have one large health Association. of them on ventilators to
tal began assessing the full out residents one by one on system in southwest Florida Mayhew said more 1,200 other floors. Staff members
damage from ferocious stretchers and wheelchairs. that is without water in all of patients were being evac- resorted to towels and plas-
winds that tore away parts At the neighboring Palm Is- their facilities. And so they uated. tic bins to try to mop up the
of its roof and swamped its land at Baldwin apartment are fast approaching a Meanwhile, other hospitals sodden mess.
emergency room. complex, cars were sub- point where they will not be could find themselves fur- The medium-sized hospi-
In Orlando, residents of the merged in the parking lot. able to safely take care of ther strained, she said. tal spans four floors, but
Avante nursing home were Even as the problem was their patients. So that is an “There is considerable ef- patients were forced into
evacuated to ambulances too much water in much of urgent focus to get those fort underway to rescue in- just two because of the
and waiting buses through the state, at least nine hos- patients transferred,” said dividuals who also will need damage.q

Police: Oakland high school shooting wounds 6 adults

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — thorities said. have fled violence and to Eden Medical Center in dents leaving nearby cam-
At least six adults were The shooting took place instability in their home Castro Valley. Allison said puses.
wounded in a shooting at around 12:45 p.m. at Ruds- countries, according to the three people remained City Council Member Treva
a school campus in Oak- dale Newcomer High school’s website. It is one hospitalized Wednesday Reid said investigators told
land on Wednesday, with School, authorities said. The of four adjacent schools evening, two of them with her the shooting may be
at least some of the victims school serves recent im- located on a block in east life-threatening injuries, tied to rising “group and
found inside the school, au- migrants ages 16-21 who Oakland. while one person had been gang violence.”
Officials have not said released and two others James Jackson, chief ex-
whether any of the victims were expected to be re- ecutive of Alameda Health
might be students age 18 leased soon. System, also noted an in-
or older. John Sasaki, a spokesper- crease in violence.
“The victims were affiliated son for Oakland Unified “We’ve seen almost a dou-
with the school, and we are School District, said in a bling of the violent crimes
determining the affiliation statement that district of- victims that we’re seeing
at this time,” Oakland Assis- ficials “do not have any here at our facility (High-
tant Police Chief Darren Al- information beyond what land Hospital). So some-
lison said, although he de- Oakland Police are report- thing has changed,” Jack-
clined to say whether any ing.” son said.
students or teachers were He said counselors were City Council Member Loren
involved. being made available for Taylor, who was outside the
Allison said police were students and he could not school, declined to con-
seeking at least one sus- say whether the schools firm any details about the
pect but did not have any- at the site would be open incident, telling KTVU-TV,
one in custody. Thursday. “Guns were on our school
A California Highway Patrol officer lifts police tape to let parents
and students leave a cordoned off area on Fountain Street Three of the wounded Television footage showed campuses where our ba-
following a shooting at a school campus in Oakland, Calif., on were taken to Highland dozens of police cars and bies were supposed to be
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Hospital in Oakland, while yellow tape on the street protected.”q
Associated Press the other three were taken outside the school and stu-